JP2013101517A - Image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image formation device capable of causing a terminal device to efficiently acquire an application which performs processing in cooperation with the image formation device.SOLUTION: An image formation device comprises: an application information acquisition part which acquires application information for specifying one or more pieces of application software which are stored in an external server, from the external server; an application acquisition part which acquires application software from the external server; an application transmission part which transmits the acquired application software to a terminal device; a storage part which stores history information showing information related to the application software which is acquired by the terminal device; a determination part which determines whether or not the application information includes new information for the history information; and a communication part which notifies the terminal device about the new information when it is determined that the application information includes the new information for the history information.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a printer, a scanner, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine, which communicates with a terminal device and an external server.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are image forming apparatuses such as printers, scanners, and facsimile machines that form an image using data read from a document or data received from a PC (Personal Computer), and output the formed image as data. To do.

  In recent years, a network multifunction device (hereinafter simply referred to as “multifunction device”), which is an image forming apparatus that combines a printer function, a scanner function, a facsimile communication function, a network communication function, and the like with the aim of space saving. .) Also exists.

  The image forming apparatus can communicate with a terminal device such as a PC via, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network). Application software (hereinafter referred to as “application”) for performing processing in cooperation with the image forming apparatus is installed in a terminal apparatus that communicates with the image forming apparatus. Thereby, the terminal device and the image forming apparatus can execute various processes in cooperation with each other.

  Examples of such applications include a printer driver for printing data transmitted from a terminal device with an image forming apparatus, and a document for holding and managing image data read by the image forming apparatus with the terminal device. There is management software.

  Also, when a new application or an upgraded application is provided, it is generally provided via a recording medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) or a communication network such as the Internet.

  Therefore, the user of the terminal device accesses a predetermined website, for example, and downloads a desired application to the terminal device based on update information about the application for the image forming apparatus connected to the terminal device. There is a need.

  In view of this, a technique in which the image forming apparatus supports application updating to a terminal device connected to the image forming apparatus is also disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  According to the technique described in Patent Literature 1, the image forming apparatus can monitor an update of an application published on a website, and can notify a pre-registered terminal device when there is an update. Further, the image forming apparatus can capture the updated application in a storage device included in the apparatus, and can transmit the application in response to a request from the terminal device.

JP 2005-107842 A

  As described above, conventionally, it is possible for an image forming apparatus to notify update information of an application for processing linked to the image forming apparatus to a terminal apparatus connected via a network.

  However, it is common for each terminal device to determine whether the terminal device that has received the notification actually acquires an updated application or a new application indicated in the notification.

  For example, if a certain terminal device receives notification of addition or update of document management software and does not need to execute the document management software at the time of the notification, the terminal device does not acquire the document management software .

  However, in this case, when the terminal device needs document management software after the notification, the conventional technique has the following problem, for example. In other words, in the conventional technique, for example, unless the document management software is updated, the information on the document management software is not notified from the image forming apparatus side to the terminal device. Therefore, the terminal device requires processing such as search for acquiring the document management software.

  Of course, assuming such a case, when there is an addition or update of an application on a predetermined website, information indicating the addition or update is notified to each terminal device a plurality of times within a predetermined period. Is also possible. However, in this case, for example, the notification is also transmitted to the terminal device that has acquired the notified application, and wasteful communication processing in the network occurs.

  The present invention is an image forming apparatus that communicates with a terminal apparatus via a network in consideration of the above-described conventional problems, and allows the terminal apparatus to efficiently acquire an application for performing processing in cooperation with the image forming apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of performing the above.

  In order to achieve the above object, a data collection device according to one aspect of the present invention communicates with a terminal device via a network, and holds one or more application software executable by the terminal device An application information acquisition unit that is an image forming apparatus that communicates with an external server that is an external server, and acquires application information that is information specifying one or more application software held in the external server from the external server An application acquisition unit that acquires, from the external server, application software selected from among one or more application software held in the external server, and the application software acquired by the application acquisition unit is the terminal An application transmission unit that transmits to the device, a storage unit that stores history information indicating information about the application software acquired by the terminal device by being transmitted by the application transmission unit, and the storage unit that stores the history information With respect to history information, the application information acquired by the application information acquisition unit determines whether the application information includes new information, and the determination unit determines whether the application information is included in the history information. A communication unit that notifies the terminal device of the new information when it is determined that the new information is included.

  According to this configuration, the application information acquired from the external server is compared with the history information indicating the acquisition history of the application of the terminal device. Furthermore, as a result of the comparison, when the application information includes new information with respect to the history information, the new information is notified to the terminal device.

  That is, application update information (addition or version upgrade or the like from the image forming apparatus is indicated according to information on what applications the terminal apparatus has acquired from the image forming apparatus in the past or not. Information) is determined.

  As a result, the terminal device is notified of, for example, update information with appropriate content corresponding to the application group held by the terminal device at the time of notification. Therefore, the terminal device can acquire a necessary application efficiently.

  In the image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, the communication unit may further include the new communication unit when the determination unit determines that the application information does not include new information with respect to the history information. The terminal device may be notified that there is no such information.

  According to this configuration, the image forming apparatus can explicitly indicate that there is no application update in the terminal device, whereby, for example, each of the applications held by the terminal device is updated to the terminal device. Can be informed.

  In the image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, the communication unit further receives the acquisition request for the application information transmitted from the terminal device, and the determination unit receives the acquisition request from the communication unit. When received, it may be determined whether the application information includes new information with respect to the history information.

  According to this configuration, the terminal device can acquire update information including information necessary for the device itself by requesting application information from the image forming device. That is, the image forming apparatus can perform appropriate processing corresponding to an active request from the terminal device.

  In the image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, the determination unit further determines whether history information corresponding to the terminal device is stored in the storage unit when the communication unit receives an acquisition request. And when it is determined that history information corresponding to the terminal device is stored in the storage unit, it is determined whether the application information includes new information with respect to the history information, The communication unit may transmit the application information to the terminal device when the determination unit determines that history information corresponding to the terminal device is not stored in the storage unit.

  According to this configuration, when the terminal device is a terminal device newly connected to the network, the image forming apparatus can notify, for example, information indicating all applications held by the external server. . That is, an application estimated to be required by a new terminal device can be acquired by the new terminal device.

  In the image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, the storage unit may store history information indicating information about the application software when the application software acquired from the external server is transmitted by the application transmission unit. It may be memorized.

  According to this configuration, history information regarding the application software is stored when the application software is transmitted from the image forming apparatus to the terminal device. Thereby, for example, processing related to storage of history information is efficiently executed.

  In the image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention, the communication unit further receives information indicating that the application software transmitted by the application transmission unit is installed in the terminal device from the terminal device, The storage unit may store history information indicating information related to the application software when the communication unit receives information indicating that the application software is installed in the terminal device.

  According to this configuration, after the application software is transmitted from the image forming apparatus to the terminal apparatus and it is confirmed that the application software is installed in the terminal apparatus, history information about the application software is stored.

  Thereby, for example, by referring to the history information, it is possible to more reliably identify what application software is installed in the terminal device.

  Note that the present invention can be realized not only as an image forming apparatus according to any one of the above aspects, but also as an application distribution method including characteristic processing performed by the image forming apparatus.

  The present invention can also be realized as a program that causes a computer to execute characteristic processing performed by the image forming apparatus according to any one of the above aspects. Such a program can be distributed via a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and a transmission medium such as the Internet.

  Furthermore, it can also be realized as an integrated circuit including characteristic components of the image forming apparatus according to any one of the above aspects.

  As is apparent from the above description, the present invention is an image forming apparatus that communicates with a terminal device via a network, and allows the terminal device to efficiently acquire an application for performing processing in cooperation with the image forming device. An image forming apparatus capable of performing the above can be provided.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an information flow in the communication system according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a main hardware configuration of the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a basic functional configuration of the MFP according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of processing related to acquisition of application information in the MFP according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of processing relating to application transmission in the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process flow related to notification of update information in the MFP according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a flow of processing related to notification of update information in the MFP according to the embodiment with a specific example. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating another example of a process flow related to notification of update information in the MFP according to the embodiment.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Each figure is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily illustrated exactly.

  In the embodiment described below, a preferred specific example of the present invention is shown. The numerical values, shapes, components, arrangement of components and connection forms shown in the embodiments are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The invention is limited by the claims. Therefore, among the constituent elements in the following embodiments, constituent elements that are not described in the independent claims are not necessarily required to achieve the object of the present invention, but are described as elements that constitute a more preferable embodiment. The

  First, a configuration outline and basic communication contents of a communication system in the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a communication system 150 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  A communication system 150 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a multifunction device 1, a terminal device 100 and a terminal device 110, an external server 200, and a local area network (LAN) 6.

  The MFP 1 is an example of an image forming apparatus, and can communicate with each of the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 110 via the LAN 6.

  The multifunction device 1 also has a printer function, a scanner function, a facsimile communication function, a network communication function, and the like.

  For example, the multifunction device 1 can print out data transmitted from each of the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 110 and a document read by the scanner with a built-in printer. The multi-function device 1 can perform facsimile transmission via a public switched telephone network (PSTN) not shown in FIG.

  Processing such as printout by the multifunction device 1 is performed by executing an application for performing processing in cooperation with the multifunction device 1 that is acquired in each of the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 110.

  As such an application, in addition to the printer driver, document management software for holding and managing the image data read by the multi-function device 1 by the terminal device 100 (110) is exemplified. Further, as such an application, status data processing software for the terminal device 100 (110) to acquire and process status data such as the remaining amount of toner of the multifunction device 1 is exemplified.

  Here, “terminal device 100 (110)” is an expression that means at least one of terminal device 100 and terminal device 110 in this specification.

  Each of the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 110 is a PC, for example, and can acquire an application held by the external server 200 via the multifunction device 1.

  The external server 200 is a server external to the LAN 6 and can exchange information with the multi-function device 1 connected to the LAN 6 via, for example, the Internet.

  In addition, as described above, the external server 200 holds an application that realizes a process in which the multifunction device 1 and the terminal device 100 (110) cooperate. Further, for example, an administrator of the external server 200 adds, deletes, and upgrades an application in the external server 200.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an information flow in the communication system 150 according to the embodiment.

  The flow of information in the communication system 150 will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

  In the communication system 150 according to the embodiment, the multi-function device 1 confirms the update status of the application with respect to the external server 200. In addition, the multifunction device 1 acquires application information and an application from the external server 200.

  The application information is information for specifying one or more application software held in the external server 200. For example, it is information indicating the name and version of each of the one or more applications.

  Further, the multifunction device 1 receives an application information acquisition request from the terminal device 100 (110). The multifunction device 1 transmits, for example, application update information as a response to the acquisition request. The multifunction device 1 further receives an application transfer request from the terminal device 100 (110). The multi-function device 1 transmits the application as a response to the transfer request.

  The multifunction device 1 has, for example, a web server function, and can publish application information and applications acquired from the external server 200 to the terminal device 100 (110) using the web server function.

  Next, a basic configuration of the MFP 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a main hardware configuration of the multifunction machine 1 according to the embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the multi-function device 1 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 10, a read only memory (ROM) 11, a random access memory (RAM) 12, a modem 13, and a network control unit (NCU) 14. , An operation panel 15, a display 16, a scanner 17, a printer 18, and a LAN interface (LAN I / F) 19.

  The CPU 10 controls various operations of the multifunction device 1 by executing a control program 21 stored in the ROM 11.

  The ROM 11 is a read-only memory that holds a control program 21 executed by the CPU 10.

  The RAM 12 is a readable / writable memory that holds work data used when the CPU 10 executes the control program 21 and document data obtained from the scanner 17. The RAM 12 also stores print data received from the terminal device 100 (110).

  The modem 13 modulates the original data and the like held in the RAM 12 into a facsimile signal and transmits it, and demodulates the facsimile signal received from the outside into line data. The modem 13 is a fax modem compliant with the G3 standard, for example.

  The NCU 14 is a network control device that controls the connection between the modem 13 and the PSTN 5.

  The operation panel 15 is a panel that receives an operation from the user.

  The display 16 is a display device that displays an operation guide for the user and an operation state of the multifunction device 1. The display 16 is, for example, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD: liquid crystal display device). For example, a list of applications acquired from the external server 200 can be displayed on the display 16.

  When a touch panel capable of operating the multifunction device 1 by pressing an image or the like displayed on the screen is adopted as the display 16, the display 16 also serves as all or a part of the operation panel 15. be able to.

  The scanner 17 is an image reading device, and generates document data by optically reading a document using a charge coupled device image sensor (CCD) under the control of the CPU 10.

  The printer 18 is a printing apparatus, and prints and outputs characters or figures indicated by print data held in the RAM 12, for example, on paper under the control of the CPU 10.

  The LAN I / F 19 is a communication adapter that connects the multifunction device 1 and the LAN 6, and transmits, for example, image data held in the RAM 12 to the terminal device 100 or the like under the control of the CPU 10.

  The hard disk drive (HDD) 20 is a storage device that accumulates document data and the like generated by the scanner 17. Instead of the HDD 20, a semiconductor storage device such as a flash memory may be used.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a basic functional configuration of the MFP 1 according to the embodiment.

  As a basic functional configuration of the multifunction machine 1, an application information acquisition unit 50, an application acquisition unit 51, an application transmission unit 52, a storage unit 53, a determination unit 55, and a communication unit 56 are provided.

  The application information acquisition unit 50 acquires application information 210 that is information for specifying one or more application software held in the external server 200.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the external server 200 stores application information 210 including the name (APP-a, etc.) and version information (2.1, etc.) of one or more applications 220 held by itself. Yes.

  By acquiring the application information 210 from the external server 200 by the application information acquisition unit 50, the multi-function device 1 knows what version of what application is stored in the external server 200 at the time of the acquisition. Can do.

  The application acquisition unit 51 acquires a selected application from one or more applications held in the external server 200 from the external server 200.

  The application acquisition timing by the application acquisition unit 51 is not particularly limited. For example, even if the application is acquired by the application acquisition unit 51 at a timing when application update is confirmed by referring to the application information 210. Good. For example, the application acquisition unit 51 may acquire the application when the multifunction device 1 receives the application transfer request from the terminal device 100 (110).

  The application transmission unit 52 transmits the application acquired by the application acquisition unit 51 to the terminal device 100 (110).

  The storage unit 53 stores history information 54 indicating information about the application acquired by the terminal device 100 (110) by being transmitted by the application transmission unit 52.

  The determination unit 55 determines whether or not the application information 210 acquired by the application information acquisition unit 50 includes new information with respect to the history information 54 stored in the storage unit 53.

  That is, the determination unit 55 compares the history information 54 with the application information 210.

  Further, the determination unit 55 can also determine whether or not the application information 210 is updated. That is, the determination unit 55 confirms whether or not an application has been added or upgraded in the external server 200.

  When the determination unit 55 determines that the application information 210 includes new information with respect to the history information 54, the communication unit 56 notifies the terminal device 100 (110) of the new information. That is, update information about one or more applications held in the external server 200 is notified to the terminal device 100 (110).

  A specific example of the comparison process by the determination unit 55 and the notification content by the communication unit 56 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Further, the processing related to transmission or reception of information executed by the application information acquisition unit 50, the application acquisition unit 51, the application transmission unit 52, and the communication unit 56 described above is realized by the CPU 10 executing the control program 21, for example. Is done. Moreover, transmission or reception of these information is performed via LAN I / F19. The function of holding the history information 54 by the storage unit 53 is realized by the HDD 20, for example.

  The comparison process by the determination unit 55 is realized by the CPU 10 executing the control program 21, for example.

  The processing flow of the multifunction device 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of processing related to acquisition of the application information 210 in the MFP 1 according to the embodiment.

  The application information acquisition unit 50 of the multifunction device 1 acquires the application information 210 from the external server 200 (S10). This acquisition process is executed periodically, for example. That is, the latest application information 210 is periodically acquired.

  The determination unit 55 determines whether there is an update in the application information 210 acquired by the application information acquisition unit 50 (S11). This determination is made, for example, by comparing the application information 210 acquired in the past and stored in the storage unit 53 with the latest application information 210.

  When the determination unit 55 determines that there is the update (Yes in S11), the application corresponding to the update is acquired by the application acquisition unit 51 and stored in, for example, the storage unit 53 (S12).

  The application acquired by the application acquisition unit 51 in this way is transmitted in response to a transfer request from the terminal device 100 (110). As a result, the application is acquired by the terminal device 100 (110) that is the transmission destination.

  If the determination unit 55 determines that the update is present (Yes in S11), for example, the determination unit 55 rewrites part or all of the local application information 210 stored in the storage unit 53 in the past. As a result, it is updated to the latest contents.

  Note that the updated local application information 210 only needs to include a part that matches the latest application information 210 acquired from the external server 200 in terms of content. That is, the format of the data arrangement order or the like may be different between the local application information 210 and the application information 210 acquired from the external server 200.

  Further, as described above, when it is determined that the application information 210 is updated (Yes in S11), the multi-function device 1 may perform only the update of the local application information 210 without acquiring the application. In this case, the multi-function device 1 may acquire the application in response to a transfer request from the terminal device 100 (110), for example.

  In addition, the timing at which the application acquisition from the external server 200 is performed may not be fixed.

  For example, the multifunction device 1 may acquire an application according to the following rules. In other words, the multifunction device 1 basically acquires an application corresponding to the update when it is determined that the application information 210 is updated. However, for example, when the processing load of the multifunction device 1 is high, or when the communication speed of the LAN 6 or the like is slower than the threshold, the application is acquired not by the time of the determination but by the transfer request described above. Even under such a rule, the multifunction device 1 can cause the terminal device 100 (110) to acquire a necessary application.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of processing relating to transmission of an application in the MFP 1 according to the embodiment.

  In the multifunction device 1, for example, the application transmission unit 52 receives an application transfer request from the terminal device 100 (110) (S20).

  For example, a transfer request is transmitted from the terminal device 100 (110) via an update information notification screen (to be described later with reference to FIG. 8) disclosed by the web server function of the multifunction device 1. That is, a signal for requesting transfer of the application shown on the notification screen displayed on the terminal device 100 (110) is transmitted to the multi function device 1.

  The determination unit 55 confirms whether or not an application corresponding to the transfer request is stored in the storage unit 53 (S21).

  That is, as described above, when the transfer request is transmitted, an application corresponding to the transfer request may not be stored in the storage unit 53. In this case (No in S21), the application acquisition unit 51 requests and acquires the application from the external server 200 (S22).

  When the application is stored in the storage unit 53 (Yes in S21) or when the application is newly acquired from the external server 200 (S22), the application is transmitted to the terminal device 100 (110). (S23). That is, the application is transmitted by the application transmission unit 52 as a response to the transfer request.

  Thus, when an application is transmitted by the application transmission part 52, the historical information 54 of the memory | storage part 53 is updated (S24). This update is performed by the application transmission unit 52, for example.

  For example, when the version “2.1” (see FIG. 4) of the application “APP-a” is transmitted from the multi-function device 1 to the terminal device 100, the “APP-a” and the identifier of the terminal device 100 are associated with each other. Information indicating “2.1” is stored as a part of the history information 54.

  Thus, the terminal device 100 can confirm on the multifunction device 1 that the version “2.1” of the application “APP-a” has been acquired.

  The timing at which the history information 54 is updated (including the case where the history information 54 is newly recorded) is not particularly limited. For example, when an application is transmitted by the application transmission unit 52, history information 54 regarding the application may be stored in the storage unit 53. In other words, the history information 54 may be recorded in the storage unit 53 when the application is transmitted. In this case, for example, processing relating to storage of the history information 54 is efficiently executed.

  For example, when the communication unit 56 receives information indicating that the application transmitted by the application transmission unit 52 has been installed in the terminal device 100, the history information 54 about the application is stored in the storage unit 53. May be.

  Here, the information indicating that the application is installed in the terminal device 100 is realized by, for example, a signal transmitted from the terminal device 100 to the multifunction device 1 when the terminal device 100 executes the application.

  That is, the information indicating that the application has been installed in the terminal device 100 may not be information that explicitly indicates the execution of the installation, but may be information that can substantially prove (confirm) the execution of the installation. That's fine.

  As described above, when it is confirmed that the application is installed in the terminal device 100, the history information 54 regarding the application is stored in the storage unit 53, so that, for example, the accuracy of the history information 54 is improved. To do. That is, by referring to the history information 54, it is possible to more reliably identify what application software is installed in the terminal device 100.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of processing related to notification of update information in the MFP 1 according to the embodiment.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a flow of processing related to notification of update information in the multifunction machine 1 according to the embodiment with a specific example.

  The communication unit 56 of the multifunction device 1 receives the acquisition request for the application information 210 from the terminal device 100 (110) (S30).

  When the communication unit 56 receives the acquisition request for the application information 210, the determination unit 55 determines whether the application information 210 includes new information with respect to the history information 54 (S32, S35).

  Specifically, for example, the determination unit 55 compares the latest application information 210 stored in the storage unit 53 with the history information 54 stored in the storage unit 53 at that time (S32).

  For example, it is assumed that the latest application information 210 and the history information 54 stored in the storage unit 53 at that time are the contents shown in the upper part of FIG.

  Note that “PC01” shown in the history information 54 of FIG. 8 is an identifier of the terminal device 100, for example. That is, the history information 54 in FIG. 8 indicates the application acquisition status (which version of which application is acquired) in the terminal device 100.

  In this case, as a result of the comparison between the application information 210 and the history information 54, the determination unit 55 shows the relationship between the application held in the external server 200 and the application acquired by the terminal device 100 in the middle of FIG. The judgment result shown can be obtained.

  That is, the determination unit 55 determines that the version of the application “APP-a” has been updated from “2.0” to “2.1” and that the application “APP-b” has not been updated. Is done.

  Further, the determination unit 55 determines that the application “APP-c” is added (in the terminal device 100, “APP-c” is a new application).

  That is, the determination unit 55 determines that the application information 210 includes new information with respect to the history information 54 (Yes in S35). Receiving this determination result, the communication unit 56 notifies the new information (S36).

  In addition, when the determination unit 55 determines that the application information 210 does not include new information with respect to the history information 54, the communication unit 56 can also notify that there is no new information (S37). ).

  Here, whether or not there is a substantial difference between the history information 54 and the application information 210 is determined for each application. Therefore, in the present embodiment, update information for each application is transmitted from the communication unit 56 to the terminal device 100 (110).

  As a result, in the terminal device 100, for example, an update information notification screen as shown in the lower part of FIG. 8 is displayed on the display unit 101.

  In the notification screen shown in FIG. 8, each of the above determination results is displayed. That is, it is displayed on the notification screen that the application “APP-a” is upgraded and the application “APP-b” is not updated. In addition, it is displayed on the notification screen that the application “APP-c” has been added.

  Note that information such as “updated” for “APP-a” displayed on the notification screen in FIG. 8 is an example of “new information” notified to the terminal device 100. Also, new information and types of information other than the various types of information illustrated in FIG. 8 may be notified to the terminal device 100. For example, information about the application deleted from the external server 200 may be notified to the terminal device 100.

  In addition, a download button is arranged in the “APP-a” and “APP-c” fields of the notification screen. When a download button is selected by a predetermined operation by the user of the terminal device 100, a transfer request of “APP-a” or “APP-c” corresponding to the download button is transmitted from the terminal device 100 to the multifunction device 1. The

  As a result, a series of processes relating to the transmission of the application in the multifunction device 1 shown in FIG. 6 is executed. In other words, the terminal device 100 can acquire the latest version 2.1 of “APP-a” and the version 1.0 of “APP-c” via the multi-function device 1.

  For example, it is assumed that the terminal device 100 acquires version 2.1 of “APP-a” and does not acquire version 1.0 of “APP-c” via the notification screen.

  In this case, the history information 54 regarding the terminal device 100 records that the version 2.1 of “APP-a” has been acquired, and does not record the fact that “APP-c” has been acquired.

  Accordingly, when a request for acquiring the application information 210 is transmitted from the terminal device 100 to the multi-function device 1 after the end of this series of processing, the presence of “APP-c” is notified to the terminal device 100 again. Specifically, if “APP-c” is included in the latest application information 210 at the time of transmission of the acquisition request, the terminal device 100 is notified of the presence of “APP-c”.

  That is, when the update information shown in FIG. 8 is notified to the terminal device 100, the terminal device 100 does not need “APP-c”, but after that “APP-c” is needed. The existence of “APP-c” is notified by the above-described determination processing by the multifunction device 1. Thereby, the terminal device 100 can acquire “APP-c”.

  In FIG. 8, an outline of the flow of processing related to notification of update information to the terminal device 100 is illustrated, but the comparison processing between the history information 54 and the application information 210 is similarly performed for the terminal device 110, and Processing such as notification of update information is executed.

  Specifically, the content of the update information is determined by the multifunction device 1 according to the relationship between the application held in the external server 200 and the application acquired by the terminal device 110.

  That is, the content of the update information for the terminal device 100 and the content of the update information for the terminal device 110 are determined independently of each other.

  As described above, the multifunction device 1 according to the present embodiment is capable of combining the terminal device 100 (110) according to information about what applications the terminal device 100 (110) has acquired from the multifunction device 1 in the past or not. It is determined whether notification of application update information (information indicating addition or version upgrade) from the device 1 is necessary.

  As a result, the terminal device 100 (110) is notified of, for example, update information with appropriate content corresponding to the application group held by the terminal device 100 (110) at the time of the notification. Therefore, the terminal device 100 (110) can efficiently acquire a necessary application.

  In the present embodiment, various processes corresponding to the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 110 already installed in the communication system 150 have been described.

  However, the multifunction device 1 can also perform processing corresponding to a terminal device newly installed in the communication system 150, for example.

  For example, it is assumed that the terminal device 100 is a device newly installed in the communication system 150 (newly connected to the LAN 6).

  In this case, it is assumed that the terminal device 100 does not hold an application for performing processing in cooperation with the multifunction device 1 or whether or not the application is held.

  Accordingly, in this case, the multi-function device 1 may transmit the latest application information 210 acquired by the application information acquisition unit 50 to the terminal device 100.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the flow of processing related to notification of update information in the multifunction machine 1 according to the embodiment.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 9, the process of S31 and the process of S33 are added to each process of the flowchart shown in FIG.

  Specifically, the following characteristic processing is shown in the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, when the communication unit 56 receives an acquisition request for the application information 210 from the terminal device 100 (S30), the determination unit 55 determines whether the history information 54 about the terminal device 100 is stored in the storage unit 53. Is determined (S31).

  When it is determined that the history information 54 about the terminal device 100 is not stored in the storage unit 53 (No in S31), the communication unit 56 is stored in the storage unit 53 via the determination unit 55, for example. The local application information 210 is acquired. That is, the communication unit 56 acquires the latest application information 210. In addition, the communication unit 56 transmits the acquired application information 210 to the terminal device 100 (S33).

  Thereby, after the terminal device 100 is first connected to the LAN 6, the terminal device 100 can know the existence of various applications necessary for the terminal device 100 to perform processing in cooperation with the multifunction device 1, and the various devices You can get the application.

  In addition, when the terminal device 100 acquires some application via the multifunction device 1 as a result of transmitting the latest application information 210 to the terminal device 100, history information 54 indicating the acquisition history is stored in the storage unit 53. Thereby, an appropriate process according to the history information 54 (for example, the process after Yes in S31 in FIG. 9) is executed on the terminal device 100.

  Thus, according to the multifunction device 1 of the present embodiment, even when a terminal device that is not registered in the multifunction device 1 becomes a communication partner, the necessary application guidance and introduction are appropriately performed. This can be done for the terminal device.

  The image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention has been described based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Unless it deviates from the gist of the present invention, various modifications conceived by those skilled in the art have been made in the present embodiment, or forms constructed by combining a plurality of the above-described constituent elements are within the scope of the present invention. include.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the multifunction device 1 is illustrated as an image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention. However, the image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention may be realized by a type of image forming apparatus other than the multifunction peripheral.

  For example, a printer, a scanner, or a facsimile apparatus has the same functional configuration as that of the multifunction machine 1 illustrated in FIG. 4, and thus can operate as an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

  In the present embodiment, the multifunction device 1 is connected to a plurality of terminal devices (100 and 200). However, the multifunction device 1 is at least one terminal that performs processing in cooperation with the multifunction device 1. What is necessary is just to be connected with an apparatus.

  That is, the effect related to the improvement in the efficiency of acquiring the application by the multi-function peripheral 1 as an example of the image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is also exerted on only one terminal device.

  The present invention is an image forming apparatus that communicates with a terminal apparatus via a network, and can acquire an application for performing processing in cooperation with the image forming apparatus from an external server and cause the terminal apparatus to efficiently acquire the application. An image forming apparatus can be provided. Therefore, the present invention is particularly useful as an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a scanner, a facsimile apparatus, or a multifunction peripheral connected to one or more terminal apparatuses.

1 MFP 5 PSTN
6 LAN
10 CPU
11 ROM
12 RAM
13 Modem 14 NCU
15 Operation Panel 16 Display 17 Scanner 18 Printer 19 LAN I / F
20 HDD
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 Control program 50 Application information acquisition part 51 Application acquisition part 52 Application transmission part 53 Memory | storage part 54 History information 55 Judgment part 56 Communication part 100,110 Terminal device 101 Display part 150 Communication system 200 External server 210 Application information 220 Application

Claims (6)

An image forming apparatus that communicates with a terminal device via a network and that communicates with an external server that is an external server of the network and holds one or more application software executable by the terminal device,
An application information acquisition unit that acquires, from the external server, application information that is information for specifying one or more application software held in the external server;
An application acquisition unit that acquires, from the external server, selected application software among the one or more application software held in the external server;
An application transmitting unit that transmits the application software acquired by the application acquiring unit to the terminal device;
A storage unit for storing history information indicating information related to application software acquired by the terminal device by being transmitted by the application transmission unit;
A determination unit that determines whether the application information acquired by the application information acquisition unit includes new information with respect to the history information stored in the storage unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a communication unit configured to notify the terminal device of the new information when the determination unit determines that the application information includes new information with respect to the history information. The communication unit further notifies the terminal device that there is no new information when the determination unit determines that the application information does not include new information with respect to the history information. The image forming apparatus according to 1. The communication unit further receives the acquisition request for the application information transmitted from the terminal device,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether the application information includes new information with respect to the history information when the communication unit receives an acquisition request. The determination unit further determines whether history information corresponding to the terminal device is stored in the storage unit when the communication unit receives an acquisition request, and the history information corresponding to the terminal device is When it is determined that the information is stored in the storage unit, it is determined whether or not the application information includes new information with respect to the history information,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the communication unit transmits the application information to the terminal device when the determining unit determines that history information corresponding to the terminal device is not stored in the storage unit. apparatus. The said memory | storage part memorize | stores the historical information which shows the information regarding the said application software, when the application software acquired from the said external server is transmitted by the said application transmission part. Image forming apparatus. The communication unit further receives, from the terminal device, information indicating that the application software transmitted by the application transmission unit is installed in the terminal device,
The said storage part memorize | stores the historical information which shows the information regarding the said application software, when the said communication part receives the information which shows that the said application software was installed in the said terminal device. The image forming apparatus according to one item.

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