Image processing apparatus having rewritable firmware, job management method, and management apparatus

• US 7,142,321 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2002
• Issued: 11/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Minolta Co., Ltd. (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Minolta Co., Ltd. (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Tomita, Atsushi, Hino, Hideki, Mae, Hideo
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Kimberly
• Assistant Examiner(s): MURPHY, DILLON J
• Application Number:
  US10/218,589
• Publication Number:
  US 20030035139A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,566 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 358/1.14, 717/168, 717/174
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00915 Assigning priority to, or interrupting, a particular operation
• 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: H04N 2201/0039 Connection via a network

Abstract

A printer controller receives firmware attached to e-mail from a mail server, downloads the firmware to an internal hard disk drive, and registers the job at the bottom of a job registration table. On subsequently receiving a print job or a scan job, the printer controller registers the job in the job management table, judges whether a firmware rewriting job is registered in the job management table, and if so, moves the print job or the scan job to be before the firmware rewriting job in the job management table. In this way, firmware rewriting jobs are always executed after print jobs, meaning that processing of print jobs is not delayed.

Claims

1. The image processing apparatus comprising:

a firmware storage unit that stores firmware;

a first reception unit that receives an image processing job from a first sender;

an image processing job execution unit that executes the image processing job with use of the firmware;

a second reception unit that receives a firmware rewriting job from a second sender;

a firmware rewriting unit that rewrites the firmware by executing the received firmware rewriting job;

a modifying unit that modifies an execution schedule of the received image processing job and the received firmware rewriting job;

an inquiry unit that, when the second reception unit receives the firmware rewriting job, makes an inquiry to the first sender about an order of priority of the image processing job and the firmware rewriting job; and

a response reception unit that receives a response to the inquiry, from the first sender,

wherein the modification unit modifies the execution schedule, according to the received response.

2. The image processing apparatus comprising:

a firmware storage unit that stores firmware;

a first reception unit that receives an image processing job from a first sender;

an image processing job execution unit that executes the image processing job with use of the firmware;

a second reception unit that receives a firmware rewriting job from a second sender;

a firmware rewriting unit that rewrites the firmware by executing the received firmware rewriting job;

a modifying unit that modifies an execution schedule of the received image processing job and the received firmware rewriting job;

an urgency degree judgment unit that judges a degree of urgency of the firmware rewriting job;

an inquiry unit that, when the degree of urgency is lower than a predetermined degree, makes an inquiry to the first sender about an order of priority of the image processing job and the firmware rewriting job; and

a response reception unit that receives a response to the inquiry, from the first sender,

wherein the modifying unit, when the degree of urgency is equal to or higher than the predetermined degree, modifies the execution schedule so that the firmware rewriting job is executed with priority over the image processing job, and, when the degree of urgency is lower than the predetermined degree, modifies the execution schedule according to the response.

3. The image processing apparatus of claim 2, further comprising:

a timer unit that, when the degree of urgency is judged to be lower than the predetermined degree, starts a timer,

wherein the modifying unit, when a predetermined length of time has been timed by the timer unit, and even if a response is not received instructing that the firmware rewriting job is to be executed with priority over the image processing job, modifies the execution schedule so that the firmware rewriting job is executed with priority over the image processing job.

4. The image processing apparatus comprising:

a firmware storage unit that stores firmware;

a first reception unit that receives an image processing job from a first sender;

a second reception unit that receives a firmware rewriting job from a second sender;

a job management table in which the received image processing job and the received firmware rewriting job are registered;

an image processing job execution unit that executes the image processing job with use of the firmware;

a firmware rewriting unit that rewrites the firmware by executing the received firmware rewriting job;

a modifying unit that, when one of the first reception unit and the second reception unit receives a job, modifies an order of jobs registered in the job management table;

an instruction unit for instructing the image processing job execution unit and the firmware rewriting unit to respectively execute the jobs in the order in which the jobs are registered in the job management table; and

an inquiry unit that, when the second receiving unit receives the firmware rewriting job from the second sender, makes an inquiry to the first sender about an order of priority of the image processing job and the firmware rewriting job; and

a response reception unit that receives a response to the inquiry, from the first sender,

wherein the modification unit modifies the order in the job management table according to the response.

5. The image processing apparatus comprising:

a firmware storage unit that stores firmware;

a first reception unit that receives an image processing job from a first sender;

a second reception unit that receives a firmware rewriting job from a second sender;

a job management table in which the received image processing job and the received firmware rewriting job are registered;

an image processing job execution unit that executes the image processing job with use of the firmware;

a firmware rewriting unit that rewrites the firmware by executing the received firmware rewriting job;

a modifying unit that, when one of the first reception unit and the second reception unit receives a job, modifies an order of jobs registered in the job management table;

an instruction unit for instructing the image processing job execution unit and the firmware rewriting unit to respectively execute the jobs in the order in which the jobs are registered in the job management table; and

an urgency degree judgment unit that judges a degree of urgency of the firmware rewriting job;

an inquiry unit that, when the degree of urgency is lower than a predetermined degree, makes an inquiry to the first sender about an order of priority of the image processing job and the firmware rewriting job; and

a response reception unit that receives a response to the inquiry, from the first sender,

wherein the modifying unit, when the degree of urgency is equal to or higher than a predetermined degree, modifies the order in the job management table so that the firmware rewriting job is executed before the image processing job, and, when the degree of urgency is lower than the predetermined degree, modifies the order according to the response.