JP2017199216A - Information processing system, information processing device, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a problem that an apparatus does not work after an application is installed and a problem that the apparatus does not normally work from occurring.SOLUTION: An information processing system according to the present invention includes: an apparatus; and a server system including one or more servers capable of communicating with the apparatus via a network. The server system determines the advisability of the downloading of the application required from the apparatus on the basis of apparatus information showing one or more functions possessed by the apparatus and condition information associated with the application. The apparatus downloads the application only when the downloading of the application is permitted by the server system. The apparatus installs the application only when a peripheral apparatus shown by the condition information associated with the application is connected to the apparatus after the application is downloaded.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program.

  In recent years, with the widespread use of various communication devices such as mobile phones and portable information terminals, development of applications that can be used on communication devices has become active. In order to promote the use of these applications, websites and applications that introduce applications and can be downloaded and installed on communication devices as they are have been developed.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, an application explanation page displaying a download button (virtual button) for requesting download of the application is provided from the server to a computer device (client device) for each of a plurality of applications held by the server. And displayed on the display unit of the computer device. A technique is disclosed that permits a download only when the download button on the application description page is selected and only when the selected application is supported by the computer device.

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is determined whether or not the selected application is supported by the computer device in consideration of the connection state of peripheral devices that can be attached / detached to / from the computer device. Not judged. For this reason, for example, if a peripheral device that is indispensable for operating the application is not attached to the computer device, it will be detected that the application cannot be used after downloading and installing the application, or the device operates normally. There is a risk of causing problems such as failure. Thereby, the problem that a user's convenience falls arises.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides an information processing system comprising a device and a server system including one or more servers capable of communicating with the device via a network. Includes device information indicating one or more functions of the device and application identification information for identifying an application, and sends an acquisition permission determination request for requesting determination of whether the application can be acquired to the server system. An acquisition availability determination request transmission unit for transmitting, an acquisition availability information reception unit for receiving acquisition availability information indicating whether or not an application can be acquired as a response to the acquisition availability determination request, and the acquisition availability information reception unit When the acquisition permission / inhibition information indicating that the application acquisition is permitted is received, Includes an application identification information that identifies the permitted application, and transmits an application request for requesting the application to the server system, an application as a response to the application request, and the application An application information receiving unit for receiving, from the server system, application information including at least peripheral devices necessary for use and condition information indicating conditions necessary for using the application; and the application information The connection determination unit that determines whether or not the peripheral device indicated by the condition information included in the application information received by the reception unit is connected to the device, and the connection determination unit When it is determined that the peripheral device indicated by the information is connected to the device, an installation control unit that performs control to install the application included in the application information received by the application information receiving unit in the device; The server system includes: an acquisition propriety determination request receiving unit that receives the acquisition propriety determination request; and the acquisition received by the acquisition propriety determination request receiving unit from a plurality of the application information that is held in advance Received by the specifying unit specifying the application information corresponding to the application identification information included in the availability determination request, the condition information included in the application information specified by the specifying unit, and the acquisition permission determination request receiving unit The device included in the acquired availability determination request Based on device information, an acquisition availability determination unit that determines whether or not the application identified by the application identification information included in the acquisition availability determination request is acquired, and the acquisition availability that indicates a determination result by the acquisition availability determination unit An acquisition permission information transmission unit that transmits information to the device, an application request reception unit that receives the application request, and the application information corresponding to the application identification information included in the application request as a response to the application request. An application information transmission unit for transmitting to the device.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can prevent the malfunction that it discovers that it cannot be used after installing an application, and the malfunction that an apparatus does not operate | move normally.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an information processing system. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the MFP. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the software configuration of the MFP. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of functions of the MFP. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation screen. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an application list screen. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a URL scheme. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of device information. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of application information. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an information file. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of peripheral device identification information. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of peripheral device identification information. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of functions of the application market server. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the application market server. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of functions of the component server. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the component server. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of the functions of the download server. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the download server. FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation procedure of the information processing system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of an installation success screen. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of functions that the MFP according to the second embodiment has. FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the MFP according to the second embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an information processing system, an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, as an example of a device according to the present invention, a multifunction peripheral (MFP) which is an aspect of an image forming apparatus will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Note that a multifunction peripheral is a device having a plurality of different functions such as a copy function, a scanner function, a print function, and a fax function.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, an information processing system 100 includes an MFP 1 and a server system 2, which are connected to each other via a network 8 such as the Internet.

  For convenience of explanation, in the example of FIG. 1, one MFP 1 is illustrated as an apparatus included in the information processing system 100, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the apparatus included in the information processing system 100 is not limited thereto. The number and type are arbitrary. In short, the information processing system 100 only needs to include one or more devices.

  In the example of FIG. 1, a firewall 6 is provided between the MFP 1 and the network 8. In addition, peripheral devices 31-1 to 31-n can be connected to the MFP 1. As the peripheral devices 31-1 to 31-n, an image processing device such as a printer or a camera, a voice input / output device such as a microphone or a speaker, a card reader / writer, or the like is assumed. Further, the connection 7 between the MFP 1 and the peripheral devices 31-1 to 31-n may be physically connected in a wired manner, or may be connected wirelessly such as near field communication (NFC). It may be a form. In the following description, the peripheral devices 31-1 to 31-n may be simply referred to as “peripheral devices 31” when they are not distinguished from each other. A specific configuration of the MFP 1 will be described later.

  The server system 2 displays a list of one or more applications, a Web page for making a use contract or downloading of each application, in other words, a Web page for providing an application (in the following description, an “application list screen” 5 ”), a function for determining whether or not an application selected from the application list screen 5 can be downloaded, a function for transmitting an application permitted to download to the MFP 1, and the like. have. As will be described in detail later, in the example of FIG. 1, the server system 2 includes an application market server 50, a component server 3, and a download server 4. The server system 2 may be configured by one server having the functions of the application market server 50, the component server 3, and the download server 4 to be described later, or the application market server 50, the component server 3, and The download server 4 may be composed of two or more servers in which the respective functions are distributed. In short, the server system 2 only needs to include one or more servers.

  The application market server 50 provides the application list screen 5 to the MFP 1. More specific contents will be described later. The component server 3 determines whether or not the application selected from the application list screen 5 can be downloaded. More specific contents will be described later. The download server 4 transmits (downloads) an application to the MFP 1 in response to a request from the MFP 1. More specific contents will be described later.

  In this example, the application list screen 5 is acquired from the server system 2 and displayed on the MFP 1 (in the following description, it may be referred to as “app market application”), or displayed on the application list screen 5. An application that provides a function for performing control (control for downloading and installing the application to the MFP 1) for using the application selected by the user among the selected applications (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "installer") Are installed in the MFP 1 in advance. In this example, the function of the application market application is realized by using an application for providing the function of the Web browser (hereinafter also referred to as “browser application”). In this example, the browser application is also installed in the MFP 1 in advance.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the MFP 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the MFP 1 includes a main body 10 capable of realizing various functions such as a copy function, a scanner function, a fax function, and a printer function, and an operation unit 20 that receives a user operation. Note that accepting a user operation is a concept including accepting information (including a signal indicating a coordinate value of a screen) input according to the user operation. The main body 10 and the operation unit 20 are connected via a dedicated communication path 30 so that they can communicate with each other. The communication path 30 may be, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard, but may be of any standard regardless of wired or wireless.

  The main body 10 can perform an operation corresponding to the operation received by the operation unit 20. The main body 10 can also communicate with an external device such as a client PC (personal computer), and can also perform an operation according to an instruction received from the external device.

  First, the hardware configuration of the main body 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the main body 10 includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, an HDD (hard disk drive) 14, a communication I / F (interface) 15, a connection I / F 16, and an engine unit 17. These are connected to each other via a system bus 18.

  The CPU 11 comprehensively controls the operation of the main body 10. The CPU 11 controls the overall operation of the main body 10 by executing a program stored in the ROM 12 or the HDD 14 or the like using the RAM 13 as a work area (work area), and the above-described copy function, scanner function, fax function, printer function, etc. Implement various functions.

  The communication I / F 15 is an interface for connecting to the network 8. The connection I / F 16 is an interface for communicating with the operation unit 20 via the communication path 30.

  The engine unit 17 is hardware that performs processing other than general-purpose information processing and communication for realizing a copy function, a scanner function, a fax function, and a printer function. For example, a scanner (image reading unit) that scans and reads an image of a document, a plotter (image forming unit) that performs printing on a sheet material such as paper, and a fax unit that performs fax communication are provided. Further, a specific option such as a finisher for sorting printed sheet materials or an ADF (automatic document feeder) for automatically feeding a document can be provided.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the operation unit 20 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation unit 20 includes a CPU 21, a ROM 22, a RAM 23, a flash memory 24, a communication I / F 25, a connection I / F 26, an operation panel 27, and an external connection I / F 28. These are connected to each other via a system bus 29.

  The CPU 21 comprehensively controls the operation of the operation unit 20. The CPU 21 uses the RAM 23 as a work area (work area) and executes a program stored in the ROM 22 or the flash memory 24 to control the operation of the entire operation unit 20 and information (image) according to the input received from the user. Various functions described later such as display of) are realized.

  The communication I / F 25 is an interface for connecting to the network 8. The connection I / F 26 is an interface for communicating with the main body 10 via the communication path 30.

  Operation panel 27 accepts various inputs in accordance with user operations and displays various types of information (for example, information in accordance with accepted operations, information indicating the operation status of MFP 1, information indicating setting status, etc.). . In this example, the operation panel 27 is configured by a liquid crystal display device (LCD) having a touch panel function, but is not limited thereto. For example, an organic EL display device equipped with a touch panel function may be used. Further, in addition to or instead of this, an operation unit such as a hardware key and a display unit such as a lamp may be provided.

  The external connection I / F 28 is an interface for connecting to the peripheral device 31, for example, an image processing device such as a camera, a voice input / output device such as a microphone and a speaker, and hardware such as a card reader / writer. Interface.

  Next, the software configuration of the MFP 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the software configuration of the MFP 1. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the main body 10 includes an application layer 101, a service layer 102, and an OS layer 103. The entities of the application layer 101, the service layer 102, and the OS layer 103 are various software stored in the ROM 12, the HDD 14, and the like. Various functions are provided by the CPU 11 executing these software.

  The software of the application layer 101 is application software for operating a hardware resource to provide a predetermined function (in the following description, it may be simply referred to as “application”). For example, examples of the application include a copy application for providing a copy function, a scanner application for providing a scanner function, a fax application for providing a fax function, a printer application for providing a printer function, and the like.

  The software of the service layer 102 is software that is interposed between the application layer 101 and the OS layer 103 and provides an interface for using hardware resources included in the main body 10 for the application. More specifically, it is software for providing a function of accepting an operation request for a hardware resource and arbitrating the operation request. As an operation request received by the service layer 102, a request such as reading by a scanner or printing by a plotter can be considered.

  Note that the interface function by the service layer 102 is provided not only to the application layer 101 of the main body 10 but also to the application layer 201 of the operation unit 20. That is, the application layer 201 (application) of the operation unit 20 can also realize a function using hardware resources (for example, the engine unit 17) of the main body 10 via the interface function of the service layer 102. For example, the interface function of the service layer 102 is provided by WebAPI.

  The software of the OS layer 103 is basic software (operating system (OS)) for providing a basic function for controlling hardware included in the main body 10. The software of the service layer 102 converts a hardware resource use request from various applications into a command interpretable by the OS layer 103 and passes the command to the OS layer 103. Then, when the command is executed by the software of the OS layer 103, the hardware resource performs an operation according to the request of the application.

  Similarly, the operation unit 20 includes an application layer 201, a service layer 202, and an OS layer 203. The application layer 201, the service layer 202, and the OS layer 203 included in the operation unit 20 have the same hierarchical structure as that of the main body 10 side. However, the functions provided by the applications in the application layer 201 and the types of operation requests that can be accepted by the service layer 202 are different from those on the main body 10 side. The application in the application layer 201 may be software for operating a hardware resource included in the operation unit 20 to provide a predetermined function, but mainly includes functions (copy function, scanner function, fax function) included in the main body 10. , A printer function) software for providing a UI (user interface) function for performing operations and display. The application layer 201 includes an application market application, a browser application, and the like. The service layer 202 includes an installer.

  In this embodiment, the software of the OS layer 103 on the main body 10 side and the software of the OS layer 203 on the operation unit 20 side are different from each other in order to maintain the independence of functions. That is, the main body 10 and the operation unit 20 operate independently of each other with different operating systems. For example, it is possible to use Linux (registered trademark) as the software of the OS layer 103 on the main body 10 side and Android (registered trademark) as the software of the OS layer 203 on the operation unit 20 side.

  As described above, in the MFP 1 of the present embodiment, the main body 10 and the operation unit 20 operate on different operating systems. Therefore, communication between the main body 10 and the operation unit 20 is communication between processes in a common apparatus. Rather, it is performed as communication between different devices. An operation (command communication) for transmitting information (instruction content from the user) received by the operation unit 20 to the main body 10, an operation in which the main body 10 notifies the operation unit 20 of an event, and the like correspond to this. Here, the function of the main body 10 can be used when the operation unit 20 performs command communication with the main body 10. The event notified from the main body 10 to the operation unit 20 includes the execution status of the operation in the main body 10 and the contents set on the main body 10 side.

  In the present embodiment, since the power supply to the operation unit 20 is performed from the main body 10 via the communication path 30, the power control of the operation unit 20 is performed separately from the power control of the main body 10 (independently). Can do).

  Next, functions of the MFP 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of functions that the MFP 1 has. As shown in FIG. 4, the MFP 1 includes a display control unit 111, an application list screen acquisition unit 112, an acquisition availability determination request transmission unit 113, an acquisition availability information reception unit 114, an application request transmission unit 115, and application information. The receiving unit 116 includes a connection determination unit 117 and an installation control unit 118. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 4 mainly illustrates functions related to the present embodiment, but the functions of the MFP 1 are not limited to these.

  The display control unit 111 performs control to display a screen on the operation panel 27. For example, the display control unit 111 performs control to display an operation screen for performing various operations on the operation panel 27. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation screen, and an icon 60 for starting the app market application is displayed on the operation screen. The display control unit 111 has a function of performing control to display an application list screen 5 acquired by an application list screen acquisition unit 112 described later. The application list screen 5 will be described later.

  The description of FIG. 4 is continued. The application list screen acquisition unit 112 acquires the application list screen 5 from the application market server 50. In the present embodiment, when the user touches the icon 60 on the operation screen, the browser application (application list screen acquisition unit 112) requests the application market server 50 for the application list screen 5 (hereinafter referred to as “application”). May be referred to as “list screen request”). And as a response, the application list screen 5 is acquired from the application market server 50.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the application list screen 5. In the example of FIG. 6, the application list screen 5 includes, for each of a plurality of applications, explanation information for explaining the contents of the application and a button 40 for instructing installation of the application (hereinafter referred to as “install button 40”). ) Is displayed. In this example, the URL scheme describing the execution procedure of the installation command is pasted on the installation button 40 corresponding to the application.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the URL scheme pasted on the install button 40 corresponding to the application identified by the ID (application ID) “49354”. The “installer” portion in FIG. 7 is a header portion of the URL scheme, and hereinafter, the header portion of the URL scheme may be referred to as a “scheme portion”. A scheme portion “installer” represents information for identifying an application that executes an installation command, and in this example represents an installer installed in the MFP 1. In FIG. 7, the “installApp” portion of “installApp? Id = 49354” is an install command, and the argument of the install command is “id = 49354”. This represents an installation instruction for the application identified by the id “49354”. When the install button 40 to which the URL scheme shown in FIG. 7 is pasted is pressed, the URL scheme shown in FIG. 7 is broadcast to each application of the MFP 1, and the installer reacts to the broadcast URL scheme. In this example, the functions of an acquisition permission determination request transmission unit 113, an acquisition permission information reception unit 114, an application request transmission unit 115, an application information reception unit 116, a connection determination unit 117, and an installation control unit 118 described later are installers. Provided by.

  The description of FIG. 4 is continued. The acquisition permission determination request transmission unit 113 includes device information indicating one or more functions of the MFP 1 and a product ID (an example of application identification information) for identifying an application, and for acquiring (downloading) the application. An acquisition permission determination request for requesting permission determination is transmitted to the server system 2. When the install button 40 of any application on the application list screen 5 displayed on the operation panel 27 is pressed, the acquisition permission determination request transmission unit 113 displays the above-described device information and the pressed install button 40. A request for determining whether or not to acquire an application identified by the product ID, and a request for determining whether or not to acquire the application ID included in the pasted URL scheme. Is transmitted to the component server 3.

  The device information in this embodiment identifies application identification information for identifying an application installed in the MFP 1 and firmware installed in the MFP 1 for each component identification information for identifying a component that is a unit that provides a specific function. This is information in which firmware identification information is associated with version information indicating the attribute of the component identified by the component identification information and indicating a large value each time the change is repeated. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of device information. In the present embodiment, the device information has a plurality of component information entries corresponding to a plurality of types of components on a one-to-one basis, and each component information entry includes a title indicating the name of the corresponding component and the corresponding component type. The information includes at least a correspondence between the component type indicating the extension component information and the extended component information. In this example, the title or component type corresponds to “component identification information”.

  The extended component information includes a product ID (corresponding to application identification information) that identifies an application installed in the MFP 1 (an application necessary for providing a component corresponding to the component information entry to which the extended component information belongs). Further, the extended component information includes a module ID (corresponding to the firmware identification information) for identifying the firmware already installed in the MFP 1 (firmware necessary for providing the component corresponding to the component information entry to which the extended component information belongs). . The extension component information includes component version information corresponding to the component information entry to which the extension component information belongs.

  Note that the MFP 1 of the present embodiment has a function of updating device information every time an application or firmware is newly installed or updated. The latest device information is stored in a storage device such as the flash memory 24. The acquisition availability determination request transmission unit 113 reads the latest device information from the storage device, and generates the acquisition availability determination request described above.

  The description of FIG. 4 is continued. As a response to the acquisition permission determination request, the acquisition permission information receiving unit 114 receives acquisition permission information indicating whether the application can be acquired from the server system 2 (component server 3 in this example).

  The application request transmission unit 115 includes a product ID for identifying an application permitted to be acquired when the acquisition permission information receiving unit 114 receives the acquisition permission information indicating that the acquisition of the application is permitted, and An application request for requesting an application is transmitted to the server system 2. In this example, the acquisition permission information indicating that the acquisition of the application is permitted includes the URL of the download server 4, and the application request transmission unit 115 sends the download server 4 specified by the URL to the download server 4. Send the above application request. A more specific processing procedure will be described later.

  The application information receiving unit 116, as a response to the above-described application request, shows at least an application and peripheral devices necessary for using the application, and condition information indicating conditions necessary for using the application, Are received from the server system 2. In this example, the application information receiving unit 116 receives application information from the download server 4 as a response to the above-described application request.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of application information according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the application information includes an application and an information file corresponding to the condition information. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an information file. As shown in FIG. 10, the information file includes a product ID for identifying the corresponding application, version information of the application, and dependent component information indicating a condition necessary for using the corresponding application. In the example of FIG. 10, the dependent component information uses a product ID for identifying an application necessary for using the corresponding application (in other words, an application having a dependency relationship with the corresponding application), and the application. Module ID to identify the firmware required for the application (firmware that depends on the corresponding application), and the components required to use the application (if the view is changed, the corresponding application and dependency Component version information), and peripheral device identification information for identifying the peripheral device 31 necessary for using the corresponding application.

  The form of the peripheral device identification information is arbitrary. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, a combination of “vendor ID” and “product ID” for uniquely specifying the peripheral device 31 may be used. Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, as the peripheral device identification information for identifying the peripheral device 31 that does not have a unique ID (an ID varies depending on the manufacturer) such as an HDD, as shown in FIG. An independent tag name such as “presence / absence” may be used.

  The description of FIG. 4 is continued. The connection determination unit 117 indicates that the peripheral device 31 (the peripheral device 31 identified by the peripheral device identification information in the information file) indicated by the information file (condition information) included in the application information received by the application information receiving unit 116 is the MFP 1. It is determined whether it is connected to. For example, the connection determination unit 117 includes peripheral device list information indicating a list of peripheral devices 31 connected to the MFP 1 and peripheral device identification information in the information file included in the application information received by the application information receiving unit 116. In comparison, it can be determined whether or not the peripheral device 31 identified by the peripheral device identification information is connected to the MFP 1. For example, the peripheral device list information is information indicating peripheral device identification information for each of one or more peripheral devices connected to the MFP 1, and the connection determination unit 117 manages a peripheral device 31 connected to the MFP 1 (for example, The above-described peripheral device list information may be acquired from the program on the main body 10 side, or the peripheral device list information may be managed (held) by itself.

  When the connection determination unit 117 determines that the peripheral device 31 indicated by the information file (condition information) included in the application information received by the application information reception unit 116 is connected to the MFP 1, the installation control unit 118 Control is performed to install the application included in the application information received by the application information receiving unit 116 in the MFP 1. In addition, the installation control unit 118 determines that the peripheral device indicated by the information file (condition information) included in the application information received by the application information receiving unit 116 is not connected to the MFP 1 by the connection determining unit 117. Then, the control for installing the application included in the application information received by the application information receiving unit 116 in the MFP 1 is stopped. In this case, for example, the installation control unit 118 can also perform control to display an error screen on the operation panel 27. In this case, for example, the installation control unit 118 requests the display control unit 111 to display an error screen, and the display control unit 111 that has received the request performs control to display the error screen on the operation panel 27. Good.

  In this example, the display control unit 111, application list screen acquisition unit 112, acquisition availability determination request transmission unit 113, acquisition availability information reception unit 114, application request transmission unit 115, application information reception unit 116, connection determination unit described above. Each function of 117 and the installation control unit 118 is provided by the operation unit 20. Each of the above functions is realized by the CPU 21 executing a program stored in the ROM 22 or the like. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, at least a part of the above functions is realized by a dedicated hardware circuit. May be. Among the functions of the application list screen acquisition unit 112 described above, the function of transmitting an application list screen request to the app market server 50 and the function of receiving the application list screen 5 from the app market server 50 include a CPU 21 that executes a program. And a communication I / F 25. For example, when transmitting an application list screen request to the application market server 50, the CPU 21 controls the communication I / F 25 to transmit an application list screen request to the application market server 50. For example, when the application list screen 5 is received from the application market server 50, the communication I / F 25 receives the application list screen 5 from the application market server 50. Then, the communication I / F 25 notifies the CPU 21 of the application list screen 5 received from the application market server 50. Thereby, the CPU 21 can detect reception of the application list screen 5. Similarly, each function of the acquisition permission determination request transmission unit 113, the acquisition permission information reception unit 114, the application request transmission unit 115, and the application information reception unit 116 is a combination of the CPU 21 that executes the program and the communication I / F 25. You may think that it is realized by.

  Next, functions of the application market server 50 will be described with reference to FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the application market server 50 includes an application list screen holding unit 511 and an application list screen transmission unit 512. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 13 mainly illustrates functions related to the present embodiment, but the functions of the application market server 50 are not limited to these.

  The application list screen holding unit 511 holds the application list screen 5 described above. Upon receiving the above-described application list screen request from MFP 1, application list screen transmission unit 512 transmits application list screen 5 held in application list screen holding unit 511 to MFP 1 as a response.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the application market server 50. As illustrated in FIG. 14, the application market server 50 includes a CPU 521, a ROM 522, a RAM 523, an input unit 524, a display unit 525, and a communication I / F 526. The CPU 521 comprehensively controls the operation of the application market server 50. The ROM 522 is a non-volatile memory that stores various data such as programs. The RAM 523 is a volatile memory that functions as a work area (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU 521. The input unit 524 is a device that is used for input of an operation by the user, and includes, for example, a mouse or a keyboard. The display unit 525 is a device that displays various types of information, and includes, for example, a liquid crystal display device. The communication I / F 526 is an interface for connecting to the network 8.

  In the present embodiment, the function of the application list screen transmission unit 512 described above is realized by the CPU 521 executing a program stored in the ROM 522 or the like, but is not limited thereto, and for example, a dedicated hardware circuit (semiconductor integrated circuit) Circuit) or the like. Further, the above-described application list screen holding unit 511 may be realized by an auxiliary storage device such as an HDD, for example. Here, it may be considered that the function of the application list screen transmission unit 512 is realized by a combination of the CPU 521 that executes the program and the communication I / F 526.

  Next, functions of the component server 3 will be described with reference to FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 15, the component server 3 includes an acquisition permission determination request reception unit 311, a specification unit 312, an acquisition permission determination unit 313, and an acquisition permission information transmission unit 314. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 15 mainly illustrates functions related to the present embodiment, but the functions of the component server 3 are not limited to these.

  The acquisition availability determination request receiving unit 311 receives the above acquisition availability determination request from the MFP 1. The identifying unit 312 identifies application information corresponding to the product ID included in the acquisition permission determination request received by the acquisition permission determination request receiving unit 311 from among a plurality of pieces of application information held in advance. In this example, the specifying unit 312 is an acquisition permission determination request receiving unit 311 from among a plurality of pieces of application information held in advance by the server system 2 (which may be the component server 3 or another server). The application information having the information file including the product ID included in the acquisition propriety determination request received by is identified.

  The acquisition availability determination unit 313 is based on the information file (condition information) included in the application information specified by the specification unit 312 and the device information included in the acquisition availability determination request received by the acquisition availability determination request reception unit 311. Thus, it is determined whether the application identified by the product ID (application identification information) included in the acquisition permission determination request can be acquired. More specifically, the acquisition propriety determination unit 313 determines the identification unit for the title or component type (component identification information) in the device information included in the acquisition propriety determination request received by the acquisition propriety determination request reception unit 311. A module ID that matches the product ID (application identification information) included in the information file included in the application information specified in 312 and matches the module ID (firmware identification information) included in the information file Is associated with version information greater than or equal to the value indicated by the lower limit version information included in the information file, the acquisition (downloading) of the application identified by the product ID included in the acquisition permission determination request is performed. To give permission.

  Acquiring availability information transmitting unit 314 transmits to the MFP 1 acquiring availability information indicating a result of determination by acquiring availability determining unit 313. When acquisition of the application is permitted by the acquisition permission determination unit 313, the acquisition permission information transmission unit 314 transmits the URL of the download server 4 to the MFP 1 by including the URL of the download server 4 in the acquisition permission information indicating that the application acquisition is permitted.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the component server 3. As illustrated in FIG. 16, the component server 3 includes a CPU 321, a ROM 322, a RAM 323, an input unit 324, a display unit 325, and a communication I / F 326. The CPU 321 comprehensively controls the operation of the component server 3. The ROM 322 is a non-volatile memory that stores various data such as programs. The RAM 323 is a volatile memory that functions as a work area (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU 321. The input unit 324 is a device used for input of an operation by a user, and includes, for example, a mouse or a keyboard. The display unit 325 is a device that displays various types of information, and includes, for example, a liquid crystal display device. The communication I / F 326 is an interface for connecting to the network 8.

  In the present embodiment, the functions (acquisition / non-permission determination request receiving unit 311, specifying unit 312, acquisition / non-permission determination unit 313, and acquisition / non-permission information transmission unit 314) of the component server 3 described above are stored in the ROM 322 by the CPU 321. This is realized by executing a stored program, but is not limited thereto, and may be realized by, for example, a dedicated hardware circuit (semiconductor integrated circuit or the like). Here, the functions of the acquisition permission determination request reception unit 311 and the acquisition permission information transmission unit 314 may be realized by a combination of the CPU 321 that executes the program and the communication I / F 326.

  Next, functions of the download server 4 will be described with reference to FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 17, the download server 4 includes an application request reception unit 411 and an application information transmission unit 412. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 17 mainly illustrates functions related to the present embodiment, but the functions of the download server 4 are not limited to these.

  The application request receiving unit 411 receives the above-described application request from the MFP 1. Application information transmission unit 412 transmits application information corresponding to the product ID (application identification information) included in the application request to MFP 1 as a response to the application request. More specifically, the application information transmission unit 412 uses the application request reception unit 411 from among a plurality of pieces of application information held in advance by the server system 2 (which may be the download server 4 or another server). The application information having file information including the product ID (application identification information) included in the received application request is selected, and the selected application information is transmitted to the MFP 1.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the download server 4. As illustrated in FIG. 18, the download server 4 includes a CPU 421, a ROM 422, a RAM 423, an input unit 424, a display unit 425, and a communication I / F 426. The CPU 421 comprehensively controls the operation of the download server 4. The ROM 422 is a non-volatile memory that stores various data such as programs. The RAM 423 is a volatile memory that functions as a work area (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU 421. The input unit 424 is a device that is used for input of an operation by a user, and includes, for example, a mouse or a keyboard. The display unit 425 is a device that displays various types of information, and includes, for example, a liquid crystal display device. The communication I / F 426 is an interface for connecting to the network 8.

  In the present embodiment, the functions (application request receiving unit 411 and application information transmitting unit 412) of the download server 4 described above are realized by the CPU 421 executing a program stored in the ROM 422 or the like. For example, it may be realized by a dedicated hardware circuit (semiconductor integrated circuit or the like). Here, it may be considered that the functions of the application request reception unit 411 and the application information transmission unit 412 are realized by a combination of the CPU 421 that executes the program and the communication I / F 426.

  FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation procedure of the information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment. First, when the user touches the icon 60 (see FIG. 5) on the operation screen (step S1), the above-described application market application is activated, and the application market application uses the browser application to request the above-described application list screen. Is transmitted to the application market server 50 (step S2). And as a response, the application list screen 5 is received from the application market server 50 (step S3), and the received application list screen 5 is displayed on the operation panel 27 (step S4).

  Next, when the user presses the install button 40 of any application on the application list screen 5 (step S5), the MFP 1 (acquisition / non-permission determination request transmission unit 113) pastes to the pressed install button 40. The above acquisition permission determination request including the product ID included in the URL scheme and the latest device information is generated (step S6). Then, the MFP 1 (acquisition availability determination request transmission unit 113) transmits the acquisition availability determination request generated in step S6 to the component server 3 (step S7), and the component server 3 (acquisition availability determination request reception unit 311) performs the acquisition. Receives a request for availability determination.

  Next, the component server 3 (identification unit 312) identifies application information having an information file including a product ID included in the acquisition permission determination request received from the MFP 1 from a plurality of pieces of application information held in advance. To do. Then, based on the information file (condition information) included in the specified application information and the device information included in the acquisition permission determination request received from the MFP 1, the component server 3 (acquisition permission determination unit 313) It is determined whether or not the application identified by the product ID included in the determination request can be acquired (step S8). The specific contents are as described above. Hereinafter, the subsequent processing will be described separately for a case where the determination result of step S8 is affirmative (in the case of “download OK”) and a case of negative (in the case of “download NG”).

  First, the case where the determination result in step S8 is affirmative (in the case of “download OK”) will be described. In this case, the component server 3 (acquisition availability information transmission unit 314) indicates that the acquisition of the application is permitted, and transmits the availability information including the URL of the download server 4 to the MFP 1 (step S9). The MFP 1 (application request transmission unit 115) that has received the acquisition permission / inhibition information includes a product ID (product ID pasted on the installation button 40 pressed in step S5) that identifies the application permitted to be acquired, and Then, the application request for requesting the application is transmitted to the server system 2 (step S10), and application information is received from the download server 4 as a response (step S11).

  Next, the MFP 1 (connection determination unit 117) determines whether or not the peripheral device 31 indicated by the information file (condition information) included in the application information received from the download server 4 is connected to the MFP 1 (step S12). . As described above, for example, the MFP 1 compares the peripheral device list information indicating the list of peripheral devices connected to the MFP 1 with the peripheral device identification information included in the application information information file received from the download server 4. It is also possible to determine whether or not the peripheral device 31 identified by the peripheral device identification information is connected to the MFP 1. When the determination result in step S12 is affirmative (in the case of “connection OK”), the MFP 1 (installation control unit 118) performs control to install the application included in the application information received from the download server 4 in the MFP 1 (step S13). ). If the installation is successful, the MFP 1 (installation control unit 118) may perform control to display on the operation panel 27 a screen (successful installation screen) for notifying the successful installation of the application as shown in FIG. Good. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S12 is negative (in the case of “connection NG”), the MFP 1 (installation control unit 118) performs control to install the application included in the application information received from the download server 4 in the MFP 1. For example, an error screen is displayed on the operation panel 27 (step S14).

  Subsequently, a case where the determination result of step S8 is negative (in the case of “download NG”) will be described. In this case, the component server 3 (acquisition availability information transmission unit 314) transmits the availability information indicating that the application acquisition is not permitted to the MFP 1 (step S15). The MFP 1 that has received the acquisition permission information displays an error screen on the operation panel 27 without downloading the application (step S16).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the component server 3 determines whether or not the application requested by the MFP 1 can be downloaded based on the device information of the MFP 1 and the information file associated with the application. The application is downloaded only when the application is permitted to be downloaded by the component server 3. Then, after downloading the application, the MFP 1 installs the application only when the peripheral device 31 indicated by the information file associated with the application is connected to the MFP 1. As a result, it is discovered that the peripheral device 31 that is indispensable for operating the application is not attached to the MFP 1, so that it is discovered that the application cannot be used after the application is installed, or the MFP 1 does not operate normally. Can be prevented. Therefore, user convenience can be improved.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment described above, the MFP 1 acquires (downloads) the application information from the download server 4. However, in this embodiment, the MFP 1 uses an external device (in this example, an SD card) connected to its own device. ) Is different in that the application information is acquired from. Description of parts common to the above-described first embodiment will be omitted as appropriate.

  FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating an example of functions of the MFP 1 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 21, the MFP 1, which is an example of an “information processing apparatus”, includes a display control unit 111, an application information acquisition unit 120, a connection determination unit 117, and an installation control unit 118. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 21 mainly illustrates functions related to the present embodiment, but the functions of the MFP 1 are not limited to these.

  The application information acquisition unit 120 acquires application information from an SD card (an example of an external device) connected to the MFP 1. In this example, the application information acquisition unit 120 acquires (downloads) application information from the SD card in response to a user operation received on the operation screen displayed by the display control unit 111.

  The connection determination unit 117 connects the MFP 1 with the peripheral device 31 (the peripheral device 31 identified by the peripheral device identification information in the information file) indicated by the information file included in the application information acquired by the application information acquisition unit 120. It is determined whether or not. If the connection determination unit 117 determines that the peripheral device 31 indicated by the information file included in the application information received by the application information reception unit 116 is connected to the MFP 1, the installation control unit 118 Control is performed to install an application included in the application information acquired in 120 in the MFP 1. In addition, the installation control unit 118 has confirmed by the connection determination unit 117 that the peripheral device indicated by the information file (condition information) included in the application information received by the application information receiving unit 116 is not connected to the MFP 1. In this case, the control for installing the application included in the application information acquired by the application information acquisition unit 120 in the MFP 1 is stopped. In this case, for example, the installation control unit 118 can also perform control to display an error screen on the operation panel 27.

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the MFP 1 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 22, first, the application information acquisition unit 120 acquires application information from the SD card connected to the MFP 1 in response to a user operation (step S101). Next, the connection determination unit 117 determines whether or not the peripheral device 31 indicated by the information file included in the application information acquired in step S101 is connected to the MFP 1 (step S102). If the result of step S102 is affirmative (step S102: Yes), the installation control unit 118 performs control to install the application included in the application information acquired in step S101 in the MFP 1 (step S103). If the result of step S102 is negative (step S102: No), the installation control unit 118 performs control to stop installation of the application included in the application information acquired in step S101 and display an error screen on the operation panel 27. This is performed (step S104).

  Although the embodiments according to the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments and modifications may be appropriately combined.

  In the above-described embodiment, the main body 10 and the operation unit 20 operate independently of each other in separate operation systems. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and for example, the main body 10 and the operation unit 20 operate in the same operation system. Form may be sufficient.

  A program executed by the information processing system 100 (MFP 1, component server 3, download server 4, etc.) of the above-described embodiment is an installable format or executable file, and is a CD-ROM, flexible disk (FD). ), CD-R, DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), USB (Universal Serial Bus), etc. may be configured to be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium and provided via a network such as the Internet. Or you may comprise so that it may distribute. Various programs may be provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like.

1 MFP
3 Component server 4 Download server 5 Application list screen 8 Network 10 Main body 20 Operation unit 40 Install button 50 Application market server 60 Icon 100 Information processing system 111 Display control unit 112 Application list screen acquisition unit 113 Acquisition availability request transmission unit 114 Acquisition availability information Reception unit 115 Application request transmission unit 116 Application information reception unit 117 Connection determination unit 118 Installation control unit 120 Application information acquisition unit 311 Acquisition availability determination request reception unit 312 Identification unit 313 Acquisition availability determination unit 314 Acquisition availability information transmission unit 411 Application request reception Unit 412 application information transmission unit 511 application list screen holding unit 512 application list screen transmission unit

JP 2010-182309 A

Claims (9)

In an information processing system comprising a device and a server system including one or more servers capable of communicating with the device via a network,
The equipment is
An acquisition permission determination request that includes device information indicating one or more functions of the device and application identification information that identifies an application and requests determination of whether the application can be acquired is transmitted to the server system. An acquisition permission determination request transmission unit;
As a response to the acquisition permission determination request, an acquisition permission information receiving unit that receives acquisition permission information indicating whether the application can be acquired from the server system;
When the acquisition permission / inhibition information receiving unit receives the acquisition permission / inhibition information indicating that the acquisition of the application is permitted, the application identification information for identifying the application permitted to be acquired is included, and the application is requested. An application request transmitter for transmitting an application request to the server system;
As a response to the application request, application server includes application information including at least a peripheral device necessary for using the application and condition information indicating a condition necessary for using the application. An application information receiver that receives from the system;
A connection determination unit that determines whether a peripheral device indicated by the condition information included in the application information received by the application information reception unit is connected to the device;
Control that installs an application included in the application information received by the application information receiving unit in the device when the connection determining unit determines that the peripheral device indicated by the condition information is connected to the device An installation control unit,
The server system is
An acquisition availability determination request receiving unit that receives the acquisition availability determination request; and
A specifying unit for specifying the application information corresponding to the application identification information included in the acquisition permission determination request received by the acquisition permission determination request receiving unit from among the plurality of application information held in advance;
Based on the condition information included in the application information specified by the specifying unit and the device information included in the acquisition permission determination request received by the acquisition permission determination request receiving unit, the acquisition permission determination request An acquisition availability determination unit that determines whether the application identified by the application identification information included in the information can be acquired;
An acquisition availability information transmission unit that transmits the acquisition availability information indicating a determination result by the acquisition availability determination unit to the device;
An application request receiving unit for receiving the application request;
An application information transmitting unit that transmits the application information corresponding to the application identification information included in the application request to the device as a response to the application request;
Information processing system. The installation control unit
Control that installs an application included in the application information received by the application information receiving unit in the device when the connection determining unit determines that the peripheral device indicated by the condition information is not connected to the device To cancel,
The information processing system according to claim 1. The device information is
For each component identification information that identifies a component that is a unit that provides a specific function, the application identification information that identifies an application installed in the device, firmware identification information that identifies firmware installed in the device, Information indicating the attribute of the component identified by the component identification information and corresponding to version information indicating a large value every time a change is made,
The condition information uses the application identification information for identifying an application necessary for using the corresponding application, the firmware identification information for identifying firmware necessary for using the corresponding application, and the corresponding application. Information including lower-limit version information indicating a lower-limit value of the version information of the component necessary for performing, and peripheral device identification information for identifying a peripheral device required to use the corresponding application,
The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2. The connection determination unit
Compare peripheral device list information indicating a list of peripheral devices connected to the device, and the peripheral device identification information in the condition information included in the application information received by the application information receiving unit, Determining whether a peripheral device identified by the peripheral device identification information is connected to the device;
The information processing system according to claim 3. The acquisition permission determination unit
The application identification that matches the application identification information included in the condition information included in the application information specified by the specifying unit with respect to the component identification information in the device information included in the acquisition permission determination request Is associated with the firmware identification information that matches the firmware identification information included in the condition information, and is associated with the version information that is equal to or greater than the value indicated by the lower limit version information included in the condition information. If it is, allow the acquisition of the application identified by the application identification information included in the acquisition permission determination request,
The information processing system according to claim 3 or 4. An information processing apparatus that can be connected to an external device,
Application information for acquiring application information including at least a peripheral device necessary for using the application and condition information indicating a condition necessary for using the application from the external device An acquisition unit;
A connection determination unit for confirming whether or not a peripheral device indicated by the condition information included in the application information acquired by the application information acquisition unit is connected to the information processing device;
When it is confirmed by the connection determination unit that the peripheral device indicated by the condition information is connected to the information processing apparatus, an application included in the application information acquired by the application information acquisition unit is processed as the information processing. An installation control unit that performs control to install in the apparatus,
Information processing device. In an information processing system comprising a device and a server system including one or more servers capable of communicating with the device via a network,
The equipment is
An acquisition permission determination request that includes device information indicating one or more functions of the device and application identification information that identifies an application and requests determination of whether the application can be acquired is transmitted to the server system. An acquisition permission determination request transmission step;
As a response to the acquisition permission determination request, an acquisition permission information reception step of receiving acquisition permission information indicating whether the application can be acquired from the server system;
When the acquisition permission / inhibition information indicating that the acquisition of the application is permitted is received in the acquisition permission / inhibition information reception step, the application identification information for identifying the application permitted to be acquired is included, and the application is requested An application request transmission step of transmitting an application request to the server system;
As a response to the application request, application server includes application information including at least a peripheral device necessary for using the application and condition information indicating a condition necessary for using the application. Receiving application information from the system;
A connection determining step of determining whether or not a peripheral device indicated by the condition information included in the application information received by the application information receiving step is connected to the device;
When the connection determining step determines that the peripheral device indicated by the condition information is connected to the device, control to install the application included in the application information received by the application information receiving step into the device An installation control step, and
The server system is
An acquisition propriety determination request receiving step for receiving the acquisition propriety determination request;
A specifying step for specifying the application information corresponding to the application identification information included in the acquisition permission determination request received by the acquisition permission determination request reception step from among the plurality of application information held in advance;
Based on the condition information included in the application information specified by the specifying step and the device information included in the acquisition permission determination request received by the acquisition permission determination request receiving step, the acquisition permission determination request An acquisition availability determination step for determining whether or not to acquire an application identified by the application identification information included in
An acquisition permission / inhibition information transmission step for transmitting the acquisition permission / inhibition information indicating the determination result in the acquisition permission / inhibition determination step to the device;
Receiving an application request to receive the application request;
An application information transmission step of transmitting the application information corresponding to the application identification information included in the application request to the device as a response to the application request;
Information processing method. An information processing method using an information processing apparatus connectable to an external device,
Application information for acquiring application information including at least a peripheral device necessary for using the application and condition information indicating a condition necessary for using the application from the external device An acquisition step;
A connection confirmation step for confirming whether or not a peripheral device indicated by the condition information included in the application information acquired by the application information acquisition step is connected to the information processing apparatus;
When the connection confirmation step confirms that the peripheral device indicated by the condition information is connected to the information processing apparatus, the application included in the application information acquired by the application information acquisition step is processed as the information processing. An installation control step for controlling the installation on the device,
Information processing method. On the computer,
Application information acquisition for acquiring application information including an application and condition information indicating at least a peripheral device necessary for using the application and a condition necessary for using the application from an external device Steps,
A connection confirmation step of confirming whether or not the peripheral device indicated by the condition information included in the application information acquired by the application information acquisition step is connected to an information processing device;
When the connection confirmation step confirms that the peripheral device indicated by the condition information is connected to the information processing apparatus, the application included in the application information acquired by the application information acquisition step is transferred to the device. An installation control step for performing installation control.

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