Patent ID: 8654372
Filing Date: 2014-02-18
Classification: G06F,H04N

Abstract:
1. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a first storage configured to store first configuration information regarding a first configuration of the image forming apparatus from a removable memory; a second storage configured to store second configuration information regarding a second configuration of the image forming apparatus, the second configuration being currently set as a current configuration of the image forming apparatus; an approval obtainer configured to obtain an approval result indicating whether an approval for updating the current configuration from the second configuration to the first configuration is obtained from an authorized user, the approval obtainer including one or more service modules that control a process of authenticating the authorized user and obtaining the approval from the authorized user; a middleware system including a first service module that controls an operation panel, a second service module that manages network communication, a third service module that manages log data, and the approval obtainer; and an activation controller configured to compare between the first configuration information and the second configuration information to generate a comparison result, to cause only the approval obtainer to be activated to obtain the approval result when the comparison result indicates that the first configuration information and the second configuration information are different from each other, to prohibit activation of the first service module, which controls the operation panel, of the middleware system until the comparison result between the first configuration information and the second configuration information has been generated, and then to activate the first service module, which controls the operation panel, to prompt for login information and the approval result, and to activate the image forming apparatus with one of the first configuration and the second configuration based on the approval result.