Electronic apparatus, setting reflection program, and apparatus setting system

Abstract

To provide an electronic apparatus, a setting reflection program, and an apparatus setting system in which reflection of settings can be restricted.SOLUTION: An image processing system includes an image processing apparatus 40, and an apparatus cooperation system 20 that cooperates with the image processing apparatus 40. The image processing apparatus 40 reads a setting for the image processing apparatus 40, from a code having the setting embedded therein (S222), reflects the setting read from the code into the image processing apparatus 40 (S229 and S235) when registration of the image processing apparatus 40 is requested to the apparatus cooperation system 20 at S226 and the apparatus cooperation system 20 has recorded the image processing apparatus 40 or executes a new registration of the image processing apparatus, and refrains from reflecting the setting read from the code into the image processing apparatus 40 (S232) when registration of the image processing apparatus 40 is requested to the apparatus cooperation system 20 at S226 and the apparatus cooperation system 20 has not recorded the image processing apparatus 40 or does not execute a new registration of the image processing apparatus.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 16

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic device that reflects settings for an electronic device, a setting reflection program, and a device setting system. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known an image input device that reads settings from code in which the settings are embedded and reflects the read settings in the image input device itself (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-210267 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the image input device described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that the settings read from the code are always reflected in the image input device itself, making it impossible to restrict the reflection of the settings.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENTS In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device, a settings reflection program, and a device setting system that are capable of restricting the reflection of settings. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The electronic device of the present invention is an electronic device that cooperates with a device cooperation system, and is characterized in that it reads settings for the electronic device from code in which the settings are embedded, and when a request is made to the device cooperation system to register the electronic device, if the device cooperation system has already registered the electronic device or has newly registered it, it reflects the settings read from the code in the electronic device, and when a request is made to register the electronic device, if the device cooperation system has not already registered the electronic device or has not newly registered it, it does not reflect the settings read from the code in the electronic device.

[0007] With this configuration, when the electronic device of the present invention requests the device linkage system to register an electronic device, if the device linkage system has already registered the electronic device or has newly registered the electronic device, the settings read from the code are reflected in the electronic device, and if the device linkage system has not registered the electronic device or will not newly register the electronic device, the settings read from the code are not reflected in the electronic device, thereby restricting the reflection of settings.

[0008] The setting reflection program of the present invention is characterized by realizing an operation of reading settings from code in which settings for an electronic device that cooperates with a device cooperation system are embedded, an operation of reflecting the settings read from the code in the electronic device when the device cooperation system is requested to register the electronic device and the device cooperation system has already registered the electronic device or has newly registered the electronic device, and an operation of not reflecting the settings read from the code in the electronic device when the device cooperation system has not already registered the electronic device or will not newly register the electronic device when the device cooperation system is requested to register the electronic device.

[0009] With this configuration, when an electronic device executing the setting reflection program of the present invention requests the device collaboration system to register an electronic device, if the device collaboration system has already registered the electronic device or has newly registered the electronic device, the electronic device reflects the settings read from the code in the electronic device, and if the device collaboration system has not registered the electronic device or has not newly registered the electronic device, the electronic device does not reflect the settings read from the code in the electronic device, thereby restricting the reflection of settings.

[0010] The device setting system of the present invention comprises an electronic device and a device linkage system which links with the electronic device, wherein the electronic device reads settings for the electronic device from code in which the settings are embedded, and when a request is made to the device linkage system to register the electronic device, if the device linkage system has already registered the electronic device or has newly registered it, the settings read from the code are reflected in the electronic device, and when a request is made to the device linkage system to register the electronic device, if the device linkage system has not already registered the electronic device or has not newly registered it, the settings read from the code are not reflected in the electronic device.

[0011] With this configuration, in the device setting system of the present invention, when an electronic device requests the device linkage system to register the electronic device, if the device linkage system has already registered the electronic device or has newly registered the electronic device, the device linkage system reflects the settings read from the code in the electronic device, and if the device linkage system has not registered the electronic device or has not newly registered the electronic device, the device linkage system does not reflect the settings read from the code in the electronic device, thereby restricting the reflection of settings.

[0012] The device setting system of the present invention comprises an electronic device, a setting assistance device that assists in executing the settings of the electronic device, and a device linkage system that links with the electronic device, wherein the setting assistance device reads information necessary for communicating with the electronic device from a code in which the information is embedded, and transmits the settings to the electronic device using the information, wherein the electronic device, when requesting registration of the electronic device from the device linkage system, reflects the settings transmitted from the setting assistance device in the electronic device if the device linkage system has already registered the electronic device or has newly registered the electronic device, and when requesting registration of the electronic device from the device linkage system, when the device linkage system has not already registered the electronic device or will not newly register the electronic device, does not reflect the settings transmitted from the setting assistance device in the electronic device.

[0013] With this configuration, in the device setting system of the present invention, when an electronic device requests the device linkage system to register the electronic device, if the device linkage system has already registered the electronic device or has newly registered the electronic device, the electronic device reflects the settings transmitted from the setting assistance device in the electronic device, and if the device linkage system has not registered the electronic device or will not newly register the electronic device, the electronic device does not reflect the settings transmitted from the setting assistance device in the electronic device, thereby limiting the reflection of settings.

[0014] The device setting system of the present invention comprises an electronic device, a setting assistance device that assists in executing the setting of the electronic device, and a device linkage system that links with the electronic device, wherein the setting assistance device reads information necessary for the device linkage system to register the electronic device from a code in which the information is embedded, and when the device linkage system is requested to register the electronic device using the information, the setting assistance device transmits the settings to the electronic device if the device linkage system has already registered the electronic device or has newly registered the electronic device, and when the device linkage system is requested to register the electronic device using the information, if the device linkage system has not already registered the electronic device or will not newly register the electronic device, the setting assistance device does not transmit the settings to the electronic device, and the electronic device reflects the settings transmitted from the setting assistance device in the electronic device.

[0015] With this configuration, in the device setting system of the present invention, when the setting assistant device uses information read from the code to request the device linkage system to register an electronic device, if the device linkage system has already registered the electronic device or has newly registered it, the setting assistant device transmits settings for the electronic device to the electronic device, and if the device linkage system has not already registered the electronic device or is not newly registering it, the setting assistant device does not transmit settings for the electronic device to the electronic device, and the electronic device reflects the settings transmitted from the setting assistant device in the electronic device, thereby limiting the reflection of settings. Effect of the Invention

[0016] The electronic device, the setting reflection program, and the device setting system of the present invention can limit the reflection of the settings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram of an image processing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram of an example of the device linkage system shown in FIG. 1 when configured by one computer. [Diagram 3]3 is a diagram showing an example of organization management information shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] 3 is a diagram showing an example of user management information shown in FIG. 2. [Diagram 5] 3 is a diagram showing an example of device management information shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 6] 2 is a block diagram of an example of the image processing device shown in FIG. 1 when configured as an MFP. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of electronic device information shown in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] 7 is a diagram showing an example of program setting information shown in FIG. 6. [Figure 9] 7 is a flowchart of the operation of the image processing device shown in FIG. 6 when a program administrator screen is displayed. [Figure 10] 10 is a diagram showing an example of an authentication screen displayed in the operation shown in FIG. 9. [Figure 11] 10 is a diagram showing an example of a program administrator screen displayed in the operation shown in FIG. 9. FIG. [Figure 12] 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image processing device shown in FIG. 6 when settings are manually input into the program setting information. [Figure 13] 13 is a diagram showing an example of a setting input screen displayed in the operation shown in FIG. 12. FIG. [Figure 14] 4 is a sequence diagram of the operation of the image processing system shown in FIG. 1 when the image processing device is registered in the device linkage system. [Figure 15] 7 is a flowchart of the operation of the image processing device shown in FIG. 6 when printing a setting read code. [Figure 16] 10 is a sequence diagram of the operation of the image processing system shown in FIG. 1 when settings are read from a settings reading code. [Figure 17] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an image processing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a block diagram of an example of the setting assistant device shown in FIG. 17 when configured as a mobile device. [Figure 19]19 is a flowchart of the operation of the setting assistant device shown in FIG. 18 when settings for a system cooperation program of the image processing device are input. [Figure 20] 18 is a diagram showing an example of a program manager screen displayed on a display unit of the image processing apparatus shown in FIG. 17. FIG. [Figure 21] 18 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image processing device shown in FIG. 17 when displaying a setting transmission code. [Figure 22] 18 is a sequence diagram of the operation of the image processing system shown in FIG. 17 when the image processing device is registered in the device linkage system. [Diagram 23] FIG. 23 is a sequence diagram of “serial number not registered” in FIG. 22. [Figure 24] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a program manager screen displayed on a display unit of an image processing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 25] 13 is a flowchart of the operation of the image processing device according to the third embodiment of the present invention when displaying a device registration code. [Figure 26] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram of the operation of the image processing system according to the third embodiment of the present invention when an image processing device is registered in a device link system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0019] (First embodiment) First, a configuration of an image processing system serving as a device setting system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image processing system 10 according to the present embodiment.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 1, the image processing system 10 includes a device cooperation system 20 that cooperates with an image processing device as an electronic device. By cooperating with the image processing device, the device cooperation system 20 can realize, for example, cloud printing, which is a function of downloading a print job stored on a cloud to the image processing device and causing the image processing device to execute the downloaded print job, and cloud scanning, which is a function of uploading scan data read from a document by the image processing device to the cloud. The device cooperation system 20 may be configured by one computer such as a PC (Personal Computer), or may be configured by multiple computers. The device cooperation system 20 may be realized on a cloud.

[0022] The image processing system 10 includes an image processing device 30 and an image processing device 40. The image processing system 10 may include at least one image processing device other than the image processing device 30 and the image processing device 40. The image processing device may be configured, for example, by an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral), a dedicated printer device, a dedicated scanner device, or the like.

[0023] The device linkage system 20 and the image processing device are capable of communicating with each other via a network 11 such as the Internet.

[0024] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of a device linkage system 20 configured by one computer.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, the device linkage system 20 includes an operation unit 21 which is an operation device such as a keyboard or a mouse through which various operations are input, a display unit 22 which is a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) that displays various information, a communication unit 23 which is a communication device that communicates with external devices via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet, or directly by wire or wirelessly without using a network, a memory unit 24 which is a non-volatile memory device such as a semiconductor memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) that stores various information, and a control unit 25 which controls the entire device linkage system 20.

[0026] The storage unit 24 can store a device cooperation program 24a for cooperation with the image processing device. The device cooperation program 24a may be installed in the device cooperation system 20 during the manufacturing stage of the device cooperation system 20, or may be additionally installed in the device cooperation system 20 from an external storage medium such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, or may be additionally installed in the device cooperation system 20 from a network.

[0027] The storage unit 24 stores organization management information 24b for managing organizations that use the device linkage system 20.

[0028] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the organization management information 24b.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 3, the organization management information 24b includes, for each organization, an organization name as identification information of the organization, and the number of licenses indicating the number of image processing devices permitted to cooperate with the device cooperation system 20.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 2, the storage unit 24 stores user management information 24c for managing users who use the device link system 20.

[0031] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the user management information 24c.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 4, the user management information 24c includes, for each user, a user ID as identification information for the user, and the name of the organization to which the user belongs.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 2, the storage unit 24 stores device management information 24d for managing the image processing device that cooperates with the device cooperation system 20.

[0034] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the device management information 24d.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 5, the device management information 24d includes, for each image processing device, a serial number as identification information for the image processing device, an IP address of the image processing device, authentication information such as an ID and password of the administrator of the image processing device (hereinafter referred to as "device administrator authentication information"), authentication information such as a PIN (Personal Identification Number) code of the administrator of the system collaboration program of the image processing device described below (hereinafter referred to as "program administrator authentication information"), and the organization name of the organization to which the image processing device belongs.

[0036] The IP address of the image processing device is information used by the device link system 20 to link with the image processing device.

[0037] The device administrator authentication information is information used when various settings in the image processing device are changed from the device link system 20.

[0038] Hereinafter, the program administrator authentication information will be referred to as the "Admin PIN."

[0039] 2 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores programs and various data, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that serves as a memory used as a working area for the CPU of the control unit 25. The CPU of the control unit 25 executes programs stored in the storage unit 24 or the ROM of the control unit 25.

[0040] The control unit 25 executes the device cooperation program 24a to realize a device cooperation unit 25a that cooperates with the image processing device.

[0041] The device link unit 25a can provide a Web page to be accessed from a Web browser of a computer such as a PC. In this Web page, for example, the value of the "Admin PIN" for each image processing device in the device management information 24d can be changed in response to an instruction from an external computer.

[0042] The device linking unit 25a can handle only image processing devices whose serial numbers are registered in the device management information 24d as image processing devices to link with for cloud printing and cloud scanning.

[0043] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example of the image processing device 30 when configured as an MFP.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 6, the image processing device 30 includes an operation unit 31 which is an operating device such as a button through which various operations are input, a display unit 32 which is a display device such as an LCD that displays various information, a printer 33 which is a printing device that prints images on a recording medium such as paper, a scanner 34 which is a reading device that reads images from a document, a communication unit 35 which is a communication device that communicates with an external device via a network such as a LAN or the Internet, or directly by wire or wirelessly without using a network, a fax communication unit 36 ​​which is a fax device that communicates with an external facsimile device (not shown) via a communication line such as a public telephone line, a memory unit 37 which is a non-volatile memory device such as a semiconductor memory or HDD that stores various information, and a control unit 38 which controls the entire image processing device 30.

[0045] The storage unit 37 can store a system linking program 37a for linking with the device linking system 20 (see FIG. 1). The system linking program 37a may be installed in the image processing device 30 during the manufacturing stage of the image processing device 30, or may be additionally installed in the image processing device 30 from an external storage medium such as a USB memory, or may be additionally installed in the image processing device 30 from a network. The system linking program 37a constitutes a setting reflection program of the present invention.

[0046] The storage unit 37 can store electronic device information 37b indicating various types of information about the image processing device 30.

[0047] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the electronic device information 37b.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 7, the electronic device information 37b includes the serial number of the image processing device 30, the IP address of the image processing device 30, and the device administrator authentication information of the administrator of the image processing device 30.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 6, the storage unit 37 can store program setting information 37c that indicates settings for a system interaction program 37a.

[0050] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the program setting information 37c.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 8, the program setting information 37c includes the domain name of the device collaboration system 20, the name of the organization to which the image processing device 30 belongs, the “Admin PIN” of the system collaboration program 37a, “Proxy ON / OFF” indicating whether a proxy server is used to connect to the device collaboration system 20, “Proxy IP Address / Hostname” indicating the IP address or host name of the proxy server used to connect to the device collaboration system 20, “Proxy Port number” indicating the port number used for communication with the proxy server used to connect to the device collaboration system 20, “Proxy Auth ON / OFF” indicating whether authentication is performed when connecting to the proxy server used to connect to the device collaboration system 20, “Proxy username” indicating the user name used for authentication performed when connecting to the proxy server used to connect to the device collaboration system 20, and “Proxy Password” indicating the password used for authentication performed when connecting to the proxy server used to connect to the device collaboration system 20.

[0052] 6 includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM that stores programs and various data, and a RAM as a memory used as a working area for the CPU of the control unit 38. The CPU of the control unit 38 executes a program stored in the storage unit 37 or the ROM of the control unit 38.

[0053] The control unit 38 realizes a system cooperation unit 38a that cooperates with the device cooperation system 20 by executing the system cooperation program 37a.

[0054] The configurations of image processing devices other than the image processing device 30, such as the image processing device 40 (see FIG. 1), are similar to the configuration of the image processing device 30, and therefore will not be described.

[0055] Next, the operation of the image processing system 10 will be described.

[0056] First, the operation of the image processing device 30 when displaying a screen for an administrator of the system cooperation program 37a (hereinafter referred to as a "program administrator screen") will be described.

[0057] A user of the image processing device 30 can instruct the image processing device 30 to display a program administrator screen via the operation unit 31. When instructed to display the program administrator screen, the system cooperation unit 38a of the image processing device 30 executes the operation shown in FIG.

[0058] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image processing device 30 when displaying the program manager screen.

[0059] As shown in FIG. 9, the system cooperation unit 38a judges whether or not the program setting information 37c includes a domain name and an organization name (S101).

[0060] When the system cooperation unit 38a determines in S101 that the program setting information 37c includes a domain name and an organization name, it attempts to connect to the device cooperation system 20 using the domain name and organization name included in the program setting information 37c (S102). Here, when the program setting information 37c includes settings related to a proxy server, the system cooperation unit 38a also attempts to connect to the device cooperation system 20 using the settings related to the proxy server included in the program setting information 37c.

[0061] When the process of S102 ends, the system cooperation unit 38a determines whether or not the connection to the device cooperation system 20 has been successful (S103).

[0062] When the system linking unit 38a determines in S103 that the connection to the device linking system 20 has been successful, it requests the device linking system 20 for the value of the "Admin PIN" for the system linking program 37a (S104). The system linking unit 38a includes the serial number of the image processing device 30 in the request in S104. When the device linking unit 25a of the device linking system 20 receives the request in S104, if the serial number included in the request in S104 has a value of "Admin PIN" associated with it in the device management information 24d, the device linking unit 25a returns the value of this "Admin PIN" to the image processing device 30. On the other hand, if the serial number included in the request in S104 has no value of "Admin PIN" associated with it in the device management information 24d, the device linking unit 25a returns a message to the image processing device 30 indicating that the value of the target "Admin PIN" does not exist.

[0063] When the process of S104 ends, the system cooperation unit 38a of the image processing device 30 judges whether or not the value of "Admin PIN" requested in S104 has been received from the device cooperation system 20 (S105). If the value of "Admin PIN" has been returned from the device cooperation system 20, the system cooperation unit 38a judges that the value of "Admin PIN" requested in S104 has been received from the device cooperation system 20. On the other hand, if the system cooperation unit 38a receives a reply from the device cooperation system 20 indicating that the target "Admin PIN" value does not exist, the system cooperation unit 38a judges that the value of "Admin PIN" requested in S104 has not been received from the device cooperation system 20.

[0064] When the system collaboration unit 38a determines in S105 that the value of the “Admin PIN” requested in S104 has been received from the device collaboration system 20, the system collaboration unit 38a overwrites and saves the value of the “Admin PIN” received from the device collaboration system 20 in the program setting information 37c (S106).

[0065] If the system collaboration unit 38a determines in S101 that the program setting information 37c does not include the domain name and organization name, determines in S103 that the connection to the device collaboration system 20 was not successful, or determines in S105 that the value of the “Admin PIN” requested in S104 was not received from the device collaboration system 20, it determines whether the program setting information 37c includes a value of the “Admin PIN” (S107).

[0066] When the processing of S106 is completed or when the system collaboration unit 38a determines in S107 that the program setting information 37c contains the value of “Admin PIN”, it displays an authentication screen 50 (see FIG. 10) for the administrator of the system collaboration program 37a on the display unit 32 (S108).

[0067] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the authentication screen 50. As shown in FIG.

[0068] An authentication screen 50 shown in FIG. 10 includes a text box 51 for inputting the value of the “Admin PIN”, a cancel button 52, and an OK button 53.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 9, when the process of S108 ends, the system cooperation unit 38a determines whether or not the cancel button 52 has been pressed (S109).

[0070] If the system cooperation unit 38a determines in S109 that the cancel button 52 has been pressed, it ends the display of the authentication screen 50 on the display unit 32 (S110), and ends the operation shown in FIG.

[0071] If the system cooperation unit 38a determines in S109 that the cancel button 52 has not been pressed, it determines whether the OK button 53 has been pressed (S111).

[0072] If the system cooperation unit 38a determines in S111 that the OK button 53 has not been pressed, it executes the process of S109.

[0073] When the system cooperation unit 38a determines in S111 that the OK button 53 has been pressed, it ends the display of the authentication screen 50 on the display unit 32 (S112).

[0074] When the processing of S112 is completed, the system collaboration unit 38a determines whether or not the information entered in the text box 51 at the time the OK button 53 was pressed matches the value of the "Admin PIN" included in the program setting information 37c (S113).

[0075] If the system collaboration unit 38a determines in S113 that the information entered in the text box 51 at the time the OK button 53 was pressed does not match the value of the "Admin PIN" included in the program setting information 37c, it displays on the display unit 32 a message that the authentication has failed (S114), and terminates the operation shown in FIG. 9.

[0076] If the system collaboration unit 38a determines in S107 that the program setting information 37c does not include a value for "Admin PIN", or determines in S113 that the information entered in the text box 51 at the time the OK button 53 was pressed matches the value of "Admin PIN" included in the program setting information 37c, it displays the program administrator screen 60 (see Figure 11) on the display unit 32 (S115) and terminates the operation shown in Figure 9.

[0077] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the program manager screen 60. As shown in FIG.

[0078] The program administrator screen 60 shown in Figure 11 includes a setting button 61 for manually entering settings, a setting read code print button 62 for printing a code (hereinafter referred to as the "setting read code") for the image processing device to read the settings indicated in the program setting information 37c, a setting read button 63 for reading the settings from the setting read code, and an electronic device registration button 64 for registering the image processing device 30 in the device linkage system 20.

[0079] Next, the operation of the image processing device 30 when settings are manually input into the program setting information 37c will be described.

[0080] When the setting button 61 on the program manager screen 60 is pressed, the system cooperation unit 38a of the image processing device 30 executes the operation shown in FIG.

[0081] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image processing device 30 when settings are manually input into the program setting information 37c.

[0082] As shown in FIG. 12, the system cooperation unit 38a displays a setting input screen 70 (see FIG. 13) for manually inputting settings on the display unit 32 (S131).

[0083] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the setting input screen 70. As shown in FIG.

[0084] The setting input screen 70 shown in FIG. 13 includes a text box 71a for inputting the domain name of the device cooperation system 20, a text box 71b for inputting the name of the organization to which the image processing device 30 belongs, a text box 71c for inputting the value of “Admin PIN” of the system cooperation program 37a, a drop-down list 71d for selecting the value of “Proxy ON / OFF” indicating whether or not a proxy server is used to connect to the device cooperation system 20, a text box 71e for inputting the value of “Proxy IP Address / Hostname” indicating the IP address or host name of the proxy server used to connect to the device cooperation system 20, a text box 71f for inputting the value of “Proxy Port number” indicating the port number used to communicate with the proxy server used to connect to the device cooperation system 20, a drop-down list 71g for selecting the value of “Proxy Auth ON / OFF” indicating whether or not authentication is performed when connecting to the proxy server used to connect to the device cooperation system 20, and a drop-down list 71h for selecting the value of “Proxy Auth ON / OFF” indicating the user name used for authentication performed when connecting to the proxy server used to connect to the device cooperation system 20. It includes a text box 71h for inputting the value of "username", a text box 71i for inputting the value of "Proxy Password" indicating the password used for authentication when connecting to a proxy server used to connect to the device linkage system 20, a cancel button 72, and an OK button 73.

[0085] When the system cooperation unit 38a displays the setting input screen 70 on the display unit 32 in S131, the system cooperation unit 38a may reflect the setting values ​​included in the program setting information 37c on the setting input screen 70.

[0086] As shown in FIG. 12, when the process of S131 ends, the system cooperation unit 38a determines whether or not the cancel button 72 has been pressed (S132).

[0087] When the system cooperation unit 38a determines in S132 that the cancel button 72 has been pressed, it terminates the display of the setting input screen 70 on the display unit 32 (S133) and terminates the operation shown in Fig. 12. Therefore, the program administrator screen 60 (see Fig. 11) is displayed again on the display unit 32.

[0088] If the system cooperation unit 38a determines in S132 that the cancel button 72 has not been pressed, it determines whether or not the OK button 73 has been pressed (S134).

[0089] If the system cooperation unit 38a determines in S134 that the OK button 73 has not been pressed, it executes the process of S132.

[0090] When the system cooperation unit 38a determines in S134 that the OK button 73 has been pressed, it ends the display of the setting input screen 70 on the display unit 32 (S135). Therefore, the program administrator screen 60 (see FIG. 11) is displayed again on the display unit 32.

[0091] When the processing of S135 is completed, the system collaboration unit 38a overwrites and saves the settings that were input into the setting input screen 70 at the time the OK button 73 was pressed into the program setting information 37c (S136), and terminates the operation shown in Figure 12.

[0092] Next, the operation of the image processing system 10 when the image processing device 30 is registered in the device link system 20 will be described.

[0093] FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram of the operation of the image processing system 10 when the image processing device 30 is registered in the device cooperation system 20. In FIG.

[0094] When the electronic device registration button 64 on the program administrator screen 60 is pressed, if the domain name and organization name are not included in the program setting information 37c, as shown in FIG. 14, the system collaboration unit 38a of the image processing device 30 displays on the display unit 32 that registration of the image processing device 30 to the device collaboration system 20 has failed because information necessary for connecting to the device collaboration system 20 is missing (S161), and the operation shown in FIG. 14 is terminated.

[0095] If the program setting information 37c includes a domain name and an organization name, the system linking unit 38a attempts to connect to the device linking system 20 using the domain name and organization name included in the program setting information 37c (S162). If the program setting information 37c includes settings related to a proxy server, the system linking unit 38a also attempts to connect to the device linking system 20 using the settings related to the proxy server included in the program setting information 37c. If the connection to the device linking system 20 is successful through the process of S162, the system linking unit 38a connects to an area of ​​the device linking system 20 that corresponds to the organization name specified in S162.

[0096] If the connection to the device collaboration system 20 fails as a result of the processing at S162, the system collaboration unit 38a displays on the display unit 32 a message that registration of the image processing device 30 to the device collaboration system 20 has failed due to the failure to connect to the device collaboration system 20 (S163), and terminates the operation shown in FIG. 14.

[0097] If the connection to the device linkage system 20 is successful by the process of S162, the system linkage unit 38a requests the device linkage system 20 to register the image processing device 30 (S164). The system linkage unit 38a includes in the request in S164 the serial number, IP address, and device administrator authentication information included in the electronic device information 37b, and the value of "Admin PIN" included in the program setting information 37c.

[0098] When the device linking unit 25a of the device linking system 20 receives the request in S164, if the serial number included in the request in S164 is included in the device management information 24d, it rewrites the IP address, device administrator authentication information, and value of "Admin PIN" that are associated in the device management information 24d with the serial number included in the request in S164 with the IP address, device administrator authentication information, and value of "Admin PIN" included in the request in S164 (S165).

[0099] When the process of S165 ends, the device link unit 25a notifies the image processing device 30 that the re-registration of the image processing device 30 has been successful (S166).

[0100] When the system cooperation unit 38a of the image processing device 30 receives the notification in S166, it displays on the display unit 32 a message indicating that the image processing device 30 has been successfully re-registered in the device cooperation system 20 (S167), and ends the operation shown in FIG.

[0101] When the device collaboration unit 25a of the device collaboration system 20 receives the request in S164, if the serial number included in the request in S164 is not included in the device management information 24d and the number of image processing devices in the device collaboration system 20 associated with the organization name corresponding to the area to which the image processing device 30 is connected in the device management information 24d reaches the number of licenses associated with this organization in the organization management information 24b, the device collaboration unit 25a notifies the image processing device 30 that registration of the image processing device 30 has failed because the number of licenses has been reached (S168).

[0102] When the system collaboration unit 38a of the image processing device 30 receives the notification in S168, it displays on the display unit 32 a message that registration of the image processing device 30 to the device collaboration system 20 has failed because the number of licenses has been reached (S169), and terminates the operation shown in Figure 14.

[0103] When the device collaboration unit 25a of the device collaboration system 20 receives the request in S164, if the serial number included in the request in S164 is not included in the device management information 24d and the number of image processing devices associated in the device management information 24d with the organization name corresponding to the area of ​​the device collaboration system 20 to which the image processing device 30 is connected does not reach the number of licenses associated with this organization in the organization management information 24b, the device collaboration unit 25a writes the serial number, IP address, device administrator authentication information and the value of "Admin PIN" included in the request in S164 in association with the organization name corresponding to the area of ​​the device collaboration system 20 to which the image processing device 30 is connected into the device management information 24d (S170).

[0104] When the process of S170 ends, the device link unit 25a notifies the image processing device 30 that the new registration of the image processing device 30 has been successful (S171).

[0105] When the system cooperation unit 38a of the image processing device 30 receives the notification in S171, it displays on the display unit 32 a message indicating that the new registration of the image processing device 30 in the device cooperation system 20 has been successful (S172), and ends the operation shown in FIG.

[0106] Next, the operation of the image processing device 30 when printing the setting read code will be described.

[0107] When the setting read code print button 62 on the program manager screen 60 is pressed, the system cooperation unit 38a of the image processing device 30 executes the operation shown in FIG.

[0108] FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image processing device 30 when printing the setting read code.

[0109] 15, the system cooperation unit 38a generates a setting read code in which the setting indicated in the program setting information 37c is embedded (S191). The setting read code generated in S191 may be, for example, a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark).

[0110] When the process of S191 is completed, the system cooperation unit 38a causes the printer 33 to print the setting reading code generated in S191 on the recording medium (S192), and ends the operation shown in Fig. 15. Therefore, the administrator of the image processing device 30 can obtain the recording medium on which the setting reading code is printed.

[0111] Next, the operation of the image processing system 10 when the image processing device 40 reads settings from the setting reading code will be described.

[0112] A user of the image processing device 40 can instruct the image processing device 40 to display a program administrator screen via an operation unit of the image processing device 40. When the display of the program administrator screen is instructed, the system cooperation unit of the image processing device 40 displays the program administrator screen on the display unit of the image processing device 40 by performing an operation similar to that shown in FIG.

[0113] FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram of the operation of the image processing system 10 when reading settings from a setting reading code.

[0114] The administrator of the image processing device 40 can set the recording medium on which the setting read code is printed in the scanner of the image processing device 40 and press the setting read button on the program administrator screen of the image processing device 40. When the setting read button on the program administrator screen of the image processing device 40 is pressed, the system cooperation unit of the image processing device 40 reads an image from the recording medium on which the setting read code is printed by the scanner of the image processing device 40 (S221), as shown in Fig. 16.

[0115] When the process of S221 ends, the system cooperation unit of the image processing device 40 reads the settings from the setting reading code in the image read in S221 (S222).

[0116] When the processing of S222 is completed, if the settings loaded in S222 do not include the domain name and organization name, the system collaboration unit of the image processing device 40 displays on the display unit of the image processing device 40 a message indicating that registration of the image processing device 40 to the device collaboration system 20 and settings for the system collaboration program of the image processing device 40 have failed because the information necessary for connecting to the device collaboration system 20 is missing (S223), and the operation shown in Figure 16 is terminated.

[0117] If the settings loaded in S222 include a domain name and an organization name, the system linking unit of the image processing device 40 attempts to connect to the device linking system 20 using the domain name and organization name included in the settings loaded in S222 (S224). If the settings loaded in S222 include settings related to a proxy server, the system linking unit of the image processing device 40 also attempts to connect to the device linking system 20 using the settings related to the proxy server included in the settings loaded in S222. If the connection to the device linking system 20 is successful by the process of S224, the system linking unit of the image processing device 40 connects to the area of ​​the device linking system 20 corresponding to the organization name specified in S224.

[0118] If the connection to the device linkage system 20 fails as a result of the processing of S224, the system linkage unit of the image processing device 40 displays on the display unit of the image processing device 40 a message indicating that registration of the image processing device 40 to the device linkage system 20 and settings for the system linkage program of the image processing device 40 have failed due to the failure to connect to the device linkage system 20 (S225), and terminates the operation shown in FIG. 16.

[0119] If the connection to the device linkage system 20 is successful by the process of S224, the system linkage unit of the image processing device 40 requests the device linkage system 20 to register the image processing device 40 (S226). The system linkage unit of the image processing device 40 includes in the request of S226 the serial number, IP address, and device administrator authentication information included in the electronic device information of the image processing device 40, and the value of "Admin PIN" included in the settings read in S222.

[0120] When the device collaboration unit 25a of the device collaboration system 20 receives the request in S226, if the serial number included in the request in S226 is included in the device management information 24d, it rewrites the IP address, device administrator authentication information and value of "Admin PIN" that are associated in the device management information 24d with the serial number included in the request in S226 with the IP address, device administrator authentication information and value of "Admin PIN" included in the request in S226 (S227).

[0121] When the process of S227 ends, the device link unit 25a notifies the image processing device 40 that the re-registration of the image processing device 40 has been successful (S228).

[0122] When the system cooperation unit of the image processing device 40 receives the notification in S228, it overwrites and saves the settings read in S222 into the program setting information of the image processing device 40 (S229).

[0123] When the processing of S229 is completed, the system collaboration unit of the image processing device 40 displays on the display unit of the image processing device 40 a message indicating that the re-registration of the image processing device 40 in the device collaboration system 20 and the settings for the system collaboration program of the image processing device 40 have been successful (S230), and the operation shown in Figure 16 is terminated.

[0124] When the device collaboration unit 25a of the device collaboration system 20 receives the request in S226, if the serial number included in the request in S226 is not included in the device management information 24d and the number of image processing devices in the device collaboration system 20 associated with the organization name corresponding to the area to which the image processing device 40 is connected in the device management information 24d reaches the number of licenses associated with this organization in the organization management information 24b, the device collaboration unit 25a notifies the image processing device 40 that registration of the image processing device 40 has failed because the number of licenses has been reached (S231).

[0125] When the system collaboration unit of the image processing device 40 receives the notification in S231, it displays on the display unit of the image processing device 40 a message indicating that registration of the image processing device 40 into the device collaboration system 20 and settings for the system collaboration program of the image processing device 40 have failed because the number of licenses has been reached (S232), and then terminates the operation shown in Figure 16.

[0126] When the device collaboration unit 25a of the device collaboration system 20 receives the request in S226, if the serial number included in the request in S226 is not included in the device management information 24d and the number of image processing devices associated in the device management information 24d with the organization name corresponding to the area of ​​the device collaboration system 20 to which the image processing device 40 is connected does not reach the number of licenses associated with this organization in the organization management information 24b, the device collaboration unit 25a writes the serial number, IP address, device administrator authentication information and the value of "Admin PIN" included in the request in S226 in association with the organization name corresponding to the area of ​​the device collaboration system 20 to which the image processing device 40 is connected into the device management information 24d (S233).

[0127] When the process of S233 ends, the device link unit 25a notifies the image processing device 40 that the new registration of the image processing device 40 has been successful (S234).

[0128] When the system cooperation unit of the image processing device 40 receives the notification in S234, it overwrites and saves the settings read in S222 into the program setting information of the image processing device 40 (S235).

[0129] When the processing of S235 is completed, the system collaboration unit of the image processing device 40 displays on the display unit of the image processing device 40 a message indicating that the new registration of the image processing device 40 in the device collaboration system 20 and the settings for the system collaboration program of the image processing device 40 have been successful (S236), and the operation shown in Figure 16 is terminated.

[0130] The above describes the operation of the image processing system 10 when the image processing device 40 reads settings from the setting reading code. However, the operation of the image processing system 10 is similar when an image processing device other than the image processing device 40 reads settings from the setting reading code.

[0131] In the above, the image processing device 30 is registered in the device linkage system 20 by pressing the electronic device registration button 64 on the program administrator screen 60. However, like the image processing device 40, the image processing device 30 may also be registered in the device linkage system 20 by pressing the setting read button 63 on the program administrator screen 60.

[0132] As described above, when the image processing device requests the device cooperation system 20 to register the image processing device in S226, if the device cooperation system 20 has already registered the image processing device or has newly registered it, the image processing system 10 reflects the settings read from the code in the image processing device (S229 and S235), and if the device cooperation system 20 has not registered the image processing device or has not newly registered it, the image processing system 10 does not reflect the settings read from the code in the image processing device (S232), thereby restricting the reflection of settings.

[0133] The image processing system 10 can reflect the settings read from the code by the image processing device in the image processing device within the range permitted by the number of licenses.

[0134] In the image processing system 10, the image processing device reads the settings for the image processing device from the code, so that even when the settings for the image processing device are to be reflected in multiple image processing devices, it is possible to facilitate the execution of the settings for the image processing device.

[0135] (Second embodiment) First, a configuration of an image processing system serving as a device setting system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0136] Among the components of the image processing system of this embodiment, those that are similar to the components of the image processing system 10 of the first embodiment are given the same symbols as the components of the image processing system 10, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0137] FIG. 17 is a block diagram of an image processing system 310 according to the present embodiment.

[0138] As shown in FIG. 17, the image processing system 310 includes a device collaboration system 20, an image processing device 30, an image processing device 40, and an electronic device (hereinafter referred to as a "setting assistance device") 320 that assists in executing settings for the system collaboration program of the image processing device.

[0139] The setting assistant device 320 may be configured, for example, by a mobile device such as a smartphone or a tablet, or may be configured by a computer such as a PC.

[0140] The image processing device and the setting assistant device 320 are capable of communicating with each other via a network 11 .

[0141] FIG. 18 is a block diagram of an example of the setting assistant device 320 when configured by a mobile device.

[0142] As shown in FIG. 18, the setting assistance device 320 includes an operation unit 321 which is an operating device such as a button through which various operations are input, a display unit 322 which is a display device such as an LCD that displays various information, a camera 323, a communication unit 324 which is a communication device that communicates with external devices via a network such as a LAN or the Internet, or directly by wire or wirelessly without using a network, a memory unit 325 which is a non-volatile memory device such as a semiconductor memory or HDD that stores various information, and a control unit 326 which controls the entire setting assistance device 320.

[0143] The storage unit 325 can store a setting assistance program 325a for assisting in the execution of settings for a system cooperation program of the image processing device. The setting assistance program 325a may be installed in the setting assistance device 320 during the manufacturing stage of the setting assistance device 320, or may be additionally installed in the setting assistance device 320 from an external storage medium such as a USB memory, or may be additionally installed in the setting assistance device 320 from a network.

[0144] The storage unit 325 can store device setting information 325b indicating settings for the system cooperation program of the image processing device. The configuration of the device setting information 325b is similar to the configuration of the program setting information 37c (see FIG. 8).

[0145] The control unit 326 includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM that stores programs and various data, and a RAM as a memory used as a working area for the CPU of the control unit 326. The CPU of the control unit 326 executes programs stored in the storage unit 325 or the ROM of the control unit 326.

[0146] The control unit 326 executes the setting assistance program 325a to thereby realize a setting assistance unit 326a that assists in the execution of settings for the system cooperation program of the image processing device.

[0147] Next, the operation of the image processing system 310 will be described.

[0148] First, the operation of the setting assistant device 320 when settings for a system cooperation program of the image processing device are input will be described.

[0149] When an instruction to input settings for the system cooperation program of the image processing device is given via the operation unit 321, the setting assistant unit 326a of the setting assistant device 320 executes the operation shown in FIG.

[0150] FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the operation of the setting assistant device 320 when settings for a system cooperation program of an image processing device are input.

[0151] 19, the setting assistance unit 326a displays a setting input screen for inputting settings on the display unit 322 (S401). Here, the setting input screen displayed in S401 is similar to the setting input screen 70 (see FIG. 13), so a detailed description will be omitted.

[0152] When the process of S401 ends, the system cooperation unit 38a determines whether or not the cancel button on the setting input screen has been pressed (S402).

[0153] If the system cooperation unit 38a determines in S402 that the cancel button on the setting input screen has been pressed, it ends the display of the setting input screen on the display unit 322 (S403), and ends the operation shown in FIG.

[0154] If the system cooperation unit 38a determines in S402 that the cancel button on the setting input screen has not been pressed, the system cooperation unit 38a determines whether the OK button on the setting input screen has been pressed (S404).

[0155] If the system cooperation unit 38a determines in S404 that the OK button on the setting input screen has not been pressed, it executes the process of S402.

[0156] When the system cooperation unit 38a determines in S404 that the OK button on the setting input screen has been pressed, the system cooperation unit 38a ends the display of the setting input screen on the display unit 322 (S405).

[0157] When the processing of S405 is completed, the system collaboration unit 38a overwrites and saves the settings that were entered on the setting input screen at the time the OK button on the setting input screen was pressed into the device setting information 325b (S406), and terminates the operation shown in Figure 19.

[0158] Next, we will explain the operation of the image processing device 30 when the setting assistant device 320 displays a code (hereinafter referred to as the "setting transmission code") for transmitting settings for the image processing device's system collaboration program to the image processing device 30 on the display unit 32.

[0159] The system cooperation unit 38a of the image processing device 30 according to the present embodiment displays a program manager screen 360 shown in FIG. 20 on the display unit 32, instead of the program manager screen 60 (see FIG. 11).

[0160] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a program manager screen 360 displayed on the display unit 32 of the image processing device 30 according to this embodiment.

[0161] A program administrator screen 360 shown in FIG. 20 has a configuration similar to that of the program administrator screen 60, in that it includes a setting transmission code display button 361 for displaying a setting transmission code.

[0162] When the setting transmission code display button 361 on the program manager screen 360 is pressed, the system cooperation unit 38a of the image processing device 30 executes the operation shown in FIG.

[0163] FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image processing device 30 when displaying the setting transmission code.

[0164] 21, the system cooperation unit 38a generates a setting transmission code in which the serial number and IP address indicated in the electronic device information 37b are embedded (S431). The setting transmission code generated in S431 may be, for example, a two-dimensional code such as a QR code. The setting transmission code generated in S431 may have information necessary for communicating with the image processing device 30 embedded therein.

[0165] When the process of S431 ends, the system cooperation unit 38a displays the setting transmission code generated in S431 on the display unit 32 (S432), and ends the operation shown in FIG.

[0166] Next, the operation of the image processing system 310 when the image processing device 30 is registered in the device link system 20 will be described.

[0167] Fig. 22 is a sequence diagram of the operation of the image processing system 310 when the image processing device 30 is registered in the device cooperation system 20. Fig. 23 is a sequence diagram of "serial number not registered" in Fig. 22.

[0168] A user of the setting assistant device 320 can photograph the setting transmission code displayed on the display unit 32 of the image processing device 30 with the camera 323. When the setting transmission code is photographed with the camera 323, the setting assistant unit 326a of the setting assistant device 320 reads the serial number and the IP address from the setting transmission code photographed by the camera 323, as shown in Fig. 22 and Fig. 23 (S461).

[0169] When the processing of S461 is completed, the setting assistance unit 326a connects to the image processing device 30 using the serial number and IP address read in S461 (S462), and transmits the settings indicated in the device setting information 325b to the image processing device 30 (S463).

[0170] When the processing of S463 is completed, if the settings transmitted from the setting assistance device 320 in S463 do not include a domain name and organization name, the system collaboration unit 38a of the image processing device 30 displays on the display unit 32 that registration of the image processing device 30 in the device collaboration system 20 and settings for the system collaboration program 37a have failed because the information necessary for connecting to the device collaboration system 20 is missing (S464).

[0171] When the processing of S464 is completed, the system collaboration unit 38a notifies the setting assistant device 320 that registration of the image processing device 30 in the device collaboration system 20 and configuration for the system collaboration program 37a have failed because the information necessary for connecting to the device collaboration system 20 is insufficient (S465).

[0172] When the processing of S465 is completed, the setting assistance section 326a of the setting assistance device 320 displays on the display section 322 that the registration of the image processing device 30 to the device collaboration system 20 and the settings for the system collaboration program 37a have failed because the information necessary for connecting to the device collaboration system 20, as notified by the image processing device 30 in S465, is insufficient (S466), and the operation shown in Figures 22 and 23 is terminated.

[0173] If the settings transmitted from the setting assistant device 320 in S463 include a domain name and an organization name, the system collaboration unit 38a of the image processing device 30 attempts to connect to the device collaboration system 20 using the domain name and organization name included in the settings transmitted from the setting assistant device 320 in S463 (S467). If the settings transmitted from the setting assistant device 320 in S463 include settings related to a proxy server, the system collaboration unit 38a of the image processing device 30 attempts to connect to the device collaboration system 20 using the settings related to the proxy server included in the settings transmitted from the setting assistant device 320 in S463. If the connection to the device collaboration system 20 is successful through the process of S467, the system collaboration unit 38a of the image processing device 30 connects to an area of ​​the device collaboration system 20 that corresponds to the organization name specified in S467.

[0174] If the connection to the device linkage system 20 fails as a result of the processing of S467, the system linkage unit 38a of the image processing device 30 displays on the display unit 32 that registration of the image processing device 30 to the device linkage system 20 and settings for the system linkage program 37a of the image processing device 30 have failed due to the failure to connect to the device linkage system 20 (S468).

[0175] When the processing of S468 is completed, the system collaboration unit 38a notifies the setting assistant device 320 that registration of the image processing device 30 to the device collaboration system 20 and configuration for the system collaboration program 37a of the image processing device 30 have failed because connection to the device collaboration system 20 has failed (S469).

[0176] When the processing of S469 is completed, the setting assistance section 326a of the setting assistance device 320 displays on the display section 322, as notified by the image processing device 30 in S469, that registration of the image processing device 30 in the device collaboration system 20 and settings for the system collaboration program 37a of the image processing device 30 have failed due to a failure to connect to the device collaboration system 20 (S470), and terminates the operation shown in Figures 22 and 23.

[0177] If the connection to the device linkage system 20 is successful by the process of S467, the system linkage unit 38a of the image processing device 30 requests the device linkage system 20 to register the image processing device 30 (S471). The system linkage unit 38a of the image processing device 30 includes in the request of S471 the serial number, IP address, and device administrator authentication information included in the electronic device information 37b, and the value of "Admin PIN" included in the settings transmitted from the setting assistant device 320 in S463.

[0178] When the device collaboration unit 25a of the device collaboration system 20 receives the request in S471, if the serial number included in the request in S471 is included in the device management information 24d, it rewrites the IP address, device administrator authentication information and value of "Admin PIN" that are associated in the device management information 24d with the serial number included in the request in S471 with the IP address, device administrator authentication information and value of "Admin PIN" included in the request in S471 (S472).

[0179] When the process of S472 ends, the device link unit 25a notifies the image processing device 30 that the re-registration of the image processing device 30 has been successful (S473).

[0180] When the system cooperation unit 38a of the image processing device 30 receives the notification in S473, it overwrites and saves the settings transmitted from the setting assistant device 320 in S463 in the program setting information 37c (S474).

[0181] When the processing of S474 is completed, the system collaboration unit 38a displays on the display unit 32 that the re-registration of the image processing device 30 in the device collaboration system 20 and the settings for the system collaboration program 37a of the image processing device 30 have been successful (S475).

[0182] When the processing of S475 is completed, the system collaboration unit 38a notifies the setting assistant device 320 that the re-registration of the image processing device 30 in the device collaboration system 20 and the settings for the system collaboration program 37a of the image processing device 30 have been successful (S476).

[0183] When the processing of S476 is completed, the setting assistance section 326a of the setting assistance device 320 displays on the display section 322 (S477) that the re-registration of the image processing device 30 into the device collaboration system 20 and the settings for the system collaboration program 37a of the image processing device 30, as notified by the image processing device 30 in S476, have been successful, and the operation shown in Figures 22 and 23 is terminated.

[0184] When the device collaboration unit 25a of the device collaboration system 20 receives the request in S471, if the serial number included in the request in S471 is not included in the device management information 24d and the number of image processing devices in the device collaboration system 20 associated with the organization name corresponding to the area to which the image processing device 30 is connected in the device management information 24d reaches the number of licenses associated with this organization in the organization management information 24b, the device collaboration unit 25a notifies the image processing device 30 that registration of the image processing device 30 has failed because the number of licenses has been reached (S478).

[0185] When the system collaboration unit 38a of the image processing device 30 receives the notification in S478, it displays on the display unit 32 that registration of the image processing device 30 into the device collaboration system 20 and settings for the system collaboration program 37a of the image processing device 30 have failed because the number of licenses has been reached (S479).

[0186] When the processing of S479 is completed, the system collaboration unit 38a notifies the setting assistant device 320 that registration of the image processing device 30 into the device collaboration system 20 and configuration for the system collaboration program 37a of the image processing device 30 have failed because the number of licenses has been reached (S480).

[0187] When the processing of S480 is completed, the setting assistance section 326a of the setting assistance device 320 displays on the display section 322 a message indicating that the registration of the image processing device 30 into the device interaction system 20 and the settings for the system interaction program 37a of the image processing device 30 have failed because the number of licenses has been reached, as notified by the image processing device 30 in S480 (S481), and terminates the operation shown in Figures 22 and 23.

[0188] When the device collaboration unit 25a of the device collaboration system 20 receives the request in S471, if the serial number included in the request in S471 is not included in the device management information 24d and the number of image processing devices associated in the device management information 24d with the organization name corresponding to the area of ​​the device collaboration system 20 to which the image processing device 30 is connected does not reach the number of licenses associated with this organization in the organization management information 24b, the device collaboration unit 25a writes the serial number, IP address, device administrator authentication information and the value of "Admin PIN" included in the request in S471 in association with the organization name corresponding to the area of ​​the device collaboration system 20 to which the image processing device 30 is connected into the device management information 24d (S482).

[0189] When the process of S482 ends, the device link unit 25a notifies the image processing device 30 that the new registration of the image processing device 30 has been successful (S483).

[0190] Upon receiving the notification in S483, the system cooperation unit 38a of the image processing device 30 overwrites and saves the settings transmitted from the setting assistant device 320 in S463 in the program setting information 37c of the image processing device 30 (S484).

[0191] When the processing of S484 is completed, the system collaboration unit 38a of the image processing device 30 displays on the display unit 32 that the new registration of the image processing device 30 into the device collaboration system 20 and the settings for the system collaboration program 37a of the image processing device 30 have been successful (S485).

[0192] When the processing of S485 is completed, the system collaboration unit 38a notifies the setting assistant device 320 that the new registration of the image processing device 30 in the device collaboration system 20 and the settings for the system collaboration program 37a of the image processing device 30 have been successful (S486).

[0193] When the processing of S486 is completed, the setting assistance section 326a of the setting assistance device 320 displays on the display section 322 (S487) that the new registration of the image processing device 30 into the device collaboration system 20 and the settings for the system collaboration program 37a of the image processing device 30, as notified by the image processing device 30 in S486, have been successful, and the operation shown in Figures 22 and 23 is terminated.

[0194] The above describes the operation of the image processing system 310 when settings are executed for the system linkage program 37a of the image processing device 30. The image processing system 310 also operates in the same manner when settings are executed for a system linkage program of an image processing device other than the image processing device 30, such as the image processing device 40.

[0195] As described above, in the image processing system 310, when the image processing device requests the device cooperation system 20 to register the image processing device in S471, if the device cooperation system 20 has already registered the image processing device or has newly registered the image processing device, the image processing device reflects the settings transmitted from the setting assistant device 320 in S463 in the image processing device (S474 and S484), and if the device cooperation system 20 has not registered the image processing device or is not newly registering the image processing device, the image processing device does not reflect the settings transmitted from the setting assistant device in S463 in the image processing device (S479), thereby being able to limit the reflection of settings.

[0196] In the image processing system 310, the image processing apparatus can reflect the settings for the image processing apparatus in the image processing apparatus within the range permitted by the number of licenses.

[0197] Since the image processing system 310 uses code to execute settings for the image processing device, it is possible to facilitate the execution of settings for the image processing device even when the settings for the image processing device are to be reflected in multiple image processing devices.

[0198] (Third embodiment) First, a configuration of an image processing system serving as a device setting system according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0199] The configuration of the image processing system according to the third embodiment of the present invention is similar to the configuration of the image processing system 310 according to the second embodiment. Among the components of the image processing system according to the present embodiment, the same components as those of the image processing system 310 according to the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the image processing system 310, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0200] The device linkage system 20, the image processing device, and the setting assistant device 320 are capable of communicating with each other via a network 11.

[0201] Next, the operation of the image processing system according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0202] Similar to the second embodiment, the setting assistant device 320 can input settings for the system cooperation program of the image processing device.

[0203] The operation of the image processing device 30 when the setting assistant device 320 displays on the display unit 32 a code for registering the image processing device 30 in the device linkage system 20 (hereinafter referred to as a "device registration code") will be described.

[0204] The system cooperation unit 38a of the image processing device 30 according to the present embodiment displays a program manager screen 560 shown in FIG. 24 on the display unit 32, instead of the program manager screen 360 (see FIG. 20).

[0205] FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a program manager screen 560 displayed on the display unit 32 of the image processing device 30 according to this embodiment.

[0206] A program administrator screen 560 shown in FIG. 24 has the same configuration as program administrator screen 360, except that it includes a device registration code display button 561 for displaying a device registration code.

[0207] When the device registration code display button 561 on the program administrator screen 560 is pressed, the system cooperation unit 38a of the image processing device 30 executes the operation shown in FIG.

[0208] FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image processing device 30 when displaying the device registration code.

[0209] 25, the system cooperation unit 38a generates a device registration code in which information necessary for the device cooperation system 20 to register the image processing device 30, i.e., the serial number, IP address, and device administrator authentication information included in the electronic device information 37b, and the value of "Admin PIN" included in the program setting information 37c are embedded (S601). The device registration code generated in S601 may be, for example, a two-dimensional code such as a QR code.

[0210] When the process of S601 ends, the system cooperation unit 38a displays the device registration code generated in S601 on the display unit 32 (S602), and ends the operation shown in FIG.

[0211] Next, the operation of the image processing system according to the present embodiment when the image processing device 30 is registered in the device link system 20 will be described.

[0212] FIG. 26 is a sequence diagram of the operation of the image processing system according to the present embodiment when the image processing device 30 is registered in the device cooperation system 20. As shown in FIG.

[0213] A user of the setting assistant device 320 can photograph the device registration code displayed on the display unit 32 of the image processing device 30 with the camera 323. When the device registration code is photographed with the camera 323, the setting assistant unit 326a of the setting assistant device 320 reads the serial number, IP address, device administrator authentication information, and the value of "Admin PIN" from the device registration code photographed with the camera 323, as shown in Fig. 26 (S631).

[0214] When the processing of S631 is completed, if the settings indicated in the device setting information 325b do not include the domain name and organization name, the setting assistance unit 326a displays on the display unit 322 a message that registration of the image processing device 30 in the device collaboration system 20 and settings for the system collaboration program 37a have failed because information necessary for connecting to the device collaboration system 20 is missing (S632), and the operation shown in FIG. 26 is terminated.

[0215] If the settings indicated in the device setting information 325b include a domain name and an organization name, the setting assistant unit 326a attempts to connect to the device cooperation system 20 using the domain name and organization name included in the settings indicated in the device setting information 325b (S633). If the settings indicated in the device setting information 325b include settings related to a proxy server, the setting assistant unit 326a also attempts to connect to the device cooperation system 20 using the settings related to the proxy server included in the settings indicated in the device setting information 325b. If the connection to the device cooperation system 20 is successful by the process of S633, the setting assistant unit 326a connects to the area of ​​the device cooperation system 20 corresponding to the organization name specified in S633.

[0216] If the connection to the device collaboration system 20 fails as a result of the processing of S633, the setting assistance unit 326a displays on the display unit 322 a message indicating that the registration of the image processing device 30 to the device collaboration system 20 and the settings for the system collaboration program 37a of the image processing device 30 have failed due to the failure to connect to the device collaboration system 20 (S634), and terminates the operation shown in FIG. 26.

[0217] If the connection to the device linkage system 20 is successful as a result of the processing in S633, the setting assistance unit 326a requests the device linkage system 20 to register the image processing device 30 (S635). The setting assistance unit 326a includes in the request in S635 the serial number, IP address, device administrator authentication information, and "Admin PIN" value read in S631.

[0218] When the device linking unit 25a of the device linking system 20 receives the request in S635, if the serial number included in the request in S635 is included in the device management information 24d, it rewrites the IP address, device administrator authentication information and value of "Admin PIN" that are associated in the device management information 24d with the serial number included in the request in S635 with the IP address, device administrator authentication information and value of "Admin PIN" included in the request in S635 (S636).

[0219] When the process of S636 ends, the device link unit 25a notifies the setting assistant device 320 that the re-registration of the image processing device 30 has been successful (S637).

[0220] When the setting assistant unit 326a of the setting assistant device 320 receives the notification in S637, it connects to the image processing device 30 using the serial number and IP address read in S631 (S638) and transmits the settings indicated in the device setting information 325b to the image processing device 30 (S639).

[0221] When the process of S639 ends, the system cooperation unit 38a of the image processing device 30 overwrites and saves the settings transmitted from the setting assistant device 320 in S639 into the program setting information 37c (S640).

[0222] When the process of S640 ends, the system cooperation unit 38a notifies the setting assistant device 320 that the setting for the system cooperation program 37a of the image processing device 30 has been successful (S641).

[0223] When the processing of S641 is completed, the setting assistance section 326a of the setting assistance device 320 displays on the display section 322 a message indicating that the re-registration of the image processing device 30 in the device linkage system 20 and the settings for the system linkage program 37a of the image processing device 30 have been successful (S642), and the operation shown in FIG. 26 is terminated.

[0224] When the device collaboration unit 25a of the device collaboration system 20 receives the request in S635, if the serial number included in the request in S635 is not included in the device management information 24d and the number of image processing devices in the device collaboration system 20 that are associated in the device management information 24d with the organization name corresponding to the area to which the setting support device 320 is connected reaches the number of licenses associated with this organization in the organization management information 24b, the device collaboration unit 25a notifies the setting support device 320 that registration of the image processing device 30 has failed because the number of licenses has been reached (S643).

[0225] When the setting assistance section 326a of the setting assistance device 320 receives the notification in S643, it displays on the display section 322 a message indicating that registration of the image processing device 30 into the device interaction system 20 and settings for the system interaction program 37a of the image processing device 30 have failed because the number of licenses has been reached (S644), and terminates the operation shown in FIG. 26.

[0226] When the device collaboration unit 25a of the device collaboration system 20 receives the request in S635, if the serial number included in the request in S635 is not included in the device management information 24d and the number of image processing devices associated in the device management information 24d with the organization name corresponding to the area of ​​the device collaboration system 20 to which the setting assistance device 320 is connected does not reach the number of licenses associated with this organization in the organization management information 24b, the device collaboration unit 25a writes the serial number, IP address, device administrator authentication information and the value of "Admin PIN" included in the request in S635 in association with the organization name corresponding to the area of ​​the device collaboration system 20 to which the setting assistance device 320 is connected into the device management information 24d (S645).

[0227] When the process of S645 ends, the device link unit 25a notifies the setting assistant device 320 that the new registration of the image processing device 30 has been successful (S646).

[0228] When the setting assistant unit 326a of the setting assistant device 320 receives the notification in S646, it connects to the image processing device 30 using the serial number and IP address read in S631 (S647) and transmits the settings indicated in the device setting information 325b to the image processing device 30 (S648).

[0229] When the process of S648 ends, the system cooperation unit 38a of the image processing device 30 overwrites and saves the settings transmitted from the setting assistant device 320 in S648 into the program setting information 37c (S649).

[0230] When the process of S649 ends, the system cooperation unit 38a notifies the setting assistant device 320 that the setting for the system cooperation program 37a of the image processing device 30 has been successful (S650).

[0231] When the processing of S650 is completed, the setting assistance section 326a of the setting assistance device 320 displays on the display section 322 a message indicating that the new registration of the image processing device 30 in the device linkage system 20 and the settings for the system linkage program 37a of the image processing device 30 have been successful (S651), and the operation shown in FIG. 26 is terminated.

[0232] The above describes the operation of the image processing system according to the present embodiment when settings are executed for the system linkage program 37a of the image processing device 30. The image processing system according to the present embodiment also operates in the same manner when settings are executed for a system linkage program of an image processing device other than the image processing device 30, such as the image processing device 40.

[0233] As described above, in the image processing system of this embodiment, when the setting assistant device 320 uses the information read from the code in S631 to request the device cooperation system 20 to register an image processing device in S635, if the device cooperation system 20 has already registered an image processing device or has newly registered it, the setting assistant device 320 transmits settings for the image processing device to the image processing device (S639 and S648), and if the device cooperation system 20 has not registered an image processing device or is not newly registering it, the setting assistant device 320 does not transmit settings for the image processing device to the image processing device (S644), and the image processing device reflects the settings transmitted from the setting assistant device 320 in the image processing device (S640 and S649), thereby limiting the reflection of settings.

[0234] In the image processing system according to the present embodiment, the image processing apparatus can reflect the settings for the image processing apparatus in the image processing apparatus within the range permitted by the number of licenses.

[0235] The image processing system of this embodiment executes settings for an image processing device using code, making it possible to easily execute settings for an image processing device even when the settings for the image processing device are to be reflected in a large number of image processing devices. [Explanation of symbols]

[0236] 10 Image processing system (equipment setting system) 20 Device Linkage System 30 Image processing device (electronic device) 37a System integration program (settings reflection program) 40 Image processing device (electronic device) 310 Image Processing System (Device Setting System) 320 Setting aid

Claims

1. An electronic device that cooperates with a device cooperation system, Reading the settings for the electronic device from code in which the settings are embedded; When the device linkage system is requested to register the electronic device, the device linkage system checks whether the electronic device has already been registered or, when the electronic device is newly registered, reflects the setting read from the code in the electronic device; When a request is made to the device linkage system to register the electronic device, if the device linkage system has not already registered the electronic device and will not newly register the electronic device, the electronic device does not reflect the setting read from the code in the electronic device.

2. For electronic devices that work with the device linkage system, reading settings for the electronic device from a code in which the settings are embedded; an operation of reflecting the setting read from the code in the electronic device when the device linkage system is requested to register the electronic device and the device linkage system has already registered the electronic device or has newly registered the electronic device; When the device linkage system is requested to register the electronic device, if the device linkage system has not registered the electronic device and will not newly register the electronic device, the setting read from the code is not reflected in the electronic device. A setting reflection program for achieving the above.

3. Electronic devices, a device linkage system that links with the electronic device; Equipped with The electronic device includes: Reading the settings for the electronic device from code in which the settings are embedded; When the device linkage system is requested to register the electronic device, the device linkage system checks whether the electronic device has already been registered or, when the electronic device is newly registered, reflects the setting read from the code in the electronic device; The device setting system is characterized in that, when a request is made to the device linkage system to register the electronic device, if the device linkage system has not already registered the electronic device and will not newly register the electronic device, the setting read from the code is not reflected in the electronic device.

4. Electronic devices, A setting assistance device that assists in the execution of setting of the electronic device; a device linkage system that links with the electronic device; Equipped with The setting assistant device is reading information necessary for communicating with the electronic device from a code in which the information is embedded; Using said information to transmit said settings to said electronic device; The electronic device includes: When the device linkage system is requested to register the electronic device, the device linkage system checks whether the electronic device has already been registered or, when the electronic device is newly registered, reflects the setting transmitted from the setting assistant device in the electronic device; The device setting system is characterized in that when the device linkage system is requested to register the electronic device, if the device linkage system has not already registered the electronic device and will not newly register the electronic device, the settings transmitted from the setting assistance device are not reflected in the electronic device.

5. Electronic devices, A setting assistance device that assists in the execution of setting of the electronic device; a device linkage system that links with the electronic device; Equipped with The setting assistant device is The device link system reads information required for registering the electronic device from a code in which the information is embedded, When the device linkage system is requested to register the electronic device using the information, the device linkage system transmits the setting to the electronic device when the device linkage system has already registered the electronic device or when the device linkage system newly registers the electronic device; When the device linkage system is requested to register the electronic device using the information, if the device linkage system has not registered the electronic device and will not newly register the electronic device, the setting is not transmitted to the electronic device, The electronic device reflects the settings transmitted from the setting assistant device in the electronic device.

Images