JP2013134608A - Data transmission device, data communication system, data reception device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data transmission device, a data communication system, a data reception device, and a program which facilitate setting information change.SOLUTION: A data transmission device 1 comprises: mode change means 101 for changing a mode of its own device 1; specification means 103 for specifying setting information to be transmitted to an external device among a plurality of pieces of setting information 141 held by its own device 1 according to the mode of its own device 1; and transmission means for transmitting the setting information specified by the specification means 103 to the external device. The data reception device 1 comprises: reception means for receiving the setting information from the external device; mode change means 101 for changing a mode of its own device 1; specification means 108 for specifying setting information to be changed among a plurality of pieces of setting information held by its own device 1 according to the mode of its own device 1; and information change means 109 for changing the setting information specified by the specification means 108 on the basis of the setting information received from the external device via the reception means.

Description

  The present invention relates to a data transmission device, a data communication system, a data reception device, and a program.

  Since a plurality of image forming apparatuses having a common user have almost the same usage pattern, a common setting is performed. When an image forming apparatus is newly installed or moved, in order to efficiently perform this setting process, setting information of a specific image forming apparatus is transmitted via communication means such as a LAN (Local Area Network). A technique for transmitting to other image forming apparatuses or more and updating the setting information of the apparatus is used. This technique is called cloning and the like.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a cloning technique using a communication network. Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for extracting unregistered setting information by comparing setting information acquired from another device and setting information of the own device with respect to a similar cloning technique.

JP 2006-40061 A JP 2006-79353 A

  As the functions of the image forming apparatus increase, the contents of the setting information are diversified. For this reason, there is a demand for changing only part of the setting information depending on the situation, instead of changing all the setting information by cloning. On the other hand, although the user can set whether or not each setting content can be changed by using the operation panel, a complicated operation is required. Such a problem is not limited to the image forming apparatus, and similarly exists for other apparatuses such as a computer capable of data communication.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a data transmission device, a data communication system, a data reception device, and a program that facilitate changing setting information.

  In order to achieve the above object, a data transmission device according to claim 1 is a first mode change means for changing a mode of the device itself, and an external device among a plurality of setting information held by the device. First specifying means for specifying the setting information to be transmitted to the device according to the mode of the own apparatus, and transmitting means for transmitting the setting information specified by the first specifying means to the external apparatus; Have

  In the data transmission device, the transmission unit may transmit the setting information specified by the first specification unit and mode information indicating the mode to the external device.

  In addition, the data communication system according to claim 3 includes a data transmission device and a data reception device that receives setting information transmitted by the data transmission device, and the data reception device is configured by the data transmission device. Based on the transmitted setting information, at least a part of the plurality of setting information held in the own apparatus is changed.

  In the data communication system, the data reception device includes second mode change means for changing a mode of the own device, and setting information to be changed among a plurality of setting information held in the own device. Second specifying means for specifying according to the mode, and information changing means for changing the setting information specified by the second specifying means based on the setting information transmitted by the data transmitting device. May be.

  In the data communication system, the data receiving device further includes a receiving unit that receives the mode information transmitted by the transmitting unit, a mode indicated by the mode information received by the receiving unit, and the mode of the own device. Control means for permitting change of the setting information by the information changing means based on the combination with the mode may be provided.

  In the data communication system, the control unit may permit the change by the information change unit when the mode indicated by the mode information matches the mode of the own device.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data receiving device comprising: a receiving unit that receives setting information from an external device; a mode changing unit that changes a mode of the own device; and a plurality of setting information held in the own device. A specifying unit for specifying the setting information to be changed according to the mode of the own device; and the setting information specified by the specifying unit is changed based on the setting information received from the external device by the receiving unit. Information changing means.

  The program according to claim 8 transmits the data transmitting apparatus to an external apparatus among the first mode changing means for changing the mode of the own apparatus and a plurality of setting information held in the own apparatus. First setting means for specifying target setting information in accordance with the mode of the device itself and setting information specified by the first specifying means to function as transmission means for transmitting to the external device.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for receiving a data receiving device, receiving means for receiving setting information from an external device, mode changing means for changing the mode of the own device, and a plurality of settings held in the own device. Among the information, the specifying means for specifying the setting information to be changed according to the mode of the own device, and the setting information specified by the specifying means are the setting information received from the external device by the receiving means. It is made to function as an information change means to change based on.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the setting information corresponding to the mode of the own device is transmitted to the external device.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the mode of the own device is notified to the external device.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the setting information of the data receiving device is changed based on the setting information transmitted from the data transmitting device according to the mode of the device.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the data receiving device changes the setting information corresponding to the mode of the own device among the setting information received from the data transmitting device.

  According to the invention of claim 5, the data receiving device changes the setting information according to the combination of the mode of the data transmitting device and the mode of the own device.

  According to the invention of claim 6, the data receiving device changes the setting information when the mode of the data transmitting device matches the mode of the own device.

  According to the invention of claim 6, among the setting information received from the external device, the setting information corresponding to the mode of the own device is changed.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the setting information corresponding to the mode of the own device is changed among the setting information received from the external device.

  According to invention of Claim 8, the setting information according to the mode of a data transmitter is transmitted to an external apparatus.

  According to the invention of claim 9, among the setting information received from the external device, the setting information corresponding to the mode of the data receiving device is changed.

It is a block diagram of a data communication system. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a block diagram of the function formed in CPU. It is a flowchart which shows the selection process of a mode. It is a display example of a mode selection screen. It is a block diagram of an example of cloning data. It is a flowchart which shows a transmission process. It is a flowchart which shows a reception process. 12 is a ladder chart showing communication between image forming apparatuses on a transmission side and a reception side in another embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the data communication system according to the present embodiment includes image forming apparatuses 1 a and 1 b and a terminal device 2 connected to each other via communication means such as a LAN 9. The image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b and the terminal device 2 may be connected in any form of wired or wireless.

  The image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b are apparatuses that provide a user with a copy function, a print function, a scan function, and a fax function. In the data communication system of the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 a transmits setting information, unique information, and management information to the external terminal device 2. Further, the image forming apparatus 1b receives the information transmitted from the image forming apparatus 1a from the external terminal device 2, and changes at least a part of the plurality of pieces of information held in the own apparatus 1b based on the information. . Here, the setting information refers to information used for various processes of the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b, and the unique information refers to unique information such as a serial number assigned to each of the apparatuses 1a and 1b. The management information refers to user specific information such as the number of copies.

  The image forming apparatus 1a on the transmission side is, for example, an apparatus that is already used in an office, while the image forming apparatus 1b on the reception side is an apparatus that is newly installed or moved from another location. .

  Data transmission / reception between the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b is performed in accordance with an operation from the terminal device 2 such as a personal computer. The terminal device 2 is an information processing terminal having a communication function, and receives a plurality of pieces of information from one image forming apparatus 1a and transmits it to another image forming apparatus 1b. In the present embodiment, there is one image forming apparatus 1b on the receiving side, but there may be a plurality of image forming apparatuses 1b.

  The terminal device 2 includes a control unit 20, a recording unit 21, a communication processing unit 22, an operation unit 23, and a display unit 24. The control unit 20 is an arithmetic processing circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and controls the entire processing of the terminal device 2.

  The recording unit 21 is an information recording device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a hard disk drive. The communication processing unit 22 processes communication via the LAN 9. The operation unit 23 is user operation means such as a keyboard and a mouse. The display unit 24 is an image display unit such as a display.

  When receiving the data acquisition command of the image forming apparatus 1a via the operation unit 23, the control unit 20 requests the image forming apparatus 1a to transmit cloning data including setting information and the like. In response to the request, the image forming apparatus 1 a transmits cloning data to the terminal device 2 via the LAN 9. The control unit 20 records the cloning data received by the communication processing unit 22 in the recording unit 21.

  Further, when receiving a cloning data transmission command to the image forming apparatus 1b, the control unit 20 transmits the cloning data recorded in the recording unit 21 to the image forming apparatus 1b via the communication processing unit 22. However, the data transmission / reception method between the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b is not limited to this, and the cloning data can be directly transferred to the image forming apparatus 1b via the LAN 9 by directly operating the image forming apparatus 1a. May be sent directly to. Further, without using the LAN 9, the cloning data acquired from the image forming apparatus 1a may be recorded on a portable recording medium such as a memory card, and connected to the image forming apparatus 1b to write the cloning data. .

  As described above, the image forming apparatus 1a is a data transmitting apparatus that transmits cloning data including setting information and the like, and the image forming apparatus 1b is a data receiving apparatus that receives cloning data. The image forming apparatus 1a and each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 1b may be functionally different from each other or the same, but the latter will be described in the following description. In this embodiment, an image forming apparatus is exemplified as an example of the data transmitting apparatus and the data receiving apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and another apparatus having a communication function such as a personal computer may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 11, a RAM 12, a non-volatile memory (NVRAM: Non-volatile RAM) 13, and an operation. Unit 160, display unit 161, and communication processing unit 17.

  The CPU 10 is an arithmetic processing circuit that performs overall control of the image forming apparatus 1. In addition to controlling execution of a copy function, a print function, a scan function, and a fax function, a cloning data transmission process, a reception process, and the like To control.

  The ROM 11 stores a program for operating the CPU 10. The RAM 12 is a working memory for the CPU 10 to operate according to this program. The image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is configured to function by software as described above, but may be configured by hardware including an application specific integrated circuit. The nonvolatile memory 13 is a flash memory, for example, and functions as a storage unit that stores an authentication table in which identification information for identifying a user is registered.

  The operation unit 160 is an operation means for the user of the apparatus 1 to perform various operations, and includes a touch panel, a hard key, and the like. The display unit 161 is, for example, a liquid crystal panel, and is used by being overlapped with the above touch panel. The display unit 161 is used as a display unit for notifying various information to the user and an input screen using a touch panel.

  The communication processing unit 17 is a communication unit that communicates with an external device, and is configured by a circuit that is connected to the LAN 9 and processes communication with other devices. The above-described cloning data transmission / reception is performed by the communication processing unit 17.

  In addition, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an identification information acquisition unit 18, a hard disk drive (HDD: Hard Disk Drive) 14, an image processing unit 150, an image reading unit 151, a modem 153, and a print processing unit 152. .

  The identification information acquisition unit 18 functions as identification information input means for inputting identification information for identifying the user. For example, the identification number is obtained from the user's IC card 60 by near field communication (NFC). It is comprised from the IC card reader which reads. The identification information acquisition unit 18 is connected to the main body of the image forming apparatus 1 via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface or the like.

  As the identification information, for example, an identification number that is a unique number assigned to each user may be used. However, the identification information is not limited to the identification number, and may be a character string including characters such as alphabets.

  When using the image forming apparatus 1, the user puts the IC card 60 on the identification information acquisition unit 18 to cause the apparatus 1 to recognize the identification number, or inputs the identification number directly from the operation unit 160. . The identification number is used for user authentication processing based on an authentication table stored in the nonvolatile memory 13. When a password is used for the authentication process, the user inputs the password directly from the operation unit 160. Note that the identification information acquisition unit 18 may be configured by another device such as a fingerprint authentication device or a magnetic card reader as long as it is an acquisition unit that acquires identification information.

  The hard disk drive 14 is a storage unit that stores various information such as setting information, various tables, and the like. The hard disk drive 14 also stores image data and the like when executing a print function and the like.

  The image processing unit 150 performs image data expansion processing and compression processing when executing a print function or the like. The image reading unit 151 reads image data when executing a copy function or the like. The modem 153 is connected to a telephone line to perform fax communication when executing the fax function. The print processing unit 152 performs print processing such as print data when executing the print function.

  The above-described units 10 to 14, 17, 18, 150 to 153, 160 and 161 are electrically connected to each other via a bus 19.

  Next, the function of the CPU 10 will be described with reference to FIG. When the CPU 10 reads the program recorded in the ROM 11, the CPU 10 functions as the authentication processing unit 100, the mode change processing unit 101, the transmission function unit 10a, and the reception function unit 10b. The authentication processing unit 100 functions as an authentication unit that authenticates a user.

  The authentication processing unit 100 authenticates the user based on the authentication table illustrated in Table 1. The authentication table 130 is stored in the non-volatile memory 13, and an identification number and a password that are authentication information for each user, and a user name that is the name of the user are registered. For example, the authentication processing unit 100 checks the identification number and password input by the user against the authentication information in the authentication table 130, and authenticates the user when both the identification number and the password match (that is, , Authentication success). On the other hand, when the identification number entered by the user is not registered or the passwords do not match, the user is not authenticated (that is, authentication failure). The authentication process is not limited to the image forming apparatus 1 and may be performed by another authentication apparatus such as an authentication server connected to the LAN 40. In this case, the authentication table 130 is held in another authentication device.

  In the authentication table 130, not only the identification information of the user who uses the copy function, but also the identification information of the mode manager is registered. The mode manager is registered as the user name “mode manager” in the example of Table 1, and has the authority to change the mode of the apparatus 1, unlike other users. This mode refers to a setting state in which the type of information to be transmitted is determined in the case of the image forming apparatus 1a on the transmitting side, and the type of information to be changed is determined in the case of the image forming apparatus 1b on the receiving side. When the authentication of the mode manager is successful, the authentication processing unit 100 notifies the mode change processing unit 101 to that effect.

  The operation unit 160 functions as a selection unit that selects the mode. Further, the mode change processing unit 101 functions as a mode changing unit that changes the mode of the device 1 itself. In this embodiment, the mode change processing unit 101 allows a “mode administrator” who is a user authenticated by the authentication processing unit 100 to select a mode using the operation unit 160. However, this is only an example, and as will be described later, the mode change processing unit 101 displays the current mode when a user corresponding to each mode is authenticated by an authentication unit corresponding to the user. The mode may be changed to a corresponding mode.

  The mode change processing unit 101 changes the mode information 143 stored in the hard disk drive 14 in response to an operation through the operation unit 160 by a user who is authenticated as a “mode manager”. The mode information 143 is information indicating the mode of the device 1, and for example, values of 0 to 4 may be respectively indicated corresponding to various modes (0) to (4).

  The selection means for selecting the mode is not limited to the operation unit 160, and may be the operation unit 23 of the terminal device 2, for example. In this case, the authentication processing unit 100 receives the identification number and password from the terminal device 2 by the communication processing unit 17 via the LAN 9, and the mode change processing unit 101 determines that the authentication processing unit 100 authenticates the mode manager. In addition, it is advisable to allow mode selection.

  The selection means for selecting the mode may be an external authentication device such as an authentication server connected to the LAN 9. In this case, the authentication apparatus performs authentication based on the identification number received from the image forming apparatus 1. For example, when a specific user is successfully authenticated, the authentication apparatus issues an instruction to change to the mode according to the user. It may be transmitted to the image forming apparatus 1. On the other hand, the mode change processing unit 101 may change the mode according to the mode information included in the change instruction received from the authentication device.

  FIG. 4 shows processing of the mode change processing unit 101. When the authentication of the mode manager is notified from the authentication processing unit 100 (YES in step St1), the mode change processing unit 101 displays a mode selection screen on the display unit 161 (step St2).

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the mode selection screen. The mode selection screen includes a mode display unit 70, a mode selection unit 71, and an OK button 72. The mode selection unit 71 includes a selection button corresponding to each mode name displayed on the mode display unit 70. When the user (mode manager) uses the operation unit 160 to select one of the selection buttons and the OK button 72 is pressed, the mode corresponding to the selection button is selected. In order to prevent unauthorized use of the mode change by the mode manager, the authorized user inputs his / her identification information on the mode selection screen using the operation unit 161 after the mode manager is authenticated. On this condition, mode options corresponding to the user may be displayed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the mode is selected (step St3), the mode change processing unit 101 changes the mode information 143 according to the selected mode (step St4), and ends the process. When the mode is selected by the operation unit 23 of the terminal device 2, the screen of FIG. 5 is displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2, and the mode is selected by the operation unit 23.

  In FIG. 5, the mode display unit 70 includes, as an example, “normal mode” (mode (1)), “sales assistant mode” (mode (2)), and “customer engineer mode” (mode (3 )) And “analysis mode” (mode (4)). The “normal mode” is used, for example, when an administrator in the office where the apparatus 1 is installed performs cloning. The “sales assistant mode” is used, for example, when a salesperson who installs the apparatus 1 performs cloning.

  The “customer engineer mode” is used, for example, when a maintenance person who performs maintenance of the apparatus 1 such as ink replacement performs cloning. The “analysis mode” is used, for example, when an analysis person who performs failure analysis of the device 1 performs cloning. Among these, the “analysis mode” is intended for failure analysis, and unlike the other modes, not only the setting information 141 in the hard disk drive 14 but also the specific information 140 and the management information 142 are targeted for cloning. .

  Information to be cloned in each mode is specified by referring to the mode management table 144 stored in the hard disk drive 14. That is, the mode management table 144 determines information to be changed based on information transmitted from the image forming apparatus 1a to the terminal apparatus 2 and information received by the image forming apparatus 1b from the terminal apparatus 2.

  Table 2 shows an example of the mode management table 144. In the mode management table 144, cloning availability information indicating whether or not individual information included in each of the setting information 141, the unique information 140, and the management information 142 is to be cloned is registered for each mode. Yes. The cloning availability information is referred to as transmission availability information indicating whether information can be transmitted in the transmission-side apparatus 1a, and is referred to as changeability information indicating whether information can be changed in the reception-side apparatus 1b.

  Further, modes (1) to (4) in the table indicate the modes (1) to (4) described with reference to FIG. Further, the mode (0) indicates a “prohibited mode” in which cloning of all information is prohibited.

  An information ID that is an identification number is assigned to each of the plurality of information, and cloning availability information is set for each mode for each information ID. In the sending apparatus 1a, when the cloning availability information is “0”, it indicates that the information cannot be transmitted, and when it is “1”, it indicates that the information can be transmitted. On the other hand, in the device 1b on the receiving side, when the availability information is “0”, it indicates that the information cannot be changed, and when it is “1”, it indicates that the information can be changed. .

  For example, the information of “default screen” (information ID = 01) can be transmitted and changed in all modes (1) to (4) except mode (0). Also, the information (information ID = 04) of “IP address” can be transmitted and changed only in “customer engineer mode” (mode (3)) and “analysis mode” (mode (4)). . Thus, the mode management table 144 is configured such that information to be cloned is determined according to the purpose of each of the modes (1) to (4) described above. The contents of the mode management table 144 may be edited by the mode manager using the operation units 160 and 23.

  The information to be cloned is selected from a plurality of pieces of information included in the unique information 140, the setting information 141, and the management information 142 stored in the hard disk drive 14, respectively. An example will be described below.

  Table 3 shows an example of part of the unique information 140, the setting information 141, and the management information 142. Here, information indicating the information IDs “01” to “08” belongs to the setting information 141, information indicating the information ID “09” belongs to the unique information 140 of the device 1, and the information ID is “10”. "Belongs to the management information 142.

  The “default screen” is a screen displayed on the display unit 161 when the power is turned on or the reset operation among the copy screen, the fax screen, and the scan screen. “Volume” is a volume level of a sound effect generated when the user performs an operation using the operation unit 160.

  The “IP address acquisition method” is a method for determining the IP address (IP: Internet Protocol) of the device 1 in the LAN 9, and is “fixed” using a previously designated address, “DHCP” using DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), And “BOOTP” using BOOTP (Bootstrap Protocol). The “IP address” is an IP address used when the “IP address acquisition method” is “fixed”.

  “Power saving standby time” is a waiting time until a part of the power is turned off when the device 1 is not used. The “administrator password” is a password for the person in charge of management of the device 1 to log in to the device 1. “Operation restriction” is information indicating whether or not the operation by the customer engineer is restricted. The “territory” is information indicating in which region the device 1 is used in Japan, the Asian region excluding Japan, the United States region, or the European region.

  The “serial number” is a manufacturing number of the device 1. The “billing counter” is the number of copies counted each time copying is performed.

  Next, the cloning operation will be described. 3, the transmission function unit 10a realizes the function of the image forming apparatus 1a on the transmission side shown in FIG. 1, while the reception function unit 10b is an image on the reception side shown in FIG. The function of the forming apparatus 1b is realized.

  First, the transmission function unit 10a will be described. The transmission function unit 10 a includes a transmission control unit 102, a transmission determination unit 103, a reading unit 104, a data generation unit 1051, and an encryption processing unit 1061. The function of the transmission function unit 10a is executed in response to a user operation via the operation unit 160 or the operation unit 23 of the terminal device 2.

  The transmission control unit 102 generally controls the data transmission process, and instructs the reading unit 104 to read information to be transmitted according to the mode. The reading unit 104 functions as a reading unit that reads from the hard disk drive 14 information determined to be transmittable by the transmission determining unit 103.

  The transmission determination unit 103 functions as a specifying unit that specifies information to be transmitted to the external terminal device 2 among a plurality of pieces of information 140 to 142 held in the device 1 according to the mode of the device 1. . Specifically, the transmission determination unit 103 refers to the mode management table 144, and based on the mode selected by the operation unit 160, that is, based on the transmission availability information (cloning availability information) according to the mode information 143, a plurality of transmission determination units 103 Whether or not transmission is possible is determined for each piece of information.

  The reading unit 104 outputs information read from the hard disk drive 14 based on the determination result of the transmission determination unit 103 to the transmission control unit 102. The transmission control unit 102 outputs the information read by the reading unit 104 to the data generation unit 1051. The data generation unit 1051 functions as a generation unit that generates cloning data to be transmitted to the terminal device 2 from the information read by the reading unit 104.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the configuration of cloning data generated by the data generation unit 1051. The cloning data includes mode information 30 (that is, mode information 143) read from the hard disk drive 14, N sets of information IDs (1) to (N) 31, and values (1) to (N) 32. included. Here, N is determined according to the selected mode based on the mode management table 144. That is, N is the number of information that the transmission determination unit 103 determines to be able to transmit.

  The mode information 30 is used for collation of the combination with the mode of the image forming apparatus 1b on the receiving side. The information IDs (1) to (N) 31 are used to recognize the type of information in the image forming apparatus 1b on the receiving side, and the values (1) to (N) 32 are used to change the corresponding information. . This cloning data is preferably generated according to a SOAP format (SOAP: Simple Object Access Protocol), for example.

  The cloning data is output to the encryption processing unit 1061. The encryption processing unit 1061 encrypts information transmitted from the communication processing unit 17 to the terminal device 2. As an encryption method, for example, AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) or DES (Data Encryption Standard) may be adopted to improve security. The encryption processing unit 1061 outputs the encrypted cloning data to the transmission control unit 102.

  The transmission control unit 102 transmits the cloning data encrypted by the encryption processing unit 1061 to the terminal device 2 via the communication processing unit 17. That is, the communication processing unit 17 functions as a transmission unit that transmits the information specified as a transmission target by the transmission determination unit 103 and the mode information 143 indicating the mode of the own device 1 to the external terminal device 2.

  Further, after data transmission, the transmission control unit 102 changes the mode to a mode in which the transmission permission / prohibition information indicates that transmission is impossible, that is, a “prohibited mode” for all of a plurality of pieces of information. Specifically, the transmission control unit 102 changes the content of the mode information 143 from the currently selected mode to the “prohibited mode”. This prevents cloning by unauthorized users.

  FIG. 7 shows a flow of the cloning data transmission process. When receiving a data transmission request from the terminal device 2 via the communication processing unit 17 (YES in Step St11), the transmission control unit 102 instructs the reading unit 104 to read information to be transmitted.

  The transmission determination unit 103 starts determination processing in response to a request from the reading unit 104, reads mode information 143 from the hard disk drive 14 (step St12), refers to the mode management table 144 (step St13), and stores each information. Judgment is made by selecting sequentially. The transmission determination unit 103 determines whether the selected information can be transmitted based on the transmission availability information (cloning availability information) registered in the mode management table 144 (step St14), and reads the determination result. 104 is notified. When the transmission permission / inhibition information is “1” (transmission is possible) (YES in step St14), the reading unit 104 reads the corresponding information from the hard disk drive 14 (step St15).

  Next, when there is undetermined information (YES in step St16), the transmission determining unit 103 performs the determination process in step St14 again on the information. The same applies to the case where the transmission availability information is “0” (transmission is impossible) (NO in step St14).

  If there is no undetermined information (NO in step St16), the transmission control unit 102 outputs the information read by the reading unit 104 to the data generation unit 1051 to generate cloning data (step St17). Then, the transmission control unit 102 encrypts the cloning data by using the encryption processing unit 1061 (Step St18), and transmits it to the terminal device 2 by the communication processing unit 17 (Step St19). After transmitting the data, the transmission control unit 102 changes the selected mode to the “prohibited mode” (step St20), and ends the process.

  Next, the reception function unit 10b will be described. As described above, the reception function unit 10b may be provided in the same image forming apparatus 1 together with the transmission function unit 10a, or may be provided in an image forming apparatus 1 different from the image forming apparatus 1 including the transmission function unit 10a. It may be provided.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the reception function unit 10 b includes a reception control unit 107, a data expansion unit 1052, a decryption processing unit 1062, a change determination unit 108, and a change processing unit 109. The function of the reception function unit 10b is executed according to a user operation via the operation unit 160 or the operation unit 23 of the terminal device 2.

  The reception control unit 107 generally controls the cloning data reception process. The reception control unit 107 receives the cloning data via the communication processing unit 17. That is, the communication processing unit 17 functions as a receiving unit that receives a plurality of information and mode information transmitted from the terminal device 2 by the image forming apparatus 1a on the transmission side.

  The reception control unit 107 outputs the received cloning data to the decryption processing unit 1062. The decryption processing unit 1062 decrypts the plurality of information when the plurality of information received from the terminal device 2 by the reception control unit 107 is encrypted. The decryption processing unit 1062 outputs the decrypted cloning data to the data expansion unit 1052.

  The data expansion unit 1052 acquires a plurality of information 31 and 32 and mode information 30 from the cloning data, and outputs them to the reception control unit 107.

  The reception control unit 107 is based on a combination of the mode indicated by the mode information 30 received by the communication processing unit 17 (the mode of the transmission-side device 1a) and the mode of the own device 1 (the mode of the reception-side device 1b). , And functions as a control unit that permits the change processing unit 109 to change the information 140 to 142. The reception control unit 107 collates the combination of the mode indicated by the received mode information 30 and the mode indicated by the mode information 143 in the mode comparison table 145 stored in the hard disk drive 14.

  Table 4 shows an example of the mode comparison table 145. In the mode collation table 145, permission / rejection information for determining permission / rejection of information change is registered for each combination of modes (0) to (4) between the transmission-side apparatus 1a and the reception-side apparatus 1b. In the table, “transmission side mode” indicates the mode of the image forming apparatus 1a on the transmission side, and “reception side mode” indicates the mode of the image forming apparatus 1b on the reception side. Further, “1” in the column corresponding to each combination of modes indicates permission of change, while “0” indicates disapproval.

  According to the mode collation table 145 of this example, for example, the mode of the image forming process 1a on the transmission side is “sales assistant mode” (mode (2)), and the mode of the image forming process 1b on the receiving side is “normal mode”. In the case of (mode (1)), change of information is not permitted. Furthermore, information change is not permitted for combinations of “prohibited modes” (mode (0)). Note that if the change of information is not permitted, the reception control unit 107 may display on the display unit 161 or the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 that the change is impossible.

  On the other hand, when the modes match, information change is permitted except for combinations of prohibited modes (mode (0)). When the transmitting apparatus 1a is in the “normal mode” (mode (1)), the receiving apparatus 1b is in the “sales assistant mode” (mode (2)) or “customer engineer mode” (mode (3) )), The change of information is permitted despite the mode mismatch. Further, when the transmission-side apparatus 1a is in “sales assistant mode” (mode (2)) and the reception-side apparatus 1b is in “customer engineer mode” (mode (3)), the information change is performed in the same manner. Is allowed.

  In this example, when the transmitting apparatus 1a is in the developer mode (mode (4)), the information change is permitted only when the receiving apparatus 1b is also in the developer mode (mode (4)). . This prevents the information to be cloned from being used for purposes other than analysis in the developer mode (mode (4)).

  The reception control unit 107 outputs each information ID 31 and each value 32 included in the cloning data to the change processing unit 109 when permitting the change processing unit 109 to change the information as a result of the determination based on the mode matching table 145. To do. The change processing unit 109 changes the information determined to be changeable based on the mode management table 144 to the value 32 included in the cloning data. Identification of changeable information is performed by the change determination unit 108.

  The change determination unit 108 functions as a specifying unit that specifies the setting information to be changed according to the mode of the own device 1 among the plurality of pieces of information 140 to 142 held in the own device 1. Specifically, the change determination unit 108 refers to the mode management table 144, and based on the change enable / disable information (cloning enable / disable information) corresponding to the mode indicated by the mode information 143, each of the plurality of pieces of information 140 to 142 is determined. Judge whether change is possible. The change determination unit 108 outputs the determination result to the change processing unit 109.

  The change processing unit 109 functions as an information changing unit that changes the information 140 to 142 specified as the change target by the change determination unit 108 based on the information received from the external terminal device 2 by the communication processing unit 17. Specifically, the change processing unit 109 stores information 140 to 142 stored in the hard disk drive 14 based on information determined to be changeable by the change determination unit 108 among the information input from the reception control unit 107. To change. Therefore, the contents of the information 140 to 142 corresponding to the information ID determined to be changeable by the change determination unit 108 among the information IDs 31 included in the cloning data are changed to the value 32 included in the cloning data.

  This process is performed in common in the case where the mode indicated by the received mode information 30 matches the mode of the own apparatus 1, that is, the mode indicated by the mode information 143, and the case where they do not match. In the former case, all received information is to be changed, while in the latter case, a part of the received information is to be changed. In the latter case, as described above, it is assumed that the two modes correspond to combinations that are allowed to be changed in the mode matching table 145. Note that the reception control unit 107 changes the information by the change processing unit 109 when the mode indicated by the received mode information 30 matches the mode of the own device 1 regardless of the mode collation table 145 illustrated in Table 4. You may allow it.

  After the information is changed by the change processing unit 109, the reception control unit 107 changes the mode to a mode in which the above transmission permission information indicates that transmission is not possible, that is, a “prohibition mode” for all of the plurality of pieces of information. Specifically, the reception control unit 107 changes the content of the mode information 143 from the currently selected mode to the “prohibited mode”. This prevents cloning by unauthorized users.

  FIG. 8 shows the flow of the cloning data reception process. When receiving the cloning data from the terminal device 2 (step St21), the reception control unit 107 decrypts the cloning data by the decryption processing unit 1062 (step St22). Next, the reception control unit 107 acquires the mode information 30, the information ID 31, and the value 32 by using the data development unit 1052 (Step St23).

  The reception control unit 107 reads out the mode information 143 from the hard disk drive 14 and refers to the mode collation table 145 for a combination of the mode indicated by the mode information 143 and the mode indicated by the mode information 30 received by the reception control unit 107. Then, whether to change the information is determined (step St24). As a result of the collation, when the change of information is permitted (YES in Step St25), the change determination unit 108 refers to the mode management table 144 in response to a request from the change processing unit 109 (Step St26), and a plurality of changes are made. Information is sequentially selected and a determination process is performed. On the other hand, if the information change is not permitted as a result of the collation (NO in step St25), the change determination unit 108 displays an error on the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 or the display unit 161 of the image forming apparatus 1b on the transmission side. (Step St31), and the process ends.

  In the determination process, the change determination unit 108 determines whether or not the selected information can be changed based on the change permission information (allowability information) (step St27), and notifies the change processing unit 109 of the determination result. When the change enable / disable information corresponding to the information corresponding to the information ID 31 obtained from the cloning data is “1” (change possible) (YES in step St27), the change processor 109 determines that the corresponding information Is changed to the corresponding value 32 included in the cloning data (step St28). Note that the change determination unit 108 may sequentially select the information IDs 31 included in the cloning data and read the change enable / disable information corresponding to the information IDs in the mode management table 144.

  Next, if there is undetermined information, the change determination unit 108 performs the determination process again in step St27 on the information. The same applies to the case where the change enable / disable information is “0” (cannot be changed) (NO in step St27). After changing the information, the reception control unit 107 changes the mode being selected to “prohibited mode” (step St30), and ends the process. In this process, the mode combination matching process (step St25) may be omitted, and the changeability determination may be performed based only on the changeability information corresponding to each information.

  The image forming apparatus 1 (receiving apparatus 1b) of the present embodiment specifies the information to be changed after receiving the cloning data from the terminal device 2, but is not limited thereto, and has specified the information to be changed. Later, only relevant information may be acquired from the terminal device 2. In this case, for example, the reception control unit 107 displays, on the display unit 161, a list of options including only information identified as a change target according to the mode indicated by the mode information 143 based on the mode management table 144. And the reception control part 107 is good to request and acquire the information selected according to operation of the operation part 160 in the said selection screen to the terminal device 2 via the communication process part 17. FIG.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus 1a, which is the data transmission apparatus according to the present embodiment, selects information to be transmitted to the external terminal apparatus 2 among the plurality of pieces of information 140 to 142 held by the own apparatus 1a. Then, it identifies according to the mode of its own device 1a, and transmits the identified information to the external terminal device 2. Therefore, the image forming apparatus 1a performs cloning by transmitting information corresponding to the selected mode.

  On the other hand, the image forming apparatus 1b, which is the data receiving apparatus of the present embodiment, specifies information to be changed among a plurality of pieces of information 140 to 142 held in the own apparatus 1b according to the mode of the own apparatus 1b. The specified information is changed based on the information received from the external terminal device 2. Therefore, the image forming apparatus 1b executes cloning by changing information corresponding to the selected mode among the information received from the terminal device 2. Therefore, according to the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b, the change of information is facilitated.

  In addition, since the data communication system according to the present embodiment includes the image forming apparatus 1a that is a data transmitting apparatus and the image forming apparatus 1b that is a data receiving apparatus, the same effects as those described above can be achieved.

  Further, as described above, even if the modes of the image forming apparatus 1a on the transmission side and the image forming apparatus 1b on the reception side do not match, a change is made for a certain combination based on the mode matching table 144. Information change by the processing unit 109 is permitted. Therefore, for example, it is possible to perform cloning from the device 1a set to the sales assistant mode by the sales person to the device 1b set to the customer engineer mode by the maintenance person. Therefore, a user who provides and maintains the devices 1a and 1b can provide setting information and the like of the devices 1a and 1b to the same user.

  On the other hand, for other combinations, change of information by the change processing unit 109 is not permitted. Therefore, for example, it is impossible to execute cloning from the device 1a set to the customer engineer mode by the maintenance staff to the device 1b set to the normal mode by the administrator in the office. Therefore, a problem that may occur when a user who provides and maintains the devices 1a and 1b provides setting information and the like to a user who operates the devices 1a and 1b (that is, different positions). Is prevented in advance. Therefore, the convenience of cloning is improved.

  In the embodiments described so far, the mode selection is performed by the mode manager authenticated by the authentication processing unit 100, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the mode change processing unit 101 may select a mode according to the user identification number authenticated by the authentication processing unit 100.

  Taking the authentication table 130 shown in Table 1 as an example, for example, when “Fuji Ichiro” is authenticated, the mode change processing unit 101 selects “normal mode” (mode (1)), and “Yamada When “Sachiko” is authenticated, “sales assistant mode” (mode (2)) is selected. According to this selection method, the contents of cloning are easily determined according to the user.

  When the mode is changed according to the authenticated user, it is not necessary to use a common authentication means for each user as described above, and users corresponding to each mode may be authenticated by different authentication means. For example, when changing to “normal mode” (mode (1)), the administrator in the office is authenticated based on the password displayed on the authentication screen displayed on the display unit 161 and different from other users. When changing to the “sales assistant mode” (mode (2)), the salesperson is authenticated based on the operation of a specific hard key included in the operation unit 160 (for example, pressing and holding for a certain period of time). May be.

  On the other hand, when changing to the “customer engineer mode” (mode (3)), the person in charge of maintenance is authenticated based on the authentication information recorded in the USB memory connected to the image forming apparatus 1, and the “analysis mode” ( When changing to the mode (4)), the person in charge of analysis may be authenticated based on a specific command input from a dedicated terminal device connected to the image forming apparatus 1. Thus, by adopting different authentication means depending on the user (person in charge), not only the mode change is simplified, but also the security is improved.

  In the embodiments described so far, the mode management table 144 is held in the image forming apparatus 1, but is not limited thereto, and may be held in an external apparatus. As an apparatus that holds the mode management table, for example, an authentication apparatus such as an authentication server connected to the image forming apparatus 1 via the LAN 9 can be cited.

  In this case, for example, mode information and cloning availability information for each mode are registered in the mode management table corresponding to the authentication information of each user, and the image forming apparatus 1 passes through the communication processing unit 17. What is necessary is just to acquire the cloning availability information of the mode corresponding to the authenticated user with an authentication result from an authentication apparatus. As described above, when the mode management table is held in an external apparatus, the transmission-side image forming apparatus 1a and the receiving-side image forming apparatus 1b can use a common mode management table. The mode management table can be easily managed.

  The data communication system according to the present embodiment transmits and receives cloning data between the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b via the terminal device 2, but directly between the devices 1a and 1b without using the terminal device 2. Cloning data may be sent and received. In this case, the image forming apparatus 1a on the transmission side accesses the image forming apparatus 1b on the reception side, and before the cloning data is transmitted, the mode of the apparatus 1b on the reception side is changed to the mode of the apparatus 1a on the transmission side. Also good.

  FIG. 9 is a ladder chart showing communication between the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b at this time. In the image forming apparatus 1a on the transmission side, when the transmission control unit 102 receives an instruction to transmit cloning data from the user via the operation unit 160 (reference P1), the image formation on the reception side is performed via the communication processing unit 17. A reception request including identification information and mode information is transmitted to the device 1b (reference C1). Here, the identification information is, for example, the identification number of the user who has the authority to change the mode of the receiving apparatus 1b, and the mode information is the mode information 143 of the transmitting apparatus 1a. The image forming apparatus 1a on the transmission side may transmit a password instead of the identification information or together with the identification information in the reception request transmission process.

  When receiving the reception request, the image forming apparatus 1b on the receiving side performs an authentication process based on the identification information included in the reception request (reference P2). Here, the authentication table used for authentication may be held in either a storage unit such as the RAM 12 of the image forming apparatus 1b or an external authentication device.

  When the authentication is successful, in the image forming apparatus 1b on the receiving side, the mode change processing unit 101 rewrites the mode information 143 according to the mode information included in the reception request, and the mode of the own apparatus 1b is the same as that of the transmitting apparatus 1a. (Mode P3). When the mode change is completed, in the image forming apparatus 1b on the receiving side, the reception control unit 107 transmits a mode change completion notification to the transmitting apparatus 1a via the communication processing unit 17 (reference C2).

  Upon receiving the mode change completion notification, the transmission-side image forming apparatus 1a transmits the cloning data to the reception-side apparatus 1b as described with reference to FIG. 7 (reference C3). The image forming apparatus 1b on the receiving side changes the information 140 to 142 held in the own apparatus 1b based on the received cloning data (reference P4). The change process is as described with reference to FIG. In this case, since the modes of the devices 1a and 1b on the transmission side and the reception side match each other, all information corresponding to the information included in the cloning data is specified as a change target.

  In addition, when direct transmission / reception is performed between the image forming apparatuses 1a and 1b, the transmission-side apparatus 1a receives identification information such as the IP address and MAC address of its own apparatus 1a prior to transmission of cloning data. It may be transmitted to the device 1b. In this case, the receiving apparatus 1b recognizes that direct cloning data is transmitted based on the identification information, and specifies the change target based on the mode information 30 received from the transmitting apparatus 1a. Good.

  As a result, when the receiving apparatus 1b receives the cloning data directly from the transmitting apparatus 1a, the receiving apparatus 1b changes the information based on all the information included in the cloning data. improves. Further, in this case, unlike the case described above, the transmitting apparatus 1a receives highly confidential information including the user identification number in order to change the mode of the receiving apparatus 1b. Since it is not necessary to transmit to the apparatus 1b, security is also improved.

  Contrary to the above contents, this method is also applied to the case where the receiving image forming apparatus 1b transmits the identification information of the own apparatus 1b to the transmitting image forming apparatus 1a prior to receiving the cloning data. Is possible. In this case, the transmission-side apparatus 1a may transmit all the information 140 to 142 held in the own apparatus 1a to the reception-side apparatus 1b, and the reception-side apparatus 1b may specify the change target. . However, in this transmission mode, the transmission-side apparatus 1a also transmits information that is not specified as a change target in the reception-side apparatus 1b. Therefore, from the viewpoint of efficiency, it is preferable that the transmission-side apparatus 1a acquires the mode information of the reception-side apparatus 1b in advance and transmits information according to the mode indicated by the mode information.

  The same effect as the embodiment described so far is that a recording medium in which a program for realizing each function described above is recorded is supplied to a data transmission device or a data reception device, and a computer in the device performs the above operation. It can also be obtained by executing a program. The recording medium may be any one of CD-ROM, DVD, SD card, etc., as long as it can be read by a computer.

  Although the contents of the present invention have been specifically described above with reference to the preferred embodiments, it is obvious that those skilled in the art can take various modifications based on the basic technical idea and teachings of the present invention. It is.

1, 1a, 1b Image forming apparatus 10 CPU
17 communication processing unit 101 mode change processing unit 102 transmission control unit 103 transmission determination unit 104 reading unit 1061 encryption processing unit 107 reception control unit 108 change determination unit 109 change processing unit 1062 decryption processing unit 130 authentication table 143 mode information 144 mode Management table 160 Operation unit

Claims (9)

First mode changing means for changing the mode of the own device;
First setting means for specifying setting information to be transmitted to an external device among a plurality of setting information held by the own device according to the mode of the own device;
A data transmission apparatus comprising: transmission means for transmitting the setting information identified by the first identification means to the external apparatus.   The data transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit transmits the setting information specified by the first specification unit and mode information indicating the mode to the external device. The data transmission device according to claim 1 or 2,
A data receiving device for receiving the setting information transmitted by the data transmitting device;
The data receiving apparatus, wherein the data receiving apparatus changes at least a part of a plurality of setting information held in the own apparatus based on setting information transmitted by the data transmitting apparatus. The data receiving device is:
Second mode changing means for changing the mode of the own device;
Of a plurality of setting information held in the own device, a second specifying means for specifying the setting information to be changed according to the mode of the own device;
4. The data communication system according to claim 3, further comprising information changing means for changing the setting information specified by the second specifying means based on the setting information transmitted by the data transmitting apparatus. The data receiving device further includes:
Receiving means for receiving the mode information transmitted by the transmitting means;
5. The apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a control unit that permits a change of the setting information by the information changing unit based on a combination of the mode indicated by the mode information received by the receiving unit and the mode of the own apparatus. The data communication system described in 1.   6. The data communication system according to claim 5, wherein the control unit permits the change by the information changing unit when the mode indicated by the mode information matches the mode of the own device. Receiving means for receiving setting information from an external device;
Mode changing means for changing the mode of the own device;
Among a plurality of setting information held in the own device, specifying means for specifying setting information to be changed according to the mode of the own device;
A data receiving apparatus comprising: information changing means for changing the setting information specified by the specifying means based on the setting information received from the external apparatus by the receiving means. Data transmission device
First mode changing means for changing the mode of the own device;
First setting means for specifying setting information to be transmitted to an external device among a plurality of setting information held by the own device according to the mode of the own device;
A program for causing the setting information specified by the first specifying means to function as a transmitting means for transmitting to the external device. The data receiver
Receiving means for receiving setting information from an external device;
Mode changing means for changing the mode of the own device;
Among a plurality of setting information held in the own device, specifying means for specifying setting information to be changed according to the mode of the own device;
A program that causes the setting information specified by the specifying means to function as information changing means for changing the setting information based on setting information received from the external device by the receiving means.

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