Information processing system and program

Abstract

To obtain an information processing system and a program, capable of collectively updating an application program for a physical device without accessing all physical devices that can be a target.SOLUTION: An information processing system 1 includes: a physical device (image formation device 50); a service device (second cloud server 30) that performs service to update an application program installed to the physical device; and a virtual device (first cloud server 10) that is a virtual device of the physical device and holds meta-data including information indicating the number of versions of the application program installed to the physical device. The service device identifies the physical device to be updated for the application program by referring to the meta-data, and transmits request information for requesting transmission of the application program to the identified physical device, to the virtual device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing system and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a web server that aims to improve the ease of setting operations when transmitting scanned image data to a cloud service.

[0003] This web server is a web server that can access a cloud service, and includes a providing means for providing a setting screen to a client device for making settings related to image data to be sent, a transmitting means for transmitting the image data to be sent to a cloud service in accordance with settings related to the image data to be sent received from a user of the client device on the setting screen, and a storage means for storing the settings related to the image data to be sent received from the user on the setting screen, linked to the type of image data to be sent and information about the user.When the providing means provides a setting screen for making settings related to new image data to be sent, it provides the setting screen for making settings related to the new image data to be sent in a state that reflects settings stored in the storage means that are linked to image data of the same type as the new image data to be sent and are linked to information about the same user as the user who makes the settings related to the new image data to be sent. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-163983 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In recent years, a technology that virtually replicates the functions and settings of a real device as a shadow on a cloud server has become widespread. Note that the term "device" here refers to various types of equipment, and "shadow" refers to a virtual device that virtually replicates the device.

[0006] In digital shadow technology, synchronization is performed between the device and the shadow through communication, and the user can manage the device via the shadow on the cloud server by performing the following operations.

[0007] At least one of an operation and a setting is performed on the shadow, thereby at least one of an operation and a setting is performed on the device.

[0008] -Performing at least one of the operations and settings on the device will be reflected in the shadow.

[0009] On the other hand, application programs that are pre-installed or additionally installed on real devices (hereinafter referred to as "physical devices") are updated relatively frequently. When performing such updates, it is necessary to access all of the many physical devices widely available on the market, identify the physical devices to be updated, and then update the application programs for those physical devices, which poses a problem that such updates cannot be performed all at once. This problem can occur not only in updating the application programs themselves, but also in updating the configuration information for those application programs, and hereinafter this aspect will also be referred to as "application program updates."

[0010] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an information processing system and program that can collectively update application programs to physical devices without accessing all of the physical devices that may be affected. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to achieve the above object, an information processing system according to a first aspect is an information processing system including a physical device, a service device that provides a service for updating an application program installed in the physical device, and a virtual device that is a virtual device of the physical device and holds metadata including information indicating the version number of the application program installed in the physical device, and is equipped with one or more processors, and when the service device, by referring to the metadata, sends the updated application program to the physical device identified as a device to be updated for the application program, the service device sends request information to the virtual device requesting the sending of the application program to the physical device, and when the virtual device receives the request information from the service device, the virtual device sends to the corresponding physical device either the updated application program or instruction information instructing the corresponding physical device to receive the application program from the service device, and when the physical device receives the application program or the instruction information from the virtual device, it executes a process to update the application program.

[0012] In addition, an information processing system according to a second aspect is an information processing system according to the first aspect, in which the physical device executes a process of updating the application program and then transmits result information indicating the result of the update to the virtual device.

[0013] In addition, an information processing system according to a third aspect is an information processing system according to the first or second aspect, in which when the physical device receives the instruction information from the virtual device, the physical device pulls and receives the application program from the service device.

[0014] In addition, an information processing system according to a fourth aspect is an information processing system according to the third aspect, wherein the instruction information includes information indicating a storage destination of the application program, and when the physical device receives the instruction information from the virtual device, the physical device receives the application program from the service device using the information indicating the storage destination.

[0015] An information processing system according to a fifth aspect is the information processing system according to the first or second aspect, in which the service device is a cloud platform device.

[0016] Further, an information processing system according to a sixth aspect is the information processing system according to the first or second aspect, wherein the update of the application program is an update of setting information of the application program.

[0017] In addition, an information processing system according to a seventh aspect is the information processing system according to the sixth aspect, wherein the physical device is an image forming device having an image reading function, and the information to be updated in the setting information includes information indicating a transfer destination of image information obtained by the image reading function of the image forming device.

[0018] An information processing system according to an eighth aspect is the information processing system according to the first or second aspect, in which the application program is an add-on application program.

[0019] In addition, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a program of a ninth aspect is a program executed by the service device in an information processing system including a physical device, a service device that provides a service of updating an application program installed on the physical device, and a virtual device that is a virtual device of the physical device and holds metadata including information indicating the version number of the application program installed on the physical device, and causes a computer to execute a process of sending request information to the virtual device requesting the sending of the application program to the physical device when sending the updated application program to the physical device identified by referring to the metadata. Effect of the Invention

[0020] According to the first and ninth aspects, it is possible to collectively update application programs to physical devices without accessing all of the physical devices that may be the target.

[0021] According to the second aspect, it is possible to make the virtual device aware that an update of an application program has been completed, and as a result, it is possible to make the service device aware that the update has been completed.

[0022] According to the third aspect, an application program can be transferred to a physical device without going through a virtual device.

[0023] According to the fourth aspect, the application program can be received using information indicating the storage destination.

[0024] According to the fifth aspect, it is possible to support a larger number of physical devices as compared with the case where the service device is an on-premise device.

[0025] According to the sixth aspect, the setting information of application programs can be updated collectively.

[0026] According to the seventh aspect, it is possible to deal with updating of the transfer destination of image information obtained by an image forming apparatus having an image reading function.

[0027] According to the eighth aspect, it is possible to accommodate an add-on application program. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of an electrical system of a first cloud server according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of an electrical system of a second cloud server according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of an electrical system of the image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a metadata database according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a first information process according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of second information processing according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a third information process according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a first information process according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of second information processing according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a third information process according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a first information process according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a second information process according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of third information processing according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0029] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the technology of the present disclosure is applied to an information processing system that provides the above-mentioned service called digital shadow, in which various data stored in a physical device connected by a communication line such as the Internet is synchronized with the physical device and held. Here, the physical device includes various devices such as an image forming device and a personal computer. In addition, the various data includes various data such as setting information, history information, status information, configuration information, and an address table. In the following, a case will be described in which an image forming device is applied as the physical device.

[0030] [First embodiment] First, the configuration of an information processing system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment.

[0031] 1, information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a first cloud server 10 and a second cloud server 30 configured as cloud servers, and a plurality of image forming apparatuses 50A, 50B, .... In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between image forming apparatuses 50A, 50B, ..., they will be collectively referred to simply as "image forming apparatus 50."

[0032] Examples of the first cloud server 10 and the second cloud server 30 include information processing devices such as a personal computer and a server computer. In the present embodiment, a digital multifunction peripheral having an image printing function, an image reading function, an image transmission function, and the like is applied as the image forming device 50. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and other image forming devices such as an image forming device having only an image printing function or an image forming device having only an image printing function and an image reading function may be applied as the image forming device 50.

[0033] The first cloud server 10, the second cloud server 30, and the image forming device 50 are connected via a network N, and these devices are capable of communicating with each other via the network N.

[0034] In this embodiment, the network N is a combination of a public communication line such as the Internet or a telephone network, and an in-company communication line such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network), but is not limited to this form. For example, the network N may be a form in which only one of the public communication line and the in-company communication line is applied. In addition, in this embodiment, the network N is a combination of a wired and wireless communication line, but is not limited to this form. The network N may be a form in which only one of a wireless communication line and a wired communication line is applied.

[0035] Next, the configuration of the first cloud server 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electrical system of the first cloud server 10 according to this embodiment.

[0036] 2, the first cloud server 10 according to this embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 as a processor, a memory 12 as a temporary storage area, a non-volatile storage unit 13, an input unit 14 such as a keyboard and a mouse, a display unit 15 such as a liquid crystal display, a medium reading and writing device (R / W) 16, and a communication interface (I / F) unit 18. The CPU 11, the memory 12, the storage unit 13, the input unit 14, the display unit 15, the medium reading and writing device 16, and the communication interface (I / F) unit 18 are connected to each other via a bus B1. The medium reading and writing device 16 reads information written in a recording medium 17 and writes information to the recording medium 17.

[0037] The storage unit 13 according to this embodiment is realized by a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, or the like. A second information processing program 13A is stored in the storage unit 13 as a storage medium. The second information processing program 13A is stored (installed) in the storage unit 13 by connecting a recording medium 17, on which the program 13A is written, to the medium reading and writing device 16, and the medium reading and writing device 16 reading the program 13A from the recording medium 17. The CPU 11 appropriately reads the second information processing program 13A from the storage unit 13, expands it in the memory 12, and sequentially executes processes of the second information processing program 13A.

[0038] Furthermore, a metadata database 13B is stored in the storage unit 13. The metadata database 13B will be described in detail later.

[0039] Next, the configuration of the second cloud server 30 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electrical system of the second cloud server 30 according to this embodiment.

[0040] 3, the second cloud server 30 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 31 as a processor, a memory 32 as a temporary storage area, a non-volatile storage unit 33, an input unit 34 such as a keyboard and a mouse, a display unit 35 such as a liquid crystal display, a medium reading and writing device (R / W) 36, and a communication I / F unit 38. The CPU 31, the memory 32, the storage unit 33, the input unit 34, the display unit 35, the medium reading and writing device 36, and the communication I / F unit 38 are connected to each other via a bus B2. The medium reading and writing device 36 reads information written in a recording medium 37 and writes information to the recording medium 37.

[0041] The storage unit 33 according to this embodiment is realized by an HDD, an SSD, a flash memory, or the like. A first information processing program 33A is stored in the storage unit 33 as a storage medium. The first information processing program 33A is stored (installed) in the storage unit 33 when a recording medium 37 on which the program 33A is written is connected to the medium reading and writing device 36, and the medium reading and writing device 36 reads the program 33A from the recording medium 37. The CPU 31 appropriately reads the first information processing program 33A from the storage unit 33, expands it in the memory 32, and sequentially executes processes of the first information processing program 33A.

[0042] Next, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 50 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electrical system of the image forming apparatus 50 according to this embodiment.

[0043] 4, the image forming apparatus 50 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU 51 as a processor, a memory 52 as a temporary storage area, a non-volatile storage unit 53, an input unit 54 such as various switches, a display unit 55 such as a liquid crystal display, a medium reading and writing device (R / W) 56, and a communication I / F unit 58. The CPU 51, the memory 52, the storage unit 53, the input unit 54, the display unit 55, the medium reading and writing device 56, and the communication I / F unit 58 are connected to one another via a bus B3. The medium reading and writing device 56 reads information written in a recording medium 57 and writes information to the recording medium 57.

[0044] The storage unit 53 according to this embodiment is realized by an HDD, an SSD, a flash memory, or the like. A third information processing program 53A is stored in the storage unit 53 as a storage medium. The third information processing program 53A is stored (installed) in the storage unit 53 when a recording medium 57 on which the program 53A is written is connected to the medium reading and writing device 56, and the medium reading and writing device 56 reads the program 53A from the recording medium 57. The CPU 51 appropriately reads the third information processing program 53A from the storage unit 53, expands it in the memory 52, and sequentially executes processes of the third information processing program 53A.

[0045] In the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment, each of the image forming devices 50 is the above-mentioned physical device, and a plurality of virtual devices, which are virtual devices of the corresponding physical devices, are constructed in the first cloud server 10. The first cloud server 10 holds metadata including information indicating the version number of the application program installed in the corresponding physical device for each of the virtual devices. In the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment, the second cloud server 30 is a service device that provides a service of updating the application program installed in each physical device.

[0046] Next, a functional configuration of the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment.

[0047] 5, the second cloud server 30 according to the present embodiment includes a first transmission unit 31A, the first cloud server 10 includes a second transmission unit 11A, and the image forming device 50 includes an execution unit 51A and a third transmission unit 51B. The CPU 31 of the second cloud server 30 executes a first information processing program 33A to function as the first transmission unit 31A. The CPU 11 of the first cloud server 10 executes a second information processing program 13A to function as the second transmission unit 11A. The CPU 51 of the image forming device 50 executes a third information processing program 53A to function as the execution unit 51A and the third transmission unit 51B.

[0048] The first transmission unit 31A of the second cloud server 30 according to this embodiment identifies the image forming device 50 to which the application program is to be updated, by referring to metadata stored in the first cloud server 10. Then, when transmitting the updated application program to the identified image forming device 50, the first transmission unit 31A transmits request information requesting transmission of the application program to the image forming device 50 to the virtual device, i.e., the first cloud server 10.

[0049] In contrast, when the second transmission unit 11A of the first cloud server 10 according to this embodiment receives request information from the second cloud server 30, the second transmission unit 11A transmits the updated application program to the corresponding image forming device 50.

[0050] Then, when the execution unit 51A of the image forming device 50 in this embodiment receives an application program from the first cloud server 10, it executes a process to update the application program (in this embodiment, a process to overwrite the installed application program with the received application program).

[0051] Here, the third transmission unit 51B of the image forming device 50 according to the present embodiment executes a process for updating the application program, and then transmits result information indicating the result of the update to the virtual device. In the present embodiment, success / failure information indicating whether the update of the application program was successful or not is applied as the result information, but the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, in addition to the success / failure information, if the update fails, cause information indicating the cause of the failure may be applied as the result information.

[0052] The second cloud server 30 according to the present embodiment is a cloud-based platform device, which allows it to handle a greater number of image forming devices 50 than when the second cloud server 30 is an on-premise device.

[0053] Moreover, the application program according to the present embodiment is an add-on application program, which allows the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment to support the add-on application program.

[0054] Next, the metadata database 13B according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the metadata database 13B according to this embodiment.

[0055] The metadata database 13B in this embodiment is a database in which metadata of the image forming device 50 corresponding to the virtual device constructed in the first cloud server 10 is registered, and as an example, as shown in FIG. 6, each piece of device information and metadata information is stored in association with each other.

[0056] The device information is information that is previously determined to be different for each image forming device 50 targeted by the information processing system 1 in order to individually identify each of the image forming devices 50. In this embodiment, the UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) ​​of the corresponding image forming device 50 is applied as the device information, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a combination of the model and serial number of the corresponding image forming device 50 may be applied as the device information.

[0057] The metadata is information that indicates the metadata itself of the corresponding image forming apparatus 50, and in this embodiment includes an application ID (Identification), an application name, a version number, setting information, and the like.

[0058] The app ID is information that is predetermined to be different for each application program installed in the corresponding image forming device 50 in order to individually identify each of the application programs. The app name is information that indicates the name of the corresponding application program, and the version number is information that indicates the version number of the corresponding application program. The setting information is information that is set for the corresponding application program.

[0059] In the example shown in FIG. 6, an application program named "first application" reads (scans) an image using the image reading function of the image forming device 50 in which the application program is installed, and executes a process of transferring the image information obtained by this to a device set in advance. Therefore, the setting information in this case includes information indicating the destination of the image information and information indicating a key for user authentication, as shown in FIG. 6 as an example. In this embodiment, the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the destination is applied as the information indicating the destination. However, this is not limited to this form, and other information indicating the destination device, such as the UUID of the destination device, a combination of the model and serial number of the destination device, an email address, etc., may be applied as the information indicating the destination.

[0060] Next, the operation of the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0061] First, the operation of the second cloud server 30 when executing the first information processing will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the first information processing according to the present embodiment.

[0062] In the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment, when an update instruction for updating an application program to an updated version is received from a service center provided by the manufacturer of the image forming device 50 targeted by the information processing system 1, the CPU 31 of the second cloud server 30 executes the first information processing program 33A, thereby executing the first information processing shown in FIG. 7 as an example. In the following, in order to avoid confusion, a case where the metadata database 13B has already been constructed will be described. In the following, a case will be described in which the corresponding updated application program (hereinafter referred to as the "update program") itself, name information indicating the name of the application program, and version information indicating the version number are transmitted from the service center to the second cloud server 30 together with the update instruction.

[0063] In step 100 of FIG. 7, the CPU 31 refers to all metadata in the metadata database 13B of the first cloud server 10.

[0064] In step 102, CPU 31 determines whether the referenced metadata contains an application program that is indicated by the name information received together with the update instruction and has a version number older than the version number indicated by the received version number information. If the result of this determination is negative, CPU 31 assumes that there is no application program to be updated and ends this first information processing. On the other hand, if the result of this determination is positive, CPU 31 assumes that there is an application program to be updated (hereinafter referred to as the "program to be updated") and proceeds to step 104.

[0065] In step 104, CPU 31 identifies image forming apparatus 50 in which the update target program is installed (hereinafter referred to as "update target apparatus") from the device information corresponding to the update target program.

[0066] In step 106, CPU 31 transmits request information requesting transmission of the update program to the corresponding update target device to first cloud server 10. At this time, CPU 31 transmits, in addition to the request information, name information, information indicating the update target device (in this embodiment, device information of the update target device (hereinafter referred to as "update target device information")), version number information, and the update program itself to first cloud server 10, and then terminates this first information processing.

[0067] Next, the operation of the first cloud server 10 when the second information processing is executed will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the second information processing according to the present embodiment.

[0068] In the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment, the CPU 11 of the first cloud server 10 executes the second information processing program 13A at the timing when the above-mentioned request information is received from the second cloud server 30, thereby executing the second information processing shown in Fig. 8 as an example. Note that, in order to avoid confusion, a case where there is only one device to be updated will be described here.

[0069] In step 200 of FIG. 8, the CPU 11 identifies the update target device indicated by the update target device information received from the second cloud server 30 together with the request information.

[0070] In step 202, the CPU 11 transmits to the identified update target device, instruction information instructing the device to update the update target program indicated by the name information received from the second cloud server 30 together with the request information, together with the name information and the update program received from the second cloud server 30.

[0071] Upon receiving the instruction information, the update target device attempts to update the update target program to the received update program, and transmits result information indicating the result to the first cloud server 10.

[0072] Therefore, in step 204, CPU 11 waits until result information is received. In step 206, CPU 11 determines whether the received result information indicates that there was a problem (in this embodiment, that the update failed), and proceeds to step 208 if the determination is affirmative.

[0073] In step 208, the CPU 11 executes a predetermined problem-solving process to solve the problem, and then ends the second information process. Note that in this embodiment, the problem-solving process is a process of resending an update program to the update target device and causing the update target device to re-update the update target program with the transmitted update program, but this is not limiting. For example, the problem-solving process may be a process of canceling the update of the update target program and transmitting information indicating that a problem has occurred to the service center.

[0074] On the other hand, if the determination in step 206 is negative, it is assumed that there is no particular problem, and the process proceeds to step 210. In step 210, CPU 11 updates the information indicating the version number of the program to be updated in metadata database 13B to the version number information received from the second cloud server 30, and then ends this second information processing.

[0075] Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 50 when the third information processing is executed will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the third information processing according to the present embodiment.

[0076] In the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment, when the above-mentioned instruction information is received from the first cloud server 10, the CPU 51 of the image forming apparatus 50 executes the third information processing program 53A, thereby executing the third information processing shown in FIG. 9 as an example.

[0077] In step 300 of FIG. 9, the CPU 51 executes a process of updating (in this embodiment, overwriting) the update target program indicated by the name information received together with the instruction information from the first cloud server 10 with the received update program.

[0078] In step 302, the CPU 51 transmits the above-mentioned success / failure information as result information to the first cloud server 10, and then ends the third information processing.

[0079] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment.

[0080] 10 as an example, in the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment, when an update instruction for an application program (in this embodiment, an add-on application program) is received from the above-mentioned service center, the second cloud server 30 searches the metadata held by the first cloud server 10 and identifies the image forming device 50, which is the physical device to be updated for the application program. Then, the second cloud server 30 transmits the above-mentioned request information to the first cloud server 10, thereby requesting the identified image forming device 50 to update the target application program.

[0081] When the first cloud server 10 receives request information from the second cloud server 30, it instructs the corresponding image forming device 50 to update the application program by sending the above-mentioned instruction information together with the updated application program.

[0082] In response to this, when the image forming device 50 receives the instruction information, it attempts to update the corresponding application program to the application program received along with the instruction information, and transmits result information indicating the result to the first cloud server 10.

[0083] Upon receiving the result information, if the result information indicates that there is a problem (in this embodiment, if the update has failed), the first cloud server 10 executes a process to resolve the problem.

[0084] [Second embodiment] In this embodiment, an example will be described in which, instead of transmitting an update program to a physical device, information indicating a storage destination of the update program (in this embodiment, a URL) is transmitted to the physical device, and the physical device receives the update program by pull from the second cloud server 30. Note that the configuration of the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment is substantially similar to that according to the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0085] Hereinafter, the operation of the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0086] First, the operation of the second cloud server 30 when the first information processing is executed will be described with reference to Fig. 11. Fig. 11 is a flow chart showing an example of the first information processing according to this embodiment, and the steps performing the same processing as the first information processing according to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 7 are given the same step numbers as in Fig. 7, and their description will be omitted. Note that, below, a case will be described in which a URL indicating the storage destination of the update program, name information, and version number information are also transmitted from the service center to the second cloud server 30 together with the update instruction described above.

[0087] In step 106B, CPU 31 transmits request information requesting transmission of the update program to the corresponding update target device to first cloud server 10. At this time, CPU 31 transmits the above-mentioned name information, update target device information, and version number information to first cloud server 10 in addition to the request information, and transmits a URL indicating the storage destination of the update program to first cloud server 10 instead of the update program, and then terminates this first information processing.

[0088] Next, the operation of the first cloud server 10 when the second information processing is executed will be described with reference to Fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the second information processing according to this embodiment, and the steps performing the same processing as the second information processing according to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 8 are given the same step numbers as in Fig. 8, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0089] In step 202B, the CPU 11 transmits to the update target device identified in step 200 instruction information instructing the device to update the update target program indicated by the name information received from the second cloud server 30 together with the request information, together with the name information and the URL received from the second cloud server 30.

[0090] Upon receiving the above instruction information, the update target device attempts to update the update target program to the update program stored in the storage destination indicated by the received URL, and transmits result information indicating the result to the first cloud server 10.

[0091] Thereafter, in step 208B, the CPU 11 executes a predetermined problem-solving process for solving the problem indicated by the result information received from the update target device, and then ends the second information process. Note that in this embodiment, the problem-solving process applies a process of resending the URL to the update target device and causing the update target device to re-update the update target program with the update program stored in the storage destination indicated by the sent URL, but is not limited thereto. For example, the problem-solving process may apply a process of canceling the update of the update target program and sending information indicating that a problem has occurred to the service center.

[0092] Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 50 when the third information processing is executed will be described with reference to Fig. 13. Fig. 13 is a flow chart showing an example of the third information processing according to the present embodiment, and the steps performing the same processing as the third information processing according to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 9 are given the same step numbers as in Fig. 9, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0093] In step 300B, the CPU 51 downloads the update program using the URL received together with the instruction information from the first cloud server 10. Then, the CPU 51 executes a process of updating (in this embodiment, an overwrite process) the update target program indicated by the name information received together with the instruction information from the first cloud server 10 with the downloaded update program.

[0094] [Third embodiment] In this embodiment, an example of updating the setting information of an application program, rather than updating the application program, will be described. The configuration of the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment is substantially the same as that according to the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here. Examples of situations in which the setting information is updated include a case where an authentication policy is changed on the cloud side, and it becomes necessary to change the authentication key for the user, and a case where it becomes necessary to change the transfer destination of image information obtained by the image reading function of the image forming device 50.

[0095] Hereinafter, the operation of the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0096] First, the operation of the second cloud server 30 when executing the first information processing will be described with reference to Fig. 14. Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the first information processing according to this embodiment, and steps performing the same processing as the first information processing according to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 7 are assigned the same step numbers as in Fig. 7, and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0097] In the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment, when an update instruction for instructing the second cloud server 30 to update the setting information of the application program is received from the service center, the CPU 31 of the second cloud server 30 executes the first information processing program 33A, thereby executing the first information processing shown in Fig. 14 as an example. Note that, hereinafter, a case will be described in which the corresponding updated setting information (hereinafter referred to as "updated setting information") and name information indicating the name of the application program are also transmitted from the service center to the second cloud server 30 together with the update instruction.

[0098] In step 100B, the CPU 31 refers to the setting information in the metadata of the metadata database 13B of the first cloud server 10.

[0099] In step 102B, CPU 31 judges whether there is any setting information in the referenced setting information that is different from the setting information indicated by the received update setting information and is an application program indicated by the name information received together with the update instruction. If the result of this judgment is negative, CPU 31 assumes that there is no setting information to be updated and ends this first information processing. On the other hand, if the result of this judgment is positive, CPU 31 assumes that there is setting information to be updated (hereinafter referred to as "update target setting information") and proceeds to step 104B.

[0100] In step 104B, the CPU 31 identifies the image forming apparatus 50 (hereinafter also referred to as the "update target apparatus") for which the update target setting information is set, from the device information corresponding to the update target setting information.

[0101] In step 106C, the CPU 31 transmits request information requesting transmission of the update setting information to the corresponding update target device to the first cloud server 10. At this time, the CPU 31 transmits the above-mentioned name information, update target device information, and the update setting information itself to the first cloud server 10 in addition to the request information, and then ends this first information processing.

[0102] Next, the operation of the first cloud server 10 when the second information processing is executed will be described with reference to Fig. 15. Fig. 15 is a flow chart showing an example of the second information processing according to this embodiment, and the steps performing the same processing as the second information processing according to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 8 are given the same step numbers as in Fig. 8, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0103] In step 202C, the CPU 11 transmits, to the update target device identified in step 200, instruction information instructing the device to update the setting information of the update target program indicated by the name information received from the second cloud server 30 together with the request information, together with the name information and the update setting information received from the second cloud server 30.

[0104] Upon receiving the instruction information, the update target device attempts to update the setting information of the update target program to the received updated setting information, and transmits result information indicating the result to the first cloud server 10.

[0105] Thereafter, in step 208C, the CPU 11 executes a predetermined problem handling process for solving the problem indicated by the result information received from the update target device, and then ends the second information process. Note that in this embodiment, the problem handling process applies to a process of re-sending update setting information to the update target device and causing the update target device to re-update the setting information of the update target program with the transmitted update setting information, but is not limited thereto. For example, the problem handling process may apply a process of canceling the update of the setting information of the update target program and transmitting information indicating that a problem has occurred to the service center.

[0106] In step 210B, the CPU 11 updates the update target setting information of the update target program in the metadata database 13B to the update setting information received from the second cloud server 30, and then ends this second information processing.

[0107] Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 50 when the third information processing is executed will be described with reference to Fig. 16. Fig. 16 is a flow chart showing an example of the third information processing according to the present embodiment, and the steps performing the same processing as the third information processing according to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 9 are given the same step numbers as in Fig. 9, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0108] In step 300C, the CPU 51 executes a process of updating (in this embodiment, an overwriting process) the setting information of the program to be updated, which is indicated by the name information received together with the instruction information, to the update setting information received together with the instruction information from the first cloud server 10.

[0109] In the above embodiments, the image forming device 50 is used as the physical device of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, other devices to which the digital shadow technology can be applied, such as a personal computer or a mobile information terminal, may be used as the physical device of the present disclosure.

[0110] Although the embodiments have been described above, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. Various modifications or improvements can be made to the above embodiments without departing from the gist of the invention, and such modifications or improvements are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0111] Furthermore, the above embodiments do not limit the inventions described in the claims, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention. The above-mentioned embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions are extracted by combining the multiple components disclosed. Even if some components are deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments, as long as the effect is obtained, the configuration from which these some components are deleted can be extracted as an invention.

[0112] In addition, in each of the above embodiments, the term "processor" refers to a processor in a broad sense, and includes general-purpose processors (e.g., CPUs, etc.) and dedicated processors (e.g., GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, programmable logic devices, etc.). In addition, the operations of the processor in each of the above embodiments may be performed not only by one processor, but also by multiple processors located at physically separate locations working together. The order of the operations of the processor is not limited to the order described in each of the above embodiments, and may be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, although the "system" in each of the embodiments has been described as being made up of a plurality of devices as an example, it may be made up of a single device.

[0113] Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the various processes are implemented by a software configuration using a computer by executing a program, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the various processes may be implemented by a hardware configuration or a combination of a hardware configuration and a software configuration.

[0114] In addition, the configurations of the first cloud server 10, the second cloud server 30, and the image forming device 50 described in each of the above embodiments are merely examples, and it goes without saying that unnecessary parts may be deleted or new parts may be added without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0115] Furthermore, the various processing flows described in each of the above embodiments are merely examples, and it goes without saying that unnecessary steps may be deleted, new steps may be added, or the processing order may be rearranged, without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0116] (Additional Note) (((1))) An information processing system including a physical device, a service device that performs a service of updating an application program installed in the physical device, and a virtual device that is a virtual device of the physical device and holds metadata including information indicating a version number of the application program installed in the physical device, One or more processors; The processor: When the service device transmits the updated application program to the physical device identified as a device to be updated for the application program by referring to the metadata, the service device transmits request information to the virtual device requesting transmission of the application program to the physical device; When the virtual device receives the request information from the service device, the virtual device transmits to the corresponding physical device the application program after updating or instruction information instructing the physical device to receive the application program from the service device; When the physical device receives the application program or the instruction information from the virtual device, the physical device executes a process of updating the application program. Information processing system. (((2))) After executing a process of updating the application program, the physical device transmits result information indicating a result of the update to the virtual device. An information processing system according to (((1))). (((3))) When the physical device receives the instruction information from the virtual device, the physical device pulls the application program from the service device. 2. An information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the information processing system is a system for processing information according to any one of claims 1 to 10. (((4))) The instruction information includes information indicating a storage destination of the application program, When the physical device receives the instruction information from the virtual device, the physical device receives the application program from the service device using the information indicating the storage destination. The information processing system according to (((3))). (((5))) The service device is a cloud platform device. 13. An information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 20. (((6))) The update of the application program is an update of setting information of the application program, 13. An information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. (((7))) the physical device is an image forming device having an image reading function, The information to be updated in the setting information includes information indicating a destination of image information obtained by the image reading function of the image forming apparatus. The information processing system according to (((6))). (((8))) The application program is an add-on application program; 13. An information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

[0117] According to the information processing system of (((1))), it is possible to collectively update application programs to physical devices without accessing all of the physical devices that may be the target. According to the information processing system of (((2))), it is possible to make the virtual device aware that an update of an application program has been completed, and as a result, it is possible to make the service device aware that the update has also been completed. According to the information processing system of (((3))), an application program can be transferred to a physical device without going through a virtual device. According to the information processing system of (((4))), it is possible to receive an application program using information indicating a storage destination. According to the information processing system of (((5))), it is possible to support a larger number of physical devices than when the service device is an on-premise device. According to the information processing system of (((6))), it is possible to collectively update the setting information of application programs. According to the information processing system of (((7))), it is possible to accommodate updating of the transfer destination of image information obtained by an image forming apparatus having an image reading function. According to the information processing system of (((8))), it is possible to accommodate add-on application programs. [Explanation of symbols]

[0118] 1. Information Processing Systems 10 First Cloud Server 11 CPU 11A Second transmitter 12. Memory 13 Storage section 13A Second Information Processing Program 13B Metadata Database 14 Input section 15 Display 16 Media Read / Write Device 17 Recording media 18 Communication I / F section 30 Second Cloud Server 31 CPU 31A First Transmitter 32 Memory 33 Storage section 33A First Information Processing Program 34 Input section 35 Display section 36 Media Read / Write Device 37 Recording media 38 Communication I / F section 50 Image forming device 51 CPU 51A Executive Department 51B 3rd Transmitter 52 Memory 53 Memory section 53A 3rd Information Processing Program 54 Input section 55 Display section 56 Media Read / Write Device 57 Recording media 58 Communication I / F section N Network

Claims

1. An information processing system including a physical device, a service device that performs a service of updating an application program installed in the physical device, and a virtual device that is a virtual device of the physical device and holds metadata including information indicating a version number of the application program installed in the physical device, One or more processors; The processor: when transmitting the updated application program to the physical device identified as a device to be updated with the application program by referring to the metadata, the service device transmits, to the virtual device, request information for requesting transmission of the application program to the physical device; When the virtual device receives the request information from the service device, the virtual device transmits, to the corresponding physical device, the application program after the update or instruction information instructing the physical device to receive the application program from the service device; when the physical device receives the application program or the instruction information from the virtual device, the physical device executes a process for updating the application program. Information processing system.

2. the physical device executes a process for updating the application program, and then transmits result information indicating a result of the update to the virtual device; The information processing system according to claim 1 .

3. When the physical device receives the instruction information from the virtual device, the physical device pulls and receives the application program from the service device.

3. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the instruction information includes information indicating a storage destination of the application program; when the physical device receives the instruction information from the virtual device, the physical device receives the application program from the service device by using the information indicating the storage destination. The information processing system according to claim 3 .

5. The service device is a cloud platform device.

3. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2.

6. The update of the application program is an update of setting information of the application program.

3. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2.

7. the physical device is an image forming device having an image reading function, The information to be updated in the setting information includes information indicating a destination of image information obtained by the image reading function of the image forming apparatus.

7. The information processing system according to claim 6.

8. The application program is an add-on application program.

3. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2.

9. A program executed by a service device in an information processing system including a physical device, a service device that performs a service of updating an application program installed in the physical device, and a virtual device that is a virtual device of the physical device and holds metadata including information indicating a version number of the application program installed in the physical device, the program comprising: when transmitting the updated application program to the physical device identified as a device to be updated for the application program by referring to the metadata, transmitting request information to the virtual device for requesting transmission of the application program to the physical device; A program that causes a computer to carry out processing.

Images