JP2010218465A - License management system, license management server, information processor, image forming apparatus, license management method, and license management program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce processing in a license management server to reduce a load. <P>SOLUTION: An information processor 200 includes a license request section for specifying a product key and equipment unique information of a plurality of composite machines 100 and requesting a license file that shows the use right of software for the plurality of composite machines 100 to the license management server 300, and a receiving section for receiving the license file from the license management server 300. The license management server 300 includes a storage section for storing license management information associating the product key with the consent situation of the license; a receiving section for receiving a request for the license file from the information processor 200; a license file generating section for generating the license file based on the specified product key, a plurality of equipment unique information and license management information; and a transmitting section for transmitting the license file to the information processor 200. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a license management system that manages the use right (license) of software installed in a device such as an image forming apparatus, a license management server, an information processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, a license management method, and a license management in the system Regarding the program.

  In recent image forming apparatuses, after shipment, a user or a third party as a third party can develop a new external application as an application (software) related to image processing or the like and install it in the image forming apparatus. .

  Conventionally, a license management server that manages software licenses issues a license file (license information), and the license file is applied to a device such as an image forming apparatus to activate the software. In general, a license management system for managing the usage right of the registered software is known. In such a system, when requesting the license management server to issue a license file, the device notifies the license management server of its own unique device unique information, and the license management server issues a license file including the device unique information. By doing so, the license file can be applied only to the requested device, and unauthorized use of the license file can be prevented.

  Here, when the user designates one or more image forming apparatuses targeted for software validation to an information processing apparatus such as a PC (Personal Computer), the information processing apparatus requests the designated image forming apparatus to validate the software. Each image forming processing apparatus discloses a license management system that requests a license management server to issue a license (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Normally, a license management server such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1 is managed by a software vendor, and software usage information is recorded on the server, so reliability is important. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the load on the license management server as much as possible.

  However, in the license management system of Patent Document 1 described above, when managing licenses of devices such as a plurality of image forming apparatuses, the license management server must issue a license file for each device. License file issuance processing in proportion to the number of devices is required, and the load is large.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and when the license management server issues license information for a plurality of image forming apparatuses that desire software validation, the processing in the license management server is reduced. An object of the present invention is to obtain a license management system, a license management server, an information processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, a license management method, and a license management program that reduce the load.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a license management system including an information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of image forming apparatuses, and a license management server connected to the information processing apparatus. In the system, the information processing apparatus transmits, to the license management server, software identification information unique to software desired to be validated, and a plurality of equipment unique to each of a plurality of image forming apparatuses to be validated by the software License request means for requesting issuance of license information indicating the right to use software for a plurality of image forming apparatuses, and receiving means for receiving the license information from the license management server. The license management server is configured to permit the software identification information and the license of the software. A storage unit that stores license management information associated with a situation; a receiving unit that receives a request for issuing the license information from the information processing device; and a request that is issued when the license information is issued. License information generating means for generating the license information based on the software identification information, the plurality of designated device-specific information, and the license management information stored in the storage means, and the information processing apparatus And transmitting means for transmitting the generated license information.

  The present invention also relates to a license management server connected to an information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of image forming apparatuses, in which the software identification information unique to the software is associated with the license approval status of the software. Storage means for storing information; software identification information of software desired to be validated from the information processing apparatus; and a plurality of device unique information unique to each of a plurality of image forming apparatuses to be validated by the software Receiving means for receiving a license information issuance request indicating the right to use software for a plurality of image forming apparatuses, and when receiving the license information issuance request, the software identification information designated The plurality of designated device-specific information and the label stored in the storage means. Based on the sense management information, and license information generation means for generating the license information, to the information processing apparatus, transmitting means for transmitting the generated the license information, and further comprising a.

  According to the present invention, in an information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a license management server, the license management server includes software identification information unique to software desired to be validated, and validation of the software. A license request unit that designates a plurality of pieces of device-specific information unique to each of a plurality of target image forming apparatuses and requests the issuance of license information indicating the right to use software for the plurality of image forming apparatuses; and the license management The server receives the license information from the server, and transmits the received license information to each of the specified plurality of image forming apparatuses, and requests the plurality of image forming apparatuses to validate the software. And an enabling request means.

  Further, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus connected to an information processing apparatus connected to a license management server, the information indicating the right to use software from the information processing apparatus, and the plurality of use licensed Receiving means for receiving license information including a plurality of device-specific information unique to each image forming apparatus, and the plurality of device-specific information included in the received license information includes device-specific information of the own device. Determining means for determining whether or not the device specific information of the device itself is included, and an enabling processing means for performing a software enabling process based on the license information. Features.

  Further, the present invention provides a license management method executed by a license management server connected to an information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of image forming apparatuses, wherein the license management server includes software identification information unique to software, Storage means for storing license management information in association with the license status of the software license, and receiving means from the information processing apparatus, the software identification information of the software desired to be activated, and the software validation A receiving step for receiving a request for issuing license information indicating a right to use software for a plurality of image forming apparatuses, in which a plurality of pieces of device-specific information unique to each of a plurality of target image forming apparatuses are specified; and license information If the generation means receives the license information request, it is designated. A license information generating step for generating the license information based on the software identification information, the specified device-specific information, and the license management information stored in the storage unit; And a transmission step of transmitting the generated license information to the information processing apparatus.

  According to the present invention, the receiving unit receives, from the information processing apparatus, the software identification information of software desired to be validated, and a plurality of device unique information unique to each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses that are the software validation targets. A receiving step for receiving a license information issuance request indicating the right to use software for a plurality of image forming apparatuses, and a license information generating unit that receives a request for the license information. Based on the software identification information, the plurality of designated device-specific information, and the license management information in which the software identification information stored in the storage unit and the license status of the software are associated with each other, the license A license information generating step for generating information, and a transmission means in the information processing apparatus; A transmission step of transmitting the generated the license information is a program for causing a computer to execute the.

  According to the present invention, when the license management server issues license information to a plurality of image forming apparatuses for which software is desired to be validated, the license management server does not issue license information for each image forming apparatus. By issuing license information of a plurality of image forming apparatuses in response to a request, it is possible to reduce the processing in the license management server and reduce the load.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the license management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the license management server. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of license management information. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of the license management information. FIG. 5 is a software configuration diagram of the license management server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a license file. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the multifunction machine according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a hardware configuration of the multifunction machine according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of a license issuance process according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a license file issuing process in the license management server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a software validation process in the multifunction machine according to the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of a license issuance process according to the modification of the first embodiment.

  Exemplary embodiments of a license management system, a license management server, an information processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, a license management method, and a license management program according to the present invention are explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiments, an example in which the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a multi-function peripheral (MFP) in which a plurality of functions such as copying, faxing, and printers are housed in one housing is shown. Without being limited thereto, the present invention can be applied to any apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile apparatus, and a scanner apparatus in which software can be installed.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the license management system according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, in the license management system, an information processing apparatus 200, a license management server 300, and a software distribution server 400 are connected via a network 80 such as the Internet. A firewall 90 is provided between the information processing apparatus 200 and the network 80. The information processing apparatus 200 is connected to a plurality of multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c (hereinafter, an unspecified multifunction peripheral is simply referred to as the multifunction peripheral 100).

  The firewall 90 monitors data flowing on the boundary with the outside so that a third party who has entered the information processing apparatus 200 through an external network such as the Internet does not perform fraud, and detects and blocks unauthorized access.

  The multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c are apparatuses having a plurality of functions such as copying, faxing, and printers, and are connected to the information processing apparatus 200 via a local network such as a LAN (Local Area Network). The MFPs 100a, 100b, and 100c are assigned device-specific information mfp00001, mfp00002, and mfp00003, which are unique information unique to the MFP, and the information is held in a recording medium such as a memory. In the license management system according to the present embodiment, three multifunction devices 100a, 100b, and 100c are connected. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and one, two, or four or more multifunction devices are connected. It is good also as a structure which connected.

  The software distribution server 400 is a device that holds software used in the multifunction device 100 and provides the software to the multifunction device 100 via the information processing device 200.

  The license management server 300 is a device that manages a license (usage right) of software provided from the software distribution server 400 and installed in the multifunction peripheral 100 via the information processing device 200.

  The information processing apparatus 200 is an apparatus that mediates processing performed between the software distribution server 400 and the license management server 300 and the multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c. Specifically, software provided by the software distribution server 400 is transmitted to the multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c, or a license file for software managed by the license management server 300 is requested, and the multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c are requested. Send. Here, the license file indicates a license of software for one or a plurality of multifunction peripherals, and details will be described later.

  FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the license management server. As shown in FIG. 2, in the license management server 300, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 301, a memory 302, a storage unit 303, and a communication unit 304 are connected via a bus 305.

  The CPU 301 supervises the entire processing of the license management server 300, and performs various arithmetic processings according to the functions of each unit as will be described later according to a program held in the storage unit 303 while accessing the memory 302, the storage unit 303, and the communication unit 304. I do.

  The memory 302 is a recording medium that is provided with a temporary storage area and stores data temporarily required when the CPU 301 performs various arithmetic processes.

  The storage unit 303 is a storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) that has a permanent storage area and holds various programs and data. Specifically, the storage unit 303 holds license management information. The license management information is information in which a product key corresponding to software is associated with a license permission status of the software. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of license management information. As shown in FIG. 3, a product key 331, a product ID 332, an unissued license number 333, an issued license number 334, and device-specific information 335 are associated with each other.

  The product key 331 is a number unique to each package attached to the software, and is a key necessary for the user to receive a license file. The user can use the software by receiving a license file issued using the product key 331. As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the user has already purchased a license from a software vendor, has issued a product key “222-333-555”, and is registered in the license management server 300. To do.

  The product ID 332 is an identifier associated with the software on a one-to-one basis. FIG. 3 shows software that can be used by the product key 331. Specifically, the software with the product ID “123456” can be used with the product key “222-333-555”. Here, in the present embodiment, one product ID is used, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of product IDs may be specified in association with each other. That is, there may be a plurality of software that can be used with one product key.

  The number of unissued licenses 333 indicates the upper limit of the number of multifunction peripherals 100 that can use the software with the product key 331. In FIG. 3, since the number of unissued licenses is 4, the product key “222-333-555” allows software to be used by up to four multifunction peripherals 100.

  The issued license number 334 indicates the number of multifunction peripherals 100 that use the software by the product key 331. In FIG. 3, since the number of issued licenses is 0, there is no multifunction device 100 that uses software with the product key “222-333-555”.

  The device unique information 335 indicates device unique information of the multifunction peripheral 100 that uses software by the product key 331. That is, if the product key 331 is the same, the number of issued licenses 334 and the number of device specific information 335 coincide. In FIG. 3, since the number of issued licenses 334 is 0, the device specific information 335 is not stored.

  Since the configuration of such license management information is an example, the configuration is not limited to these, and information other than the above can be held. For example, when there is a contract form of a plurality of licenses, the information can be held, and when the license has an expiration date, the information can be held.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of the license management information. When the license file issued with the product key “222-333-555” is applied to the three multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c, as shown in FIG. The device specific information “mfp00001”, “mfp00002”, and “mfp00003” of each of the devices 100a, 100b, and 100c are held. Since three license files are issued, the number of unissued licenses 333 changes from 4 to 1, and the number of issued licenses 334 changes from 0 to 3.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the communication unit 304 is an interface that communicates with other devices connected via the network 80.

  FIG. 5 is a software configuration diagram of the license management server according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the license management server 300 mainly includes a reception unit 311, a determination unit 312, a license file generation unit 313, and a transmission unit 314.

  The receiving unit 311 receives, from the information processing apparatus 200, a product key corresponding to software desired to be activated, which is purchased and specified by the user, and a plurality of MFPs 100 to be activated by the user. A request for issuing a license file in which a plurality of unique device specific information is specified is received.

  The determination unit 312 determines whether or not the license management information including the product key specified in the license file issuance request received by the reception unit 311 is stored in the storage unit 303.

  In addition, when the license management information including the designated product key is stored, the determination unit 312 determines whether the number of unissued licenses in the license management information is sufficient. In other words, the determination unit 312 determines whether or not the number of device-specific information of the plurality of multifunction peripherals 100 specified in the license file issue request received by the reception unit 311 is equal to or less than the number of unissued licenses in the license management information. Determine.

  When the receiving unit 311 receives the license file issuance request, the license file generating unit 313 receives the specified product key, the device-specific information of the specified plurality of MFPs 100, and the license stored in the storage unit 303. A license file is generated based on the management information.

  Specifically, the license file generation unit 313 determines that the product key designated by the determination unit 311 is included when the reception unit 311 receives a license file issuance request. License management information that has been determined that the number of device-specific information of a plurality of designated MFPs 100 is equal to or less than the number of unissued licenses in the acquired license management information is extracted and included in the extracted license management information A product ID corresponding to the product key is acquired, and a license file in which the acquired product ID is associated with a plurality of designated device-specific information is generated. In addition, when generating the license file, the license file generation unit 313 saves a plurality of designated device specific information, that is, device specific information included in the license file, in the license management information stored in the storage unit 303. To do.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a license file. As illustrated in FIG. 6, in the license file generated by the license file generation unit 313, a plurality of device specific information “mfp00001”, “mfp00002”, and “mfp00003” are associated with the product ID “123456”. In this license file, device specific information “mfp00001”, “mfp00002”, and “mfp00003” of the multifunction peripheral to which the software indicated by the product ID “123456” can be applied. In other words, a license file cannot be applied unless it is a multi-function peripheral that holds any of these device-specific information.

  Since the configuration of such a license file is an example, the configuration is not limited to this, and information other than the above can be held. For example, when there is a contract form of a plurality of licenses, the information can be held, and when the license has an expiration date, the information can be held.

  Also, the license file generation unit 313 determines that the license management information including the specified product key is not stored in the storage unit 303, and the license management information including the specified product key. If it is determined that the number of specified device-specific information is greater than the number of unissued licenses, no license file is generated.

  Returning to FIG. 5, the transmission unit 314 transmits the license file generated by the license file generation unit 313 to the information processing apparatus 200. Further, when it is determined that the license management information including the specified product key is not stored in the storage unit 303, the transmission unit 314 issues a license file including a plurality of specified device-specific information. The information processing apparatus 200 is notified that it cannot be performed. The transmission unit 314 also indicates that the license file including the plurality of designated device-specific information cannot be issued even when it is determined that the number of designated device-specific information is greater than the number of unissued licenses. The information processing apparatus 200 is notified.

  Next, the configuration of the information processing apparatus 200 will be described. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, an information processing apparatus 200 is connected to an input device 201 and a display device 202, and includes an HDD 220, an input reception unit 211, a reception unit 212, a unique information request unit 213, and a license request. It mainly includes a unit 214, an activation request unit 215, a transmission unit 216, and a display control unit 217.

  The input device 201 is a pointing device such as a mouse, a trackball, or a trackpad, a keyboard, and the like, and is a device that a user inputs to the information processing apparatus 200. The display device 202 is a display device that displays information such as characters and images. The HDD 220 is a storage medium that stores a program executed by the information processing apparatus 200.

  The input receiving unit 211 receives an input input from the input device 201. In the present embodiment, the input receiving unit 211 receives an input of a product key corresponding to software desired to be activated that is purchased and specified by the user. The input receiving unit 211 also receives specified inputs for a plurality of MFPs 100 to be installed and validated with software corresponding to the product key that has received the input.

  The unique information requesting unit 213 requests device unique information of the multifunction device from each of the plurality of multifunction devices 100 specified by the user, which is received by the input receiving unit 211.

  The receiving unit 212 receives software to be installed in the multifunction peripheral 100 from the software distribution server 400. The device specific information of the plurality of multifunction devices 100 is received from each of the plurality of multifunction devices 100 designated by the user. The receiving unit 212 also receives a notification from the license management server 300 that the generated license file or a license file including a plurality of designated device-specific information cannot be issued. In addition, the receiving unit 212 receives from the plurality of multifunction peripherals 100 designated by the user a notification indicating whether or not activation is possible, which indicates whether or not the software activation process based on the license file has succeeded.

  The license request unit 214 requests the license management server 300 to issue a license file by designating a product key designated by the user and a plurality of device specific information received from each of the plurality of multifunction peripherals 100.

  The activation request unit 215 transmits the license file received from the license management server 300 to each of the plurality of multifunction devices 100 designated by the user, and requests the plurality of multifunction devices 100 to validate the software.

  The transmission unit 216 transmits the software received from the software distribution server 400 to the multi function device 100.

  The display control unit 217 displays the notification of enabling / disabling received by the receiving unit 212 on the display device 202 in a visible state.

  Next, the overall functional configuration of the multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the multifunction machine according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the multifunction peripheral 100 includes a monochrome laser printer (B & W LP) 101, a color laser printer (Color LP) 102, an HDD 103, hardware resources 104 such as a scanner, a facsimile, and a memory, a network interface ( A communication group (I / F) 105 and a software group 110 including a platform 120 and an application 130.

  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, NCS (Network Control Service) 128, NRS (New Remote Service) 129, and Application Install Control Service 131. The platform 120 has an application program interface (API) that enables a processing request to be received from the application 130 using 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 engines 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 104 including a black and white laser printer (B & W LP) 101, a color laser 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 FCS 127 process 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 NCS 128 process is a process for providing a service that can be commonly used for applications that require network I / O. Data received from the network side according to each protocol is distributed to each application, and data from the application. Mediation when sending to the network side.

  In the present embodiment, the process of the NCS 128 receives a request for device specific information from the information processing device 200 and transmits the device specific information assigned to its multifunction peripheral to the information processing device 200. In addition, by receiving a license file from the information processing apparatus 200, the software validation request is accepted. If the software validation process performed based on the received license file is successful, the information processing apparatus 200 is notified that the software validation process is successful. On the other hand, if it is determined that the device-specific information of the own device is not included in the received license file, the information processing device 200 is notified that the license file is inappropriate and the software activation process has failed. .

  The process of the OCS 126 controls an operation panel (operation panel) 910 serving as information transmission means between the operator (user) and the main body control. The OCS 126 obtains 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 obtained 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 installation control service 131 determines whether or not the device-specific information of the own device is included in the plurality of device-specific information included in the license file received by the NCS 128 process. If it is determined that the device-specific information of the own device is included in the license file, the software for the product ID included in the license file is validated.

  The process of the NRS 129 has a function related to device remote management via the network and a scheduler function such as data conversion when data is transmitted and received via the network.

  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, a process inspection application 116 as a process inspection application, and a WEB server for a client terminal such as a PC connected to the Internet It has a WEB application 117 that operates as an (http server) and displays various screens on a WEB browser that operates on a client terminal.

  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 the external application 172 in the application layer above the control service layer. The external application 172 is software received from the information processing apparatus 200 and is installed by the application installation control service 131.

  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. That is, as described above, the external application 172 can be installed and can be uninstalled.

  Next, a hardware configuration of the multifunction machine 100 will be described. FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a hardware configuration of the multifunction machine according to the first embodiment. As shown in the figure, the multifunction peripheral 100 has a configuration in which a controller 10 and an engine unit (Engine) 60 are connected by a PCI (Peripheral Component Interface) bus. The controller 10 is a controller that controls the entire MFP 100 and controls drawing, communication, and input from an operation unit (not shown). The engine unit 60 is a printer engine that can be connected to a PCI bus, and is, for example, a monochrome plotter, a one-drum color plotter, a four-drum color plotter, a scanner, or a fax unit. The engine unit 60 includes an image processing part such as error diffusion and gamma conversion in addition to a so-called engine part such as a plotter.

  The controller 10 includes a CPU 11, a north bridge (NB) 13, a system memory (MEM-P) 12, a south bridge (SB) 14, a local memory (MEM-C) 17, and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). 16 and a hard disk drive (HDD) 18, and the north bridge (NB) 13 and the ASIC 16 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 15. The MEM-P 12 further includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12a and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 12b.

  The CPU 11 performs overall control of the multifunction peripheral 100, has a chip set including the NB 13, the MEM-P 12, and the SB 14, and is connected to other devices via the chip set.

  The NB 13 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 11 to the MEM-P 12, SB 14, and AGP 15, and includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 12, a PCI master, and an AGP target.

  The MEM-P 12 is a system memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, a memory for developing programs and data, a memory for drawing a printer, and the like, and includes a ROM 12a and a RAM 12b. The ROM 12a is a read-only memory used as a program / data storage memory, and the RAM 12b is a writable / readable memory used as a program / data development memory, a printer drawing memory, or the like.

  The SB 14 is a bridge for connecting the NB 13 to a PCI device and peripheral devices. The SB 14 is connected to the NB 13 via a PCI bus, and a network interface (I / F) unit and the like are also connected to the PCI bus.

  The ASIC 16 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for image processing applications having hardware elements for image processing, and has a role of a bridge for connecting the AGP 15, PCI bus, HDD 18 and MEM-C 17. The ASIC 16 includes a PCI target and an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that is the core of the ASIC 16, a memory controller that controls the MEM-C 17, and a plurality of DMACs (Direct Memory) that perform rotation of image data by hardware logic. Access Controller) and a PCI unit that performs data transfer between the engine unit 60 via the PCI bus. An FCU (Facsimile Control Unit) 30, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) 40, and an IEEE 1394 (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) interface 50 are connected to the ASIC 16 via a PCI bus. The operation display unit 20 is directly connected to the ASIC 16.

  The MEM-C 17 is a local memory used as a copy image buffer and a code buffer, and the HDD 18 is a storage for storing image data, programs, font data, and forms.

  The AGP 15 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card proposed for speeding up graphics processing. The AGP 15 speeds up the graphics accelerator card by directly accessing the MEM-P 12 with high throughput. .

  A license issuance process in the license management system configured as described above will be described. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of a license issuance process according to the first embodiment.

  First, the information processing apparatus 200 accepts a software validation request by accepting a product key used for validation and designation of one or more MFPs to be validated by the user P (step S10). Here, it is assumed that three multifunction devices 100a, 100b, and 100c are designated as multifunction devices to be validated.

  Next, the information processing apparatus 200 requests device specific information of each multifunction device from each of the multifunction devices 100a, 100b, and 100c designated by the user P (step S11). Each of the multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c that has received the request for device specific information transmits the device specific information of its own device to the information processing device 200 (step S12).

  Then, the information processing apparatus 200 that has received the device unique information of the multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c designates the product key designated by the user and a plurality of device unique information received from each of the multifunction devices 100a, 100b, and 100c. Then, a license file issuance request is made to the license management server 300 (step S13).

  The license management server 300 that has received the license file issuance request generates a license file based on the specified product key, the device-specific information of the multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c, and the license management information, and the generated license The file is transmitted to the information processing apparatus 200 (step S14). This license file can be applied to a multi-function peripheral that holds the device-specific information specified in the license issuance request, that is, the multi-function peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c.

  The information processing apparatus 200 that has received the license file transmits the license file to each of the multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c, and requests software validation from the multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c (step S15). Each of the multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c that has received the license file performs software validation processing based on the license file, and notifies whether or not the validation of the software is successful (step S16). The information processing apparatus 200 that has received the notification notifies the user P of the fact by displaying on the display device 202 whether or not the activation indicated by the notification is possible (step S17).

  The above is the outline of the license issuance process in the license management system. Hereinafter, the processes in steps S13 and S14 in the license issuance process of the license management server 300 will be described in more detail. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a license file issuing process in the license management server according to the first embodiment.

  First, the receiving unit 311 receives a license file issuance request in which a product key and a plurality of device-specific information are specified from the information processing apparatus 200 (step S30). The determination unit 312 determines whether or not the license management information including the product key received by the reception unit 311, that is, the designated product key is stored in the storage unit 303 (step S <b> 31). When the license management information including the designated product key is not stored (step S31: No), the transmission unit 314 performs information processing indicating that a license file including a plurality of designated device specific information cannot be issued. The apparatus 200 is notified (step S37).

  On the other hand, when the license management information including the designated product key is stored (step S31: Yes), the determination unit 312 receives the device specific information of the multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c received by the reception unit 311. It is determined whether the number, that is, the number of device-specific information of the designated multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, 100c is equal to or less than the number of unissued licenses in the license management information (step S32). When the number of device specific information is greater than the number of unissued licenses in the license management information (step S32: No), the transmission unit 314 is informed that a license file including a plurality of designated device specific information cannot be issued. The processing device 200 is notified (step S37).

  On the other hand, when the number of device-specific information is equal to or less than the number of unissued licenses in the license management information (step S32: Yes), the license file generation unit 313 stores the license management information including the designated product key. The product ID corresponding to the product key included in the extracted license management information is extracted (step S33). The license file generation unit 313 stores a plurality of designated device specific information in the license management information (step 34).

  Then, the license file generation unit 313 generates a license file in which the acquired product ID is associated with a plurality of designated device specific information (step S35). Next, the transmission unit 314 transmits the generated license file to the information processing apparatus 200 (step S36).

  Next, the processes in steps S15 and S16 in the license issuance process of the license management server 300 in FIG. 10 will be described in more detail below. FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a software validation process in the multifunction machine according to the first embodiment.

  First, the NCS 128 receives a license file from the information processing apparatus 200 (step S50). The application installation control service 131 determines whether or not device specific information of its own device is included in the plurality of device specific information included in the received license file (step S51). If the device-specific information of the own device is not included (step S51: No), the NCS 128 indicates that the received license file is inappropriate for the own device and that the software validation process has failed. (Step S54).

  On the other hand, when the device specific information of the own device is included (step S51: Yes), the application installation control service 131 performs the software validation process of the product ID included in the license file (step S52). Then, the NCS 128 notifies the information processing apparatus 200 that the software validation process based on the received license file has been successful (step S53).

  As described above, in the license management system according to the first embodiment, when issuing a license file for a plurality of multifunction peripherals 100 for which software activation is desired, the license management server 300 performs a license for each multifunction peripheral. Even if a file is not issued, a license issuance request is issued once and a license file is issued for a plurality of multifunction peripherals. Specifically, the information processing apparatus 200 transmits a product key and a plurality of device specific information corresponding to the plurality of multifunction peripherals 100 to the license management server 300 to issue a license issuance request. The license file including the plurality of pieces of device-specific information is generated, the generated license file is transmitted to the information processing apparatus 200, and the license file received by the information processing apparatus 200 is transmitted to each of the plurality of multifunction peripherals. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the load on the license management server 300 by reducing processing in the license management server 300.

(Modification of Embodiment 1)
In the first embodiment, the information processing apparatus receives an input of a product key corresponding to software desired to be activated by the user and an input of designation of a plurality of MFPs to be activated by installing the software. The license file issuance process is performed. On the other hand, in this modified example, a software sales site or the like is displayed on a PC connected to the information processing apparatus via a network, and a product key is input from a user from the site, and a plurality of multifunction devices are connected. It is configured to receive a designated input and transmit it to the information processing apparatus. Therefore, the information processing apparatus does not accept input processing directly from the user, performs various processing between the license management server and the software distribution server, and manages a plurality of multifunction peripherals.

  In such a case, the license issuance process in the license management system is as follows. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of a license issuance process according to the modification of the first embodiment.

  Here, the PC 500 is provided between the user and the information processing apparatus 200. First, the PC 500 accepts a software validation request by accepting a product key used for validation and designation of one or more multifunction devices to be validated by the user P (step S70). Here, as in the first embodiment, three multifunction devices 100a, 100b, and 100c are designated as multifunction devices to be validated.

  Next, the PC 500 designates the product key designated by the user P and the multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c, and transmits a software validation request to the information processing apparatus 200 (step S71). Then, the information processing apparatus 200 requests device specific information of each multifunction device from each of the multifunction devices 100a, 100b, and 100c (step S72). Hereinafter, processing from transmission of device specific information from the multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c to the information processing apparatus 200 to notification of whether the multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c are enabled to the information processing apparatus 200 (steps S73 to 77). ) Is omitted because it is the same as that of the first embodiment (steps S12 to 16).

  The information processing apparatus 200 that has received the notification of enabling / disabling from the multifunction peripherals 100a, 100b, and 100c transmits the notification of enabling / disabling to the PC 500 (step S78). Then, the PC 500 that has received the notification of whether the validation is possible or not notifies the user P of the fact by displaying the validation possibility indicated by the notification on the display device or the like (step S79).

  As described above, in the license management system according to the modification of the first embodiment, when issuing a license file to a plurality of multifunction peripherals 100 that desire software validation, the license management server 300 Even if a license file is not issued every time, a single license issuance request is received and license files are issued for a plurality of multifunction peripherals. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the load on the license management server 300 by reducing processing in the license management server 300. Also, by issuing a license issuance request to the information processing apparatus 200 via the PC 500, the user can issue a license file from a portal site or the like.

  The license management program executed by the license management server according to the first embodiment is provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like.

  The license management program executed by the license management server according to the first embodiment is a file in an installable or executable format, such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or the like. It may be configured to be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

  Furthermore, the license management program executed by the license management server according to the first embodiment may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. Further, the license management program executed by the license management server according to the first embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  The license management program executed by the license management server according to the first embodiment has a module configuration including the above-described units (reception unit 311, determination unit 312, license file generation unit 313, transmission unit 314). As hardware, a CPU (processor) reads out and executes a license management program from the ROM, and the above-described units are loaded onto the main storage device. The receiving unit 311, the determining unit 312, the license file generating unit 313, and the transmitting unit 314 are loaded. Are generated on the main memory.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the application software is installed in the multi-function peripheral has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to software other than the application.

  In the above embodiment, the information processing apparatus 200, the software distribution server 400, and the license management server 300 are connected to a network 80 such as the Internet, and the information processing apparatus 200 and the multifunction peripheral 100 are connected to a local network such as a LAN. The connected configuration is not limited to this. That is, for example, the information processing apparatus 200, the software distribution server 400, the license management server 300, and the multifunction peripheral 100 may be connected to a single network such as the Internet.

80 Network 90 Firewall 100 (100a, 100b, 100c) MFP 104 Hardware resource 105 Network interface (I / F)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 110 Software group 111 Printer application 112 Copy application 113 Fax application 114 Scanner application 115 Net file application 116 Process inspection application 117 WEB application 120 Platform 130 Application 131 Application installation control service 172 External application 200 Information processing apparatus 201 Input apparatus 202 Display apparatus 211 Input Reception unit 212 Reception unit 213 Specific information request unit 214 License request unit 215 Activation request unit 216 Transmission unit 217 Display control unit 300 License management server 301 CPU
302 memory 303 storage unit 304 communication unit 305 bus 311 reception unit 312 determination unit 313 license file generation unit 314 transmission unit 400 software distribution server

JP 2008-152399 A

Claims (10)

In a license management system comprising: an information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of image forming apparatuses; and a license management server connected to the information processing apparatus.
The information processing apparatus includes:
The license management server is designated with software identification information unique to the software desired to be activated and a plurality of device unique information unique to each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses to be validated, License request means for requesting issuance of license information indicating the right to use software for the image forming apparatus;
Receiving means for receiving the license information from the license management server,
The license management server
Storage means for storing license management information in which the software identification information is associated with the license status of the software;
Receiving means for receiving a request for issuing the license information from the information processing apparatus;
If the license information issuance request is received, the license information is based on the designated software identification information, the designated device specific information, and the license management information stored in the storage unit. License information generating means for generating information;
Transmitting means for transmitting the generated license information to the information processing apparatus;
A license management system comprising: In a license management server connected to an information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of image forming apparatuses,
Storage means for storing license management information in which software identification information unique to software is associated with a license license status of the software;
A plurality of images in which the software identification information of software desired to be validated and a plurality of device specific information unique to each of a plurality of image forming apparatuses to be validated by the software are designated from the information processing apparatus Receiving means for receiving a request for issuance of license information indicating a right to use software for the forming apparatus;
If the license information issuance request is received, the license information is based on the designated software identification information, the designated device specific information, and the license management information stored in the storage unit. License information generating means for generating information;
Transmitting means for transmitting the generated license information to the information processing apparatus;
A license management server comprising: The license management information associates license permission statuses for a plurality of image forming apparatuses for each software identification information,
The license information generation unit generates the license information including the plurality of specified device-specific information from the license management information acquired for each of the specified software identification information. The license management server described. A determination unit for determining whether or not the license management information including the specified software identification information is stored in the storage unit;
When it is determined that the license management information including the specified software identification information is not stored in the storage unit, the transmission unit includes the license information including the specified device specific information. 4. The license management server according to claim 3, wherein the information processing apparatus is notified that it cannot be issued. The license management information associates the number of unissued licenses, which is the license grant status, for each software identification information,
The determination means determines whether or not the number of specified device-specific information is equal to or less than the number of unissued licenses in the license management information,
The transmission unit issues the license information including the plurality of designated device-specific information when it is determined that the number of designated device-specific information is greater than the number of unissued licenses in the license management information. The license management server according to claim 4, wherein the information processing apparatus is notified that the information processing apparatus cannot be used. In an information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a license management server,
The license management server is designated with software identification information unique to the software desired to be activated and a plurality of device unique information unique to each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses to be validated, License request means for requesting issuance of license information indicating the right to use software for the image forming apparatus;
Receiving means for receiving the license information from the license management server;
An activation request means for transmitting the received license information to each of the plurality of designated image forming apparatuses and requesting the plurality of image forming apparatuses to validate the software;
An information processing apparatus comprising: In an image forming apparatus connected to an information processing apparatus connected to a license management server,
Receiving means for receiving, from the information processing apparatus, license information including a plurality of pieces of device-specific information that is information indicating a right to use software and is unique to each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses that are permitted to use;
Determining means for determining whether or not the device-specific information of the own device is included in the plurality of device-specific information included in the received license information;
If it is determined that the device-specific information of its own device is included, an activation processing means for performing software activation processing based on the license information;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   A transmission means for notifying the information processing apparatus that the license information is inappropriate and the activation process has failed when it is determined that the device specific information of the own apparatus is not included; The image forming apparatus according to claim 7. In a license management method executed by a license management server connected to an information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of image forming apparatuses,
The license management server
Storage means for storing license management information in which software identification information unique to the software and license status of the software are associated with each other;
The receiving means designates, from the information processing apparatus, the software identification information of software desired to be activated and a plurality of pieces of device-specific information unique to each of a plurality of image forming apparatuses to be validated by the software Receiving a request for issuing license information indicating a right to use software for a plurality of image forming apparatuses;
When the license information generation unit receives the license information request, the license information generation unit is based on the specified software identification information, the specified plurality of device specific information, and the license management information stored in the storage unit. A license information generating step for generating the license information;
A transmitting step of transmitting the generated license information to the information processing apparatus;
A license management method comprising: The receiving unit is designated from the information processing apparatus, the software identification information of the software desired to be activated, and a plurality of pieces of device-specific information unique to each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses that are the activation targets of the software, A receiving step for receiving a request for issuing license information indicating a right to use software for a plurality of image forming apparatuses;
When the license information generating unit receives the request for the license information, the specified software identification information, the specified plurality of device specific information, the software identification information stored in the storage unit, and the software information A license information generating step for generating the license information based on the license management information associated with the license permission status;
A transmitting step of transmitting the generated license information to the information processing apparatus;
A program that causes a computer to execute.

Images