PROGRAM MANAGEMENT APPARATUS AND METHOD

• US 20080244057A1
• Filed: 03/26/2008
• Published: 10/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Kojima, Nobuyuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,051,158 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/105 Arrangements for software license management or administration, e.g. for managing licenses at corporate level
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

A management server 201 transmits information representing a list of additional applications installable on an image forming apparatus 202 to the image forming apparatus 202 (S410). When an application is selected from the list and an instruction to execute the application is issued, a request for installation is issued to the management server 201 if the application has not been installed. The management server 201 installs the requested application on the image forming apparatus if the management server 201 has a license for the requested application and the application can be installed (M470). On the other hand, if the application cannot be installed because of insufficient resources, a resource is freed up by flushing and then the application is installed.

Claims

1. A program management apparatus connected to one or a plurality of image forming apparatuses and managing a program installable to the image forming apparatuses, comprising:

a storage, configured to store program information including identification information of a program installable to the image forming apparatus and license information indicating a license for the program if the program requires the license;

a program information transmitter, configured to transmit the program information stored in said storage to the image forming apparatus; and

a program transmitter, configured to transmit the program to the image forming apparatus for installing the program on the image forming apparatus in response to a request for program execution from the image forming apparatus if there is a license for the program.

2. The program management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a receiver, configured to receive resource information indicating an available resource from the image forming apparatus; and

a flushing requesting unit, configured to request the image forming apparatus to uninstall a program installed on the image forming apparatus if it is determined on the basis of the resource information that the image forming apparatus lacks a resource for the program;

wherein said program transmitter transmits a program to be installed to the image forming apparatus after a program is uninstalled in response to an uninstall request from said flushing requesting unit.

3. The program management apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a setting information saver, configured to save setting information of the program set at the time point of uninstallation when the program is uninstalled from the image forming apparatus in response to a request for uninstallation of the program from said flushing requesting unit;

wherein, when the uninstalled program is to be reinstalled to the image forming apparatus, setting information saved by said setting information saver is transmitted to the image forming apparatus to cause the image forming apparatus to re-set the setting information in order to restore the setting information set at the time point of uninstallation of the program.

4. The program management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an unused license acquiring unit, configured to acquire, in response to a request for program execution from the image forming apparatus, an unused license by withdrawing a license from a second image forming apparatus other than the image forming apparatus if said program management apparatus lacks a license for the program and the second image forming apparatus is licensed.

5. The program management apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a second setting information storage, configured to request the second image forming apparatus to uninstall a program associated with the license when the license is withdrawn from the second image forming apparatus by said unused license acquiring unit, and receive and saving setting information of the program set at the time point of uninstallation when the program is uninstalled from the second image forming apparatus in response to the request for uninstallation;

wherein, when the uninstalled program is to be reinstalled to the second image forming apparatus, setting information saved by said second setting information storage is transmitted to the second image forming apparatus to cause the second image forming apparatus to re-set the setting information in order to restore the setting information set at the time point of uninstallation of the program.

6. An image forming apparatus connected to the program management apparatus comprising:

a list displaying unit, configured to display a list of available programs in accordance with identification information of programs included in program information received from said program management apparatus;

an installer, configured to request a program selected on said list displaying unit from said program management apparatus and, when a request for installation of the program has been received from said program management apparatus in response to the request, installing the program requested by the request; and

an uninstaller, configured to uninstall a program requested to be uninstalled when a request for uninstallation of the program has been received prior to the request for installation.

7. An image forming system with an additive function including a program management apparatus managing a program installable to an image forming apparatuses and an image forming apparatus connected with the program management apparatus, wherein

said program management apparatus comprises:

a storage, configured to store program information including identification information of a program installable to the image forming apparatus and license information indicating a license for the program if the program requires the license;

a program information transmitter, configured to transmit the program information stored in said storage to the image forming apparatus; and

a program transmitter, configured to transmit the program to the image forming apparatus for installing the program on the image forming apparatus in response to a request for program execution from the image forming apparatus if there is a license for the program, and

said image forming apparatus comprises;

a list displaying unit, configured to display a list of available programs in accordance with identification information of programs included in program information received from said program management apparatus;

an installer, configured to request a program selected on said list displaying unit from said program management apparatus and, when a request for installation of the program has been received from said program management apparatus in response to the request, installing the program requested by the request; and

an uninstaller, configured to uninstall a program requested to be uninstalled when a request for uninstallation of the program has been received prior to the request for installation.

9. A computer-readable storage medium on which a program causing a computer to perform the program management method according to claim 7 is stored.

8. A program management method performed by a program management apparatus connected to one or a plurality of image forming apparatuses and managing a program installable to the image forming apparatuses, comprising the steps of:

storing program information including identification information of a program installable to the image forming apparatus and license information indicating a license for the program if the program requires the license;

transmitting the program information stored in said storing means to the image forming apparatus; and

transmitting the program to the image forming apparatus for installing the program on the image forming apparatus in response to a request for program execution from the image forming apparatus if there is a license for the program.