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JP-7855854-B2 - Image forming apparatus, control method, program

JP7855854B2JP 7855854 B2JP7855854 B2JP 7855854B2JP-7855854-B2

Inventors

  • 大羽 伸

Assignees

  • コニカミノルタ株式会社

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20211210

Claims (13)

  1. A table that shows the target data registered through the user's registration operation, and associates it with the contact point used when accessing the data. A communication means that sends and receives communication messages with the aforementioned contact person as the other party, The system includes a communication means that sends a communication message requesting permission to use the registered target data, and a determination means that determines whether or not to output a debug log containing the target data as is, in response to the reply received by the communication means to the sent message, The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the communication message transmitted by the communication means indicates a request for permission to use the target data in debugging, and is attached to a file containing the debug log extracted regarding the inquiry recipient .
  2. A table that shows the target data registered through the user's registration operation, and associates it with the contact point used when accessing the data. A communication means that sends and receives communication messages with the aforementioned contact person as the other party, The system includes a communication means that sends a communication message requesting permission to use the registered target data, and a determination means that determines whether or not to output a debug log containing the target data as is, in response to the reply received by the communication means to the sent message, The output of the debug log is performed by generating the debug log in the memory of the device itself and outputting it to the outside of the device. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the transmission of the communication message is performed when the debug log generated in the memory contains data that matches the registered target data.
  3. The aforementioned table shows multiple target data points associated with multiple query destinations, The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, at the stage when a debug log is generated in memory, it is determined whether the data contained in the generated debug log matches any of the registered target data.
  4. The transmission of the aforementioned communication message is The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that it is performed when a portion of the data included in the generated debug log matches the registered target data.
  5. If multiple contacts are associated with the aforementioned target data in 1, The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the communication means sends the communication message to each of the plurality of inquiry destinations, decides to output a debug log containing the target data as is when it receives a positive reply communication message from all of the plurality of inquiry destinations, and decides not to output a debug log containing the target data as is when it does not receive a reply from any of the plurality of inquiry destinations.
  6. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, if the aforementioned reply communication message is not received, it is decided not to output a debug log containing the target data as is, and the target data contained in the debug log is replaced with confidential information before output.
  7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the replacement with the aforementioned non-public information is performed by converting the data contained in the debug log into a hash value.
  8. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the user who performed the registration operation is a logged-in user registered by the administrator of the device, and the query destination shown in the table is the communication address of the logged-in user registered by the administrator.
  9. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the user who performed the registration operation is a public user, and the contact information shown in the table is the communication address of the administrator who manages the device.
  10. A control method performed by the control unit of an image forming apparatus, The control unit includes the step of displaying the target data registered by the user's registration operation in a table, associating it with the query destination used when accessing the data. The control unit performs a communication step in which it sends and receives communication messages with the inquiry recipient as the other party, The control unit has a decision step of sending a communication message requesting permission to use the registered target data, and determining whether or not to output a debug log containing the target data as is, in response to the reply received to the sent message. A control method characterized in that the communication message transmitted in the aforementioned communication step indicates a request for permission to use the target data in debugging, and is attached to a file containing the debug log extracted regarding the inquiry recipient .
  11. A control method performed by the control unit of an image forming apparatus, The control unit includes the step of displaying the target data registered by the user's registration operation in a table, associating it with the query destination used when accessing the data. The control unit performs a communication step in which it sends and receives communication messages with the inquiry recipient as the other party, The control unit has a decision step of sending a communication message requesting permission to use the registered target data, and determining whether or not to output a debug log containing the target data as is, in response to the reply received to the sent message. The output of the debug log is performed by generating the debug log in the memory of the device itself and outputting it to the outside of the device. The control method is characterized in that the transmission of the communication message is performed when the debug log generated in the memory contains data that matches the registered target data.
  12. The steps include: displaying the target data registered through the user's registration operation in a table, associating it with the query destination used when accessing the data; A communication step in which communication messages are sent and received with the aforementioned contact person as the other party, This program causes a computer to execute a communication message requesting permission to use the registered target data, and a decision step in which it determines whether or not to output a debug log containing the target data as is, based on the reply received to the message. The program is characterized in that the communication message transmitted in the aforementioned communication step indicates a request for permission to use the target data in debugging, and is attached to a file containing the debug log extracted regarding the aforementioned inquiry recipient .
  13. The steps include: displaying the target data registered through the user's registration operation in a table, associating it with the query destination used when accessing the data; A communication step in which communication messages are sent and received with the aforementioned contact person as the other party, This program causes the computer of an image forming apparatus to execute a communication message requesting permission to use the registered target data, and a decision step in which it determines whether or not to output a debug log containing the target data as is, based on the reply received to the message. The output of the debug log is performed by generating the debug log in the memory of the image forming apparatus and outputting it to the outside of the image forming apparatus. The program is characterized in that the transmission of the communication message is performed when the debug log generated in the memory contains data that matches the registered target data.

Description

This disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus, a control method, and a program, and more particularly to improvements for facilitating bug verification of the program. Image forming apparatuses perform image formation using electrophotography and inkjet methods. For example, image formation using the electrophotographic method includes a series of steps: exposure of the photoreceptor, development of the electrostatic latent image obtained from exposure, transfer of the toner image obtained from development onto a sheet, and fixing of the transferred toner image. The computer in the image forming apparatus runs firmware to control these image formation processes, as well as an operating system and applications to ensure the basic functions of the information device. Because it is necessary to develop this firmware and applications while maintaining their quality, the burden on software development personnel at manufacturers developing image forming apparatuses tends to increase year by year. Debug logs have traditionally been used to facilitate program bug analysis and debugging. A debug log is a log that shows what processes are performed within each program, and what the input and output values were. By inserting dedicated debug log output code into the program, debug logs can be generated. By following a series of debug logs, the program's operation can be traced, allowing for efficient identification and debugging of the cause of firmware or application malfunctions. Incidentally, debug logs may contain data that could be subject to legal regulations. A typical example of such data is personal data. Personal data includes various types such as the names, identification numbers, location data, email addresses, and online identifiers of natural persons. In the EEA (European Economic Area), the processing and transfer of this personal data outside the EEA are regulated by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which has become a topic of discussion in the industry. Due to various reasons, including legal regulations, some users do not wish to have debug logs output. Therefore, traditionally, when an image forming machine was installed in a business, a screen like Figure 15 was displayed to request permission from the image forming machine administrator regarding the collection of debug logs. If the user permitted data collection on the screen shown in Figure 15, the image forming machine would collect debug logs. Conversely, if the user chose not to permit collection, the debug logs would not be output. If the image forming machine administrator decided not to permit debug log output for reasons such as the inclusion of personal data, and configured the screen shown in Figure 15 accordingly, debug logs containing personal data would not be output. Furthermore, a technology for uniformly replacing and keeping private personal data such as usernames and email addresses is described in Patent Document 1 below. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2010-147942 This is a diagram showing a program debugging system.The hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 is shown.This shows the programs installed on HDD23.Figure 4(a) shows the administrator name stored in NVRAM 24 and associated with the inquiry destination, and Figure 4(b) shows the username stored in NVRAM 24 and associated with the inquiry destination. Figure 4(c) shows the fax recipient name and fax number stored in NVRAM 24 and associated with the inquiry destination. Figure 4(d) is an example of the data format of the debug log file 5000, which is a file that stores debug logs.This indicates that the Panel application 101 and the Login application 102 are loaded into RAM 22 and are available for use in a multitasking execution environment.Figure 6(a) shows an example of template file 106. Figure 6(b) shows the variable area.The main routine of log file processing application 105 is shown.Figure 8(a) is an example of a registration screen for usernames and contact information, and Figure 8(b) is an example of a registration screen 2200 for entering fax destinations and fax numbers.This is a flowchart illustrating the details of step S121.An example of an email created in step S205 of Figure 9 is shown.This is a flowchart of the subroutine that shows the details of step S123.Figure 12(a) shows the login screen, and Figure 12(b) shows the debug log file 5000 generated in RAM 22 when login authentication is successful. Figure 12(c) shows the debug log file 5000 generated in RAM 22 when login authentication fails.This is an email sending and receiving sequence based on the email address listed in the debug log file 5000's contact information, showing the sequence of events when email 3100, indicating a reply, arrived from nakata@abc.jp.This is an email sending and receiving sequence based on the email address listed in the debug log file 5000's contact information, showing a situation where email 3100, indicating a reply, has not arr