JP2011085975A - Software resource using system, management device, and program for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a software resource using system and its management device or like. <P>SOLUTION: Each of using devices for performing processing by using software resources is configured to store its individual identification information, communication information used for communication, resource information showing the resources of the using device and attribute information for using the software resources. A peripheral equipment management device is provided with: an information acquisition means for acquiring these pieces of information stored in using equipment; and a storage management means for making the information acquisition means acquire the resource information from the using device when the communication information and individual identification information acquired from the using equipment are matched with the communication information and individual identification information acquired from the same using equipment before, and making a storage means store the acquired resource information as the resource information of the using device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a software resource use system, a management apparatus, and a program thereof.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-133620 determines whether or not new typeface character data can be downloaded to the character data storage device based on the current free space of the character data storage device included in the printer. Discloses a character data management device that executes a character data management selection control program that downloads character data of a new typeface and deletes the character data of the selected typeface if the download is impossible.
In addition, for example, Patent Document 2 discloses that when a resource is downloaded in a system including a peripheral device connected to a network, a server, and a personal computer, a device unique address such as a MAC address and a user such as an IP address are downloaded. Two types of addresses that can be set from the server are managed on the server together with the resource to be downloaded, and the two types of MAC addresses and network addresses of peripheral devices on the network are periodically compared with information managed on the server. Thus, a peripheral device management apparatus that automatically determines movement and replacement of peripheral devices is disclosed.

JP 2000-066859 A JP 2002-108734 A

  The present invention provides a software resource use system, a management apparatus, and the like that can supply and execute software resources required for each device that uses the software resources so that the software resources required for the device can be reliably executed. The purpose is to provide a program.

  The invention according to claim 1 of the present application stores a plurality of software resources that can be used in one or more of the plurality of used devices, the management device, and the plurality of used devices, and stores each of the stored plurality of software resources. A software resource supply device that supplies each of the plurality of used devices, and each of the plurality of used devices is used for communication between the identification information used for identifying the used device and at least the management device. First storage means for storing received communication information, resource information indicating resources of the using device for using the software resources, and software resource information indicating software resources that can be supplied from the software supply device, The software resource supply device receives the supply of the software resource indicated by the stored software information. The software resource use means using the supplied software resource and the identification information, communication information and resource information stored in the first storage means or one or more of them are transmitted in response to an external request. Information transmitting means, and the management means sequentially requests the identification information, the communication information and the resource information or one or more of each of the plurality of used devices, and in response to the request, Information acquisition means for acquiring one or more of the identification information, the communication information, and the resource information transmitted from each of the plurality of used devices, and each of the acquired plurality of used devices is acquired from this used device. The second storage means for storing the identification information, the communication information and the resource information, and the information acquisition means from each of the plurality of use devices. The identification information and communication information of the device are acquired, and the acquired identification information is different from the stored identification information of the device in use, and the acquired communication information and the stored communication information of the device in use are stored. Storage management means for causing the information acquisition means to acquire the resource information from the using device and storing the acquired resource information in the storage means as resource information of the using device when A software resource use system having

  In the invention according to claim 2 of the present application, in each of the plurality of use devices, the first storage unit further stores use information indicating use states of the plurality of software resources in the use device, and transmits the information. The means further transmits the usage information in response to a request from the outside. In the management device, the information acquisition means further acquires usage information of each of the plurality of usage devices, and the storage management means includes: When the identification information and communication information acquired from each of the plurality of use devices match the stored identification information and communication information of the use device, the information acquisition unit uses the use information of the use device. The information is acquired, and the acquired usage information of the usage device is stored in the storage unit as usage information of the usage device. A mounting of the software resources system.

  The invention according to claim 3 of the present application is the software resource according to claim 2, wherein the use information indicates use frequency, addition and deletion of each of the plurality of software resources in each of the plurality of use devices, or one or more of them. The system used.

  In the invention according to claim 4 of the present application, the management device, based on the resource information acquired from each of the plurality of used devices, software resource information indicating the software resources that can be used in each of the plurality of used devices, 4. The software resource use system according to claim 2, further comprising notification means for notifying the use apparatus, wherein the first storage means stores the software resource information notified from the management apparatus.

  In the invention according to claim 5 of the present application, the usage information indicates at least the frequency of use of each of the plurality of software resources in each of the plurality of used devices, and the notification means includes the resource of each of the used devices indicated by the resource information. 5. The software resource information indicating one or more of the plurality of software resources within the usable range is notified to the using device in order of frequency of use in the using device. This is a software resource usage system.

  In the invention according to claim 6 of the present application, the notification means sends software resource information indicating the software resources one by one to the using device within a range that can be used by each resource of the using device indicated by the resource information. The software resource use system according to claim 5, which is notified.

  In the invention according to claim 7 of the present application, the notifying means notifies the using device of software resource information indicating all of the plurality of software resources to each of the using devices indicated by the resource information. Until the software resource indicated by the software resource information stored in the first storage means of the using device is within a usable range by the using device. 7. The software resource use system according to claim 6, wherein the software resource information stored in the means is deleted.

  In the invention according to claim 8 of the present application, each of the plurality of software resources has an attribute to be used by a use device in which the software resource is used, and in each of the plurality of use devices, the first storage unit includes: Further storing attribute information indicating an attribute of the using device, the information transmitting unit further transmits the attribute information in response to a request from the outside, and in the management device, the information acquiring unit includes the plurality of information acquiring units. The attribute information acquired from each of the plurality of used devices is further stored as attribute information of the used device, and the second storage unit further stores attribute information acquired from each of the used devices. The notification means includes software resource information indicating software resources determined to be usable by the attribute information stored in the second storage means. Only a software resource use system according to claim 1 to be notified to the used device corresponding to the attribute information.

  In the invention according to claim 9 of the present invention, for each of a plurality of used devices each using one or more of a plurality of software resources, identification information used for identifying the used device, for communication with the used device The communication information to be used and the resource information indicating the resource for using the software resource of the using device or one or more of these are sequentially requested, and transmitted from each of the plurality of using devices in response to the request. Information acquisition means for acquiring one or more of the identification information, the communication information, and the resource information, identification information of each of the plurality of used devices, communication information, and resource information are stored as information on the used devices. Storage means and the information acquisition means to acquire the identification information and communication information of the used device from each of the plurality of used devices. When the stored identification information is different from the stored identification information of the use device, and the acquired communication information matches the stored communication information of the use device, A management device having storage management means for acquiring the resource information from an apparatus and storing the acquired resource information in the storage means as resource information of the using apparatus.

  In the invention according to claim 10 of the present application, the information acquisition unit further acquires, from each of a plurality of used devices, usage information indicating a usage state of each of the plurality of software resources in the used device. The storage management means stores the identification information and communication information acquired from each of the plurality of used devices, and the stored identification information and communication information of the used device match. 10. The information acquisition unit may acquire the usage information of the usage device, and the acquired usage information of the usage device may be stored in the storage unit as usage information of the usage device. It is the management apparatus of description.

  The invention according to claim 11 of the present application is the management device according to claim 10, wherein the usage information indicates usage frequency, addition and deletion of each of the plurality of software resources in each of the plurality of usage devices, or one or more thereof. It is.

  In the invention according to claim 12 of the present application, based on resource information acquired from each of the plurality of used devices, software resource information indicating the software resource that can be used in each of the plurality of used devices is notified to the used device. The management device according to claim 10 or 11, further comprising notification means for storing the information.

  In the invention according to claim 13 of the present application, the usage information indicates at least the frequency of use of each of the plurality of software resources in each of the plurality of used devices, and the notification means includes the resource of each of the used devices indicated by the resource information. The software resource information indicating one or more of the plurality of software resources within the usable range according to is notified to and stored in this using device in order of frequency of use in this using device. It is the management apparatus of crab.

  In the invention according to claim 14 of the present application, the notification means sends software resource information indicating the software resources one by one to the using device within a range that can be used by each resource of the using device indicated by the resource information. The management apparatus according to claim 13, which is notified.

  According to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the notifying unit notifies the using device of software resource information indicating all of the plurality of software resources to each of the using devices indicated by the resource information. Until the software indicated by the software resource information stored in the first storage means of the use device is within a usable range by the use device. The management apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the software resource information stored in the management information is deleted.

  In the invention according to claim 16 of the present application, each of the plurality of software resources has an attribute to be used by a using device in which the software resource is used, and the information acquisition unit receives attribute information from each of the plurality of using devices. Further, the information is acquired and stored in the storage unit as information on the device used, and the notification unit is software resource information indicating a software resource determined to be usable by the attribute information stored in the second storage unit The management device according to any one of claims 9 to 15, wherein only the device that uses the attribute information is notified.

  The invention according to claim 17 of the present application has a computer, each of which uses one or more of a plurality of software resources, a plurality of using devices, a management device having a computer, and one or more of the plurality of using devices. A software resource use system in which a plurality of software resources that can be stored and a software resource supply device that supplies each of the plurality of stored software resources to each of the plurality of use devices are communicably connected; Resource information indicating resources for using the software resources, identification information used for identifying the used devices, communication information used for communication with at least the management device, and a computer for each of the plurality of used devices. And software resources that can be supplied from the software resource supply device. Storing the software resource information; receiving the supply of the software resource indicated by the stored software resource information from the software resource supply device; and using the supplied software resource; Transmitting the stored identification information, communication information and resource information or one or more of them in response to a request, and causing the computer of the management device to identify each of the plurality of devices used The information, the communication information and the resource information or one or more of these are sequentially requested, and one of the identification information, the communication information and the resource information transmitted from each of the plurality of using devices in response to the request. The step of acquiring the above and for each of the acquired plurality of used devices, Storing the acquired identification information, communication information, and resource information; and acquiring the identification information and communication information of the used device from each of the plurality of used devices, and acquiring the acquired identification information and the stored information. When the acquired communication information is different from the used device identification information and the stored communication information of the used device matches, the resource information is acquired from the used device, and the acquired resource And a step of storing information as resource information of the device in use.

  In the invention according to claim 18 of the present invention, for each of a plurality of used devices each using one or more of a plurality of software resources, identification information used for identifying the used device, for communication with the used device The communication information to be used and the resource information indicating the resource for using the software resource of the using device or one or more of these are sequentially requested, and transmitted from each of the plurality of using devices in response to the request. Acquiring one or more of the identification information, the communication information, and the resource information; and storing identification information, communication information, and resource information of each of the plurality of used devices as information on the used device. And acquiring the identification information and communication information of the used device from each of the plurality of used devices, and acquiring the acquired identification information and the stored information. When the acquired communication information and the stored communication information of the device used are different from the identification information of the device used, the resource information is acquired from the device used, and the acquired This is a program that causes a computer to execute the step of storing resource information as resource information of the device used.

  According to the invention of claim 1 of the present application, software resources required for each device that uses the software resources can be supplied and used so as to be surely used. A system of use is provided.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a software resource use system in which a software resource use system that can be set so that software resources corresponding to the use state of the software resource are supplied to each device used is provided. .

  According to the invention of claim 3 of the present application, there is provided a software resource use system that can be set so that each use device is supplied with software resources according to the use frequency, addition, and deletion of the software resources in each use device. .

  According to the invention of claim 4 of the present application, there is provided a software resource use system that can be set so that software resources are supplied to each of the use devices according to the resources of each use device.

  According to the invention of claim 5 of the present application, there is provided a software resource use system that can be set so that software resources are supplied to each of the use devices according to the frequency of use of each software resource in each use device.

  According to the invention of claim 6 of the present application, there is provided a software resource use system that can be set so that software resources are sequentially supplied to each of the use devices within a range that can be used by each of the use devices.

  According to the invention of claim 7 of the present application, software resources are sequentially supplied to each of the used devices within a range that can be used by each of the used devices with a smaller amount of processing than when this configuration is not adopted. A software resource usage system that can be configured to be provided is provided.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a software resource use system that can be set so that software resources suitable for the attributes of each of the used devices are supplied to each of the used devices.

  According to the invention of claim 9 of the present application, software resources required for each device that uses software resources can be supplied and used so that they can be used reliably. A system of use is provided.

  According to the invention of claim 10 of the present application, there is provided a software resource usage system that can be set so that software resources corresponding to the usage state of the software resources are supplied to each of the used devices.

  According to the invention of claim 11 of the present application, there is provided a software resource use system that can be set so that each use device is supplied with software resources according to the use frequency, addition, and deletion of the software resources in each use device. .

  According to the invention of claim 12 of the present application, there is provided a software resource usage system that can be set so that software resources are supplied to each of the used devices according to the resources of the used devices.

  According to the invention of claim 13 of the present application, there is provided a software resource use system that can be set so that software resources are supplied to each of the used devices according to the frequency of use of each software resource in each of the used devices.

  According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a software resource use system that can be set so that software resources are sequentially supplied to each of the used devices within a range that can be used by each of the used devices.

  According to the invention of claim 15 of the present application, software resources are sequentially supplied to each of the used devices within a usable range in each of the used devices with a smaller processing amount than in the case where this configuration is not adopted. A software resource usage system that can be configured to be provided is provided.

  According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a software resource use system that can be set so that software resources suitable for the attributes of each of the used devices are supplied to each of the used devices.

  According to the invention of claim 17 of the present application, software resources required for each device that uses the software resources can be supplied and used so that they can be used reliably. A program for the system in use is provided.

  According to the invention of claim 18 of the present application, a management device capable of supplying and using software resources required by each device to each device using the software resources so that the software resource can be used reliably. A program is provided.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a network system to which an embodiment of the present application is applied. It is a figure which shows the peripheral device program run in the peripheral device shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the management program 220 performed in the peripheral device management apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a first diagram illustrating information stored in a peripheral device management apparatus (such as FIG. 1). It is a flowchart which shows 1st operation | movement (S10) of the peripheral device management apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows 2nd operation | movement (S12) of the peripheral device management apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows 3rd operation | movement (S14) of the peripheral device management apparatus in 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a second diagram illustrating information stored in a peripheral device management apparatus (such as FIG. 1). It is a flowchart which shows 4th operation | movement (S18) of the peripheral device management apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows 5th operation | movement (S20) of the peripheral device management apparatus in 2nd Embodiment.

[Background to the embodiment of the present application]
Before explaining the embodiments of the present application, in order to help understanding thereof, the background to how this is done will be described.
In general, when managing a processing device connected to a network, when a certain processing device a is replaced with a new different type of processing device b, software resources (stored in the processing device a) ( It is necessary to store the software (program) itself and data (font, macro, form, color profile, etc.) used for executing the software in the new processing device b.
As described above, if the software resource used in the processing device a is not stored in the processing device b, the user causes the new processing device b to perform the same processing as when the processing device a was used. I can't.

The peripheral device management apparatus disclosed in the above cited document 2 copes with this point by storing and managing the MAC address and IP address of the network device in a database.
Further, the peripheral device management apparatus manages information indicating software resources downloaded to the processing apparatus and information indicating processing apparatus resources.
The peripheral device management device periodically checks the processing device on the network, checks whether there is a change in the MAC address and IP address managed by the database, and when there is a change, the network device The software resource stored and used in the previous processing device is downloaded to the new processing device.
By such an operation of the peripheral crisis management device, the user performs the same processing before and after replacement of the processing device.

However, according to the above-described method, the peripheral device management device does not manage the attributes of the processing device. For example, the new processing device stores all the software resources stored and used by the processing device before replacement. In such a case, the download of software resources to a new processing device may fail or software resources required by the user may not be downloaded to the new processing device.
Further, when a processing device is required to have a specific attribute for use of software resources, a software resource that requires the specific attribute is downloaded to a processing device that does not have the specific attribute. In this case, the storage capacity of the processing device is wasted.

In the embodiment of the present application, for example, when software resources are stored in a new processing device that is exchanged with an old processing device (peripheral device) in a network, the software resources of the old processing device are stored in the new processing device. In order to store everything, even if there is not enough free space in the storage area in which it is stored, software resources that are likely to be used for processing in the processing device are given priority over software resources that are unlikely to be used. It is stored, and the user is configured to cause the processing device to perform the same processing before and after the replacement.
In addition, the embodiment of the present application can be used in an old processing device, but due to the above-described problem of the attribute, even when software resources that cannot be used in a new processing device exist, the software resources that cannot be used are transferred to the new processing device. The storage is prevented and the storage area of the new processing device is not used wastefully.

[First Embodiment]
The first embodiment will be described below.

[Network system 1]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a network system 1 to which the present embodiment is applied.
As shown in FIG. 1, the network system 1 includes various types of peripheral devices 14-1 to 14-n (n ≧ 1) such as printers and file servers, a peripheral device management device 22, and various software resources. , And in response to requests from the peripheral device processing device 14 and the peripheral device management device 22, the server device 18 that distributes the stored software resources and information to these via the network 120 such as a LAN and a WAN. It is configured to be communicably connected.
Note that when any of a plurality of possible components such as the processing devices 14-1 to 14-n is indicated without being specified, the processing device 14 is abbreviated.
In the following drawings, substantially the same components and processes are denoted by the same reference numerals.
In addition, the peripheral device 14, the server device 18, and the peripheral device management device 22 that can be the subject of communication processing and information processing are collectively referred to as nodes.

[hardware]
Here, the hardware configuration of each node of the network system 1 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, each node constituting the network system 1 includes a CPU 102, a memory 104, a main body 100 including a peripheral circuit thereof, a display device, an input / output device 106 including a keyboard and a mouse, and the function of each node. Function realizing apparatus 108 such as an image forming apparatus required for realizing the communication, a communication apparatus 110 used for communicating with other nodes, and a storage medium such as FD, HD, CD, and DVD The memory device 112 is configured to write and read data to and from the memory 114.
That is, each node of the network system 1 is capable of communicating with other nodes via the network 120, and has a configuration part as a general computer having a device necessary for realizing the function of each node. ing.

[Software (S / W)]
Hereinafter, a program (software) executed in the peripheral device 14 and the peripheral device management apparatus 22 of the network system 1 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a peripheral device program 140 executed in the peripheral device 14 shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a management program 220 executed in the peripheral device management apparatus 22 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the peripheral device program 140 includes a communication processing unit 142, a peripheral device information transmission unit 144, an information acquisition unit 146, an information management unit 148, a download (DL) control unit 150, a storage unit 152, and a server. A function realization unit 160 that implements the functions of the peripheral device 14 using software resources supplied from the device 18 is configured.
For example, the peripheral device program 140 is supplied to the peripheral device 14 via the storage medium 114, loaded into the CPU 102, and the hardware of the peripheral device 14 is specified on an OS (not shown) operating on the peripheral device 14. It is executed by using it automatically (the same applies hereinafter).

With these components, the peripheral device program 140 has a capacity of the memory 104 (FIG. 1) used for the peripheral device 14 to perform processing using software resources with respect to the peripheral device management apparatus 22 upon request. And the resource information of the peripheral device 14 indicating the free capacity and the like therein.
Also, the peripheral device program 140 receives software resource information (such as software resource identification information and data amount) indicating available software resources from the peripheral device management apparatus 22, and supplies the software resources indicated by the received software resource information. Is received from the peripheral device management apparatus 22 and processing using the supplied software resources is performed to realize the functions of the peripheral devices 14.

In the peripheral device program 140, the communication processing unit 142 controls the communication device 110 (FIG. 1) and performs processing for realizing communication between the peripheral device 14 and other nodes.
The information acquisition unit 146 acquires software resource information supplied from the peripheral device management apparatus 22 and outputs the software resource information to the information management unit 148.
The information management unit 148 causes the storage unit 152 to store the software resource information input from the information acquisition unit 146, the resource information of the peripheral device 14 acquired from the OS operating on the peripheral device 14, and the like in the storage unit 152. Management is performed so that each component of the device program 140 can be referred to.
The storage unit 152 stores information input from the information management unit 148.
The storage unit 152 of the peripheral device 14 uses the software resource information received from the peripheral device management apparatus 22, the resource information of the peripheral device 14, and the software resources used by the peripheral device 14 at any frequency. Use frequency information indicating the peripheral device 14, the IP address of the peripheral device 14, the model of the peripheral device 14, the manufacturing serial number and the MAC address, etc., and the individual identification information used to identify the peripheral device 14, and the peripheral device 14 Device attribute information (described later in the second embodiment) indicating device attributes for using software resources is stored as information on the peripheral device 14.

The peripheral device information transmission unit 144 transmits the information stored in the storage unit 152 to the requesting peripheral device management device 22 in response to a request from the peripheral device management device 22.
The DL control unit 150 downloads the software resource indicated by the software resource information stored in the storage unit 152 from the server device 18 so that the function realization unit 160 can use it.
The function realization unit 160 controls the function realization device 108 (FIG. 1) using software resources downloaded from the peripheral device management device 22 and realizes the function of the peripheral device 14.

As shown in FIG. 3, the management program 220 includes a communication processing unit 142, a storage unit 152, an information acquisition unit 224, an information management unit 226, an analysis unit 228, a determination unit 230, a user interface unit (UI) 232, and a management control unit. 240.
The management program 220 detects a change that has occurred in the configuration of the network system 1 such that a certain peripheral device 14 is replaced with another peripheral device 14 in the network system 1 by these components, and a new peripheral device 14 is detected. In addition, all or a part of the software resource information indicating the software resource stored in the peripheral device 14 before the replacement is supplied according to the resource usage state of the new peripheral device 14 and the usage frequency of the software resource, Remember.

In the management program 220, the management control unit 240 controls the processing of each component of the management program 220 to realize the above function of the management program 220.
The information acquisition unit 224 requests each peripheral device 14 to transmit information stored in the storage unit 152, and sends information returned from each peripheral device 14 to the information management unit 226 in response to this request. Output.
In addition, the information acquisition unit 224 uses software resources that can be stored and distributed by the server device 18 to the server device 18 at a certain time interval or at a timing when some event is detected in the network system 1 and use thereof. The transmission of the required device attributes of the peripheral device 14 is requested, and the information returned from the server device 18 in response to this request is output to the information management unit 226.
The information management unit 226 stores and manages the information input from the information acquisition unit 224 in the storage unit 152 in association with each peripheral device 14.
Further, the information management unit 226 stores and manages software resource information indicating software resources that can be distributed by the server device 18 in the storage unit 152.
The storage unit 152 of the peripheral device management apparatus 22 stores the information input from the information management unit 226 so that it can be referred to by each component of the management program 220.

The analysis unit 228 analyzes the usage frequency information of each peripheral device 14 stored in the storage unit 152, analyzes which software resource is used at which frequency in each peripheral device 14, and the software resource. The information is rearranged in the descending order of use frequency of the corresponding software resources, and stored in the storage unit 152 for each peripheral device 14.
The analysis unit 228 also includes a memory 104 (FIG. 1) and a storage device when all of the software resources indicated by the software resource information transmitted to each peripheral device 14 are downloaded from the peripheral device management apparatus 22 to each peripheral device 14. The free space of 112 is analyzed, and the analysis result is stored in the storage unit 152 for each peripheral device 14.
The analysis unit 228 analyzes the device attributes of each peripheral device 14 and stores the analysis result in the storage unit 152 for each peripheral device 14 (described later in the second embodiment).

The determination unit 230 determines whether the IP address of each peripheral device 14 stored in the storage unit 152 matches the IP address acquired by the information acquisition unit 224 and sends the determination result to the management control unit 240. Notice.
Further, the determination unit 230 determines whether the individual identification information (for example, the MAC address) of each peripheral device 14 stored in the storage unit 152 matches the individual identification information acquired by the information acquisition unit 224. The result is notified to the management control unit 240.
In addition, the determination unit 230 compares the device attribute of each peripheral device 14 stored in the storage unit 152 with the attribute of the peripheral device 14 required for using each software resource obtained from the peripheral device management apparatus 22. In each peripheral device 14, it is determined which software resource is available, and the determination result is output to the management control unit 240.
The UI 232 displays, for example, a GUI image on the input / output device 106 (FIG. 1), accepts an operation performed by the user of the peripheral device management apparatus 22 in accordance with the GUI image, and indicates the accepted operation. Is supplied to each component of the management program 220 and its operation is controlled.

[Operation of network system 1]
Hereinafter, the operation of the network system 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a first diagram illustrating information stored in the peripheral device management apparatus 22 (such as FIG. 1).
The terms (Class, MAC, IP, File No, File) shown in FIG. 4 are as follows.

In FIG.
“Class” indicates “peripheral device type”;
“MAC” indicates “MAC address of peripheral device”;
“IP” indicates “IP address of peripheral device”;
“File No” indicates “the number of software resources registered in the peripheral device”;
“File” indicates “storage destination of original data of each software resource registered in the peripheral device”, “software resource name”, “frequency of using software resources”, “data amount of software resources”, and the like.

In FIG. 4, the order of use frequency of each software resource (Hyoushoujou, MS GOTHIC, COLOR PROFILE, Arial, MS MINCHO) is as follows.
(1) Hyoushoujou (frequency: 50 times);
(2) MS GOTHIC (frequency: 30 times);
(3) COLOR PROFILE (frequency: 20 times);
(4) Arial (frequency: 15 times);
(5) MS MINCHO (Frequency: 10 times)

5 to 7 are flowcharts showing the first to third operations (S10, S14, S16) of the peripheral device management apparatus 22 in the first embodiment.
In order to detect a change in the configuration of the network system 1, the peripheral device management apparatus 22, as shown in FIG. The peripheral device 14 (FIG. 1 etc.) to be selected is selected.
In step 102 (S102), the information acquisition unit 224 requests the peripheral device 14 to be processed to transmit, for example, a MAC address and an IP address according to the control of the management control unit 240. In response, these addresses returned from the peripheral device 14 are acquired.
Further, the management control unit 240 acquires software resource information from the server device 18.

In step 104 (S104), the peripheral device 14 acquires the MAC address and IP address (for example, MAC and IP shown in FIG. 4) of the peripheral device 14 to be processed from the storage unit 152.
In step 106 (S106), the determination unit 230 determines whether or not the MAC address received from the peripheral device 14 matches the MAC address of the peripheral device 14 acquired from the storage unit 152.
The management program 220 proceeds to the process of S108 when they match, and proceeds to the process of S120 otherwise.

In step 108 (S108), the determination unit 230 determines whether the IP address received from the peripheral device 14 matches the IP address of the peripheral device 14 acquired from the storage unit 152.
When these match, the management program 220 proceeds to the processing of S110, and the management control unit 240 determines that no change such as replacement has occurred in the peripheral device 14, and the information acquisition unit 224 , The usage frequency information from the peripheral device 14 (for example, the usage frequency of the font data “Hyoushoujou, MS GOTHIC, COLOR PROFILE, Arial, MS MINCHO” shown in FIG. 4) is acquired and stored via the information management unit 226. Store in the unit 152.
If they do not match, the process proceeds to S111, and the peripheral device 14 has not been changed, such as being replaced, but the IP address has only been changed for some reason (for example, reacquisition of the IP address by DHCP). The management control unit 240 rewrites the IP address.

In step 112 (S112), the management control unit 240 determines whether all the peripheral devices 14 of the network system 1 have been processed.
When all the peripheral devices 14 are to be processed, the management control unit 240 determines that the processing of all the peripheral devices 14 has ended, and the management program 220 ends the processing. Otherwise, the processing in S114 The peripheral device 14 that has not yet been processed at that time is selected as the next processing target, and the process returns to S102.

In step 120 (S120), the analysis unit 228 determines whether the IP address acquired from the peripheral device 14 matches the IP address of the peripheral device 14 read from the storage unit 152.
If they match, the management program 220 proceeds to the process of S122. Otherwise, the management control unit 240 determines that an event such as replacement has occurred in the peripheral device 14, and proceeds to the process of S124.
In step 122 (S122), the management control unit 240 controls the information acquisition unit 224 so that device resource information (such as Class shown in FIG. 4), device attribute information, and the like from the peripheral device 14 to be processed. And is stored in the storage unit 152 via the information management unit 226.
In step 124 (S124), the management control unit 240 adds information related to the newly replaced peripheral device 14.

When transmitting software resource information to each peripheral device 14 in which an event such as replacement is detected in S120 shown in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. 6, in step 140 (S140), the management control unit 240 First, the peripheral device 14 to be processed is selected.
In step 142 (S142), the analysis unit 228 acquires the device resource information of the processing target peripheral device 14 stored in the storage unit 152 according to the control of the management control unit 240.
In step 144 (S144), the information acquisition unit 224 acquires device resource information from the processing target peripheral device 14.

In step 144 (S144), the analysis unit 228 is required for storing the software resource corresponding to the software resource information transmitted so far and for processing using the same in the peripheral device 14 to be processed. The free capacity of the memory 104 (FIG. 1) and the storage device 112 is analyzed.
In step 146 (S146), the management control unit 240 transmits the software resource that has not been transmitted from the storage unit 152 to the peripheral device 14 to be processed at that time and that is most frequently used in the peripheral device 14 ( Software resource information is acquired in the order of the frequency of software resources (for example, “COLOR PROFILE” if “MS GOTHIC” shown in FIG. 4).
In step 148 (S148), the management control unit 240 sets software resources (for example, “Hyoushoujou” and “MS GOTHIC” shown in FIG. 4) corresponding to the software resource information to be transmitted to the peripheral device 14 to be processed. The free storage capacity of the memory 104 and the storage device 112 required for storage or the like is calculated (for example, “free capacity” = 20 MB).

In step 150 (S150), the management control unit 240 determines that the free space calculated in the process of S148 indicates that the software resource indicated by the software resource information acquired in the process of S146 (for example, “COLOR PROFILE” illustrated in FIG. 4). ) And the like (whether free space is sufficient).
The management program 220 returns to the processing of S146 when the need is satisfied (for example, when the data amount of “COLOR PROFILE” shown in FIG. 4 is 20 MB or less), and otherwise (for example, FIG. 4). When the data amount of “COLOR PROFILE” shown in FIG. 4 is larger than 20 MB), the process proceeds to S152.
In step 152 (S152), the management control unit 240 transmits software resource information (for example, “COLOR PROFILE” shown in FIG. 4) acquired by the last processing of S146 to the peripheral device 14 to be processed. Delete from resource information.
In step 154 (S154), the management control unit 240 processes the software resource information (for example, the software resource information of “Hyoushoujou” and “MS GOTHIC” shown in FIG. 4) acquired by the processing of S146 so far. Transmit to the target peripheral device 14.
The DL control unit 150 of the peripheral device program 140 operating on the processing target peripheral device 14 receives the software resource information from the peripheral device management apparatus 22, and the software resource indicated by the received software resource information (for example, “ Hyoushoujou ”and“ MS GOTHIC ”) are downloaded from the peripheral device management device 22.

In step 156 (S156), the management control unit 240 determines whether or not the processing for all the peripheral devices 14 in the network system 1 has been completed.
When the process is completed, the management program 220 ends the process, and otherwise returns to the process of S142.

[Modification]
FIG. 6 illustrates the operation (S14) in the case where software resource information is acquired one by one in the management program 220, but this operation is transformed into the operation (S16) described below. sell.
As shown in FIG. 7, in operation S16, the processes S146 and S150 of the operation S14 shown in FIG. 6 are replaced with S160 and S162, and a process S164 when the determination result is false (N) is added in S162. ing.

Only the difference will be described below.
In step 160 (S160), the management control unit 240 obtains software resource information indicating all of the software resources that can be distributed from the server device 18 from the storage unit 152.
In step 162 (S162), the management control unit 240 needs the storage of the software resources indicated by the software resource information acquired and adjusted in the processes of S160 and S162 as the free space calculated in the process of S148 (see FIG. 4). When the data volume of “Hyoushoujou”, “MS GOTHIC”, “COLOR PROFILE”, “Arial”, and “MS MINCHO” shown is 20 MB each, the free space must be 100 MB or more). Or not).
When there is not enough free space, the management program 220 proceeds to the process of S162, and otherwise, the management program 220 proceeds to the process of S152.
In step 164 (S164), the management control unit 240 uses the least frequently used software resource information (for example, “MS MINCHO”, “Arial”, “COLOR PROFILE” shown in FIG. 4). ... one by one in the order of "Hyoushoujou" is deleted from the acquired software resource information for transmission to the processing target peripheral device 14 (periphery when no software resource is stored) When the free space of the device 14 is 50 MB, “Hyoushoujou” and “MS GOTHIC” are left and “COLOR PROFILE” is deleted).

[Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a second embodiment will be described.
In the second embodiment, the operation of the peripheral device management apparatus 22 (FIG. 1 and the like) is changed from that in the first embodiment, so that the software resource information can be The software resource is transmitted to the device 14 and distributed from the server device 18 to the peripheral device 14.

FIG. 8 is a second diagram illustrating information stored in the peripheral device management apparatus 22 (FIG. 1 and the like).
As shown in FIG. 8, the font data “Arial, MS GOTHIC, MS MINCHO, COLOR PROFILE, Hyoushoujou” shown in FIG. 4 are respectively used for the use of these software resources.
(1) Arial can be used with peripheral devices 14 whose device attribute is for PS (post script);
(2) MS GOTHIC can be used with peripheral device 14 whose device attribute is for PS;
(3) MS MINCHO can be used with peripheral device 14 whose device attribute is for PS;
(4) COLOR PROFILE has no restrictions on device attributes;
(5) Hyoushoujou can be used with peripheral devices 14 whose device attributes are for the data language format PCL;
It has the condition that.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the fourth operation (S18) of the peripheral device management apparatus 22 in the second embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 9, the fourth operation of the peripheral device management apparatus 22 in the second embodiment is realized by combining the processes of S140 to S158 shown in FIG. 6 with the processes of S180 to S184. It is executed on the premise of the operation of S10 shown in FIG.
Hereinafter, the difference between the operation of S14 shown in FIG. 6 and the operation of S18 shown in FIG. 9 will be mainly described.
When the processes of S140 and S158 shown in FIG. 6 are completed, as shown in FIG. 9, the management program 220 (FIG. 3) operating on the peripheral device 14 (FIG. 1 and the like) proceeds to the process of S180.
In step 180 (S180), the information acquisition unit 224 of the management program 220 acquires the device attribute information of the peripheral device 14 to be processed under the control of the management control unit 240, and proceeds to the process of S142.
In the following, for the sake of concreteness and clarification of the description, a specific example is given when the PDL (Page Description Language) device attribute of the peripheral device 14 to be processed is PS.

When the process of S142 is completed, in step 182 (S182), the management control unit 240 does not conform to the device attribute PS of the peripheral device 14 to be processed among the software resource information obtained by the process of S100 (FIG. 5). Delete things (eg, “Hyoushoujou” is deleted in this example).
In step 184 (S184), the management control unit 240 determines that the software resource information that has not been deleted by the process of S182 has a higher use frequency in the peripheral device 14 to be processed, as described with reference to FIG. The transmission order is determined so that the messages are transmitted in order, and the process proceeds to S144.

[Modification]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the fifth operation (S20) of the peripheral device management apparatus 22 according to the second embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 10, the fifth operation of the peripheral device management apparatus 22 in the second embodiment is realized by combining the processing of S140 to S164 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 with the processing of S180 to S184. Similar to the first operation, the operation is executed on the premise of the operation of S10 shown in FIG.
When the processes of S140 and S158 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are completed, the management program 220 performs the process of S180 shown in FIG. 9, and further performs the processes of S180 and S184 with the process of S142 interposed therebetween. The process proceeds to S144.
By performing the fifth operation (S20) as described above, the management program 220 considers the device attributes of the peripheral device 14 to be processed, and then performs the third operation of the peripheral device management apparatus 22 shown in FIG. The same processing as the operation (S16) is performed.

1 ... Network system,
120 ... network,
14 ... peripheral equipment,
100 ... body,
102 ... CPU,
104 ... memory,
106: I / O device,
108 ... function realization device,
110: Communication device,
112... Storage device,
114... Storage medium,
140 ... Peripheral device program,
142 ... communication processing unit,
144 ... Peripheral device information transmitter,
146 Information acquisition unit,
148 ... Information management department,
150 ... DL controller,
152... Storage unit,
18 ... Server device,
22 ... peripheral device management device,
220 ... management program,
224 ... Information acquisition unit,
226: Information management unit,
228 ... analysis unit,
230... Determination unit,
232 ... UI,

Claims (18)

Multiple devices used;
A management device;
A software resource supply device that stores a plurality of software resources that can be used in one or more of the plurality of used devices, and supplies each of the stored plurality of software resources to each of the plurality of used devices;
Each of the plurality of devices used is
Identification information used for identifying the used device, communication information used for communication with at least the management device, resource information indicating the resource of the used device for using the software resource, and the software supply device First storage means for storing software resource information indicating software resources that can be supplied from:
Software resource use means for receiving supply of software resources indicated by the stored software information from the software resource supply device and using the supplied software resources;
In response to a request from the outside, the information storing means for transmitting the identification information, communication information and resource information stored in the first storage means or one or more of these, and
The management means includes
The identification information, the communication information and the resource information or one or more of them are sequentially requested from each of the plurality of used devices, and the identification information transmitted from each of the plurality of used devices in response to the request. Information acquisition means for acquiring one or more of the communication information and the resource information;
Second storage means for storing identification information, communication information, and resource information acquired from each of the plurality of used devices acquired;
The information acquisition unit is configured to acquire the identification information and communication information of the used device from each of the plurality of used devices, and the acquired identification information is different from the stored identification information of the used device. When the acquired communication information matches the stored communication information of the use device, the information acquisition unit causes the resource information to be acquired from the use device, and the acquired resource information is used as the use information. A software resource usage system comprising storage management means for storing the resource information of the apparatus in the storage means. In each of the plurality of used devices,
The first storage means further stores usage information indicating a usage state of each of the plurality of software resources in the usage device;
The information transmission means further transmits the usage information in response to an external request,
In the management device,
The information acquisition means further acquires usage information for each of the plurality of usage devices,
The storage management means, when the identification information and communication information acquired from each of the plurality of used devices and the stored identification information and communication information of the used devices match, to the information acquisition means, The software resource usage system according to claim 1, wherein the usage information of the usage device is acquired, and the acquired usage information of the usage device is stored in the storage unit as usage information of the usage device. The software resource usage system according to claim 2, wherein the usage information indicates usage frequency, addition and deletion of each of the plurality of software resources in each of the plurality of usage devices, or one or more thereof. The management device
Based on the resource information acquired from each of the plurality of used devices, further comprising notification means for notifying this used device of software resource information indicating the software resource that can be used in each of the plurality of used devices,
The software resource use system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first storage unit stores the software resource information notified from the management device. The usage information indicates at least the usage frequency of each of the plurality of software resources in each of the plurality of usage devices,
The notification means includes software resource information indicating one or more of the plurality of software resources within a range that can be used by the resource of each of the using devices indicated by the resource information, in descending order of use frequency in the using device. The software resource use system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the use device is notified. The software according to claim 5, wherein the notification unit notifies the using device of software resource information indicating the software resources one by one within a range that can be used by each resource of the using device indicated by the resource information. Resource usage system. The notifying means notifies each of the use devices indicated by the resource information of the software resource information indicating all of the plurality of software resources to the use device and causes the first storage means of the use device to store the software resource information. The software resource information stored in the storage unit of the using device until the software resource indicated by the software resource information stored in the first storage unit of the using device is within a usable range by the using device. The software resource use system according to claim 6. Each of the plurality of software resources has an attribute to be used by a using device in which the software resource is used,
In each of the plurality of used devices,
The first storage means further stores attribute information indicating an attribute of the using device,
The information transmitting means further transmits the attribute information in response to an external request,
In the management device,
The information acquisition means further acquires attribute information of each of the plurality of used devices,
The second storage means further stores attribute information acquired from each of the plurality of used devices as attribute information of the used device,
In the management device,
The notification means notifies only the software resource information indicating the software resource determined to be usable by the attribute information stored in the second storage means to the using device corresponding to the attribute information. The software resource use system according to any one of 1 to 7. For each of a plurality of used devices each using one or more of a plurality of software resources, identification information used for identifying the used device, communication information used for communication with the used device, and use of the same Resource information indicating resources for using software resources of the device or one or more of these are sequentially requested, and in response to the request, the identification information, the communication information, and the information transmitted from each of the plurality of using devices Information acquisition means for acquiring one or more of the resource information;
Storage means for storing identification information, communication information, and resource information of each of the plurality of used devices as information on the used devices;
The information acquisition unit is configured to acquire the identification information and communication information of the used device from each of the plurality of used devices, and the acquired identification information is different from the stored identification information of the used device. When the acquired communication information matches the stored communication information of the use device, the information acquisition unit causes the resource information to be acquired from the use device, and the acquired resource information is used as the use information. A storage management unit that stores the resource information of the device in the storage unit. The information acquisition unit further acquires usage information indicating a usage state of each of the plurality of software resources in the usage device from each of the usage devices, and stores the usage information as information on the usage information in the storage unit,
The storage management means, when the identification information and communication information acquired from each of the plurality of used devices and the stored identification information and communication information of the used devices match, to the information acquisition means, The management device according to claim 9, wherein the usage information of the usage device is acquired, and the acquired usage information of the usage device is stored in the storage unit as usage information of the usage device. The management device according to claim 10, wherein the usage information indicates usage frequency, addition and deletion, or one or more of each of the plurality of software resources in each of the plurality of usage devices. A notification unit configured to notify and store the software resource information indicating the software resource that can be used in each of the plurality of used devices based on the resource information acquired from each of the plurality of used devices; The management device according to claim 10 or 11. The usage information indicates at least the usage frequency of each of the plurality of software resources in each of the plurality of usage devices,
The notification means includes software resource information indicating one or more of the plurality of software resources within a range that can be used by the resource of each of the using devices indicated by the resource information, in descending order of use frequency in the using device. The management apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the use apparatus is notified and stored. The management unit according to claim 13, wherein the notifying unit notifies the using device of software resource information indicating the software resources one by one within a range that can be used by each resource of the using device indicated by the resource information. apparatus. The notifying means notifies each of the use devices indicated by the resource information of the software resource information indicating all of the plurality of software resources to the use device and causes the first storage means of the use device to store the software resource information. The software resource information stored in the storage unit of the using device until the software resource indicated by the software resource information stored in the first storage unit of the using device is within a usable range by the using device. The management apparatus according to claim 14. Each of the plurality of software resources has an attribute to be used by a using device in which the software resource is used,
The information acquisition means further acquires attribute information from each of the plurality of used devices, and stores the information as information on the used devices in the storage means,
The notification means notifies only the software resource information indicating the software resource determined to be usable by the attribute information stored in the second storage means to the using device corresponding to the attribute information. The management apparatus in any one of 9-15. A plurality of devices having a computer, each using one or more of a plurality of software resources;
A management device having a computer;
A plurality of software resources that can be used in one or more of the plurality of used devices are stored, and each of the plurality of stored software resources is supplied to each of the plurality of used devices. In the software resource usage system connected to
A computer for each of the plurality of devices used;
Supplied from the software resource supply device, identification information used for identifying the device used, communication information used for communication with at least the management device, resource information indicating a resource for using the software resource, and Storing software resource information indicative of possible software resources;
Receiving a supply of software resources indicated by the stored software resource information from the software resource supply device, and using the supplied software resources;
Transmitting the stored identification information, communication information and resource information or one or more of them in response to an external request;
In the computer of the management device,
The identification information, the communication information and the resource information or one or more of them are sequentially requested from each of the plurality of used devices, and the identification information transmitted from each of the plurality of used devices in response to the request. Obtaining one or more of the communication information and the resource information;
Storing the identification information, the communication information and the resource information acquired from each of the used devices for each of the acquired plurality of used devices;
The identification information and communication information of the used device are acquired from each of the plurality of used devices, and the acquired identification information is different from the stored identification information of the used device, and the acquired communication information and When the stored communication information of the using device matches, the resource information is acquired from the using device, and the acquired resource information is stored as the resource information of the using device. program. For each of a plurality of used devices each using one or more of a plurality of software resources, identification information used for identifying the used device, communication information used for communication with the used device, and use of the same Resource information indicating resources for using software resources of the device or one or more of these are sequentially requested, and in response to the request, the identification information, the communication information, and the information transmitted from each of the plurality of using devices Obtaining one or more of the resource information;
Storing identification information, communication information, and resource information of each of the plurality of used devices as information on the used devices;
The identification information and communication information of the used device are acquired from each of the plurality of used devices, and the acquired identification information is different from the stored identification information of the used device, and the acquired communication information and A step of acquiring the resource information from the using device when the stored communication information of the using device matches, and storing the acquired resource information as the resource information of the using device in a computer; The program to be executed.

Images