Image forming apparatus and control method for the same

• US 6,854,000 B2
• Filed: 12/18/1998
• Issued: 02/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Muto, Tsuyoshi, Ikegami, Hideyuki, Koh, Shokyo, Kaneko, Tokuharu
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaffin, Jeffrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TANH Q
• Application Number:
  US09/215,194
• Publication Number:
  US 20020085229A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,244 Days
• Field of Search: 713/1, 713/2, 713/100, 707/200, 707/203, 707/511, 707/202, 710/1, 710/5, 710/7, 710 14- 16, 710 18- 20, 710/36, 710/37, 710/62, 710/64, 710/72, 710/74, 710102-104, 710/59, 714/1, 714/2, 714/21, 714/36, 714/100
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00 Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0097 Storage of instructions or parameters, e.g. customised instructions or different parameters for different user IDs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00973 from a remote device, e.g. receiving via the internet instructions input to a computer terminal
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99954 Version management

Abstract

In an image forming apparatus for forming an image in accordance with control codes stored in a plurality of memory media, when the control codes stored in the plurality of memory media to control the image forming apparatus is rewritten, rewrite execution codes adapted to execute rewrite of the control codes are transferred to predetermined one of the plurality of memory media from an external apparatus, and rewrite of the control codes is performed in accordance with the transferred rewrite execution codes.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus for forming an image in accordance with control codes, said image forming apparatus comprising:

a printing unit for printing an image;

a memory for storing the control codes to control said image forming apparatus having said printing unit;

display means for displaying messages associated with an image forming operation;

receiving means for receiving, from an external apparatus, rewrite execution codes, which are adapted to execute rewriting of the control codes in said memory, in accordance with transfer control codes which are adapted to control transfer of the rewrite execution codes from the external apparatus, and receiving, from the external apparatus, new control codes;

rewriting means for rewriting the control codes, which have been stored in said memory, with the new control codes received by said receiving means, in accordance with the rewrite execution codes received by said receiving means; and

determination means for, after a power supply is turned on, determining whether rewriting of the control codes has suspended or failed,

wherein if the rewriting of the control codes has suspended or failed, the rewrite execution codes are received from the external apparatus in accordance with the transfer control codes, the new control codes are received from the external apparatus and the control codes are rewritten with the new control codes in accordance with the rewrite execution codes.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rewrite execution codes are transferred to a nonvolatile memory medium as said memory and stored therein.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rewrite execution codes include address information of said memory for executing rewriting of the control codes, and said rewriting means executes the rewriting of the control codes, which have been stored in said memory, in accordance with the address information.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

image forming control means for controlling an image forming process in accordance with the control codes; and

switching means for exclusively changing over whether the image forming process is executed by said image forming control means or whether rewriting of the control codes is executed by said rewriting means.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said switching means exclusively changes over using a predetermined switch whether the image forming process is executed by said image forming control means or whether the rewriting of the control codes is executed by said rewriting means.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said switching means exclusively changes over in accordance with a predetermined command from said external apparatus whether the image forming process is executed by said image forming control means or whether the rewriting of the control codes is executed by said rewriting means.

7. An image forming apparatus for forming an image in accordance with control codes, said image forming apparatus comprising:

a printing unit for printing an image;

a code memory for storing control codes which are adapted to control the image forming apparatus having said printing unit; and

a processor for controlling the image forming apparatus in accordance with the control codes stored in said code memory,

wherein, after a power supply is turned on, said processor determines whether rewriting of the control codes has suspended or failed, and if the rewriting of the control codes has suspended or failed, said processor controls transfer of the rewrite execution codes, which are adapted to execute rewriting of the control codes from an external apparatus, said processor controls transfer of new control codes from the external apparatus, and said processor controls the rewriting of the control codes, which have been stored in said code memory, with the new control codes transferred from the external apparatus, in accordance with the rewrite execution codes transferred from the external apparatus.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said processor controls transfer of the rewrite execution codes in accordance with transfer control codes which are adapted to control transfer of the rewrite execution codes from the external apparatus.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said code memory is a rewritable memory.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image forming apparatus is a copying machine or a printer.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the rewrite execution codes include address information of said code memory and said processor controls rewriting of the control codes with the new control codes transferred from the external apparatus in accordance with the address information.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said processor exclusively changes over control of an image forming process and rewriting the control codes.

13. A rewrite control method for rewriting control codes, which have been stored in a memory and are adapted to control an image forming apparatus having a printing unit to form an image, said rewrite control method comprising:

a displaying step of displaying messages associated with an image forming operation;

a receiving step of receiving, from an external apparatus, rewrite execution codes, which are adapted to execute rewriting of the control codes in the memory, in accordance with transfer control codes which are adapted to control transfer of the rewrite execution codes from the external apparatus, and receiving, from the external apparatus, new control codes;

a rewriting step of rewriting the control codes, which have been stored in the memory, with the new control codes received by said receiving step, in accordance with the rewrite execution codes received by said receiving step; and

a determination step of, after a power supply is turned on, determining whether rewriting of the control codes has suspended or failed,

wherein if the rewriting of the control codes has suspended or failed, the rewrite execution codes are received from the external apparatus in accordance with the transfer control codes, the new control codes are received from the external apparatus, and the control codes are rewritten with the new control codes in accordance with the rewrite execution codes.

14. A rewrite control method for rewriting control codes, which have been stored in a code memory and are adapted to control an image forming apparatus having a printing unit to form an image, said rewrite control method comprising:

a first control step of controlling transfer of rewrite execution codes, which are adapted to execute rewriting of control codes from an external apparatus;

a second control step of controlling transfer of new control codes from the external apparatus;

a third control step of, after a power supply is turned on, said processor determines whether rewriting of the control codes has suspended or failed, and if the rewriting of the control codes has suspended or failed controlling the rewriting of the control codes, which have been stored in the code memory, with the new control codes transferred from the external apparatus, in accordance with the rewrite execution codes transferred from the external apparatus.