Removal of program licensed to user

• US 8,640,102 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2011
• Issued: 01/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Ogura, Yoshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Don
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rivera, Anibal
• Application Number:
  US13/180,862
• Publication Number:
  US 20120017199A1
• Time in Patent Office: 931 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/124
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/62 Uninstallation
• 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 1/00509 Personalising for a particular user or group of users, e.g. a workgroup or company
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00938 Software related arrangements, e.g. loading applications program loading in general G06F9/445
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00962 Input arrangements for operating instructions or parameters, e.g. updating internal software program loading in general G06F9/445; network-specific protocols involving the movement of software or configuration parameters H04L67/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4406 Restricting access, e.g. according to user identity mechanisms actuated y cards, PIN or the like in apparatus for dispensing G07F7/08

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes a program storing unit, a function introducing unit to obtain a program licensed to an individual user and license information about the program from an external source and to store the program in the program storing unit, a user information storing unit to store user information that includes the license information about the program that is stored by the function introducing unit, the license information being associated with a user ID of the individual user in the user information, a removal timing receiving unit to receive a setting of removal timing at which the program stored by the function introducing unit is removed from the program storing unit, and a removal unit to remove the program stored by the function introducing unit from the program storing unit upon arrival of the removal timing received by the removal timing receiving unit.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus in which an activation of a program providing a function is allowed according to license information indicating that a user activating the program is authorized to activate the program, comprising:

a processor;

a login accepting unit to accept a user login;

a program storing unit to store a program;

a function introducing unit to obtain a given program licensed to an individual user and license information about the given program from an external source and to store the given program in the program storing unit;

a user information storing unit to store user information that includes the license information about the given program that is stored by the function introducing unit, the license information being associated with a user ID of the individual user in the user information;

a removal timing receiving unit to receive a setting of removal timing at which the given program stored by the function introducing unit is removed from the program storing unit; and

a removal unit to remove the given program stored by the function introducing unit from the program storing unit upon arrival of the removal timing received by the removal timing receiving unit,

wherein in case that removal of the given program has failed, the removal unit removes upon passage of a predetermined time the given program for which the removal timing has already arrived.

2. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the removal timing receiving unit receives the setting of removal timing specified based on a date and time.

3. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the removal timing receiving unit receives the setting of removal timing that defines the removal timing as a timing at which the individual user logs out.

4. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the removal timing receiving unit receives a setting indicating that the given program is not to be removed from the program storing unit by the removal unit.

5. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the removal timing receiving unit receives the setting of removal timing that defines the removal timing based on a maximum number of times the given program is activated, and the removal unit removes the given program stored in the program storing unit upon the number of activations of the given program exceeding the maximum number.

6. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the removal timing receiving unit receives the setting of removal timing that defines the removal timing as a timing at which the image forming apparatus is next activated, and the removal unit removes the given program stored in the program storing unit upon activation of the image forming apparatus.

7. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the removal timing receiving unit receives the setting of removal timing that defines the removal timing as a timing at which the user ID is removed from the user information, and the removal unit removes the given program from the program storing unit upon removal of the user ID from the user information.

8. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the removal timing receiving unit receives the setting of removal timing that defines the removal timing as a timing at which the individual user logs into another equipment item connected through a network, and the removal unit removes the given program from the program storing unit upon receiving the user ID of the individual user from said other equipment item.

9. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the removal timing receiving unit receives settings of different removal timings, and the removal unit removes the given program from the program storing unit upon all the removal timings being satisfied.

10. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the given program is associated with another user ID that is included in the user information for more than a predetermined period of time, and the removal unit does not remove the given program from the program storing unit despite a fact that the removal timing receiving unit has received the setting of removal timing.

11. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the removal timing receiving unit receives a setting indicating whether to remove the given program associated with the user ID that is included in the user information for more than a predetermined period of time.

12. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the removal unit removes, at a time of activation of the image forming apparatus, the given program for which the removal timing has already arrived in case that removal of the given program has failed.

13. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a second-time-removal timing receiving unit to receive a setting of second-time removal timing at which the removal unit attempts to remove the given function a second time in case that removal of the given program has failed.

14. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the removal unit requests information about a number of introduced programs from one or more other equipment items connected through a network, and requests one of the other equipment items to remove a program when a total number of programs introduced, to the other equipment items exceeds a predetermined number.

15. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 14, further comprising a number receiving unit to receive a setting of the predetermined number.

16. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the removal unit requests the other equipment items to report a date and time of program introduction, and requests one of the other equipment items to remove a program when the one of the other equipment items has reported a latest date and time of program introduction.

17. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the removal unit requests the other equipment items to report frequency of program use, and requests one of the other equipment items to remove a program when the one of the other equipment items has reported a lowest frequency of program use.

18. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the removal unit receives from a user an indication of the one of the other equipment items that is to be requested to remove a program.

19. An equipment system, comprising:

an image forming apparatus in which an activation of a program providing a function is allowed according to license information indicating that a user activating the program is authorized to activate the program; and

a server to deliver the program and the license information to the image forming apparatus,

wherein the server includes license management information in which user IDs are associated with license information,

wherein the image forming apparatus includes;

a processor;

a login accepting unit to accept a user login;

a program storing unit to store a program;

a function introducing unit to obtain a given program licensed to an individual user and license information about the given program from an external source and to store the given program in the program storing unit;

a user information storing unit to store user information that includes the license information about the given program that is stored by the function introducing unit, the license information being associated with a user ID of the individual user in the user information;

a removal timing receiving unit to receive a setting of removal timing at which the given program stored by the function introducing unit is removed from the program storing unit; and

a removal unit to remove the given program stored by the function introducing unit from the program storing unit upon arrival of the removal timing received by the removal timing receiving unit,

wherein in case that removal of the given program has failed, the removal unit removes upon passage of a predetermined time the given program for which the removal timing has already arrived.

20. An image forming apparatus in which an activation of a program providing a function is allowed according to license information indicating that a user activating the program is authorized to activate the program, comprising:

a processor;

a login accepting unit to accept a user login;

a program storing unit to store a program;

a function introducing unit to obtain a given program licensed to an individual user and license information about the given program from an external source and to store the given program in the program storing unit;

a user information storing unit to store user information that includes the license information about the given program that is stored by the function introducing unit, the license information being associated with a user ID of the individual user in the user information;

a removal timing receiving unit to receive a setting of removal timing at which the given program stored by the function introducing unit is removed from the program storing unit; and

a removal unit to remove the given program stored by the function introducing unit from the program storing unit upon arrival of the removal timing received by the removal timing receiving unit,

wherein the removal timing receiving unit receives the setting of removal timing that defines the removal timing as a timing at which the individual user logs into another equipment item connected through a network, and the removal unit removes the given program from the program storing unit upon receiving the user ID of the individual user from said other equipment item.