Electronic device, setting management system, setting management method, and program

Abstract

To provide a setting management system, a setting management method, and a program that, when a new function is added to an electronic apparatus including one or more functions, facilitate setting of the authority to use the function.SOLUTION: In a setting management system in which an image forming apparatus 100 and a management server are communicably connected via a communication network 10, the image forming apparatus 100 is an electronic apparatus including one or more functions, and has: a storage unit that stores authority information on the one or more functions; and a management unit that, when an additional function is added to the electronic apparatus, based on setting information indicating the correspondence relationship between the authority information on the one or more functions and authority information on the additional function and the authority information on the one or more functions, sets the authority information on the additional function.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic device, a setting management system, a setting management method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] For example, in an electronic device having one or more functions such as an image forming apparatus, a technique is known that permits the use of a function within a preset range of usage rights.

[0003] Also, there is known an image forming apparatus that permits the use of a function when the function is used by a user who does not have usage rights for the function, based on predetermined usage conditions (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the conventional technique as shown in Patent Document 1, when a new function is added to an electronic device, there is a problem that an administrator or the like must set usage rights for the added function.

[0005] One embodiment of the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in an electronic device having one or more functions, when a new function is added, it facilitates the setting of usage rights for the function.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention is plural an electronic device having a function of plural a storage unit that stores permission information regarding the function of plural and when adding an additional function to the electronic device, setting information indicating a correspondence relationship between the permission information regarding the function of plural and the permission information regarding the additional function, and a management unit that sets the permission information of the additional function based on the permission information regarding the function ofMoreover, the setting information includes information indicating which function's usage permission among the usage permissions of the plurality of functions the usage permission of the additional function corresponds to, and information indicating which function's setting permission among the setting permissions of the plurality of functions the setting permission of the additional function corresponds to. The management unit sets the usage permission of the additional function and the setting permission of the additional function as the permission information of the additional function.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present invention, in an electronic device having one or more functions, when a new function is added, it becomes easy to set the usage permission for the function.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. <System Configuration> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of a setting management system according to an embodiment. In the example of FIG. 1, in the setting management system 1, an image forming apparatus 100 and a management server 110 are communicably connected via a communication network 10 such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network).

[0010] The image forming apparatus 100 is, for example, an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) having functions such as a printer, a scanner, a copier, and a facsimile, or an electronic device equipped with one or more image forming functions such as a printer, a scanner, or a copier. Note that the image forming apparatus 100 is an example of an electronic device having one or more functions. The electronic device having one or more functions is not limited to the image forming apparatus 100 and may be other electronic devices having a communication function. For example, the electronic device having one or more functions may be an output device such as a PJ (Projector), an IWB (Interactive White Board: a white board having an electronic blackboard function capable of mutual communication), or a digital signage. Further, the electronic device having one or more functions may be, for example, an HUD (Head Up Display) device, an industrial machine, an imaging device, a sound collecting device, a medical device, a network home appliance, or a connected car. Here, as an example, the following description will be made assuming that the electronic device having one or more functions is the image forming apparatus 100.

[0011] The image forming apparatus 100 stores and manages authority information regarding one or more functions provided by the image forming apparatus 100 in a storage unit or the like.

[0012] FIG. 2(A) shows an example of the settings of the authority information 200 managed by the image forming apparatus 100. In the example of FIG. 2(A), the authority information 200 includes a list of functions provided in the image forming apparatus 100 and information indicating the presence or absence of the usage authority for each function. For example, in FIG. 2(A), "scanner function" and "printing function" indicate that the image forming apparatus 100 is equipped with a scanner function and a printing function. Also, the check boxes corresponding to each function indicate whether there is a usage authority to use the function, and the check boxes corresponding to the functions with usage authority are checked (selected). For example, the authority information 200 in FIG. 2(A) indicates that a user or the like has the usage authority to use the scanner function and does not have the usage authority to use the printing function.

[0013] Further, the authority information 200 includes information indicating the presence or absence of the setting authority to set the functions provided in the image forming apparatus 100. For example, since the check box corresponding to "scanner setting" in the authority information 200 of FIG. 2(A) is not checked (selected), it indicates that a user or the like does not have the setting authority to set the scanner function. Also, since the check box corresponding to "print setting" in the authority information 200 of FIG. 2(A) is checked (selected), it indicates that a user or the like has the setting authority to set the printing function.

[0014] Note that the authority information 200 is not limited to the setting authority of image forming functions such as the scanner function and the printing function, and may include information indicating the presence or absence of the setting authority regarding system settings such as "sound setting", "display setting", or "network setting". Also, the format of the authority information 200 shown in FIG. 2 is an example for explanation, and the format of the authority information 200 may be any format.

[0015] Preferably, the image forming apparatus 100 can create a plurality of groups and manage the authority information 200 for each group. Also, the image forming apparatus 100 assigns a group to a user who manages or uses the image forming apparatus 100, and applies the authority information of the group assigned to the user when the user logs in to the image forming apparatus 100.

[0016] When a new function is added to the image forming apparatus 100 as described above, the administrator or the like must set the privilege information 200 for the added function, which is time-consuming, and there is a problem that the use by the user cannot be restricted until the administrator or the like makes the setting.

[0017] Therefore, in the setting management system 1 according to the present embodiment, when installing an additional program for adding a function to the image forming apparatus 100, the image forming apparatus 100 has a function of automatically setting privilege information regarding the additional function.

[0018] For example, when installing an additional program for adding an additional function to the image forming apparatus 100, the image forming apparatus 100 acquires setting information from the additional program or the installer of the additional program. Alternatively, the image forming apparatus 100 may acquire setting information from an external device such as the management server 110 or a cloud service when adding an additional function to the image forming apparatus 100.

[0019] This setting information includes, for example, information indicating the correspondence between the privilege information 200 regarding one or more functions provided in the image forming apparatus 100 and the privilege information regarding the additional function, as shown in FIG. 2(A). For example, the setting information includes information indicating which of the setting privileges of one or more functions provided in the image forming apparatus 100 the setting privilege of the additional function corresponds to. Further, this setting information includes information indicating which of the use privileges of one or more functions provided in the image forming apparatus 100 the use privilege of the additional function corresponds to.

[0020] In addition, the image forming apparatus 100 has a function of setting permission information regarding additional functions by using the acquired setting information and the permission information 200 regarding one or more functions provided in the image forming apparatus 100. For example, when the setting information includes information indicating that the setting permission for the additional function corresponds to "scanner setting", as shown in FIG. 2(B), the image forming apparatus 100 applies the setting permission of "scanner setting" to the setting permission of "additional function setting". Further, when the setting information includes information indicating that the usage permission for the additional function corresponds to "scanner function", as shown in FIG. 2(B), the image forming apparatus 100 applies the usage permission of "scanner function" to the usage permission of "additional function". Thereby, when the image forming apparatus 100 adds a new function, the image forming apparatus 100 can set the permission information for the additional function without the administrator or the like setting the permission information 200 for the added function.

[0021] The management server 110 is, for example, an information processing apparatus having a computer configuration or a system including a plurality of computers. The management server 110 stores, for example, setting information corresponding to additional functions to be added to the image forming apparatus 100 and provides the setting information in response to requests from electronic devices such as the image forming apparatus 100.

[0022] In addition, the management server 110 may store an additional program for adding an additional function to an electronic device such as the image forming apparatus 100 and provide the additional program in response to a request from an electronic device such as the image forming apparatus 100.

[0023] Here, the additional program is, for example, an application program (hereinafter referred to as an app) to be added to the image forming apparatus 100, and is installed in the image forming apparatus 100 by executing an installer stored in the management server 110 or an external memory 20 or the like. However, this is just an example, and the additional program may be, for example, a plugin for the image forming apparatus 100 or firmware for updating the functions of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0024] Note that the system configuration of the setting management system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an example. For example, the image forming apparatus 100 may be another electronic device having a communication function as described above. Further, when the setting management system 1 includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses 100, the function of the management server 110 may be possessed by one or more of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 100. Furthermore, the function of the management server 110 may be realized by a cloud service or the like outside the setting management system 1.

[0025] As described above, according to the present embodiment, in an electronic device having one or more functions, when a new function is added, it becomes easy to set the usage right for the function.

[0026] <Hardware Configuration> (Hardware Configuration of Computer) The management server 110 has, for example, a hardware configuration of a computer 300 as shown in FIG. 3. Alternatively, the management server 110 is configured by a plurality of computers 300.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a computer according to an embodiment. The computer 300 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 301, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 302, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 303, an HD (Hard Disk) 304, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 305, a display 306, an external device connection I / F (Interface) 307, a network I / F 308, a keyboard 309, a pointing device 310, a DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable) drive 312, a media I / F 314, and a bus line 315, etc. as shown in FIG. 3.

[0028] Among these, the CPU 401 controls the operation of the entire computer 300. The ROM 302 stores programs used for booting the computer 300, such as an IPL (Initial Program Loader). The RAM 303 is used, for example, as a work area for the CPU 401. The HD 304 stores programs such as an OS (Operating System), applications, device drivers, etc., and various data. The HDD controller 305 controls the reading or writing of various data to / from the HD 304 according to the control of the CPU 401.

[0029] The display 306 displays various information such as a cursor, menu, window, characters, or images. Note that the display 306 may be provided outside the computer 300. The external device connection I / F 307 is an interface for connecting external devices such as the external memory 20. The network I / F 308 is an interface for performing data communication using a communication network.

[0030] The keyboard 309 is a type of input means having a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions, etc. The pointing device 310 is a type of input means for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, etc. Note that the keyboard 309 and the pointing device 310 may be provided outside the computer 300.

[0031] The DVD-RW drive 312 controls the reading or writing of various data to / from the DVD-RW 311, which is an example of a removable recording medium. Note that the DVD-RW 311 is not limited to DVD-RW and may be a DVD-R or the like. The media I / F 214 controls the reading or writing (storage) of data to / from a medium 313 such as a flash memory. The bus line 315 includes an address bus, a data bus, and various control signals for electrically connecting the above-described components.

[0032] (Hardware Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus) Here, an example of the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 100, which is an example of an electronic device, will be described.

[0033] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. The image forming apparatus 100 includes, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a controller 410, a short-range communication circuit 420, an engine control unit 430, an operation panel 440, a network I / F 450, an external device connection I / F 460, and the like.

[0034] Among these, the controller 410 has a CPU 401, which is the main part of a computer, a system memory (MEM-P) 402, a north bridge (NB) 403, a south bridge (SB) 404, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 405, a local memory (MEM-C) 406, an HDD controller 407, an HD 408, etc., and is configured to connect between the NB 403 and the ASIC 405 by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 411.

[0035] Among these, the CPU 401 is an arithmetic unit that performs overall control of the image forming apparatus 100 by executing a predetermined program. The NB 403 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 401, the MEM-P 402, the SB 404, and the AGP bus 411, and has a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 402, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) master, and an AGP target.

[0036] MEM-P402 consists of a ROM402a which is a memory for storing programs and data for realizing each function of the controller 410, and a RAM402b which is used as a memory for expanding programs and data and for drawing during memory printing. Note that the programs stored in the RAM402b may be configured to be recorded and provided on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, CD-R, or DVD in an installable or executable file format.

[0037] SB404 is a bridge for connecting the NB403 with PCI devices and peripheral devices. The ASIC405 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for image processing applications having hardware elements for image processing, and has the role of a bridge for connecting the AGP bus 411, the PCI bus 412, the HDD controller 407, and the MEM-C406 respectively. This ASIC405 consists of a PCI target and an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) forming the core of the ASIC405, a memory controller for controlling the MEM-C406, a plurality of DMACs (Direct Memory Access Controllers) for performing rotation etc. of image data by means of hardware logic etc., and a PCI unit for performing data transfer via the PCI bus 412 between the scanner unit 431 and the printer unit 432.

[0038] MEM-C406 is a local memory used as a copy image buffer and a code buffer. HD408 is a storage for accumulating image data, font data used during printing, and forms. Note that the HD408 may store programs such as an OS, applications, device drivers, etc. and various data. The HDD controller 407 controls the reading or writing of data to / from the HD408 according to the control of the CPU401. The AGP bus 411 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card proposed for accelerating graphic processing, and can speed up the graphics accelerator card by directly accessing the MEM-P402 with high throughput.

[0039] The short - distance communication circuit 420 performs various short - distance wireless communications using an antenna 420a for the short - distance communication circuit and the like. The engine control unit 430 is composed of, for example, a scanner unit 431 and a printer unit 432 and the like. The scanner unit 431 is a reading device that reads documents and the like. The printer unit 432 is a printing device that prints print data on a printing medium. The scanner unit 431 or the printer unit 432 includes, for example, an image processing part such as error diffusion and gamma conversion.

[0040] The operation panel 440 includes a panel display unit 440a such as a touch panel that displays current setting values, selection screens, etc. and receives inputs from the operator, and operation buttons 440b including a numeric keypad that receives setting values of conditions related to image formation such as density setting conditions and a start key that receives a copy start instruction. The controller 410 controls the entire image forming apparatus 100, for example, controls drawing, communication, inputs from the operation panel 440, etc.

[0041] Also, the network I / F 450 is an interface for performing data communication using a communication network. The external device connection I / F 460 is an interface such as USB for connecting an external device to the image forming apparatus 100. The short - distance communication circuit 420, the network I / F 450, and the external device connection I / F 460 are electrically connected to the ASIC 405 via, for example, a PCI bus 412.

[0042] Note that the electronic device according to this embodiment only needs to include a computer configuration and a network I / F 450, and other hardware configurations can be arbitrary configurations.

[0043] <Functional Configuration> Subsequently, the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 100, which is an example of an electronic device having one or more functions, will be described.

[0044] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. The image forming apparatus 100 realizes a communication unit 501, an authentication unit 502, a management unit 503, a display control unit 504, an operation reception unit 505, an acquisition unit 506, an image forming unit 507, a storage unit 508, etc. by executing a predetermined program on one or more computers included in the image forming apparatus 100. Note that at least a part of each of the above functional configurations may be realized by hardware.

[0045] The communication unit 501 uses a network I / F 405 or the like to connect the image forming apparatus 100 to the communication network 10 and executes communication processing for communicating with other apparatuses such as the management server 110.

[0046] The authentication unit 502 stores and manages user information 511 as shown in FIG. 6 in the storage unit 508 or the like, for example, and executes authentication processing for authenticating a user who logs in to the image forming apparatus 100.

[0047] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of user information 511 according to an embodiment. In the example of FIG. 6, the user information 511 includes information such as a user ID, a password, a user name, and a group as items. The user ID is identification information for identifying a user. The password is a password corresponding to the user ID. Note that the password is an example of authentication information for authenticating a user, and may be other authentication information such as an electronic certificate, biometric information, or an access token.

[0048] The user name is information such as the name of the user. The group is information such as the group name of the group to which the user belongs or the group ID for identifying the group. Note that in this embodiment, the group may be an arbitrary group, and as an example, the groups may be divided by roles (authorities) such as general users, management staff, network administrators, or information system administrators.

[0049] As an example, the authentication unit 502 uses the display control unit 504 to display a login screen on the operation panel 440 or the like for the user to input the user ID and password. Further, when the combination of the user ID and password input by the user is stored in the user information 511, the authentication unit 502 permits the user to log in and permits the use of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0050] For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the management unit 503 stores and manages the authority information 200 for each group in the storage unit 508. Further, the management unit 503 assigns a group to the user who manages or uses the image forming apparatus 100, and when the user logs in to the image forming apparatus 100, applies the authority information of the group assigned to the user to the user.

[0051] For example, the management unit 503 stores in advance the authority information of groups A, B, ··· as authority information 200a, 200b, ··· in the storage unit 508. Further, when the user permitted to log in by the authentication unit 502 is user A, the management unit 503 refers to the user information 511 as shown in FIG. 6 and applies the authority information 200a of group S corresponding to user A to user A.

[0052] Further, when adding an additional function to the image forming apparatus 100, the management unit 503 executes a management process of setting the authority information of the additional function based on, for example, the setting information as shown in FIG. 7(A) and the authority information regarding one or more functions provided in the image forming apparatus 100.

[0053] FIG. 7(A) shows an example image of the setting information 700 according to an embodiment. In the example of FIG. 7(A), the setting information 700 is described in XML (Extensible Markup Language) and includes an application name 701, version information 702, information 703 of an additional function, and the like.

[0054] Among the information 703 of additional functions, the description of "<depended_func function="XX function settings", ref="SCAN_SETTINGS" / >" indicates that the setting authority of the additional function (XX function) is aligned with the setting authority of the scan function (SCAN_SETTINGS). Also, the description of "<depended_func function="XX function", ref="SCAN_FUNC" / >" indicates that the usage authority of the additional function (XX function) is aligned with the usage authority of the scan function (SCAN_FUNC).

[0055] In this case, as shown in Fig. 2(B), the management unit 503 sets the setting authority of "Scanner settings" to the setting authority of "Additional function settings" (for example, copy), and sets the usage authority of "Scanner function" to the usage authority of "Additional function" (for example, copy).

[0056] Fig. 7(B) shows another example of the setting information 700 according to an embodiment. In the setting information 700 shown in Fig. 7(B), the information 710 of the additional function refers to the authority information of a plurality of functions provided by the image forming apparatus 100. For example, among the information 710 of the additional function, the description of "<depended_func function="XX function", ref="SCAN_FUNC, PRINT_FUNC", cond="AND" / >" indicates that the usage authority of the additional function (XX function) is the logical product (AND) of the usage authority of the scan function and the usage authority of the print function.

[0057] In this case, the management unit 503 sets the logical product of the usage authority of the scan function and the usage authority of the print function as the usage authority of the additional function. Note that when the description of "cond="AND"" in the setting information 700 is "cond="OR"", the management unit 503 sets the logical sum of the usage authority of the scan function and the usage authority of the print function as the usage authority of the additional function. In this way, the setting information 700 can refer to the usage authorities of a plurality of functions provided by the image forming apparatus 100.

[0058] Here, returning to FIG. 5, the description of the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 will be continued. The display control unit 504 executes display control processing for displaying various display screens on the operation panel 440. Preferably, when an additional function is added to the image forming apparatus 100 or the like, the display control unit 504 displays the setting of the authority information of the additional function on the display screen. The operation reception unit 505 executes operation reception processing for receiving an input operation with respect to the display screen displayed on the operation panel 440 by the display control unit 504, for example.

[0059] When adding an additional function to the image forming apparatus 100, the acquisition unit 506 executes acquisition processing for acquiring setting information 700 from a predetermined acquisition destination, for example, as shown in FIGS. 7(A) and (B). For example, when installing an additional program for adding an additional function to the image forming apparatus 100, the acquisition unit 506 acquires the setting information 700 from the additional program or the installer of the additional program. As another example, when adding an additional function to the image forming apparatus 100, the acquisition unit 506 acquires the setting information 700 corresponding to the additional function from the management server 110.

[0060] The image forming unit 507 controls the engine control unit 430, for example, to execute image forming processing such as printing, scanning, copying, or FAX. The storage unit 508 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 401 and a storage device such as the MEM-P 402, MEM-C 406, or HD 408. The storage unit 508 executes storage processing for storing various information such as user information 511 and one or more pieces of authority information 200a, 200b, ···, for example.

[0061] Note that the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 5 is an example. For example, the authentication unit 502 may authenticate a user using an external authentication server or the like. The image forming unit 507 may be another processing execution unit (for example, an image projection unit, a photographing unit, etc.) according to the functions provided in the electronic device. The storage unit 508 may store various information in an external storage server or a cloud service, for example.

[0062] <Processing flow> Next, the processing flow of the setting management method according to this embodiment will be described.

[0063] [First Embodiment] (Permission information setting process 1) FIG. 8 is a flowchart (1) showing an example of the permission information setting process according to the first embodiment. This process shows an example of the permission information setting process executed by the image forming apparatus 100 when, for example, an administrator or the like who manages the image forming apparatus 100 installs an additional program for adding a function to the image forming apparatus 100. Here, it is assumed that the additional program installed in the image forming apparatus 100 has setting information 700 as shown in FIG. 7(A).

[0064] In step S801, for example, when an administrator or the like executes an installer and installs an additional function in the image forming apparatus 100, the image forming apparatus 100 executes the processes after step S802.

[0065] In step S802, the acquisition unit 506 of the image forming apparatus 100 acquires the setting information 700 from the installed additional program.

[0066] In step S803, the management unit 503 of the image forming apparatus 100 acquires one or more pieces of permission information 200a, 200b,... from the storage unit 508.

[0067] In step S804, the management unit 503 executes the process of step S805 for each of the one or more pieces of acquired permission information 200a, 200b,...

[0068] In step S805, the management unit 503 sets the permission information of the additional function by the additional program using the setting information acquired from the additional program and the permission information to be processed.

[0069] (Permission information setting process 2) FIG. 9 is a flowchart (2) showing an example of the setting process of permission information according to the first embodiment. This process, similar to FIG. 8, shows another example of the setting process of permission information that the image forming apparatus 100 executes when an administrator or the like who manages the image forming apparatus 100 installs an additional program for adding functions to the image forming apparatus 100.

[0070] Note that the processes of steps S801, S803 to S805 shown in FIG. 9 are the same as the processes described in FIG. 8, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

[0071] In step S901, the acquisition unit 506 of the image forming apparatus 100 acquires the setting information 700 from an installer (for example, an installation program or an installation package, etc.) that installs the additional program. In this way, the acquisition unit 506 may acquire the setting information 700 not only from the additional program but also from an installer that installs the additional program.

[0072] In step S902, the display control unit 504 of the image forming apparatus 100 displays the permission information set in step S804. In this way, the image forming apparatus 100 may display the permission information of the added function. Further, the image forming apparatus 100 may execute the process of step S902, for example, when a user performs a display operation of the permission information.

[0073] FIG. 10(A) shows an example of the display screen 1000 after the addition of functions that the display control unit 504 displays in step S902. When, for example, a user belonging to group A performs a display operation of the permission information, the display control unit 504 displays a display screen 1000 as shown in FIG. 10(A) on the operation panel 440 or the like. In the example of FIG. 10(A), based on the setting information 700 as shown in FIG. 7(A), "XX setting" 1002 indicating the setting permission of the additional function has the same setting (no setting permission) as "Scanner setting" 1001 representing the setting permission of the scanner function. Also, "XX function" 1004 indicating the use permission of the additional function has the same setting (use permission) as "Scanner function" 1003 indicating the use permission of the scanner function.

[0074] Figure 10(B) shows another example of the display screen 1000 after the function addition displayed by the display control unit 504 in step S902. For example, when a user belonging to group B performs a display operation of the privilege information, the display control unit 504 displays a display screen 1010 as shown in Figure 10(B) on the operation panel 440 or the like. In the example of Figure 10(B), based on the setting information 700 as shown in Figure 7(A), "XX setting" 1012 indicating the setting privilege of the additional function has the same setting (with setting privilege) as "Scanner setting" 1011 representing the setting privilege of the scanner function. Also, "XX function" 1014 indicating the usage privilege of the additional function has the same setting (without usage privilege) as "Scanner function" 1013 indicating the usage privilege of the scanner function.

[0075] Thus, the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can appropriately set the privilege information of the additional function according to the privilege information preset for each group even with the same setting information 700.

[0076] Note that in step S902, the display control unit 504 may display the display screen 1000 shown in Figure 10(A) and the display screen 1010 shown in Figure 10(B) side by side (or overlapping) on one display screen. Alternatively, in step S902, the display control unit 504 may display a display screen that can be selected by a tab or the like for the display screen 1000 shown in Figure 10(A) and the display screen 1010 shown in Figure 10(B).

[0077] As described above, according to the first embodiment, in an image forming apparatus (an example of an electronic device) 100 having one or more functions, when a new function is added, the setting of the usage privilege for the function becomes easy.

[0078] [Second Embodiment] Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the setting management system according to the second embodiment.

[0079] (Functional Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus) The image forming apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment has the same functional configuration as the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment described in FIG. 5. In the second embodiment, the acquisition unit 506 has a function of acquiring the setting information 700 from the management server 110. Note that the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment other than the acquisition unit 506 may be the same as the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0080] (Functional Configuration of Management Server) The management server 110 is realized, for example, by one or more computers 300 executing a predetermined program to realize a communication unit 1101, a setting information providing unit 1102, a storage unit 1103, and the like. Note that at least a part of each of the above functional configurations may be realized by hardware.

[0081] The communication unit 1101 executes communication processing for connecting the management server 110 to the communication network 10 and communicating with other devices such as the image forming apparatus 100 using, for example, a network I / F 308 or the like.

[0082] The setting information providing unit 1102 stores and manages, for example, a setting information management DB (Database) 1111 as shown in FIG. 12 in the storage unit 1103 and the like. Further, the setting information providing unit 1102 executes setting information providing processing for providing the setting information 700 in response to a request from an electronic device such as the image forming apparatus 100.

[0083] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an image of the setting information management DB 1111 according to the second embodiment. In the example of FIG. 12, the setting information management DB 1111 includes information such as a program name, a version, and setting information as items. The program name is information such as the name of an additional program or identification information for identifying the additional program. The version is information indicating the version of the additional program. The setting information is the setting information 700 corresponding to the program name and the version, or information indicating the acquisition destination of the setting information 700 or the like.

[0084] When the setting information providing unit 1102 receives a request for acquiring setting information including a program name and a version from, for example, the image forming apparatus 100, it refers to the setting information management DB 1111 and transmits the setting information 700 corresponding to the program name and the version to the image forming apparatus 100.

[0085] The storage unit 1103 is realized by, for example, a program executed by one or more computers 300, an HD 304, an HDD controller 305, etc., and stores various information such as the setting information management DB 1111.

[0086] Note that the functional configuration of the management server 110 shown in FIG. 11 is an example. For example, the storage unit 1103 may be realized by an external storage server of the management server 110, a cloud service, or the like. Further, the management server 110 may further include an additional program providing unit that provides an additional program for adding an additional function to the image forming apparatus 100 to the image forming apparatus 100.

[0087] <Flow of processing> FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the setting process of the authority information according to the second embodiment. This process shows another example of the setting process of the authority information executed by the image forming apparatus 100 when an administrator or the like who manages the image forming apparatus 100 installs an additional program for adding a function to the image forming apparatus 100, similar to the first embodiment.

[0088] Note that the processes in steps S801, S803 to S805 shown in FIG. 13 are the same as the setting process of the authority information according to the first embodiment described in FIG. 8, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

[0089] In step S1301, the acquisition unit 506 of the image forming apparatus 100 acquires the setting information 700 corresponding to the installed additional function from the management server 110.

[0090] FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example of acquisition processing of setting information according to the second embodiment. This processing shows an example of acquisition processing of setting information executed between the image forming apparatus 100 and the management server 110 in step S1301 of FIG. 13.

[0091] In step S1401, the acquisition unit 506 of the image forming apparatus 100 transmits a request for acquisition of setting information including the program name and version of the installed additional program to the management server 110. Note that the destination information of the management server 110 may be set in advance in the image forming apparatus 100, or may be acquired from the additional program (or the installer of the additional program).

[0092] In step S1402, when the setting information providing unit 1102 of the management server 110 receives a request for acquisition of setting information, it acquires setting information 700 corresponding to the program name and version included in the request for acquisition of setting information. For example, the setting information providing unit 1102 refers to the setting information management DB 1111 as shown in FIG. 12, identifies and acquires setting information 700 corresponding to the program name and version included in the request for acquisition of setting information.

[0093] In step S1403, the setting information providing unit 1102 of the management server 110 transmits the acquired setting information 700 to the image forming apparatus 100 that is the request source.

[0094] By the processing of FIG. 14, the acquisition unit 506 can acquire the setting information 700 corresponding to the installed additional program from the management server 110.

[0095] Here, returning to FIG. 13, the description of the flowchart will be continued. By the processing of FIG. 13, in the image forming apparatus 100 (an example of an electronic device) having one or more functions, when a new function is added as in the first embodiment, it becomes easy to set the usage permission for the function. Further, after the processing of FIG. 13, the image forming apparatus 100 may execute the processing of step S902 of FIG. 9.

[0096] In each of the above embodiments, the electronic device has been described as the image forming apparatus 100. However, each embodiment of the present invention can also be applied to various other electronic devices having a communication function.

[0097] As described above, according to each embodiment of the present invention, in an electronic device having one or more functions, when a new function is added, it becomes easy to set the usage right for the function.

[0098] <Supplementary Note> Each function of each of the embodiments described above can be realized by one or a plurality of processing circuits. Here, the "processing circuit" in this specification means a processor programmed to execute each function by software like a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) designed to execute each function described above, a DSP (digital signal processor), an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or a device such as a conventional circuit module.

[0099] Note that each functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 may be realized by a program executed by a plurality of computers included in the image forming apparatus 100 (for example, a computer included in the controller 410 and the operation panel 440). Also, each functional configuration of the management server 110 may be realized by a program executed by one server device, or may be realized by a program executed by a plurality of computers 300. Further, each functional configuration of the management server 110 may be realized by, for example, a program executed by one or more virtual machines on the cloud.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0100] 1 Setting management system 100 Image forming apparatus (an example of an electronic device) 200 Permission Information 501 Communication Unit 503 Management Unit 504 Display Control Unit 506 Acquisition Unit 508 Memory Unit 700 Setting Information

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0101]

Patent Document 1

Claims

1. An electronic device having a plurality of functions, a storage unit that stores authority information regarding the plurality of functions; a management unit that, when adding an additional function to the electronic device, sets the authority information of the additional function based on setting information indicating the correspondence between the authority information regarding the plurality of functions and the authority information regarding the additional function, and the authority information regarding the plurality of functions; and has the setting information is information indicating which function's usage authority among the usage authorities of the plurality of functions the usage authority of the additional function corresponds to; information indicating which function's setting authority among the setting authorities of the plurality of functions the setting authority of the additional function corresponds to; and includes the management unit sets, as the authority information of the additional function, the usage authority of the additional function and the setting authority of the additional function. An electronic device.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising an acquisition unit that acquires the setting information from the additional program or the installer of the additional program when installing an additional program for adding the additional function to the electronic device.

3. A communication unit that communicates with a management server that manages the setting information corresponding to the additional function; The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising an acquisition unit that acquires the setting information from the management server when adding the additional function to the electronic device.

4. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the management unit manages the authority information regarding the functions provided in the electronic device for each group.

5. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the management unit assigns a user who manages or uses the electronic device to the group, and when the user logs in to the electronic device, applies the authority information of the group assigned to the user to the user.

6. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a display control unit that displays, on a display screen, the setting of the authority information of the additional function when the additional function is added to the electronic device.

7. A setting management system including an electronic device having a plurality of functions and a management server capable of communicating with the electronic device via a network, wherein the electronic device has a storage unit that stores authority information regarding the plurality of functions, When installing an additional program that adds functions to the electronic device, based on the permission information regarding the plurality of functions, the setting information indicating the correspondence relationship between the permission information regarding the plurality of functions and the permission information regarding the additional functions added by the additional program, and the permission information regarding the plurality of functions, a management unit that sets the permission information of the additional functions, having, the management server, has a setting information providing unit that provides the setting information to the electronic device, the setting information, information indicating which of the usage permissions of the plurality of functions the usage permission of the additional function corresponds to, information indicating which of the setting permissions of the plurality of functions the setting permission of the additional function corresponds to, including, the management unit sets, as the permission information of the additional function, the usage permission of the additional function and the setting permission of the additional function, a setting management system.

8. An electronic device having a plurality of functions, a process of storing the permission information regarding the plurality of functions in a storage unit, when installing an additional program that adds functions to the electronic device, based on the permission information regarding the plurality of functions, the setting information indicating the correspondence relationship between the permission information regarding the plurality of functions and the permission information regarding the additional functions added by the additional program, and the permission information regarding the plurality of functions, a management process of setting the permission information of the additional functions, executing, the setting information, information indicating which of the usage permissions of the plurality of functions the usage permission of the additional function corresponds to, information indicating which of the setting permissions of the plurality of functions the setting permission of the additional function corresponds to, including, the management process sets, as the permission information of the additional function, the usage permission of the additional function and the setting permission of the additional function, a setting management method.

9. On an electronic device having a plurality of functions, a process of storing the permission information regarding the plurality of functions in a storage unit, when installing an additional program that adds functions to the electronic device, based on the permission information regarding the plurality of functions, the setting information indicating the correspondence relationship between the permission information regarding the plurality of functions and the permission information regarding the additional functions added by the additional program, and the permission information regarding the plurality of functions, a management process of setting the permission information of the additional functions, causing to execute, the setting information, information indicating which of the usage permissions of the plurality of functions the usage permission of the additional function corresponds to, information indicating which setting permission of the plurality of functions the setting permission of the additional function corresponds to, and includes the management process sets, as the permission information of the additional function, the usage permission of the additional function and the setting permission of the additional function program

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