JP2004348499A - Image forming apparatus which can be set from www browser - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To evade states that troubles occur in operation by making it possible to change setting information from WWW browser. <P>SOLUTION: A WWW server part 101 receives a setting change request outputted from the WWW browser 201 and an influence decision part 102 decides the influence of a change in the setting information prior to the updating of a memory 107. When deciding presence of an adverse effect, the memory 107 is not updated, and when deciding no presence of adverse effect, the setting information is changed in accordance with the setting change request. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is applied to a copier, a printer, a facsimile machine, and the like, and particularly relates to an image forming apparatus that can be set from a WWW browser having a WWW (World Wide Web) server function.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As this kind of conventional technology, there is a technology described in Patent Literature 1. According to Patent Literature 1, in an image processing multifunction device that performs various processes using a plurality of functional boards, the timing of version upgrade of the functional boards is described. Is set in advance, and when this timing comes, the processing of the function board relating to the version upgrade is prohibited, and the version upgrade is automatically performed. The version upgrade data is stored in, for example, a server on a LAN or an external device via a telephone line. , And input the information via the network interface unit at the above-mentioned timing, and after version-up, store version information and the like, thereby efficiently adding or changing functions at the set timing. There has been proposed a data processing device capable of performing such operations.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 09-167094
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
If the setting information can be changed by operating the WWW browser, a request for changing the setting may be issued at an arbitrary timing regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus. At this time, if the setting is changed as it is, an unexpected situation may occur depending on the operation state of the image forming apparatus. For example, when the apparatus is performing printing, a setting related to printing may be changed during printing, which may cause a situation that a printing style is changed during printing.
[0005]
The present invention provides an image forming apparatus that can be set from a WWW browser, which solves such a problem and makes it possible to change the setting information by the WWW browser, thereby avoiding a situation in which a malfunction occurs. The purpose is to provide.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 has a network interface for network connection with a host terminal, and a WWW server that stores information that can be browsed by a WWW browser installed in the host terminal. An image forming apparatus capable of changing setting information of the apparatus by operating the WWW browser, the image forming apparatus including a determination unit configured to determine an influence of the setting change received from the host terminal on control during operation; The setting is not changed when the determination means determines that the control during the operation is adversely affected. With this configuration, when a setting change request is issued from the WWW browser, when it is determined that the setting change has an adverse effect on the control during operation, the setting change is not performed, and the setting change is performed. This makes it possible to avoid a situation in which a malfunction occurs in the operation.
[0007]
The invention according to a second aspect is characterized in that, in the invention according to the first aspect, a criterion for determining that the determination means has an adverse effect is when the apparatus is performing printing. With such a configuration, it is possible to avoid a situation in which a setting related to printing is changed during printing due to a case where the image forming apparatus is performing printing.
[0008]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a criterion for determining that the determination means has an adverse effect is when a setting screen is displayed on a panel operation unit of the apparatus. I do. With this configuration, it is possible to avoid a collision between a setting change by the panel operation unit of the image forming apparatus and a setting change by the WWW browser.
[0009]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a criterion for determining that the determination means has an adverse effect is a state in which a setting change request has already been issued from another WWW browser. And With such a configuration, it is possible to avoid collision of setting changes by a plurality of WWW browsers.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
[0011]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the printer device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The printer 100 includes a WWW server unit 101, an influence determination unit 102, a panel operation unit 103, a network interface unit 104, a ROM (read only memory) 105, a CPU (central processing unit) 106, a memory 107, and an image forming unit 108. It has. The printer 100 is connected to the host device 150 so as to be able to transmit and receive data. When outputting a signal such as a setting change request to the printer 100, the printer 100 browses and specifies various setting contents. A WWW browser 201, which is software for displaying a screen for performing input, has been introduced. In the present embodiment, two host devices 150 and 151 are connected to the printer 100 via a LAN, and the host device 151 has a WWW browser 202 installed therein.
[0012]
The WWW server unit 101 stores current print setting contents and setting menus, status information such as the remaining amount of recording material (ink and toner, etc.), the remaining paper amount, the operating status, the occurrence of jams, and the like. , And data and files for troubleshooting, etc. are stored, and the contents are sequentially updated based on the control of the CPU 106. The data stored in the WWW server unit 101 can be browsed by the WWW browser 201 or the WWW browser 202.
[0013]
When the setting of the printer 100 is changed, a setting menu is displayed by the WWW browsers 201 and 202, and after performing various inputs, a setting change request is transmitted to the printer 100. Alternatively, a setting change request is input by operating the panel operation unit 103. Various setting information is stored in the memory 107, and when a setting change request is input, the setting information stored in the memory 107 is updated. Further, various kinds of status information are stored in the memory 107, and information stored in the WWW server unit 101 is updated based on the contents of the memory 107.
[0014]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure according to the first embodiment.
[0015]
When a setting change request issued from the WWW browser 201 is received by the network interface unit 104, the influence when the setting change is performed by the influence determination unit 102 is determined prior to updating the memory 107. If it is determined that there is an adverse effect, the memory 107 is not updated, and the fact that the setting has not been changed is transmitted to the host device 150. If it is determined that there is no adverse effect, the setting information is changed according to the setting change request. Then, when the change of the setting information is completed, the fact that the setting change is completed is transmitted to the host device 150.
[0016]
As described above, when the influence determination unit 102 determines that the setting change has an adverse effect on the control during operation, the setting change is not performed, thereby avoiding the occurrence of a problem assumed when the setting change is performed. It becomes possible.
[0017]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure according to the second embodiment.
[0018]
When a setting change request issued from the WWW browser 201 is received by the network interface unit 104, the influence determination unit 102 determines whether the image forming unit 108 is operating. If it is determined that the image forming unit 108 is operating, the memory 107 is not updated. When it is determined that the image forming unit 108 is in the idle state, the setting information is changed according to the setting change request.
[0019]
As described above, since the image forming unit 108 is performing printing while the image forming unit 108 is performing printing, it is possible to avoid a situation in which settings related to printing are changed during printing. It is possible to do.
[0020]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure according to the third embodiment.
[0021]
When a setting change request issued from the WWW browser 201 is received by the network interface unit 104, the influence determination unit 102 determines whether a setting screen is displayed on the panel operation unit 103. When the panel operation unit 103 determines that the setting screen is displayed, the memory 107 is not updated. If the panel operation unit 103 determines that the setting screen is not displayed, the setting information is changed according to the setting change request.
[0022]
As described above, since the determination criterion for determining the adverse effect in the influence determination unit 102 is that the setting screen is displayed on the panel operation unit 103 of the apparatus main body, the setting change by the panel operation unit 103 and the WWW browser It is possible to avoid collision of setting changes by 201.
[0023]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure according to the fourth embodiment.
[0024]
When a setting change request issued from the WWW browser 201 is received by the network interface unit 104, the influence determination unit 102 determines whether a setting change request has already been issued from the WWW browser 202. If it is determined that the setting change request has already been issued from the WWW browser 202, the memory 107 is not updated. If it is determined that a setting change request has not been issued from the WWW browser 202, the setting information is changed according to the setting change request.
[0025]
As described above, the criterion for judging the adverse effect in the influence judging unit 102 is that a setting change request has already been issued from another WWW browser, thereby avoiding a collision of setting changes by a plurality of WWW browsers. It is possible to do.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when a setting change request is issued from a WWW browser, the setting change is performed when the determination unit determines that the setting change will adversely affect the control in operation. By not having such a configuration, it is possible to avoid a situation in which a malfunction occurs in the operation due to the setting change.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure according to a third embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure according to a fourth embodiment.
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Printer 101 WWW server unit 102 Impact determination unit 103 Panel operation unit 104 Network interface unit 105 ROM (Read Only Memory)
106 CPU (central processing unit)
107 Memory 108 Image forming unit 150, 151 Host device 201, 202 WWW browser

Claims (4)

It has a network interface for network connection with the host terminal, and a WWW server that stores information that can be browsed by a WWW browser installed in the host terminal, and the setting information of the device can be changed by operating the WWW browser Image forming apparatus,
A determining unit that determines the effect of the setting change received from the host terminal on the operating control; and does not perform the setting change when the determining unit determines that the setting change adversely affects the operating control. An image forming apparatus that can be set from a WWW browser. 2. The image forming apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the criterion for judging that the judgment means has an adverse effect is when the apparatus is printing. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the criterion for judging the adverse effect by the judging means is a case where a setting screen is displayed on a panel operation unit of the apparatus. 2. The image forming apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the criterion for judging the adverse effect by said judging means is a state in which a setting change request has already been issued from another WWW browser. .

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