Image forming apparatus, control method of image forming apparatus, and storage medium

Abstract

The invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a control method of the image forming apparatus, and a storage medium. An image forming apparatus communicating with an external apparatus controls an estimation process for estimating a usage environment of the image forming apparatus using information based on a communication packet communicated by the image forming apparatus; and issuing a notification corresponding to a result of the estimation process, in which when the image forming apparatus is set to a specific mode, control is performed to prevent execution of the estimation process.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technology for estimating a usage environment of an image forming apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0002] As a security measure, it is necessary to appropriately set various security-related functions of an information apparatus. If a setting value optimized for a single usage environment is applied to an information apparatus to be used in a single fixed usage environment at the time of shipment, a user can use the information apparatus provided with appropriate security measures without worrying about security.

[0003] A multifunction peripheral (MFP) has been used in diversified usage environments, more specifically, not only in an office environment but also in a remote office environment and a public space shared by unspecified persons. Since appropriate security settings differ depending on the usage environment, each usage environment requires an appropriate setting value.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-22099 discusses a technology that assists in collecting an operation state of a network, generating a policy of the network, and updating the policy of each network. The technology in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-22099 compares a feature quantity extracted from a communication data packet with a policy to detect a network failure.

[0005] However, for example, if the usage environment of an apparatus is estimated during a manufacturing process, a maintenance work, or other specific operation states, the result of the estimation can be different from that in ordinary operation. SUMMARY

[0006] The present disclosure aims to appropriately control a process for estimating a usage environment.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an image forming apparatus that communicates with an external apparatus, the image forming apparatus controlling an estimation process for estimating a usage environment of the image forming apparatus using information based on a communication data packet communicated by the image forming apparatus, and issuing a notification corresponding to a result of the estimation process, wherein in a case where the image forming apparatus is set to a specific mode, control is performed to prevent the estimation process from being executed.

[0008] Other features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 A system configuration of an exemplary embodiment is illustrated.

[0010] Figure 2 An example configuration of a controller unit of a multifunction peripheral (MFP) is illustrated.

[0011] Figure 3 An example of a functional configuration of a controller unit of an MFP is illustrated.

[0012] Figure 4 A screen configuration related to security settings is illustrated.

[0013] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of estimation processing execution according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0014] Figure 6 An input / output structure using a learning model is illustrated.

[0015] Figure 7 is a table illustrating an example of an operation mode according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0016] Figure 8 is a table illustrating an example of a usage environment according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0017] Figure 9 is a table illustrating an example of communication feature information used in estimation processing according to an exemplary embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0019] Figure 1 A connection configuration of a multifunction peripheral (MFP) 100, a gateway 111, and a firmware distribution server 121 according to an exemplary embodiment is illustrated. The MFP 100 and the firmware distribution server 121 are communicably connected to each other via a local area network (LAN) 110, the gateway 111, and the Internet 120. The MFP 100 and the firmware distribution server 121 are also communicably connected to other devices.

[0020] The firmware distribution server 121 is managed by an MFP vendor to distribute updated firmware. The MFP 100 can acquire updated firmware from the firmware distribution server 121, and update firmware installed in the MFP 100.

[0021] The MFP 100 includes an operation unit 102 for performing input and output operations with a user, a printer unit 103 for outputting electronic data to a paper medium, and a scanner unit 104 for scanning a paper medium and converting data on the paper medium into electronic data. The operation unit 102, the printer unit 103, and the scanner unit 104 are communicably connected with the controller unit 101 to realize their respective functions under the control of the controller unit 101. Although in the present exemplary embodiment, the MFP 100 is provided as an example of an image forming apparatus, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The image forming apparatus can be a single-function peripheral (SFP) such as a scanner or a printer. The image forming apparatus can also be a general-purpose information processing apparatus, for example, a personal computer.

[0022] The gateway 111 is a network router for relaying communications of the MFP 100 between the MFP 100 and the Internet 120.

[0023] A personal computer (PC) 112 is an information processing terminal used by a user of the MFP 100. The user of the MFP 100 operates the PC 112 to use the functions of the MFP 100. The user can update the firmware of the MFP 100 without using the firmware distribution server 121 by downloading the firmware to be updated to the PC 112 in advance, and then transmitting the firmware from the PC 112 to the MFP 100.

[0024] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of the controller unit 101 of the MFP 100. A central processing unit (CPU) 201 performs main computation processing in the controller unit 101. The CPU 201 is connected with a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) 202 via a bus. The DRAM 202 is used by the CPU 201 as a work memory for storing processing target data and program data representing computation instructions in the course of computation of the CPU 201. The CPU 201 is connected with an I / O controller 203 via the bus. The I / O controller 203 performs input and output operations to various devices according to instructions of the CPU 201.

[0025] The I / O controller 203 is connected with a serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) interface (I / F) 205. The SATA I / F 205 is connected with a flash read-only memory (ROM) 211.

[0026] The CPU 201 stores a program and a document file for implementing a function of the MFP 100, a learning model for estimation processing that stores a learned communication tendency of a use environment, and operation mode information using the ROM 211. The I / O controller 203 is connected with the network I / F 204. The network I / F 204 is connected with a wired LAN (WLAN) device 210. The CPU 201 controls the WLAN device 210 via the network I / F 204 to implement communication on the WLAN 210.

[0027] The I / O controller 203 is connected with a panel I / F 206. The CPU 201 implements a user input and output operation to the operation unit 102 via the panel I / F 206. The I / O controller 203 is connected with a printer I / F 207. The CPU 201 implements an output processing on a paper medium using the printer unit 103 via the printer I / F 207. The I / O controller 203 is connected with a scanner I / F 208. The CPU 201 implements a processing of reading a paper medium document using the scanner unit 104 via the scanner I / F 208.

[0028] When the copy function is performed, the CPU 201 reads program data from the ROM 211 to the DRAM 202 via the SATA I / F 205. The CPU 201 detects a copy instruction from a user to the operation unit 102 via the panel I / F 206 according to the program read in the DRAM 202. Upon detecting the copy instruction, the CPU 201 receives a document from the scanner unit 104 as image data via the scanner I / F 208, and then stores the image data in the DRAM 202. The CPU 201 performs a color conversion processing suitable for output on the image data stored in the DRAM 202. The CPU 201 transmits the image data stored in the DRAM 202 to the printer unit 103 via the printer I / F 207, and then performs a processing for outputting the image data to a paper medium.

[0029] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a function configuration implemented by software executed by the controller unit 101 of the MFP 100. The controller unit 101 executes software after the CPU 201 reads a program stored in the ROM 211 into the DRAM 202.

[0030] The operation control unit 301 displays a screen on the operation unit 102 to the user, detects a user operation, and performs processing associated with buttons and other components displayed on the screen. The data storage unit 302 writes and reads data to / from the ROM 211 according to a request from another control unit. For example, if the user wants to change a certain device setting, the operation control unit 301 detects a value input by the user to the operation unit 102. According to a request from the operation control unit 301, the data storage unit 302 stores the user input as a setting value in the ROM 211. The operation control unit 301 reads learning model data to be used for estimation processing.

[0031] The job control unit 303 controls job execution according to an instruction from another control unit. The image processing unit 304 processes image data into a format suitable for each application according to an instruction from the job control unit 303. The print processing unit 305 prints an image on a paper medium via the printer I / F 207 according to an instruction from the job control unit 303. The read processing unit 306 reads a document via the scanner I / F 208 according to an instruction from the job control unit 303.

[0032] The network control unit 307 makes a network setting such as an Internet Protocol (IP) address to a Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP) control unit 408 according to a setting value stored in the data storage unit 302 when the system is activated or a setting change is detected. The TCP / IP control unit 308 performs network packet communication processing via the network I / F 204 according to an instruction from another control unit.

[0033] The security setting control unit 309 performs control related to a security setting of the MFP 100. The security setting control unit 309 manages a correspondence relationship between a usage environment such as an internal intranet, a home, and a public space environment and a corresponding security-related setting item. This enables a corresponding security-related setting to be set uniformly when a user specifies a usage environment. The security setting control unit 309 uses the data storage unit 302 to refer to and change a setting value.

[0034] The estimation processing unit 310 performs a usage environment estimation process when the system is activated, a screen is displayed, or a predetermined period of time elapses. For example, the estimation processing unit 310 uses the network control unit 307 to acquire communication characteristic information about data communication performed by the MFP 100. For example, the estimation processing unit 310 extracts a destination and source IP address, a TCP / User Datagram Protocol (UDP) type, a port number, and IP header information from information attached to a network packet. The estimation processing unit 310 uses the acquired information as input data and derives a most similar usage environment as an estimation result by using an acquired model read from the data storage unit 302.

[0035] The firmware update processing unit 311 updates a program for controlling the MFP 100. For example, the firmware update processing unit 311 acquires an update program from the firmware distribution server 121 via the TCP / IP control unit 308. The firmware update processing unit 311 issues a request to the data storage unit 302, and writes the acquired update program to the ROM 211 to update the program for controlling the MFP 100.

[0036] The operation mode control unit 312 performs mode control for various operation modes of the MFP 100. In the example according to the present exemplary embodiment, the operation mode control unit 312 manages and controls the operation modes shown in a table in Figure 7

[0037] The firmware download mode is one example of the operation mode. The operation mode is used to update the firmware of the MFP 100. When the MFP 100 is set to the firmware download mode, the MFP 100 performs communication to download the firmware from the firmware distribution server 121, and performs communication that can dominate. This results in large-volume traffic with a specific address occupying most of the communication. Therefore, the usage environment can be estimated as a usage environment associated with a network having a scale smaller than the actual usage environment.

[0038] The fixed IP address mode is another example of the operation mode. The service person typically uses this operation mode to activate the MFP 100 having a specific IP address to directly connect the MFP 100 and the maintenance PC. When the MFP 100 is set to the fixed IP address, it is assumed that the MFP 100 and the maintenance PC are directly connected to each other. This results in the address recorded in the communication feature information being limited to a specific address. Therefore, the usage environment can be estimated as a usage environment associated with a network having a scale smaller than the actual usage environment.

[0039] The manufacturing process mode is yet another example of the operation mode. The manufacturing worker uses the manufacturing process mode to perform inspection work in the manufacturing process of the MFP 100. This operation mode is typically activated only during the manufacturing process, and is inoperable after the process is completed. When the MFP 100 is set to the manufacturing process mode, any communication required for the manufacturing process is typically performed on a network within a factory where the MFP 100 is manufactured. The physical location where the MFP 100 is finally installed is different from that at ordinary operation, and a network and communication trend different from the ordinary usage environment is estimated.

[0040] ​The operation mode of the MFP 100 is stored in the ROM 211, and is changed by the operation of the target user. For example, the fixed IP address mode is set for the service person in a setting menu screen (not shown). The example according to the present exemplary embodiment assumes that the MFP 100 is reactivated to return to the normal operation mode when the change of the operation mode is completed. The example is not limited to this. The operation mode setting method and the reactivation accompanying the change can be based on other methods.

[0041] Figure 4 A recommended security setting screen 401 displayed on the operation unit 102 is illustrated. Referring to Figure 4 The use environment selection list 410 is used for selecting the use environment of the MFP 100. The selection operation of the use environment selection list 410 enables the user to set a series of security setting values suitable for each use environment uniformly.

[0042] The currently selected use environment display 406 displays the currently set use environment of the MFP 100 selected in the use environment selection list 410. The currently selected use environment display 406 highlights the currently selected use environment. More specifically, a set of setting values for the highlighted recommended use environment is set to the MFP 100. When each corresponding button is selected, information about the selected use environment is stored in the data storage unit 302. At this time, date / time information at the time of selection of the button is stored together with the previous information. The use environment estimation result display area 407 displays the use environment of the MFP 100 estimated by the estimation processing of the use acquisition model based on the trend of the communication characteristic information, and information about the date / time at which the estimation processing was performed. The use environment estimation result display area 407 also displays the "recommended environment type" associated with the item of the use environment obtained as a result of the estimation processing in the use environment selection list 410. In this case, the use environment estimation result display area 407 displays the "recommended environment type" based on the result and date / time of the last estimation processing. More specifically, if the use environment estimation processing is not performed in the specific operation mode, the use environment estimation result display area 407 displays the result and date / time of the last estimation processing before the specific operation mode is set. The information display area 408 is used for notifying the user of various information. For example, the information display area 408 displays the execution status and execution result of the estimation processing.

[0043] The update recommendation button 409 is used for manually performing the use environment estimation processing at any desired timing.

[0044] The cancel setting button 411 is used to clear the setting of the currently selected usage environment. When the cancel setting button 411 is selected, the usage environment selection list 410 and the information in the currently selected usage environment display 406 are reset, and the usage environment is not set.

[0045] Figure 8 A table showing examples of usage environments used in an example according to the present exemplary embodiment is shown in FIG. 12. The present exemplary embodiment uses six different usage environments. For example, the internal intranet environment is a general office environment. The Internet direct connection environment is an office environment in which any security precautions such as a firewall are not included in the infrastructure environment. The Internet prohibited environment is a segregated network environment in which connection with the Internet is prohibited. The home environment is a home network environment. The public space environment is an open space environment in which any person can access and share a network. The highly confidential information management environment is a network environment that handles highly confidential information such as personal number information, in which security is a top priority.

[0046] The following will describe the estimation processing control of the operation mode of the MFP 100 shown in FIG. 1 according to the present exemplary embodiment with reference to Figure 5 the flowchart of FIG. 13. Figure 3 the flowchart of FIG. 13. Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example execution of the estimation processing according to the present exemplary embodiment. Figure 5 The processing of the flowchart in FIG. 13 is implemented when the CPU 201 reads a program stored in the ROM 211 into the DRAM 202 and then executes the program. Figure 5 Each step of the flowchart in FIG. 13 is executed by the estimation processing unit 310 in cooperation with the operation mode control unit 312 and the operation control unit 301 as necessary.

[0047] When the power of the MFP 100 is turned on in step S501, Figure 3 the functions of the controller unit 101 shown in FIG. 1 are activated. More specifically, when the estimation processing unit 310 detects that the power of the MFP 100 is turned on (YES in step S501), the processing proceeds to step S502. In step S502, the CPU 201 starts a process for estimating the usage environment.

[0048] In step S503, the estimation processing unit 310 cooperates with the operation mode control unit 312 to acquire information about the current operation mode from the data storage unit 302, and determines whether the operation mode of the MFP 100 satisfies the execution condition of the estimation processing. The execution condition according to the present exemplary embodiment is a condition in which the operation mode of the MFP 100 does not match any of the operation modes in the table in FIG. 12. Figure 7 In step S503, the estimation processing unit 310 cooperates with the operation mode control unit 312 to acquire information about the current operation mode from the data storage unit 302, and determines whether the operation mode of the MFP 100 satisfies the execution condition of the estimation processing. The execution condition according to the present exemplary embodiment is a condition in which the operation mode of the MFP 100 does not match any of the operation modes in the table in FIG. 12.

[0049] When the operation mode of the MFP 100 does not match any of the operation modes in the table in FIG. 12, Figure 7When any of the operation modes in the table does not match the operation mode of the MFP 100, the operation mode control unit 312 determines that the operation mode does not satisfy the execution condition of the estimation processing. Thus, the operation mode control unit 312 determines not to execute the estimation processing.

[0050] When the operation mode of the MFP 100 matches any of the operation modes in the table Figure 7 When any of the operation modes in the table does not match the operation mode of the MFP 100, the operation mode control unit 312 determines that the operation mode does not satisfy the execution condition of the estimation processing. Thus, the operation mode control unit 312 determines not to execute the estimation processing.

[0051] When the operation mode control unit 312 determines not to execute the estimation processing (NO in step S503), the operation mode control unit 312 exits the flowchart without executing the estimation processing. More specifically, the operation mode control unit 312 terminates the usage environment estimation processing without executing the estimation processing in step S504 and the notification processing in step S506. When the operation mode control unit 312 determines not to execute the estimation processing, the operation mode control unit 312 can disable the pressing of the update recommendation button 409 to control the manual execution of the estimation processing by the update recommendation button 409. More specifically, when the operation mode control unit 312 cooperates with the operation control unit 301 to determine not to execute the estimation processing, the operation mode control unit 312 controls the display so that the update recommendation button 409 is not selectable at the time of display of the display screen 401. After the power-on of the MFP 100, the operation mode control unit 312 controls the display so that the update recommendation button 409 is not selectable every time the display screen 401 is displayed until it is determined that the operation mode satisfies the execution condition in step S503.

[0052] When the operation mode control unit 312 determines to execute the estimation processing (YES in step S503), the processing proceeds to step S504. In step S504, the estimation processing unit 310 executes the usage environment estimation processing. The usage environment estimation processing will be described below with reference to Figure 6 The estimation processing executed by the estimation processing unit 310 will be described in detail. Then, the estimation processing unit 310 stores the result of the estimation processing via the data storage unit 302.

[0053] In step S505, the estimation processing unit 310 determines whether or not the result of the estimation processing satisfies a notification condition. More specifically, when the usage environment as the result of the estimation processing is different from the usage environment selected and set to the MFP 100 in the screen 401 and is different from the usage environment as the result of the last estimation processing, the estimation processing unit 310 determines that the notification condition is satisfied. When the usage environment as the result of the estimation processing is the same as the usage environment selected and set to the MFP 100 in the screen 401 and is the same as the usage environment as the result of the last estimation processing, the estimation processing unit 310 determines that the notification condition is not satisfied. When the estimation processing unit 310 determines that the notification condition is not satisfied (NO in step S505), the estimation processing unit 310 terminates the estimation processing without displaying the notification in the information display area 408.

[0054] When the estimation processing unit 310 determines that the notification condition is satisfied (YES in step S505), the process proceeds to step S506. In step S506, the estimation processing unit 310 cooperates with the operation control unit 301 to display the notification to the information display area 408. More specifically, the estimation processing unit 310 displays the notification indicating that the usage environment as the result of the estimation processing is different from the usage environment selected and set to the MFP 100 in the screen 401. Although the information display area 408 is displayed in the recommended security setting screen 401 in the above description, the present disclosure is not limited to this. More specifically, the information display area 408 is displayed below another screen when the screen is displayed on the operation unit 102. The estimation processing is executed after the power of the MFP 100 is turned on even if the screen 401 is not displayed. The notification is displayed below the screen even in a state where another screen (e.g., a home screen) is displayed when the currently set usage environment is different from the usage environment as the result of the estimation processing. This allows the user to be aware of the need to check the setting of the usage environment. The notification displayed in the information display area 408 in step S506 is canceled when the recommended security setting screen 401 is displayed. The notification is also canceled when the power of the MFP 100 is turned off and is not displayed again when the power is turned on next time. Figure 4

[0055] When the operation control unit 301 receives a display instruction of the screen 401 after the usage environment estimation is completed, the operation control unit 301 displays the screen 401 on the operation unit 102 to display the usage environment as the latest result of the estimation processing of the recommended environment type 407.

[0056] When the power of the MFP 100 is turned on in step S501, the estimation processing based on the usage environment estimation program 302 is executed. Figure 5 ​But, even when the usage environment estimation processing is executed at the time of display of the screen or elapse of a predetermined period of time, similar control can be performed. In other example embodiments, the determination in step S505 can be omitted. For example, after the estimation processing is executed, the estimation result can always be notified. The notification condition is not limited thereto. For example, the notification condition can include only a condition whether the usage environment as the estimation processing result is different from the usage environment set to the MFP 100. The notification condition can also include only a condition whether the usage environment as the estimation processing result is different from the usage environment of the last estimation processing result.

[0057] According to the present example embodiment, Figure 5 The processing of the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 10 can control to prevent the estimation processing from being executed in a specific operation mode. The processing can also control to not issue a notification of the estimation processing result. The prevention of the estimation processing from being executed in the specific operation mode can avoid unnecessary estimation processing and unnecessary notification issuance, and thus avoid possible user confusion. Furthermore, Figure 5 The processing of the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 10 can select a proper security setting suitable for each usage environment. The prevention of the estimation processing from being executed in the specific operation mode can avoid user confusion in selection of the usage environment.

[0058] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an input / output structure of a usage learning model according to the present example embodiment. The learning model (acquired model) 601 inputs communication characteristic information 602 and outputs a usage environment 603. In an example according to the present example embodiment, the usage environment 603 includes Figure 8 the mode illustrated in the table in FIG. 11.

[0059] In an example according to the present example embodiment, the communication characteristic information 602 includes Figure 9 the data illustrated in the table in FIG. 11.

[0060] Traffic refers to the number of communication data packets communicated in a unit of time. The communication including reception of data by a device connected to a network includes unicast communication to a device itself designated as a destination, broadcast communication of a destinationless specification, and multicast communication. The traffic in broadcast and multicast communication increases in proportion to the number of information devices existing in the network. Therefore, the traffic is information capable of estimating the scale of the network to which connection has been made. The unicast communication can be excluded so as to more definitely identify the network scale. The traffic value can estimate which one of a large-scale network (in-house intranet, Internet direct connection, or Internet prohibited environment), a medium-scale public space, and a small-scale home environment is relatively more likely to be the usage environment. For example, a usage environment with large traffic is very likely to be a large-scale network including a large number of information devices. A usage environment with small traffic is very likely to be a small-scale home environment. A usage environment with medium traffic is very likely to be a medium-scale public space environment.

[0061] The destination address number refers to the number of destination address variants of the communication data packet communicated in a unit of time. The destination address number increases as the device uses more and more external service types. A network with a small destination address number is relatively more likely to be a communication-restricted isolated network.

[0062] The source address number refers to the number of source address variants of the communication data packet communicated in a unit of time. The source address number increases if there are a large number of information devices in the network. The source address number has a similar tendency to the traffic for each usage environment. However, since the source address number is data essentially different from the traffic, the precision of the usage environment estimation can be further improved by observing the tendency in combination with the traffic.

[0063] The protocol type number refers to the number of protocol variants used by the communication data packet communicated in a unit of time. The protocol type number increases in proportion to the number of information devices connected to the network. In addition, the protocol type number decreases in a network with strong function restrictions. A usage environment with a small number of protocol types is likely to be an Internet prohibited or public space environment.

[0064] The number of variants of the time to live (TTL) attribute of the IP header refers to the number of variants of the TTL value attached to the communication data packet communicated in a unit of time. Since the TTL value is decremented each time the communication data packet passes through a router, the communication data packet passing through a plurality of routers has a small TTL value. A usage environment in which the communication data packet has the same large TTL value and a small number of TTL attribute variants is likely to be a small network. A usage environment in which the communication data packet has large and small TTL values and a large number of TTL attribute variants is likely to be a large-scale network.

[0065] As described above, each parameter has a certain characteristic tendency, such as the network scale. However, it is difficult to logically determine the threshold value for determination. Preferably, the usage environment is estimated by comprehensive determination based on a plurality of parameter combinations. Therefore, the present exemplary embodiment performs the estimation process based on a combination of the usage environment and the acquired communication characteristic information by using a learning algorithm. Even if the learning algorithm is not used, the threshold value can be determined by repeating a plurality of tests. Therefore, the present technology is also applicable to such a threshold value-based method without using the learning algorithm.

[0066] For the communication characteristic information as the input data, the technology processes the respective information (data) obtained from the communication data packets of the communication to derive a numerical vector, thereby improving the estimation accuracy. For the flow and TTL attribute variants, the technology pre-generates a histogram for each of the quantities in a unit time by using the learning data, and determines a threshold value that divides the data into, for example, five different ranges, each of which includes an equal amount of data. Based on the determined threshold value, the technology replaces the flow and TTL attribute variants in a unit time with integer values of 1 to 5 as the corresponding range values, and uses these values as the input data. Although the data is divided into five different ranges in the above example, the number of divided ranges is an arbitrary desired value, and can be appropriately set, for example, according to the value range of other parameter values.

[0067] For the number of destination addresses, the number of source addresses, and the number of protocol types, the technology excludes data that occurs less than once or twice in a unit time, and then uses the occurrence variants with unique values. This enables observation of communication trends after excluding communications with low occurrence frequencies. For example, for each of the number of destination addresses and the number of source addresses, the technology counts the number of data packets of the communication in a unit time that include the same repeated value. The technology selects the data packets in descending order of the number of repetitions. When the ratio of the remaining data packets to the total number of data packets falls to 1%, the technology uses the number of values selected before timing. For each of the destination addresses and the source addresses of the data packets of the communication in a unit time, the technology uses the number of addresses when the number of extracted data packets accounts for 99% of the total number of data packets. Likewise, for the number of protocol types, the technology counts the number of data packets of the communication in a unit time that include the same repeated protocol type. The CPU 201 selects the data packets in descending order of the number of repetitions. When the ratio of the remaining data packets to the total number of data packets falls to 1%, the technology uses the number of protocol types selected before timing. For the protocol types used for the data packets of the communication in a unit time, the technology uses the number of protocol types when the number of extracted data packets accounts for 99% of the total number of data packets. Since the number of protocol types falls within the range of 1 to 20 depending on the method of taking a unit time, the CPU 201 uses this value. If the value greatly exceeds 20, the CPU 201 can round the value to 20.

[0068] When the number of destination addresses, the number of source addresses, and the number of protocol types are collected, detailed information of these quantities is preferably included. This is because the tuning accuracy of learning can be further improved by extracting 90% of the total number of packets rather than 99% of the total number of packets. As an example of detailed information, the number of packets with address information of 192.168.100.12 is 80, and the number of packets with address information of 172.24.100.30 is 32. Since IP addresses can be handled as personal information, IP addresses that hide address information are preferably collected, for example, 192.168.100.12 is collected as address A, and 172.24.100.30 is collected as address B.

[0069]

[0070] Generally, if values of parameters with a large difference in value range are input as they are to a learning algorithm, the difference in range values can affect the estimation accuracy. For example, once the value range of traffic is 1 to 10,000 and the value range of other parameters is 1 to 10, the estimation result will be significantly affected by traffic. To use the parameters in balance, a numerical value vector is derived and the difference in value range is reduced to improve the estimation accuracy.

[0071] A learning model (acquired model) 601 can be generated by collecting a plurality of samples of a combination of communication feature information 602 as input data in a real environment and a usage environment 603 corresponding to output data, and learning based on the samples. The present exemplary embodiment uses a one-dimensional array to represent parameters on communication feature information 602 in a unit of time, samples the parameters several times, and arranges the parameters in a time series to form a two-dimensional array. By using information on the two-dimensional array and a set value of the usage environment, the CPU 201 generates an acquired model based on a general algorithm for generating a convolutional neural network (CNN) model. The CPU 201 can configure a classifier by using algorithms such as k-nearest neighbor method and support vector machine.

[0072] <Variant>

[0073] The above-described exemplary embodiment has been mainly discussed with an example in which the operation mode control unit 312 manages the definition of the operation mode as a condition not to perform the estimation processing. However, the management of the operation mode is not limited thereto. For example, the operation mode control unit 312 can manage the definition of the operation mode as a condition to perform the environment estimation. More specifically, the operation mode control unit 312 can control the estimation processing by defining a normal mode as an operation mode of normally operating the MFP 100, and performing the estimation processing in the normal mode.

[0074] ​Even in the operation mode that does not include the execution of the estimation processing or at the time of detection of a mode change from the operation mode that does not include the execution of the environment estimation to the operation mode that includes the execution of the environment estimation, the operation mode control unit 312 can execute the estimation processing at the time of manual execution of the estimation processing.

[0075] In the above example, the operation mode control unit 312 controls the display so that the update recommendation button 409 cannot be selected in the operation mode that does not include the execution of the estimation processing. However, the present exemplary embodiment is not limited to this. If the user intentionally requests the execution of the estimation processing without the control of the update recommendation button 409, the operation mode control unit 312 can execute the environment estimation regardless of the operation mode.

[0076] <Other Exemplary Embodiments>

[0077] The present disclosure can also be implemented when at least one processor in a computer of a system or device reads and executes a program for implementing at least one function according to the above exemplary embodiments via a network or a storage medium. Furthermore, the present disclosure can also be implemented by a circuit for implementing at least one function, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0078] The image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can appropriately control a process for estimating a usage environment.

[0079] Other Embodiments

[0080] Embodiments of the present disclosure can also be implemented by a method of providing software (a computer program product including a computer program) for executing functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and a computer (central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) of the system or device reading out and executing the computer program.

[0081] While the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the claims shall encompass all modifications that come within the scope of the claims and that such modifications are to be construed as falling within the purview of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus that communicates with an external apparatus, the image forming apparatus comprising: at least one memory that stores a program; and at least one processor that executes the program to: control an estimation process for estimating a usage environment of the image forming apparatus using information based on a communication data packet communicated by the image forming apparatus; and issue a notification corresponding to a result of the estimation process, wherein, in a case where the image forming apparatus is set to a specific mode, control is performed to prevent execution of the estimation process.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The specific mode is a mode of communicating with only a specific external apparatus.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The specific mode is a mode in which the image forming apparatus can download firmware.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The specific mode is a mode in which the image forming apparatus can directly connect to an external apparatus that performs maintenance.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The specific mode is a mode of a manufacturing process of the image forming apparatus.

6. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The at least one processor executes the program to further perform: control to display a screen for accepting selection of the usage environment of the image forming apparatus; and set a setting value corresponding to the selected usage environment to the image forming apparatus, wherein, in a case where the usage environment obtained as a result of the estimation process is different from the usage environment selected in the screen and corresponds to a setting value set to the image forming apparatus, the notification is issued.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein The result of the estimation process is displayed on the screen.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein in a case where a power of the image forming apparatus is turned on and the image forming apparatus is not set to a specific mode, the estimation process is executed, and wherein, as a result of the estimation process, a result of a latest estimation process is displayed on the screen.

9. A control method of an image forming apparatus that communicates with an external apparatus, the method comprising: controlling an estimation process for estimating a usage environment of the image forming apparatus using information based on a communication data packet communicated by the image forming apparatus; and issuing a notification corresponding to a result of the estimation process, wherein, in a case where the image forming apparatus is set to a specific mode, control is performed to prevent execution of the estimation process.

10. A storage medium that stores a computer program for executing a control method of an image forming apparatus that communicates with an external apparatus, the method comprising: controlling an estimation process for estimating a usage environment of the image forming apparatus using information based on a communication data packet communicated by the image forming apparatus; and issuing a notification corresponding to a result of the estimation process, wherein, in a case where the image forming apparatus is set to a specific mode, control is performed to prevent execution of the estimation process.

Images