JP2017045169A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To store information on the activation of an application to be reliably accessed independent of a network environment.SOLUTION: An external storage device 10 stores an application 101 that needs to be activated. When the application 101 is activated, a control part 11 stores activation information indicating that the application 101 has been activated in EEPROMs 710 that are provided in maintenance parts 71, 73, and 75 of a storage part 7.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image using maintenance parts configured to be replaceable, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus in which an application that requires activation is installed.

  Some image forming apparatuses can provide an optional function by connecting an external storage device in which an application is installed. In order to use the optional function, application activation (license authentication) may be required. For this reason, techniques for managing application information that requires activation by a server have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). When the application is activated (activated), activation information indicating that the application has been activated is stored in the external storage device. The image forming apparatus accesses the activation information, and enables the user to use the optional function when activated.

JP 2010-165101A JP2009-303118A

  However, since the activation information is stored in the external storage device in the conventional technique, there is a problem that the activation information cannot be accessed when the external storage device is removed or replaced. Further, if the server manages the activation information, there is a problem that the activation information cannot be accessed without a network environment. For this reason, there has been a demand for a technique for reliably storing activation information in an accessible manner without depending on the network environment.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said subject, and it aims at providing the technique which can solve the said subject.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an image forming unit that forms an image using a maintenance part configured to be replaceable, an external storage device configured to be removable with an application that requires activation installed therein, An image forming apparatus including a control unit that controls each unit based on the application activated by the activation, further comprising a rewritable nonvolatile memory provided in the maintenance component, and the control unit includes: Activation information indicating that the activated application has been activated may be stored in the rewritable nonvolatile memory.
The rewritable nonvolatile memory may be provided with an activation information storage area for storing the activation information corresponding to the application.
The external storage device stores a storage location address of the rewritable nonvolatile memory that is a storage destination of the activation information corresponding to the application, and the control unit stores the storage location address in the storage location address. Correspondingly, the activation information may be stored in the rewritable nonvolatile memory.
In addition, the control unit may store the activation information of a plurality of the applications in a distributed manner in the rewritable nonvolatile memory provided in each of the plurality of maintenance components.
Further, the control unit backs up the activation information to the external storage device, and when the maintenance part is replaced, the backup information is stored in the rewritable nonvolatile memory provided in the replaced maintenance part. The activated information may be copied.
The control unit may back up the activation information to the external storage device when the application is activated.
The control unit may back up the activation information stored in the rewritable nonvolatile memory to the external storage device when the power is turned off.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the technique which can store the activation information of an application reliably accessible without depending on a network environment can be provided.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. 3 is a memory map of the EEPROM shown in FIG. It is an example of registration of the application information management table shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the activation execution process in the control part shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the activation information acquisition process in the control part shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process which copies activation information in the maintenance part after replacement | exchange in the control part shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating another configuration example of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 and illustrating a configuration in which backup activation information is stored in a storage unit.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that, in the following embodiments, the same reference numerals are given to configurations showing similar functions.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a document reading unit 2, a document feeding unit 3, a main body unit 5, and an operation unit 6. The document reading unit 2 is disposed on the upper portion of the main body unit 5, and a recording paper discharge tray 51 is formed between the document reading unit 2 and the main body unit 5. The document feeding unit 3 is disposed on the upper part of the document reading unit 2. Further, the document feeding unit 3 is configured to be retractable, and is configured such that the upper surface of the document reading unit 2 can be opened by opening the document feeding unit 3 upward. The operation unit 6 is disposed on the front side of the image forming apparatus 1. The image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described by taking a copying machine as an example, but it goes without saying that a laser printer, a multi-function machine, and the like are included.

  The operation unit 6 is provided with a liquid crystal display unit 61 and operation buttons 62. The user operates the operation unit 6 to input an instruction, thereby performing various settings of the image forming apparatus 1 and executing various functions such as image formation. The liquid crystal display unit 61 displays the state of the image forming apparatus 1, displays the image forming status and the number of copies, and can be used as a touch panel to perform various settings such as functions such as double-sided printing and black-and-white reversal, magnification setting, and density setting. It has become. As the operation button 62, a start button for instructing the user to start image formation, a stop / clear button used when the image formation is stopped, etc., and used for setting various settings of the image forming apparatus 1 to a default state. A reset button, a numeric keypad and the like are provided.

  The document reading unit 2 includes a scanner 21, a document reading slit 22, and a platen glass 23. The scanner 21 includes an exposure lamp, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor, and the like, and is configured to be movable in the feeding direction of the document MS by the document feeding unit 3. The document reading slit 22 is a gap formed in a direction orthogonal to the document feeding direction of the document MS by the document feeding unit 3. The platen glass 23 is an original table made of a transparent member such as glass.

  When reading the document MS placed on the platen glass 23, the scanner 21 is moved to a position facing the platen glass 23 and reads the document MS while scanning the document MS placed on the platen glass 23. Image data is acquired, and the acquired image data is output to the main unit 5. When reading the document MS fed by the document feeding unit 3, the scanner 21 is moved to a position facing the document reading slit 22, and the document by the document feeding unit 3 is moved through the document reading slit 22. In synchronization with the MS feeding operation, the document MS is read to acquire image data, and the acquired image data is output to the main unit 5.

  The document feeding unit 3 is an ADF (Auto Document Feeder), and includes a document placing unit 31, a document discharge tray 32, and a document feeding mechanism 33. The documents MS placed on the document placement unit 31 are sequentially fed out one by one by the document feeding mechanism 33 and fed to a position facing the document reading slit 22, and then discharged to the document discharge tray 32. The

  The main body 5 includes the recording unit 7, and includes a paper feeding unit 52, a recording paper conveyance path 53, a recording paper conveyance roller 54, and a recording paper discharge roller 55. The paper feed unit 52 includes a plurality of paper feed cassettes 52a1 to 52an and recording paper feed rollers 52b1 to 52bn for feeding recording paper from the paper feed cassettes 52a1 to 52an one by one to the recording paper transport path 53. The recording paper feed rollers 52b1 to 52bn, the recording paper transport roller 54, and the recording paper discharge roller 55 function as a recording paper transport unit, and the recording paper is transported. The recording paper fed to the recording paper transport path 53 by the recording paper feed rollers 52 b 1 to 52 bn is transported to the recording unit 7 by the recording paper transport roller 54. Then, the recording paper on which recording has been performed by the recording unit 7 is discharged to the recording paper discharge tray 51 by the recording paper discharge roller 55.

  The recording unit 7 includes a photosensitive drum 71, an exposure unit 72, an image forming unit 73, a transfer unit 74, and a fixing unit 75. The exposure unit 72 is an optical unit including a laser device, a mirror, and the like, and outputs a laser beam based on image data to expose the photosensitive drum 71 to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 71. To do. The image forming unit 73 is a developing unit that develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 71 using toner, and forms a toner image based on the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 71. The transfer unit 74 transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 71 by the image forming unit 73 to a recording sheet. The fixing unit 75 is a fixing unit including a heater or the like, and heats the recording paper on which the toner image is transferred by the transfer unit 74 to fix the toner image on the recording paper.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. The above-described document reading unit 2, document feeding unit 3, transport unit (recording paper feed rollers 52b1 to 52bn, recording paper transport roller 54, recording paper discharge roller 55), operation unit 6 and recording unit 7 are control unit 11. And the operation is controlled by the control unit 11. In addition, an image processing unit 8, a storage unit 9, and an external storage device 10 are connected to the control unit 11.

  Further, the photosensitive drum 71, the image forming unit 73, the fixing unit 75, and the like of the recording unit 7 described above are maintenance parts 71, 73, and 75 that are appropriately replaced depending on the life or failure. Each of the maintenance parts 71, 73, 75 is provided with an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) 710. Note that the EEPROM 710 is merely an example, and may be any rewritable nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory.

  FIG. 3 is a memory map of the EEPROM 710. As shown in FIG. 3, the EEPROM 710 grasps an area for storing a serial number for identifying that the maintenance parts 71, 73, and 75 are genuine products and the replacement time of the maintenance parts 71, 73, and 75. Therefore, an area for storing a count value such as the number of printed sheets and a driving time, and an activation information storage area 711 for storing activation information to be described later are provided.

  The image processing unit 8 is means for performing predetermined image processing on the image data. For example, image improvement processing such as enlargement / reduction processing, gradation adjustment, and density adjustment is performed.

  The storage unit 9 is a storage unit such as a semiconductor memory or an HDD, and stores image data acquired by reading the document MS by the document reading unit 2 and various management information.

  The external storage device 10 is a storage means configured to be removable such as an SD card or an external HDD. The external storage device stores a plurality of applications (application software) 101 installed in advance and an application information management table 102 for managing each application 101.

  Each application 101 installed in the external storage device 10 needs to be activated, and the function can be used in the image forming apparatus 1 by the activation.

  FIG. 4 is a registration example of the application information management table 102 for managing each application 101 installed in the external storage device 10. The application information management table 102 includes, as application information, an “application name” 102 a of the application 101 installed in the external storage device 10, an “activation information” 102 b indicating whether or not the application 101 has been activated, and an application 101. A “storage location address” 102c, which is an address of the activation information storage area 711 of the EEPROM 710 assigned in correspondence, and an “activation key” 102d necessary for activation are associated and registered. The application information management table 102 is concealed and stored so that the user cannot confirm the contents.

  In the application information management table 102 shown in FIG. 4, an application 101 whose “application name” 102a is “AAA” has “activate information” 102b “completed”, “storage location address” 102c “E0h”, and “activate key”. 102d is registered as “1234AB”, the application 101 whose “application name” 102a is “BBB”, “activation information” 102b is “not yet”, “storage location address” 102c is “E1h”, and “activation key” 102d is registered as “CCC123”. Further, the application 101 whose “application name” 102a is “CCC” is registered as “activate information” 102b “completed”, “storage location address” 102c “FEh”, and “activate key” 102d as “223ABC”. ing.

  Since the “activate information” 102b is information of two patterns “done” or “not yet”, it can be expressed by a 1-bit flag of “1” or “0”. The flag “1” is set when the activation is completed, and the flag is “0” when the activation is not performed. Here, for the sake of simplicity, for the sake of convenience, the case where the flag has been activated and the flag is “1” is represented as “done”, and the case where the flag has not been activated and the flag is “0” is represented as “not yet”. When the activation key input by the user in the activation matches the “activation key” 102 d registered in the application information management table 102, the “activation information” 102 b is updated from “not yet” to “done”.

  Note that “activation information” 102b in the application information management table 102 is registered for backup. When the maintenance parts 71, 73, 75 provided with the EEPROM 710 corresponding to the “storage location address” 102c are replaced, the replaced maintenance parts 71, 73 are based on the “activate information” 102b of the application information management table 102. 75, the activation information is copied to the EEPROM 710 corresponding to the storage location address 102c.

  The “storage location address” 102 c is an address of the EEPROM 710 where the activation information is stored, and is allocated for each application corresponding to a predetermined activation information storage area 711 of the EEPROM 710. That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the storage location address 102c indicating the 1-bit storage area of the EEPROM 710 and the storage location of activation information for one application. This is because activation information can be uniquely stored in the replaced EEPROM 710 even when the EEPROM 710 is replaced by replacing the maintenance parts 71, 73, and 75. Therefore, also in the EEPROM 710, an activation storage area 711 corresponding to the storage location address 102c is prepared in advance so that activation information of each application can be stored. In the application information management table 102 shown in FIG. 4, activation information of the application “AAA” is stored in “E0h” of the activation storage area 711 in the EEPROM 710 of the predetermined maintenance parts 71, 73, and 75, and the application information is stored in “E1h”. Activation information of “BBB” is stored, and activation information of application “CCC” is stored in “FEh”.

  As described above, in this embodiment, a case where activation information of all the applications 101 managed by the application management table 102 is stored in one EEPROM 710 will be described as an example. However, the recording unit 7 includes a plurality of maintenance components 71. , 73, 75 may be distributed and stored in the EEPROM 710 provided in each of the maintenance components 71, 73, 75. In this case, since the activation information storage area 711 required in one EEPROM 710 can be reduced, it is possible to prevent the maintenance parts 71, 73, and 75 from being increased in cost. In the case where data is stored in a distributed manner in a plurality of EEPROMs 710, the “storage location address” 102c includes an EEPROM 710 that serves as a storage location, such as “fixing unit / E01h”, “image forming unit / E1h”, and the like. The maintenance part name and its storage location in the EEPROM 710 may be registered so as to be known.

  The control unit 11 is an information processing unit such as a microcomputer including a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The ROM stores a control program for controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The control unit 11 reads out a control program stored in the ROM and develops the control program in the RAM, thereby controlling the entire apparatus according to predetermined instruction information input from the operation unit 6.

  In addition, the control unit 11 has a function of managing activation states of a plurality of applications 101 stored in the external storage device 10. Specifically, the control unit 11 writes activation information indicating whether or not each application 101 has been activated into one of the EEPROMs 710 of the maintenance components 71, 73, and 75 for management.

  As described above, there are several reasons for storing the activation information in the EEPROM 710 of the maintenance parts 71, 73, 75. First, many maintenance parts 71, 73, and 75 are provided with a memory (such as EEPROM 710) that stores a serial number for identifying a regular product and a count value for grasping the replacement time. . The maintenance parts 71, 73, and 75 are component parts for realizing the image forming function that is the main function of the image forming apparatus 1. When the maintenance parts 71, 73, and 75 are removed, the image forming apparatus 1 is used. Becomes unusable. Furthermore, in recent years, development of products (LLU: Long Life Unit) in which the maintenance parts 71, 73, and 75 have a long life and a long replacement time has been underway. Therefore, by using the EEPROM 710 of the maintenance components 71, 73, and 75 as the activation information storage location of the application 101, the control unit 11 can reliably access the activation information without going through the network. Further, it is not necessary to provide a separate storage unit for storing the activation information. Further, the image forming apparatus 1 does not operate in a state where the activation information storage location is removed.

  Next, a process in which the control unit 11 executes activation and saves activation information will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the operation unit 6 accepts selection of the application 101 to be activated (step s11), and accepts an input of an activation key for the selected application 101 (step s12). Subsequently, when activation is instructed via the operation unit 6 (Yes in step s13), the control unit 11 determines whether the external storage device 10 is attached (step s14). This is because the external storage device 10 is easily removed and may be unintentionally removed by another user or the like. If the external storage device 10 is not attached (No in step s14), this process ends. In this case, the control unit 11 may display a message for prompting the attachment of the external storage device 10 on the operation unit 6. When the external storage device 10 is mounted (Yes in step s14), the control unit 11 refers to the application information management table 102 and determines the activation information 102b and the storage location address 102c of the application 101 instructed to be executed. Obtain (step s15).

  Subsequently, the control unit 11 determines whether or not it has been activated based on the acquired activation information 102b (step s16). Instead of determining based on the activation information 102b acquired from the application information management table 102, activation information is acquired from the EEPROM 710 corresponding to the storage location address 102c, and activated based on the activation information stored in the EEPROM 710. It may be determined whether or not.

  If it has been activated (Yes in step s16), this process ends. In this case, the control unit 11 may display a message indicating that the activation has been completed on the operation unit 6. On the other hand, if the activation key has not been activated (No in step s16), the control unit 11 collates the activation key input via the operation unit 6 with the activation key 102d registered in the application information management table 102 (step s17). .

  If the verification is not OK (No in step s17), for example, if the activation keys do not match, this processing ends. In this case, an error message indicating that activation has failed may be displayed on the operation unit 6.

  In the case of collation OK (Yes in step s18), the control unit 11 refers to the application information management table 102 and updates the activation information 102b of the application 101 that has been collated OK to “completed” (step s19). Subsequently, the control unit 11 updates the activation information of the EEPROM 710 to “completed” corresponding to the storage location address 102c (step s20), and ends this processing.

  Next, a flow of processing in which the control unit 11 confirms activation information of the application 101 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the operation unit 6 accepts selection of the application 101 for confirming activation information (step s31). Subsequently, when confirmation of activation information of the application 101 is instructed via the operation unit 6 (Yes in step s32), the control unit 11 determines whether the external storage device 10 is attached (step s33), and the external If the storage device 10 is not attached (No in step s33), the process ends. When the external storage device 10 is mounted (Yes in step s33), the control unit 11 refers to the application information management table 102 and stores the activation information of the application 101 instructed to confirm the activation information. The address 102c is acquired (step s34).

  Subsequently, the control unit 11 acquires activation information from the EEPROM 710 corresponding to the acquired storage location address 102c (step s35), displays the acquired activation information on the operation unit 6 (step s36), and performs this processing. finish. If the activation information is activated, the control unit 11 activates the application 101 so that the optional function can be used. If the activation information is not activated, an error message indicating that activation is necessary. May be displayed on the operation unit 6.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, the activation information is stored in the predetermined EEPROM 710 among the maintenance components 71, 73, 75. Therefore, no network environment is required, and activation information can be reliably stored regardless of the mounting state of the external storage device 10.

  In this embodiment, since the image forming apparatus 1 is not operated with the maintenance parts 71, 73, 75 removed from the image forming apparatus 1, the activation information is stored in any of the maintenance parts 71, 73, 75. Although stored in the EEPROM 710, the EEPROM 710 may be replaced when the maintenance parts 71, 73, and 75 are replaced. When the EEPROM 710 is replaced, the activation information is lost. Therefore, when the EEPROM 710 is replaced, the control unit 11 copies the activation information 102b registered in the application information management table 102 to a predetermined EEPROM 710 among the replacement maintenance parts 71, 73, and 75.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for copying the activation information 102b of the application information management table 102 to the EEPROM 710 when the maintenance parts 71, 73, 75 are exchanged.

  First, when the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on (step s41), the control unit 11 determines whether or not the external storage device 10 is attached (step s42), and when not attached (No in step s42). This process is terminated. When the external storage device 10 is attached (Yes in step s42), the control unit 11 acquires the activation information 102b and the storage location address 102c for each application 101 registered in the application information management table 102. Then, the activation information 102b acquired from the application information management table 102 is written in the EEPROM 710 corresponding to the storage location address 102c (step s44).

  Subsequently, the control unit 11 determines whether all the activation information 102b has been written (step s45). If the writing has not been completed (No in step s45), the process returns to step s43. In this case, the process from step s43 to step s45 is repeated until all the activation information 102b registered in the application information management table 102 is written in the EEPROM 710 corresponding to the storage location address 102c. When all the activation information 102b has been written (Yes in step s45), this process ends.

  As a result, when the replacement of the maintenance parts 71, 73, and 75 is completed and the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on, the activation information 102b of all the applications 101 that are automatically registered in the application information management table 102 is automatically replaced. Of the maintenance parts 71, 73, and 75 are copied to a predetermined EEPROM 710. Therefore, even when the maintenance parts 71, 73, 75 are exchanged, it is not necessary to activate each application 101 again by inputting the activation key.

  Further, when the power of the image forming apparatus 1 is turned off as a backup when the maintenance parts 71, 73, 75 are replaced, the activation information stored in the activation information storage area 711 of the EEPROM 710 is stored in the external storage device 10. You may make it copy. FIG. 8 shows an example in which the backup activation information 103 is stored in the external storage device 10. When the maintenance parts 71, 73, 75 are replaced, the activation information may be restored by copying the back-up activation information to the replaced EEPROM 710. According to this, activation information can be copied to the EEPROM 710 after replacement based on the activation information of the EEPROM 710 before replacement.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the control unit 11 stores activation information indicating that the activated application has been activated in the EEPROM 710 provided in the maintenance components 71, 73, and 75. Since the image forming apparatus 1 does not operate in a state where the maintenance parts 71, 73, 75 are removed, the activation information is stored in the EEPROM 710 provided in the maintenance parts 71, 73, 75, so that the control unit can be used regardless of the network environment. 11 can securely access the activation information.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Original reading part 3 Original feeding part 5 Main body part 6 Operation part 7 Recording part 8 Image processing part 9 Storage part 10 External storage device 11 Control part 21 Scanner 22 Original reading slit 23 Platen glass 31 Original placement part 32 Document discharge tray 33 Document feed mechanism 51 Recording paper discharge tray 52 Paper feed sections 52a1 to 52an Paper feed cassettes 52b1 to 52bn Recording paper feed roller 53 Recording paper transport path 54 Recording paper transport roller 55 Recording paper discharge roller 61 Liquid crystal display Unit 62 Operation button 71 Photosensitive drum (maintenance part)
72 Exposure unit 73 Image forming unit (maintenance parts)
74 Transfer section 75 Fixing section (maintenance parts)
101 Application 102 Application Information Management Table 102a Application Name 102b Activation Information 102c Storage Location Address 102d Activate Key 103 Backup Activation Information 710 EEPROM
711 Activation information storage area

Claims (7)

An image forming unit that forms an image using a maintenance part configured to be replaceable, an external storage device configured to be removable with an application that requires activation installed, and the application activated by the activation An image forming apparatus including a control unit that controls each unit based on
It further comprises a rewritable nonvolatile memory provided in the maintenance part,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the control unit stores activation information indicating that the activated application has been activated in the rewritable nonvolatile memory. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rewritable nonvolatile memory includes an activation information storage area for storing the activation information corresponding to the application. The external storage device stores a storage location address of the rewritable nonvolatile memory that is a storage destination of the activation information corresponding to the application,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stores the activation information in the rewritable nonvolatile memory corresponding to the storage location address. The controller is
The activation information of a plurality of the applications is distributed and stored in the rewritable non-volatile memory provided in each of the plurality of maintenance components, respectively. The image forming apparatus described. The controller is
The activation information is backed up in the external storage device, and when the maintenance part is replaced, the back-up activation information is copied to the rewritable nonvolatile memory provided in the replaced maintenance part. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The controller is
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the application is activated, the activation information is backed up to the external storage device. The controller is
The image according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein when the power is turned off, the activation information stored in the rewritable nonvolatile memory is backed up to the external storage device. Forming equipment.

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