JP2013229036A - Electronic device, shortcut management method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic device capable of enhancing usability of a portal application.SOLUTION: An electronic device includes a license storage part 205, a license invalidation part 210, a related shortcut search part 212, and a shortcut deletion part 215. The related shortcut search part 212 searches a shortcut which is inoperative or causes an execution result to be changed as a result that the license invalidation part 210 invalidates a specific license in a validated state; and the shortcut deletion part 215 deletes or invalidates, out of the searched shortcuts, shortcuts classified as a shortcut being inoperative as a result of invalidation of a license.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device, a shortcut management method, and a program, and more particularly to an electronic device capable of executing a shortcut that uses a function of the electronic device and managing at least a part of the function used by the shortcut with a license.

  In recent years, even in embedded devices, an environment in which an unspecified application is dynamically taken in and out has been provided. Under such circumstances, applications that manage shortcuts for calling functions of unspecified applications with specific settings have been developed. Here, an application for managing shortcuts is referred to as a portal application.

  This portal application generally has a function of displaying a list of shortcuts to be managed on an operation screen. When a user selects a desired shortcut and instructs execution, another application is executed with a specific setting associated with the shortcut. Here, an application that is actually called in association with a shortcut is referred to as a registered application.

  Shortcuts need to be managed continuously. For example, a shortcut that is no longer needed may be deleted or a new shortcut may be created. In order to save the labor of these managements, some conventional portal applications have a mechanism for automatically generating and deleting shortcuts (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Patent Document 1 introduces a configuration in which a shortcut is automatically created when a registration application satisfies a predetermined creation condition, and is automatically deleted when a deletion condition is satisfied. As a specific example of the creation condition, the number of activation times of the registered application is described. Further, as a specific example of the deletion condition, a non-activation period and a ratio of the number of activations to the period are described. When the configuration described in Patent Document 1 is adopted, it is not necessary to generate or delete shortcuts, so that an excellent effect in reducing management costs can be expected.

  On the other hand, some embedded device registration applications require a license for the operation of the application itself or for some of the functions.

  Application licenses include licenses that permit only a certain period or the number of executions of the application. In such a license, when a certain condition is not satisfied, the license is invalidated, and the application corresponding to the license and a part of the function cannot be used.

JP 2002-259010 A

  However, in the automatic shortcut icon creation / deletion program disclosed in Patent Document 1, as a first problem, even if the license is invalidated and the corresponding application and some of its functions cannot be used, the shortcut is not available for a while. It was left for a while. During that time, the portal application was not easy to use.

  As a second problem, it is difficult to automatically generate a shortcut because there is no consideration for a case where a shortcut including a setting value of processing of a registered application is included. For this reason, the setting value of the processing of the registered application registered in the shortcut has to be reset, and the portal application is not easy to use.

  As a third problem, since there is no consideration for the case of creating a shortcut including the setting value of the processing of the registered application, if some functions used by the registered application are not available, the shortcut maintenance is not performed. For this reason, there is a problem that there is a trouble of manually editing or deleting the shortcut. Furthermore, there is a problem that it is not possible to cope with a case where a shortcut is used by excluding some functions used by the registered application.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device, a shortcut management method, and a program that can improve the usability of a portal application in order to solve the above problem.

  In order to achieve the above object, an electronic device according to claim 1 is an electronic device capable of executing a license-managed application, wherein registration means for registering a shortcut of the application and an application license are invalid And detecting means for detecting that the application license has been invalidated, and invalidating means for invalidating the shortcut of the application when the detecting means detects that the license of the application has been invalidated.

  In order to achieve the above object, a shortcut management method according to claim 7 is a shortcut management method in an electronic device capable of executing a license-managed application, and a registration step of registering a shortcut of the application; A detection step for detecting that the license of the application has become invalid, and an invalidation step for invalidating the shortcut of the application when it is detected in the detection step that the license of the application has been invalidated. And

  To achieve the above object, a program according to claim 8 is a program for causing an electronic device capable of executing a license-managed application to execute a shortcut management method, and registers a shortcut of the application. A registration step, a detection step for detecting that the application license has been invalidated, and a disabling step for disabling the application shortcut if the detection step detects that the application license has been invalidated. It is characterized by having.

  According to the present invention, when the license is invalidated and the function of the corresponding electronic device can no longer be used, the shortcut can be automatically invalidated immediately to improve the usability of the portal application. .

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of various software stored in a recording medium such as an auxiliary storage device 113 in the controller unit 101. It is a figure which shows a shortcut list. It is a figure which shows the detailed processing content of a shortcut. It is a figure which shows the specific example of a permanent license. It is a figure which shows the specific example of a time-limited license. It is a figure which shows the shortcut obtained as a result of excluding the setting of high compression PDF. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence in case a license is invalidated. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence in the case of detecting and invalidating the license exceeding the range predetermined for the timed license. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence when a license is validated. It is a figure which shows the operation screen of a portal application in the state in which all the shortcuts are executable. It is a figure which shows the example of the operation screen of a portal application in the state where the license of the "Send" application which is one of the basic functions is invalidated. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen of a portal application when a license for a “high compression PDF” function that is one of partial functions of the image forming apparatus 10 is invalidated. FIG. It is a figure which shows the various software configurations required minimum.

  Embodiments of an electronic device, a shortcut management method, and a program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The electronic apparatus of this embodiment is applied to an image forming apparatus.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. The image forming apparatus 10 includes a controller unit 101, a printer unit 102, a reader unit 103, and a facsimile (FAX) unit 104.

  The printer unit 102 forms an image on a sheet using image data. The reader unit 103 reads an original and generates image data. A facsimile (FAX) unit 104 transmits the read image data to the other party via a telephone line.

  The controller unit (information processing apparatus) 101 controls the entire apparatus and is connected to the client PC 140 via the LAN 130. In addition, a CPU 110, a nonvolatile memory 111, a volatile memory 112, an auxiliary storage device 113, a display 114, an input device 115, and a network communication device 116 are connected to the controller unit 101 via an internal bus 120.

  The CPU 110 executes a program and performs various processes. The nonvolatile memory 111 is composed of a ROM. The nonvolatile memory 111 stores programs and data necessary for the initial stage in the startup process of the image forming apparatus 10. The volatile memory 112 includes a RAM and is used as a temporary storage location for programs and data.

  The auxiliary storage device 113 is composed of a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk or a RAM drive, and stores large-capacity data and holds program execution codes. The auxiliary storage device 113 stores data that needs to be held for a long time compared to the volatile memory 112, and in the present embodiment, holds various software and shortcuts.

  The display 114 is a device for transmitting information to a user who uses the image forming apparatus 10. In the present embodiment, all users are users of the image forming apparatus 10. The input device 115 is a device for accepting a user's selection instruction and transmitting it to the program via the internal bus 120. The network communication device 116 is a device for communicating with another information processing device via a network. The display 114 and the input device 115 constitute an operation unit 118 of the image forming apparatus 10.

  As described above, the internal bus 120 connects the CPU 110, the nonvolatile memory 111, the volatile memory 112, the auxiliary storage device 113, the display 114, the input device 115, and the network communication device 116 so that they can communicate within the controller unit 101. It is a communication bus.

The LAN 130 is a network that connects the image forming apparatus 10 and another information processing apparatus in a communicable state. The client PC 140 is another information processing apparatus that can communicate with the image forming apparatus 10 via the LAN 130.

  Note that the configurations of the printer unit 102, the reader unit 103, and the facsimile (FAX) unit 104 are well known and are not directly related to the present invention, and details thereof are omitted.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of various software stored in a recording medium such as the auxiliary storage device 113 in the controller unit 101. As described above, each unit composed of various software is stored in one of the storage media of the nonvolatile memory 111, the volatile memory 112, and the auxiliary storage device 113, and is executed by the CPU 110. In the present embodiment, the various types of software are roughly divided into a portal application 220, a registration application 222 (222-1, ..., 222-N), and a license management system 221.

  The shortcut storage unit 201 stores shortcuts held by the controller unit 101. The shortcut is stored as a file in the auxiliary storage device 113. An example of a shortcut saved as a file is shown below. FIG. 3 shows a shortcut list. The shortcut list 301 is a list created for the portal application 220 to manage shortcuts. The list of shortcuts is represented by Button tags in the figure.

  The detailed processing content of the shortcut is managed in a separate file. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing detailed processing contents of the shortcut. An ActID tag exists as the link information. Another file indicating the detailed processing content of the shortcut is uniquely identified by the ID set in this tag. That is, ActID is used as information for uniquely specifying a shortcut.

  An application that executes a shortcut is represented by an AppID tag. The application that actually executes the shortcut is uniquely identified by the ID set in this tag.

  In addition, the alias tag indicates an application name. The Name tag indicates the name of the shortcut. The Comment tag indicates a comment given to the shortcut.

  As indicated by the shortcut list 301, the portal application manages shortcuts with two IDs, AppID and ActID. That is, the portal application uniquely manages the application that executes the shortcut by AppID, and manages the shortcut so that the shortcut that is executed by ActID is uniquely identified.

  A shortcut 302 indicates details of each shortcut used by the registered application. Here, an example in which a shortcut named shortcut 1 is converted into a file in XML format is shown.

  The Workflow tag holds an attribute called ActID. This ActID corresponds to the ActID described in the shortcut list 301, and is an ID for uniquely identifying the shortcut. The shortcut 302 is a shortcut for scanning the original on both sides, converting the document into highly compressed PDF and encrypted PDF data, and transmitting the data to an address “a@b.com”.

  The shortcut registration unit 202 creates a shortcut in the controller unit 101 and registers it in the shortcut storage unit 201. When a new shortcut is registered, the shortcut list 301 and the shortcut 302 stored in the shortcut storage unit 201 are registered.

  The shortcut execution instruction unit 203 starts processing of the registered application according to the shortcut information. Since the actual processing is performed by the registered application, the shortcut execution instruction unit 203 creates a trigger for starting the operation of the registered application and passes setting information necessary for the processing.

  The shortcut display unit 204 displays a list of shortcuts and detailed information held in the shortcut storage unit 201. By displaying these pieces of information on the display 114, the user can confirm the shortcut and can perform an operation on the shortcut by the shortcut execution instruction unit 203 or the shortcut registration unit 202.

  The license storage unit 205 stores an application running in the controller unit 101 and a license corresponding to the partial function and a license state.

Here, the license will be described in detail. The license is information for enabling a user of the image forming apparatus 10 to use one or more applications and partial functions thereof. In addition, a license can be used to validate functions provided in the image forming apparatus 10. When the license is applied, the user can use the corresponding one or more applications and partial functions thereof. Conversely, when the license is invalidated, the user cannot use one or more corresponding applications or partial functions thereof. The state where the license is activated is expressed as the license is valid. Conversely, a state where the license is invalidated is expressed as a license invalid. These states are referred to as license states. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the application that can be executed by applying the license is the registration application 222. Note that there are a plurality of registered applications 222 (222-1,..., 222-N), and there are a plurality of shortcut execution units corresponding to each registered application (219-1,..., 219-N). As a plurality of registered applications in the present embodiment, there are “Copy”, “Print”, “Scan”, and “Send” applications corresponding to the functions of the image forming apparatus 10. It is assumed that at least one of the plurality of applications is license-managed. In addition, license management may be performed for a specific function included in one application. In the following description, one registered application and shortcut execution unit will be described using reference numerals 222 and 219. The license information is stored in the auxiliary storage device 113 in the form of a text file. However, in order to prevent the use of unauthorized licenses, the licenses are usually encrypted and backed up multiple times. In the present embodiment, a configuration in which only one file is managed without being encrypted will be described as an example.

  There are two types of licenses: permanent licenses and timed licenses (or limited licenses). Permanent licenses, once activated, can use the corresponding application and its partial functionality indefinitely. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of a permanent license.

The permanent license 401 has three pieces of information, “LICENSE ID” 402, “LICENSED FUNCTION ID” 403, and “LICENSED DEVICE ID” 404. “LICENSE ID” 402 is an identifier for uniquely identifying this license. “LICENSED FUNCTION ID” 403 is an identifier for identifying one or more applications and partial functions corresponding to the license file. In FIG. 5, this is realized by an identifier of UUID (Universal Unique IDentifier). In this embodiment, LICENSED FUNCTION is used.
The ID 403 corresponds to the AppID in FIGS. 3 and 4. “LICENSED DEVICE ID” 404 is an identifier for identifying the image forming apparatus 10 to which the license file corresponds. In FIG. 5, this is realized by an identifier of UUID.

  On the other hand, in the timed license, a range in which the license is valid is determined. Therefore, once a license is activated, the corresponding application and its partial functions cannot be used indefinitely. The license is automatically invalidated when it exceeds the predetermined range for the license. When automatically disabled, the corresponding one or more applications and their partial functions cannot be used. The following ranges are valid licenses that can be set for timed licenses. The first is information indicating a usable period and the number of days. The second is the number of executions measured by the counter. The number of executions is the number of times the application corresponding to the license is activated or the number of times the partial function is used. Further, instead of the number of executions of the application, the number of times that the printer unit 102, the reader unit 103, or the facsimile unit 104 of the image forming apparatus 10 is operated by executing the application may be counted.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a specific example of a timed license. The time license 501 has information of “LICENSE ID” 502, “LICENSED FUNCTION ID” 503, “LICENSED DEVICE ID” 504, and “LICENSE RANGE” 505.

  “LICENSE ID” 502, “LICENSED FUNCTION ID” 503 and “LICENSED DEVICE ID” 504 indicate the same information as in FIG. “LICENSE RANGE” 505 indicates a range in which the license is valid. “DATE” 506 represents a period during which the license is valid. In the example of FIG. 6, the license is valid only during the period from “2008/07/01” to “2008/12/31”.

  “COUNT” 507 indicates the number of executions of the application corresponding to the license and its partial function. In the example of FIG. 6, the license is valid only after the application or partial function identified by “LICENSED FUNCTION ID” 503 is used 1000 times. In the example of FIG. 6, these multiple conditions are combined by a logical operation expression. The above-mentioned “DATE” 506 and “COUNT” 507 are combined by a logical operation expression “&”. This expresses that the license is valid only while both the conditions of “DATE” 506 and “COUNT” 507 are satisfied.

  The license registration unit 206 registers an application that operates in the controller unit 101 of the image forming apparatus 10 and a license corresponding to a partial function thereof. Registration of the license is performed from the client PC 140 connected via the LAN 130.

  The license deletion unit 207 deletes the license stored in the license storage unit 205. The deleted license cannot be used in the image forming apparatus 10 unless it is re-registered by the license registration unit 206.

The license validation unit 208 validates a license that has been invalidated among the licenses stored by the license storage unit 205. As described above, when the license is validated, the user can use one or more corresponding applications and partial functions thereof.

  The timed license monitoring unit 209 monitors whether there is a license exceeding a predetermined range in the timed license. The specific monitoring method differs depending on the range set for the timed license. In the present embodiment, a description will be made assuming that the period during which the license is valid and the number of executions of the application corresponding to the license and its partial functions are monitored in accordance with the example of FIG.

  Monitoring for the period during which the license is valid is performed by comparison with the current date and time of the controller unit 101 of the image forming apparatus 10. In the example of FIG. 6, a time limit from “2008/07/01” to “2008/12/31” is stored, and it is continuously monitored whether or not the current date is included in the time limit.

  Further, the monitoring of the number of executions of the application corresponding to the license and the partial function thereof is performed by comparison with the counter value of the number of executions. In the example of FIG. 6, the number of times of 1000 is stored, and it is continuously monitored whether the number of times is exceeded. The detailed processing flow of the timed license monitoring unit 209 will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

  The license invalidation unit 210 invalidates a specific license that has been validated out of the licenses stored by the license storage unit 205. As described above, when a license is invalidated, a user cannot use one or more corresponding applications or partial functions thereof.

  The invalid license detection unit 211 (invalidity detection means) detects that the license has been invalidated by the license invalidation unit 210. Specifically, the invalid license detection unit 211 inspects and detects all license states stored in the license storage unit 205. The states of all licenses are held by the invalid license detection unit 211, and the invalidated license is detected by determining the difference between the states.

  The related shortcut search unit 212 (search means) searches for a shortcut related to the invalidated license. The invalidated license is a license detected by the invalid license detection unit 211. Here, “related to the invalidated license” means that the execution of the shortcut becomes impossible or the execution result changes due to the invalidation of the license. Accordingly, the searched shortcuts are classified into two types: those that cannot be executed due to the invalidation of the license, and those that change the execution result. The search is performed from the shortcuts stored in the shortcut storage unit 201.

  For example, when the “Send” license is invalidated, the shortcut 302 (see FIG. 4) is detected as a related shortcut. Furthermore, it is classified that the shortcut cannot be executed when the license is invalidated. Further, when the license of the high compression PDF is invalidated, the shortcut 302 is detected as a related shortcut. Further, the execution result is classified as the license is invalidated. On the other hand, when the searchable PDF license is invalidated, the shortcut 302 is not detected as a related shortcut.

  The backup unit 213 stores the shortcut searched by the related shortcut search unit 212 in a state in which the shortcut can be distinguished from a normally used shortcut. The storage location is another partition of the auxiliary storage device 113.

  The function excluding unit 214 excludes functions that can no longer be used from the shortcut. Here, the “function that can no longer be used” is a function related to the license detected by the invalid license detection unit 211. “Exclude” means to change the contents of the shortcut to remove only the function corresponding to the invalidated license.

  In addition, the function excluding unit 214 performs processing on the shortcuts that are classified as the shortcuts searched for by the related shortcut searching unit 212 so that the execution result of the shortcuts is changed when the license is invalidated.

  For example, when the license for the high-compression PDF is invalidated, the setting of the high-compression PDF related to the license for the high-compression PDF is excluded from the shortcut 302. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a shortcut obtained as a result of excluding the setting of the high compression PDF. In the shortcut 601, “<high compression PDF> on </ high compression PDF>” is deleted from the shortcut 302 of FIG. 4.

  The shortcut deletion unit 215 deletes shortcuts that cannot be executed. Here, “shortcuts that cannot be executed” are shortcuts that are classified as those that cannot be executed when the license is invalidated among the shortcuts searched by the related shortcut search unit 212. Further, “deletion” includes disabling a shortcut such as deleting the shortcut stored in the shortcut storage unit 201 or making the shortcut impossible to execute. That is, the shortcut deletion unit 215 functions as a means for invalidating the shortcut. The deleted shortcut can no longer be accessed.

  The valid license detection unit 216 (validity detection means) detects that the license has been validated by the license validation unit 208. Specifically, all license states stored in the license storage unit 205 are checked and detected. The states of all licenses are held by the valid license detection unit 216, and the activated license is detected by determining the difference between the states.

  The executable shortcut search unit 217 (second search means) searches the shortcuts backed up by the backup unit 213 for executable shortcuts. For example, in a state where the license of the high compression PDF is invalidated, the shortcut 302 in FIG. 4 is not searched. However, the shortcut 302 is searched when the license of the high-compression PDF is activated and all functions can be used.

  The restore unit 218 returns the shortcut searched by the executable shortcut search unit 217 to the state stored by the shortcut storage unit 201. The shortcut searched by the executable shortcut search unit 217 is stored in a state that can be distinguished from the shortcut storage unit 201 by the backup unit 213. The shortcut stored by the backup unit 213 is stored in the shortcut storage unit 201 by the restore unit 218. Therefore, the display by the shortcut display unit 204 and the execution by the shortcut execution instruction unit 203 are possible.

  The shortcut execution unit 219 receives the execution instruction from the shortcut execution instruction unit 203 and actually executes the shortcut.

Each part of the software described so far is provided in the portal application 220, the license management system 221 and the registration application 222, respectively. That is, the portal application 220 includes a shortcut storage unit 201, a shortcut registration unit 202, a shortcut execution instruction unit 203, a shortcut display unit 204, a related shortcut search unit 212, and a backup unit 213. Further, the portal application 220 includes a function excluding unit 214, a shortcut deleting unit 215, an executable shortcut searching unit 217, and a restoring unit 218. The license management system 221 also includes a license storage unit 205, a license registration unit 206, a license deletion unit 207, and a license validation unit 208. The license management system 221 further includes a timed license monitoring unit 209, a license invalidation unit 210, an invalid license detection unit 211, and a valid license detection unit 216. In addition, the registered application 222 (222-1,..., 222-N) is connected to the shortcut execution unit 219 (219-1,.
-N).

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when the license is invalidated. As described above, this processing program is stored in any storage medium of the nonvolatile memory 111, the volatile memory 112, and the auxiliary storage device 113 in the controller unit 101, and is executed by the CPU 110 in the controller unit 101. Here, as a precondition, one or more applications whose licenses are valid exist, and the licenses are stored in the license storage unit 205.

  The controller unit 101 invalidates the application license by the license invalidation unit 210 (step S1). When invalidating the license, the user issues an instruction to invalidate the license of the application selected by the user from the input device 115 according to the display content on the display 114. When the input device 115 receives a license invalidation instruction from the user, the input device 115 transmits a notice to that effect to the license invalidation unit 210. When the license invalidation unit 210 accepts that fact, the controller unit 101 invalidates the license related to the application stored in the license storage unit 205. Alternatively, the validity period of the timed license expires, and the license invalidation unit 210 invalidates the timed license.

  The controller unit 101 detects the invalidation of the license by using the invalid license detection unit 211 (step S2). Thus, the invalidated license is detected.

  The controller unit 101 uses the related shortcut search unit 212 to search for a shortcut related to the application whose license has been invalidated (step S3). Specifically, the AppID of the application whose license is invalidated is specified with reference to the license list of FIG. Then, the ActID in which the AppID specified with reference to the shortcut list in FIG. 3 is described is specified. As a result, a shortcut related to the invalidated license is searched.

  The controller unit 101 determines whether or not a shortcut has been detected by the backup unit 213 as the search result of step S3 (step S4). If no shortcut is detected, the controller unit 101 ends this process.

  On the other hand, when one or more shortcuts are detected, the controller unit 101 backs up the shortcuts searched for in step S3 by the backup unit 213 (step S5).

If the function excluding unit 214 excludes the application related to the license invalidated in step S1 or a partial function in the application from the shortcut detected in step S3, the controller unit 101 can execute the shortcut. It is determined whether or not there is (step S6). When the shortcut can be executed, the controller unit 101 uses the function excluding unit 214 to exclude the application related to the license invalidated in step S1 and its partial function from the shortcut (step S7). The case where the shortcut can be executed refers to a case where the shortcut is classified into the above-mentioned “the execution result of the shortcut changes due to being invalidated”. On the other hand, if the shortcut cannot be executed, the controller unit 101 deletes the shortcut by the shortcut deletion unit 215 (step 8). The case where the shortcut cannot be executed refers to the case where the shortcut is classified as “cannot execute the shortcut”.

  After the processes in steps S7 and S8, the controller unit 101 determines whether or not the process after step S6 has been performed on all shortcuts searched in step S3 by the function excluding unit 214 (step S9). When the processing is performed for all the shortcuts, the controller unit 101 ends this processing when the license is invalidated. On the other hand, when the process has not been performed for all the shortcuts, the controller unit 101 returns to the process of step S6.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for detecting and invalidating a license that exceeds a predetermined range as a timed license. As described above, this processing program is stored in any storage medium of the nonvolatile memory 111, the volatile memory 112, and the auxiliary storage device 113 in the controller unit 101, and is executed by the CPU 110 in the controller unit 101. As will be described later, the processing after detecting a license that exceeds the predetermined range for the timed license is the same as the processing in FIG. Here, as a precondition, one or more timed licenses that have been validated exist and are stored in the license storage unit 205.

  The controller unit 101 acquires all the information of the timed license stored in the license storage unit 205 by the timed license monitoring unit 209 and makes it a list (step S11). Hereinafter, this list is referred to as a timed license list.

  The controller unit 101 determines whether the inspection for the period in which the license is valid has been completed for the timed license list acquired in step S11 by the timed license monitoring unit 209 (step S12). If all the inspections for the period in which the license is valid have been completed for the timed license list acquired in step S11, or if the timed license list acquired in step S11 is empty, the controller unit 101 performs the process of step S17. Proceed to

  On the other hand, when the inspection for the period in which the timed license is valid has not been completed for the timed license list acquired in step S11, the controller unit 101 performs the following processing. That is, the controller unit 101 uses the timed license monitoring unit 209 to inspect timed licenses in the timed license list that have not been inspected, and determines whether the time limit has passed (step S13).

  The content of this check is whether or not the current date and time is included in the range of the period in which the license defined for the timed license is valid. If the current date / time is included in the range of the period in which the license defined for the timed license is valid, the controller unit 101 returns to the process of step S12.

  On the other hand, if the current date / time is not included in the range of the period in which the license is valid, the controller unit 101 causes the timed license monitoring unit 209 to confirm that the license defined for the timed license does not satisfy the period of validity period. Store temporarily (step S14).

  The controller unit 101 determines whether the timed license monitoring unit 209 satisfies the conditions defined for the timed license (step S15). In this determination, all conditions determined for the timed license are determined including the logical operator. In the example of FIG. 6, the controller unit 101 determines whether or not both of the conditions for the period during which the license is valid and the conditions for the number of executions of the application corresponding to the license and its partial function are satisfied. judge.

  As a result of the determination, if the condition defined in the timed license is satisfied, the controller unit 101 returns to the process of step S12. On the other hand, when the condition defined for the timed license is not satisfied, the controller unit 101 invalidates the timed license by the license invalidation unit 210 (step S16). The processing in step S16 is as described in the flowchart of FIG.

  On the other hand, if all the inspections for the period in which the license is valid are completed in step S12 or the timed license list acquired in step S11 is empty, the controller unit 101 performs the following process. The controller unit 101 determines whether or not the timed license monitoring unit 209 has completely checked the application corresponding to the license and the number of executions of the partial function with respect to the timed license list acquired in step S11. (Step S17).

  If all the inspections regarding the number of executions have been completed, the controller unit 101 ends this processing. There are the following two cases. One is a case in which the timed license list acquired in step S11 has been inspected for the number of executions of the application corresponding to the license and its partial function. The other is a case where the timed license list acquired in step S11 is empty.

  On the other hand, if the inspection for the number of executions of the application corresponding to the license and its partial function is not completed for the timed license list acquired in step S17, the controller unit 101 performs the following processing. . That is, the controller unit 101 uses the timed license monitoring unit 209 to inspect timed licenses in the timed license list that have not been inspected, and as a result, determines whether or not the upper limit value of the timed license is smaller than the counter. (Step S18). The contents of this check are whether or not the counter value of the number of executions exceeds the upper limit value of the number of executions of the application corresponding to the license defined in the timed license or its partial function.

  When the counter value of the number of execution times does not exceed the upper limit value of the number of executions of the application or the partial function corresponding to the license defined in the timed license, the controller unit 101 returns to the process of step S17. On the other hand, when the counter value of the number of execution times exceeds the upper limit value of the number of executions of the application or the partial function corresponding to the license defined in the timed license, the controller unit 101 performs the following processing. Do. In other words, the controller unit 101 temporarily stores, by the timed license monitoring unit 209, that the license specified in the timed license does not satisfy the condition of the number of executions of the corresponding application or its partial function (step S19). .

  The controller unit 101 determines whether the timed license monitoring unit 209 satisfies a condition defined for the timed license (step S20). In this determination, all conditions determined for the timed license are determined including the logical operator. In the example of FIG. 6, the controller unit 101 determines whether or not both of the conditions for the period during which the license is valid and the conditions of the application corresponding to the license and the number of executions of the partial function are satisfied.

  As a result of the determination, if the condition defined in the timed license is satisfied, the controller unit 101 returns to the process of step S17. On the other hand, when the condition defined for the timed license is not satisfied, the controller unit 101 invalidates the timed license by the license invalidation unit 210 (step S21). In this step process, a license that exceeds the predetermined range for the timed license is detected and invalidated. The processing in step S21 is as described in the flowchart of FIG. Thereafter, the controller unit 101 returns to the process of step S17.

  By executing the flowcharts of FIGS. 8 and 9, the image forming apparatus can be prevented from accepting an instruction to execute an application whose license has been invalidated. In addition, the shortcut was deleted after determining whether or not the shortcut could be executed because the license became invalid and some functions of the application became unavailable. This can prevent unnecessary deletion of executable shortcuts.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when the license is validated. This processing program is stored in any storage medium of the non-volatile memory 111, the volatile memory 112, and the auxiliary storage device 113, and is executed by the CPU 110. Here, as a precondition, one or more invalid time-limited licenses exist and are stored in the license storage unit 205.

  The controller unit 101 detects the activation of the license by using the valid license detection unit 216 (step S51). The controller unit 101 searches for an executable shortcut from the shortcuts backed up by the backup unit 213 by the executable shortcut search unit 217 (step S52).

  The controller unit 101 determines whether or not there is one or more shortcuts obtained as a result of the search in step S52 by the restore unit 218 (step S53). If there is no shortcut obtained as a result of this search, the controller unit 101 ends this processing.

  On the other hand, if there is one or more shortcuts obtained as a result of the search in step S52, the controller unit 101 causes the restore unit 218 to restore (re-register) the shortcuts obtained as a result of the search in step S52 ( Step S54). That is, the backed up shortcut is stored again in the original storage location. In this step process, the controller unit 101 ends the process related to the case where the license is validated.

  By executing the flowchart of FIG. 10, the shortcut moved to the backup area due to the license being invalidated can be used again when the license is validated.

  Next, display examples of the operation screen of the portal application displayed on the display 114 of the operation unit 118 will be described using FIGS. 11 to 13. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an operation screen of the portal application when all shortcuts are executable. A screen 1101 indicating the entire operation screen of the portal application 220 is displayed on the display 114. Various buttons are set on the screen 1101.

  A button 1102 is a button for displaying only a shortcut registered by a user who uses the image forming apparatus 10. A button 1103 is a button for displaying a shortcut that can be commonly used by all users who use the image forming apparatus 10.

  Buttons 1104 to 1118 are buttons for instructing execution of a shortcut associated with each button. A button 1119 is a button for performing an instruction to delete the registered shortcut. A button 1120 is a button for performing an instruction to edit a registered shortcut.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation screen of the portal application when the license of the “Send” application, which is one of the basic functions, is invalidated. By executing the process of step S8 in the flowchart of FIG. 8, the buttons 1106, 1107, 1109, 1111, 1112, and 1114 to 1117 that have become unavailable are automatically deleted. Then, buttons 1301 to 1309 in an unregistered state are displayed in gray. Nothing may be displayed in the display area of the buttons 1301 to 1309.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen of the portal application when the license for the “high compression PDF” function, which is one of the partial functions of the image forming apparatus 10, is invalidated. In this screen, the button 1501 and the button 1502 are associated with shortcuts in which the function of the high compression PDF is excluded from the buttons 1106 and 1115 in FIG. In order to indicate this, a triangle icon is assigned to each of the buttons 1501 and 1502. The button to which the triangular icon is attached can notify the user that a part of the shortcut function cannot be used. When a button with this triangular icon is pressed, it indicates what function the disabled partial function is before executing the image processing set by the shortcut associated with the button. A screen may be displayed. On the screen, the user can grasp what partial function is no longer available. Then, it may be possible to instruct whether or not to execute the shortcut.

  As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment, the usability of the portal application can be improved. That is, when the license is invalidated and the corresponding application or some of its functions cannot be used, the shortcut can be automatically deleted immediately. Thereby, the usability of the portal application can be improved. In addition, when a license is activated, it is possible to automatically generate a shortcut that has been used before. Thereby, it is not necessary to reset the setting value of the process of the registered application registered in the shortcut, and the usability of the portal application can be improved. Further, when some functions used by the registered application cannot be used, it is possible to automatically generate a shortcut by excluding some functions used by the registered application. Thereby, the usability of the portal application can be improved.

  Further, if the shortcut can be executed even if some of the functions used by the shortcut cannot be used, the shortcut is not deleted. Thereby, the usability of the portal application can be improved.

  Also, license registration and deletion can be easily performed. In addition, shortcut registration can be easily performed. Also, the license can be easily invalidated. Further, when the license exceeds the valid range, the license can be invalidated immediately. Also, the license can be easily validated.

  In addition, since the buttons corresponding to the shortcuts are arranged on the portal application screen, the operability when executing the shortcuts can be improved.

  It should be noted that the units composed of the software described in the above embodiments can be realized by different configurations. Specifically, the license in the above embodiment may have information other than the information described above. For example, the license may have information on the identifier of the target user. In this case, users other than the user targeted by the license cannot use the license. Further, the license may have information indicating the license status. Conversely, “LICENSED DEVICE ID” 404 may not be included in the above-described information (see FIG. 5).

  Further, the timed license in the above embodiment uses two ranges, that is, the period during which the license is valid and the number of times the application corresponding to the license and its partial functions are executed, as the range in which the license is valid. However, there may be other designations as valid ranges of licenses. For example, it may be information specific to an application corresponding to a license or a partial function thereof, such as the number of pages to read a document, the number of pages to be printed, and the number of jobs. Alternatively, it may be a value indicating the data size. For example, it may be information indicating the size of data or the size of a packet processed by an application corresponding to a license or a partial function thereof. Alternatively, it may be the number of users that are used simultaneously. For example, a configuration that limits the number of users that can be used simultaneously, such as a floating license, may be used. However, since the number of users used at the same time is changed in real time, the configuration may not be such that shortcuts are managed (maintenance) by the backup unit 213 and the restore unit 218 each time. In addition, when changing to the structure demonstrated here, it is necessary to change also the process of the time-limited license monitoring part 209 according to it. The operation of the timed license monitoring unit 209 will be described later.

  In the timed license in the above embodiment, a plurality of conditions can be combined by a logical operation expression within a range where the license is valid. In the example of FIG. 6, only “&” has been described, but other logical operators that are generally used may be used. For example, the configuration may be such that “|” is used and the condition is determined by a logical sum (or). Alternatively, the configuration may be such that “^” is used and the determination is made by negating the condition.

  The shortcut storage unit 201 in the above embodiment stores the shortcut as a file in the auxiliary storage device 113. However, the storage location and form may be different configurations. For example, the shortcut may be stored in a database. Alternatively, the information may be stored in a storage medium of another information processing apparatus on the LAN 130 via the network communication apparatus 116. Or you may preserve | save as a CSV file and a binary file instead of an XML file.

  Further, the information held by the shortcut may not be the same as the shortcut 302. For example, there is no operation setting, and the application may only be activated. In addition, a plurality of applications may not be operated. Further, the same application may be operated repeatedly. In addition, as a shortcut attribute, a description character string or the like may be included.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the structure which stores both the shortcut list 301 and the shortcut 302 in the shortcut memory | storage part 201, it does not need to be restricted to this structure. For example, the shortcut list 301 may be stored in the shortcut storage unit 201, and the shortcut 302 may be stored in another storage unit provided in the registration application 222.

In the embodiment described above, the shortcut registration unit 202 creates a shortcut on the controller unit (information processing apparatus) 101 of the image forming apparatus 10 and registers it in the shortcut storage unit 201. However, the shortcut may be created elsewhere. For example, a configuration may be employed in which a shortcut is created on another information processing apparatus and is input to the information processing apparatus 101 of the image forming apparatus 10 from the outside.

  Further, the license registration unit 206 of the above embodiment is not an essential configuration. For example, all license information may be stored in the license storage unit 205 in an invalid state in advance. In this case, the license deletion unit 207 is not indispensable as well.

  In addition, the license validation unit 208 of the above embodiment is not an essential configuration. For example, a configuration in which a license is forcibly activated when registered by the license registration unit 206 may be employed. In this case, if the license does not need to have a state and the license is stored in the license storage unit 205, an application corresponding to the license and a part of its function can be used. Similarly, the license invalidation unit 210 is not an essential configuration.

  In addition, the timed license monitoring unit 209 according to the above-described embodiment needs to change the processing content according to information on a valid range of licenses set in the timed license. Here, the operation of the timed license monitoring unit 209 corresponding to the configuration of the timed license will be described.

  First, monitoring of an application corresponding to a license and information specific to the partial function will be described. The registered application manages a specific counter value by itself and counts up or down as necessary. In the timed license, identification information of the counter value and the upper limit value are described. The timed license monitoring unit 209 performs monitoring by referring to the counter from the identification information of the counter value and comparing the count value with the upper limit value.

  Next, monitoring of the size of data and the size of packets processed by the application corresponding to the license and its partial functions will be described. The registered application newly provides means for measuring the data size and the packet size, and sets the measured value in a specific counter. In the timed license, identification information of the counter value and the upper limit value are described. The timed license monitoring unit 209 performs monitoring by referring to the counter from the identification information of the counter value and comparing the counter value with the upper limit value.

  Next, monitoring of the number of users who simultaneously use an application corresponding to a license and its partial functions will be described. As described above, since the number of users to be used simultaneously is changed in real time, the configuration may not be such that shortcuts are managed (maintenance) by the backup unit 213 and the restore unit 218 each time. In this case, control that is not detected by the timed license monitoring unit 209 is performed only in the case of a restriction due to the number of users that are used simultaneously.

  In addition, the backup unit 213 according to the above embodiment stores the shortcut searched by the related shortcut search unit 212 in a state that can be distinguished from a normally used shortcut. Here, the “partitionable state” has been described as another partition of the auxiliary storage device 113, but another partitioning method may be used. For example, it may be another directory in the same partition. Alternatively, a configuration having a flag indicating that the shortcut is backed up in the same partition may be used. Or the structure provided with another memory | storage device may be sufficient. Alternatively, a storage medium provided in another information processing apparatus on the LAN 130 may be used.

In addition, the function excluding unit 214 in the above embodiment excludes functions that can no longer be used from the shortcut, but may be configured to further improve usability. For example, a configuration in which the function that is excluded by the function excluding unit 214 can be understood may be displayed on the display 114 as a description of the shortcut. Or in order to show that the function was excluded by the function exclusion part 214, the structure which attaches a specific mark to the name of a shortcut may be sufficient.

  In addition, the function excluding unit 214 in the above embodiment is not an essential configuration. In the configuration without the function excluding unit 214, all shortcuts searched by the related shortcut searching unit 212 are deleted by the shortcut deleting unit 215.

  In addition, the restore unit 218 of the above embodiment returns the shortcut searched by the executable shortcut search unit 217 to the state stored by the shortcut storage unit 201. At that time, a configuration may be adopted in which a special determination is made and only the really necessary shortcuts are re-registered (restored). For example, when a plurality of shortcuts having the same processing content exist after re-registration (restoration), a configuration in which the shortcut is detected in advance and excluded from the restoration target may be used. Thereby, it is possible to avoid the generation of a plurality of shortcuts having the same processing content.

  In addition, when a function that cannot be used by the function excluding unit 214 is left out of the shortcut, there may be a configuration in which the function is automatically deleted upon restoration. In this case, the shortcut needs to have an identifier for uniquely identifying the shortcut. Thereby, it is possible to avoid the generation of a plurality of shortcuts having the same processing content.

  Furthermore, even if a shortcut that has been excluded from a shortcut remains a function that can no longer be used by the function excluding unit 214, the function may not be automatically deleted when the usage frequency is higher than a predetermined frequency. . In this case, a profile unit for determining the shortcut usage frequency is required. Thereby, operability can be improved without deleting shortcuts that are frequently used.

  As described above, not all of the software of each part of the above embodiment is essential. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing various minimum software configurations. Compared to FIG. 2, the license registration unit 206, the license deletion unit 207, the shortcut registration unit 202, and the like are omitted.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and any configuration can be used as long as the functions shown in the claims or the functions of the configuration of the present embodiment can be achieved. Is also applicable.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus has been described.

  Further, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. In addition to the printing apparatus, the image forming apparatus may of course be a facsimile machine having a printing function, a multifunction machine (MFP) having a printing function, a copy function, a scanner function, or the like.

  Each process of the present invention can also be realized by executing software (program) acquired via a network or various storage media by a processing device (CPU, processor) such as a personal computer.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 101 Controller part 201 Shortcut memory | storage part 202 Shortcut registration part 211 Invalid license detection part 213 Packup part 214 Function exclusion part 215 Shortcut deletion part 216 Valid license detection part 218 Restore part 220 Portal application

Claims (8)

An electronic device capable of executing a license-managed application,
Registration means for registering a shortcut of the application;
Detecting means for detecting that the license of the application is invalid;
An electronic device comprising: invalidating means for invalidating a shortcut of the application when the detecting means detects that the license of the application is invalidated.   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the invalidating unit deletes a shortcut of the application.   The detection unit detects that the license of the application has become invalid in accordance with an instruction for invalidating the license of the application by a user of the electronic device. The electronic device as described in.   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects that the license of the application has become invalid in accordance with expiration of a validity period of the license of the application. In accordance with the fact that the detecting means detects that the license of the application has become invalid, the detecting means further includes a searching means for searching for a shortcut of the application,
5. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the invalidating unit invalidates the shortcut searched by the searching unit. 6.   6. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying the shortcut registered by the registration means, wherein the shortcut invalidated by the invalidation means is not displayed by the display means. The electronic device as described in the paragraph. A shortcut management method in an electronic device capable of executing a license-managed application,
A registration step of registering a shortcut of the application;
A detection step of detecting that the license of the application is invalid;
An invalidation step of invalidating a shortcut of the application when it is detected that the license of the application is invalidated in the detection step;
A shortcut management method characterized by comprising: A program for causing an electronic device capable of executing a license-managed application to execute a shortcut management method,
The shortcut management method includes:
A registration step of registering a shortcut of the application;
A detection step of detecting that the license of the application is invalid;
An invalidation step of invalidating the shortcut of the application when it is detected that the license of the application is invalidated in the detection step;
The program characterized by having.

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