JP2009064422A - Image forming apparatus and program execution method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve program development efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus is provided with an operation display part for executing screen display and operation input, a program obtaining means for displaying an input screen of a program for the operation display part and obtaining the program inputted to the operation display part, and a program execution means executing the program obtained by the program obtaining part. A key in the operation display part is linked to the program in accordance with a request from the operation display part. A table for showing linking of the program and the key is stored in a storage means which the image forming apparatus has. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of customizing an operation display unit and an execution method of an application program operating on the image forming apparatus.

  In recent years, there has been known an image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “multifunction machine”) in which functions of apparatuses such as a printer, a copy machine, a facsimile machine, and a scanner are housed in one casing. This multifunction device is provided with a display unit, a printing unit, an imaging unit, and the like in one casing, and is provided with three types of software respectively corresponding to a printer, a copy machine, and a facsimile machine, and by switching these software, Are operated as a printer, a copy, a scanner, or a facsimile machine.

In such a conventional multifunction device, an operation panel is provided for allowing the user to perform various operations of the multifunction device, and an operation display unit for causing the operation panel to display an operation screen and perform touch operation input is provided. it's shown. In conventional multifunction devices, the functions provided in advance have been defined, so there is no significant change in the operations that users perform on the multifunction device, and there is no need to customize the screen display of the operation display unit or the operation by touch operation. Absent. For this reason, the conventional multifunction peripheral has not been equipped with a customization function for the operation display unit.
JP 2002-152446 A

  By the way, in such a conventional multi-function machine, software corresponding to a printer, a copy, a scanner, and a facsimile apparatus is provided separately, so that development of each software requires a lot of time. For this reason, the applicant has an application that has hardware resources used in image forming processing such as a display unit, a printing unit, and an imaging unit, and performs processing specific to each user service such as a printer, copy, or facsimile. When providing a user service by interposing between these applications and hardware resources, hardware resource management, execution control, and image formation processing that are shared by at least two of the applications are commonly performed. Invented an image forming apparatus (multifunction machine) equipped with a platform comprising various control services. Note that processing performed by various control services is referred to as processing on the system side.

  In such a new multi-function peripheral, an application and a control service that performs processing that is difficult to develop such as access to hardware resources are provided separately. A configuration is such that a vendor can develop a new external application as an application related to image forming processing and mount it on a multifunction peripheral.

  For this reason, there is a case where it is desired to execute an execution process different from a function provided in advance by a screen display or a touch operation on the operation display unit during activation or execution of a newly developed external application. As described above, the new multifunction device has a new problem of customization of the operation display unit, which is not a problem in the conventional multifunction device that does not assume that an external application is installed after shipment.

  It is conceivable to customize the operation display unit by describing the source code in the development stage of the external application, and compiling and linking the source code. That is, in the external application development stage, there are many cases where an execution process associated with the touch operation of the operation display unit is developed in the process of the external application itself. In this case, it is preferable in terms of program development efficiency to proceed with the development of the external application itself while sequentially performing execution processing verification accompanying the touch operation of the operation display unit. However, every time a failure is detected in the execution process associated with the touch operation, the source code must be corrected, recompiled, relinked, re-installed in the multifunction device to be developed, and operation verification must be performed. There is a problem that the efficiency of program development becomes worse.

  In addition, there is a problem that conventional program development based on the creation of a program in an environment such as a PC different from the multifunction peripheral and the operation verification on the multifunction peripheral is not limited to customization of the operation display unit.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a technique capable of improving the program development efficiency.

The above problems are solved by the following invention.
The invention according to claim 1 displays an operation display unit for performing screen display and operation input, and displays a program input screen on the operation display unit, and acquires a program input to the operation display unit. An image forming apparatus comprising: a program acquisition unit; and a program execution unit configured to execute a program acquired by the program acquisition unit, wherein the program is stored in the operation display unit in response to a request from the operation display unit. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that keys are associated with each other and a table indicating association between programs and keys is stored in a storage unit included in the image forming apparatus.

  According to the present invention, a program can be added and modified from the input screen of the image forming apparatus, and the program can be executed on the image forming apparatus without compiling. Therefore, the program can be easily developed.

  The program acquisition unit may have a Web server function and transmit an html file as the input screen data to the client terminal in response to access from the client terminal. According to the present invention, since the Web server function is used, input screen data can be easily transmitted. In this configuration, the image forming apparatus may detect an event from the client terminal and execute a CGI program corresponding to the event. By using the CGI program, it is possible to efficiently perform processing according to an instruction from the Web browser.

  The image forming apparatus further includes means for displaying on the client terminal a screen equivalent to a screen displayed on the display unit of the image forming apparatus when the program is executed by the image forming apparatus. Also good.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to check the operation of the program on the client terminal side.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the program execution unit executes a program corresponding to the key by detecting the input of the key and referring to the table.

  According to the present invention, the above program can be executed by pressing the above key.

  A third aspect of the present invention provides a key assignment screen for a user to assign a key to the program according to the first or second aspect, and the program is executed based on an instruction from the key assignment screen. The key is associated with the key.

  According to the present invention, a user can assign a desired key to a program.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the program is executed for operation confirmation in response to a request from the operation display unit. According to the present invention, it is possible to check the operation of a program.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect further includes means for accessing a server storing a program and downloading a specific program from the server.

  According to the present invention, a program stored in a server can be downloaded and executed.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the program execution means is an interpreter. By using an interpreter, program execution means can be easily realized.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the hardware resource used in the image forming process, the application of the image forming apparatus, and the hardware resource are used. A control service interposed between the program and the program. The program operates as the application.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the seventh aspect, the program makes a function call to the control service by the program execution means. This makes it possible to create various programs using existing functions.

  The invention described in claims 9 to 12 is an invention of a method for executing a program in the image forming apparatus. The invention described in claims 13 to 14 is a program for causing the image forming apparatus to function as each means, and the invention described in claim 15 is an invention of a recording medium storing the program. The above-described invention also has the same effect as the image forming apparatus.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the technique which improves the development efficiency of an application can be provided.

  Exemplary embodiments of an image forming apparatus and an operation display unit program generation method according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part and a network configuration of an image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “multifunction device”) according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The MFP 100 according to the first embodiment is connected to the Internet, and inputs a customization program in an operation display unit of an operation panel that operates the MFP from a client terminal such as a PC (Personal Computer) connected to the Internet. It enables debugging work.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction peripheral 100 and the PC 200 are connected via the Internet 220 and use TCP / IP as a communication protocol. The multifunction device 100 includes a multifunction device initialization unit 129, a program activation unit 131, a programming service 132, an interpreter 134, an NCS (network control service) 128, an httpd (http daemon) 106, a shared memory 105, The HDD 103 is provided.

  The programming service 132 displays a programming screen 201 that is a WEB page composed of an http file described later on the WEB browser of the PC 200 as a client terminal connected to the network, and the operation display unit of the operation panel 210 is displayed from the programming screen 201. To enter the customization program. Further, the programming service 132 stores the customization program input from the PC in the customization directory 212 created as the customization area of the HDD 103. Further, the programming service 132 registers the customization program input in the activation setting file 211 described later so that the customization program is executed on the multifunction peripheral 100.

  Here, transfer of an http file such as a programming screen between the programming service 132 and the WEB browser of the PC 200 is performed according to the http protocol. For this reason, the programming service 132 also plays a role as a Web server (http server).

  The customization program is written in a language that can be interpreted by an interpreter. Specifically, when the general-purpose OS is UNIX (registered trademark), it is a shell script.

  The interpreter 134 analyzes and sequentially executes the customization program for each step. In this embodiment, the interpreter 134 is a shell (bsh, csh, etc.) that executes a shell script. The shell 134 exists in UNIX (registered trademark) as the general-purpose OS 121 separately from the OS kernel 135.

  The program activation unit 131 activates the external application 117 installed in the HDD 103 when the diagnosis result of the HDD 103 is normal. In addition, the program activation unit 131 activates the external application 117 stored in a storage medium such as an IC card.

  The MFP initialization unit 129 is a process that is activated first on the general-purpose OS 121, and activates the control service and application 130 (excluding the external application 117) and the program activation unit 131.

  The NCS 128 controls the network, and notifies the programming service 132 that the request message received from the httpd 106 has been received.

  The httpd 106 is a process (daemon) included in the OS, and constantly monitors port 80 to receive a request message and send a response message. The structure of the request message and the response message is the same as the structure of each message in the normal http protocol, and each message includes a message body described in the html format. The httpd 106 notifies the NCS 128 that a request message received via the Internet 220 has been received, and stores the request message in the shared memory 105.

  The shared memory 105 is used for interprocess communication between the httpd 106 and the programming service 132, and exchanges request messages, response messages, and the like via the shared memory 105.

  The HDD 103 stores an activation setting file 211, and a customization program is stored in the customization directory 212 of the HDD 103.

  The PC 200 is a client terminal that uses the programming service 132 of the multifunction peripheral 100 as a server. The PC 200 displays the programming screen 201 and other screens transmitted from the programming service 132 using the http protocol on the WEB browser executed on the PC 200, and inputs the operation input. It is configured to do so.

  Next, the overall functional configuration of the multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the multifunction peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the MFP 100 includes a monochrome line printer (B & W LP) 101, a color line printer (Color LP) 102, a hard disk device (HDD) 103, a scanner, a facsimile, a memory, a network interface, and the like. The software group 110 includes a hardware resource 104, a platform 120, an application 130, a multifunction machine initialization unit 129, a program activation unit 131, and a programming service 132.

  The platform 120 interprets a processing request from an application and generates a hardware resource acquisition request, and a system resource manager that manages one or a plurality of hardware resources and arbitrates the acquisition request from the control service. (SRM) 123 and a general-purpose OS 121.

  The control service is formed of a plurality of service modules, and includes an SCS (system control service) 122, an ECS (engine control service) 124, an MCS (memory control service) 125, an OCS (operation panel control service) 126, and an FCS. (Fax Control Service) 127 and NCS (Network Control Service) 128. A programming service 132 is also included in the control service layer. The platform 120 has an application program interface (API) that can receive a processing request from the application 130 by a predefined function.

  The general-purpose OS 121 is a general-purpose operating system such as UNIX (registered trademark), and executes the software of the platform 120 and the application 130 in parallel as processes.

  The process of the SRM 123 performs system control and resource management together with the SCS 122. The SRM123 process uses hardware resources such as an engine such as a scanner unit and printer unit, memory, HDD file, and host I / O (centro I / F, network I / F, IEEE 1394 I / F, RS232C I / F, etc.). Arbitration is performed according to the request from the upper layer to be used, and execution control is performed.

  Specifically, the SRM 123 determines whether the requested hardware resource is available (whether it is not used by another request), and if it is available, the requested hardware resource is used. Tell the upper layer that it is possible. In addition, the SRM 123 performs use scheduling of hardware resources in response to a request from an upper layer, and directly executes request contents (for example, paper conveyance and image forming operation, memory allocation, file generation, etc. by a printer engine). .

  The process of the SCS 122 performs application management, operation unit control, system screen display, LED display, resource management, interrupt application control, and the like.

  The process of the ECS 124 controls the engine of the hardware resource 103 including a monochrome line printer (B & W LP) 101, a color line printer (Color LP) 102, a scanner, a facsimile, and the like.

  The MCS 125 process acquires and releases an image memory, uses a hard disk device (HDD), compresses and decompresses image data, and the like.

  The process of FCS127 includes facsimile transmission / reception using PSTN / ISDN network from each application layer of the system controller, registration / quotation of various facsimile data managed by BKM (backup SRAM), facsimile reading, facsimile reception printing, and fusion transmission / reception. Provides an API to do.

  The process of the NCS 128 is a process for providing a service that can be commonly used for applications requiring network I / O. Data received from the network side according to each protocol is distributed to each application, or data from the application Mediation when sending to the network side. Specifically, it has server daemons such as ftpd, lpd, snmpd, telnetd, and smtpd, and client functions of the same protocol.

  The process of the OCS 126 controls an operation panel (operation panel) 210 that is an information transmission means between an operator (user) and the main body control. The OCS 126 acquires a key press (or touch operation) from the operation panel as a key event, and operates according to a request from the application 130 or the control service and a part of the OCS process that transmits a key event function corresponding to the acquired key to the SCS 122. A drawing function for drawing and outputting various screens on the panel, a function for controlling the operation panel, and the like are composed of pre-registered OCS library portions. The OCS library is mounted by being linked to each module of the application 130 and the control service. The OCS 126 may be configured to operate as a process, or the OCS 126 may be configured as an OCS library.

  The application 130 includes a printer application 111 that is a printer application having a page description language (PDL), PCL, and postscript (PS), a copy application 112 that is a copy application, and a fax application 113 that is a facsimile application. A scanner application 114 as a scanner application, a network file application 115 as a network file application, and a process inspection application 116 as a process inspection application.

  Each process of the application 130 and each process of the control service realize user services related to image forming processing such as copying, printers, scanners, and facsimiles while performing inter-process communication by calling functions, sending return values thereof, and sending and receiving messages. is doing.

  As described above, the MFP 100 according to the first embodiment includes a plurality of applications 130 and a plurality of control services, all of which operate as processes. In each of these processes, one or a plurality of threads are generated and parallel execution is performed in units of threads. The control service provides a common service to the application 130. For this reason, a large number of these processes perform a parallel operation and a parallel operation of threads to perform inter-process communication with each other. User services related to image forming processing such as copying, printers, scanners, and facsimiles are provided.

  Also, in the multifunction device 100, a third party such as a customer of the multifunction device 100 or a third vendor can develop and install an external application on the application layer above the control service layer.

  In the MFP 100 according to the first embodiment, a plurality of application 130 processes and a plurality of control service processes operate. However, the application 130 and the control service process have a single configuration. Is also possible. Each application 130 can be added or deleted for each application.

  The multi-function device 100 includes an installer. The installer installs the external application 117 developed by a third party in the HDD 103. In the multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment, the external application 117 is stored in a storage medium of an IC card such as a flash card, the external application 117 is installed in the HDD 103 by an installer, and the external application 117 is installed from the HDD 103 by the program activation unit 131. To run in the application layer. On the other hand, an application 130 provided at the time of shipment of the MFP 100, such as a printer application 111, a copy application 112, a fax application 113, a scanner application 114, a net file application 115, and a process inspection application 116, each control service, an HDD diagnosis unit 132, and The program activation unit 131 is incorporated in the flash memory at the time of shipment, and is activated by the multifunction device initialization unit 129 when the multifunction device 100 is activated (when the power is turned on).

  FIG. 3 shows a hardware configuration example of the multifunction peripheral 100.

  The multi-function device 100 includes a controller 160, an operation panel 175, a fax control unit (FCU) 176, and an engine unit 177 that is a hardware resource unique to image forming processing such as a printer. The controller 160 includes a CPU 161, a system memory 162, a north bridge (NB) 163, a south bridge (SB) 164, an ASIC 166, a local memory 167, an HDD 168, a network interface card (NIC) 169, and an SD card. Slot 170, USB device 171, IEEE 1394 device 172, and Centronics 173. The memories 162 and 167 include RAM, ROM, and the like. The FCU 176 and the engine unit 177 are connected to the ASIC 166 of the controller 160 via the PCI bus 178.

  The CPU 161 reads programs such as applications and control services installed in the multifunction peripheral 100 from the memory and executes them.

  Next, a method for creating a program by the multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. First, the user activates a WEB browser on the PC 200 and designates a URL of a WEB page on the programming screen on the multifunction peripheral 100 (for example, http: //www.xxx.yyy/zzzz/debug.html). The programming service 132 of the multifunction device 100 is accessed. The programming service 132 that has received access from the WEB browser causes the programming screen 201 (debug.htm) to be displayed on the WEB browser of the PC 200.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the contents of the programming screen 201. As shown in FIG. 7, the programming screen 201 displays a program input field, a reference button, an upload button, a save button, a delete button, a test execution button, and an execution setting button.

  Here, the programming screen 201 is a file (debug.html) described in the html format (Hyper TextMarkup Language) displayed by the browser. In addition, the programming service 132 performs processing related to operation input from a programming screen (debug.htm) and input of a customized program according to a request by executing a CGI (Common Gateway Interface) script, and the processing result Is reflected on the programming screen (debug.htm) and returned to the WEB browser of the PC 200.

  Specifically, if there is a request for customizing program input processing or the like (button click operation or the like), the programming service 132 debug. Run cgi script. In this embodiment, each process by the WEB application 1117 is executed by executing a CGI script, but may be configured to be executed by another program called from the CGI script. It is also possible to configure the programming screen so as to be described in the XML format (extensible Markup Language).

  The reference button is a button for referring to the customization program stored in the storage area of the PC 200 in which the browser is operating. When this reference button is pressed, a directory in the storage area of the PC 200 is displayed and a desired directory is displayed. When a customization program existing in the file name is specified, the file name of the customization program specified in the file name field is displayed. Note that a directory of a storage medium such as the HDD 103 of the multifunction peripheral 100 may be referred to when the reference button is pressed.

  The upload button is a click operation for transferring (uploading) the customization program designated by the reference button or the customization program entered in the input field to the multifunction peripheral 100.

  The program input field is an area for inputting a customization program. In this program input field, in addition to directly inputting a customization program from an input device such as a keyboard of the PC 200, an existing program file existing in a desired directory of the PC 200 is designated by clicking the reference button as described above. Enter the customization program. debug. In html, a character string “program_list:” is described at the head of all lines corresponding to the program input field.

  The save button is clicked when the input customization program is uploaded to the multifunction peripheral 100 and then stored in the customization directory. The delete button is clicked to delete the customized program input in the input field.

  The execution setting button is clicked when associating the customization program with a button for executing the customization program so that the multifunction device 100 can execute the customization program stored in the customization directory. When the execution setting button is pressed, the programming service 132 searches the button (key) specified in the customization program based on the key code from the button (key) in the screen file existing in the customization directory. The customization program and the button (key) are associated with each other, a key association table of the name of the customization program and the key code of the button (key) is generated, and the table is stored in the HDD 103 or the flash memory.

  The test execution button is clicked when the inputted customization program is experimentally executed.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the contents of the customization program to be input. As shown in FIG. 8, in this embodiment, the customization program is a UNIX (registered trademark) shell script. The input shell script is sequentially executed step by step by the shell 134 which is a command interpreter of the general-purpose OS 121 (UNIX (registered trademark)). For this reason, it is not necessary to compile and link the input customization program.

  In addition, a special command for the multifunction machine provided in the development library can be specified in the shell script. The script in FIG. 8 reads a document with a scanner (scanimage), decompresses image data compressed in the TIF format at the time of reading (decomp), and performs character recognition processing on the decompressed image data (ocr). Then, an example is shown in which the result of recognition by the character recognition process is mailed as text data. In the script, commands of scanimage, decomp, and ocr are commands provided by the development library. In the customization program, a button (key) for executing this shell script can be specified.

  On the programming screen 201 (debug.htm) displayed on the WEB browser of the PC 200, click the browse button to specify the customization program stored in the PC 200, or enter the customization program directly in the program input field and upload When the button is clicked, a request message is transmitted from the WEB browser to the programming service 132 of the multifunction peripheral 100. The message body of this request message contains debug. html is included, and this debug. In html, when the upload button is clicked, debug. It is described that cgi is called. For this reason, the programming service 132 that has received the request message and analyzed it is debug. Run cgi.

  Here, a process in the MFP 100 that has received the request message will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure in the MFP 100 that has received the request message.

  The httpd 106 constantly monitors the port 80 and receives a request message from the PC 200 on the port 80 (step S301). The httpd 106 reads the received request message and writes the request message in the shared memory 105 (step S302). Next, the httpd 106 notifies the NCS 128 that a request message has been received (step S303).

  Receiving the notification, the NCS 128 further notifies the programming service 132 that the request message has been received (step S304). The programming service 132 reads the request message with reference to the shared memory 105, triggered by receiving a notification that the request message has been received (step S305). Then, the content of the request message is analyzed (step S306), and processing corresponding to the content described in the message body of the request message is executed (step S307). At this time, if it is described in the html description of the message body that CGI is to be executed, the corresponding CGI is executed.

  Then, the programming service 132 returns the execution result of the process as a response message to the PC 200 that is the transmission source of the request message via the httpd 106 (step S308).

  Next, debug. The process of cgi will be described. FIG. 5 shows debug. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process of cgi. Note that the programming service 132 is debug. cgi program may be included, or debug. The cgi may be external to the programming service 132. Hereinafter, the programming service 132 is debug. A case where a cgi program is included will be described.

  The programming service 132 receives debug. In the received request message. html is read line by line from the top (step S401). Then, by checking whether or not the read line includes the character string “program_list:”, it is determined whether or not the line is a program input field (step S402).

  If it is determined that the field is a program input field, the program file is written (step S403), and the read line is transmitted to the PC 200 as it is (step S404).

  Then, it is determined whether or not the read line is the last line (step 405). If it is the last line, the process is terminated. If it is not the last line, the above process is performed on the next line. As a result, a program file is created in the multifunction device 100, and the contents of the program uploaded to the multifunction device 100 are sequentially displayed on the WEB browser of the PC 200.

  In addition to the above method, there are various methods for transmitting a program input on the PC 200 to the multifunction peripheral. For example, when an upload button is pressed, the program input on the PC 200 is converted into a program file on the PC 200 and transmitted to the multifunction device. The multifunction peripheral stores the contents of the program file and transmits the stored program file contents to the PC 200 as necessary.

  In this way, after the customization program input from the programming screen 201 is uploaded to the MFP 100 and the customized program after upload is displayed in the program input field, the save button, the execution setting button, and the test execution button can be clicked. It becomes. Processing of the programming service 132 when one of these buttons is clicked will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the programming service 132 when any one of the save button, the execution setting button, and the test execution button is clicked on the programming screen 201. The following processing is executed by Java (registered trademark) Script as a CGI script in the programming service 132. That is, the PC 200 detects a button operation on the programming screen 201 and transmits the event to the programming service, and the programming service 132 executes Java (registered trademark) Script corresponding to the event. The following description assumes that Java (registered trademark) Script is included in the programming service 132.

  First, the programming service 132 determines the type of button that has been clicked (step S501). When the save button is clicked on the programming screen 201, the programming service 132 causes the user to specify a file name, and stores the customization program in the customization directory of the HDD 103 of the MFP 100 with the specified name (step S502). ).

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of names of customization programs stored in the customization directory. As shown in FIG. 9, the customization directory of the HDD 103 of the multifunction peripheral 100 is hdd / xxx / opepane, and the customization programs shell1, shell2, and shell3 are stored in the customization directory.

  On the other hand, when the execution setting button is pressed on the programming screen 201, the programming service 132 associates the customization program with the button as described above (step S503).

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the contents of the key association table. As shown in FIG. 10, the key association table associates key codes of buttons and customized program names.

  When the test execution button is pressed on the programming screen 201, the programming service 132 executes the stored customization program (step S504). This is performed, for example, by the programming service 132 executing a command for executing the customized program in the shell.

  At this time, the same screen as that displayed on the operation panel 210 is displayed on the browser operating on the PC 200 by the test execution. This is because, for example, the programming service 132 acquires a drawing command or the like on the operation panel screen generated by the test execution of the program, and displays the same content as the screen content displayed corresponding to the drawing command on the screen of the PC 200. This can be realized by transmitting such a command to the PC 200.

  If an error occurs during the test execution, the program is corrected by the PC 200, the corrected program is uploaded, and the test is executed again.

  Next, the execution process of the customization program generated in this way will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a series of processing procedures from when the MFP 100 is turned on until the customization program can be executed.

  When the saving of the customization program in the customization directory and the setting in the activation setting file 211 are completed, the user turns on the power of the multifunction peripheral 100 again. At this time, the multifunction device 100 performs hardware diagnosis processing using a ROM monitor (not shown) (step S1001), then starts the general-purpose OS 121 (step S1002), and further starts the multifunction device initialization unit 129 (step S1001). S1003). The MFP initialization unit 129 first activates the control service (step S1004), and then activates existing applications provided at the time of shipment of the MFP 100 such as the copy application 112 and the printer application 111 (step S1005). Further, the program activation unit 131 is activated to activate a program such as an external application newly developed after shipment (step S1006).

  The program activation unit 131 first refers to the activation setting file 211 of the HDD 103 (step S1007) and acquires the name of the program to be activated.

  FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the activation setting file 211. As illustrated in FIG. 12, a program to be activated by the program activation unit 131 is registered in the activation setting file 211 in the format of “program name customized program name”. In the example of FIG. 12, a shell program that is a shell script is registered first, and then an xxx application is registered as an external application.

  For this reason, in the example of FIG. 12, the program starting unit 131 is set to start the shell first, and then sequentially start the XXX application that is an external application. Therefore, the program activation unit 131 first activates the interpreter 134 (shell) (step S1008), and then sequentially activates the XXX application that is an external application (step S1009).

  When the button (key) to which the customization program is assigned is pressed (touch operation) among the buttons (keys) displayed on the operation display section of the operation panel 210, the customization program described in the shell script is executed by the shell. The This is executed, for example, as follows.

  That is, the programming service 132 acquires information on pressing a button (key) to which a customization program is assigned, and acquires a customization program file name corresponding to the button by referring to the key association table. Then, an instruction for executing the customization program in the shell is executed. Note that the customization program may be executed by setting the customization program in the startup setting file.

  As described above, in the MFP 100 according to the first embodiment, the programming service 132 displays the customization program programming screen on the PC 200 on the network, and allows the customization program to be input from this screen. Run the customization program. Thereby, in the development of the customized program, addition and correction can be performed from the programming screen, and the customization program can be executed by the multi-function device 100 without recompilation and relinking by the additional correction, so that the program can be easily created.

  In the MFP 100 according to the first embodiment, the programming service 132 displays a programming screen on the PC 200 connected to the Internet, and a customization program is input from this screen. The customization program can be created more efficiently than the case where the customization program is created and edited on the multifunction peripheral 100.

  In the MFP 100 according to the first embodiment, the customization program is input in response to a request from the PC 200 as a client terminal connected to the Internet 220. However, the MFP 100 is connected to a network other than the Internet, such as a LAN. It is also possible to configure so that the customization program is input from the client terminal. Further, a protocol other than TCP / IP may be used as a communication protocol.

  In the above embodiment, the program input screen is transmitted from the multifunction device to the PC 200. However, the PC 200 may include a program for inputting and transmitting the program in the present embodiment.

(Embodiment 2)
The MFP 100 according to the first embodiment creates a customization program on the PC 200, which is a client terminal connected to the network, and stores it in the MFP 100. The MFP according to the second embodiment includes The customization program is input from the operation panel of the multifunction machine 100.

  FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a main configuration of the multifunction peripheral 1100 according to the second embodiment. The other configuration of the multifunction device 1100 is the same as the configuration of the multifunction device 100 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the multifunction peripheral 1100 according to the present embodiment includes a multifunction peripheral initialization unit 129, a program activation unit 131, a programming service 1132, an interpreter (shell) 134, and an HDD 103. It has become.

  The programming service 1132 displays a programming screen on the operation display unit of the operation panel 210 and inputs a customization program from the displayed programming screen. The programming service 1132 stores the input customization program in the customization directory 212 created as a customization area of the HDD 103. Further, the programming service 1132 can register the customization program input to the activation setting file so that the customization program is executed on the multifunction peripheral 1100.

  The functions of the MFP initialization unit 129, the program startup unit 131, the shell 134, the startup setting file 211 of the HDD 103, and the customization directory as a customization area are the same as those of the MFP 100 according to the first embodiment.

  FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the programming screen 1101. In order to create a customization program in the MFP 1100 according to the present embodiment, for example, a programming tag is selected from the system initial setting screen and the programming screen is displayed.

  The programming screen 1101 displays an input field, a reference button, a save button, an execution setting button, and a test execution button, almost the same as the screen in the first embodiment. On the programming screen 1101, a software keyboard for performing key input by touch operation can be displayed on the operation display unit, and a customization program can be input in the input field.

  However, it is difficult to directly input a customization program because of the area size of the operation display unit and the difficulty of input. For this reason, a customization program created by a PC or the like is stored in a desired area of a storage medium such as the HDD 103 via a network, and a reference button on the programming screen 1101 is pressed to select a customization program. It is preferable to display a customization program in the field, display a software keyboard, and perform only simple correction of the program in the input field.

  When the customization program is completed, the save button is pressed. As a result, as in the first embodiment, the customization service is stored in the customization directory of the HDD 103 by the programming service 1132. When the execution setting button is pressed, as in the first embodiment, the programming service 1132 associates the customization program and the key code of the button (key) designated by the customization program and stores them as a table. Note that the execution processing of the created customization program is the same as that of the MFP 100 of the first embodiment.

  As described above, in the MFP 1100 according to the second embodiment, the programming service 1132 displays the programming screen 1101 on the operation display unit of the operation panel 210, and inputs the customization program from this screen. A customized program can be created even in a stand-alone multifunction device 1100 that is not installed.

(Embodiment 3)
The multifunction peripherals 100 and 1100 according to the first and second embodiments associate the customization program with the buttons (keys) of the operation display unit based on the description of the customization program. The machine dynamically associates the customization program with the buttons (keys) of the operation display unit when the MFP is turned on.

  FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a functional configuration of the MFP 1300 according to the third embodiment. In the multifunction device 1300 according to the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, a customization program is created by the PC 200 on the network, and the customization program created in the HD 103 of the multifunction device 1300 is stored and executed.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the multifunction device 1300 of the present embodiment is different from the multifunction device 100 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 in that an operation panel registration unit 133 is provided. This is the same as the MFP 100 of the first embodiment.

  The operation panel registration unit 133 assigns a button (key) for executing the customization program. That is, the customization program is executed by pressing (touching) a button (key) assigned by the operation panel registration unit 133 on the operation panel.

  Processing for creating and saving a customization program from the PC 200 is performed in the same manner as the programming service 131 of the first embodiment.

  Hereinafter, the assignment process of the customization program and the button (key) displayed on the operation display unit will be described. When saving of the customization program to the customization directory is completed, the user turns on the power of the multi-function device 100 in order to assign the created customization program to the button (key) of the operation panel 210.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a series of processing procedures from when the multifunction device 1300 is powered on until assignment of the customization program and the button (key) is completed.

  Processing from power-on of the multifunction device 1300 to the program activation unit 131 (steps S1501 to S1506) is the same as the processing (steps S1001 to S1006) performed by the multifunction device 100 of the first embodiment.

  The activated program activation unit 131 first refers to the activation setting file 211 of the HDD 103 (step S1507) and acquires the name of the program to be activated. FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the contents of the activation setting file 211 used in the present embodiment. In this example, the operation panel registration unit program, the shell, and the external application XXX application are set to be activated in order.

  Therefore, the program activation unit 131 first activates the program of the operation panel registration unit 133 (step S1508). Note that the program of the operation panel registration unit 133 is stored in the customization directory in advance. Next, the interpreter (shell) 134 is activated (step S1509), and finally the registered external application is activated (step S1510).

  The activated operation panel registration unit 133 displays a key assignment setting screen on the operation panel (step S1511). FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a key assignment setting screen. As shown in FIG. 18, on the key assignment setting screen, buttons (keys) that can be assigned for each customization program are displayed. When a desired button (key) is pressed (touch operation) on such a screen, an operation panel registration unit is displayed. 133 associates the name of the corresponding customization program with the key code of the pressed button (key) and stores it as table information in a storage medium such as the HDD 103 or flash memory (step S1512). As a result, the customization program is assigned to the button (key) displayed on the operation panel.

  As described above, in the MFP 1300 according to the third embodiment, the programming service 132 displays the programming screen 201 to input the customization program, and the operation panel registration unit 133 displays and inputs the customization program on the operation display unit. Assign to a button (key). By starting the operation panel registration unit 133 when the multifunction device 1300 is turned on, the button operation when the customization program is executed can be dynamically determined when the multifunction device 1300 is started.

  In this embodiment, the operation panel registration unit 133 performs button (key) allocation processing. However, for example, the button (key) allocation processing may be performed by a control service such as the SCS 122. Thereby, it is not necessary to start a separate program for the allocation process, and an efficient process can be performed.

(Embodiment 4)
The MFPs 100, 1100, and 1300 according to the first to third embodiments execute a customization program as a shell script by the shell 134 that is a command interpreter prepared by the general-purpose OS 121 of the MFPs 100 and 1300. The multifunction machine according to the fourth embodiment executes a customization program using an interpreter other than the shell 134.

  FIG. 19 is a network configuration diagram including the MFP 1700 according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the MFP 1700 according to the fourth embodiment. Similar to the first embodiment, the MFP 1700 according to the fourth embodiment is connected to the Internet using TCP / IP, and inputs customization programs and debugging operations from the PC 200 which is a client terminal connected to the network. It is possible to do. Examples of the customization program include a program for displaying a button on the operation display unit of the operation panel 210 and performing processing corresponding to the button when a certain button is pressed.

  In the MFP 1700 of this embodiment, the customization program is described in Visual Basic (registered trademark) language. The created customization program is executed by a Visual Basic interpreter operating under the general-purpose OS 121.

  As illustrated in FIG. 19, the multifunction peripheral 1700 includes a multifunction peripheral initialization unit 129, a program activation unit 131, a programming service 132, a Visual Basic interpreter 1734 (hereinafter referred to as “VB interpreter 1734”), and an NCS 128. , Httpd 106, shared memory 105, and HDD 103. Note that the configuration and functions of the programming service 132, the MFP initialization unit 129, the program startup unit 131, the NCS 128, and the httpd 106, the contents of the startup setting file 211 stored in the HDD 103, and the customization directory are described in the MFP 1 100.

  The VB interpreter 1734 analyzes the customization program step by step and executes it sequentially. In the present embodiment, the customization program is created and saved in the same manner as the programming service 132 of the first embodiment.

  In the multifunction device 1700 of this embodiment, since the customization program is executed by the VB interpreter 1734, the VB interpreter 1734 must be activated when the multifunction device 1700 is activated. Therefore, the program name of the VB interpreter 1734 is set in advance in the same startup setting file 211 as in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the contents of the startup setting file. As shown in FIG. 21, “VB interpreter program” is set in the first line of the startup setting file 211 used in the MFP 1700 of this embodiment. For this reason, the program activation unit 131 first activates the VB interpreter 1734 after referring to the activation setting file 211, thereby enabling execution of the customized program.

  As described above, in the MFP 1700 according to the fourth embodiment, the customization program is executed by the VB interpreter operating under the general-purpose OS 121. Therefore, an interpreter capable of performing higher-level processing than the interpreter provided by the general-purpose OS should be used. Can do. Therefore, it is possible to easily create a higher-level program than using a UNIX (registered trademark) shell.

  In the fourth embodiment, the VB interpreter is not installed on the PC 200. However, the Visual Basic development environment is installed on the PC 200, and a program including the screen design of the operation display unit is created on the PC 200. The program may be stored in a customization directory of the multifunction peripheral 1700 using file transfer or the like.

  In the MFP 1700 of the fourth embodiment, the VB interpreter 1734 is used as an interpreter, and the customized program to be developed is described in the Visual Basic language. However, an interpreter language may also be used. For example, a Java (registered trademark) VM (virtual machine) may be mounted on the multifunction device 1700, and the customization program may be configured to be written in the Java (registered trademark) language.

  In the MFPs according to the first to fourth embodiments, the programming service 132 is mounted on the control service layer. However, the programming service 132 may be mounted on the application layer.

(Embodiment 5)
The MFP according to the fourth embodiment executes a customization program using an interpreter that operates under the general-purpose OS 121. The MFP 1800 according to the fifth embodiment includes a VB interpreter 1801 and a VB. The application 1802 is installed in the application layer.

  FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the multifunction peripheral according to the fifth embodiment. As in the fourth embodiment, the MFP according to the fifth embodiment is connected to the Internet using TCP / IP, and inputs customization programs and debugs from a PC 200 that is a client terminal connected to the network. It is possible to do. However, in the fifth embodiment, the created customization program (hereinafter referred to as “VB application”) is executed by a Visual Basic interpreter (hereinafter referred to as “VB interpreter”) installed in the application layer. In the figure, the programming service 132 may be mounted on the application layer.

  Create a VB application on the PC 200 on which the Visual Basic development environment is installed, transfer the created VB application to the multifunction peripheral, store the VB application on the multifunction peripheral, and select the application on the operation panel. The VB application is activated and executed by the VB interpreter 1801.

  More specific description will be given below.

  FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scene in which a VB application is created on the PC 200 using the Visual Basic development environment.

  In the screen shown in the figure, a window with the title Project2-Form2 (Form) and a window with the title Project2-Form2 (code) are shown.

  The window with the title Project2-Form2 (Form) is used to create the menu screen displayed on the operation panel of the MFP. In the displayed state, three buttons are set. One is "SCAN", one is "FAX" and one is "START". When these buttons are pressed, the MFP is designed to perform operations such as scanning and fax transmission.

  The window with the title Project2-Form2 (code) is for programming to describe the operation when a button on the panel screen is pressed.

  When the program is saved in the state shown in FIG. 23, two files named Project2.vbp and Form2.frm are generated. In Project 2.vbp, information for managing a project and conditions for executing a program are stored as setting values for variables.

  Form2.frm is a program itself that is interpreted by the VB interpreter 1801, and this VB application is uploaded from the PC 200 via the programming service 132 on the multifunction peripheral.

  When the test execution button is pressed on the programming screen 201, the VB interpreter 1801 on the multifunction machine is activated and the input VB application is executed. At this time, the same screen as that displayed on the operation panel 210 is displayed on the browser operating on the PC 200 by the test execution.

  24 and 25 show examples of VB applications executed by the VB interpreter 1801. FIG.

  When the VB program shown in FIG. 24 is executed in the multifunction machine, first, a window including a NEXTWIN button is displayed. When the NEXTWIN button is pressed, the function change_display (“Form2”) is executed by call (“change_display”, “Form2”), and the screen is switched to the next screen (Form2 window).

  FIG. 25 shows a VB program that displays the Form 2 window. The Form 2 VB program corresponds to the screen shown in FIG.

In the Form2 window, when the SCAN button is pressed,
call ("ScanStart", A4, ADF, TIFF, BINARY, "/work/tmpfile.tif")
gwOpItemCreate (win, MESSAGE_ITEM,
ITEM_MESSAGE_X, 0,
ITEM_MESSAGE_Y, 12,
ITEM_MESSAGE_WIDTH, 100,
ITEM_MESSAGE_HEIGHT, 12,
ITEM_MESSAGE_CENTER_X, 0,
ITEM_MESSAGE_BLINK, 0,
ITEM_MESSAGE, "string", 0,
ITEM_MESSAGE_FONT, FONT_12, 0,
0);
Is executed.

The first ScanStart function means reading an A4 size document from the ADF and storing it as a binary image in the TIFF format in the file “/ work / tempfile” on the HDD. This function is interpreted by the VB interpreter 1801 to cause the multifunction device to perform an operation.
The gwOpItemCreate () on the next line is a function whose function is provided by the OCS 126 in the multifunction machine, and executes a function of displaying a character string on the currently displayed screen. gwOpItemCreate () is executed as a function call to the OCS 126 by the VB interpreter 1801.

  In order to execute the VB application created in this way on the multifunction peripheral, the VB interpreter and the VB application are set in the startup setting file shown in FIG. And start the VB app.

  In order to perform a display operation on the operation panel when the VB application is executed on the multifunction peripheral, the following processing is performed. First, the VB interpreter 1801 waits for a screen drawing preparation completion event from the SCS 122, and upon receiving the above event, creates a window image to be initially displayed (root window generation). Next, the VB application prepares an initial screen by executing a function of generating a child window in the root window and a character string display function. Then, by executing a function indicating completion of screen preparation, the SCS 122 is notified that the screen is ready. Next, when an application selection button is selected on the operation panel, an event of an operation unit owner transfer request is issued from the SCS 122. When the VB application receives this event, a function indicating that the operation unit owner can be transferred is executed, and the initial screen is displayed at this point. Thereafter, substantial processing of the VB application is executed by the VB interpreter 1801.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, an application can be efficiently developed by using a VB interpreter.
(Embodiment 6)
The MFP according to the fifth embodiment has a configuration in which the VB interpreter is mounted on the application layer. The MFP according to the sixth embodiment has a Java (registered trademark) execution environment mounted on the application layer. It is a configuration.

  FIG. 26 shows a block diagram of a functional configuration of a multifunction machine 1900 according to the sixth embodiment. As shown in the figure, a multifunction machine 1900 according to the sixth embodiment has a configuration in which a Java (registered trademark) execution environment 1901 and a Java (registered trademark) application 1902 are installed in an application layer. A Java (registered trademark) application is developed on a PC (personal computer) or the like, downloaded to a multifunction peripheral, and executed using the Java (registered trademark) execution environment 1901.

  FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a Java (registered trademark) development environment in a PC and a Java (registered trademark) execution environment in a multifunction machine 1900.

  As shown in the drawing, the Java (registered trademark) execution environment in the multifunction machine 1900 includes a class library 1911, a virtual machine 1912, and an application management unit 1914.

  The class library 1911 is a class library used for providing a service for a Java (registered trademark) application to easily operate the MFP. The class library according to the present embodiment includes, for example, an operation panel class, an event class, a multifunction device control class, a network transaction class, a basic Java (registered trademark) class library, and the like. The Java (registered trademark) application itself is also a set of classes, and when the class calls a class in the class library, the application process is executed. There may be a configuration in which the class library 1911 is not installed by including all the functions of the classes of the class library used by the Java (registered trademark) application.

  A source code program of Java (registered trademark) is compiled, byte-coded in an intermediate code format, and loaded into a multi-function peripheral. The virtual machine 1912 interprets and executes the bytecode.

  The application management unit 1914 has a function of managing Java (registered trademark) applications. For example, Java (registered trademark) application execution management such as Java application (registered trademark) list display, activation and forced termination, Java It has functions for loading (registered trademark) application, upgrading the version, deleting the installed Java (registered trademark) application, setting a password for registering the application, and the like.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 28, the execution environment of Java (registered trademark) further has a native program interface 1913. The native program interface 1913 has a function for allowing Java (registered trademark) code executed in the virtual machine 1912 to interoperate with an application or library written in another programming language such as C language. Using this native program interface 1913 mechanism, the application can access the API of the control service.

  The Java (registered trademark) development environment illustrated in FIG. 27 includes a class library 1921, a virtual machine 1922, and an application management unit 1924 similar to the Java (registered trademark) execution environment. Further, a Java (registered trademark) compiler 1925 for generating bytecodes and an emulator 1923 for emulating the operation of the multifunction machine by the application are provided. A Java (registered trademark) application developed in the Java (registered trademark) development environment can be loaded into the Java (registered trademark) execution environment of the multifunction peripheral via a recording medium such as an IC card. It can also be loaded via a network.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 29, a Java (registered trademark) application developed in the Java (registered trademark) development environment is stored in the Web server, and the Web server is accessed from the Java (registered trademark) execution environment. Can be configured to load a registered trademark app. Further, an FTP server can be used instead of the Web server.

(Development of Java (registered trademark) application)
Next, the development of a Java (registered trademark) application in the Java (registered trademark) development environment will be described in detail.

  FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a flow of Java (registered trademark) application development. In this way, first, a Java (registered trademark) source code is created as a Java (registered trademark) file, and this is compiled with a Java (registered trademark) compiler to form a class file. A plurality of classes are collected into a Jar file. The Jar file preferably includes a file indicating a class having a main routine.

  The Java (registered trademark) application created in this way can be debugged by executing a test on the multifunction peripheral in the same manner as in the embodiments described so far. Then, by using the emulator 1923 shown in FIG. 27, it is possible to debug the Java (registered trademark) application without using the target multifunction peripheral. This is because in Java (registered trademark), a virtual machine is used, so that it is relatively easy to emulate the execution environment. When development using the emulator is completed, it is possible to perform evaluation using the multifunction device by loading a Java (registered trademark) application (byte code) into the multifunction device via a network or an IC card.

  The emulator can be configured as a program written to receive an instruction from the Java (registered trademark) application side and perform an operation corresponding to the instruction. For example, in response to a display command on the display unit of the operation panel of the multifunction device, a screen similar to the screen displayed on the multifunction device is displayed on the display of the PC. However, since the development environment PC does not have an engine (scanner, printer, etc.) in the multifunction machine, for example, in response to a print command from a Java (registered trademark) application, an image to be printed on the PC screen is displayed. Display or print to a default printer connected to the PC itself. Also, when the user performs a copy operation on the emulator screen of the PC, for example, the user is notified to select a file to be copied from the local file system, and a dialog box asking for the copy destination is displayed and selected. Copy the specified file to the specified destination.

  The emulator can be implemented as a program different from the virtual machine and the class library as shown in FIG. 27, or can be implemented as a class in the class library as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 32 shows an operation panel screen displayed on the PC by the emulator. Elements such as buttons displayed on this screen are the same as those of an actual multifunction device. The emulator also has a loader function for selecting and executing a stored Java (registered trademark) application. When operating as a loader, for example, the screen shown in FIG. 33 is displayed. Then, the user selects the Java (registered trademark) application and presses the execution button to execute the Java (registered trademark) application. Note that the Java (registered trademark) application displayed here is a class name having a main routine or a Jar file name.

  The emulator also has a function of automatically collecting status information of applications running on the emulator in a log file, and it is possible to set what messages are to be left as logs. For example, it can be set so that only serious errors that cause the application to terminate abnormally are collected as a log, or detailed information useful for debugging an application is collected as a log.

  Debugging a program on the development environment side using an emulator can also be applied to other embodiments. That is, for example, in the first embodiment, an interpreter and an emulator similar to the present embodiment are mounted on the PC 200. When the program has been debugged, the MFP is accessed and the program is transmitted for evaluation.

(Example of Java (registered trademark) application)
Next, an example of a Java (registered trademark) application will be described. Here, an example of a Java (registered trademark) application using a sample program using an operation panel class will be described. FIG. 34 shows the hierarchical structure of the operation panel class.

  In FIG. 34, the *** Window class is a class for creating a window, and the *** Item class is a class for creating an element in a window such as a button. For example, a main window as shown in FIG. 35 and elements therein are created by a program including the following code.

mainwindow = new PanelWindow (panel.root (), 640, 240); (a)
MessageItem msg = new MessageItem (20, 20, 600, 40); (b)
ButtonItem Button = new ButtonItem (10, 60, 80, 30); (c)
The above (a) is a code for creating a main window having a width of 640 dots and a height of 240 dots. (B) is a code for creating a message item having a width of 600 and a height of 40 at the position (20, 20) of the main window. (C) is a code for creating a button of size 80 × 30 at the position (10, 60).

  The program shown in FIG. 36 is a program that implements a user interface on the operation panel of the multifunction peripheral. As shown in FIG. 37, this program displays "Hello World" and "Your Input Was ..." messages and a "Get Input ..." button immediately after startup. When the user touches the “Get Input…” button, a soft keyboard is displayed on the panel, and the title “Add your Input” is displayed on the soft keyboard, prompting the user to input an arbitrary code. When the user inputs an arbitrary character string, for example, "ABCD!" From the soft keyboard, the character string input by the user is displayed under the "Your Input Was ..." message on the panel, that is, "ABCD! "Is displayed.

  In the following, the contents of the sample program shown in FIG. 36 will be described along the annotation numbers described in the program.

  (1) is an instruction for using the operation panel class library. (2) indicates that GWApp is inherited, which makes it possible to use the application template (abstract) of the multifunction device. In addition, complicated initial setting and end processing are not required to be described by the user, and processing such as message reception can be hidden from the user. Also, (3) creates an object that displays the "Hello World" message, and (4) creates a "Get Input ..." button object. Then, an object that displays the message “Your Input Was ...” is generated by (5), and a message object that displays characters input from the soft keyboard is generated by (6).

(Execution of Java (registered trademark) application in Java (registered trademark) execution environment)
In the configuration shown in FIG. 27, by using the function of the application management unit 1914, it is possible to perform processing from downloading to activation in the following procedure.

  The application management unit 1914 is activated when the MFP is activated in the same manner as other applications, and displays a user interface on the operation panel by pressing an application activation key or the like. At this time, if a Java (registered trademark) application is not loaded, an application load screen is displayed. The user accesses a predetermined website or IC card from the application load screen and loads a Java (registered trademark) application.

  In the loading process, before loading the Java (registered trademark) application, an inquiry about information about the Java (registered trademark) application is made to the Web server or the like, and the Java (registered trademark) application can be installed. Check whether or not. The confirmation items are, for example, program size, version confirmation, program last update information, memory work size to be used, storage size to be used, confirmation of network address to be used in advance, usable period (number of times of use), application program name, etc. .

  If the above items are confirmed and it is determined that the installation is possible, the application management unit 1914 downloads a Java (registered trademark) application file to the multi-function peripheral.

  When the download of the Java (registered trademark) application program is completed, the application management unit 1914 acquires the application name, adds it to the application list, and simultaneously stores the Java (registered trademark) application program in the hard disk of the multifunction peripheral.

  Upon completion of the above processing, the downloaded Java (registered trademark) application can be used, and the user starts the Java (registered trademark) that is started from the Java (registered trademark) application startup screen provided by the application management unit 1914. By selecting an application, a virtual machine can be started and a Java (registered trademark) application can be executed.

  It is also possible to execute a Java (registered trademark) application as follows. The method described below is an example in which a Java (registered trademark) application is loaded from a Web server and executed in the configuration shown in FIG. The following processing is executed by a loader (program) included in the application management unit 1914. The loader itself may be implemented as a Java (registered trademark) application, or may be implemented in C language, for example.

  FIG. 38 shows a conceptual diagram from uploading to downloading of a Java (registered trademark) application in the configuration shown in FIG. In this way, the Java (registered trademark) application developed and tested in the Java (registered trademark) development environment is uploaded to the Web server (step 1). The loader of the multifunction machine accesses the Web server (Step 2), downloads a Java (registered trademark) application desired by the user (Step 3), and executes it.

  Next, the processing procedure of the loader will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the user presses a predetermined button for application switching in the multifunction peripheral, the loader checks whether or not the Java (registered trademark) application is already loaded (step 11), and if it is loaded, the Java (registered) (Trademark) application is executed (step 12). Then, a Java (registered trademark) application user interface is displayed. If not loaded, the loader screen is displayed (step 13). When the execution of the Java (registered trademark) application is completed, a loader screen is displayed. Further, when the user interface of the Java (registered trademark) application is displayed, the screen of the loader can be displayed by inputting a predetermined code and pressing a predetermined button.

  FIG. 40 shows a loader screen displayed on the multifunction machine. If there is a currently loaded Java (registered trademark) application, the loader displays the Java (registered trademark) application and the frequency at which the loader checks the Web server for updates of the Java (registered trademark) application. .

  When an application load button is touched on the loader screen, an application load window shown in FIG. 41 is displayed (step 14). Here, the URL of the Java (registered trademark) application is input. To enter a URL, touch the URL button to display a soft keyboard, and type the URL by typing from the soft keyboard. Further, by touching the URL button, a list of URLs of Java (registered trademark) applications as shown in FIG. 42 may be displayed, and a desired Java (registered trademark) application may be selected from the list. . If necessary, a class name having a main routine in the selected Java (registered trademark) application (Jar file) is entered in the class name column shown in FIG.

  Thereafter, by touching an OK button on the screen shown in FIG. 41, the Java (registered trademark) application is downloaded from the Web server (step 15), and is executed by the multifunction machine.

  The loader automatically checks the Web server at specified intervals to check whether a new version of the Java (registered trademark) application is stored in the Web server. This is done by comparing the date and time stamp of the currently running Java (registered trademark) application with that on the Web server. When a new version of the Java (registered trademark) application is found, the currently activated Java (registered trademark) application is deleted, and a new version of the Java (registered trademark) application is downloaded.

  In order to change the update interval, the screen shown in FIG. 43 is displayed by touching the update interval button on the screen shown in FIG. 40 (step 16). In this screen, use the arrow keys to select hours or minutes, and use the numeric keys on the operation panel to enter a new time interval.

  When the Java (registered trademark) application is deleted from the multifunction peripheral, the screen shown in FIG. 44 is displayed by touching the unload button on the screen shown in FIG. 40 (step 17). Here, the Java (registered trademark) application is deleted by touching the “OK” button.

  Touching the Exit button on the screen of FIG. 40 terminates the loader.

  In the present embodiment, it is possible to create a customization program by connecting Java (registered trademark) applications. The flow of this process will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the program itself for creating the customization program is also a Java (registered trademark) application, which is hereinafter referred to as a customization application. Note that the customization application may be provided in the image forming apparatus in advance.

  First, the screen of the operation display unit is switched to the loader screen of FIG. 40, and the customized application is loaded and executed.

  The customization application displays screen 1 in FIG. On the screen 1, only a paper object is displayed. An object other than a paper object can be inserted. Objects can be put in and out with the "Insert" and "Eject" buttons. On the screen 1, an attribute such as a read / write permission attribute can be set for a paper object by a “reading permission” button.

  When paper is touched on the screen 1, a list of objects connected to the paper object is displayed as shown in the screen 2. When scan is selected here, the screen transitions to screen 3, and touching scan further displays a list of objects connected to the scan object as shown in screen 4. When mail is selected on the screen 4, the screen transitions to the screen 5.

  After that, by touching the “Setting” button, a customization program is generated that performs processing of scanning and sending the image file by e-mail. In addition, as shown in the screen 6, keys are assigned. The customization program is executed by operating this key on the multifunction peripheral. This customization program is a program described so as to sequentially execute classes of linked objects.

  It should be noted that downloading the desired application from the Web server to the multifunction device or customizing the application by connecting the application to the MFP as in the present embodiment is different from the other embodiments. Is also applicable. For example, in the above-described configuration using the VB interpreter, by providing a loader having the same function as that of the present embodiment, an application can be downloaded from the server similarly to the present embodiment.

  Each service program and application program described so far can be stored in a recording medium such as an IC card and then stored in the image forming apparatus. It can also be stored in an image forming apparatus from an external server via a network.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, an application can be efficiently developed by using the Java (registered trademark) environment.
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and applications can be made within the scope of the claims.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration and a network configuration of a multifunction machine according to a first embodiment; 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the multifunction peripheral according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a multifunction machine according to a first embodiment; 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure in a multi-function peripheral that has received a request message. debug. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process of cgi. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process of a WEB application when clicking operation of either a save button, an execution setting button, or a test execution button is performed on the programming screen. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the content of the programming screen. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the customization program input into a program input field. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the name of the customization program stored in the customization directory. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the content of the key matching table. 10 is a flowchart showing a series of processing procedures from when the multifunction device is turned on until the customization program can be executed. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a starting setting file. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of a multifunction machine according to a second embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a programming screen. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a multifunction peripheral according to a third embodiment; FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a series of processing procedures from when the multifunction device is turned on until assignment of a customization program and a button (key) is completed. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the content of a starting setting file. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a key allocation setting screen. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration and a network configuration of a multifunction peripheral according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a multifunction machine according to a fourth embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the content of a starting setting file. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a multifunction peripheral according to a fifth embodiment; It is a figure which shows the scene which is creating the VB application using Visual Basic development environment on PC200. It is a figure which shows the example of the VB application performed by the VB interpreter. It is a figure which shows the example of the VB application performed by the VB interpreter. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a multifunction peripheral according to a sixth embodiment. It is a figure which shows a Java (trademark) development environment and a Java (trademark) execution environment. It is a figure which shows the example of a structure of a Java (trademark) execution environment. It is a figure which shows the structure which downloads a Java (trademark) application from a web server. It is a figure which shows the procedure of Java (trademark) application creation. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of implementation of an emulator. It is a figure which shows the screen of the operation panel displayed on PC by an emulator. It is a figure which shows the screen displayed when an emulator operate | moves as a loader. It is a figure which shows the hierarchical structure of an operation panel class. It is a figure for demonstrating creation of a window. It is a figure which shows a sample program. It is a figure which shows the execution result of a sample program. FIG. 30 is a conceptual diagram from uploading to downloading of a Java (registered trademark) application in the configuration illustrated in FIG. 29. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of a loader. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a loader screen displayed on the multifunction peripheral. This is the screen for loading the app. It is a list of URLs of Java (registered trademark) applications. It is a screen for changing the update interval. This is a screen for unloading an app. It is a figure for demonstrating the procedure which produces a customization program by connecting a Java (trademark) application.

Explanation of symbols

100, 1100, 1300, 1700, 1800, 1900 MFP 101 Monochrome line printer 102 Color line printer 103 Hard disk drive (HDD)
104 Hardware resource 105 Shared memory 106 httpd
110 Software group 111 Printer application 112 Copy application 113 Fax application 114 Scanner application 115 Net file application 116 Process inspection application 117 External application 120 Platform 121 General-purpose OS
122 SCS
123 SRM
124 ECS
125 MCS
126 OCS
127 FCS
128 NCS
129 MFP initialization unit 130 application 131 program start unit 132 1113 programming service 133 operation panel registration unit 134 interpreter (shell)
135 Kernel 200 PC 201, 1101 Programming screen 211 Startup setting file 212 Customized directory 220 Internet 1734, 1801 VB interpreter 1901 Java (registered trademark) execution environment 1911, 1921 Class library 1912, 1922 Virtual machine 1914, 1924 Application management unit 1923 Emulator 1925 Java (Registered trademark) compiler

Claims (15)

An operation display section for performing screen display and operation input;
Program acquisition means for displaying a program input screen on the operation display unit and acquiring a program input to the operation display unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a program execution unit that executes the program acquired by the program acquisition unit;
In response to a request from the operation display unit, a key in the operation display unit is associated with the program, and a table indicating a correspondence between the program and the key is stored in a storage unit included in the image forming apparatus. Image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program execution unit executes a program corresponding to the key by detecting an input of the key and referring to the table.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a key assignment screen for a user to assign a key to the program is displayed, and the program is associated with the key based on an instruction from the key assignment screen.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program is executed for operation confirmation in response to a request from the operation display unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for accessing a server storing the program and downloading a specific program from the server.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program execution unit is an interpreter. The image forming apparatus further includes hardware resources used in the image forming process, and a control service interposed between the application of the image forming apparatus and the hardware resources,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program operates as the application.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the program makes a function call to the control service by the program execution unit. A method for executing a program in an image forming apparatus, comprising:
Displaying a program input screen on the operation display unit of the image forming apparatus;
Acquiring a program input to the operation display unit;
In response to a request from the operation display unit, associating a key in the operation display unit with the program, and storing a table indicating a correspondence between the program and the key in a storage unit included in the image forming apparatus;
And a step of executing the acquired program.   The program execution method according to claim 9, wherein an input of the key is detected and a program corresponding to the key is executed by referring to the table.   The program execution method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein a key assignment screen for a user to assign a key to the program is displayed, and the program is associated with the key based on an instruction from the key assignment screen. The image forming apparatus further includes hardware resources used in the image forming process, and a control service interposed between the application of the image forming apparatus and the hardware resources,
The program execution method according to claim 9, wherein the program operates as the application. An image forming apparatus provided with an operation display unit for performing screen display and operation input,
Program acquisition means for displaying a program input screen on the operation display unit and acquiring the program input to the operation display unit,
Means for associating a key in the operation display unit with the program in response to a request from the operation display unit, and storing a table indicating correspondence between the program and the key in a storage unit provided in the image forming apparatus;
Program to function as.   The program according to claim 13, further causing the image forming apparatus to function as means for accessing a server storing the program and downloading a specific program from the server.   The computer-readable recording medium which stored the program of Claim 13 or 14.

Images