JPH11175285A - Program-type device and program updating method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a handling time and a cost for updating an operation program by coordinating set information with an item set in advance so as to store and setting set information extracted by an extracting means as set information of the operation program housed in a program storing means. SOLUTION: The program storing means 101 stores the operation program of its own device and a data storing means 102 stores set information concerning its own device by each set item. A changing means 103 makes the means 101 store the operation program inputted from outside, a recognizing means 104 recognizes the update of the operation program within the means 101, and the means 105 extracts set information of an item to be used by the operation program stored in the means 101. A set means 106 stores set information extracted by the means 105 in the set information housing area of the means 102.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a programmable device capable of updating an operation program defining the operation of its own device,
And a program update method for updating the operation program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, programmable devices capable of improving functions and avoiding obstacles by updating operation programs have been widely used. Hereinafter, the operation of updating the operation program in the conventional programmable device will be described using a printing device as an example. Generally, recent printing apparatuses are designed so that information set according to the use environment is stored in a reference address of a nonvolatile RAM so that various programs can refer to the information. The operation program in the ROM is created on the assumption that the setting information is used. A rewritable unit such as a non-volatile RAM is generally used as a storage unit for the setting information. By using such a storage unit, a degree of freedom in creating an operation program can be secured. For example, a change that adds a function realized by increasing the number of setting information items or increasing the amount of setting information can be added to the operation program. Under these circumstances,
Immediately after the replacement of the ROM, a situation may occur in which the setting information is not stored in the reference address (address on the nonvolatile RAM) of the operation program in the new ROM. Therefore, the user (or the administrator) operates the operation panel or the like of the printing apparatus and stores the setting information in the nonvolatile RAM based on the new ROM (that is, the current operation program).
Was reset.

[0003]

As described above, in the conventional printing apparatus, the user (or the administrator) needs to reset the setting information when updating the operation program. That is, for example, in an environment where 100 printing apparatuses are used, it is necessary to perform the resetting for all 100 printing apparatuses, and a heavy burden is imposed on the user (or administrator). I will. In addition, the setting information has many items according to the installation environment of the own apparatus, and it is inefficient to re-set the setting information of such items. Further, in recent printing apparatuses that have become more intelligent, there are many items of setting information to be input, and the burden increases. In addition, if a setting information input error occurs, the time and effort required for management becomes enormous.

[0004] For the purpose of solving such a problem, several methods have conventionally been proposed. Hereinafter, three of such methods will be exemplified and their disadvantages will be pointed out. The first method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 05-24608.
This method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2 (1999) -1995, in which a recording sheet in which setting information is described in accordance with a predetermined form is prepared, and after replacing the ROM, the setting information is read from the recording sheet by an optical reading device, and the setting information recording area of the own device is read. It is set to. However, this method requires an expensive optical reader. In addition, it takes time and effort to write the setting information, and a reading error (and a writing error) may occur. In the first place, there is a disadvantage that the recording paper is consumed.

[0005] The second method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 06-015911.
In this method, setting information is described in a barcode on a recording sheet, and after replacing the ROM, the setting information is read from the recording sheet by an optical reading device and set in a setting information recording area of the own device. That is. According to this method, the occurrence probability of a reading error (and a writing error) is reduced. However, there is still a disadvantage that an expensive optical reader is required. Also,
The disadvantage that the work of writing the setting information is troublesome and that the recording paper is consumed are the same as in the first method.

A third method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-340142.
In this method, setting information is stored in an external storage device such as a removable cartridge, the external storage device is mounted on a desired printing device, and the setting information is transferred to the printing device. Things. According to this method, there is almost no human error, and paper is not consumed every time recording is performed. However, there is a disadvantage that an external storage means must be prepared in addition to the printing apparatus, and a burden is imposed on a user (or an administrator) in attaching / detaching and managing the external storage means.

[0007] In any case, all the methods impose a burden on a user (or an administrator) and require hardware resources other than the printing apparatus.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a programmable device and a program updating method capable of reducing time and effort required for updating an operation program.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a programmable device according to the present invention comprises an operation program defining the operation of the device itself and items of setting information used by the operation program. A stored program storage unit, a data storage unit that stores setting information in association with preset items, and a storage unit that stores setting information associated with the same items as the items stored in the program storage unit. Extraction means for performing extraction processing for extracting from the means, and setting means for performing setting processing for setting the setting information extracted by the extraction means as setting information of an operation program stored in the program storage means. As a result, the setting information set before the update of the operation program is used as the setting information of the operation program after the update. It is possible to use.

In the above configuration, there is provided changing means for changing the stored contents of the program storing means, and recognizing means for recognizing the change of the stored contents of the program storing means, wherein the extracting means and the setting means are provided. The extraction process and the setting process may be performed only when the recognition unit recognizes a change in the storage content of the program storage unit. Thereby, useless processing can be reduced. In addition, among the items stored in the program storage unit, an item addition unit that adds an item associated with setting information not extracted from the data storage unit by the extraction unit to the data storage unit, There may be provided an item deletion unit for deleting an item associated with the setting information not extracted by the extraction unit from the data storage unit. In addition to the above-described configurations, the operation program may be a program for executing a print job, and may be applied to a printing apparatus that has been troublesome to update the operation program.

[0010] A program updating method according to the present invention is a program updating method for updating an operation program in an apparatus that operates by executing an operation program that defines the operation of the apparatus, and is used by the operation program. Acquiring the setting information item, and setting the setting information previously associated with the item that matches the item as the setting information used by the operation program. The setting information set before the operation program is updated can be used as the setting information of the updated operation program.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1: Basic Functional Configuration First, a basic functional configuration of a programmable device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a programmable device according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a portion related to updating of an operation program. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a program storage unit that stores an operation program of its own device.
It is composed of ROM, EEPROM and the like. Reference numeral 102 denotes a data storage unit that stores setting information relating to its own device for each setting item, and is configured by a nonvolatile RAM, a hard disk drive (hereinafter, HDD), or the like.

Reference numeral 103 denotes a change unit for storing an operation program input from the outside in the program storage unit 101, and has a configuration corresponding to the operation program input method and the program storage unit 101. For example, when an operation program is input via a network, an interface for connecting to the network is required,
In order to input the operation program recorded on the recording medium, a reading device for the recording medium is required. When the program storage means 101 is constituted by a ROM, the operation program is updated by replacing the ROM without providing the change means 103.

Reference numeral 104 denotes recognition means for recognizing the update of the operation program (or the program storage means 101 itself) in the program storage means 101. For example, the version of the operation program (or ROM version) stored in the program storage means 101 Is compared with the version of the operation program targeted by the setting information in the data storage means 102 (hereinafter referred to as the target version), and if the two are different, it is determined that the update has been performed. The version of the operation program targeted by the setting information in the data storage means 102 is, for example, stored in a predetermined area (hereinafter referred to as a version information storage area) of the data storage means 102 when the setting information is written to the data storage means 102. The version information of the program is written, and the operation program created to read the version information from the version information storage area is stored in the program storage unit 101. When the operation program is executed, the version of the data storage unit 102 Version information is read from the information storage area, and the target version is acquired based on the version information.

An extraction unit 105 extracts setting information of items used by the operation program stored in the program storage unit 101 from a setting information storage area of the data storage unit 102. Thereafter, the information on the program-side item area) is read to obtain an item used by the operation program, and information (hereinafter, item ID) representing the same item as the obtained item is stored in the setting information storage area of the data storage unit 102. If it exists, the setting information of the corresponding item is read from the area.

Reference numeral 106 denotes setting means for storing the setting information extracted by the extracting means 105 in a setting information storage area of the data storage means 102. If information indicating an item of the setting information does not exist in the area, The setting information is input from outside and written in the setting information storage area in association with the item ID. That is, the extracting means 105 and the setting means 106 also operate as an item adding means. The above-mentioned update / addition processing by each of the units 105 and 106 is performed only after the recognition unit 104 recognizes the update of the operation program. That is, after updating the operation program,
The update / addition process is performed only at the first start of the own device. Each of the units 104 to 106 is realized by a CPU (central processing unit) executing an operation program stored in the program storage unit 101.
The data storage means 102 is also used as a work area of the CPU.

The extracting means 105 and the setting means 10
Reference numeral 6 also functions as an item deleting unit for deleting information representing an item from the data storage unit 102. That is, the extraction unit 105 and the setting unit 106 determine that the item ID of an item other than the item represented by the information stored in the program-side item area (that is, an unnecessary item) is stored in the setting information storage area. Then, the item ID and the corresponding setting information are deleted from the setting information storage area. This deletion processing is performed automatically following the above-described update / addition processing, or when a specific instruction is given from a user (or an administrator).

2: Application Example Next, a description will be given of the configuration and operation when the programmable device having the above-described functional configuration is realized as a printing device.

2-1: Usage Mode First, FIG. 2A and FIG.
2 shows a usage example. 2A and 2B, the printing apparatus 202 is directly connected to the LAN, and in the example of use shown in FIG.
In the example of use shown in (b), the operation is performed based on a print instruction via the server 203.

2-2: Configuration FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the printing apparatus 202. As shown in FIG. 3, the printing apparatus 202 is connected to a LAN via a LAN interface 307.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes a CPU, and 302, a ROM corresponding to the program storage unit 101. The CPU 301 reads out and executes an operation program stored in the ROM 302, thereby executing functions of the recognition unit 104, the extraction unit 105, and the setting unit 106. To achieve. The functions realized in this way will be described in detail in the description of the operation. Note that the printing apparatus 202 employs a method of updating the operation program by exchanging the ROM 302.
There is no means equivalent to 03. Further, the above-mentioned operation program includes, in addition to the functions of the respective units 104 to 105, an HDD
The software stored in the non-volatile RAM 30
4 and a function of causing the CPU 301 to execute the software.

Further, the HDD 303 stores the data
2, and a setting information storage area for storing an item list in which an item ID indicating an item of setting information is associated with setting information. Here, an example of an item name, an item ID, and setting information is shown in FIG. In this figure, item I
The item "Printer Name" where D is "1" is
2 is an item using the name (here, “FX_Printer”) given as setting information, and is used, for example, as an IP host name. The item “start port” whose item ID is “2” is an item of setting information indicating the type of the print interface to be started by a hexadecimal bit sum, and is “0x00000001”.
Means that only the LPD (Line Printer Daemon) is activated. An item “start page” with an item ID of “3” is an item of setting information indicating whether or not to output a sheet indicating a setting environment when the power of the printing apparatus 202 is turned on, and “1” is output. Meaning. The items “IP address”, “gateway address”, and “subnet mask” whose item IDs are “4”, “5”, and “6” are items of setting information indicating each address used for IP connection. It is. Item ID is '7'
Is an item of setting information indicating the type of emulation (page description language) used at the time of printing, and '1' indicates ART. Also,
The item “frame type” with an item ID of “8” is an item of setting information indicating the format of a frame used in the data link layer, and “2” means ETHERNET_8022. "Server name" with item ID '9'
Is an item of setting information indicating the IP address of the server of the printing apparatus 202.

In the printing apparatus 202, a setting information storage area is provided on a host connected to the LAN, and a server (eg, a print server) of the printing apparatus 202 has information indicating the position of the setting information storage area. It is also possible to make an inquiry to the server when accessing the setting information or the setting information. In such a case, information (for example, “external” to be described later) is stored in a predetermined area of the HDD 303.
No setting information storage area is provided in the HDD 303. However, the setting information regarding the server is also stored in a predetermined area of the HDD 303.

The nonvolatile RAM 304 is for reading and writing various data by the CPU 301.
The setting information is stored on an address corresponding to the operation program in 2. An operation panel 305 includes an operator operated by a user (or an administrator) and a display unit for displaying various information. 306 denotes bitmap data stored in the HDD 303 and print data input from the LAN interface 307. Is a print engine that prints an image represented by bitmap data obtained by developing on a sheet. It should be noted that a paper supply / discharge mechanism not directly related to the present invention is not shown. The processing of generating bitmap data and the processing of communication via the LAN interface 307 are performed by the CPU 301 executing software loaded from the HDD 303 to the nonvolatile RAM 304.

2-3: Operation Next, the operation of the printing apparatus 202 having the above configuration will be described. 2-3-1: Setting Processing When the power is turned on, the CPU 301 of the printing apparatus 202 reads out and executes the operation program in the ROM 302 to perform the setting processing shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printing apparatus 202 when the power is turned on. In the setting processing shown in FIG.
At the same time, the version of the target 302 is obtained and the target version is obtained from the information in the version information storage area of the HDD 303, and it is determined whether or not both versions match (step SA1). If the result of this determination is “NO”, that is, if both versions match, the setting process ends, and thereafter the software stored in the HDD 303 is loaded into the nonvolatile RAM 304 and executed by the CPU 301.

The result of determination at step SA1 is "YES"
, That is, if both versions are different, C
The PU 301 reads the item list from the setting information storage area and temporarily stores the item list in the nonvolatile RAM 304 (step S
A2). Here, the item list is an item ID shown in FIG.
And setting information. Next, CP
U301 sets the item represented by the item ID stored at the head of the program-side item area in the ROM 302 as a target item (step SA3), and determines whether the item ID representing the target item exists in the item list on the nonvolatile RAM 304. It is determined whether or not it is (step SA4).

If the result of this determination is "YES", the CPU
Reference numeral 301 stores the setting information of the target item as the setting information of the operation program by storing the setting information of the target item at an address corresponding to the target item on the nonvolatile RAM 304 (that is, a reference address described in the operation program) ( Step SA5). Thereafter, the CPU 301 sets the target item as the next item, and repeats the process of returning to step SA4 until setting information is set for all setting items used by the operation program (steps SA6 and SA7).

On the other hand, if the result of determination at step SA4 is "N
In the case of "O", that is, when the item ID representing the target item does not exist in the item list, the CPU 301 causes the display unit of the operation panel 305 to display information (for example, the item name) representing the target item, and displays the user (or Request the administrator to input the setting information (step SA8, step SA)
9). When the setting information is input, the CPU 301
Regards the input information as setting information corresponding to the target item, stores the information in the address corresponding to the target item in the nonvolatile RAM 304, and stores the item ID and the setting information of the target item in the setting information storage area (step SA1
0). Thereafter, the CPU 301 sets the target item as the next item,
The process of returning to step SA4 is repeated until the setting information is set for all the setting items used by the operation program (steps SA6 and SA7). As a result of such processing, setting information as shown in FIG. 3 is set, and subsequent processing (processing of a print job, etc.) becomes possible. When the printer 202 is placed and the power is turned on for the first time, no setting information is set, so that the user (or the administrator) needs to input all the setting information.

2-3-2: Deletion Processing The printing apparatus 202 performs the deletion processing shown in FIG. 6 at an arbitrary timing (for example, a timing at which a predetermined instruction is input via the operation panel 305). FIG. 6 shows the printing apparatus 2
02 is a flowchart showing the flow of a deletion process by the CPU 301 in the deletion process shown in FIG.
It is temporarily stored in the AM 304 (step SB1). next,
The CPU 301 sets the first item of the item list as a target item (step SB2), and sets the item ID representing the target item to ROM.
It is determined whether or not the program exists in the program-side item area 302 (step SB3).

If the determination result is "NO", that is, if the item ID does not exist in the program-side item area of the ROM 302, the CPU 301 deletes the item represented by the item ID from the printing device 202 (step S
B4). Specifically, the CPU 301 deletes the item ID and the setting information related to the item from the setting information storage area. Thereafter, the CPU 301 sets the target item as the next item on the item list, and repeats the process of returning to step SB4 until the above-described process is performed on all the setting items on the item list (steps SB5 and SB6). Step SB
If the determination result of step 3 is "YES", the above-described deletion is not performed, and the process returns to step SB4 (step SB4).
5, SB6).

2-3-3: Operation when ROM 302 is not replaced When the power of the printing apparatus 202 is turned on without replacing the ROM 302 from the previous operation, the item list on the nonvolatile RAM 304 is not changed at all. . That is, the nonvolatile R
Each setting information on the AM 304 is maintained as it is, and subsequent processing is performed.

2-3-4: Differences between Usage Examples By the way, in the printing apparatus 202, the setting information storage area can be arranged inside and outside the apparatus itself. Will change. That is, the CPU 301, which has executed the operation program in the ROM 302 when the power is turned on, reads data in a predetermined area on the HDD 303 prior to the processing shown in FIG. 5, and determines whether the data indicates "internal" or "external". Is determined, and an access method to the item list is determined according to the determination result. here,
When the setting information storage area is arranged in the printing device 202,
The process of accessing the item list will be described separately for the case where it is arranged outside the printing apparatus 202.

A: When the setting information storage area is arranged in the printing apparatus 202 (in the case of “internal”) In the usage example shown in FIG. 2A, the setting information storage area is in the HDD 303 of the printing apparatus 202. Placed in In this case, when the power supply is turned on, the CPU 301 that has executed the operation program in the ROM 302 reads the item list from the setting information storage area on the HDD 303 and reads the non-volatile R
Stored in the AM 304, and thereafter basically stored in the nonvolatile RAM 3
The item list in the setting information storage area on the HDD 303 is accessed only when an item list on the HDD 04 is accessed and an item is added or deleted.

B: When the setting information storage area is arranged outside the printing apparatus 202 (in the case of “external”) In the usage example shown in FIG. 2B, the setting information storage area is arranged in the server 203. You. In this case, when the power of the printing apparatus 202 is turned on, the CPU 301 that has executed the operation program in the ROM 302 determines the L based on the setting information about the server stored in a predetermined area of the HDD 303.
It requests the server 203 to pass the item list via the AN interface 307. As a result, the server 20
3 is stored in the non-volatile RAM 304 via the LAN interface 307.
The CPU 301 basically accesses the item list on the non-volatile RAM 304 and only adds or deletes items to the server 203 via the LAN interface 307.
Issue a request to that effect.

3. Supplement As described above, according to the programmable device according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to re-input the setting information even when the operation program is updated. In the above-described embodiment, the printing apparatus 202 has been described as an application example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to any apparatus that can update an operation program. For example, it is possible to remove the LAN interface 307 from the configuration shown in FIG. 3 and add a document input device to form a copying machine.
Can be applied to a computer system by appropriately modifying the configuration shown in FIG. Further, the setting information storage area does not need to be a continuous area, and may extend over nodes. For example, the item ID and setting information for a certain item may be distributed as server A, and the item ID and setting information for another item may be distributed as server B.
Furthermore, the setting information may be set at every startup without providing the recognition unit 104. In this case, an HDD or a non-volatile RAM is suitable as the data storage means 102, and a RAM is suitable as a writing destination of the setting information. In the configuration shown in FIG.
A RAM as one work area may be separately provided. Note that the technical scope of the invention according to the present application is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made to the above-described embodiment to implement the invention described in the claims. . It is obvious from the description of the claims that such an invention belongs to the technical scope of the invention according to the present application.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The setting information set before the update of the operation program can be used as the setting information of the operation program after the update, and the labor and cost for updating the operation program can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a programmable device according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating usage examples of a printing apparatus 202 as an application example of the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the printing apparatus 202.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an item name, an item ID, and setting information in the printing apparatus 202.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a setting process in the printing apparatus 202.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a deletion process in the printing apparatus 202.

[Explanation of symbols]

101: Program storage unit, 102: Data storage unit, 103: Change unit, 104: Recognition unit, 105: Extraction unit, 106: Setting unit, 202: Printing device, 301
... CPU, 302 ... ROM, 303 ... HDD, 304 ...
Non-volatile RAM, 305: operation panel, 306: print engine, 307: LAN interface

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A program storage means for storing an operation program defining the operation of the apparatus and setting information items used by the operation program, and data storing the setting information in association with preset items. Storage means; extraction means for performing an extraction process for extracting from the data storage means setting information associated with the same items as the items stored in the program storage means; and setting information extracted by the extraction means. Setting means for performing setting processing for setting as setting information of an operation program stored in the program storage means. 2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: changing means for changing the contents stored in said program storing means; and recognizing means for recognizing a change in the contents stored in said program storing means. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the extraction processing and the setting processing are performed only when a change in the storage content of the program storage unit is recognized. 3. An item adding unit that adds, to the data storage unit, an item associated with setting information that is not extracted from the data storage unit by the extraction unit among the items stored in the program storage unit. The programmable device according to claim 1, further comprising: 4. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an item deletion unit for deleting, from the data storage unit, an item associated with the setting information not extracted by the extraction unit among the items set in the data storage unit. The programmable device according to claim 1, characterized in that: 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation program is a program for executing a print job.
A programmable device according to any of the preceding claims. 6. A program updating method for updating an operation program in an apparatus that operates by executing an operation program that defines the operation of the apparatus, the method comprising: acquiring an item of setting information used by the operation program And a step of setting setting information previously associated with an item matching the item as setting information used by the operation program.