JP2006040217A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily restore license information of an application installed in an image forming apparatus even when a hard disk of the image forming apparatus is damaged.
SOLUTION: Decryption information of an application encrypted in a storage location (non-volatile memory 1002) physically different from a storage location (hard disk 1004) of an application to be installed in an image forming apparatus, and application information for specifying the application Is stored, and if the license file is not presented from the client and is stored in the non-volatile memory, the license file is used to install the application.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of installing an application and performing installation and management of a license file corresponding to the application.

In recent years, a predetermined application execution environment has been established on an image forming apparatus by using a technology such as JAVA (registered trademark) in an image forming apparatus such as a multifunction peripheral. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1.)
In the business of an image forming apparatus having such an application execution environment, there is a business of an application alone, or a predetermined license information is added to an application and a business based on a license is also performed. In such a business using an application license, an upper limit such as an expiration date of the application itself or a predetermined number of operations is set in the license information. Furthermore, the license information stores information that uniquely identifies the image forming apparatus to be installed, and may have a mechanism that cannot be used for other image forming apparatuses.

Conventionally, such application and license information is generally stored in a hard disk in the image forming apparatus. Further, when an application and license information are handled in pairs, encryption or the like is performed from the viewpoint of application protection, and information for combining them may be included in the license information.
JP 2003-330732 A

  According to the prior art, although stored in a special case called an image forming apparatus, there is a concern about theft or leakage of encryption information due to analysis of the hard disk after the apparatus is destroyed.

  In addition, unlike a PC or the like, a hard disk in an image forming apparatus frequently generates and deletes large-sized data, and may be damaged at the user site. In that case, the application can be physically restored by re-installation, but the information managing the expiration date and the predetermined number of operations cannot be restored to the information just before the damage by re-installing the license information. Therefore, there was a problem that it could not be used. In order to restore the license information immediately before the damage, there is a problem that a special license dedicated to the image forming apparatus must be used. For service personnel in charge of repairing the damage, a special license is issued. There was a drawback that the workload was heavy, such as requests. It is desirable for the service person to return to the state just before the damage by installing the application without being aware of the license.

  The present invention has been made in view of these problems.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention is an image forming apparatus that is connected to a network, communicates with a client on the network, installs an application for operating a device from the client, and is executable. Communication means for communicating with a client on the network, application management means for installing and managing the application, first storage means for storing the installed application, and application execution means for executing the application A license check means for confirming the presence of a corresponding license file when installing the application, a license file management means for installing and managing the license file, and the icon A second storage means physically different from the first storage means for storing the stalled license file, wherein the application is encrypted by a predetermined method, and at least decryption information for decrypting the encryption A license file holding application information for identifying the application, and a license file corresponding to the application is not presented from the client in the license check means when the application is installed, and in the second storage means When the license file corresponding to the application is searched and it is determined that the license file is stored in the second storage unit, the application management unit uses the license file stored in the second storage unit. Characterized in that the application installs

  According to the present invention, the first storage device in which the application is stored and the second storage device in which the license file is stored are configured to be physically different from each other, and the license file to be referred to when the application is installed is the second storage device. By searching and using the storage device, the application can be installed without preparing a license file when the first storage device is damaged and returned, and the work efficiency of the service person can be improved.

Example 1
FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of a multifunction machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

  Controller Unit 1000 is a controller for inputting and outputting image information and device information by connecting to Scanner 1070 as an image input device and Printer 1095 as an image output device, while connecting to LAN 1011 and public line (WAN) 1051. is there. A CPU 1001 is a controller that controls the entire system.

  A RAM 1002 is a system work memory for the CPU 1002 to operate, and is also an image memory for temporarily storing image data. Further, it is assumed that the RAM 1002 includes a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory. A ROM 1003 is a boot ROM and stores a system boot program. The HDD 1004 is a hard disk drive and stores system software and image data.

  An operation unit I / F 1006 is an interface unit with an operation unit (UI) 1012 having a touch panel, and outputs image data to be displayed on the operation unit 1012 to the operation unit 1012. Also, it plays a role of transmitting information input from the operation unit 1012 by the system user to the CPU 1001. Network I / F 1010 is connected to LAN 1011 and inputs / outputs information.

  Modem 1050 is connected to public line 1051 to input / output information. The above devices are arranged on the system bus 1007.

  An image bus I / F 1005 is a bus bridge that connects a system bus 1007 and an image bus 1008 that transfers image data at high speed, and converts the data structure. The image bus 1008 is configured by a PCI bus or IEEE1394. The following devices are arranged on the image bus 1008.

  A raster image processor (RIP) 1060 expands the PDL code into a bitmap image. A device I / F unit 1020 connects an image input / output device such as a scanner 1070 or a printer 1095 to the controller 1000, and performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data. A scanner image processing unit 1080 corrects, processes, and edits input image data. The printer image processing unit performs printer correction, resolution conversion, and the like on the print output image data. The image rotation unit 1030 rotates image data. The image compression unit 1040 performs compression / decompression processing of JPEG for multi-value image data and JBIG, MMR, and MH for binary image data. The IC Card Slot 1100 can input / output a key used for encryption / decryption by inputting an appropriate PIN (Personal Identifier Number) code after inserting an IC card medium. The encryption / decryption processing unit 1110 is a hardware accelerator board that performs data encryption / decryption processing using the key of the IC Card Slot 1100.

  FIG. 2 is a software block diagram of the multifunction machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The application execution environment 2000 is an environment in which a specific application is executed on the multifunction peripheral. In this embodiment, JAVA (registered trademark) (JAVA (registered trademark) is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, USA) is used. .

  In the figure, reference numeral 2001 denotes a communication means, which provides a function of communicating with a PC 3002 described later via the Network I / F 1010. 2002 is an application management means, which communicates with a PC 3002 (described later) via the communication means 2001, installs an application 2003 (described later), and manages the starting and stopping of the application. It is assumed that the installed application is stored on the HDD 1004.

  2003 is an application that operates on the multifunction peripheral of the present invention, and performs various processes such as printing and copying on the multifunction peripheral. 2004 is a license management means, which communicates with a PC 3002, which will be described later, via the communication means 2001, installs a predetermined license file, and performs general license management. It is assumed that the installed license file is stored in a nonvolatile memory on the RAM 1002. 2005 is a license check means for determining whether or not there is a corresponding license file when the application 2003 is installed.

  In the present embodiment, all the software blocks described above are configured on the application execution environment 2000, but the configuration is not particularly limited.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram 3000 showing an example of the configuration of a network system in which the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention operates. In FIG. 3, 3001 is an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral: Scanner). 1 is a multifunction machine having functions of a printer, a fax machine, and the like, and shows the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 3002 is a PC, and 3003 is an MFP (2) adjacent to the MFP 3001. A PC 3002 indicates a PC (personal computer) connected to the MFP 3001 via the network 3004.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram 4000 showing the hardware configuration of a PC constituting the network system of FIG. 3 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the PC has a CPU 4001, a RAM 4002, A CRT (cathode ray tube) 4003, a keyboard 4004, a pointing device 4005, a ROM 4006, a DISK 4007, and a communication I / F 4008 are connected to each other via a system bus 4009.

  A program for controlling the PC is stored in the ROM 4006 or DISK 4007, read to the RAM 4002 as necessary, and executed by the CPU 4001. Further, the CPU 4001 performs display through the CRT 4003 and receives a user instruction from the keyboard 4004 and the pointing device 4005. The CPU 4001 communicates with an external device through the communication I / F 4008.

  In this embodiment, unless otherwise specified, in the PC shown in FIG. 4, the CPU 4001 receives user input from the keyboard 4005 and the pointing device 4005 via the system bus 4009, and the RAM 4002, the CRT 4003, the ROM 4006, the DISK 4007, This is performed by controlling the communication I / F 4008.

  FIG. 5 is an installation screen 5000 when installing an application from the PC 3002 to the MFP 3001 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. When the MFP 3001 is accessed from the PC 3002 via the network 3004, the output from the communication unit 2001 is It is displayed on CRT4003 of PC3002.

  Specifically, the communication unit 2001 may be provided with a Web server, and the PC 3002 may be displayed using a Web browser or the like.

  In the figure, reference numeral 5001 denotes a field for designating an application file, which designates an application file stored at a predetermined position on the DISK 4007.

  Reference numeral 5002 denotes a field for designating a license file, which designates a license file stored at a predetermined position on the DISK 4007. A button 5003 opens an unillustrated screen that provides an easily understandable I / F when specifying an application file.

  Reference numeral 5004 denotes a button for opening an unillustrated screen that provides an easily understandable I / F when designating a license file. Reference numeral 5005 denotes a button for actually instructing installation after the specification of the application file and the license file is completed.

  Reference numeral 5006 denotes a button for instructing to interrupt the processing of the installation screen 5000 and return to the previous screen.

  In this embodiment, when an ordinary user installs an application, an application file and a license file are specified, and when a hard disk is damaged, only an application file is specified and a button 5005 is pressed.

  FIG. 6 shows application information 6000 of an application 2003 operating on the MFP 3001 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and all applications operating on the application execution environment 2000 have the same information.

  In the figure, the application 2003 has an application name “simple copy”, application identification information “c2b291f0-7e8b-11d6-a44a-005004d0f31a”, an expiration date control function, a print upper limit control function, and a scan upper limit control function. It has shown that it has.

  In the present embodiment, the method for storing the application installed in the MFP 3001 is not limited at all.

  FIG. 7 shows a license file 7000 of the application 2003 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 7, the license file 7000 corresponds to license identification information “c2b291f0-7e8b-11d6-a44a-005004d0f31b”. The application identification information is “c2b291f0-7e8b-11d6-a44a-005004d0f31a”, which indicates that an expiration date and a print upper limit are set.

  In this embodiment, the license file installed in the MFP 3001 is systematically managed for each item, or simply retained in the file format, as long as the contents are searchable. There is no particular limitation.

  FIG. 8 is a part of a flowchart 8000 at the time of application installation according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  More specifically, the processing of the application management unit 2002, the license management unit 2004, and the license check unit 2005 when the button 5005 is pressed is shown. In this embodiment, the application is encrypted except for the application identification information, and data for decryption is provided by a license file. Furthermore, the license file is preliminarily encrypted and is decrypted by predetermined decryption information in the MFP 3001.

  Reference numeral 8001 denotes an application file reception step, which is a step of receiving the application file specified in the application specification field 5001. Reference numeral 8002 denotes an application identification information extraction step for extracting application identification information from the application file received in step 8001. Step 8003 is a step of receiving the license file designated in the license file designation field 5002.

  Step 8004 is a step of determining whether or not the license file can be received in Step 8003. If received, the process proceeds to Step 8005. Otherwise, the process proceeds to Step 8012. Step 8005 is a step of decrypting the received license file with decryption information not shown. Step 8006 is a step of extracting application identification information from the combined license file.

  Step 8007 is a step of determining whether or not the application identification information extracted in Step 8002 and Step 8006 match. If they match, the process proceeds to Step 8008. Otherwise, the process proceeds to Step 8015.

  Step 8008 is a step of decoding the application received in Step 8001 based on the decoding information obtained as a result of decoding in Step 8005.

  Step 8009 is a step for determining whether or not the decoding is successful. If successful, the process proceeds to Step 8010; otherwise, the process proceeds to Step 8015.

  Step 8010 is an application installation step in which the application management means 2002 registers in the application execution environment and stores it in the HDD 1004. Step 8011 is a step of determining whether or not the license file has been installed in Step 8013 to be described later. If it is determined that the license file has been installed, the processing of this flowchart is terminated. Proceed to

  Step 8012 is a step in which the license check means 2005 searches the RAM 1002 for a license file corresponding to the application identification information extracted in Step 8002. Step 8013 is a step of determining whether or not a license file exists as a result of the search. If it exists, the process proceeds to step 8008, and the same processing as when a license file is received is performed.

  Step 8014 is a step of installing a license file. The license management means 2004 stores the contents of the license file in a predetermined location in the RAM 1002. Step 8015 is a step for performing error processing. In this embodiment, processing for transmitting data to display an error message on the CRT 4003 of the PC 3002 is performed.

(Example 2)
The second embodiment further includes means for setting whether or not to search for a license file stored in the RAM 1002 in step 8012, as compared with the first embodiment.

  FIG. 9 shows an operation screen 9000 on the MFP 3001 for designating whether or not to search for a license file from the RAM 1002 at the time of application installation according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 9001 denotes a button for selecting a value indicating that a search for a license file stored in the RAM 1002 is permitted at the time of application installation.

  A button 9002 is used to select a value indicating that the search of the license file stored in the RAM 1002 is not permitted when the application is installed. The buttons 9001 and 9002 reflect the values currently set on the RAM 1002 when this operation screen is displayed, and can be visually identified by changing the color of the buttons. Further, when a button is pressed, the color of the pressed button and the button that has not been pressed are exchanged so that they can be visually identified.

  Reference numeral 9003 denotes a button for exiting without changing the setting value of the operation screen to the RAM 1002 and for transitioning to a screen outside the figure. Reference numeral 9004 denotes a button for reflecting the setting contents of this operation screen on the RAM 1002 and transitioning to a screen outside the figure.

  It should be noted that the setting of this operation screen is preferably configured so that only the administrator of the MFP 3001 can access. In addition, this operation screen may be configured to be set from the PC 3002 similarly to the installation screen 5000.

  FIG. 10 is a part of a flowchart 10000 at the time of application installation according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which processing is performed with reference to the contents set on the operation screen 9000.

  More specifically, the processing of the application management unit 2002, the license management unit 2004, and the license check unit 2005 when the button 5005 is pressed is shown.

  In this embodiment, the application is encrypted except for the application identification information, and data for decryption is provided by a license file.

  Furthermore, the license file is preliminarily encrypted and is decrypted by predetermined decryption information in the MFP 3001.

  Reference numeral 10001 denotes an application file reception step, which is a step of receiving the application file specified in the application specification field 5001. Reference numeral 10002 denotes an application identification information extraction step, which is a step for extracting application identification information from the application file received in step 10001. Step 10003 is a step of receiving the license file designated in the license file designation field 5002.

  Step 10004 is a step of determining whether or not the license file has been received in step 10003. If received, the process proceeds to step 10005. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step 10012.

  Step 10005 is a step of decrypting the received license file with decryption information not shown. Step 10006 is a step of extracting application identification information from the combined license file.

  Step 10007 is a step of determining whether or not the application identification information extracted in step 10002 and step 10006 matches. If they match, the process proceeds to step 10008; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 10015. Step 10008 is a step of decoding the application received in Step 10001 based on the decoding information obtained as a result of decoding in Step 10005.

  Step 10009 is a step of determining whether or not the decoding is successful. If successful, the process proceeds to step 10010. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step 10016. Step 10010 is an application installation step in which application management means 2002 registers the application in the execution environment and stores it in the HDD 1004.

  Step 10011 is a step of determining whether or not the license file has been installed in Step 10013 to be described later. If it is determined that the license file has been installed, the processing of this flowchart is terminated. Proceed to

  Step 10012 is a step of determining whether or not to search for a license file on the RAM 1002, and is a step of checking information set on the operation screen 9000. If the automatic return setting for searching the license file is performed in this step, the process proceeds to step 10013, and if not, the process proceeds to step 10016. Step 10013 is a step in which the license check unit 2005 searches the RAM 1002 for a license file corresponding to the application identification information extracted in Step 10002.

  Step 10014 is a step of determining whether or not a license file exists as a result of the search. If there is a license file, the process proceeds to step 10008, and the same processing as when a license file is received is performed. Step 10015 is a step of installing a license file. The license management means 2004 stores the contents of the license file in a predetermined location in the RAM 1002. Step 10016 is a step for performing error processing. In this embodiment, processing for transmitting data to display an error message on the CRT 4003 of the PC 3002 is performed.

1 is a system block diagram of a multifunction machine 1001 according to a first embodiment. 1 is a software block diagram of a multifunction machine 1001 according to a first embodiment. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a network system in which a multifunction peripheral 1001 according to a first embodiment operates. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a PC that configures a network system according to a first embodiment. It is an installation screen at the time of installing the application of Example 1. FIG. This is application information of an application 2003 operating on the MFP 3001 of the first embodiment. It is a license file 7000 of the application 2003 of the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart when installing an application according to the first exemplary embodiment. 10 is an operation screen on the MFP 3001 according to the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart when installing an application according to the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1000 controller unit
1001 CPU
1002 RAM
1003 ROM
1004 hard disk
1005 Image Bus I / F
1006 Operation unit I / F
1007 System bus
1008 Image bus
1010 Network I / F
1011 LAN
1012 Operation unit
1020 Device I / F
1030 Image rotation
1040 Image compression
1050 MODEM
1051 WAN
1060 RIP
1070 scanner
1080 Scanner image processing
1090 Printer image processing
1095 printer
1100 IC Card Slot
1110 Encryption / decryption processing

Claims (5)

An image forming apparatus that is connected to a network, communicates with a client on the network, installs an application for operating a device from the client, and is executable.
Communication means for communicating with a client on the network;
Application management means for installing and managing the application;
First storage means for storing the installed application;
Application execution means for executing the application;
A license check means for confirming the presence of a corresponding license file when installing the application;
License file management means for installing and managing the license file;
Second storage means physically different from the first storage means for storing the installed license file;
The application is encrypted by a predetermined method, and at least the decryption information for decrypting the cipher and the license file holding the application information for specifying the application, and the license check means correspond to the application when the application is installed. The license file corresponding to the application is searched for in the second storage means and it is determined that the license file is stored in the second storage means. The image forming apparatus, wherein the management unit installs an application using a license file stored in the second storage unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second storage unit is provided outside the image forming apparatus.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first storage unit is a hard disk, and the second storage unit is a non-volatile memory.   According to the predetermined information stored in the second storage means, when the application is installed, the license check means simply sets an operation error when the license file corresponding to the application is not presented from the client. When the license corresponding to the application is searched in the second storage means and is recognized as being stored in the second storage means, the license file stored in the second storage means The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a process to be installed by an application can be selected by using.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the license file is encrypted and combined with a composite key stored in the second storage unit.

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