JP2003125146A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming system in which a plurality of the image forming devices connected to a network can update programs without the need for individually downloading the programs from a center machine and can update the programs with excellent matching among them. SOLUTION: One of the image forming devices connected to the network and capable of sending/receiving the program with the other image forming device connected to the network compares the version of its own program with the version of another image forming device through the network. When the version of its own program is older, the image forming device receives the program from the other image forming device, and when the version of its own program is newer, the image forming device transmits the program to the other image forming device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus used in a network environment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus used in a network environment has been provided.

The image forming apparatus is, for example, a digital copying machine. A plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to each other via a network, and the image forming apparatuses are instructed to scan (read) or print images. An information forming apparatus such as a personal computer or a workstation is connected via a network to form an image forming system.

In such an image forming system, an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus can mutually transfer image data, and a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a plurality of information processing apparatuses are connected to a network. In this case, data transfer between image forming apparatuses and information processing apparatuses can be performed.

By the way, in recent image forming apparatuses, their functions and operations are complicated, and most of them are realized and controlled by software programs. When the function is realized by the software program as described above, there is an advantage that it is easy to deal with the version upgrade due to the bug correction and the function improvement.

In such an image forming apparatus, when it is necessary to change a software program and various data accompanying it (hereinafter, abbreviated as "program") due to version upgrade or the like, the image forming apparatus is conventionally used. The program is downloaded from the center machine connected by the public line, and the program stored in the storage unit of the own device is rewritten.

[0007]

However, when each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to the network downloads the program from the center machine and rewrites the program as in the prior art, the plurality of image forming apparatuses cannot be rewritten. Each needs to communicate with the center machine, and it takes a lot of time to update the program. Also, if you are using a line that is charged according to the communication time and the amount of communication data, the communication will be The communication cost also increases accordingly.

Further, in the conventional image forming system, the plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to the network have no relation to each other and download the program from the center machine to update the program. There is a possibility that the versions of the programs may differ from each other, and the functions, controls, and the like related between the image forming apparatuses may not operate well. Further, in order to manage such a state so that it does not occur, it is necessary to manually perform version management of the program of each image forming apparatus, which is a complicated task.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and in an image forming apparatus of an image forming system configured by connecting a plurality of image forming apparatuses to a network,
To allow a plurality of image forming apparatuses to individually update the program without downloading the program from the center machine, and to perform consistent program update among the image forming apparatuses. With the goal.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is capable of transmitting and receiving a program to and from another image forming apparatus connected to a network via the network. In a possible image forming apparatus, the version of the program of the own apparatus is compared with the version of another image forming apparatus, and if the version of the program of the own apparatus is older, the program is received from the other image forming apparatus. When the version of the program of its own apparatus is newer, the program is transmitted to the other image forming apparatus.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the case where the image forming apparatus is a digital copying machine and the center machine is a personal computer will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of an image forming system which is an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, this image forming system is configured to have three digital copying machines 1, 2 and 3.

Each of the three digital copying machines 1, 2 and 3 is capable of independently reading (scanning) an original and forming an image (printing), and is also connected to the network 4. Thus, for example, an image read by the digital copying machine 1 can be transferred to the digital copying machine 2 and the image can be formed by the digital copying machine 2, and vice versa.

The digital copying machines 1, 2 and 3 are
Each has a NIC (network interface card), and this NIC serves as an interface to the network 4 to realize communication.

Digital copying machines 1, 2 and 3 are also provided.
Each has a public line connection unit which is an interface with a public line and is composed of, for example, a modem and a TA (terminal adapter).

Further, in FIG. 1, the network 4
May be a LAN such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or any other network.

FIG. 2 shows the digital copying machine 1 shown in FIG.
3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of FIG.

Since the digital copying machines 1, 2 and 3 shown in FIG. 1 have the same configuration, the digital copying machine 1 will be described here as a representative.

The digital copying machine 1 is a control unit 11 that controls the overall control and operation, a storage unit 12 that stores a program necessary for control and operation, and an interface for connecting to the network 4. A communication interface unit 13 including an interface, a scanner unit 14 for reading an image from an original, a printer unit 15 for forming an image on paper, and an interface for connecting to a public line network, including the public line connection unit. It is configured to have a line interface section 16 and an operating section 17 for an operator to operate and instruct the digital copying machine 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of a memory map of the storage unit 12 shown in FIG.

The storage unit 12 is composed of an electrically rewritable nonvolatile storage medium such as a hard disk device or a flash memory, and has a non-rewritable area 20 and a rewritable area 21, as shown in FIG. Configured. Since the non-rewritable area 20 of the storage unit 12 is basically not overwritten, it may be composed of a non-rewritable non-volatile storage medium such as a ROM.

The non-rewriting area 20 stores a rewriting program 25 for executing the rewriting of the program, and the rewriting area 21 has a new rewriting program 26 such as a rewriting program 25 or a digital rewriting program, which is a new one. A control program 27 for executing various functions and controls of the copying machine 1 is stored.

The rewriting program 25 and the rewriting program 26 download the program to be updated from the center machine or another digital copying machine and store it in the storage unit 12 to update the program.

As a program for executing the program update of the digital copying machine 1, a rewrite program 26 which is usually the latest program is used as the control section 1.
If the rewriting program 26 cannot be used due to some reason such as the damage of the control program 26 or the like, the rewriting program 25 is read by the rewriting program 25.
Read and used by.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the rewriting program 25 is stored in the non-rewriting area 20 separately from each program stored in the rewriting area 21, so that the line is disconnected during the downloading of the program, for example. Even when the power supply is turned off or the like and the program cannot be obtained in a perfect form, only the rewriting program 25 exists in a perfect form and is not affected. In the worst case, if there is only the rewriting program 25, each program to be stored in the rewriting area 21 can be downloaded by this rewriting program 25, and the desired program state can be restored. Therefore, it is desirable that the rewriting programs 25 and 26 include the network access program.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

In the image forming system of this embodiment, at least one of a plurality of digital copying machines connected to the network 4 is connected to the public line network 5 by the line interface section 16 and connected to the public line network 5. It communicates with the center machine (not shown), downloads the program from the center machine as needed, and stores the program in the storage unit 12 of the own machine. If the program downloaded at this time is a new version of the program already stored in the storage unit 12, the program is rewritten.

The trigger for downloading the program from the center machine and updating the program may be automatically executed when a notice is received from the center machine, or may be periodically executed at a predetermined timing based on the internal clock. Alternatively, it may be executed at a designated date and time, or when the operator gives an instruction from the operation unit 17.

That is, the center machine is provided with a storage unit for storing the latest program of the digital copying machine, and transmits the latest program to the digital copying machine in response to a request from the digital copying machine or stores the program. It is possible to notify the digital copying machine of a version upgrade or the like.

In the case where the operation is performed when the operator gives an instruction from the operation section 17, an authentication means is provided to determine whether the operator is a legitimate operator and an illegal rewriting is performed. It is desirable to be able to prevent. This authentication means may be authentication by inputting a user name, password, etc. from the operation unit 17, or by an authentication medium provided by the copier maintenance side such as an IC card for communication inside the copier or by communication with the center machine. It may be one.

As a result of the above operation, the program to be updated is stored in at least one of the plurality of digital copying machines connected to the network 4.

Next, the exchange of programs to be updated among a plurality of digital copying machines connected to the network 4 and the program update by the rewriting programs 25 and 26 will be described. In the following description, the case where the rewriting program 25 is executed will be described.

The trigger for operating the rewriting program 25 may be executed periodically or at a designated date and time based on an internal clock, or may be executed when the operator gives an instruction from the operation unit 17. You may do so, or may be triggered by the update of the program of its own.

In the case where the operation is performed when the operator gives an instruction from the operation section 17, an authentication means is provided to determine whether the operator is a proper operator, and the illegal rewriting is performed. It is desirable to be able to prevent. This authentication means may be authentication by inputting a user name, password, etc. from the operation unit 17, or by an authentication medium provided by the copier maintenance side such as an IC card for communication inside the copier or by communication with the center machine. It may be one.

As described above, since the digital copying machines 1, 2 and 3 shown in FIG. 1 have the same configuration, the digital copying machine 1 will be described here as a representative.

FIG. 4 shows the rewriting program 25.
6 is a flowchart of a program updating process performed among a plurality of digital copying machines connected to the network 4.

When the rewriting program 25 is executed,
The control unit 11 uses another digital copying machine (see FIG. 1) connected to the network 4 via the communication interface unit 13.
Then, it communicates with the digital copying machines 2 and 3) to obtain the program version of the digital copying machine (A
-1), The version of each program stored in the rewriting area 21 of the storage unit 12 of the own machine is compared with the version of each program of the other machine (A-2).

As a result of this comparison, when the version of the program of the self-machine, that is, the digital copying machine 1 is newer, the other machines are notified to download the program and update the program (A-
3).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the processing in the digital copying machine which has received the program update notification in step (A-3) in FIG.

A program update notification is received from another digital copying machine (here, digital copying machine 1) (B-
1) The digital copying machine requests the digital copying machine 1 to transmit the program (B-2), receives or downloads the program from the digital copying machine 1 (B-3), and updates the program (B-3). B-4).

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 4, if the result of the comparison in step (A-2) is that the version of the program of the self-machine, that is, the digital copier 1, is older, the digital copier 1 will compare with the other machines. Requesting the transmission of the program (A-4), receiving or downloading the program from another device (A-5), and updating the program (A-6).

Further, as a result of the comparison, when the program version of the self-machine, that is, the digital copier 1 and the program version of the other machine are the same, the process is ended without doing anything.

According to the embodiment described above, the versions of the programs stored in a plurality of digital copying machines connected by a network can be unified, and the functions can be realized across a plurality of digital copying machines. Even in this case, it is possible to prevent problems caused by mismatch of program versions. Further, since this program update can be automatically performed, there is an effect that the complexity of manual management can be eliminated.

In the above embodiment, the rewriting program 25 is stored in the non-rewriting area 20 to prevent the rewriting program itself from being lost, but the present invention is not limited to this. Not a thing. This point will be described below.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of the outline of the memory map of the storage unit 12 shown in FIG. 2, which is different from FIG. 3, and shows an outline of the memory map in the case of storing only one rewriting program. It is a figure.

In this example, the storage unit 12 has the rewriting area 3
The rewriting area 30 stores a rewriting program 35 for rewriting a program and a control program 37 for executing various functions and controls of the digital copying machine 1.

In the rewriting area 30, the empty area 3
6 is provided, and when you download the program,
The program is stored in the free area 36.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a process of updating the rewriting program itself in the example in which only one rewriting program is stored.

In this example, normally, only one rewriting program 35 is stored in the storage unit 12, and when the rewriting program 35 itself is downloaded for updating, an area different from the existing rewriting program is used. Receiving or downloading to (vacant area 36) (C-
1) The correctness of the downloaded program is judged based on the version number of the rewriting program and the added checksum (C-2), and the judgment result is OK, that is, the received program is found to be valid. In this case, the old program, that is, the rewriting program 35 is deleted (C-3, C-4).

It should be noted that it is possible to determine whether an unscheduled program has been downloaded or the download has not been completed due to line disconnection or the like by the version number of the rewriting program and the added checksum. In this case, step (C In -3), the determination result is not OK and the process ends abnormally.

The same applies to programs other than the rewriting program. When downloading to update the program, the program is downloaded to an area different from that of the existing program, and the time point when the program can be normally downloaded, that is, its Even if the received program is found to be valid, the existing program is deleted even if the program version number and the added checksum determine whether the program is valid. Good.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, all the copying machines on the network are targeted as the digital copying machine for updating the program, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to divide each of the machines into groups and to set the program update only for a certain group. For this grouping, a group may be defined for each program to be updated.

When there are a plurality of digital copying machines connected to the network, it is assumed that it may not be desired to rewrite all the digital copying machines depending on the program. In such a case, by performing the grouping as described above, it is possible to prevent the program from being rewritten without fail for all of the plurality of digital copying machines connected to the network.

Further, by allowing groups having different program versions to exist in the image forming system by such grouping, it is possible to enhance the resistance of the image forming system against bugs depending on the version. That is, when a bug is found in a program of a group in the image forming system, the bug is avoided by using a digital copying machine of another group (a digital copying machine of a program without a bug). There is an effect that the decrease in utilization efficiency can be suppressed to the minimum.

At this time, the grouping may be set by the user. In this case, the input method of this setting is that the user makes a copy with a marking, a mouse or the like from the list format or icon images displayed. It is desirable to be able to select machines and set grouping. That is, it is desirable to adopt a user-friendly GUI.

[0057]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In an image forming apparatus of an image forming system configured by connecting a plurality of image forming apparatuses to a network, each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses can update the program without individually downloading the program from the center machine. Therefore, it is possible to perform consistent program update between the image forming apparatuses.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system which is an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the digital copying machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of a memory map of a storage unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a program updating process performed by a rewriting program among a plurality of digital copying machines connected to a network.

5 is a flowchart of processing in the digital copying machine that has received the program update notification in step (A-3) in FIG.

6 is a diagram showing another example of the outline of the memory map of the storage unit shown in FIG. 2, different from FIG.
It is a figure which shows the outline of the memory map in the example which memorize | stores only one.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flowchart of processing for updating the rewriting program itself in an example in which only one rewriting program is stored.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2, 3 digital copier 4 network 5 public network 11 Control unit 12 Memory 13 Communication interface section 14 Scanner section 15 Printer section 16 line interface 17 Operation part 20 Non-rewritable area 21 Rewrite area 25, 26 Rewriting program 27 Control program 30 rewriting area 35 Rewriting program 36 free space 37 Control program

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Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus connected to a network, wherein the image forming apparatus can receive a program from another image forming apparatus connected to the network via the network. 2. An image forming apparatus connected to a network, wherein the program can be transmitted to another image forming apparatus connected to the network via the network. 3. An image forming apparatus connected to a network, capable of transmitting / receiving a program to / from another image forming apparatus connected to the network via the network, wherein the version of the program of the own apparatus and other Of the image forming apparatus, the program of the apparatus itself is older, the program is received from the other image forming apparatus, and if the version of the program of the apparatus itself is newer, the other version is received. An image forming apparatus, which transmits a program to the image forming apparatus. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the received program rewrites an existing program stored in the apparatus itself. 5. The existing program is retained until it is determined that the received program is valid by determining whether the program is valid during the rewriting. The image forming apparatus according to item 4. 6. An image forming system configured by connecting a plurality of image forming apparatuses via a network, wherein at least one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses has a version of a program of its own apparatus and another image forming apparatus. When the version of the program of the own apparatus is older, the program is received from the other image forming apparatus, and when the version of the program of the own apparatus is newer, the other image forming apparatus is received. An image forming system that transmits a program to the image forming system. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein at least one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses is connected to a center machine, and the image forming apparatus downloads a program from the center machine. system. 8. The image forming apparatus is preliminarily divided into groups, and an image forming apparatus targeted for comparison of the program versions and transmission / reception of the program is determined for each group. The image forming system according to 6 or 7. 9. The image forming system according to claim 8, wherein the grouping can be set by a user.