Abstract:
An electronic apparatus includes an authority information acquisition unit that acquires a user&#39;s authority information; a first storage unit that stores current control information currently used to control the apparatus; a second storage unit that stores current configuration information representing a current configuration of the apparatus; an available control information outputting unit that outputs available control information allowed to be acquired; an instruction accepting unit that accepts an instruction to acquire at least one of versions of available control information output by the available control information outputting unit; an information acquisition unit that acquires control information according to the instruction accepted by the instruction accepting unit; and an updating unit that updates the current control information stored in the first storage unit.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-074704 filed Mar. 25, 2009. 
       BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
       [0002]    The present invention relates an electronic apparatus and an image forming system. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus including an authority information acquisition unit that acquires a user&#39;s authority information; a first storage unit that stores current control information currently used to control the electronic apparatus; a second storage unit that stores current configuration information representing a current configuration of the electronic apparatus; an available control information outputting unit that outputs available control information allowed to be acquired depending on the current configuration information stored in the second storage unit and the authority information acquired by the authority information acquisition unit; an instruction accepting unit that accepts an instruction to acquire at least one of versions of available control information output by the available control information outputting unit; an information acquisition unit that acquires control information according to the instruction accepted by the instruction accepting unit; and an updating unit that updates the current control information stored in the first storage unit, based on the control information acquired by the information acquisition unit. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]    An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail based on the following figures, wherein: 
           [0005]      FIG. 1  is an architectural diagram showing an overview of an image forming system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a conceptual diagram showing a structure of an image forming apparatus; 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a conceptual diagram showing a structure of an updating program for updating control information and setup information stored on a storage device; 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a table tabulating relevant information relating to authority information for operators and control information; 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating a process (S 10 ) that the image forming apparatus performs to acquire control information using the updating program; 
           [0010]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart illustrating a process (S 20 ) that the image forming apparatus performs to update control information using the updating program after completing the process (S 10 ) to acquire control information illustrated in  FIG. 5 : 
           [0011]      FIG. 7  shows an exemplary screen displayed on the UI equipment, while the image forming apparatus notifies the management server of configuration information, the maximum number of control information sets allowed to acquire (the number of queries allowed), etc.; 
           [0012]      FIGS. 8A and 8B  show exemplary screens displayed on the UI equipment corresponding to results of decision as to whether updating of control information is needed by the image forming apparatus depending on authority information, wherein  FIG. 8A  is an example of a screen to indicate that no updating is needed and  FIG. 8B  is an example of a screen prompting the operator to choose whether to execute updating of control information; 
           [0013]      FIGS. 9A and 9B  show exemplary screens displayed on the UI equipment, when plural versions of control information are available for updating depending on authority information, wherein  FIG. 9A  is an example of a screen to indicate that the operator can select and acquire one of the plural versions of control information and  FIG. 9B  is an example of a screen prompting the operator to choose whether to execute updating of one selected version of control information; and 
           [0014]      FIGS. 10A and 10B  show exemplary screens displayed on the UI equipment when the image forming apparatus acquires control information, wherein  FIG. 10A  is an example of a screen during the acquisition and  FIG. 10B  is an example of a screen after the acquisition. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]    In the following, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described, based on the drawings. 
         [0016]      FIG. 1  illustrates an overview of an image forming system  1  according to an exemplary embodiment of the information. The image forming system  1  includes, for example, image forming apparatuses  10 - 1  to  10 - c , information servers  12 - a ,  12 - b , and a management server  14 . The image forming apparatuses  10 - 1  to  10 - c , the information servers  12 - a ,  12 - b , and the management server  14  are interconnected via a network  16 , e.g., Internet. 
         [0017]    The image forming apparatuses  10 - 1  to  10 - c  are complex machines with various functions, e.g., printing, copying, facsimile transmission and reception, and scanning, but their detailed structures differ from each other. For example, the image forming apparatuses  10 - 1  to  10 - c  differ in terms of control information such as machine type and firmware, versions of individual setup information and the like associated with the control information, peripheral device configurations, and settings to enable the functions. 
         [0018]    The information servers  12 - a ,  12   b  have functionality as a computer and they serve as software repositories storing control information such as plural versions of firmware and the like to be used in the image forming apparatuses  10 - 1  to  10 - c , and setup information associated with the control information. 
         [0019]    The management server  14  stores storage destinations of control information and setup information that is to be used depending on the machine type, peripheral device configuration, etc. of the image forming apparatuses  10 - 1  to  10 - c , etc. That is, the management server  14  provides information about locations in the information servers  12 - a ,  12 - b  where the control information and setup information appropriate for each of the image forming apparatuses  10 - 1  to  10 - c , etc. are stored. The management server  14  sends such information in response to a request from the image forming apparatuses  10 - 1  to  10 - c.    
         [0020]    In the following, the image forming apparatuses  10 - 1  to  10 - c , etc. may be simply referred to as an “image forming apparatus  10 ”, where there is no need to identify any of the plural entities. 
         [0021]    Then, an image forming apparatus  10  is described in detail. 
         [0022]      FIG. 2  is a conceptual diagram showing a structure of the image forming apparatus  10 . 
         [0023]    The image forming apparatus  10  includes, e.g., user interface (UI) equipment  20 , an image reading part  22 , an image input part  24 , a reading interface (IF)  26 , a communication part  28 , an image processing part  30 , a storage device  32 , a memory  34 , an output interface (I/F)  36 , an image output part  38 , a printing part  40 , and a controller  42 . 
         [0024]    The UI equipment  20  is formed of, e.g., a touch panel and it receives input of an instruction and the like from an operator (user) and provides a display to the operator. The image reading part  22  is formed of, e.g., a scanner and it reads an image such as a document and outputs the image to the image input part  24 . The image input part  24  is connected to the image reading part  22 , subserved by the reading I/F  26 , and it receives image data which has been read by the image reading part  22  as an input image and outputs the input image to, e.g., the storage device  32 . The communication part  28  connects the image forming apparatus  10  to the information servers  12 - a ,  12 - b  and the management server  14  via the network  16 . The image processing part  30  performs image processing including image compression, decompression, combining etc. The storage device  32  stores the above-mentioned control information and setup information as well as configuration information representing the configuration of the image forming apparatus  10 . Information stored in the storage device  32  can be updated by control of the controller  42 . The image output part  38  renders an image yielded by processing of the image processing part  30  and others into an output image which is in turn output to the printing part  40 , subserved by the output I/F  36 . The printing part  40  is an electrophotographic image forming part including an image carrier (not shown) made of, e.g., a photoreceptor and other components and it forms an image on a recording medium such as paper. 
         [0025]    The controller  42  includes a CPU  44  and controls the components of the image forming apparatus  10 . Thus, the image forming apparatus  10  has a function as a computer and forms an image on a recording medium by executing prearranged programs. 
         [0026]      FIG. 3  is a conceptual diagram showing a structure of an updating program for updating control information and setup information stored on the storage device  32 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 4  is a table tabulating relevant information relating to authority information for operators and control information. 
         [0028]    As is shown in  FIG. 3 , the updating program  50  includes an authority information acquisition part  51 , an information acquisition part  52 , a decision part  52 , updating part  54 , a relevant information acquisition part  55 , a control setup storage part  56 , a configuration storage part  58 , a relevant information storage part  59 , and a buffering part  60 . 
         [0029]    The relevant information acquisition part  55  fetches relevant information ( FIG. 4 ) stored in the relevant information storage part  59  and outputs that information to the authority information acquisition part  51 . With regard to relevant information stored in the relevant information storage part  59 , authority levels predetermined for each operator are set. The authority levels are, for example, values from 0 to 2 to which different levels of authority information are mapped. The authority levels are arranged so that, as the authority level value of an operator is larger, the operator is allowed to make available more versions of control information and setup information. For example, an engineer who is assigned an authority level of 2 is allowed to update control information and a maximum number of information versions available (the number of queries allowed) is set to 6. Further, a machine administrator who is assigned an authority level of 1 is allowed to update control information and the maximum number of information versions available (the number of queries allowed) is set to 1. Further, a user A who is assigned an authority level of 1 is allowed to update control information and the maximum number of information versions available (the number of queries allowed) is set to 1. In this exemplary setting, a user B who is assigned an authority level of 0 is not allowed to update control information. If an operator whose authority level is 0 or an operator to whom no authority level is granted performs an input operation for update by operating the UI equipment  20 , the UI equipment  20  displays a message that you may not update control information. The UI equipment  20  may be adapted to provide no display relevant to updating control information, when operated by such an operator whose authority level is 0 or an operator to whom no authority level is granted. 
         [0030]    Setup information may be sent and received as a part of control information. In the following, it is assumed that control information may include setup information when it is sent and received or in a similar situation. 
         [0031]    The control setup storage part  56  ( FIG. 3 ) stores current control information and current setup information for the image forming apparatus  10 . 
         [0032]    The configuration storage part  58  stores current configuration information for the image forming apparatus  10 . The current configuration information for the image forming apparatus  10  includes information specifying detailed configuration of the image forming apparatus  10  and information specifying detailed configuration of peripheral devices (e.g., the image reading part  22  such as a scanner) connected to the image forming apparatus  10 . 
         [0033]    The authority information acquisition part  51  identifies (and authenticates) an operator, for example, according to the operator ID and password entered via the UI equipment  20 , receives relevant information which is output by the relevant information acquisition part  55 , and acquires authority information indicating what authority is associated with the operator among the authority levels fixed on a per-operator basis. 
         [0034]    When an operator issues a request to acquire at least one of control information and setup information to be updated by the image forming apparatus  10  via the UI equipment  20 , the information acquisition part  52  sends the management server  14  via the communication part  28  the following information: authority information acquired by the authority information acquisition part  51 , information identifying what control information and what setup information stored in the control setup storage part  56 , and configuration information stored in the configuration storage part  58 . Depending on information received from the management server  14 , the information acquisition part  52  acquires control information and setup information from the information servers  12 - a ,  12 - b  and output them to, e.g., the buffering part  60 . 
         [0035]    The decision part  53  decides whether a peripheral device connected to the image forming apparatus  10  is a predefined one (e.g., it conforms to a predefined type). If the peripheral device connected to the image forming apparatus  10  is not the predefined one, the decision part  53  outputs a signal causing the controller  42  to inhibit updating of control information and a signal causing the UI equipment  20  to provide a display to indicate that updating of control information is inhibited. 
         [0036]    Once the information acquisition part  52  has acquired control information and setup information from the information servers  12 - a ,  12 - b , the updating part  54  updates the control information and configuration information stored in the control setup storage part  56 , according to the control information and the setup information stored in, e.g., the buffering part  60  and the configuration information stored in the configuration storage part  58 . 
         [0037]    For example, when the image forming apparatus  10  is rebooted, it is determined whether new control information and new setup information have been acquired. If so, the updating program  50  is adapted to serve as a boot program that triggers updating according to the acquired information, without operating in the normal operation mode upon the rebooting. Thereby, operation in the normal operation mode is initiated by rebooting after the updating. 
         [0038]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating a process (S 10 ) that the image forming apparatus  10  performs to acquire control information using the updating program  50 . 
         [0039]    As can be seen in  FIG. 5 , at step  100  (S 100 ), the image forming apparatus  10  acquires the operator&#39;s authority information (authenticates the operator), according to information entered via the UI equipment  20 . 
         [0040]    At step  102  (S 102 ), the image forming apparatus  10  notifies the management server  14  of current configuration information stored in the configuration storage part  58 , the maximum number of control information versions available (the number of queries allowed), etc. At this time, the UI equipment  20  displays a screen, for example, as illustrated in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0041]    At step  104  (S 104 ), the image forming apparatus  10  determines whether the operator&#39;s authority level is higher than 1. If the level is higher than 1, the process goes to step S 116 ; if the level is 1, the process goes to step S 106 . 
         [0042]    At step  106  (S 106 ), the image forming apparatus  10  tries to acquire a storage destination of recommended control information from the management server  14 . 
         [0043]    At step  108  (S 108 ), the image forming apparatus  10  determines whether there is no storage destination acquired in step S 106  (whether the storage destination is successfully acquired). If there is no storage destination acquired, the image forming apparatus  10  determines that no updating is needed and proceeds to step S 110 . If not (i.e., the storage destination has been acquired), the image forming apparatus  10  determines that updating is needed and proceeds to step S 112 . 
         [0044]    At step  110  (S 110 ), the UI equipment  20  provides a display to indicate that no updating of control information is needed. For example, the UI equipment  20  displays a screen as illustrated in  FIG. 8A . 
         [0045]    At step  112  (S 112 ), the image forming apparatus  10  determines whether to execute updating of control information depending on the operator&#39;s choice entered via the UI equipment  20 . If the apparatus has determined to execute updating, the process goes to step S 114 ; if not, the process terminates. For example, in response to a screen as illustrated in  FIG. 8B , the operator can choose whether to execute updating of control information via the UI equipment  20 . 
         [0046]    At step  114  (S 114 ), the image forming apparatus  10  accesses one of the information servers  12 - a ,  12 - b  which is the storage destination acquired from the management server  14  and acquires the control information. 
         [0047]    At step  116  (S 116 ), the image forming apparatus  10  acquires a storage destination of control information depending on the authority information. 
         [0048]    At step  118  (S 118 ), the image forming apparatus  10  makes a display via the UI equipment  20  to indicate that the operator can (select) and acquire control information. For example, the UI equipment  20  displays a screen as illustrated in  FIG. 9A , which indicates that plural versions of control information are available, allowed by the authority information, and that you can select any of the versions of control information. 
         [0049]    At step  120  (S 120 ), the image forming apparatus  10  determines whether to execute updating of control information depending on the operator&#39;s choice entered via the UI equipment  20 . If the apparatus has determined to execute updating, the process goes to step S 122 ; if not, the process terminates. For example, in response to a screen as illustrated in  FIG. 9B , the operator can choose whether to execute one selected version of control information via the UI equipment  20 . 
         [0050]    At step  122  (S 122 ), the image forming apparatus  10  acquires the one (selected) version of control information by accessing one of the information servers  12 - a ,  12 - b  which is the storage destination acquired from the management server  14 . For example, the UI equipment  20  displays a screen as illustrated in  FIG. 10A  during the acquisition of the control information and displays a screen as illustrated in  FIG. 10B  after the acquisition of the control information. 
         [0051]    In the process of S 10 , for example, it is assumed to send and receive control information including setup information. 
         [0052]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart illustrating a process (S 20 ) that the image forming apparatus  10  performs to update at least one of control information (and setup information) using the updating program after completing the process (S 10 ) to acquire control information illustrated in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0053]    As can be seen in  FIG. 6 , at step  200  (S 200 ), the image forming apparatus  10  reboots, triggered by the operator via the UI equipment  20 . For example, the screen as illustrated in  FIG. 10B  displayed on the UI equipment  20  prompts the user to reboot the image forming apparatus  10 . 
         [0054]    At step  202  (S 202 ), the image forming apparatus  10  determines whether control information has been acquired. If new control information has been acquired, the process goes to step S 204 ; if not, the process goes to step S 208 . 
         [0055]    At step  204  (S 204 ), the image forming apparatus  10  updates the control information depending on the operator&#39;s choice entered via the UI equipment  20 . 
         [0056]    At step  206  (S 206 ), the image forming apparatus  10  reboots. 
         [0057]    At step  208  (S 208 ), the image forming apparatus  10  determines whether setup information has been acquired. If new setup information has been acquired, the process goes to step S 210 ; if not, the process terminates. 
         [0058]    At step  210  (S 210 ), the image forming apparatus  10  updates the setup information. 
         [0059]    At step  212  (S 212 ), the image forming apparatus  10  reboots. After the step S 212 , the image forming apparatus  10  starts to operate in the normal operation mode, as there remains neither control information nor setup information to be updated. 
         [0060]    The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or characteristics. The described exemplary embodiment is to be considered in all respects only as illustrated and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.