JP2018025892A - Information processing device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing device and program, which allow for reducing query load compared to a case where a query is always sent before updating control information that should be updated.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes: acquisition means configured to query the presence/absence of control information for update for the information processing device and acquire control information for update in response thereto; and determination means configured to determine, before updating with the control information for update acquired by the acquisition means, whether updating is possible or not based on change in the state of the information processing device after the acquisition of the control information for update.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

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

  Conventionally, there has been proposed an image forming apparatus that reduces the load on a distribution system that distributes firmware (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 downloads after inquiring the distribution system at the time when the distribution system should inquire again, download means for downloading new firmware after inquiring the distribution system. And applying means for applying the completed firmware to the own device.

JP 2012-56199 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus and a program that can reduce a load caused by an inquiry as compared with a case where an inquiry is always performed before updating control information to be updated.

[1] An acquisition unit that inquires about the presence or absence of control information to be updated by the own device, and acquires the control information to be updated as a response thereto;
Before updating the control information to be updated acquired by the acquisition means, it is determined whether or not to inquire whether the update is possible according to a change in the status of the own device after acquiring the control information to be updated. A judgment means to
An information processing apparatus comprising:
[2] The information processing according to [1], wherein the change in the status of the device is a case where a user who instructs acquisition of the control information to be updated is different from a user who instructs the update. apparatus.
[3] The determination unit according to [2], wherein the determination unit determines that a change in the situation has occurred in the own device when the user instructing the update changes the setting information of the own device. Information processing device.
[4] Further comprising an additional installation means for installing an additional program,
The information processing apparatus according to [1], wherein when the additional program is installed after acquiring the control information to be updated, the determination unit determines that a change in a situation has occurred in the own apparatus.
[5] The apparatus further comprises a specifying unit that specifies a module of the control information to be updated that is affected by installation of the additional program,
The information processing apparatus according to [4], wherein the determination unit inquires about a version number of the module specified by the specifying unit.
[6]
Inquiring about the presence or absence of control information to be updated by the own apparatus, and acquiring the control information to be updated as a response thereof,
Before updating the control information to be updated acquired by the acquisition means, it is determined whether or not to inquire whether the update is possible according to a change in the status of the own device after acquiring the control information to be updated. A program for functioning as a determination means.

According to the first and sixth aspects of the invention, it is possible to reduce the load caused by the inquiry as compared with the case where the inquiry is always performed before the update of the control information to be updated.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, after acquiring the control information to be updated, it is possible to avoid a case where it is not appropriate to update the control information to be updated by interrupting another process before instructing the update. Is possible.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 3, it becomes possible to avoid the case where it is not appropriate to update the control information which should be updated.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 4, it becomes possible to avoid the case where it is not appropriate to update the control information which should be updated by affecting the control information which an additional program should update.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the control information module may be affected by the installation of the additional program. According to the present invention, such a case can be avoided.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration example of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus in the background download. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus in the update of the date-designated control information. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus in version upgrade after downloading.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, about the component which has the substantially same function, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the duplicate description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information processing system 1 includes a plurality (for example, three) of image forming apparatuses 2, a plurality (for example, two) of information servers 3, and a management server 4. The information server 3 and the management server 4 are connected to each other via the Internet 7. The image forming apparatuses 2 are connected to each other by a local area network (LAN) 5 and connected to the Internet 7 through a firewall 6. The image forming apparatus 2 is an example of an information processing apparatus.

  The information server 3 is a software repository that stores control information and the like. The management server 4 manages the entire information processing system 1.

  In the present embodiment, the plurality of information servers 3 and the management server 4 constitute a management device. The information server 3 and the management server 4 may be connected to each other via an intranet, or all of them may be configured as a single physical server.

  The management device is, for example, a device for providing a service for updating control information (firmware or the like) of the image forming apparatus 2. For example, the plurality of image forming apparatuses 2 may all be installed in the same office or the like, or may be installed in different offices or the like and connected to the Internet 7 via firewalls of the respective offices or the like. Also good.

  The management server 4 manages version information of control information that each image forming apparatus 2 has. That is, the management server 4 holds version information of control information for each image forming apparatus 2 and for each control unit in the image forming apparatus 2. Further, the management server 4 indicates the storage location of the control information to be applied according to the model of the image forming apparatus 2, the configuration of the peripheral device, the version information of the control information, etc., that is, where the information server 3 is stored. Storage destination information (for example, URL) is transmitted in response to an inquiry from the image forming apparatus 2.

  The purpose of the firewall 6 is to prevent unauthorized access and intrusion from the outside. A request (inquiry) from the image forming apparatus 2 to the Internet 7 and a response to the request (inquiry) are passed, but the Internet 7 The request from the side to the image forming apparatus 2 is set not to pass.

(Image forming device)
The image forming apparatus 2 is, for example, a multifunction machine having a printing function, a copying function, a facsimile transmission / reception function, and a scanning function. In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 2 is described as having different models, peripheral devices such as ADF (automatic document feeder) and finisher (post-processing apparatus), control information such as firmware, version information of control information, and the like. To do. The ADF automatically feeds a document. The finisher performs post-processing such as stapling and punching on a recording medium such as paper.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the image forming apparatus 2. The image forming apparatus 2 includes a system control unit 20. The system control unit 20 includes a storage unit 21, an operation display unit 22, an image reading unit 23, an image processing unit 24, a facsimile unit 25, an image output unit 26, a communication unit. The unit 27 and the like are connected.

  The image forming apparatus 2 has a first mode and a second mode when performing a process of applying control information to be updated to the own apparatus. The first mode is a mode in which, after the control information to be updated is downloaded in the background, the downloaded control information is upgraded when an upgrade instruction is given. The second mode is a mode in which download and version upgrade are continuously performed while interrupts are disabled. In the first mode, the user who instructs the download may be different from the user who instructs the upgrade.

  The operation display unit 22 includes, for example, a touch panel, receives input from the user and the like, and performs display for the user. The instruction from the user includes an instruction to immediately upgrade the control information of the image forming apparatus 2 and registration of the background download time and update date (year, month, day, time) of the control information.

  The image reading unit 23 is configured by a scanner, for example, and reads image data from a document. An ADF may be attached to the image reading unit 23. The image processing unit 24 performs image processing such as image compression, decompression, and composition. The facsimile unit 25 transmits and receives data via a telephone network (not shown). The image output unit 26 includes, for example, an image holding member using a photosensitive member, and forms and outputs an image on a recording medium such as paper. A finisher may be connected to the image output unit 26. The system control unit 20, the operation display unit 22, the image reading unit 23, the image processing unit 24, the facsimile unit 25, and the image output unit 26 are each a multi-control unit having a CPU and control information (for example, firmware) for this CPU operation. It becomes the composition of.

  The storage unit 21 includes a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk, and the like, and includes a program 210, image data 211 processed by the image forming apparatus 2, setting information 212, control information 213 to be updated such as firmware, and version information 214 of the control information 213. , Background download time information 215, update date information 216, and the like are stored.

  The setting information 212 includes setting values of various parameters for the operation display unit 22, the image reading unit 23, the image processing unit 24, the facsimile unit 25, and the image output unit 26.

  The control information 213 to be updated is control information to be updated among the control information 213a to 213e of the system control unit 20, the operation display unit 22, the image reading unit 23, the image processing unit 24, the facsimile unit 25, and the image output unit 26. Is stored in the storage unit 21 temporarily.

  The version information 214 is the version number of the control information 213a to 213e that the system control unit 20, the operation display unit 22, the image reading unit 23, the image processing unit 24, the facsimile unit 25, and the image output unit 26 have, respectively. 20, the operation display unit 22, the image reading unit 23, the image processing unit 24, the facsimile unit 25, and the image output unit 26 are stored in the storage unit 21 corresponding to each control unit. The version number is an example of version information.

  The background download time information 215 refers to the background download time when the control unit 20 inquires the management server 4 when periodically downloading in the background. The background download time can be registered, for example, every Sunday at 6:00 and every day at 6:00.

  The update date / time information 216 refers to an update date / time when the control unit 20 inquires the management server 4 when performing download and version upgrade continuously. The update date and time can be registered, for example, at 6:00 on April 1, 2016.

  The system control unit 20 includes a CPU, an interface, and the like. The CPU functions as the acquisition unit 200, the determination unit 201, the update unit 202, the additional installation unit 203, the identification unit 204, and the like by operating according to the program 210. The processing executed by the system control unit 20 in the first and second modes is divided into download performed by the acquisition unit 200 and version upgrade performed by the update unit 202. Download is an example of acquisition, and version upgrade is an example of update.

  The acquisition unit 200 inquires of the management server 4 about the presence or absence of control information to be updated by the own device, and acquires control information 213 to be updated as a response.

  When the determination unit 201 can determine that the status of the device has changed after acquiring the control information to be updated before the control information 213 to be updated acquired by the acquisition unit 200 is upgraded (inquiry condition) If it matches, the management server 4 is inquired of whether or not the update is possible.

For example, the following may be considered as “change in status” of the own device. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following.
(I) When the user who has instructed to download control information to be updated, that is, the user who has registered the background download time is different from the user who has instructed to upgrade (ii) the user who has instructed to upgrade When the setting information 212 of the own device is changed (iii) When a certain time (for example, 10 minutes) or more elapses between the download and version upgrade of the control information 213 to be updated Download and version upgrade In the meantime, it is assumed that the version upgrade rule, firmware, or setting information registered in the management server 4 is changed, or the downloaded firmware in the image forming apparatus 2 is falsified.
(Iv) When the configuration including the peripheral devices of the image forming apparatus is different between when the control information 213 to be updated is downloaded and when the upgrade is started. (V) When the control information 213 to be updated is downloaded and when the upgrade is started. When other control information is downloaded or setting information 212 is changed during

  The additional installation unit 203 installs the additional program by operating the image forming apparatus remotely or directly. For example, when operating remotely, an additional program is installed on the basis of an instruction from the management server 4 by inputting an instruction on the display operation unit, and when operating directly, it is used by operating the operation display unit 22. Based on the user's instruction, a PC, USB memory or the like holding firmware is connected to the image forming apparatus and an additional program is installed.

  The specifying unit 204 specifies the module of the control information 213 to be updated that is affected by the installation of the additional program. The specifying unit 204 may confirm the installation of the additional program by displaying the specified module on the display operation unit 22 when the user gives an instruction to install the additional program through the operation of the operation display unit 22.

(Operation of information processing system)
An example of the operation of the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

(1) Background Download FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus 2 in the background download.

  When the current time reaches the background download time registered in advance as the background download time information 215 (S1: Yes), the acquisition unit 200 of the image forming apparatus 2 identifies its own device in the background (for example, an IP address). , The MAC address) is transmitted to the management server 4 via the communication unit 27, the LAN 5, the firewall 6 and the Internet 7 to inquire whether there is control information 213 to be updated (S2). This inquiry is made periodically (for example, once a week) at every background download time.

  When the management server 4 receives an inquiry from the acquisition unit 200 of the image forming apparatus 2, if there is control information to be updated, the management server 4 transmits response information to the image forming apparatus 2. The response information includes storage information (for example, URL) of control information to be updated and version information of control information to be updated.

  Upon receiving the response information (S3), the acquisition unit 200 of the image forming apparatus 2 compares the version number that has been downloaded and is stored in the storage unit 21 as the version information 214 before the upgrade and the received version number. It is then determined whether or not it is the same as the received version number (S4). If it is different from the received version number (S4: Yes), the control information 213 to be updated is downloaded from the information server 3 based on the storage location information acquired in step S3 and stored in the storage unit 21 (S5). At this time, the acquisition unit 200 updates the version information 214 stored in the storage unit 21 to the one acquired in step S3.

(2) Update of Date / Time Designated Control Information FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus 2 in updating the date / time designated control information.

  When the current time reaches the update date / time registered in advance as the update date / time information 216 (S11: Yes), the acquisition unit 200 of the image forming apparatus 2 transitions to the date / time-designated update mode, that is, the second mode. The screen of the display unit 22 is locked (S12).

  The acquisition unit 200 transmits the identification information of the own device to the management server 4 via the communication unit 27, the LAN 5, the firewall 6, and the Internet 7, and inquires whether the control information 213 to be updated exists (S13). . This inquiry is made only on the registered date.

  When the management server 4 receives an inquiry from the acquisition unit 200 of the image forming apparatus 2, if there is control information to be updated, the management server 4 transmits response information to the image forming apparatus 2.

  When receiving the response information (S14), the update unit 202 of the image forming apparatus 2 compares the received version number with the downloaded version number stored as the version information 214, and the received version number. It is determined whether it is different from the number (S15). If the received version number is newer (S15: Yes), the control information 213 to be updated is downloaded from the information server 3 based on the storage location information acquired in step S14, and stored in the storage unit 21 (S16). . At this time, the acquisition unit 200 updates the version information 214 stored in the storage unit 21 to the one acquired in step S14.

  Based on the control information 213 to be updated stored in the storage unit 21, the update unit 202 is based on the system control unit 20, the operation display unit 22, the image reading unit 23, the image processing unit 24, the facsimile unit 25, and the image output unit 26. The corresponding control information 213a to 213e is upgraded from among the control information 213a to 213e each has (S17).

(3) Version Upgrade After Download FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus 2 in the version upgrade after download.

  When the determination unit 201 receives a version upgrade instruction by an operation on the operation display unit 22 by the user (S31), whether or not the determination unit 201 can determine that the situation has changed in the own apparatus (inquiry condition). Is determined (S32).

  When the determination unit 201 matches the upgrade condition (S32: Yes), the determination unit 201 transmits the identification information of the own device to the management server 4 via the communication unit 27, the LAN 5, the firewall 6, and the Internet 7. Then, an inquiry is made as to whether or not the version can be upgraded (S33).

  When the management server 4 receives an inquiry from the acquisition unit 200 of the image forming apparatus 2, if there is control information to be updated, the management server 4 transmits response information to the image forming apparatus 2.

  When receiving the response information (S34), the update unit 202 of the image forming apparatus 2 compares the previously acquired version number with the received version number and determines whether or not they are the same (S35). If the received version numbers are the same (S35: Yes), the updating unit 202, based on the control information 213 to be updated stored in the storage unit 21, the system control unit 20, the operation display unit 22, the image reading unit. 23, the corresponding control information 213a to 213e among the control information 213a to 213e that the image processing unit 24, the facsimile unit 25, and the image output unit 26 respectively have is upgraded (S35).

  If the condition is not met in step S32 (S32: No), and if the control information is not appropriate in step S34 (S33: No), the user operates the operation display unit 22 to perform the next background download. The time is reserved (S36). The system control unit 20 registers the reserved background download time in the background download time information 215.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and implementations are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, when downloading the control information, setting information related to the control information may be downloaded, and the setting information may be updated together with the control information.

  Each part of the system control unit 20 is partially or entirely configured by hardware such as a reconfigurable circuit (FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array) and an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). May be.

  Further, for example, it is possible to omit or change some of the constituent elements of the above-described embodiment within a range not changing the gist of the present invention.

  In the flow of the above embodiment, steps can be added, deleted, changed, replaced, and the like. The program used in the above embodiment can be provided by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information processing system, 2 ... Image forming apparatus, 3 ... Information server,
4 ... Management server, 6 ... Firewall, 7 ... Internet,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... System control part, 21 ... Memory | storage part, 22 ... Operation display part, 23 ... Image reading part,
24: Image processing unit, 25: Facsimile unit, 26: Image output unit, 27: Communication unit,
200 ... acquisition means, 201 ... determination means, 202 ... update means,
203 ... Additional installation means, 204 ... Identification means, 210 ... Program,
211: Image data, 212: Setting information, 213: Control information to be updated,
213a-213e ... control information, 214 ... version information,
215 ... Background download time information, 216 ... Update date and time information

Claims (6)

Inquiring about the presence or absence of control information to be updated by the own apparatus, and acquiring the control information to be updated as a response thereof,
Before updating the control information to be updated acquired by the acquisition means, it is determined whether or not to inquire whether the update is possible according to a change in the status of the own device after acquiring the control information to be updated. A judgment means to
An information processing apparatus comprising: The change in the status of the own device is a case where a user who instructs acquisition of the control information to be updated is different from a user who instructs the update.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The determination means determines that a change in the situation has occurred in the own device when the user instructing the update changes the setting information of the own device;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2. An additional installation means for installing an additional program is further provided,
The determination means determines that a change in the situation has occurred in the own device when the additional program is installed after obtaining the control information to be updated.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. A specifying means for specifying a module of the control information to be updated that is affected by installation of the additional program;
The determination means inquires about the version number of the module specified by the specifying means;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 4. Computer
Inquiring about the presence or absence of control information to be updated by the own apparatus, and acquiring the control information to be updated as a response thereof,
Before updating the control information to be updated acquired by the acquisition means, it is determined whether or not to inquire whether the update is possible according to a change in the status of the own device after acquiring the control information to be updated. A program for functioning as a determination means.

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