Image forming apparatus, control method therefor and program

Abstract

To easily start utilization when implementing an extended function of an image forming apparatus using cloud services.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus uses an application file and a license file of an application to install the application in the image forming apparatus and starts the application. At such a time, a print server of a region identified based on information of the license file is caused to create a tenant via a tenant management server, and a first request for associating the tenant created by the print server with the image forming apparatus is transmitted to the tenant management server. Further, a second request is transmitted to the print server for causing the print server to validate functions that the application includes based on the information of the license file and to set a utilization start date for the unit of a function.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the setup of an application that can be used in an image forming apparatus in cooperation with a cloud server. [Background technology]

[0002] Although image forming devices come standard with basic functions such as copying, printing, and scanning, some devices can be used as extended functions of the image forming device by installing applications after shipment. In particular, in recent years, there has been an increase in applications that provide more advanced printing and scanning functions in conjunction with cloud services.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for introducing applications that can be linked to cloud services, with the aim of improving the efficiency of sales of applications used in image forming apparatuses. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-54265 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Many of the cloud services that realize linkage with image forming devices, including the one described in Patent Document 1, require preparations for use, such as opening a tenant, installing a dedicated application on the image forming device, linking the image forming device with the tenant, enabling functions that the user wants to use, etc. The need for preparations for use on both the image forming device and the cloud service when starting to use an expanded function of an image forming device that links with a cloud service can be said to be a problem that increases the burden when introducing the expanded function. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the image forming apparatus of the present invention is characterized in having a means for installing an application on the image forming apparatus using an application file and a license file of the application and starting the application, a first request means for sending a first request to the tenant management server via a tenant management server to cause the print server to create a tenant in a region identified based on information in the license file and to link the created tenant with the image forming apparatus, and a second request means for sending a second request to the print server to cause the print server to enable functions of the application based on information in the license file and to set a start date of use on a function-by-function basis. Effect of the Invention

[0007] By performing an application installation operation on the image forming apparatus, the expanded functions of the image forming apparatus using the cloud service can be easily started to be used. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the present system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 110. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an information processing device 111. [Figure 4] 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a print server 120 and a tenant management server 130. FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a software configuration of the present embodiment. [Figure 6] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of an application file in the present embodiment. FIG. [Figure 7] 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of a license file in the present embodiment. [Figure 8]FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an application installation screen 800 constructed in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence in the present embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a diagram showing a flow 1000 of tenant creation and device registration executed by the tenant management server 130 in this embodiment. [Figure 11] 11 is a diagram showing a flow 1100 for enabling a function of an application of the image forming apparatus 110, which is executed by the print server 120 in this embodiment, and FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence for enabling an arbitrary function of an application. [Figure 12] 14A to 14C are diagrams showing examples of a home screen 1210, a function screen 1220, a time limit expiration confirmation screen 1230, and a home screen 1240 to which transitions can be made by the processing of FIG. 13 in this embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a flow 1300 when a functional icon of an application is pressed in this embodiment. [Figure 14] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing examples of a tenant management table (Table 1) held by the tenant management server 130, a region table (Table 2) held by the tenant management server 130, and an activation table (Table 3) held by the print server 120. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0010] <Overall composition> Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of this system. The system configuration of this embodiment includes an image forming device 110, an information processing device 111, a print server 120, and a tenant management server 130. The image forming device 110 and the information processing device 111 can communicate with servers that provide various services on the Internet via a LAN (Local Area Network). Note that, although Fig. 1 shows one image forming device 110 and one information processing device 111, each of the devices may be one or more.

[0011] The print server 120 is an online service that cooperates with an application installed in the image forming apparatus 110, transmits image data generated by scanning on the image forming apparatus 110 to the print server 120, transfers the image data to a service capable of storing files, such as another storage service, or prints files from another storage service, files transmitted from the information processing apparatus 111, or print jobs, on the image forming apparatus 110. Although one print server 120 is illustrated in FIG. 1, a print server 120 may exist for each region in which the service is provided.

[0012] The tenant management server 130 is a server that manages tenants built in the print server 120. In many cloud services, the same cloud server is shared by multiple companies or individuals. A tenant means a unit of resources of a cloud server that can be used by each company or individual, and the tenant management server 130 manages which tenant exists in which region of the print server 120. In this embodiment, the roles are divided between the print server 120 and the tenant management server 130, but one server may play the role of both the print server 120 and the tenant management server 130. The system configuration of this embodiment is configured to include, but is not limited to, the image forming device 110, the information processing device 111, the print server 120, and the tenant management server 130.

[0013] <Hardware configuration of image forming device> FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus 110. The image forming apparatus 110 is composed of a control unit 210, an operation unit 220, a printer unit 221, a scanner unit 222, and an authentication device 223. The control unit 210 is composed of 211 to 219 described later, and controls the operation of the entire image forming apparatus 110. The CPU 211 reads out a control program stored in a ROM 212, and executes and controls various functions of the image forming apparatus 110, such as reading, printing, and communication. The RAM 213 is used as a temporary storage area such as a main memory and a work area of ​​the CPU 211. In this embodiment, one CPU 211 executes each process described later using one memory (RAM 213 or HDD 214), but is not limited to this. For example, each process may be executed by cooperating with multiple CPUs and multiple RAMs or HDDs. The HDD 214 is a large-capacity storage unit that stores image data and various programs. The operation unit I / F 215 is an interface that connects the operation unit 220 and the control unit 210. The operation unit 220 is provided with a touch panel, a keyboard, and the like, and accepts operations / inputs / instructions by a user. The printer I / F 216 is an interface that connects the printer unit 221 and the control unit 210. Image data for printing is transferred from the control unit 210 to the printer unit 221 via the printer I / F 216 and printed on a recording medium. The scanner I / F 217 is an interface that connects the scanner unit 222 and the control unit 210. The scanner unit 222 reads an original set on a document tray or an ADF (Auto Document Feeder), not shown, generates image data, and inputs the image data to the control unit 210 via the scanner I / F 217. The image forming apparatus 110 can print (copy) the image data generated by the scanner unit 222 from the printer unit 221, as well as transmit the image data as a file or by e-mail. The authentication device I / F 218 is an interface that connects the authentication device 223 to the control unit 210. The authentication device 223 is, for example, a card reader that reads an IC card or a fingerprint authentication device that reads a fingerprint, and is used when authenticating a user to use the printer. The network I / F 219 is an interface that connects the control unit 210 to a LAN.The image forming apparatus 110 uses a network I / F 219 to transmit image data and information to various services on the Internet and to receive various types of information.

[0014] <Hardware configuration of information processing device> 3 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the information processing device 111. Note that, although the information processing device 111 of this embodiment is assumed to be a device such as a PC, it may be another device such as a tablet PC (not shown) as long as it is an information processing device capable of network communication.

[0015] The information processing device 111 includes an input I / F 301, a CPU 302, a ROM 303, a RAM 304, an external storage device 305, an output I / F 306, a communication unit 309, etc. The CPU 302, the ROM 303, the RAM 304, etc. form a computer of the information processing device 111.

[0016] The input I / F 301 is an interface for detecting inputs and operation instructions from a user via an operation unit 308 .

[0017] The CPU 302 controls the entire system of the information processing device 111 and controls applications such as a web browser.

[0018] The ROM 303 stores fixed data such as control programs and data tables executed by the CPU 302, and an embedded OS (Operation System) program. In this embodiment, each control program stored in the ROM 303 performs software execution control such as scheduling, task switching, and interrupt processing under the management of the embedded OS stored in the ROM 303.

[0019] The RAM 304 is composed of a static random access memory (SRAM) that requires a backup power source. The RAM 304 retains data using a primary battery (not shown) for data backup, and stores important data such as program control variables without volatilizing the data. The RAM 304 also includes a memory area for storing setting information and management data for the information processing device 111.

[0020] The external storage device 305 stores a browser application for operating and displaying the image forming apparatus 110 and the print server 120, and the like.

[0021] The output I / F 306 is an interface for displaying data on a display unit 307 and notifying the status of the information processing device 111 .

[0022] The display unit 307 is an output device such as a display including an LED (light emitting diode), an LCD (liquid crystal display), etc. For example, the display unit 307 displays the screen of a web browser controlled by the CPU 302.

[0023] The operation unit 308 is an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc., and accepts input from a user. Note that the operation unit 308 may be a physical keyboard, physical buttons, etc., or may be a soft keyboard or soft buttons displayed on the display unit 307. In other words, the operation unit 308 may accept an input operation from a user via the display unit 307.

[0024] The communication unit 309 is a component for executing data communication with the image forming apparatus 110, the print server 120, and the like.

[0025] <Hardware configuration of print server and tenant management server> FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the print server 120 and the tenant management server 130. As shown in FIG.

[0026] The print server 120 and the tenant management server 130 are configured with a CPU 401 , a ROM 402 , a RAM 403 , a HDD 404 , and a network I / F 405 .

[0027] The CPU 401 reads out control programs stored in the ROM 402 and the HDD 404 and executes various processes, thereby controlling the overall operation.

[0028] The RAM 403 is used as a temporary storage area such as a main memory or a work area for the CPU 401 .

[0029] The HDD 404 is a large-capacity storage unit that stores image data and various programs.

[0030] The network I / F 405 is an interface for connecting to the Internet, and controls data transmission and reception with other devices connected to the Internet via the network I / F 405.

[0031] <Software Configuration of the Present Embodiment> FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration according to the present embodiment.

[0032] The image forming apparatus 110 includes a request control unit 511, an application control unit 512, a data management unit 513, a display control unit 514, and a job control unit 515. The image forming apparatus 110 transmits and receives data to and from an external device via the request control unit 511. The application control unit 512 controls the installation, start, and stop of an application that runs on the CPU 211 of the image forming apparatus 110. The above-mentioned application can be used by installing an application file 600 (described later) and a license file 700 (described later) associated with the application file. Here, the application file is a file that stores a program executed by the CPU 211 of the image forming apparatus 110. The license file is a file required to permit the installation of the application file in the image forming apparatus 110, or key information of an alphanumeric string. The data management unit 513 holds the device serial number of the image forming apparatus 110 in the ROM 212. The device serial number is identification information for uniquely identifying the image forming apparatus 110. The display control unit 514 controls the screen displayed on the operation unit 220 of the image forming apparatus 110. In addition, upon receiving a request from a web browser running on the information processing apparatus 111 connected via the Internet or another terminal (not shown) such as a mobile terminal, the display control unit 514 returns screen configuration information (HTML, CCS, etc.) required for screen display. The job control unit 515 executes a print job received from the outside via the request control unit 511 and reads a document placed on the scanner unit 222.

[0033] The information processing device 111 has a request control unit 516 and a display control unit 517. The information processing device 111 receives data from other devices and transmits requests via the request control unit 516. The display control unit 517 receives screen configuration information constructed by the display control unit 514 of the image forming device 110, and controls the screen to be displayed on the display unit 307.

[0034] The print server 120 includes a request control unit 521, a printer management unit 522, a job management unit 523, a license management unit 524, and a tenant control unit 525. The print server 120 transmits and receives data to and from an external device via the request control unit 521. The printer management unit 522 registers an arbitrary image forming device 110 in the print server 120 and manages the registered image forming device 110. The printer management unit 522 can also obtain the status, printing performance, scanning performance, and various settings of the registered image forming device 110. The job management unit 523 receives and manages the print server 120, the information processing device 111, and printing and scanning jobs. In response to a request from the outside, the job management unit 523 transmits a job to the image forming device 110 managed by the printer management unit 522. The license management unit 524 manages the validity state and available period of the functions provided by the print server 120 in an activation table described later. The tenant control unit 525 performs operations such as creating a tenant for the print server 120 in response to an external request.

[0035] The tenant management server 130 has a request control unit 531, a tenant control unit 532, and a tenant management unit 533. The tenant management server 130 transmits and receives data to and from external devices via the request control unit 531. In response to a request from the image forming device 110, the tenant control unit 532 determines a region to which a tenant is to be added, and transmits a tenant creation request to the print server 120 of that region. In response to a request from the image forming device 110, the tenant management unit 532 transmits a registration request for the image forming device 110 to an arbitrary tenant. The tenant management unit 533 manages a tenant management table, which will be described later, and collectively manages the tenants existing in the print servers 120 of all regions in this system.

[0036] <Data structure of application file / license file> Here, the data structures of the application file and the license file in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0037] 6 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of an application file 600 in this embodiment. The application file 600 includes an application ID 601, an application name 602, a register to be used 603, and an execution file 604.

[0038] The application ID 601 is an identifier for uniquely identifying an application file, and is made up of an alphanumeric string.

[0039] The application file name 602 indicates the name of the application.

[0040] The register in use 603 indicates the name of a register in the license file referenced by the executable file 604 of the application file 600. A register is a value that can be referenced by the executable file 604 of the application file 600, and the application can use the register for various purposes. In this embodiment, the register is used for the purpose of defining the period during which the function provided by the application can be used. As an example, in FIG. 6, the registers "Reg1", "Reg2", and "Reg3" are specified as the reference targets. The values ​​to be set in the registers are defined in the license file described later. In this embodiment, it is described that a maximum of three registers can be used, but the number of registers is not limited to this.

[0041] The executable file 604 is a program that runs on the image forming apparatus 110. The executable file 604 of the application file 600 may include multiple functions.

[0042] 7 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of a license file 700 in this embodiment. The license file 700 has a license ID 701, an application ID 702, a device serial number 703, and a register 704. Note that the license file 700 is preferably encrypted to prevent tampering by a third party.

[0043] The license ID 701 is an identifier for uniquely identifying the license file 700, and is made up of an alphanumeric string.

[0044] The application ID 702 is the application ID of an application that can be installed by the license file 700. If the license file 700 is linked to the application file 600, the application ID 702 and the application ID 601 have the same value.

[0045] The device serial number 703 indicates the device serial number of the image forming device 110 on which the license file 700 can be installed.

[0046] The register 704 is a register value that can be referenced by the executable file 604 of the application file 600. When the application file 600 has multiple functions, the operation of the program for each function can be controlled by the value of the register 704.

[0047] <Processing flow> The following describes the process in which the image forming device 110 in this system works in cooperation with the print server 120 and the tenant management server 130 to create a tenant, enable the functions of the application, and control the availability period of each function, which begins with the installation of an application.

[0048] 8 is a diagram showing an example of an application installation screen 800 constructed by the display control unit 514 of the image forming apparatus 110. The application installation screen 800 can be displayed and operated by a web browser running on the information processing apparatus 111.

[0049] The application installation screen 800 is composed of an application file path display area 801 , an application file reference button 802 , a license file path display area 803 , a license file selection button 804 , and an install button 805 .

[0050] The application file path display area 801 displays the file path of the currently selected application file 600. In Fig. 8, as an example, "xxx / PrintServiceApplocation.jar" is displayed in the application file path display area 801. Note that, although the application file is a Jar (Java Archive) file in this embodiment, the format of the application file is not limited to this.

[0051] The application file browse button 802 is a button for selecting an application file to be installed. When the display control unit 514 detects that the application file browse button 802 is pressed, the display control unit 514 displays a file selection dialog on the display unit 307 and accepts a file selection by the user. The path of the selected application file is displayed in the application file path display area 801.

[0052] A license file path display area 803 displays the file path of the currently selected license file 700. In Fig. 8, as an example, "xxx / PrintServiceApplication.lic" is displayed as the path of the license file.

[0053] The license file reference button 804 is a button for selecting a license file. Like the application file selection button 802, when the button is pressed, a file selection dialog is displayed and the user's selection of a license file is accepted. The file path of the selected license file is displayed in a license file path display area 803.

[0054] The install button 805 is a button for starting an installation process in the image forming apparatus 110 using the selected application file and license file described above. When detecting that the user has pressed the install button 805, the information processing apparatus 111 transmits an installation instruction to the image forming apparatus 110.

[0055] 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed by the image forming device 110 in this system in cooperation with the print server 120 and the tenant management server 130 in response to installation of an application in the image forming device 110. In this embodiment, an example of setup processing for using only "function A" and "function B" in an application capable of providing "function A", "function B", and "function C" in cooperation with the print server 120 will be described.

[0056] 9 (S905 to S911), a process for installing an application in the image forming apparatus 110 will be described. The sequence shown in FIG. 9 starts when a user, such as a service representative of a sales company, presses an install button 805 via a web browser running on the information processing apparatus 111.

[0057] The information processing apparatus 111 transmits an instruction to install an application to the image forming apparatus 110 (S901). At this time, the information processing apparatus 111 transmits to the image forming apparatus 110 the application file 600 and the license file 700 selected on the application installation screen 800.

[0058] The application control unit 512 of the image forming apparatus 110 executes the installation process and start process of the application using the application file 600 and the license file 700 received from the information processing apparatus 111 in S901 (S902). After that, the application control unit 512 notifies the information processing apparatus 111 of the installation result (S903). Here, the installation result indicates whether the association between the application file 600 and the license file 700 is correct and whether the installation process has been completed normally.

[0059] In this embodiment, the means for installing the application is described as being via application installation screen 800, but the means for installing the application in image forming apparatus 110 is not limited to this. For example, it is assumed that there is a server (not shown) that manages application file 600 and license file 700 in association with each other, and that the server issues identification numbers associated with application file 600 and license file 700. It is also possible to have a means in which license control unit 532 acquires the identification number by inputting the aforementioned identification number into a web browser running on image forming apparatus 111, and then downloads application file 600 and license file 700 from the aforementioned server and executes the installation process.

[0060] Next, a description will be given of the tenant creation and device registration processes that the tenant management server 130 executes in cooperation with the print server 120. A tenant management unit 533 of the tenant management server 130 stores a tenant management table, which will be described later, and a tenant control unit 532 performs tenant creation and device registration in the print server 120 based on information held in the tenant management table.

[0061] Here, the tenant management table will be described with reference to Table 1 in FIG. 14. The tenant management table has a tenant ID column, a tenant URL column, a device serial number column, and a region column. The tenant ID column is an identifier for uniquely identifying a tenant established in the print server 120. The tenant URL column indicates a URL for accessing any tenant in the print server 120. The device serial number column indicates the device serial number of the image forming device 110 that is linked to the aforementioned tenant. The region column indicates the region of the print server 120 that establishes the aforementioned tenant. The tenant management table is recorded for each device that is already linked to the print server 120. Note that in this embodiment, this information is managed in one table, but it may be managed by dividing it into multiple tables.

[0062] Returning to the description of the sequence in Fig. 9, the tenant management server 130 searches the tenant management table for the information of the license file 700 and the device serial number of the image forming device 110 received in the device registration request (S904) from the image forming device 110, and determines whether the image forming device 110 has already been registered as a tenant of any of the print servers 120, and whether a tenant matching the tenant ID included in the information of the license file 700 already exists in the print server 120. If the image forming device 110 having the aforementioned device serial number is not registered as a tenant of any of the print servers 120, and the tenant ID included in the information of the license file 700 does not match the tenant ID of any of the print servers 120, the tenant management server 130 and the print server 120 execute the processes of S905 to S911 described below. Furthermore, if the image forming device 110 is not registered in any of the tenants of the print servers 120, and there is a tenant of the print server 120 having the tenant ID included in the information of the license file 700, the tenant management server 130 and the print server 120 execute the processes of S909 to S911 described later. If the image forming device 110 having the device serial number described above is registered in any of the tenants of the print servers 120, the tenant management server 130 does not execute the processes of S905 to S911, but executes S912. Details of the means by which the tenant management server 130 determines whether the image forming device 110 has already been registered in any of the tenants of the print servers 120, or whether there is a tenant in the print server 120 that matches the tenant ID included in the information of the license file 700 will be described in flow 1000 described later.

[0063] The tenant management server 130 identifies the region of the print server 120 in which the tenant is to be created based on the value of Reg1 of the register 704 included in the information of the license file 700 acquired in S904 (S905). Details of the means for identifying the region of the print server 120 executed by the tenant control unit 532 of the tenant management server 130 will be described later in flow 1000.

[0064] The tenant control unit 532 of the tenant management server 130 transmits a tenant creation request to the print server 120 in the region identified in S905 (S906).

[0065] The tenant control unit 525 of the print server 120 receives a tenant creation request from the tenant management server 130 and creates a new tenant (S907). At this time, an alphanumeric character string that does not overlap with other tenants is set as the tenant ID of the tenant to be created.

[0066] The tenant control unit of the print server 120 transmits to the tenant management server 130 a tenant URL for the created tenant to communicate with the outside world and a tenant ID (S908).

[0067] The tenant control unit 532 of the tenant management server 130 transmits a device registration request to the tenant of the print server 120 (S909). Device registration is a process of linking the tenant and the image forming apparatus 110 described above.

[0068] The printer management unit 522 of the print server 120 registers the image forming device 110 using the device serial number of the image forming device 110 received in the device registration request from the tenant management server 130 (S909) (S910), and transmits information indicating whether the registration of the image forming device 110 has been completed normally to the tenant management server 130 (S911).

[0069] The tenant control unit 532 of the tenant management server 130 transmits to the image forming apparatus 110 (S912), the URL of the tenant of the print server 120 linked to the image forming apparatus 110 that is the sender of the device registration request (S902).

[0070] 10 is a diagram showing a flow 1000 illustrating details of the above-mentioned tenant creation and device registration processing executed by the tenant management server 130 for the print server 120. The flow 1000 starts when the tenant management server 130 receives a device registration request from the image forming apparatus 110 (S904).

[0071] The tenant control unit 532 of the tenant management server 130 uses the above-mentioned tenant management table to determine whether the device serial number of the image forming device 110 exists in the device serial number column of the tenant management table and has already been registered with any tenant (S1001). At this time, if it is determined that the image forming device 110 that has sent the device registration request (S904) has already been registered with any tenant in the print server 120, the tenant management server 130 does not send a request for tenant creation and device registration to the print server 120, and executes the process of S1008. On the other hand, if the device serial number of the image forming device 110 does not exist in the tenant management table and it is determined that the above-mentioned image processing device 110 has not been registered with any tenant in the print server 120, the tenant management server 130 executes the process of S1002.

[0072] The tenant control unit 532 of the tenant management server 130 determines whether to create a new tenant or to link the image forming device 110 to an existing tenant based on the value of the register 704 included in the information of the license file 700 acquired in S904 (S1002). In this embodiment, the tenant to which the image forming device 110 is connected can be uniquely specified by inputting a tenant ID into the value of Reg2 of the register 704. In S1002, the tenant management server 130 checks whether the value of Reg2 of the register 704 exists in the tenant ID column of the tenant management table. If the value of Reg2 exists in the tenant management table, the tenant management server 130 executes the process from S1006 onwards. On the other hand, if a value matching Reg2 does not exist in the tenant ID column of the tenant management table or if the value of Reg2 is "0", the process from S1003 onwards is executed. For example, since the value of Reg2 of the license file 700 shown in FIG. 7 is "0", the process from S1003 onwards is executed.

[0073] In S1003, the tenant management server 130 identifies the region of the print server 120 in which a tenant is to be created based on the value of Reg1 of the register 704 included in the information of the license file 700 acquired in S904. This is the same process as S905 in FIG. 9. In this embodiment, the tenant management unit 533 of the tenant management server 130 holds the region table shown in Table 2 of FIG. 14. The region table has a register column and a region column, and manages the register value and the region of the print server 120 in association with each other. The tenant management server 130 identifies the region of the tenant management server 130 in which a tenant is to be created by comparing the region table with the value of Reg1 of the register 704. For example, the value of Reg1 of the license file 700 shown in FIG. 7 is "1", and when a record matching this is checked in the register column of the region table, the identified region is "Japan".

[0074] The tenant control unit 532 of the tenant management server 130 transmits a tenant creation request to the print server 120 in the region identified in S1003 (S1004), and acquires the URL of the tenant created by the tenant control unit 525 of the print server 120 (S1005). Here, S1004 and S1005 are the same processes as S906 and S908 in FIG. 9, respectively.

[0075] The tenant control unit 532 of the tenant management server 130 transmits a device registration request to the tenant of the print server 120 together with the device serial number of the image forming device 110 acquired in S904 (S1006). At this time, the tenant of the print server 120 to be associated with the image forming device 110 differs depending on the determination result in S1002. If it is determined in S1002 that the value of Reg2 of the register 704 already exists in the tenant ID column of the tenant management table, the tenant that owns the aforementioned tenant ID is searched in the tenant management table, and a device registration request is transmitted to the tenant that has the tenant ID. On the other hand, if it is determined in S1002 that the value of Reg2 of the register 704 does not exist in the tenant ID column of the tenant management table, the tenant management server 130 transmits a device registration request to the tenant newly created in S906 to S908. Note that S1006 is the same process as S909 in FIG. 9.

[0076] The tenant management server 130 receives the device registration result from the print server 120 (S1007). At this time, the tenant management unit 533 of the tenant management server 130 records the tenant URL of the tenant associated with the image forming device 110, the tenant ID, the region, and the device serial number of the image forming device 110 in the tenant management table. Note that S1007 is the same process as S911 in FIG. 9.

[0077] The tenant management server 130 searches the tenant management table for the device serial number of the image forming device 110 acquired in S904, and transmits the value of the tenant URL column of the record that matches the device serial number to the image forming device 110 (S1008). Note that S1008 is the same process as S912 in FIG. 9.

[0078] Next, a process in which the image forming apparatus 110 cooperates with the print server 120 to enable the functions of an application running on the image forming apparatus 110 will be described with reference to FIG. 9 (S913 to S916) and FIG.

[0079] The application of the image forming apparatus 110 transmits a function activation request to the print server 120 (S913). At this time, the image forming apparatus 110 also transmits the register value of the license file 700. The communication destination of the image forming apparatus 110 at this time is the tenant URL received from the tenant management server 130 in S912.

[0080] The print server 120 identifies the application function to be enabled based on the register value received from the image forming apparatus 110 in S913, and sets the usage start date of the function (S914). Details of the process of S914 executed by the print server 120 will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0081] The application of the image forming apparatus 110 obtains the value of the valid flag column of an activation table (to be described later) from the print server 120 (S915).

[0082] The application of the image forming apparatus 110 displays on the operation unit 220 the function icons of the functions whose validity flag values ​​acquired in S914 are "True" (S916).

[0083] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a flow 1100 which is a process sequence that the print server 120 starts when it receives a function activation request from the image forming apparatus 110 (S913).

[0084] The license management unit 524 of the print server 120 identifies the functions to be enabled and the available period for each function based on the register value acquired in S913 (S1101). In this embodiment, the value of Reg3 included in the register 704 of the license file 700 indicates the available period for each function of the application of the image forming apparatus 110. For example, in this embodiment, the register value is expressed as binary data to represent the available period for each function, and the lower 4 bits are defined as the available period for function A, the middle 4 bits as the available period for function B, and the upper 4 bits as the available period for function C. Taking the license file 700 in FIG. 7 as an example, the value of Reg3 is 102 (=0000 0110 0110), and the print server 120 acquires this value in S1101. If this value is divided into 4-bit units to determine the available period for each function, function A can be identified as "6 (=0110) months," function B as "6 (=0110) months," and function C as "0 (=0000) months." Note that the print server 120 identifies functions with an available period of "1 (=0001) month" or more as functions to be enabled. Therefore, in the above example, "function A" and "function B" are functions to be enabled.

[0085] The license management unit 524 of the print server 120 checks whether the function identified as the function to be activated in the process of S1101 is currently activated, using an activation table (to be described later) (S1102).

[0086] Here, the activation table will be described. Table 3 in FIG. 14 is a table showing an example of an activation table held by the license management unit 524 of the print server 120. The activation table exists for each tenant of the print server 120, and has a function ID column, a function name column, an available period column, a use start date column, and a valid flag column. The function ID column is a column showing an identifier of a function that the print server 120 can provide in cooperation with an application of the image forming apparatus 110. The function name column is a column showing the name of each of the above-mentioned functions. The available period column is a column showing a period during which each function can be used. This column stores the available period identified by the license management unit 524 from the value of Reg3 in the process of S1101. The use start date column is a column storing the date when the target function was enabled. The valid flag column is a column showing whether each function is currently enabled or not with a flag. For example, looking at the activation table in Table 3 of Figure 14, we can see that "Feature A" was activated on "2023 / 11 / 12", can be used for "6 months", and is currently in an active state.

[0087] Returning to the description of flow 1100 in Fig. 11, in S1102, if the license management unit 524 of the print server 120 determines that the function to be enabled is currently in a disabled state, the license management unit 524 of the print server 120 enables the function to be enabled (S1103). At this time, the license management unit 524 of the print server 120 updates the values ​​of the enable flag column, the usage start date column, and the available period column of the above-mentioned function in the activation table. For example, when the process of S1103 is executed based on the information of the license file 700, the value of the enable flag column of the records of "Function A" and "Function B" becomes "True". In addition, the value of the available period column of the records of "Function A" and "Function B" is updated to "6 months", respectively.

[0088] On the other hand, if the license management unit 524 determines in S1102 that the function to be enabled is already in an enabled state, the license management unit 524 adds the available period identified from the value of Reg3 in S1102 to the value of the available period column of the function in the activation table (S1104). For example, if "function A" and "function B" are already in an enabled state and the available periods are "3 months" and "6 months", respectively, when the available periods based on the value of Reg3 in the license file 700 are added, the available periods after the addition become "9 months" and "12 months", respectively.

[0089] 9, 10, and 11, a system is realized in which, by installing an application in the image forming apparatus 110, a tenant is created, functions of the application are enabled, and the available period of each function is controlled.

[0090] Next, a process to be performed when the available period of any function of an application running on image forming apparatus 110 has expired will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0091] 12 is a diagram showing an example of a home screen 1210, a function screen 1220, a time limit expiration confirmation screen 1230, and a home screen 1240 to which transitions can be made by a flow 1300 described below. Each screen shown in FIG. 12 is constructed by the display control unit 514 of the image forming apparatus 110 and displayed on the display unit 220.

[0092] The home screen 1210 has one or more function icons 1211 for using functions provided by applications of the image forming apparatus 110. Here, a function icon is an icon button assigned on a function basis by an application running on the image forming apparatus 110. Pressing a function icon 1211 transitions to a function screen 1220 for using a function associated with the respective function icon.

[0093] The function screen 1220 displays a screen for using functions provided by applications of the image forming apparatus 110. The function screen 1220 has a home button 1221, and transitions to the home screen 1210 when pressing the home button 1221 is detected.

[0094] The expiration confirmation screen 1230 is a screen that is displayed when the available period of the function associated with the function icon 1211 pressed on the home screen 1210 has expired. The expiration confirmation screen 1230 has a home button 1231, a continue display button 1232, and a hide button 1233. The home button 1231 is a button for transitioning to the home screen 1210 upon detecting the user's press. The continue display button 1232 and the hide button 1233 are buttons that accept the user's selection as to whether to keep the function icon of the function displayed on the home screen 1210 or to hide it, respectively.

[0095] Like the home screen 1210, the home screen 1240 is a screen that displays the function icons 1211. The home screen 1240 is an example of a home screen when the “print service function A” that was displayed as one of the function icons 1211 on the home screen 1210 is hidden.

[0096] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a flow 1300 that is a process group that starts when a functional icon displayed on the display unit 220 of the image forming apparatus 110 is pressed in this embodiment.

[0097] The application of the image forming apparatus 110 detects that the user has pressed any of the function icons 1211 (S1301). It is assumed here that the application detects that the function icon 1211 for "print service function A" has been pressed in S1301.

[0098] The application of the image forming apparatus 110 acquires the values ​​of the validity flag, the usage start date, and the usage period of the function associated with the function icon 1211 detected as pressed in S1301 from the print server 120 in the activation table (S1302).

[0099] The application of the image forming apparatus 110 determines whether the function pressed in S1301 is within the available period based on the usage start date and the available period acquired in S1302 (S1303). If it is determined in S1303 that the pressed function is within the available period, the image forming apparatus 110 executes the processes of S1304 and S1305.

[0100] The image forming apparatus 110 displays the function screen 1220 of the function detected in S1301 on the display unit 220 (S1304). When the home button 1221 is pressed on the function screen 1220, the image forming apparatus 110 displays the home screen 1210 (S1305), and the process of the flow 1300 ends.

[0101] If it is determined in S1303 that the available period of the function associated with the function icon pressed in S1301 has expired, the application of the image forming apparatus 110 displays the expiration confirmation screen 1230 (S1306). In this embodiment, the application of the image processing apparatus 110 calculates the end date of the available period from the usage start date and available period acquired in S1302, and displays a message on the expiration confirmation screen 1230 saying "The expiration date of function A expired on 11 / 12 / 2023. Return to the home screen. Do you want to hide the icon of this function on the home screen?"

[0102] The application of the image forming apparatus 110 determines whether or not the hide button 1233 has been pressed on the expiration confirmation screen 1230 (S1307). At this time, if the application of the image forming apparatus 110 detects that the hide button 1233 has been pressed, the application of the image forming apparatus 110 executes the processes of S1308 and S1309.

[0103] The application of the image forming apparatus 110 transmits an instruction to disable the function of the currently displayed expiration confirmation screen 1230 to the print service 120 (S1308). At this time, the license management unit 524 of the print service 120 that has received the instruction to disable from the application of the image forming apparatus 110 changes the value of the valid flag of the function in the activation table to "False."

[0104] The image forming apparatus 110 hides the function icon 1211 of the function on the home screen 1240 (S1309), and then ends the processing of the flow 1300. Note that the application of the image forming apparatus 110 may hide the function icon 1211 immediately after transition to the home screen 1240, or the process of hiding the function icon 1211 may be reflected after the image forming apparatus 110 is restarted.

[0105] If it is determined in S1307 that the home button 1231 or the display continuation button 1232 has been pressed, the image forming apparatus 110 transitions to the home screen 1210 (S1310) and ends the processing of the flow 1300.

[0106] As described above, flow 1300 prevents a function icon that is unavailable to the user from remaining displayed on the home screen when the availability period of any function of an application running on image forming apparatus 110 has expired.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus capable of installing an application, means for installing the application on the image forming device using an application file and a license file of the application, and starting the application; a first request means for transmitting a first request to a tenant management server via a tenant management server, the first request being for causing a print server in a region identified based on information in the license file to create a tenant and for causing the print server to associate the created tenant with the image forming device; a second request means for transmitting a second request to the print server for enabling a function of the application based on information in the license file and for setting a usage start date for each function; An image forming apparatus comprising:

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the tenant management server identifies a region of the print server in which the tenant is to be created based on information in the license file.

3. 2 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the tenant management server causes the print server to associate the tenant with the image forming apparatus by using identification information of the image forming apparatus included in the first request.

4. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print server determines which function to enable based on the information in the license file, and if the function is already enabled, adds to the available period of the function based on the information in the license file.

5. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit that displays a function icon of a function that has become enabled in response to information on the enabled state obtained from the print server.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a means for hiding the function icon when the function icon is pressed and the availability period of the function associated with the function icon has expired.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a judgment means for, when the function icon is pressed, judging whether the function associated with the function icon is within its available period based on information regarding the validity status obtained from the print service.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a means for displaying a button for accepting a decision as to whether or not to hide the function icon when it is determined that the function associated with the function icon has expired.

Images