JP7156446B2 - Server, system, control method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a server, system, control method and program.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of various communication devices represented by mobile phones and information portable terminals, applications that can be used on communication devices have been actively developed. In order to promote the use of these applications, websites and applications have been developed that introduce the applications and allow them to be downloaded and installed on communication devices as they are.

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

However, the above application description page is not created based on the device information (device information) of each client device, so even if the user selects an application to be downloaded from the application description page, the download may not be permitted. Occur. As a result, there is a problem that user convenience is reduced.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a process for displaying a list of applications that can be used in an information processing apparatus and making the displayed applications available in the information processing apparatus. is a server that transmits a web page for performing a first identifying unit that identifies function information indicating functions possessed; a second identifying unit that identifies an application that can be used by the information processing apparatus based on the functional information; and a transmitting unit configured to transmit the web page containing information to the information processing device , wherein the function information includes the presence or absence of a function or whether the function is available for each function identification information that identifies a function that can be installed in the information processing device. It is a server, which is information in which values indicating types are associated with each other.

According to the present invention, user convenience can be improved.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an information processing system. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the MFP. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the MFP. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the MFP. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an app store server; FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a device management server; FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of first correspondence information. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the second correspondence information. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an app store. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of the app store. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation procedure of the information processing system;

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

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an information processing system 100 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, information processing system 100 includes MFP 1 , app store server 2 , translation server 4 , and device management server 5 , which are interconnected via network 8 .

The app store server 2 displays a list of applications available to the MFP 1, and is a web page for making a contract to use or downloading each application. In other words, a web page for providing applications available to the MFP 1 (hereinafter (referred to as an “app store 6” in the description of ) is provided to the MFP 1 . More specific details will be described later. In this example, the app store 6 corresponds to the "application list screen" in the claims. Also, in this example, an application for acquiring the app store 6 from the app store server 2 and displaying it on the MFP 1 (in the following description, referred to as "store launch application 3") and a web browser function are provided. (referred to as "browser application 2b" in the following description) is installed in MFP1. Specific contents of the MFP 1 will be described later.

The translation server 4 provides a translation application that is one of the applications provided by the application store 6 . More specific details will be described later.

The device management server 5 associates, for each device included in the information processing system 100, device identification information that uniquely identifies the device with first function information that indicates the function of the device. manage). More specific details will be described later. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 1 exemplifies only one MFP 1 as a device included in the information processing system 100. However, the number and number of devices included in the information processing system 100 are not limited to this. The type is arbitrary.

Next, the hardware configuration of MFP 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the MFP 1 includes a main body 10 capable of implementing various functions such as a copy function, a scanner function, a facsimile function, and a printer function, and an operation section 20 for accepting user's operations. Note that accepting a user's operation is a concept that includes accepting information (including signals indicating coordinate values of the screen, etc.) input according to a user's operation. The main body 10 and the operation unit 20 are connected via a dedicated communication path 30 so as to be able to communicate with each other. The communication path 30 can use, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard, but may be of any standard regardless of whether it is wired or wireless.

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

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

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

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

The engine unit 17 is hardware that performs processing other than general-purpose information processing and communication in order to realize copy function, scanner function, facsimile function, and printer function. For example, it includes a scanner (image reading unit) that scans and reads an image of a document, a plotter (image forming unit) that prints on sheet materials such as paper, and a facsimile unit that performs facsimile communication. In addition, certain options such as a finisher for sorting printed sheets and an ADF (automatic document feeder) for automatically feeding documents may be provided.

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

The CPU 21 comprehensively controls the operation of the operation unit 20 . The CPU 21 controls the overall operation of the operation unit 20 by executing programs stored in the ROM 22, the flash memory 24, or the like using the RAM 23 as a work area (work area), and generates information (image data) according to the input received from the user. ), etc., which will be described later.

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

The operation panel 27 receives various inputs according to user operations, and displays various information (for example, information according to the received operations, information indicating the operation status of the MFP 1, information indicating setting states, etc.). . In this example, the operation panel 27 is composed of a liquid crystal display (LCD) equipped with a touch panel function, but is not limited to this. For example, it may be composed of an organic EL display device equipped with a touch panel function. Furthermore, in addition to or instead of this, an operation unit such as hardware keys and a display unit such as a lamp may be provided.

Next, the software configuration of MFP 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the MFP1. As shown in FIG. 3 , the main body 10 has an application layer 101 , a service layer 102 and an OS layer 103 . The substance of the application layer 101, the service layer 102, and the OS layer 103 is various software stored in the ROM 12, the HDD 14, and the like. Various functions are provided by the CPU 11 executing these software.

The software of the application layer 101 is application software for operating hardware resources and providing predetermined functions (in the following description, it may be simply referred to as "application"). Examples of applications include a copy application for providing a copy function, a scanner application for providing a scanner function, a fax application for providing a fax function, and a printer application for providing a printer function.

The software of the service layer 102 is software that intervenes between the application layer 101 and the OS layer 103 and provides the application with an interface for using the hardware resources of the main body 10 . More specifically, it is software for providing a function of accepting operation requests for hardware resources and arbitrating operation requests. The operation request received by the service layer 102 may be a request for scanning by a scanner, printing by a plotter, or the like.

The interface function of the service layer 102 is provided not only to the application layer 101 of the main body 10 but also to the application layer 201 of the operation unit 20 . That is, the application layer 201 (application) of the operation unit 20 can also implement functions using hardware resources (for example, the engine unit 17) of the main body 10 via the interface functions of the service layer 102. FIG.

The software of the OS layer 103 is basic software (operating system (OS)) for providing basic functions for controlling hardware provided in the main body 10 . The software of the service layer 102 converts hardware resource usage requests from various applications into commands that can be interpreted by the OS layer 103 and passes the commands to the OS layer 103 . Then, the command is executed by the software of the OS layer 103, so that the hardware resource operates according to the request of the application.

Similarly, the operation unit 20 has an application layer 201 , a service layer 202 and an OS layer 203 . The application layer 201, the service layer 202, and the OS layer 203 included in the operation unit 20 also have the same hierarchical structure as the main body 10 side. However, the functions provided by the applications of the application layer 201 and the types of operation requests that the service layer 202 can accept are different from those on the main body 10 side. The application of the application layer 201 may be software for operating hardware resources provided in the operation unit 20 to provide a predetermined function. , printer function) to provide UI (user interface) functions for performing operations and displays. The applications of the application layer 201 include the browser application 2b, the store launch application 3, and the like.

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

As described above, in the MFP 1 of the present embodiment, since the main body 10 and the operation unit 20 operate on separate operating systems, communication between the main body 10 and the operation unit 20 is not inter-process communication within a common device. Instead, it is performed as communication between different devices. An operation (command communication) of transmitting information (instruction content from the user) received by the operation unit 20 to the main unit 10, an operation of the main unit 10 notifying the operation unit 20 of an event, and the like correspond to this. Here, the function of the main body 10 can be used by the operation unit 20 performing command communication to the main body 10 . Further, the event notified from the main body 10 to the operation unit 20 includes the execution status of the operation in the main body 10, the contents set on the main body 10 side, and the like.

In addition, in the present embodiment, power supply to the operation unit 20 is performed from the main body 10 via the communication path 30, so power control of the operation unit 20 is performed separately (independently) from power control of the main body 10. (e) can be done.

Next, the functional configuration of MFP 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of MFP1. As shown in FIG. 4 , MFP 1 has operation screen display portion 111 , application store request portion 112 , application store display portion 113 , and application usage control portion 114 . For convenience of explanation, FIG. 4 mainly illustrates the functions according to the present invention, but the functions of the MFP 1 are not limited to these.

The operation screen display unit 111 performs control to display an operation screen for performing various operations on the operation panel 27 . FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the operation screen, and the icon 2a for starting the store start application 3 is displayed on the operation screen.

When the user touches the icon 2 a , the store activation application 3 is activated, and the store activation application 3 (app store requesting unit 112 ) controls the application store server 2 to request the display of the application store 6 . More specific contents will be described later, but the header of the signal requesting the display of the app store 6 (in the following description, it may be referred to as a "display request") contains a device specification that can uniquely identify the MFP 1. Information is added.

The app store display unit 113 (browser application 2b) performs control to display on the operation panel 27 the app store 6 received from the app store server 2 as a response to the display request. The application usage control unit 114 performs control (including control to install the application) for using the application selected by the user from among the applications displayed in the app store 6 in the MFP 1 . A specific operation example of the MFP 1 will be described later.

Next, the functional configuration of the app store server 2 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the app store server 2 includes an acquisition unit 211, a first function information request unit 212, a second identification unit 213, a second correspondence information storage unit 214, and a display control unit 215. and For convenience of explanation, FIG. 6 mainly exemplifies the functions according to the present invention, but the functions possessed by the app store server 2 are not limited to these.

Acquisition unit 211 acquires a display request from MFP 1 . In this example, since device-specific information is added to the header of the display request, the acquiring unit 211 obtains the device-specific information that can uniquely specify the MFP 1 that is the source of the display request by acquiring the display request. can be obtained. In this example, the acquisition unit 211 corresponds to the "acquisition unit" in the claims.

The first function information requesting unit 212 requests the device management server 5 for the first function information associated with the device specifying information acquired by the acquiring unit 211 . In this embodiment, the first function information requesting unit 212 sends a signal requesting the first function information to the device management server 5 (in the following description, it may be referred to as a "first function information request"). ), and receives the first function information from the device management server 5 as a response. In this example, the device identification information acquired by the acquisition unit 211 is added to the header of the first function information request.

Here, the functional configuration of the device management server 5 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 7 , the device management server 5 has a first identification section 501 and a first correspondence information storage section 502 . For convenience of explanation, FIG. 7 mainly illustrates functions according to the present invention, but the functions of the device management server 5 are not limited to these.

The first identifying unit 501 associates the first function information indicating the function of the MFP 1 (in this example, corresponding to the "device" in the claims) with each device specifying information based on the first correspondence information. , the first function information associated with the device identification information acquired by the acquiring unit 211 is specified. The first function information in the present embodiment includes function identification information identifying functions that can be installed in the MFP 1 (in the following description, this may be referred to as "equipment configuration information key"). This is information that associates a value indicating the type (in the following description, this may be referred to as an “equipment configuration information value”).

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the first correspondence information in this embodiment. In the example of FIG. 8, for device identification information indicating "3284CA", a device configuration information key indicating "printing color type", a device configuration information key indicating "fax function", and a device indicating "duplex unit" A configuration information key, an equipment configuration information key indicating "OCR function", an equipment configuration information key indicating "saddle stitch stapling function", and an equipment configuration information key indicating "punching function" are associated with each other.

In the example of FIG. 8, the device configuration information value corresponding to the device configuration information key indicating "printing color type" indicates "color", and the device configuration information value corresponding to the device configuration information key indicating "fax function" indicates " "Yes", the device configuration information value corresponding to the device configuration information key indicating "Duplex unit" indicates "Yes", and the device configuration information value corresponding to the device configuration information key indicating "OCR function" indicates "No" , the device configuration information value corresponding to the device configuration information key indicating "saddle stitching stapling function" indicates "None", and the device configuration information value corresponding to the device configuration information key indicating "punch hole punching function" indicates "None" ” is shown. That is, it can be considered that the first function information shown in FIG. 8 indicates the color printing function, the FAX function, and the double-sided printing function as the functions of the MFP 1 specified by the device specifying information indicating "3284CA". .

In the example of FIG. 8, the first correspondence information is information in which the first function information is associated with one piece of device specifying information. The information may be information in which the first function information is associated with the device specifying information for each device specifying information. The first correspondence information is pre-stored in the first correspondence information storage unit 502 .

In this embodiment, when the first identifying unit 501 receives the first function information request from the app store server 2 (the first function information requesting unit 212), the header of the received first function information request is: Determine the added device identification information. Then, referring to the first correspondence information stored in the first correspondence information storage unit 502, the device identification information added to the header of the first function information request (the device identification information acquired by the acquisition unit 211). ) is identified. Then, as a response to the first function information request, the identified first function information is returned.

The equipment management server 5 of this embodiment has the hardware configuration of a normal computer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like. The function of the first identification unit 501 described above is realized by executing a program stored in a ROM or the like by the CPU, but is not limited to this, and is realized by, for example, a dedicated hardware circuit (semiconductor integrated circuit, etc.). may be Also, the above-described first correspondence information storage unit 502 is implemented by, for example, a ROM, a RAM, or the like.

Returning to FIG. 6, the description of the app store server 2 is continued. The second specifying unit 213 specifies, for each application, the first specifying unit 501 based on the second correspondence information that associates the second function information indicating the functions required when using the application. The application associated with the second function information indicating the function included in the received first function information is specified. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the second correspondence information in this embodiment. In the example of FIG. 9, the second function information indicating the OCR function is associated with the "translation application". Here, the translation application translates the text information of the PDF with transparent text generated by applying OCR processing to the image data read from the original, and provides a translation service that notifies the user of the translation result. This application is based on the premise that the device has an OCR function. In the example of FIG. 9, the second function information indicating the FAX function is associated with the "simple FAX application" for providing a simple FAX service, and the "easy FAX application" for providing a material print service. The second function information indicating the color printing function is associated with the "material print application". The second correspondence information is stored in advance in the second correspondence information storage unit 214 .

In this embodiment, when the first function information requesting unit 212 receives the first function information from the device management server 5 as a response to the above-described first function information request, the first function information requesting unit 212 sends , corresponds to the second function information indicating the function included in the first function information received from the device management server 5 (which can be considered to be the first function information specified by the first specifying unit 501). request identification of the named application. Upon receiving this request, the second identification unit 213 refers to the second correspondence information stored in the second correspondence information storage unit 214, and refers to the function information included in the first function information received from the device management server 5. Identify the application associated with the second function information indicating the function.

As an example, assume that the first function information shown in FIG. 8 is received from the device management server 5 . In this case, the functions indicated by the first function information include a color printing function, a FAX function, and a double-sided printing function, but do not include an OCR function, a saddle stitching function, and a hole punching function. In the example of FIG. 9, the second function information associated with the translation application indicates the OCR function, but the first function information (specified by the first specifying unit 501) received from the device management server 5 Since the functions indicated by the first function information) do not include the OCR function, the translation application is excluded from the identification targets (the second identifying unit 213 does not identify the translation application). On the other hand, in the example of FIG. 9, the second function information associated with the simple FAX application indicates the FAX function, and the function indicated by the first function information received from the device management server 5 includes the FAX function. Since it is included, the second identifying unit 213 identifies the simple FAX application. In the example of FIG. 9, the second function information associated with the material print application indicates the color printing function, and the function indicated by the first function information received from the device management server 5 includes color printing. Since the function is included, the second specifying unit 213 specifies the material print application.

Returning to FIG. 6, the description continues. The display control unit 215 stores the application store 6 (in this example, corresponding to the “application list screen” in the claims) for providing the application specified by the second specifying unit 213 . device specified by the device specifying information). In this embodiment, the display control unit 215 generates the app store 6 so that applications other than the application specified by the second specifying unit 213 are hidden. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the app store 6 when the translation app is not specified by the second specifying unit 213. As shown in FIG. The app store 6 is a web page that displays a button ("apply" button in the example of FIG. 10) for applying for a usage contract and downloading of each application identified by the second identifying unit 213. . In the example of FIG. 10, it is assumed that the second identifying unit 213 identifies a photo management application, a simple photo processing application, a document management application, and a simple scan application in addition to the above-described Easy FAX application and Material Print application. is doing.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the app store 6 when the translation app is specified by the second specifying unit 213. As shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 11, the second identifying unit 213 identifies a photo management application, a simple photo processing application, a document management application, and a simple scan application in addition to the above-described translation application, simple FAX application, and material print application. Assuming the case.

In this embodiment, the display control unit 215 provides the application specified by the second specifying unit 213 (that is, it can be considered as an application that can be used by the MFP 1 that requested the display request). The application store 6 is generated, and the generated application store 6 is returned as a response to the display request received from the MFP1. Then, the MFP 1 (app store display unit 113 ) that requested the display request performs control to display the app store 6 received from the app store server 2 as a response to the display request on the operation panel 27 . In this embodiment, the applications displayed in the app store 6 are only those applications that can be used by the MFP 1 that requested the display request. Even if the button for applying for download (in this example, the button labeled "apply") is pressed, the request will not be rejected. Therefore, the user's convenience can be improved as compared with the conventional technology.

MFP 1 (application use control unit 114 ) that has requested the display request performs control so that MFP 1 uses an application selected by the user from among the applications displayed in app store 6 . As an example, when the application store 6 shown in FIG. 11 is displayed on the operation panel 27 of the MFP 1 and the user selects a translation application (in this example, presses the button "Apply" shown in FIG. 11). assume. Here, it is assumed that the translation application is software (that is, a web application) that allows the application arranged on the translation server 4 to be used by using the browser application 2 b of the operation unit 20 . In the present embodiment, the application usage control unit 114 is configured such that the application selected by the user (application selected from among the applications displayed in the app store 6) is a web application that indicates the application to be used via the network. In this case, a process for using the web application is executed with the application server holding the web application. In this example, when the application usage control unit 114 detects that the button "Apply" of the translation application has been pressed, the application usage control unit 114 accesses the translation server 4 and downloads the translation application without downloading the translation application from the translation server 4. Processing for use (for example, processing for registering user information that uniquely identifies a user, etc.) is executed. In this example, the translation server 4 can be considered to correspond to the "application server" in the claims.

Note that in the present embodiment, the translation application used to provide the translation service is a web application, but the translation application is not limited to this, and may be a normal application installed in the operation unit 20, for example. In this case, the application use control unit 114 downloads the translation application from the translation server 4 and installs it in the MFP 1 when it detects that the button "apply" of the translation application is pressed. However, according to the form in which the translation application is a web application, there is an advantage that the translation application need not be installed in MFP 1 (operation unit 20). The same applies to other applications displayed in the app store 6. Further, the store launch application 3 does not need to be an application of the type to be installed in the MFP 1 as long as it has a function of acquiring device identification information, and may be a web application or other form of application. .

Note that the app store server 2 of this embodiment has the hardware configuration of a normal computer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like. Each function of the acquisition unit 211, the first function information requesting unit 212, the second specifying unit 213, and the display control unit 215 described above is realized by the CPU executing a program stored in a ROM or the like. , but not limited to this, for example, at least some of the functions of the acquisition unit 211, the first function information requesting unit 212, the second specifying unit 213, and the display control unit 215 are dedicated hardware circuits ( semiconductor integrated circuit, etc.). Also, the above-described second correspondence information storage unit 214 is implemented by, for example, a ROM or a RAM.

In addition, in this embodiment, the app store server 2, the translation server 4, and the device management server 5 are provided independently of each other. There may be. Further, for example, a configuration in which four or more servers are provided in which the respective functions of the app store server 2, the translation server 4, and the device management server 5 are distributed may be employed. In short, the information processing system 100 to which the present invention is applied has the functions of the acquisition unit 211 described above, the functions of the first identification unit 501 described above, the functions of the second identification unit 213 described above, and the display Any configuration that includes at least the functions of the control unit 215 may be used.

Also, for example, one server having the functions of the app store server 2 and the device management server 5 may be provided. In this form, the one server can be considered to correspond to the "information processing apparatus" in the claims. In short, the information processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied has the functions of the acquisition unit 211 described above, the functions of the first identification unit 501 described above, the functions of the second identification unit 213 described above, and the display control unit described above. Any form that includes at least the function of the unit 215 may be used.

FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation procedure of the information processing system 100 of this embodiment. First, when the user touches the icon 2a (see FIG. 5) on the operation screen (step S1), the OS of the operation unit 20 activates the store activation application 3 (step S2). Next, the activated store launch application 3 requests the OS of the operation unit 20 for device identification information that can uniquely identify the MFP 1 (step S3). Information is received (step S4). Next, the store activation application 3 requests the OS of the operation unit 20 to activate the browser application 2b pre-installed in the MFP 1 (step S5). Device identification information and the URL of the app store server 2 are added to this request, and the OS of the operation unit 20 that receives this request activates the browser application 2b. Then, the device identification information and the URL of the app store server 2 are delivered to the browser application 2b, and an instruction is given to transmit the above display request to the app store server 2 (step S6).

The activated browser application 2b accesses the URL of the application store server 2 and transmits a display request with the device specific information added to the header (step S7). The app store server 2 that has received the display request from the MFP 1 requests the device management server 5 for the first function information associated with the device specifying information added to the header of the display request. An information request is sent (step S8). As described above, the header of the first function information request is added with the device-specific information added to the header of the display request. When the device management server 5 receives the first function information request from the app store server 2, the device management server 5 determines the device specific information added to the header. Then, by referring to the first correspondence information stored in the first correspondence information storage unit 502, the first function information associated with the device identification information is specified. Then, the specified first function information is returned as a response to the first function information request (step S9).

Upon receiving the first function information from the device management server 5 as a response to the first function information request, the app store server 2 refers to the second correspondence information stored in the second correspondence information storage unit 214. , specifies the application associated with the second function information indicating the function included in the first function information received from the device management server 5 . Then, an app store 6 for providing the specified application is created (step S10). Next, the app store server 2 sends back the created app store 6 as a response to the display request in step S7 (step S11). The browser application 2b of the MFP 1 that requested the display request controls to display the application store 6 received from the application store server 2 as a response to the display request on the operation panel 27 (step S12).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, applications displayed in the above-described application store 6 provided from the application store server 2 to the MFP 1 are only applications that can be used by the MFP 1. Even if a user presses a button ("apply" button in this example) for applying for a contract to use or download any application displayed in the app store 6, the request will not be rejected. Thereby, user convenience can be improved.

Although the embodiments according to the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are. Also, various inventions can be formed by appropriate combinations of the plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, some components may be omitted from all components shown in the embodiments.

It should be noted that the functions of each unit of the MFP 1 described above (operation screen display unit 111, application store request unit 112, application store display unit 113, application usage control unit 114) are implemented by the CPU (11 or 21) in a storage device (for example, (ROM 12, HDD 14, ROM 22, flash memory 24, etc.). (for example, a semiconductor integrated circuit, etc.).

In the above-described embodiment, the main body 10 and the operation unit 20 operate independently of each other with different operating systems, but the present invention is not limited to this. may be in the form

Further, the programs executed by the information processing system 100 (MFP 1, app store server 2, device management server 5, etc.) of the above-described embodiment are files in an installable format or an executable format, and can be downloaded from a CD-ROM or a flexible disk. (FD), CD-R, DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), USB (Universal Serial Bus), or other computer-readable recording media for recording and provision, or via a network such as the Internet. may be configured to be provided or distributed in Also, various programs may be configured to be provided by being incorporated in a ROM or the like in advance.

1 MFP
2 App store server 3 Store activation application 4 Translation server 5 Device management server 6 App store 8 Network 10 Main unit 20 Operation unit 100 Information processing system 111 Operation screen display unit 112 App store request unit 113 App store display unit 114 Application use control unit 211 Acquisition unit 212 First function information request unit 213 Second identification unit 214 Second correspondence information storage unit 215 Display control unit 501 First identification unit 502 First correspondence information storage unit

JP 2010-182309 A

Claims (11)

A server that transmits to the information processing device a web page for displaying a list of applications that can be used by the information processing device and performing processing for making the displayed application available for use by the information processing device. hand,
a first specifying unit that receives device specifying information specifying the information processing device from the information processing device and specifies function information indicating a function of the device specified by the device specifying information;
a second identifying unit that identifies an application that can be used by the information processing device based on the function information;
a transmission unit configured to transmit the web page including information of the application identified by the second identification unit to the information processing device;
with
The function information is information in which a value indicating the presence or absence of a function or the type of function is associated with each function identification information that identifies a function that can be installed in the information processing device.
server. The Web page includes information of the application that the second specifying unit determines that the device can use based on the function information. does not include information about applications that have been determined to be unavailable,
A server according to claim 1 . an information processing device, a Web page for displaying a list of applications that can be used in the information processing device, and processing for making the displayed application available for use in the information processing device, the information processing device; A system comprising a server that transmits to
The server is
a specifying unit that receives device specifying information specifying the information processing device from the information processing device and specifies an application that can be used in the information processing device based on the device specifying information ;
a transmission unit configured to transmit the web page including information of the application identified by the identification unit to the information processing device;
The information processing device is
An operation unit that displays the web page ,
The information processing device is
displaying the received web page on the operation unit as a list screen of applications that can be used by the information processing device;
an application usage control unit that performs control for using the application selected by the user from among the one or more applications displayed on the list screen in the information processing device;
When the application selected by the user is a web application indicating an application to be used via a network, the application usage control unit communicates with an application server holding the web application to use the web application. perform processing,
system. an information processing device, a Web page for displaying a list of applications that can be used in the information processing device, and processing for making the displayed application available for use in the information processing device, the information processing device; A system comprising a server that transmits to
The server is
a first specifying unit that receives device specifying information specifying the information processing device from the information processing device and specifies function information indicating a function of the device specified by the device specifying information;
a second identifying unit that identifies an application that can be used by the information processing device based on the function information;
a transmission unit configured to transmit the web page including information of the application identified by the second identification unit to the information processing device;
The information processing device is
An operation unit that displays the web page,
The function information is information in which a value indicating the presence or absence of a function or the type of function is associated with each function identification information that identifies a function that can be installed in the information processing device.
system. an information processing device, a Web page for displaying a list of applications that can be used in the information processing device, and processing for making the displayed application available for use in the information processing device, the information processing device; A system comprising a server that transmits to
The server is
a specifying unit that receives device specifying information specifying the information processing device from the information processing device and specifies an application that can be used in the information processing device based on the device specifying information;
a transmission unit configured to transmit the web page including information of the application identified by the identification unit to the information processing device;
The information processing device is
An operation unit for displaying the web page,
The information processing device is
displaying on the operation unit a Web page including buttons for installing each of the plurality of applications specified by the specifying unit into the information processing device;
When a selection operation of any one of the plurality of buttons is accepted, an application corresponding to the button for which the selection operation is accepted among a plurality of applications included in the web page is made available to the information processing device. perform processing for
system. The information processing device is
in the operation unit,
When the user touches the icon of the displayed store-launched application, the web page to which the device-specified information is added is requested based on the device-specified information and the URL of the server owned by the store-launched application. Send to the server indicated by the URL;
A system according to any one of claims 3-5 . The server, as the identifying unit,
a first specifying unit that specifies function information indicating a function of the device specified by the device specifying information;
a second identifying unit that identifies an application that can be used by the information processing device based on the function information;
with
wherein the transmission unit transmits the web page including information of the application identified by the second identification unit to the information processing device;
6. A system according to claim 3 or claim 5. The applications included in the list screen are
including an application installed on the information processing device and a web application using the application placed on a server different from the server;
The process for making available is an installation process when the application is an application to be installed on the information processing apparatus, and when the application is a Web application, the process is performed between a server different from the server. is a process for using the web application in
4. The system of claim 3 . As an application included in the list screen,
Including a translation application that performs translation processing based on the image data read from the original using a scanner,
4. The system of claim 3 . Control in a server for transmitting to an information processing device a web page for displaying a list of applications that can be used by the information processing device and performing processing for enabling the displayed application to be used by the information processing device. a method,
a first specifying step of receiving device specifying information specifying the information processing device from the information processing device and specifying function information indicating a function of the device specified by the device specifying information;
a second specifying step of specifying an application that can be used by the information processing device based on the function information;
a step of transmitting the web page including information of the application identified in the second identifying step to the information processing device;
including
The function information is information in which a value indicating the presence or absence of a function or the type of function is associated with each function identification information that identifies a function that can be installed in the information processing device.
control method. Controlling a server that transmits to the information processing device a web page for displaying a list of applications that can be used by the information processing device and performing processing for making the displayed application available for use by the information processing device. on the computer that
a first specifying function for receiving device specifying information specifying the information processing device from the information processing device and specifying function information indicating a function of the device specified by the device specifying information;
a second identifying function that identifies an application that can be used by the information processing device based on the function information;
a function of transmitting the web page including information of the application specified by the second specifying function to the information processing device;
to realize
The function information is information in which a value indicating the presence or absence of a function or the type of function is associated with each function identification information that identifies a function that can be installed in the information processing device.
program.

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