CN112887503A - Image forming device, server, system and method - Google Patents

Image forming device, server, system and method Download PDF

Info

Publication number
CN112887503A
CN112887503A CN202110051609.1A CN202110051609A CN112887503A CN 112887503 A CN112887503 A CN 112887503A CN 202110051609 A CN202110051609 A CN 202110051609A CN 112887503 A CN112887503 A CN 112887503A
Authority
CN
China
Prior art keywords
image forming
data
server
user service
forming apparatus
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
CN202110051609.1A
Other languages
Chinese (zh)
Inventor
黄昱
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Zhuhai Pantum Electronics Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Zhuhai Pantum Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Zhuhai Pantum Electronics Co Ltd filed Critical Zhuhai Pantum Electronics Co Ltd
Priority to CN202110051609.1A priority Critical patent/CN112887503A/en
Publication of CN112887503A publication Critical patent/CN112887503A/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
    • H04N1/00127—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
    • H04N1/00204—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server
    • H04N1/00209—Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
    • G03G21/00—Arrangements not provided for by groups G03G13/00 - G03G19/00, e.g. cleaning, elimination of residual charge
    • G03G21/16—Mechanical means for facilitating the maintenance of the apparatus, e.g. modular arrangements
    • G03G21/18—Mechanical means for facilitating the maintenance of the apparatus, e.g. modular arrangements using a processing cartridge, whereby the process cartridge comprises at least two image processing means in a single unit
    • G03G21/1875—Mechanical means for facilitating the maintenance of the apparatus, e.g. modular arrangements using a processing cartridge, whereby the process cartridge comprises at least two image processing means in a single unit provided with identifying means or means for storing process- or use parameters, e.g. lifetime of the cartridge
    • G03G21/1878—Electronically readable memory
    • G03G21/1882—Electronically readable memory details of the communication with memory, e.g. wireless communication, protocols
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
    • H04N1/00127—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
    • H04N1/00204—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server
    • H04N1/00236—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server using an image reading or reproducing device, e.g. a facsimile reader or printer, as a local input to or local output from a computer
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
    • H04N1/00127—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
    • H04N1/00204—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server
    • H04N1/00244—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server with a server, e.g. an internet server

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computing Systems (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Computer Vision & Pattern Recognition (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Accessory Devices And Overall Control Thereof (AREA)
  • Facsimiles In General (AREA)

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides an image forming device, a server, a system and a method, wherein the image forming device comprises a remote boot module used for bearing a remote boot program; the communication module is used for sending the remote guide instruction to a server and receiving a user service program and/or data which are sent by the server and matched with the attribute information of the image forming equipment; and the program loading module is used for loading the user service program and/or the data sent by the server. In the embodiment of the application, the user service program and/or the data in the server are loaded through the remote bootstrap program, a nonvolatile memory for bearing the user service program and/or the data does not need to be installed in the image forming device, and the cost of the image forming device is saved. In addition, since the user service program and/or data are stored in the server, real-time updating is possible, the security of information verification of the image forming apparatus is improved, and the flexibility of updating is upgraded.

Description

Image forming device, server, system and method
Technical Field
The present application relates to the field of electronic technologies, and in particular, to an image forming apparatus, a server, a system, and a method.
Background
An image forming apparatus is an apparatus that forms an image on a recording material by the principle of image formation, such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying machine, and the like.
When an existing image forming apparatus leaves a factory, a user service program or data needs to be burned in a nonvolatile storage unit of the image forming apparatus in a form of firmware, such as a Programmable read-only Memory (PROM), a Flash EEPROM (Flash), and the like. The user service program and data may be an operating system supported by the image forming apparatus, a print job language, a font, and other service programs or data provided for the user.
However, since the data amount of the user service program or data is large, the capacity of the nonvolatile storage unit required for the image forming apparatus is large, and the cost of the image forming apparatus is increased.
Disclosure of Invention
In view of this, the present application provides an image forming apparatus, a server, a system and a method, so as to solve the problem that in the prior art, a user service program and data occupy more nonvolatile storage space of the image forming apparatus.
In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an image forming apparatus, including:
a remote boot module for carrying a remote boot program, and when the remote boot program is executed, generating a remote boot instruction for instructing a server in communication connection with the image forming apparatus to transmit a user service program and/or data matching the image forming apparatus attribute information to the image forming apparatus;
the communication module is used for sending the remote guide instruction to a server which is in communication connection with the image forming device and receiving a user service program and/or data sent by the server;
the program loading module is used for loading the user service program and/or the data sent by the server;
the user service program comprises at least one of a consumable control strategy, an engine control strategy and an additional function control strategy, and the user service data comprises at least one of verification data, print job language data, font data, account data and safety setting data. .
Preferably, the remote boot module is disposed in a system on chip SoC, a small capacity FLASH memory FLASH, or a small capacity read only memory ROM of the image forming apparatus.
In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a server, including:
a storage module for storing a user service program and/or data matched with the attribute information of the image forming apparatus;
the communication module is used for receiving a remote guide instruction sent by an image forming device in communication connection with the server and sending the user service program and/or data to the image forming device;
the user service program comprises at least one of a consumable control strategy, an engine control strategy and an additional function control strategy, and the user service data comprises at least one of verification data, print job language data, font data, account data and safety setting data.
Preferably, the server is a PC, an intra-enterprise server, and/or a cloud server connected to the image forming apparatus; when the server includes at least two of a PC, an enterprise internal server, and a cloud server connected to the image forming apparatus, the remote boot instructions include at least two corresponding boot addresses, respectively, and the plurality of corresponding boot addresses are loaded in a predetermined order.
In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an image forming system including the image forming apparatus of any one of the first aspects and the server of any one of the second aspects, the image forming apparatus and the server being communicatively connected.
In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for starting an image forming apparatus, which is applied to the image forming apparatus, and includes:
loading a remote boot program, and generating a remote boot instruction, wherein the remote boot instruction is used for instructing a server which is in communication connection with the image forming device to send user service programs and/or data matched with the attribute information of the image forming device to the image forming device;
sending the remote guide instruction to a server which is in communication connection with the image forming device, and receiving the user service program and/or data sent by the server;
loading the user service program and/or data sent by the server;
the user service program comprises at least one of a consumable control strategy, an engine control strategy and an additional function control strategy, and the user service data comprises at least one of verification data, print job language data, font data, account data and safety setting data.
Preferably, the method further comprises:
when the user service program comprises a consumable control strategy, verifying the legality of the consumable installed in the image forming equipment through the consumable control strategy; and the consumable control strategy can be dynamically updated, and based on the updated consumable control strategy, the validity verification result of the consumable installed in the image forming apparatus changes accordingly.
In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for starting an image forming apparatus, which is applied to a server, and includes:
receiving a remote boot instruction sent by an image forming device, wherein the remote boot instruction is used for instructing the image forming device which is in communication connection with the server to send user service programs and/or data matched with the attribute information of the image forming device;
transmitting the user service program and/or data to the image forming apparatus;
the user service program comprises at least one of a consumable control strategy, an engine control strategy and an additional function control strategy, and the user service data comprises at least one of verification data, print job language data, font data, account data and safety setting data.
Preferably, the method further comprises: the remote boot instruction comprises a firmware loading instruction burnt to the image forming device in advance, and the firmware loading instruction comprises an access address and verification information of the server.
Preferably, the user service program and/or data is a modifiable program and/or data, and the method further comprises:
updating the user service program and/or data based on the user's modification; and/or
Setting versions of user service programs and/or data on the image forming device side; and/or
The server comprises a main server and a backup server which store the user service programs and/or the data, and the main server and the backup server are in a redundant relationship with each other.
In the embodiment of the application, the user service program and/or the data in the server are loaded through the remote bootstrap program, a nonvolatile memory for bearing the user service program and/or the data does not need to be installed in the image forming device, and the cost of the image forming device is saved. In addition, since the user service program and/or data are stored in the server, real-time updating is possible, the security of information verification of the image forming apparatus is improved, and the flexibility of updating is upgraded.
Drawings
In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without inventive labor.
Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a scene of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present application;
fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a starting method of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a process of replacing consumables according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of function upgrade provided in an embodiment of the present application;
FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;
fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a server according to an embodiment of the present application.
Detailed Description
For better understanding of the technical solutions of the present application, the following detailed descriptions of the embodiments of the present application are provided with reference to the accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that the embodiments described are only a few embodiments of the present application, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.
The terminology used in the embodiments of the present application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. As used in the examples of this application and the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
It should be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein is merely one type of associative relationship that describes an associated object, meaning that three types of relationships may exist, e.g., A and/or B, may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" herein generally indicates that the former and latter related objects are in an "or" relationship.
Referring to fig. 1, a scene diagram of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in fig. 1, the image forming system includes an image forming apparatus 100 and a server 200, and the image forming apparatus 100 and the server 200 are interconnected by a wired or wireless communication network to perform information transmission. The communication network may be a local area network or a wide area network that is switched over by a relay device. When the communication network is a local area network, the communication network may be a wifi hotspot network, a wifi P2P network, a bluetooth network, a zigbee network, or a Near Field Communication (NFC) network, for example. When the communication network is a wide area network, the communication network may be, for example, a third generation mobile communication technology (3rd-generation wireless telephone technology, 3G) network, a fourth generation mobile communication technology (4G) network, a fifth generation mobile communication technology (5th-generation mobile communication technology, 5G) network, a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) for future evolution, the internet, or the like.
It should be noted that fig. 1 is only an exemplary illustration and should not be taken as a limitation of the scope of the present application. For example, the image forming apparatus 100 includes, but is not limited to, printers, copiers, facsimile machines, scanners, and multi-function peripherals that perform the above functions in a single apparatus; the server 200 includes, but is not limited to, a personal PC, an intra-enterprise server, and a cloud server. Specifically, the server 200 may be a PC, an in-enterprise server, or a cloud server to which a user connects with the image forming apparatus; when the server 200 is a PC connected to the image forming apparatus, if the image forming apparatus is connected to the PC via a network, a remote boot instruction or a remote boot module mentioned below includes a network address of the PC, and is provided with a function of automatically accessing the network address, or a MAC address, etc. at the time of power-on or program loading execution, thereby accessing a user service program and/or data in the PC; if the image forming apparatus is connected to a PC via USB, a remote boot instruction or a remote boot module mentioned below includes a port address of the PC, thereby accessing a user service and/or data in the PC. When the server 200 is an enterprise internal server or a cloud server, the image forming apparatus 100 may directly send an access request to the enterprise internal server or the cloud server, or may send an access request to the enterprise internal server or the cloud server through a computer connected to the image forming apparatus 100; for different access requests, specific content of the remote boot instruction may be adjusted, for example, if the access request is directly sent to an enterprise internal server or a cloud server, the remote boot instruction includes instruction information that can automatically access a server address when starting up or executing program loading; if an access request is transmitted to an internal server of an enterprise or a cloud server using a computer connected to the image forming apparatus 100, the remote boot instruction includes instruction information that enables the computer to automatically access a server address. In addition, in the technical solution provided by the present invention, the server 200 may further include a plurality of different types of servers, for example, when the server includes at least two of a PC, an enterprise internal server, and a cloud server connected to the image forming apparatus 100, the remote boot instruction includes a plurality of corresponding boot addresses, and the plurality of corresponding boot addresses are loaded in a predetermined order; for example, the boot address 1 corresponds to a first type of server, the boot address 2 corresponds to a second type of server, the loading is preferentially performed according to the boot address 1, and if the loading is successful, the subsequent operation is directly executed; if the load fails, it is automatically replaced with boot address 2.
Further, the server 200 may be partitioned by function, and for example, include a first storage area including a main server storing a user service program and/or data, and a second storage area including a backup server storing a user service program and/or data, the server communicating with an external image forming apparatus 100 preferentially using the main server; the main server and the backup server are in a redundant relationship with each other, and if the main server fails (for example, the heating value is greater than a threshold value or the communication speed is less than a preset speed), the main server is automatically switched to the backup server; if the user uploads and updates the user service program and/or the data in the main server, the backup server also automatically updates the corresponding user service program and/or the corresponding data, so that the image forming device can be started smoothly. The "small capacity" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application generally means a smaller capacity of the homogeneous memory with respect to the existing commercially available image forming apparatus; the specific degree of smallness can be determined according to the specific project requirements, for example, 2/3, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 1/7, 1/8, 1/9, 1/10, 1/11, 1/12, 1/13, 1/14, 1/15, 1/16, 1/17, 1/18, 1/19, 1/20 and the like of the similar product storages in the market.
In the embodiment of the present application, in order to reduce the use of a nonvolatile memory space in the image forming apparatus 100, a user service program and/or data of the image forming apparatus 100 is stored in the server 200. The user service program comprises at least one of a consumable control strategy, an engine control strategy and an additional function control strategy, and the user service data comprises at least one of verification data, print job language data, font data, account data and safety setting data.
It should be noted that the verification data includes, but is not limited to, a consumable password, a digital certificate, or a consumable serial number.
Print job language data includes, but is not limited to: GDI print language, PCL print language, or PS print language.
Font data includes, but is not limited to: fonts in a TrueType font library, an OpenType font library or a PostScript font library, wherein the fonts include but are not limited to Song font, bold font, regular font and the like; in particular, the font may also be a user-defined font.
Account data includes, but is not limited to: personal identification information, a phone number, or registered account information associated with the image forming apparatus, which is required for the user to log in the image forming apparatus.
Security setting data includes, but is not limited to: printing authority, management image forming apparatus authority, management document authority, special authority, or connection password.
The consumable control strategies include, but are not limited to: the validity of the consumable part loaded into the image forming apparatus is verified by using the verification data in the user service data.
For example: if the consumable password, the digital certificate and/or the serial number of the consumable loaded into the image forming equipment are consistent with the consumable password, the digital certificate and/or the consumable serial number in the verification data, the consumable is proved to be a legal consumable and can be normally used; if the password, the digital certificate and/or the serial number of the consumable are not consistent with the password, the digital certificate and/or the serial number of the consumable in the verification data, the consumable is proved to be an illegal consumable, the use of the consumable needs to be forbidden, and the prompt that the consumable is not matched with the user is given.
Engine control strategies include, but are not limited to: the processes of charging, exposure, development, transfer, fixing, and the like of the image forming apparatus are controlled.
For example: when the image forming equipment receives a printing operation, an internal controller of the image forming equipment firstly controls a charging roller to charge the surface of a photosensitive drum according to an engine control strategy, then controls an LSU to emit a laser beam to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the charged photosensitive drum, then controls a developing roller to convey carbon powder on the surface of the photosensitive drum to form a carbon powder image, controls a paper feeding roller to convey paper stored in a paper box to a paper conveying path, conveys the paper on the paper conveying path to a transfer roller to perform transfer printing and imaging, and finally controls a fixing roller to fix the carbon powder image transferred on the paper and discharge the carbon powder image. If a problem occurs in one process of charging, exposing, developing, transferring, fixing and the like (for example, charging cannot be normally performed due to too much toner adhered to the charging roller, heating and fixing cannot be normally performed due to damage of the fixing roller and the like), the image forming device is controlled to stop printing, and fault prompt is performed for a user.
Additional function control strategies include, but are not limited to: Wi-Fi printing, Bluetooth printing, NFC printing, PIN code printing, cloud printing or the like of the image forming apparatus is controlled.
For example: if Wi-Fi printing is carried out, a user needs to open an application program installed in the mobile equipment and used for controlling the image forming equipment to carry out printing, open Wi-Fi, select image forming equipment to be connected, and input a Wi-Fi password required by the image forming equipment to be connected, the image forming equipment can verify the Wi-Fi password input by the mobile equipment, and if the Wi-Fi password is correct, the mobile equipment is allowed to be connected and the printing of the sent job is carried out; and if the Wi-Fi password is wrong, refusing the connection of the mobile equipment, and prompting the user to input the password mistake through the mobile equipment.
It is understood that the image forming apparatus 100 and the server 200 need to establish a communication connection before the image forming apparatus 100 loads the user service program and/or data through the server 200. A procedure for establishing a communication connection between the image forming apparatus 100 and the server 200 will be described below, taking a printer and an enterprise server as examples.
After a user purchases a printer, a printer manufacturer provides a user service program and/or data package to the user, the package may be a single package corresponding to a service type required by the user, or may include multiple packages corresponding to multiple service types, and the user may select a package required by the user from the multiple packages. In addition, the package may also be a package customized by the user to the printer manufacturer according to the requirement, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.
After the user installs the package in the server 200, the printer and the server establish a communication connection. The manner in which the printer vendor provides the package to the user includes, but is not limited to: 1. the program package is provided in the form of an installation disc, and a user can directly download the program package in the installation disc to the server 200 for use; 2. different program packages are stored on a cloud server of a printer manufacturer, information such as verification codes is provided for a user, the user can extract the program packages by inputting the information such as the verification codes into application software which is installed in the server 200 and can be used for interacting with the cloud server under the condition that the server 200 of the user is in communication connection with the cloud server, and then the extracted program packages are downloaded to the server 200 for use.
The specific installation process of the program package in the server 200 is as follows: the user downloads the program package to the server 200 and decompresses the program package, the program package is started to enter an installation interface after decompression is completed, default installation or custom installation can be selected on the interface, the next step is carried out after selection, the printer model and the installation language are selected, the user permission protocol interface is entered after selection, when the user selects permission protocol, the printer is connected to the server 200 to obtain the attribute information of the printer, then installation can be selected, and finally installation of the program package is completed correctly after clicking is completed.
Particularly, after the server 200 correctly completes installation of the program package and when the server 200 is in communication connection with a cloud server provided by a printer manufacturer, if the printer manufacturer provides a version which can be updated by a user for an existing user service program and/or user service data, if the server 200 is in an idle state, the server can automatically update the existing program package to the latest version without manual intervention.
After the program package of the server is installed, the printer establishes a communication connection with the server, and the printer can be booted, and the operating principle thereof will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to fig. 2, a flowchart of a method for starting an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The method can be applied to the system shown in fig. 1, as shown in fig. 2, which mainly comprises the following steps.
Step S201: the image forming apparatus loads a remote boot program and generates a remote boot instruction.
In the embodiment of the application, the user service program and/or the data in the server are loaded through the remote boot program, and the image forming device does not need to be provided with a nonvolatile memory for bearing the user service program and/or the data, such as a FLASH memory FLASH, so that the cost of the image forming device is saved. Taking a printer as an example, the printer only needs to be provided with a print engine, a control board with a system on chip SoC, a volatile memory (usually DDR) and necessary hardware, and does not need to be provided with a FLASH for carrying user service programs and/or data.
In order to load the user service program and/or data in the server, a remote boot program (BOOTROM) is solidified in the image forming apparatus.
In one possible implementation, the remote boot program may be solidified in a system on chip SoC of the image forming apparatus, in which case, the image forming apparatus may not install a FLASH for carrying the remote boot program (BOOTROM), saving the image forming apparatus cost.
However, in an actual production environment, the printer manufacturer may not necessarily be an SoC manufacturer, and when the printer manufacturer needs to purchase an external SoC, it is difficult to solidify the remote boot program in the SoC. To address this problem, a very small FLASH or ROM (the amount of data of the remote boot program is much smaller than that of the user service program and/or data) may be installed in the image forming apparatus, and the remote boot program may be fixed in the FLASH or ROM. Since the capacity of the FLASH or ROM is small, the printer cost can be saved as well.
After the image forming device is started, the remote boot program is executed to generate a remote boot instruction. It is understood that the server should be in the power-on state at this time as well, otherwise, the image forming apparatus and the server cannot complete communication.
Step S202: the image forming apparatus transmits a remote boot instruction to the server.
After the image forming apparatus loads the remote boot program, it sends a remote boot instruction to the server. The remote boot instruction is used for instructing a server in communication connection with the image forming apparatus to transmit a user service program and/or data to the image forming apparatus. It will be appreciated that the user service and/or data is data within a package that the user previously downloaded and installed on the server. In addition, since the user needs to acquire the attribute information of the image forming apparatus when downloading and installing the package on the server, the user service program and/or data is the user service program and/or data matching the attribute information of the image forming apparatus.
Step S203: the server transmits the user service program and/or data matched with the attribute information of the image forming device to the image forming device.
And after receiving the remote guide instruction sent by the image forming equipment, the server sends the user service program and/or data matched with the attribute information of the image forming equipment to the image forming equipment according to the remote guide instruction.
It is understood that the user service program and/or data may be stored in a non-volatile memory of the server, such as FLASH.
Step S204: the image forming apparatus loads the user service program and/or data.
Specifically, the image forming apparatus may load the user service program and/or data into a volatile memory thereof after receiving the user service program and/or data, and then jump to a start execution address of the loaded user service program to start execution, thereby completing the start-up of the image forming apparatus, after which the user may normally use the image forming apparatus to execute a related job. For example, a print job is started using a printer normally.
In one possible implementation, to improve the security of the data, the user service and/or the data received by the image forming apparatus may be encrypted data. Accordingly, after the user service program and/or data are loaded into the volatile memory, the user service program and/or data need to be decrypted first, and then the subsequent related operations are performed.
It can be understood that after the image forming apparatus is loaded with the user service program and/or data, until the next boot/restart, communication with the server is no longer performed, and at this time, the server may be shut down, and the operation of the image forming apparatus is not affected.
In the embodiment of the application, the user service program and/or the data in the server are loaded through the remote bootstrap program, a nonvolatile memory for bearing the user service program and/or the data does not need to be installed in the image forming device, and the cost of the image forming device is saved.
In addition, the cost of the image forming device can be saved, and the safety of information verification of the image forming device can be improved by adopting the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application. The following is a detailed description.
In the related art, a firmware program stored in a nonvolatile storage unit inside an image forming apparatus reads consumable chip data and confirms whether consumables are legitimate through a common algorithm. Therefore, a third party manufacturer can produce compatible consumables in batch according with the algorithm only by copying the firmware program to perform algorithm cracking, and the compatible consumables are used on the image forming equipment, so that great loss is caused to the image forming equipment manufacturer, the printing quality of the compatible consumables is not as high as that of original consumables, and a matched solution is not provided for other problems in the using process, so that the printing experience of a user is influenced, and the loss is caused to the user.
By adopting the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, the user service program and/or the data are/is stored in the server and can be updated in real time, and the safety of information verification of the image forming equipment is improved.
Referring to fig. 3, a schematic flow chart of replacing consumables provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in fig. 3, it mainly includes the following steps.
Step S301: the user purchases the consumable.
When consumables in the image forming apparatus are exhausted, a user needs to purchase new consumables to replace them. For example, an ink cartridge or a cartridge of a printer is replaced.
Step S302: and judging whether to adopt the server for online purchase.
The user can proceed with the purchase of the consumable either off-line or on-line. When the user adopts the server to purchase online, the step S303 is entered; when the user makes a purchase, the process proceeds to step S304.
Step S303: and the existing program package of the server is automatically updated to a new program package matched with the consumable according to the consumable control strategy of the new consumable.
The existing program package of the server, namely the program package which is downloaded and installed in the server in advance by a user, contains a user service program and/or data, and certainly also contains consumable control strategy information. When a user purchases a new consumable, the consumable control strategy information in the program package is correspondingly replaced by new consumable control strategy information.
Step S304: the manufacturer provides the consumable control strategy information of the new consumable for the user.
When a user purchases consumables on line, a manufacturer or a seller can provide consumable control strategy information for the user to purchase new consumables, and the consumable control strategy information is used for verifying the consumables.
The manufacturer can provide the consumable control strategy information in the form of a storage medium, and also can provide a serial number or a verification code corresponding to the consumable control strategy information for the user to download.
Step S305: and the user updates the existing program package by using the consumable control strategy information of the new consumable provided by the manufacturer.
In step S303, when the user purchases a new consumable item, the consumable item control strategy information in the package is replaced with the consumable item control strategy information of the new consumable item.
Step S306: and installing new consumables and finishing consumable renewal.
The user installs the new consumables in the image forming device, and when the image forming device is started, the new consumables can be verified through the updated consumable control strategy information, so that the safety of information verification of the image forming device is improved.
In addition, the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application can improve the flexibility of upgrading and updating the image forming equipment. The following is a detailed description.
In the related art, the image forming apparatus purchased by the user has generally written firmware into the nonvolatile memory of the image forming apparatus, that is, the functions of the image forming apparatus have been determined, which does not facilitate the function upgrade according to the user's needs. For example, when a user purchases a GDI image forming apparatus and later the user needs the image forming apparatus to support PS or PDF printing, the existing image forming apparatus cannot realize the function, and the user can only select to newly purchase one image forming apparatus.
By adopting the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, the user service program and/or the data are stored in the server, the user service program and/or the data program package in the server can be updated by the user according to needs, the function can be upgraded at the image forming equipment end without any change, and the flexibility of upgrading and updating the image forming equipment is improved.
Referring to fig. 4, a schematic flow chart of function upgrade provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in fig. 4, it mainly includes the following steps.
Step S401: the user needs to upgrade the package.
When the user needs to upgrade the image forming apparatus, the upgrade is performed by purchasing a package. The package is a user service program and/or a data package.
Step S402: and judging whether to adopt the server for online purchase.
The user can make the purchase of the package both offline and online. When the user adopts the server to purchase online, the step S403 is carried out; when the user makes a purchase, the process proceeds to step S404.
Step S403: the existing packages of the server are automatically updated online to newly purchased packages.
The server existing program package is a program package which is downloaded and installed in the server in advance by a user, and the program package contains user service programs and/or data. When the user purchases a new program package, the server updates the existing program package to the new program package on line.
Step S404: the manufacturer provides the user with a new package.
When a user purchases a package online, the vendor or distributor provides the package to the user. The manufacturer can provide the program package in the form of a storage medium, and also can provide a serial number or a verification code corresponding to the user program package for the user to download.
Step S405: and the user updates the existing program package into a new program package by using the new program package provided by the manufacturer.
As in step S403, when the user purchases a new package, the server updates the existing package to the new package. The package is updated in the server, for example, via the storage medium.
Step S406: and after the program package is installed, restarting the image forming equipment to finish upgrading the program package.
A user installs a new program package in the server, and when the image forming equipment is started, the data of the new program package can be loaded, so that the upgrade of the program package is completed, and the flexibility of the upgrade and the update of the image forming equipment is improved.
Corresponding to the method embodiment, the application also provides an image forming device. Referring to fig. 5, a schematic structural diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. As shown in fig. 5, it mainly includes the following modules.
A remote boot module 501 for carrying a remote boot program, and when the remote boot program is executed, generating a remote boot instruction for instructing a server communicatively connected to the image forming apparatus to transmit a user service program and/or data matching the image forming apparatus attribute information to the image forming apparatus;
a communication module 502, configured to send the remote guidance instruction to a server communicatively connected to the image forming apparatus, and receive a user service program and/or data sent by the server;
a program loading module 503, configured to load the user service program and/or data sent by the server;
the user service program comprises at least one of a consumable control strategy, an engine control strategy and an additional function control strategy, and the user service data comprises at least one of verification data, print job language data, font data, account data and safety setting data.
It is understood that the remote boot program in the remote boot module 501 should be disposed in a non-volatile memory, and in a specific implementation, may be disposed in a system on chip SoC, a small capacity FLASH memory FLASH, or a small capacity read only memory ROM of the image forming apparatus. This is not particularly limited by the examples of the present application.
Corresponding to the method embodiment, the application also provides a server. Referring to fig. 6, a schematic structural diagram of a server provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in fig. 6, it mainly includes the following modules.
A storage module 601 for storing a user service program and/or data matched with the attribute information of the image forming apparatus;
a communication module 602, configured to receive a remote boot instruction sent by an image forming apparatus communicatively connected to the server, and send the user service program and/or data to the image forming apparatus;
the user service program comprises at least one of a consumable control strategy, an engine control strategy and an additional function control strategy, and the user service data comprises at least one of verification data, print job language data, font data, account data and safety setting data.
In correspondence with the above-described embodiments, the present application also provides an image forming system including the image forming apparatus shown in fig. 5 and the server shown in fig. 6. The image forming device and the server are interconnected through a wired or wireless communication network to perform information transmission.
In the embodiment of the application, the user service program and/or the data in the server are loaded through the remote bootstrap program, a nonvolatile memory for bearing the user service program and/or the data does not need to be installed in the image forming device, and the cost of the image forming device is saved. In addition, since the user service program and/or data are stored in the server, real-time update is possible, security of information verification of the image forming apparatus is improved, and flexibility of upgrade update of the image forming apparatus is improved.
It is understood that the device embodiments and the system embodiments related to the present application correspond to the method embodiments described above, and the related contents can be referred to each other, and are not described herein again for brevity.
In addition, the server in the above embodiment may be a PC connected to the image forming apparatus, an enterprise server, or a cloud server, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment.
When the server is a PC connected with the image forming device, and a user wants to use the image forming device, the PC is started at the same time, the image forming device reads a user service program and/or data from the PC to complete starting, and then the PC can be shut down without influencing the image forming device. If the user himself is to use the PC for job output (e.g., printing), there is no difference from the usual print job. However, if the user uses a mobile phone or other terminals to perform job output, the user experience is affected by the operation of additionally turning on the PC. It should be noted that, when the server is an intra-enterprise server, since the intra-enterprise server is usually in an always-on state, the influence is not present.
In order to solve the problem that the operation of the image forming device by the individual user is complicated, the server can adopt a cloud server. The installation mode of the user service program and/or the data program package in the cloud server is as follows: 1. a manufacturer directly installs a service program purchased by a user and/or a program package corresponding to data in a cloud server, and binds the service program and/or the program package with personal information of the user, an IP address of image forming equipment and other information; 2. a manufacturer provides a program package for a user, the program package comprises related contents in the embodiment shown in fig. 2, and also comprises an installation program, the user decompresses and downloads the program package in a PC and installs an image forming device, and then can log in a cloud server, the installation program automatically installs the program package corresponding to a user service program and/or data in the cloud server, prompts the user to input an IP address of the image forming device, related personal information and the like, binds the program package corresponding to the user service program and/or data installed in the cloud server, starts the image forming device after installation is completed, and a BOOTROM of the image forming device loads the user service program and/or data from the cloud server. When the cloud server is adopted, the user also needs to download the program package to the PC end, so that when the image forming device is started, the user can firstly try to read the program package from the PC end, and if the PC end is not started, the reading fails, and then the user selects to read the program package from the cloud server end.
In the specific implementation, a manufacturer can divide and store different types of user service programs and/or data, after a user logs in a cloud server, the user firstly needs to input relevant information and personal information of image forming equipment, then starts to select and purchase a service type independently, and after the selection is completed, the cloud server integrates subprograms corresponding to the service type selected by the user into a complete program package and binds the program package with the relevant information input by the user; if the user needs to update the service types later, the user can make a new purchase at the cloud server, the cloud server can partially or completely update the programs corresponding to the existing service types according to the selection of the user, for example, the user service program initially purchased by the user comprises a consumable control strategy and an engine control strategy, the selected user service data is a GDI print job language, if the user needs a PS print language later, the cloud server can update the print job language stored in the program package corresponding to the user purchase, other user service programs and/or data are not changed, and the cloud server can also completely update the initial program package stored in the cloud server, so that the integrity and the safety of the user service programs and/or data in the program package are ensured.
In specific implementation, the present application further provides a computer storage medium, where the computer storage medium may store a program, and the program may include some or all of the steps in the embodiments provided in the present application when executed. The storage medium may be a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a read-only memory (ROM) or a Random Access Memory (RAM).
In a specific implementation, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, where the computer program product includes executable instructions, and when the executable instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform some or all of the steps in the foregoing method embodiments.
In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, and means that there may be three relationships, for example, a and/or B, and may mean that a exists alone, a and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. Wherein A and B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "at least one of the following" and similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of singular or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, and c may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or multiple.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.
It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.
In the several embodiments provided in the present application, any function, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a separate product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application or portions thereof that substantially contribute to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium and including instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.
The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present application, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present disclosure, and all the changes or substitutions should be covered by the protection scope of the present application. The protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (10)

1. An image forming apparatus, characterized by comprising:
a remote boot module for carrying a remote boot program, and when the remote boot program is executed, generating a remote boot instruction for instructing a server in communication connection with the image forming apparatus to transmit a user service program and/or data matching the image forming apparatus attribute information to the image forming apparatus;
the communication module is used for sending the remote guide instruction to a server which is in communication connection with the image forming device and receiving a user service program and/or data sent by the server;
the program loading module is used for loading the user service program and/or the data sent by the server;
the user service program comprises at least one of a consumable control strategy, an engine control strategy and an additional function control strategy, and the user service data comprises at least one of verification data, print job language data, font data, account data and safety setting data.
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the remote boot module is provided within a system on chip SoC, a small capacity FLASH memory FLASH, or a small capacity read only memory ROM of the image forming apparatus.
3. A server, comprising:
a storage module for storing a user service program and/or data matched with the attribute information of the image forming apparatus;
the communication module is used for receiving a remote guide instruction sent by an image forming device in communication connection with the server and sending the user service program and/or data to the image forming device;
the user service program comprises at least one of a consumable control strategy, an engine control strategy and an additional function control strategy, and the user service data comprises at least one of verification data, print job language data, font data, account data and safety setting data.
4. The server according to claim 3, wherein the server is a PC, an in-house server, and/or a cloud server connected to the image forming apparatus; when the server includes at least two of a PC, an enterprise internal server, and a cloud server connected to the image forming apparatus, the remote boot instructions include at least two corresponding boot addresses, respectively, and the plurality of corresponding boot addresses are loaded in a predetermined order.
5. An image forming system comprising the image forming apparatus of claim 1 or 2 and the server of claim 3 or 4, the image forming apparatus and the server being communicatively connected.
6. A starting method of an image forming apparatus, applied to the image forming apparatus, the method comprising:
loading a remote boot program, and generating a remote boot instruction, wherein the remote boot instruction is used for instructing a server which is in communication connection with the image forming device to send user service programs and/or data matched with the attribute information of the image forming device to the image forming device;
sending the remote guide instruction to a server which is in communication connection with the image forming device, and receiving the user service program and/or data sent by the server;
loading the user service program and/or data sent by the server;
the user service program comprises at least one of a consumable control strategy, an engine control strategy and an additional function control strategy, and the user service data comprises at least one of verification data, print job language data, font data, account data and safety setting data.
7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:
when the user service program comprises a consumable control strategy, verifying the legality of the consumable installed in the image forming equipment through the consumable control strategy; and the consumable control strategy can be dynamically updated, and based on the updated consumable control strategy, the validity verification result of the consumable installed in the image forming apparatus changes accordingly.
8. A method of starting an image forming apparatus, applied to a server, the method comprising:
receiving a remote boot instruction sent by an image forming device, wherein the remote boot instruction is used for instructing the image forming device which is in communication connection with the server to send user service programs and/or data matched with the attribute information of the image forming device;
transmitting the user service program and/or data to the image forming apparatus;
the user service program comprises at least one of a consumable control strategy, an engine control strategy and an additional function control strategy, and the user service data comprises at least one of verification data, print job language data, font data, account data and safety setting data.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the remote boot instruction comprises a firmware load instruction pre-burned to an image forming device, the firmware load instruction comprising an access address of the server and authentication information.
10. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein the user service program and/or data is a modifiable program and/or data, the method further comprising:
updating the user service program and/or data based on the user's modification; and/or
Setting versions of user service programs and/or data on the image forming device side; and/or
The server comprises a main server and a backup server which store the user service programs and/or the data, and the main server and the backup server are in a redundant relationship with each other.
CN202110051609.1A 2021-01-13 2021-01-13 Image forming device, server, system and method Pending CN112887503A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CN202110051609.1A CN112887503A (en) 2021-01-13 2021-01-13 Image forming device, server, system and method

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CN202110051609.1A CN112887503A (en) 2021-01-13 2021-01-13 Image forming device, server, system and method

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CN112887503A true CN112887503A (en) 2021-06-01

Family

ID=76049487

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CN202110051609.1A Pending CN112887503A (en) 2021-01-13 2021-01-13 Image forming device, server, system and method

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CN (1) CN112887503A (en)

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20030233558A1 (en) * 2002-06-13 2003-12-18 Microsoft Corporation System and method for securely booting from a network
CN102364891A (en) * 2011-09-13 2012-02-29 杭州华三通信技术有限公司 Method for upgrading software of embedded Ethernet equipment and embedded Ethernet equipment
CN102404303A (en) * 2010-09-17 2012-04-04 联想(北京)有限公司 Remote service method, remote service system and server
US20140372744A1 (en) * 2013-06-14 2014-12-18 Futurewei Technologies, Inc. Bootstrapping From A Remote Disk Image Via A Network
CN107707656A (en) * 2017-10-10 2018-02-16 李梓彤 The remote loading method and system of operating system
CN110895477A (en) * 2018-09-13 2020-03-20 杭州海康威视数字技术股份有限公司 Equipment starting method, device and equipment

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20030233558A1 (en) * 2002-06-13 2003-12-18 Microsoft Corporation System and method for securely booting from a network
CN102404303A (en) * 2010-09-17 2012-04-04 联想(北京)有限公司 Remote service method, remote service system and server
CN102364891A (en) * 2011-09-13 2012-02-29 杭州华三通信技术有限公司 Method for upgrading software of embedded Ethernet equipment and embedded Ethernet equipment
US20140372744A1 (en) * 2013-06-14 2014-12-18 Futurewei Technologies, Inc. Bootstrapping From A Remote Disk Image Via A Network
CN107707656A (en) * 2017-10-10 2018-02-16 李梓彤 The remote loading method and system of operating system
CN110895477A (en) * 2018-09-13 2020-03-20 杭州海康威视数字技术股份有限公司 Equipment starting method, device and equipment

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
RU2569564C2 (en) Network system, interface board, method of controlling printing in network system and programme
JP2009193218A (en) Firmware update device and system
US10863049B2 (en) Information processing apparatus, method of controlling the same, and non-transitory storage medium storing program executable by the information processing apparatus
JP4707373B2 (en) Electronic device, electronic device control method, program, recording medium, management system, and replacement member
US10564957B2 (en) Electronic machine, version check system and recording medium
CN102541584A (en) Terminal device
KR20110107579A (en) Print control device and method for upgrading firmware
JP4072525B2 (en) Data processing system, data creation device, and data output device
US10970023B2 (en) Printing system for directly transmitting a print job to printer when a server is unavailable and printer driver program
US20070033585A1 (en) Electronic appliance
JP2019149048A (en) Information processing device, firmware update method, and program
JP4486531B2 (en) Image forming system, image forming apparatus, management apparatus, and plug-in matching management method
JP2011159232A (en) Image processing device, consumables ordering method and consumables ordering program
JP2005251156A (en) Electronic device, image formation device, control method of electronic device, program, recording medium, image formation device management system, member with digital certificate stored, digital certificate acquisition method and digital certificate setting system
JP6147240B2 (en) Information processing apparatus, method of controlling the apparatus, and program
CN112887503A (en) Image forming device, server, system and method
JP2013109571A (en) Information processor, control method thereof and control program
US20210048763A1 (en) Toner refill control using reusable refill apparatus
JP2007148629A (en) Print system and firmware update method
JP2002307718A (en) Peripheral and its controlling method
JP2010117975A (en) Image forming system, terminal device, server, image forming device, and image forming method
JP4822679B2 (en) How to manage machine operating options
JP2007152711A (en) Image processing apparatus and method for guiding version-up of image processing apparatus
JP2006129362A (en) Digital composite machine
CN114428752B (en) Self-adding smart card reader system

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PB01 Publication
PB01 Publication
SE01 Entry into force of request for substantive examination
SE01 Entry into force of request for substantive examination