JP2009302677A - Communications equipment, image forming apparatus, control method, program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide communications equipment and the like for registering a new user's personal information, without deleting the personal information in a memory, even ifn the memory of an embedded device stores the user's personal information, up to an upper limit of a storage capacity. <P>SOLUTION: The communications equipment 17 for using the communication management information to communicate with a terminal 200 by wire or radio has: a communication management information storage means 43 for storing communication management information; a remaining memory detecting means 61 for detecting the remaining memory amount of the communication management information storage means 43, in storing communication management information for communicating with the terminal 200 in the communication management information storage means 43; an evacuating means 62 for evacuating one or more communication management information stored, in the communication management information storage means 43 to external memories 200, 30 and 15, when the remaining memory amount of the communication management information storage means 42 becomes below a prescribed value; and a communication management information registration means 63 for storing the communication management information for communicating with the terminal 200 to the communication management information storage means 43 in a blank area caused by evacuation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication apparatus that communicates with a terminal, and more particularly to a communication apparatus, an image forming apparatus, a control method, a program, and a storage medium that register communication management information necessary for communication.

  There are devices that many people use together, such as offices, schools, and factories. For example, a copying machine, a facsimile, a terminal for accessing a server, and the like. A device shared in this way can be freely used by any user belonging to the device location, but may be used by an unintended user. Even when only a user who belongs to the device arrangement destination uses the user, there is a case where the user who uses the device is desired to be specified. Originally, for example, it is conceivable to obtain permission from the administrator of these devices, but it is troublesome to obtain permission every time it is used. In view of this, a technique has been considered in which a device authenticates each user before use so that only a predetermined user can use the device, and the device can be used only when authentication is established (for example, a patent). References 1 and 2).

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-133561 describes a technique for receiving authentication from a PC (personal computer) using key information stored in a USB memory. In the authentication method described in Patent Document 1, key information is determined by a random number, thereby making it difficult to predict key information and authenticating a user reliably.

Patent Document 2 describes an authentication apparatus that authenticates a user using an IC card and outputs authentication information stored in advance in the authentication apparatus to the outside. When the personal authentication information is handled by an external client device or the like, the authentication information output from the image forming apparatus can be used, so that the user can use the external client device with the IC card.
JP 2006-018545 A JP 2008-003782 A

  By the way, as described above, when a device shared by a large number of people is considered, the device needs to store authentication information for the large number of users. However, in devices that can hold multiple authentication information, especially embedded communication devices, memory restrictions are severe, so there is an upper limit on the number (capacity) of authentication information that can be held, and it is possible to hold authentication information for the desired number of people. No situation can happen. With respect to this point, Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not consider at all the point of efficiently holding authentication information of a large number of users.

  When newly adding authentication information in a state where the authentication information is stored up to the upper limit of the memory, it can be considered that the authentication information stored in the memory of the device is simply deleted. However, if the authentication information is deleted, when the user whose authentication information is deleted uses the device, a process for registering the authentication information in the device again becomes necessary. Forcing such processing before connecting to the device reduces the convenience of the user and the operability of the device.

  Such a problem is not limited to authentication information, but also occurs for information required for communication by a communication device that performs wireless communication such as an embedded communication device.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention is a communication that can register new individual information of a user without deleting the individual information of the memory even if the individual information of the user is stored in the memory of the embedded device up to the upper limit of the storage capacity. An object is to provide an apparatus, an image forming apparatus, a control method, a program, and a storage medium.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides communication management information storage means for storing communication management information and communication management information for communicating with a terminal in a communication device that communicates with the terminal by wire or wirelessly using the communication management information. Is stored in the communication management information storage means, and when the remaining memory amount of the communication management information storage means is less than a predetermined value, the communication management information storage means Save management means for saving one or more pieces of communication management information stored in the external memory, and communication management information for storing communication management information for communicating with a terminal in a free area generated by the save in the communication management information storage means And a registration means.

  According to the present invention, since the association information of the communication device is saved in the external memory, it is possible to newly register the association information of the terminal to be connected from now on without deleting the association information.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, the communication management information stored in the external management memory is stored again in the communication management information storage unit when communication with the terminal is completed. And

  By returning the saved association information to the communication device, if the association information newly added to the communication device is only used once, it is prevented from remaining in the device indefinitely, and the communication management information The storage capacity of the storage means can be used effectively. Further, since it is only necessary to return the association information to the communication management information storage means, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of recreating the association information again.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the display unit connected to the communication device sets whether to save the communication management information to be saved again in the communication management information storage unit after saving to the external memory. Displays the setting screen and sets whether or not the communication management information saved by the saved information processing means to the external memory is stored again in the communication management information storage means based on the operation of the operation means connected to the communication device And a processing setting unit.

  The user can select whether to restore the association information saved in the external memory.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the save means displays the communication management information stored in the communication management information storage means on the display means connected to the communication apparatus, and the operation means connected to the communication apparatus. The communication management information selected by (1) is saved.

  Since it is possible to manually specify which association information is to be saved, it is possible to select association information that the user recognizes as not important and store it in the external memory.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the saving means determines communication management information to be saved according to a predetermined determination method.

  Since the association information to be saved can be automatically determined, the troublesomeness of selecting the association information to be saved can be reduced.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the save unit determines communication management information to be saved in order of unused longest time.

  Association information that is least used can be saved.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the communication management information is wireless USB association information, and is wirelessly communicated with a terminal using the wireless USB.

  Communication can be performed using wireless USB or UWB.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the external memory is a portable storage unit that is the same as the terminal.

  By using the terminal as an external memory, the communication management information can be saved in a terminal that requires the communication management information for communication.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the external memory is a USB memory or an SD card.

  By saving to a USB memory or the like, security can be improved because the USB memory can be easily managed, such as being stored on a locked desk.

  Even if individual user information is stored in the memory of the embedded device up to the upper limit of the storage capacity, a new user individual information can be registered without deleting the individual information in the memory. A program and a storage medium can be provided.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an example of a diagram schematically illustrating how authentication information is handled by the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a wireless USB host that communicates as a USB host in accordance with a wireless USB communication standard, and wirelessly communicates with a USB device such as the USB memory 200. Hereinafter, the USB memory 200 will be described as an example of a USB device. However, the present invention is not limited to a storage medium such as a memory, and any device such as a keyboard, a mouse, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a mobile phone, etc. May have a wireless USB communication function (corresponding to “terminal” in the claims).

  As will be described later, wireless USB communicates with USB memory 200 using association information. In FIG. 1A, one or more association information is already stored in the image forming apparatus 100 up to the upper limit of the association information storage memory (hereinafter referred to as ASC storage memory).

  In the state of FIG. 1A, the user A association information is not stored in the image forming apparatus 100. For this reason, even if the user A brings the USB memory 200 close to the image forming apparatus 100, communication cannot be performed.

  Therefore, when registering the association information in the image forming apparatus 100, the image forming apparatus 100 saves the association information already stored in the ASC storage memory in the external memory. In FIG. 1B, the user A has saved in the USB memory 200 attached to the image forming apparatus 100.

  As a result, free space is generated in the ASC storage memory, so that the user A can register the association information of the USB memory 200 owned by the user A in the image forming apparatus 100. After registering the association information, even if the USB memory 200 attached to the image forming apparatus 100 is removed, the image forming apparatus 100 and the USB memory 200 can communicate with each other by wireless USB. The association information of the USB memory 200 will be described later.

  The association information saved in the USB memory 200 can be restored from the USB memory 200 to the image forming apparatus 100. In this case, the association information registered by user A is deleted from the ASC storage memory and stored again in the ASC storage memory. Therefore, an existing user can communicate with the image forming apparatus 100 using a portable USB device.

  Further, the association information may be saved in the USB memory 200. In this case, when communicating with the image forming apparatus 100 next time, the user A can communicate with the image forming apparatus 100 and the USB memory without registering the association information.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a hardware configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus 100. The image forming apparatus 100 includes a controller 50, a plotter 27, a scanner 28, a fax control unit 26, and other hardware resources 29 connected by a serial interbus such as a PCI bus, a PCI-X bus, or a PCI-Express. It becomes. The controller 50 is connected to the operation unit 24. In the figure, the USB memory 200 to be authenticated is shown.

  The controller 50 controls the entire image forming apparatus 100, that is, uses the fax control unit 26, the plotter 27, the scanner 28, and other hardware resources 29 to read a document, print, send / receive a facsimile, input from the operation unit 24, etc. It is a control part which processes.

  The plotter 27 is a black-and-white plotter and / or a one-drum color plotter, and forms an image for each page based on print job data and image data read by the scanner 28 and transfers the image onto a sheet. For example, a toner image formed on a photosensitive drum or the like is transferred onto a sheet using an electrophotographic process using a laser beam, and is fixed by a fixing device with heat and pressure and output.

  The scanner 28 optically scans the document placed on the contact glass, A / D converts the reflected light, performs image processing such as error diffusion and gamma conversion, and converts the digital data into a predetermined resolution. Convert to generate image data.

  The fax control unit 26 is connected to a public communication network via an NCU (Network Control Unit), and performs facsimile transmission / reception according to a communication procedure (communication protocol) corresponding to, for example, a G3 or G4 standard facsimile. The fax control unit 26 performs signal processing such as data compression and modulation on the image data and transmits it, and decompresses the image data received from the other party and corrects the error to restore the image data.

  The controller 50 includes a CPU 11, a north bridge (hereinafter referred to as NB13), a system memory (hereinafter referred to as MEM-P12), a south bridge (hereinafter referred to as SB), and a local memory (hereinafter referred to as MEM-C14). , An ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 16, a hard disk drive (hereinafter referred to as HDD 15), a wireless USB host 17, a NIC (Network Interface Card) 18, a wireless LAN I / F 19, a USB host 22, and a memory card I / F23. The ASIC 16 and the NB 13 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port).

  The CPU 11 controls the entire image forming apparatus via the NB 13 that controls transmission of data distributed to a bus connecting the MEM-P 12, the ASIC 16, the wireless USB host 17, and the like.

  The NB 13 is a bridge IC for connecting the CPU 11 to the MEM-P 12 and AGP. The MEM-P 12 is a system memory used as a drawing memory of the image forming apparatus 100.

  The MEM-C 14 is a local memory used as a copy image buffer and a code buffer, and the ASIC 16 includes a large number of registers and logic circuits, and functions as a head pulse generation unit in addition to a control unit of each motor driver. The ASIC 16 also serves as a bridge for connecting the AGP, HDD 15 and MEM-C 14 respectively.

  The operation unit 24 is an operation unit 24 that receives an input operation from the user A and performs display for the user A. In the present embodiment, the operation unit 24 is used for setting an ASC storage memory, registering association information, and the like. The operation unit 24 has a touch panel as an input means in addition to a keyboard, and is also used as a display unit such as an LCD (liquid crystal display).

  The HDD 15 is storage means (storage) for accumulating image data, accumulating programs, accumulating font data, and accumulating forms. In this embodiment, the communication information management program 20 for managing the ASC storage memory for storing the association information is stored in the HDD 15, but the communication information management program 20 is stored in the MEM-P12, the MEM-C14, or other storage means. It may be.

  AGP is a bus interface for graphics accelerator cards that has been proposed to speed up graphics processing, and speeds up processing of graphics accelerator cards by directly accessing system memory with high throughput.

  The wireless USB host 17 is a communication device that communicates with the USB memory 200 wirelessly (corresponding to the communication device in the claims). Details of the wireless USB will be described later. The NIC 18 is a LAN interface compatible with, for example, Ethernet (registered trademark), constructs a data link with a communication partner, and uses protocols (TCP, IP, etc.) compatible with the upper network layer and transport layer, respectively. Send and receive data.

  The wireless LAN I / F 19 conforms to a communication standard such as IEEE 802.11a / b / g, and connects to a network such as a LAN via an access point.

  The IEEE 1394 I / F 21 is an interface that communicates with a device having the IEEE 1394 communication standard, and a plurality of devices can be connected in a daisy chain. It is suitable for transmitting large-sized data such as a moving image, and a connected device is, for example, a digital camera or a video camera.

The USB host 22 is an IC called a USB controller, which is controlled by a device driver (driver software) executed by the CPU 11 to configure a USB I / F and communicate with a connected USB memory 200, for example. Similarly, the memory card I / F 23 is an interface that reads data from the memory card 30 and writes data to a recording medium. The memory card 30 is, for example, an SD card, a multimedia card, an xD card, etc. [Wireless USB]
The wireless USB will be described. Wireless USB has backward compatibility with wired USB, and adopts a host-slave architecture in the same way as wired USB. It also supports all four transfer types (control transfer, bulk transfer, interrupt transfer, isochronous transfer) supported by USB 2.0. In addition, a wired USB has a tree-type topology in which a plurality of USB devices are connected by connecting to a hub. However, a wireless USB has a star-type topology because a physical connection interface is unnecessary.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a block diagram of the wireless USB host 17. The wireless USB includes an antenna for receiving analog radio waves, an RF unit 42 that performs frequency filtering, generation of intermediate waves, amplification, and the like on radio waves, and a baseband unit 41 that converts radio waves into digital signals. Have.

  Wireless USB is a form of communication method called UWB (Ultra Wide Band), and Wireless USB (Certified Wireless USB) is synonymous with UWD or a subordinate concept of UWB.

  The RF unit 42 uses an MB-OFDM (Multi-band Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) method or a DS-UWB (UltraWide Band) method as a communication method (IEEE 802.15TG3a). The antenna and the RF unit 42 correspond to the UWB physical layer and the UWB MAC layer, and receive radio waves corresponding to the above-described MB-OFDM or DS-UWB.

  The RF unit 42 includes a synthesizer, identifies the frequency of the band and channel, and controls the band and channel based on the frequency allocation data. In the MB-OFDM, the RF unit 42 divides the frequency band in the range of 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz into 5 channels of 1 to 5, and divides each channel into 3 bands or 2 bands, for a total of 14 bands. Communicate by hopping each band. The UWBMAC layer corresponds to a part of the data link layer in the OSI basic reference model.

  The baseband unit 41 demodulates the low frequency radio wave converted by the RF unit 42 into a digital signal. The demodulated digital signal is stored in the MEM-P 12 via the PCI bus, and is subjected to processing corresponding to a protocol of a higher protocol layer by communication software executed by the CPU 11. For example, transport layer TCP, network layer IP, and the like.

  The ASC storage memory 43 is composed of, for example, an EEPROM, and stores a medium identification value in the UWBMAC layer, a register setting value of hardware configuring the UWBMAC layer, and the like. That is, association information is stored in the ASC storage memory 43.

  It is assumed that a device having an IEEE 1394 interface is connected to the IEEE 1394 I / F 21 in FIG. 2 by wire, but the IEEE 1394 and the wireless USB can share the UWB physical layer and the UWB MAC layer. That is, by providing a UWB physical layer and UWBMAC layer in common for a plurality of communication devices (wireless USB, IEEE 1394, etc.) and constructing a convergence layer, high-speed serial transmission is possible not only for wireless USB but also IEEE 1394, etc. A wireless bus can be provided.

  Next, association information will be described. In the wireless USB, before starting communication between the USB device and the wireless USB host 17, a procedure called association is performed. Before communicating, the device and host must hold association information with each other.

For wireless USB, the association information is
1) ID of the communication source (that is, you)
2) ID of communication destination (that is, communication partner),
3) Three encryption keys.

  The association is performed by exchanging IDs with each other first and exchanging encryption keys using the IDs. After the association is completed, encrypted communication is performed using the key.

  As an association mode, Numeric Association and Cable Association are considered. FIG. 4 is an example of a diagram schematically illustrating the Numeric Association and the Cable Association.

  Each USB memory 200 stores a unique ID in a nonvolatile memory. The unique ID is, for example, a 4-digit number. In the case of the Numeric Association, the unique ID is not only stored in the nonvolatile memory but also attached or attached to the USB memory 200 in a form that can be visually checked with a seal or the like.

  Numeric association is performed by inputting a unique ID of the USB memory 200 to the image forming apparatus 100. For example, when the unique ID of the USB memory 200 is “1234”, the user A of the USB memory 200 operates the operation unit 24 and inputs “1234”. As a result, the wireless USB host 17 of the image forming apparatus 100 can identify the USB memory 200 and can exchange the encryption key stored in the USB memory 200. If the encryption key is exchanged, the image forming apparatus 100 stores the communication source ID, the communication destination ID, and the encryption key.

  In the Cable Association, the image forming apparatus 100 and the USB memory 200 are connected to the USB host 22 via a cable or directly, and for example, a predetermined operation is input to the image forming apparatus 100 or the USB memory 200 to register a unique ID. To do. In the case of the image forming apparatus 100, the predetermined operation is, for example, inputting a predetermined series of operations from the operation unit 24. In the USB memory, for example, a long press of a reset button or the like.

  Therefore, once the physical connection is established, the association information is stored in the image forming apparatus 100. Therefore, even if the physical connection is canceled, the image forming apparatus 100 and the USB memory 200 communicate wirelessly. be able to.

  After acquiring the association information, the image forming apparatus 100 encrypts and transmits the data to be transmitted with the encryption key acquired from the USB memory 200, and the USB memory 200 decrypts the received data with the encryption key originally stored. Turn into. Further, the USB memory 200 encrypts and transmits the data to be transmitted with the originally stored encryption key, and the image forming apparatus 100 decrypts the received data with the encryption key acquired from the USB memory 200.

[Software module]
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a software module of the image forming apparatus 100. The software module is configured to be connected to the above-described plotter 27, scanner 28, and other hardware resources 29 via a hardware hardware (HW) I / F, and mainly includes a platform 80 and an application 70.

  The platform 80 interprets a processing request from the application 70 and generates a hardware resource acquisition request, and a system that manages one or more hardware resources and arbitrates the acquisition request from the control service 55. A resource manager (SRM 63), an OS 64, and an authentication information management unit 60 are included.

  The control service 55 is formed of a plurality of service modules, and includes an SCS (system control service) 62, an ECS (engine control service) 56, an MCS (memory control service) 57, an OCS (operation panel control service) 58, An FCS (fax control service) 59 and an NCS (network control service) 61 are included. The platform 80 has an API (Application Program Interface) that receives a processing request from the application 70 by a predefined program.

  The OS 64 is a general-purpose operating system such as LINUX (registered trademark) or UNIX (registered trademark), and can execute each software of the platform 80 and the application 70 in parallel as processes. The OS 64 includes various device drivers that communicate with the wireless USB host 17, the NIC 18, the wireless LAN I / F 19, the IEEE 1394 I / F 21, the USB host 22, and the memory card I / F 23.

  The SRM 63 controls the system and manages resources together with the SCS 62. The process of the SRM 63 performs use scheduling of hardware resources in response to a request from an upper layer, and controls operations based on the hardware resources.

  The SCS 62 performs application management, control of the operation unit 24, system screen display, LED display, resource management, interrupt application control, and the like. The ECS 56 controls the hardware resource engine.

  The MCS 57 acquires and releases an image memory, uses the HDD 15, compresses and decompresses image data, and the like. The FCS 59 has APIs for performing facsimile transmission / reception using PSTN / ISDN network from each application layer of the system controller, registration / quotation of various facsimile data stored in the backup SRAM, facsimile reading, facsimile reception printing, and fusion transmission / reception. provide.

  The NCS 61 is a process for providing a service that can be commonly used for the applications 70 that require network I / O. The NCS 61 distributes the data received from the network side according to each protocol to each application 70, or from the application 70. Mediates when sending data to the network side. Specifically, it has various daemons for protocols such as FTP, and client functions for the same protocol.

  The OCS 58 controls the operation unit (operation panel) 24 serving as information transmission means between the user A and the main body control. The OCS 58 acquires a key press from the operation unit 24 as a key event, transmits a key event function corresponding to the acquired key to the SCS 62, and displays various screens on the display unit 25 in response to a request from the application 70 or the control service 55. A drawing function for drawing output, a function for controlling the operation unit, and the like are configured from a portion of the OCS function library registered in advance.

  The application 70 includes a printer application 51 for a printer, a copy application 52 for copying, a fax application 53 for facsimile, and a scanner application 54 for the scanner 28.

  The control service 55 is provided with an authentication information management unit 60 that manages authentication information. The authentication information management unit 60 operates as a process in the control service 55, communicates with other processes and applications 70, and saves and restores (restores) association information stored in the ASC storage memory 43.

[Authentication Information Management Unit 60]
FIG. 6 shows an example of a block diagram of the authentication information management unit 60, and FIG. 7 shows an example of a diagram schematically showing the ASC storage memory 43 and association information. The authentication information management unit 60 saves part of the ASC storage memory 43 when there is no free memory for storing the association information in the ASC storage memory 43. For this purpose, the ASC storage memory 43 includes a remaining memory detection unit 61 that detects the free memory capacity (hereinafter simply referred to as remaining memory). When the remaining memory detecting unit 61 registers the association information in the ASC storage memory 43 of the wireless USB host 17, there is a remaining memory for accessing the ASC storage memory 43 via the device driver and storing the association information. It is determined whether or not.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, for example, when four pieces of association information are stored and the upper limit of the storage capacity of the ASC storage memory 43 is reached, the remaining memory detection unit 61 detects that there is no remaining memory to store the association information. To do.

  Even if the remaining memory is not zero, if there is not enough remaining memory to store association information, it is determined that the storage capacity of the ASC storage memory 43 is stored up to the upper limit. Further, when there is a remaining memory sufficient to store association information, saving of association information is not prohibited.

  When there is no remaining memory in the ASC storage memory 43, the save unit 62 saves the association information in the ASC storage memory 43 to the external memory. In FIG. 7A, if any one or more of four of A1 to A4 is saved, new association information can be stored in the ASC storage memory 43. Therefore, the saving unit 62 stores any of the association information of A1 to A4. Save to external memory. The number of association information to be saved is one. For example, in the case of the image forming apparatus 100 in which new association information is frequently registered, two or three or more association information is saved according to such frequency. May be. The number of association information saved at a time is set in advance.

  Selection of association information to be saved will be described. The association information to be saved is association information that is not used or is not expected to be used. Therefore, for example, the least recently used association information is saved from the ASC storage memory 43 based on the LRU (Least Recently Used) method. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 7A, the ASC storage memory 43 stores the date and time last used in association with each association information.

  Further, association information to be saved may be determined by a FIFO (First In First Out) method instead of the LUR. In this case, the ASC storage memory 43 stores the date and time registered in association with each association information. In addition, in the image forming apparatus 100 in which the user A who once registered the association information is unlikely to use the association information again, the user A selects association information to be saved at random instead of LRU or FIFO. Also good. In addition, a rank may be provided for the authority to use the image forming apparatus 100, and association information may be saved first from a lower rank person. In this case, the rank of each user is stored in the ASC storage memory 43 in association with each association information.

  Note that the user A who registers association information may select association information to be saved from the operation unit 24. In this case, the saving unit 62 reads the association information A1 to A4 of FIG. 7A from the ASC storage memory 43 and displays the list on the display unit 25. Then, the association information selected by the user A is saved. For example, if information that can identify the user A (for example, employee number, name, department, etc.) is stored in the ASC storage memory 43, the user A may delete any association information. Therefore, it is possible to register the association information by leaving the association information used more certainly than the LRU and FIFO.

  The save destination will be described. The save destination may be anything other than the ASC storage memory 43, for example, a USB memory 200, a memory card 30 such as an SD card, an HDD (even if incorporated in the image forming apparatus 100, it becomes an external memory when viewed from the wireless USB host 17. 15) corresponds to the external memory. A suitable save destination external memory is considered to change depending on how to finally save the saved association information.

  For example, when the saved association information is restored to the ASC storage memory 43 after the end of communication, in principle, it may be saved in any external memory, but in a removable external memory, it may be removed during saving or restoration. In view of this, it is preferable to retreat to the HDD 15.

  Further, for example, when the saved association information is not restored to the ASC storage memory 43 after the communication is completed (when the saved association information is kept saved), the HDD 15 of the image forming apparatus 100 is a storage unit that can be accessed from the application 70. It is not always preferable to store association information. For this reason, when not returning to the ASC storage memory 43 after the communication is completed, it is preferable to save to the removable external memory such as the USB memory 200 or the memory card 30. In this case, the association information saved in the USB memory 200 is third-party association information, and it is difficult to specify the person (user B), so the user A stores the user B association information. Even if the memory 200 is carried, it does not become a big security hurdle. That is, if the association information, the image forming apparatus 100, and the USB memory 200 of the user B do not exist at the same place, the USB memory 200 and the image forming apparatus 100 cannot communicate with each other. That is less.

  In FIG. 7B, association information to be saved by LRU is selected, and the association information is saved in the USB memory 200. Therefore, the last used A4 association information is saved in the USB memory 200.

  Returning to FIG. 6, the association information registration unit 63 registers the association information in the ASC storage memory 43. In the cable association, the unique ID of the USB memory 200 can be read from the USB memory 200 by the association information registration unit 63. For example, when the USB memory 200 is attached to the image forming apparatus 100 for the first time, the device driver is installed when the OS 64 detects that the USB memory 200 is attached to the USB host 22 using a plug-and-play mechanism. To do. The device driver detects that the USB memory 200 including the wireless USB communication device is attached.

  If the device driver for the USB memory 200 has already been installed, the device driver detects that the USB memory 200 having a wireless USB communication device has been installed.

  Then, the association information registration unit 63 reads the unique ID via the device driver. In the Numeric Association, since a unique ID is input from the operation unit 24, the association information registration unit 63 acquires a unique ID via the OCS 58 and the SCS 62.

  The association information registration unit 63 that has acquired the unique ID communicates with the USB memory 200 wirelessly or by wire based on the unique ID, and receives the encryption key from the USB memory 200.

  Since the image forming apparatus 100 has its own unique ID, the association information composed of the above three pieces of information is acquired.

  In FIG. 7C, the association information A5 of the USB memory 200 of the user A is stored in the ASC storage memory 43.

  The process setting unit 64 sets in the save information processing unit 65 whether or not to restore the saved association information. The process setting unit 64 requests the OCS 58 to display a process method selection screen on the display unit 25. FIG. 8 shows an example of a processing method selection screen displayed on the display unit 25. On the processing method selection screen, there are two buttons “Return the saved association information to memory after completion of communication” and “Restore to memory” together with the message “Please select the processing method of association information after completion of communication”. Is left evacuated "is displayed.

  Since the selection of this button will set whether or not the association information of the user A is left in the image forming apparatus 100, for example, when it is considered that communication will be performed by wireless USB in the future, “not return to memory, Select “Keep evacuated”.

When the OCS 58 acquires the button selected by the user A as a key event and sends it to the SCS 62, the selected button is notified from the SCS 62 to the process setting unit 64. The processing setting unit 64 sets a processing method in the save information processing unit 65 depending on which button is selected.
When “return the saved association information to memory after completion of communication” is selected, the saved information processing unit 65 deletes the association information used for communication from the ASC storage memory 43 after the communication is completed. As shown in FIG. 7D, the association information of A5 is deleted from the ASC storage memory 43. Therefore, when user A performs wireless communication next time, association information is registered again.

  When the association information is deleted from the ASC storage memory 43, the save information processing unit 65 reads the association information saved in the USB memory 200 and stores it in the ASC storage memory 43. As described above, the state of the ASC storage memory 43 returns to the original state shown in FIG.

[Operation Procedure of Image Forming Apparatus 100]
The operation procedure of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart in FIG. 9 starts when, for example, the association starts. Therefore, when a predetermined operation is input from the operation unit 24 in the Numeric Association, the USB memory 200 is installed in the Cable Association, or the predetermined operation is performed from the operation unit 24. Starts when an operation is entered.

  First, the remaining memory detection unit 61 accesses the ASC storage memory 43 and detects the remaining memory in the ASC storage memory 43 (S10). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that there is no remaining memory for recording association information in the ASC storage memory 43.

  Therefore, the remaining memory detection unit 61 detects that there is no remaining memory for recording the association information in the ASC storage memory 43 (S20).

Subsequently, the saving unit 62 determines association information to be saved (S30).
FIGS. 10A and 10B are examples of flowcharts showing the procedure of processing related to saving. FIG. 10A shows a flowchart when the user A selects association information to be saved, and FIG. 10B shows a flowchart when the saving unit 62 selects association information to be saved.

  When the user A selects from the operation unit 24, the save unit 62 displays the association information stored in the ASC storage memory 43 in a list, and the save unit 62 acquires the association information selected by the user A from the list. (S310). After step S310, the process returns to step S40 in FIG.

  Further, if it is set to automatically select the association information to be saved, the saving unit 62 selects the association information by, for example, any one of LRU, FIFO, or random method. In FIG. 10B, the association information saved by LRU is saved.

  For this reason, the saving unit 62 first reads the time used for the wireless communication last for all the association information in the ASC storage memory 43 (S410).

  Then, the saving unit 62 determines the association information to save the association information with the earliest time (the most time has elapsed since being used) (S420). After step S310, the process returns to step S40 in FIG.

  In FIGS. 10A and 10B, whether association information is manually selected or automatically selected is set in advance, but selection of association information to be saved in a series of procedures is performed. You may set as much as you like. In this case, the saving unit 62 displays a selection screen for manual selection or automatic selection. When the user A sets manual selection, the association information stored in the ASC storage memory 43 is displayed in a list, and the user A is displayed. Encourage selection. When user A sets automatic selection, association information is selected by either LRU, FIFO, or a random method.

  Returning to FIG. 9, the saving unit 62 saves the association information selected by the user A or the association information automatically selected from the ASC storage memory 43 (S40). The save destination external memory is, for example, the USB memory 200. In the Cable Association, the USB memory 200 may be already attached. In the Numeric Association, the save unit 62 may display a message on the display unit 25 to connect the USB memory 200.

  When free space is generated in the ASC storage memory 43 for storing the association information, the association information registration unit 63 stores the association information of the USB memory 200 to be communicated in the ASC storage memory 43 (S50). That is, association information is generated by adding the unique ID and encryption key read from the USB memory 200 or input by the user A and the unique ID of the wireless USB host 17, and stored in the ASC storage memory 43. As a result, the USB memory 200 and the wireless USB host 17 can communicate with each other.

  Whether or not the communication has ended is considered to be determined according to the usage method of the USB memory 200, but the image forming apparatus 100 does not necessarily have to detect whether or not the communication has actually ended. The detection of the end of communication includes a method for detecting when the role of the USB memory 200 is completed and a method for detecting when the communication is disconnected.

  For example, the role of the USB memory 200 is assumed to be used for the authentication of the user A. In this case, the communication ends when the authentication is established or not established. Further, in the case where the data stored in the USB memory 200 is printed by the image forming apparatus 100, the communication ends when the data transfer ends and the user A determines that there is no data transferred from the USB memory 200. . In the latter case, when the user A inputs the end of communication to the operation unit 24 of the image forming apparatus 100, the image forming apparatus 100 can detect the end of communication.

  Further, when detecting the end of communication due to the disconnection of communication, the detection method differs depending on the mode of association. That is, at the time when the communication is completed, the USB memory 200 is attached to the image forming apparatus 100 (mainly in the case of Cable Association) and the USB memory 200 is not attached to the image forming apparatus 100 (mainly. In the case of Numeric Association). Therefore, when the USB memory 200 is attached to the image forming apparatus 100, the end of communication can be detected by an operation for the user A to take out the USB memory 200, and the USB memory 200 is not attached to the image forming apparatus 100. In this case, when the user A carrying the USB memory 200 is away from the image forming apparatus 100 by a distance that allows communication, the image forming apparatus 100 can detect the end of communication.

  When the evacuation information processing unit detects the end of communication by the above method, the evacuation information processing unit performs post-processing (S60). FIG. 11 is an example of a flowchart illustrating a post-processing procedure in step S60.

  First, the evacuation information processing unit determines whether or not the association information saved after the end of communication is set to be returned to the ASC storage memory 43 (S610). That is, according to the processing method set by the user A on the processing method selection screen of FIG.

  If it is not set to return to the ASC storage memory 43 (No in S610), the association information stored in the ASC storage memory 43 may be left as it is, and the processing in FIG.

  When the setting is made to return to the ASC storage memory 43 (Yes in S610), the save information processing unit 65 deletes the association information newly recorded in the ASC storage memory 43 (S620). That is, the association information with the latest use date and time is deleted.

  Then, the association information saved in the ASC storage memory 43 is restored to the ASC storage memory 43 in which the free space has occurred (S630). As a result, the ASC storage memory 43 returns to the state before the USB memory 200 and the wireless USB host 17 communicate with each other. After step S630, the process returns to FIG. 9 and the process of FIG.

  As described above, since the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can save the association information stored in the wireless USB host 17, the association information of the USB memory 200 to be connected is registered in the communication device. be able to.

  Also, by evacuating the association information to a removable storage medium that can be removed, the storage medium can be easily managed, such as a locked desk, and even if the evacuated association information is very important Easy to secure security.

  Further, since the saved association information can be returned to the image forming apparatus 100, if the association information newly registered in the ASC storage memory 43 is used only once, it can be deleted by deleting the association information. The storage memory 43 can be used efficiently.

  In this case, since the saved association information is returned to the ASC storage memory 43, the connection can be made again without having to recreate the association information again.

Further, since it is possible to manually specify which association information is to be saved, it is possible to select association information that user A recognizes as not important and selectively save it in the external memory. .
Further, since the association information can be automatically saved, the troublesomeness of selecting the association information to be saved can be reduced.

FIG. 3 is an example of a diagram schematically illustrating how authentication information is handled by an image forming apparatus. 1 is an example of a hardware configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus. It is an example of the block diagram of a wireless USB host. It is an example of the figure which shows each Numeric Association and Cable Association typically. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a software module of an image forming apparatus. FIG. It is an example of the block diagram of an authentication information management part. It is an example of the figure which shows an ASC storage memory and association information typically. It is a figure which shows an example of the selection screen of the processing method displayed on the operation part. FIG. 3 is an example of a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the image forming apparatus. It is an example of the flowchart figure which shows the procedure of the process concerning saving. It is an example of the flowchart figure which shows the procedure of post-processing.

Explanation of symbols

11 CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 17 Wireless USB host 20 Communication information management program 22 USB host 24 Operation part 25 Display part 43 ASC storage memory 50 Controller 60 Authentication information management part 61 Remaining memory detection part 62 Saving part 63 Association information registration part 64 Process setting part 70 Application 80 Platform
100 Image forming apparatus 200 USB memory

Claims (13)

In a communication device that communicates with a terminal by wire or wireless using communication management information,
Communication management information storage means for storing the communication management information;
When storing the communication management information for communicating with the terminal in the communication management information storage means, a remaining memory detection means for detecting a remaining memory amount of the communication management information storage means;
A saving unit for saving one or more pieces of the communication management information stored in the communication management information storage unit to an external memory when the remaining memory amount of the communication management information storage unit is less than a predetermined value;
Communication management information registration means for storing the communication management information for communicating with the terminal in the communication management information storage means in a free space generated by the saving;
A communication apparatus comprising: Save information processing means for storing the communication management information saved in the external memory again in the communication management information storage means when communication with the terminal is completed;
The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: After displaying the communication management information to be saved in the external memory on the display means connected to the communication device, display a setting screen for setting whether to store again in the communication management information storage means,
A process for setting whether or not the communication management information stored in the external memory is stored again in the communication management information storage unit by the save information processing unit based on an operation of an operation unit connected to the communication device Setting section,
The communication apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: The saving means displays the communication management information stored in the communication management information storage means on a display means connected to the communication device,
The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication management information selected by an operation unit connected to the communication apparatus is saved. The saving means determines the communication management information to be saved according to a predetermined determination method;
The communication apparatus according to claim 1. The saving means determines the communication management information to be saved in order of unused longest time;
The communication apparatus according to claim 5, wherein: The communication management information is wireless USB association information,
Communicate wirelessly with the terminal via wireless USB,
The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The external memory is portable storage means that is the same body as the terminal.
The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The external memory is a USB memory or an SD card.
The communication device according to claim 8. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
A plotter that forms an image for each page based on print job data or optically read image data, and transfers the image to paper;
An image forming apparatus comprising: In a control method of a communication device that communicates with a terminal by wire or wireless using communication management information,
A step of detecting a remaining memory amount of the communication management information storage means when the remaining memory detection means stores the communication management information for communicating with the terminal in the communication management information storage means;
A saving means for saving one or more pieces of the communication management information stored in the communication management information storage means to an external memory when the remaining memory amount of the communication management information storage means is less than a predetermined value;
A step in which the communication management information registering means stores the communication management information for communicating with the terminal in the communication management information storage means in a free space generated by the saving;
A control method comprising: To a computer connected to a communication device that communicates with a terminal by wire or wireless using communication management information,
Detecting the remaining memory amount of the communication management information storage means when storing the communication management information for communicating with the terminal in the communication management information storage means;
When the remaining memory amount of the communication management information storage means is less than a predetermined value, saving one or more of the communication management information stored in the communication management information storage means to an external memory;
Storing the communication management information for communicating with the terminal in the communication management information storage means in an empty area generated by the saving;
A program characterized by having executed.   A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 12.

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