JP2022006436A - Electronic apparatus and firmware - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an electronic apparatus and firmware that can easily deal with a new request from a Web API.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises: a platform service IF unit 130 that analyzes the syntax of a request from a Web API in S342; and a syntax analysis service 181a that analyzes the syntax of the request in S346 as an extended service that provides a function other than a standard function of the image forming apparatus. The platform service IF unit 130 notifies a request source 290 of a response according to the request analyzed by one of the platform service IF unit 130 itself and the syntax analysis service 181a (S351). A program for the platform service IF unit 130 is included in firmware of the image forming apparatus. A program for the extended service is not included in the firmware.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

The present invention relates to an electronic device and firmware for notifying a request source of a response in response to a Web API (Application Programming Interface) request.

As a conventional electronic device, a standard application that realizes the standard function of the image forming apparatus, an extended application that realizes a function other than the standard function of the image forming apparatus, and a standard application without using the standard application. An image forming apparatus including an extended function service that provides an extended function of an extended function of a standard function of the image forming apparatus to an extended application is known (see Patent Document 1).

International Publication No. 2015/182303

However, in the conventional image forming apparatus, since the program for analyzing the syntax of the Web API request is included in the firmware of the image forming apparatus, it is necessary to update the firmware in order to respond to the new request of Web API. There is a problem that the customizability corresponding to the new request of Web API is poor.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device and firmware that can easily respond to a new request of Web API.

The electronic device of the present invention is an electronic device that notifies the request source of a response in response to a Web API request, and has a parsing unit that analyzes the syntax of the request and a function other than the standard function of the electronic device. As an extension service to be provided, a parsing service that analyzes the syntax of the request, and the parsing unit and the parsing when the request can be analyzed by either the parsing unit or the parsing service. The program for the parsing unit and the program for the response notification unit include a response notification unit that notifies the request source of the response corresponding to the request analyzed by any of the services, and the program for the response notification unit is the electronic. The program included in the firmware of the device and for the extended service is not included in the firmware.

With this configuration, in the electronic device of the present invention, the program for the parsing service that analyzes the request syntax of the Web API is a program different from the firmware of the electronic device, so that the firmware of the electronic device is not updated. By simply updating the program for the parsing service, it is possible to easily respond to new requests for Web APIs.

The firmware of the present invention is the firmware of an electronic device that notifies the request source of a response in response to a Web API request, and is a program for a parser that analyzes the syntax of the request and a standard function of the electronic device. The parsing unit and the parsing unit when the request can be analyzed by any of the parsing service that analyzes the syntax of the request as an extension service that provides functions other than the above and the parsing unit. It is characterized by including a program for a response notification unit that notifies the request source of the response corresponding to the request analyzed by any of the services, and does not include the program for the extended service.

With this configuration, the electronic device that executes the firmware of the present invention updates the firmware of the electronic device because the program for the parsing service that analyzes the syntax of the request of the Web API is a program different from the firmware of the electronic device. It is possible to easily respond to a new request of Web API simply by updating the program for the parsing service without doing so.

The electronic device and firmware of the present invention can easily respond to a new request of Web API.

It is a block diagram of the hardware of the image forming apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention in the case of an MFP. It is a block diagram of the control configuration of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the request of Web API which can be parsed by the syntax analysis part shown in FIG. This is an example of the "POST / scanner / jobs" request shown in FIG. This is an example of the response to the "POST / scanner / jobs" request shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the request of the Web API which can be analyzed by the syntax analysis service realized by the syntax analysis program shown in FIG. This is an example of the "POST / printer / jobs" request shown in FIG. This is an example of the response to the "POST / printer / jobs" request shown in FIG. It is a flowchart of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 at the time of installing a parsing program. It is a sequence diagram of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 when the request of Web API is notified when the parsing service does not exist. It is a sequence diagram of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 when the request of Web API is notified when the parsing service exists.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, a configuration of an image forming apparatus as an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the hardware of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment in the case of an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral).

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 includes an operation unit 11 which is an operation device such as a button into which various operations are input, and a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Disk Play) which displays various information. The display unit 12 is an image processing device such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) that executes various image processing such as enlargement, reduction, density adjustment, gradation adjustment, and image improvement on the image data. Via a network such as an image processing unit 13, a printer 14 which is a printing device for printing an image on a recording medium such as paper, a scanner 15 which is a reading device for reading an image from a document, a LAN (Local Area Network), and the Internet. Alternatively, via a network communication unit 16 which is a communication device that directly communicates with an external device by wire or wirelessly without going through a network, and a communication line such as an external facsimile machine and a public telephone line (not shown). A fax communication unit 17 that is a fax device that performs fax communication, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port 18, and a storage that is a non-volatile storage device such as a semiconductor memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) that stores various information. A unit 19 and a control unit 20 that controls the entire image forming apparatus 10 are provided.

The storage unit 19 stores a program (hereinafter referred to as “general-purpose OS program”) 19a for a general-purpose OS (Operating System) such as Linux (registered trademark) for controlling each hardware of the image forming apparatus 10. ing. The program 19a for a general-purpose OS may be installed in the image forming apparatus 10 at the manufacturing stage of the image forming apparatus 10, or may be externally stored in an external storage such as a CD (Compact Disk), a DVD (Digital Versaille Disk), or a USB memory. It may be additionally installed on the image forming apparatus 10 from the medium, or may be additionally installed on the image forming apparatus 10 from the network.

The storage unit 19 stores the firmware 19b of the image forming apparatus 10. The firmware 19b may be installed in the image forming apparatus 10 at the manufacturing stage of the image forming apparatus 10, or may be additionally installed in the image forming apparatus 10 from an external storage medium such as a CD, a DVD, or a USB memory. Alternatively, it may be additionally installed on the image forming apparatus 10 from the network.

The storage unit 19 stores an extension program 19c, which is a program for realizing a function other than the standard function of the image forming apparatus 10. The expansion program 19c may be installed in the image forming apparatus 10 at the manufacturing stage of the image forming apparatus 10, or may be additionally installed in the image forming apparatus 10 from an external storage medium such as a CD, DVD, or USB memory. It may be additionally installed in the image forming apparatus 10 from the network.

The storage unit 19 stores a program for an extended application (hereinafter referred to as an “extended application program”) 19d, which is an application that realizes a function other than the standard function of the image forming apparatus 10. The storage unit 19 can store the program for the extended application for each extended application. The program for the extended application may be installed in the image forming apparatus 10 at the manufacturing stage of the image forming apparatus 10, or may be additionally installed in the image forming apparatus 10 from an external storage medium such as a CD, DVD, or USB memory. It may be additionally installed in the image forming apparatus 10 from the network.

The storage unit 19 is a program for an extended service that provides a service that uses a general-purpose OS to an extended application without using a standard application that is an application that realizes the standard functions of the image forming apparatus 10 (hereinafter, “program for extended service”). I remember 19e. The storage unit 19 can store the extended service program for each extended service. For example, as the program for the extended service, the parsing program 19f and the parsing program 19f, which are the programs for the extended service for the parsing service described later, which are the extended services for analyzing the syntax of HTTP (Hyperext Transfer Protocol), are used. There is an installation program 19g, which is an extension service program for an installation service, which is an extension service for installation. The extended service program may be installed in the image forming apparatus 10 at the manufacturing stage of the image forming apparatus 10, or may be additionally installed in the image forming apparatus 10 from an external storage medium such as a CD, DVD, or USB memory. It may be additionally installed in the image forming apparatus 10 from the network.

The control unit 20 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores programs and various data, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) as a memory used as a work area of the CPU. It is equipped with. The CPU executes a program stored in the storage unit 19 or the ROM.

The control unit 20 realizes the control configuration shown in FIG. 2 by executing the program stored in the storage unit 19 or the ROM.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control configuration of the image forming apparatus 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 20 realizes the general-purpose OS 110 by executing the general-purpose OS program 19a (see FIG. 1).

The control unit 20 has an image processing service 121 that operates on the general-purpose OS 110 and provides services related to image processing, a network communication service 122 that operates on the general-purpose OS 110 and provides services related to communication via a network, and a general-purpose unit. A device operation service 123 that operates on the OS 110 and provides a service for operating each hardware of the image forming apparatus 10 is realized by executing firmware 19b (see FIG. 1). The image processing service 121, the network communication service 122, and the device operation service 123 each control each hardware of the image forming apparatus 10 via the general-purpose OS 110.

The image processing service 121 stores, for example, image data read from a document by setting a resolution, color, etc. with a scanner 15 in a storage unit 19, and stores image data stored in the storage unit 19 in an image processing unit 13. You may provide a service to process. The image processing service 121 may provide a service for drawing image data to be printed by the printer 14 based on a file. The image processing service 121 enlarges, reduces, rotates, converts colors, and noises the image data acquired from the extended application, the image data read from the original by the scanner 15, or the image data stored in the storage unit 19. Services may be provided that perform image processing such as removal, format conversion, character recognition, and watermark recognition.

The network communication service 122 uses various protocols such as TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) / IP (Internet Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol) to send / receive files, stream, and send / receive authentication data via the network communication unit 16. You may provide a service to execute. For example, the network communication service 122 can also send and receive image data read from a document by a scanner 15 and a file stored in a storage unit 19. The network communication service 122 is a user when the image forming apparatus 10 has a user authentication unit that authenticates the user by transmitting / receiving image data facsimile-transmitted / received by the fax communication unit 17, an IC (Integrated Circuit) card, or biometric authentication. It is also possible to send and receive the result of user authentication by the authentication unit, and to send and receive video data generated by the camera when the image forming apparatus 10 has a camera. Further, the network communication service 122 can also transmit and receive the state of each part of the image forming apparatus 10, the result of calling the function of each part, and the like.

The device operation service 123 provides a service that executes processing such as drawing on the display unit 12, driving the printer 14, controlling the fax communication unit 17, user authentication, and acquiring the status of each hardware of the image forming apparatus 10. May be. The device operation service 123 may provide, for example, a service of storing image data read from a document by a scanner 15 in a storage unit 19, or a service of drawing an image on a browser displayed on the display unit 12. Alternatively, a service may be provided in which image data is transmitted to the printer 14 to form an image, or a service is provided in which the image data stored in the storage unit 19 is facsimile-transmitted by the fax communication unit 17. May be. When the image forming apparatus 10 has an optional device such as a finisher, the device operation service 123 may provide a service for causing the optional device to perform processing such as bookbinding or staples, or may provide an IC card or biometric authentication. If the image forming apparatus 10 has a user authentication unit that authenticates the user, a service may be provided to cause the user authentication unit to execute the user authentication, or if the image forming apparatus 10 has a camera, the camera may be provided. May provide a service that causes the camera to generate video data, or calls each function such as line-of-sight detection based on the video data generated by the camera. The device operation service 123 may provide a service that executes detailed control of each hardware of the image forming apparatus 10, such as driving one of the motors of the transport unit of the printer 14. The device operation service 123 may provide a service for acquiring the state of each part of the image forming apparatus 10.

The control unit 20 realizes the platform service IF unit 130 that provides an interface for calling the image processing service 121, the network communication service 122, and the device operation service 123 by executing the firmware 19b. The platform service IF unit 130 includes a syntax analysis unit 131 that analyzes the syntax of a specific type of HTTP, and a response notification unit 132 that notifies the request source of a response in response to a Web API request.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a Web API request that can be analyzed by the syntax analysis unit 131.

In FIG. 3, "POST / scanner / jobs" is a request for generating a scan job and starting a scan. "GET / scanner / jobs" is a request to get a list of scan jobs. "GET / scanner / jobs / capabilities" is a request to acquire the valid range information of the scan job setting value. "GET / scanner / jobs / settings" is a request to get the default settings of the scan job. "DELETE / scanner / jobs / {job_id}" is a request to end the scan job indicated by "{job_id}". In addition, "{job_id}" indicates a job ID which is identification information of a job such as a scan job. "GET / scanner / jobs / {job_id} / scan_data" is a request to acquire the scanned image in the scan job indicated by "{job_id}". "GET / scanner / jobs / {job_id} / status" is a request to acquire the status of the scan job indicated by "{job_id}". "PUT / scanner / jobs / {job_id} / status" indicates the status of reception of scan data from the image forming apparatus 10 for continuous reading of documents in the scanning job indicated by "{job_id}". This is a request to notify 10.

FIG. 4 is an example of the “POST / scanner / jobs” request shown in FIG.

In FIG. 4, "xxx.xxx.xxx" indicates the IP address of the image forming apparatus 10. Of "" information ": {" type ":" account code "," data ":" kyocera "}", "account code" indicates the department code. That is, "" information ": {" type ":" account code "," data ":" kyocera "}" means "perform a scan job for a department whose department code is" kyocera "". "" Device_screen ":" status screen "" means "display the status of the scan job on the display unit 12 of the image forming apparatus 10." "" Scan_job_kind ":" scan to send "" means "perform a scan job to send the scanned image". "" Scan_image_setting ": {" color_selection ":" fullcolor "," scan_resolution ":" 300 x 300 dpi "}" means "perform a full color scan with a resolution of 300 x 300 dpi".

FIG. 5 is an example of a response to the “POST / scanner / jobs” request shown in FIG.

In FIG. 5, "xxx.xxx.xxx:xxxx" indicates the IP address and the port number of the image forming apparatus 10. "" Job_id ": 1" means "1 was given as the job ID". "" Error ": {" message ":" Created "}" means "created a scan job".

The control unit 20 shown in FIG. 2 realizes a standard application by executing firmware 19b. The standard application operates on the platform service IF unit 130 and uses each hardware of the image forming apparatus 10. For example, the control unit 20 has a copy application 141, which is a standard application that realizes a copy in which an image is read from a document by a scanner 15 in response to an instruction input to an operation unit 11s and the read image is printed by a printer 14. The printer application 142, which is a standard application for printing an image based on data such as data described by, for example, PDL (Page Description Language) received by the network communication unit 16, by the printer 14, and an instruction input to the operation unit 11. The fax application 143, which is a standard application that reads an image from a manuscript by the scanner 15 and transmits the read image by the fax communication unit 17, and the image from the manuscript by the scanner 15 according to an instruction input to the operation unit 11. Is realized, and a transmission application 144 is realized, in which the scanned image is transmitted by the network communication unit 16. The printer application 142 may print an image based on a file stored in the storage unit 19 by the printer 14 in response to an instruction input to the operation unit 11. The FAX application 143 transmits an image based on the file received by the network communication unit 16 by the fax communication unit 17, prints the image received by the fax communication unit 17 by the printer 14, and receives the image by the fax communication unit 17. The image may be stored in the storage unit 19.

The control unit 20 realizes the general-purpose OS service platform 150 that provides a service that uses the general-purpose OS 110 without going through the platform service IF unit 130 by executing the extension program 19c (see FIG. 1). The general-purpose OS service platform 150 may provide a service for adding a function to the general-purpose OS 110, such as installing a control program such as a device driver or a script on the general-purpose OS 110.

The control unit 20 realizes the extended application service IF unit 160 that provides an interface for using the platform service IF unit 130 from the extended application side by executing the extension program 19c.

The control unit 20 realizes the standard function service 170, which is a service that provides the standard function of the image forming apparatus 10 to the extended application by using the standard application, by executing the extension program 19c. The standard function service 170 uses the standard application via the extended application service IF unit 160. For example, the extended application can display the screen of the start of copying by the copy application 141 on the display unit 12 by using the standard function service 170. Further, by using the standard function service 170, the extended application can print various job data, files, etc. acquired by the extended application itself or specified via the operation unit 11 on the printer application 142. .. Further, by using the standard function service 170, the extended application can acquire the image data specified via the operation unit 11 among the facsimile image data received by the FAX application 143, or can use the operation unit 11. It is possible to send the specified file or the like to the FAX application 143 via the fax application 143.

The control unit 20 realizes an extended service, which is a service that provides functions other than the standard functions of the image forming apparatus 10, by executing an extended service program (see FIG. 1). For example, the control unit 20 is a service that uses the platform service IF unit 130 via the extended application service IF unit 160 without using the standard application, or uses the general-purpose OS 110 by using the general-purpose OS service platform 150. An extended function service 181 that is an extended service that provides the extended application, and an extended service that provides the extended application a service that uses the general-purpose OS 110 by using the general-purpose OS service platform 150 without using the platform service IF unit 130. Realize a certain back-end service 182. The control unit 20 can realize at least one extended function service other than the extended function service 181. The control unit 20 can realize at least one back-end service other than the back-end service 182.

The extended function service is a service that provides an extended function of a standard function of the image forming apparatus 10 to an extended application. As the extended function service, for example, there are a parsing service realized by executing the parsing program 19f and an installation service realized by executing the installation program 19g.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a Web API request that can be analyzed by a parsing service.

In FIG. 6, "POST / printer / jobs" is a request for generating a print job and starting printing. The syntax analysis service may be able to analyze requests of a plurality of types of Web APIs.

FIG. 7 is an example of the “POST / printer / jobs” request shown in FIG.

In FIG. 7, “xxx.xxx.xxx” indicates the IP address of the image forming apparatus 10. "" Information ": {" type ":" account code "," data ":" kyocera "}" means "perform a print job for a department whose department code is" kyocera "". "" Printer_setting ": {" color_selection ":" fullcolor "," cassette_selection ":" mp_tray "}" means "print in full color using the paper in the input tray called" mp_tray "".

FIG. 8 is an example of a response to the “POST / printer / jobs” request shown in FIG.

In FIG. 8, "xxx.xxx.xxx:xxxx" indicates the IP address and the port number of the image forming apparatus 10. "" Job_id ": 1" means "1 was given as the job ID". "" Error ": {" message ":" Processing "}" means "print job is running".

A backend service is a service that runs on the backend. The back-end service is a service that provides functions other than the functions of the extension of the standard functions of the image forming apparatus 10 among the functions other than the standard functions of the image forming apparatus 10. As the back-end service, for example, a service that provides a function of monitoring the image forming apparatus 10, a service that provides a function of monitoring the entire system composed of a plurality of image forming apparatus, and a function of monitoring a specific server are provided. A service that collects information such as a counter indicating the number of printed sheets of the image forming apparatus 10 from the image forming apparatus 10 and converts the collected information into information in a format that can be understood by humans, an image. There is a service that provides a function of converting the format of the information output from the forming apparatus 10 from the format of the old interface to the format of the new interface.

The control unit 20 realizes the extended service management unit 190 that executes the management of the extended service such as starting, starting, and stopping the extended service by executing the extension program 19c. The extended service management unit 190 monitors the status of the extended service and the general-purpose OS service infrastructure 150.

The control unit 20 realizes the extended application management unit 200 that executes the management of the extended application such as starting, starting and stopping the extended application by executing the extension program 19c.

The control unit 20 realizes the extended application 210 by executing the extended application program 19d (see FIG. 1). The control unit 20 can realize at least one extended application other than the extended application 210. An extended application is an application that is directly used by the user and has a user interface. The user can use the functions provided by this extended application by operating the user interface of the extended application. For example, as an extended application, OCR (Optical Character Recognition), surveillance camera application, water mark creation, invoice creation, employee list management, slip management, contract management, business card management, PDF creation, book management, group management, etc. It may be a practical application, an installer application that adds or changes a device driver or firmware on a general-purpose OS 110, or another management application. The extended application can call the standard function service 170 and use the general-purpose OS 110 by using the standard application, call the extended service and use the general-purpose OS 110 without using the standard application, or directly use the general-purpose OS service platform 150. It is possible to call and use the general-purpose OS 110.

Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described.

First, the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 when the syntax analysis program 19f is installed will be described.

When a user such as an administrator of the image forming apparatus 10 desires to install the syntax analysis program 19f on the image forming apparatus 10, the user such as the administrator stores the syntax analysis program desired to be installed on the image forming apparatus 10 in the USB memory. Later, this USB memory can be attached to the USB port 18 of the image forming apparatus 10.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 when the syntax analysis program 19f is installed.

The extended service management unit 190 of the image forming apparatus 10 starts the installation service when the USB memory is attached to the USB port 18 of the image forming apparatus 10. When the installation service is started, it executes the operation shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9, the installation service determines whether or not the parsing program is stored in the USB memory attached to the USB port 18 (S301). Here, the installation service accesses the USB memory via the extended application service IF unit 160, the platform service IF unit 130, the device operation service 123, the general-purpose OS 110, and the USB port 18 in this order.

When the installation service determines in S301 that the syntax analysis program is stored in the USB memory attached to the USB port 18, the syntax analysis program stored in the USB memory is used as the syntax analysis program 19f to extend the storage unit 19. Install in the area for functional services (S302). Here, the installation service accesses the storage unit 19 via the extended application service IF unit 160, the platform service IF unit 130, the device operation service 123, and the general-purpose OS 110 in this order.

When the installation service determines in S301 that the parsing program is not stored in the USB memory attached to the USB port 18, or when the processing of S302 is completed, the operation shown in FIG. 9 is terminated.

Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 when the Web API request is notified when the syntax analysis service does not exist will be described.

FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram of the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 when a Web API request is notified when the syntax analysis service does not exist.

As shown in FIG. 10, the Web API request source 290, such as a Web application outside the image forming apparatus 10, can notify the image forming apparatus 10 of the Web API request via the network (S321). ..

When the request source 290 notifies the Web API request via the network communication unit 16, the general-purpose OS 110, and the network communication service 122 in order, the syntax analysis unit 131 of the platform service IF unit 130 is notified by the request source 290. Attempts to parse the request syntax (S322).

As a result of the execution in S322, the parsing unit 131 executes the job corresponding to the request analyzed in S322 when the target request in S322 can be analyzed by the parsing unit 131 itself (S323). For example, when the Web API request that can be analyzed by the parsing unit 131 is shown in FIG. 3 and the target request in S322 is shown in FIG. 4, the parsing unit 131 is, for example, the request shown in FIG. The scan job according to the above is executed by using the copy application 141.

After the processing of S323, the parsing unit 131 generates the execution result in S323 as a response (S324). For example, the parsing unit 131 generates the response shown in FIG. 5 when the scan job in response to the request shown in FIG. 4 is executed.

When the parsing unit 131 does not correspond to at least one of the URL (Uniform Resource Locator), the HTTP header, and the HTTP body of the target request in S322 as a result of the execution in S322, for example, the parsing unit 131 itself. For example, when the target request in S322 cannot be analyzed by the parsing unit 131 itself, the Bad request of the HTTP 400 is generated as a response (S325).

The response notification unit 132 of the platform service IF unit 130 sends the response generated in S324 or S325 to the request source 290 via the network communication service 122, the general-purpose OS 110, and the network communication unit 16 in order after the processing of S324 or S325. Notify (S326).

Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 when the Web API request is notified when the syntax analysis service exists will be described.

FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram of the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 when a Web API request is notified when the syntax analysis service 181a is present.

As shown in FIG. 11, the Web API request source 290 can notify the image forming apparatus 10 of the Web API request (S341) via the network.

When the request source 290 notifies the Web API request via the network communication unit 16, the general-purpose OS 110, and the network communication service 122 in order, the syntax analysis unit 131 of the platform service IF unit 130 is notified by the request source 290. Attempts to parse the request syntax (S342).

As a result of the execution in S342, the parsing unit 131 executes the job corresponding to the request analyzed in S342 in the same manner as the processing of S323 when the target request in S342 can be analyzed by the parsing unit 131 itself. (S343).

After the processing of S343, the parsing unit 131 generates the execution result in S343 as a response in the same manner as the processing of S324 (S344).

The parser 131 is the target in S342 as a result of the execution in S342, for example, when at least one of the URL, the HTTP header, and the HTTP body of the target request in S342 is not supported by the parser 131 itself. When the request parsing unit 131 itself cannot be analyzed, the target request in S342 is notified to the parsing service 181a via the extended application service IF unit 160 (S345).

When the request is notified in S345, the syntax analysis service 181a attempts to analyze the syntax of the request notified in S345 (S346).

As a result of the execution in S346, the parsing service 181a executes the job corresponding to the target request in S346 when the target request in S346 can be analyzed by the parsing service 181a itself (S347). For example, when the Web API request that can be analyzed by the parsing service 181a is shown in FIG. 6 and the target request in S346 is shown in FIG. 7, the parsing service 181a is, for example, the request shown in FIG. The print job according to the above is executed by using the printer application 142.

After the processing of S347, the parsing service 181a generates the execution result in S347 as a response (S348). For example, the parsing service 181a generates the response shown in FIG. 8 when the scan job in response to the request shown in FIG. 7 is executed.

The parsing service 181a is a target in S346 as a result of execution in S346, for example, when at least one of the URL, HTTP header, and HTTP body of the target request in S346 is not supported by the parsing service 181a itself. If the request of is unparseable by the parsing service 181a itself, a Bad request of HTTP 400 is generated as a response (S349).

After the processing of S348 or S349, the parsing service 181a notifies the platform service IF unit 130 of the response generated in S348 or S349 via the extended application service IF unit 160 (S350).

The response notification unit 132 of the platform service IF unit 130 receives the response generated in S344 after the processing of S344 or S350, or the response notified from the parsing service 181a in S350, to the network communication service 122, the general-purpose OS 110, and the network. Notify the request source 290 via the communication unit 16 in order (S351).

As described above, in the image forming apparatus 10, the parsing program 19f, which is a program for the parsing service 181a that analyzes the syntax of the request of the Web API, is a program different from the firmware 19b of the image forming apparatus 10. Therefore, it is possible to easily respond to a new request of the Web API simply by updating the parsing program 19f without updating the firmware 19b. Therefore, the image forming apparatus 10 is software for responding to a new request of Web API as compared with a configuration in which firmware 19b of the image forming apparatus 10 needs to be updated in order to respond to a new request of Web API. Development period can be shortened.

In the image forming apparatus 10, since the syntax analysis program 19f is a program different from the firmware 19b of the image forming apparatus 10, the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 is adversely affected by the installation of the syntax analysis program 19f. By deleting the parsing program 19f, the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 can be easily normalized.

In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 installs the parsing program when the USB memory in which the parsing program is stored is attached to the USB port 18. However, the image forming apparatus 10 may install the parsing program by another method. For example, the image forming apparatus 10 may install the parsing program when a storage device other than the USB memory in which the parsing program is stored is connected.

Any plurality of programs in the present embodiment may be configured as one program. For example, the extension program 19c and the extension service program may be configured as one program.

The image forming apparatus 10 is an MFP in the present embodiment, but an image forming apparatus other than the MFP, such as a dedicated printer, may be used.

The electronic device of the present invention is an image forming apparatus in the present embodiment, but may be an electronic device other than the image forming apparatus such as a PC (Personal Computer).

10 Image forming device (electronic device)
19b Firmware 19e Extended service program (Extended service program)
19f Parsing program (program for extended services)
131 Parsing unit 132 Response notification unit 181 Extended function service (extended service)
181a Parsing service 182 Backend service (extended service)
290 Request source

Claims (2)

It is an electronic device that notifies the request source of the response in response to the Web API request.
A parser that analyzes the syntax of the request,
A parsing service that parses the syntax of the request as an extended service that provides functions other than the standard functions of the electronic device, and
When the request can be parsed by either the parsing unit or the parsing service, the response in response to the request analyzed by either the parsing unit or the parsing service is described. It is equipped with a response notification unit that notifies the request source.
The program for the syntax analysis unit and the program for the response notification unit are included in the firmware of the electronic device.
An electronic device, characterized in that the program for the extended service is not included in the firmware. It is the firmware of the electronic device that notifies the request source of the response in response to the Web API request.
A program for the parsing section that analyzes the syntax of the request,
When the request can be analyzed by any of the parsing service that analyzes the syntax of the request as an extended service that provides functions other than the standard functions of the electronic device and the parsing unit. Includes a program for the response notification unit that notifies the request source of the response in response to the request analyzed by either the parsing unit or the parsing service.
Firmware characterized by not including a program for the extended service.

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