Patent ID: 11902485
Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Field: Audio-visual technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  Y | IPC H

Claim 2:
3. An image forming device, comprising:
a USB interface; and
a memory,
wherein the image forming device is configured to perform:
a normal operation, by executing firmware stored in the memory, as an image forming device having multiple functions including an image forming function;
when a terminal device connected to the image forming device via the USB interface performs an installing process, transmitting USB configuration information to the terminal device via the USB interface, the installing process being a process of installing a driver of the image forming device in association with the image forming device;
a firmware updating process of updating the firmware of the image forming device based on an instruction transmitted, via the USB interface, from the terminal device which has stored the USB configuration information transmitted from the image forming device in association with the image forming device in the installing process;
when updating of the firmware is completed in the firmware updating process, the normal operation by executing the updated firmware, and transmitting, in the normal operation, the USB configuration information to the terminal device connected to the USB interface;
a recovery operation when the firmware becomes unexecutable as a result of performing the updating firmware process;

wherein the image forming device is configured to perform:
while the image forming device performing the recovery operation, the installing process and the firmware updating process, the terminal device being configured to store the USB configuration information transmitted from the image forming device when the installing process is performed while the image forming device performing the recovery operation, the USB configuration being stored in association with the image forming device;
when the firmware updating process is completed in the recovery operation, the normal operation by executing the updated firmware and transmitting the USB configuration information to the terminal device via the USB interface, the terminal device being configured to perform, when a particular relationship is satisfied between the USB configuration information stored in association with the image forming device in the installing process performed while the image forming device being in the recovery operation and the USB configuration information transmitted from the image forming device performing the normal operation after the firmware updating process in the recovery operation is completed, receiving information indicating that the firmware updating process is completed and normally terminating the firmware updating process, and when the particular relationship is not satisfied between the USB configuration information stored in association with the image forming device in the installing process performed while the image forming device being in the recovery operation and the USB configuration information transmitted from the image forming device performing the normal operation after the firmware updating process in the recovery operation is completed, not communicating via the USB interface; and
when the terminal device performs the installing process while the image forming device being in the recovery operation, transmitting, to the terminal device via the USB interface, information which satisfies the particular relationship with the USB configuration information, the terminal device being configured to receive information indicating that the firmware updating process is completed from the image forming device via the USB interface when the particular relationship satisfies between the USB configuration information stored in association with the image forming device in the installing process performed while the image forming device being in the recovery operation and the USB configuration information transmitted from the image forming device performing the normal operation after the firmware updating process in the recovery operation is completed.