JP6541813B2 - Electronic device and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electronic device and a control method thereof .

  In recent image forming apparatuses, setting items that can be edited by the user are increasing with the advancement of functions. Among them, as a technique for simplifying the registration of setting values of a series of setting items, carrying out setting data indicating setting values of a certain image forming apparatus to an external device and registering the same in an image forming apparatus of the same type or a different image forming apparatus An import feature, or export feature, is provided to allow for.

  Further, a technology has been proposed in which, when an application operable in an image forming apparatus is installed, the frequency at which the image forming apparatus is restarted is reduced to enable operation continuation (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP, 2012-221201, A

  However, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a technology relating to updating of an application that operates in an image forming apparatus, and thus no technology relating to importing setting data is mentioned.

  Further, with the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is not possible to continue the operation of the image forming apparatus without restarting after import, and it can also be notified whether a restart is required before import or during installation. It was not.

An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic apparatus and a control method thereof to improve the user's convenience on changing setting value.

In order to achieve the above object, the electronic device according to claim 1 is an electronic device capable of executing import including setting values requiring restart and import not including setting values requiring restart, and importing the setting values. specifying means for specifying a prediction time required at the time of the informing means for informing a prediction time required specified by the specifying means before the import of the set value is completed, restart from the setting value to be imported Detecting means for detecting the set value requiring the information, and when importing a plurality of set values, the notification means notifies of the predicted required time required for importing the plurality of set values specified by the specifying means When the import of the predetermined setting value among the plurality of setting values is completed, the time notified by the notification unit is updated, and the import of the plurality of setting values is performed. Informed by the informing means before the predicted time required for the import of the remaining settings bets has not been completed import of the remaining set value ends, by said detecting means during the import of the plurality of set values It is characterized in that it is notified before the import of the plurality of setting values is completed that the electronic device needs to be restarted after the import according to the detection of the setting requiring the restart .

According to the present invention, to identify the predicted time required when importing set values, so notifies the specified predicted required time before the import of the set value is completed, the predicted time required for importing the by notifying in advance, it is possible to improve convenience for the user about changes to the set value.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a system including an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of setting value management information stored in an HDD in FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of data category information stored in an HDD in FIG. 2; It is a figure which shows an example of the apparatus setting file in which the setting value to change was shown. It is a figure which shows an example of the apparatus setting file in which the setting value to change was shown. It is a figure which shows an example of the apparatus setting file in which the setting value to change was shown. FIG. 2 is a view showing a schematic configuration of an import export service in the image forming apparatus in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen displayed on the LCD panel in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen displayed on the LCD panel in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen displayed on the LCD panel in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the import process performed by CPU in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the export process performed by CPU in FIG.

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

  FIG. 1 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a system 200 including an image forming apparatus 201 as an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a system 200 includes a management target image forming apparatus 205, a management server 204, a remote user environment 206, and a service environment 209.

  Among them, the management target image forming apparatus 205, the management server 204, and the remote user environment 206 are connected to the network 203, and the remote user environment 206 and the service environment 209 are connected to the Internet 207.

  The management target image forming apparatus 205 includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses including the image forming apparatus 201 according to the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 202, and the like.

  In particular, the image forming apparatuses 201 and 202 can read a document, perform image processing and output the document, and receive image data of another apparatus or PDL data generated by a client computer via the network 203, It can also be printed.

  The image forming apparatuses 201 and 202 can also transmit the read image data to various apparatuses such as a file server and a mail server via the network 203.

  The management server 204 performs communication for exporting and importing setting values relating to control of the image forming apparatus to each of the image forming apparatuses included in the management target image forming apparatus 205 via the network 203.

  In this communication, known protocols such as HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) are used.

  The remote user environment 206 is operated by the service environment 209, and this operation enables import and export of setting values of each image forming apparatus included in the management target image forming apparatus 205.

  This import or export can also be performed by directly connecting a USB storage device to each image forming apparatus.

  In the following description, the image forming apparatus to be managed among the image forming apparatuses of the management target image forming apparatus 205 will be described taking the image forming apparatus 201 as an example, but the present invention is applicable to other than the image forming apparatus 201.

  FIG. 2 is a view showing a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus 201 in FIG.

  In FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 201 includes a main controller 100 and a sub controller.

  The main controller 100 includes a CPU 108, a RAM 109, an operation unit interface 112, a network interface 113, an external serial interface 114, a flash ROM 110, an HDD 111, and a bus bridge 116, which are connected by a system bus 115.

  Further, the main controller 100 includes an LCD panel 104 which is a display unit for displaying information to the user, an operation unit 103 including an operation button and a touch panel for receiving an operation input of the user, a USB host 128, and a card reader / coin device 127. It is connected to the.

  The CPU 108 controls the entire image forming apparatus 201 by executing various programs stored in the flash ROM 110 or the HDD 111 and expanded in the RAM 109.

  The RAM 109 stores programs and data, and is also used as a work area of the CPU 108. The operation unit interface 112 is an interface between the LCD panel 104 and the operation unit 103, and the main controller 100. The operation unit interface 112 displays an image on the LCD panel 104 and transmits information input from the operation unit 103 to the CPU 108.

  The network interface 113 is an interface with the network 203. The external serial interface 114 is an interface between the USB host 128 and the card reader / coin device and the main controller 100.

  The flash ROM 110 and the HDD 111 are nonvolatile storage devices, and store image data and setting values imported or exported in the present embodiment, in addition to various programs. Further, in the HDD 111 corresponding to the storage unit, setting value management information and data category information to be described later are stored.

  The bus bridge 116 connects the main controller 100 and the sub controller 101.

  Next, the sub controller 101 will be described. The sub controller 101 includes a CPU 117, a RAM 118, a memory image processor 123, a device interface 120, a scanner image processor 121, a printer image processor 122, and a modem 125, and is connected to the scanner 105 and the printer 106.

  The CPU 117 controls the entire sub controller 101. The RAM 118 stores image data obtained by the scanner 105, image data to be printed by the printer 106, image data stored in the flash ROM 110 or the HDD 111, and the like.

  The device interface 120 is an interface between the scanner 105 and the printer 106 and the sub controller 101, and exchanges control signals with the CPU 117, image data, and the like through the device interface 120.

  The scanner image processing unit 121 performs various processes such as color space conversion, movement, color adjustment, density control, and delay amount control on the image data obtained by the scanner 105. The printer image processing unit 122 performs various processes such as color space conversion, movement, color adjustment, density control, and delay amount control on the image data to be printed by the printer 106.

  The memory image processing unit 123 subjects the image data stored in the RAM 118 to image processing such as rotation, scaling, color space conversion, grayscale conversion, composition, encoding, and decoding.

  The modem 125 incorporates an NCU (Network Control Unit), and is connected to the public line 107 to modulate / demodulate fax image data to be transmitted / received.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of setting value management information stored in the HDD 111 in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, setting value management information is stored as a device setting DB described later, and includes “setting value name”, “data category”, “setting value ID”, “data type”, “data size”, and It consists of "requires restart".

  Among these, "set value name" indicates the name of the set value. "Data category" indicates the category to which the setting value belongs. “Setting value ID” indicates an ID assigned to the setting value. "Data type" indicates whether the set value is expressed as a data string or binary data type. The data size indicates the size assigned to the data of the setting value. “Restart required” indicates whether or not the image forming apparatus 201 needs to be restarted if the corresponding setting value is changed in response to other restart information, and if it is necessary to restart it. It is indicated by “1” and indicated by “0” when the restart is not necessary.

  The restart will be described. The hardware that makes up the image forming apparatus requires hardware reset due to the characteristics of the hardware, and the timing for notifying the hardware of the changed contents of the setting values is limited to the time of startup of the image forming apparatus. There are things that

  When the setting value related to such hardware is changed, the setting value management information includes the item “restart required” because the setting value management information needs to be restarted.

  Further, in the data category, for example, “scanner device setting” is a category related to control of the scanner 105, and “printer device setting” is setting related to control of the printer 106. “MODEM setting” is a category related to control of the modem 125.

  “Coin manager setting” and “IC card reader setting” are categories related to control of the card reader and the coin device 127, respectively, and “network setting” is a category related to control of the network interface 113.

  In the “printer device setting” in the present embodiment, since all the restart required flags are “1”, restart is necessary after changing these setting values, but restart is necessary. The combination of required setting values is not limited to a specific category.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the information of the data category is embedded in the setting value management information, but as the information of the data category, data or a command different from the setting value management information may be used.

  As described above, in the setting value management information, when the setting value is changed, another restart information indicating whether the image forming apparatus needs to be restarted is provided for each setting value.

  FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of data category information stored in the HDD 111 in FIG.

  In FIG. 4, data category information is stored as a device setting DB together with the above-described setting value management information, and is configured by “data category”, “restart required”, and “import time”.

  Among these, “data category” and “restart required” have the same meaning as those in the above-described setting value management information. However, “requires restart” is restart information indicating whether or not the image forming apparatus needs to be restarted if the setting values belonging to the category are changed, and the setting information included in the “data category” is Among them, if there is only one “restart required” is “1”, it is “1”.

  “Import time” is the result of measuring the time required to import the setting values belonging to each data category in minutes using standard import data, and the processing capacity of the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus It depends on the type of setting value supported and the number of setting values.

  As described above, in the data category information, when setting values are classified into categories and setting values belonging to the categories are changed, restart information indicating whether the image forming apparatus needs to be restarted is provided for each category. ing. The category information further includes, for each category, the time required to change the setting value belonging to the category.

  5 to 7 are diagrams showing an example of the device setting file in which the setting value to be changed is indicated.

  The import data imported into the image forming apparatus 201 and the export data exported from the image forming apparatus 201 have a common format, and the device setting file in FIGS. 5 to 7 shows an example thereof.

  In FIGS. 5 to 7, the device setting file is expressed in XML, the data category and the setting value ID can be determined by the tag, and the data type, the setting value and the like are expressed. Further, these device setting files are generally received by the image forming apparatus 201 in a compressed state.

  The restart in the case of these device setting files will be described. For example, in FIG. 5, the data category of the setting value included in the device setting file can be acquired from "data_category id" in the tag "data_categories".

  Then, in the data category information of FIG. 4, it is possible to determine whether or not it is necessary to restart after import, with reference to “restart required” corresponding to the acquired data category.

  Specifically, in the device setting file of FIG. 5, the data categories are "address book" and "department management setting", and in the data category information of FIG. 4, "restart required" corresponding to each category is " Since it is “0”, the restart after importing the device setting file of FIG. 5 is unnecessary.

  On the other hand, in the device setting file of FIG. 6, the data categories are “scanner device setting” and “system management setting”, and in the data category information of FIG. 4, “restart required” corresponding to each category is “1”. Therefore, it is necessary to restart after importing the device setting file of FIG.

  Furthermore, as shown in the device setting file of FIG. 7, when no data category is shown in the device setting file, it is unclear whether or not it is necessary to restart.

  In addition, even if the restart is unknown before import, it is determined whether the restart is necessary during the import. Specifically, for example, when the setting value of the setting value ID “auto_sleep_time” of the device setting file of FIG. 7 is imported, “restart required” corresponding to the setting value ID of the setting value management information is “1”. It will be determined that a restart is necessary.

  Also, for the import time, for example, in the device setting file of FIG. 5, the data categories are "address book" and "department management setting", and in the data category information of FIG. 4, "import time" corresponding to each category. Since “15” and “10” are “15” and “10”, the import time of the device setting file of FIG. 5 is 25 minutes of their total.

  On the other hand, for example, in the device setting file of FIG. 6, the data categories are “scanner device setting” and “system management setting”, and in the data category information of FIG. 4, “import time” corresponding to each category is “5”. Since “5” and “5”, the import time of the device setting file of FIG. 6 is 10 minutes of the total of them.

  FIG. 8 is a view showing a schematic configuration of an import export service in the image forming apparatus 201 in FIG.

  In the description of FIG. 8, the import processing and the export processing will be described in this order. In network import processing when the image forming apparatus 201 imports a device setting file received from the network 203, the import service requester 301 is a side that transmits the device setting file, and the import service provider 300 receives the device setting file. It becomes the side.

  The import service requester 301 and the import service provider 300 communicate with each other via the intranet 302 in a SOAP message.

  After interpreting the request message by the HTTP server 303 and the SOAP server 304, the network import unit 305 activates the device setting import CGI 306 of the process corresponding to the request message.

  Also, the SOAP server 304 activates the device setting import CGI 306 in accordance with the request message. The activated device setting import CGI 306 causes the network import module 307 to primarily store the received device setting file in the temporary area of the HDD 111.

  As described above, this device setting file is obtained by compressing and collecting a plurality of XML files shown as examples in FIGS.

  The import management module 309 determines which data category setting value is included in the XML file, and determines whether it is necessary to restart for enabling the setting value to be valid after import or the time required for import.

  After the primary store ends, the network import module 307 requests the import management module 309 for the secondary store. The import management module 309 reads compressed data from the temporary area and performs decompression processing.

  When the decompression process is completed, the device setting file DB 310 is initialized. After initialization, while parsing the obtained XML, the item of the setting value ID described in FIG. 3 is registered in the corresponding DB for device setting file 310.

  The import management module 309 requests the device setting import module 314 of the setting value management module 313 to store the tertiary store. The device setting import module 314 that has received the request acquires the setting value that matches the setting value ID of the processing target from the secondary stored device setting file DB 310, and registers the setting value in the device setting DB 315.

  The device setting DB 315 includes the setting value management information described in FIG. 3 and the data category information described in FIG. Although the data category is included in the device setting file in the present embodiment, the data category may be included in the import data or the communication command between the import service requester 301 and the import service provider 300. Furthermore, the data category information in FIG. 4 can be referenced from other modules via the device setting import module 314.

  As described above, there are settings that need to be restarted due to the change, so when setting values that require restart are registered in the device setting DB 315 by the tertiary store, the image to the power control module It is notified that the forming apparatus 201 needs to be restarted.

  In the present embodiment, the device setting import module 314 reads the setting contents of the device setting file DB 310 one by one and registers them in the device setting DB 315. Thus, the network import process of the device setting file received by the image forming apparatus 201 via the network 203 is completed.

  Next, the import process from the USB storage will be briefly described. The USB import module 312 performs import processing on the USB storage device 208 instead of the network import unit 305.

  The USB import module 312 detects that the device setting file is stored in the USB storage device 208. After storing the device setting file in the temporary area, the import management module 309 is requested to make a secondary store. The contents of the subsequent import process are the same as the contents of the network import process.

  Next, export processing will be described. In the network export process in which the image forming apparatus 201 exports the device setting file requested via the network 203, the import service requester 301 is the side that receives the device setting file, and the import service provider 300 transmits the device setting file. Side.

  When the 300 import service provider 300 receives an export request via the intranet 302, it requests the import management module 309 to create an export file.

  The import management module 309 that has received the export file creation request requests storage of the setting values to be exported to each import module (not shown) in the device setting file DB 310.

  When the import management module 309 receives from the import module 321 that the storage of the setting values to be exported into the device setting file DB 310 is completed, the import management module 309 creates a device setting file in the temporary area.

  Then, when the import management module 309 completes the compression processing of the device setting file, the import service provider 300 notifies the export request source via the intranet 302 that the creation of the device setting file is completed.

  Thereafter, when a device setting file is requested via the intranet 302, the import service provider 300 sends the created device setting file to the export request source. Thus, the image forming apparatus 201 ends the export processing of the device setting file requested via the network 203.

  Next, export processing to USB storage will be briefly described. When the operation unit 103 detects that an operation indicating an export request has been performed, the import management module 309 starts export processing. From this point on, the contents of the network export process are the same until the import management module 309 ends the compression process of the device setting file.

  Thereafter, when receiving the generation of the device setting file, the USB import module 312 requests the import management module 309 for the device setting file.

  The USB import module 312 stores the acquired device setting file in the USB storage.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, import processing and export processing are controlled by a common module such as the import service provider 300 and the import management module 309, but import processing and export processing are separately controlled by different modules. I don't care.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the secondary store is performed in the device setting file DB 310, but the setting value may be registered directly in the device setting DB 315 from the device setting file without performing the secondary store. .

  The secondary store is a process for filtering the unsupported setting values in the device setting import module 314 in consideration of the fact that the setting values supported by each image forming apparatus are different.

  Next, a screen example displayed on the LCD panel 104 in the present embodiment will be described.

  9 to 11 show examples of screens displayed on the LCD panel 104 in FIG.

  Each of the screens in FIGS. 9 to 11 is a screen created by the operation unit control module 317.

  FIG. 9A is a diagram showing a screen in the case where an import requiring no restart is started.

  In FIG. 9A, the user can select whether to start importing device information, which is a device setting file, with "Yes" or "No" using the touch panel, and the time required for importing is about 25 minutes. It is also shown. As described above, in the present embodiment, the total of the times indicated by the category information corresponding to the categories indicated by the device setting file is displayed on the LCD panel 104.

  FIG. 9B is a diagram showing a screen in the case where an import requiring a restart is started. FIG. 9B shows that in addition to the information shown in FIG. 9A, a restart is required.

  FIG. 10A is a diagram showing a screen in the case of starting import when there is a possibility that a restart is required.

  As described above, when the data category is not indicated in the device setting file, it is unclear whether the restart is necessary or not. Therefore, the screen of FIG. 10A shows the case where the device setting file is imported. Screen.

  FIG. 10B shows a screen displayed during import. FIG. 10 (B) shows that the import is in progress, and in the case of this import, it is also shown that the main power supply needs to be turned on again since restart is required.

  FIG. 11A is a diagram showing a screen displayed during import when there is a possibility that a restart is required. Also, as shown in the device setting file of FIG. 7, FIG. 11 (B) shows that importing is in progress when it is determined that restart is necessary during import with no data category shown in the device setting file. It is a figure showing the screen displayed on.

  Further, FIG. 11C is a diagram showing a screen displayed when the import in the case where the restart is necessary is completed. It also indicates that the main power needs to be turned on again because it needs to be restarted.

  FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the procedure of import processing executed by the CPU 108 in FIG.

  In FIG. 12, the device setting file is stored in the temporary area via the network or the USB storage device (step S401). Next, the import management module 309 reads the device setting file stored in the temporary area, and determines from the data category of the device setting file whether restart is necessary (step S402).

  This step S402 is a restart judging means for judging whether or not the category indicated in the device setting file indicating the setting value to be changed is a category requiring restart by the restart information in the category information stored in the HDD 111. Corresponds to

  As a result of the determination in step S402, when it is not determined that restart is necessary (NO in step S402), the operation unit control module 317 and the import service requester 301 are notified that restart is unnecessary or unknown (step S404). , And proceeds to step S405.

  In the case where the negative determination is made in step S402, there are cases where the setting value to be changed is a setting value that does not require restart due to change, and cases where a category is not indicated in the device setting file.

  As described above, when the category to which the setting value to be changed belongs to the device setting file is not shown, the CPU 108 may cause the image forming apparatus to need to be restarted by changing the setting value. Display on.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the restart is necessary as a result of the determination in step S402 (YES in step S402), the operation unit control module 317 and the import service requester 301 are notified that the restart is necessary (step S403).

  In step S403, when it is determined that the category indicated in the device setting file is a category requiring restart, the LCD panel 104 displays that the image forming apparatus needs to be restarted by changing the setting value. Corresponds to the display means to be

  Next, the time required for import is calculated as described in FIGS. 4 to 6, and this is notified to the operation unit control module 317 and the import service requester 301 (step S405).

  Thus, when the restart is not necessary, the screen of FIG. 9A is displayed. Further, when it is necessary to restart, the screen of FIG. 9 (B) is displayed. If the restart is unknown, that is, there is a possibility that the restart is required, the screen of FIG. 10A is displayed.

  Next, in the screen of FIG. 9 (A) (B) or FIG. 10 (A), it is determined whether “Yes” is input (step S406). Here, it is assumed that whether or not to start importing is input by the operation unit 103, but an apparatus other than the image forming apparatus 201 can also receive import start / stop requests from the import service requester. is there.

  If "Yes" is not input as a result of the determination in step S406 (NO in step S406), an import completion notification is issued (step S413), and the present process ends.

  On the other hand, if "Yes" is input as a result of the determination in step S406 (YES in step S406), the device setting file is secondarily stored in the device setting file DB 310, and notification that import start has been received is notified. (Step S407).

  When the start of the import is received, the operation unit control module 317 displays the screen of FIG. 10B when it is necessary to restart. Further, when there is a possibility that the restart is necessary, the screen of FIG. 11 (A) is displayed.

  Next, the device setting import module 314 retrieves the setting values expanded in the device setting file DB 310 one by one and registers them in the device setting DB 315 (step S408). In order to register one by one, the processes of steps S408 to S412 are repeated until all set values are registered. In this step S408, the set value is changed by registration, so when the user instructs the change of the set value by the operation unit 103 (YES in step S406), the set value indicated in the device setting file is an image. It corresponds to changing means for changing the setting value of the forming apparatus.

  Next, it is unknown whether or not restart is necessary, and it is determined whether the registered set value is a set value required to restart (step S409). As described above, in step S409, when the category to which the setting value to be changed belongs to the device setting file is not indicated, the setting value indicated in the device setting file is the other restart information in the setting value management information. Determine whether the setting value requires a restart.

  As a result of the determination in step S409, if it is determined whether or not restart is necessary, or if the registered set value is determined as a set value that does not require restart (NO in step S409), the process proceeds to step S411. .

  On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S409, if it is unknown whether or not restart is necessary, and if the registered set value is a set value requiring restart (YES in step S409), restart is necessary. Is notified to the operation unit control module 317 (step S410). Thereby, the screen of FIG. 11 (B) is displayed. As described above, when it is determined that the setting value indicated in the device setting file is a setting value that needs to be restarted, the CPU 108 displays that the image forming apparatus needs to be restarted by changing the setting value. It is displayed on the panel 104.

  Next, it is determined whether the import is completed (step S411). As described above, in order to register setting values one by one, it is determined here whether all setting values have been registered.

  As a result of the determination in step S411, when the import is not completed (NO in step S411), the time required for the import is notified again (step S412), and the process returns to step S408. The re-notification here will be described later.

  On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S411, when the import is completed (YES in step S411), the import completion notification is issued as described above (step S413), and the present process ends. In this case, for example, when the import requiring the restart is completed, the screen of FIG. 11C is displayed.

  When the screen of FIG. 11C is displayed, the user waits for an operation to turn on the main power of the image forming apparatus 201, but may be automatically rebooted.

  Also, with regard to re-notification in step S412, for example, when importing the setting values of “address book” and “department management setting” in the device setting file of FIG. 5, the total import time is 25 minutes. is there.

  Then, when the import of the setting values of the data category “address book” which requires 15 minutes for import is completed, the remaining is 10 minutes. The ten minutes will be notified in step S412. By this notification, the time until the end shown in FIG. 10B is updated. As described above, each time the setting value is changed (step S408), the time obtained by subtracting the time indicated in the category information corresponding to the category to which the changed setting value belongs is displayed on the LCD panel 104 (step S412). ).

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the procedure of export processing executed by the CPU 108 in FIG.

  In FIG. 13, when receiving an export request from the USB import module 312 or the network import module 307, if there is a setting value to be exported managed by the device setting DB 315, it is read (step S501). Here, one set value is read out one by one.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the setting value to be exported has been read (step S502).

  If it is determined in step S502 that the setting value to be exported can be read (YES in step S502), the setting value is stored in XML format in the device setting file DB 310 as a device setting file (step S503). ), Return to step S501.

  On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S502, if the setting value to be exported can not be read (NO in step S502), this means that reading of all setting values to be exported has been completed. The data category is added to the device setting file (step S504), and the process ends.

  The device setting file thus created is output as an export file to the USB storage device 208 through the USB import module 312 or transmitted to the management server 204 or the like of the image forming apparatus through the import service provider unit.

  For example, when exporting the device setting file of FIG. 5, first, all setting values (address1, address2, address3) belonging to the "address book" are read one by one and stored in the device setting file.

  Next, all setting values belonging to “department management setting” are also read out and stored in the device setting file.

  Since all setting values to be exported are read out and stored in the device setting file, the data category is additionally written by "data_category id" in the tag "data_categories", and the export processing in FIG. 13 ends. .

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the setting value is output to the outside, the category to which the setting value belongs is output together with the setting value.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, it is possible to inform the user that restart is necessary or the time required for import before or during import, so that the user can use the image forming apparatus planned. become.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, when it is determined that the category indicated in the device setting file is a category requiring restart (YES in step S402), the image forming apparatus is restarted by changing the setting value. Is displayed on the LCD panel 104 (step S403), and the setting value is changed when the change of the setting value is instructed by the user via the operation unit (YES in step S406) (step S408). As a result, since it is possible to notify in advance that a restart is required, it is possible to improve the convenience of the user regarding the change of the setting value.

  In the embodiment described above, the image forming apparatus has been described as an example of the electronic device, but the processing and configuration relating to the purpose of the present invention are not realized using the features of the image forming device, but realized by general electronic devices. As it is possible, the present invention can be applied to general electronic devices.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is also realized by performing the following processing. That is, software (program) for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiment is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU or the like) of the system or apparatus reads out a program code. It is a process to execute. In this case, the program and the storage medium storing the program constitute the present invention.

100 main controller 101 sub controller 103 operation unit 104 LCD panel 108, 117 CPU
109, 118 RAM
110 Flash ROM
111 DD
128 USB host 200 system 300 import service provider 306 device setting import CGI
307 Network Import Module 309 Import Management Module 312 USB Import Module 314 Device Settings Import Module 315 Device Settings DB

Claims (5)

An electronic device capable of executing import including setting values requiring restart and import not including setting values requiring restart,
Specifying means for specifying an estimated required time required to import the setting value;
Notifying means for notifying the estimated required time specified by the specifying means before the import of the setting value is completed;
And detecting means for detecting a setting value requiring restart from among the setting values to be imported ,
In the case of importing a plurality of setting values, the notification unit notifies of an estimated required time required for importing the plurality of setting values specified by the specifying unit,
When import of a predetermined set value among the plurality of set values is completed, the time notified by the notification unit is updated, and it is necessary to import the remaining set values of which import is not completed among the plurality of set values. The forecasting time is notified by the notifying means before the import of the remaining setting values is completed,
The import of the plurality of setting values ends that the electronic device needs to be restarted after the import according to the setting that needs to be restarted is detected by the detection unit during the import of the plurality of setting values. An electronic device characterized by notifying before .   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the identification unit identifies a category to which the setting value belongs, and identifies a predicted required time according to the category.   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the predicted required time is specified based on a data size of the setting value. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the notification means notifies, on one screen, that the electronic device needs to be restarted after the import, together with the predicted required time required for the import. . A method of controlling an electronic device capable of import including setting values requiring restart and import settings not including restart requiring :
A specific step of identifying an estimated required time required to import the set values;
A notifying step of notifying the estimated required time specified in the specifying step before the import of the setting value is completed;
And a detection step of detecting a setting that requires restart from among the settings to be imported ,
In the case of importing a plurality of setting values, the notification step notifies of predicted required time required for importing the plurality of setting values specified in the specific step,
When import of a predetermined set value of the plurality of set values is completed, the time notified in the notification step is updated, and it is necessary to import the remaining set values of the plurality of set values for which import has not been completed. Informing step in the notification step before import of the remaining set values is completed ,
The import of the plurality of setting values ends that the electronic device needs to be restarted after the import according to the setting that needs to be restarted is detected by the detection step during the import of the plurality of setting values. The control method of the electronic device characterized by notifying before .

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