Image forming apparatus, method for controlling writing data from the same to storage device, method for controlling reading data from storage device to the same, and replacement part therefor

• US 20050108559A1
• Filed: 07/06/2004
• Published: 05/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Ono, Tomohiro, Suzuki, Kenji, Suzuki, Tomohisa, Masui, Takanori
• Granted Patent: US 7,546,469 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/193
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06009 with optically detectable marking G06K19/063, G06K19/08 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0061 Error detection codes

Abstract

An image forming apparatus has a replacement part equipped with a storage device installed therein. The apparatus has a code adding part adding an error detecting code to target data to be written in the storage device, and an encrypting part encrypting the data having the error detecting code added thereto in the code adding part, to generate encrypted data. In addition, the apparatus has a writing part writing the encrypted data to the storage device.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus having a replacement part equipped with a storage device installed therein, the apparatus comprising:

a code adding part adding an error detecting code to target data to be written in the storage device;

an encrypting part encrypting the data having the error detecting code added thereto in the code adding part, to generate encrypted data; and

a writing part writing the encrypted data to the storage device.

2. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the writing part further comprises a write controlling part writing the encrypted data corresponding to the same target data to a plurality of storage regions corresponding to the target data.

3. An image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein upon generating the encrypted data to be written in the storage regions by the encrypting part, the write controlling part makes the encrypting part execute encryption by using encryption methods corresponding to the storage regions, respectively.

4. An image forming apparatus having a replacement part equipped with a storage device installed therein, the apparatus comprising:

a reading part reading encrypted data stored in the storage device;

a decrypting part decrypting the encrypted data thus read by the reading part, to reproduce target data having an error detecting code; and

an error detecting part detecting an error in the target data having an error detecting code thus reproduced in the decrypting part, by using the error detecting code.

5. An image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image forming apparatus further comprises:

a read controlling part making the reading part read out the encrypted data from a plurality of storage regions corresponding to the target data, making the decrypting part decrypt a plurality of pieces of encrypted data thus read out, and making the error detecting part detect an error in the plurality of pieces of data thus decrypted;

a restoration processing part, in a case where an error is detected by the error detecting part in only one of the plurality of pieces of decrypted data, restoring the storage region storing encrypted data corresponding to the data having an error thus detected by writing therein encrypted data produced based on the data having no error detected; and

an error processing part, in a case where an error is detected by the error detecting part in two or more of the plurality of pieces of decrypted data, executing a prescribed error process.

6. An image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the read controlling part makes the decrypting part execute decryption of the plurality of pieces of decrypted data thus read out, by using decryption methods corresponding to the storage regions storing the decrypted data, respectively.

7. In an image forming apparatus having a replacement part equipped with a storage device installed therein, a method for controlling writing data from the image forming apparatus to the storage device, the method comprising steps of:

adding an error detecting code to target data to target data to be written in the storage device;

encrypting the data having the error detecting code added thereto to generate encrypted data; and

writing the encrypted data to the storage device.

8. In an image forming apparatus having a replacement part equipped with a storage device installed therein, a method for controlling reading data from the storage device to the image forming apparatus, the method comprising steps of:

reading encrypted data stored in the storage device;

decrypting the encrypted data thus read, to produce target data having an error detecting code; and

detecting an error in the target data having an error detecting code thus produced, by using the error detecting code.

9. A replacement part detachably installed in an image forming apparatus, the replacement part comprising:

a storage device, to which encrypted data formed by encrypting a data block containing target data to be written and an error detecting code for the data is read and written by the image forming apparatus.