JP2007295371A - Image forming device and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to complete update of equipment by a usual update means even in a module system where combination trouble is generated. <P>SOLUTION: A system program performs steps of: gathering version information of each module on start-up to make a list of the version information (S101); then checking whether combination condition information exists in the version information made or not (S102); performing usual start in the case of not existing (S104); checking whether, when existing, the version information satisfies the combination condition information or not (S103); and performing the usual start (S104) when satisfying the condition whereas, when not satisfying, starting at an update exclusive mode (S105). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that updates a program such as a printer, a copy, and a fax, and a computer program that is executed by a computer installed in the image forming apparatus.

  In recent years, there has been known an image forming apparatus in which functions of each apparatus such as a facsimile, a printer, a copy, and a scanner are housed in one casing. In this image forming apparatus, a display unit, a printing unit, an imaging unit, and the like are provided in one housing, and four types of applications corresponding to a facsimile, a printer, a copy, and a scanner are provided. , Operate as a printer, copy and scanner. As described above, since the image forming apparatus is operated by various applications and modules that execute processing based on the program, a new function can be added by updating the program written in the FLASH-ROM or the like. It can be carried out.

  This program update process may be performed by connecting to a server storing the update program via a network such as the Internet and acquiring the update program (hereinafter referred to as download). In addition, a plurality of image forming apparatuses may be on one floor, and a server connected to each of the multifunction peripherals on the floor may download update programs for all the image forming apparatuses together. In this case, the downloaded server transfers the downloaded update program as it is to each compound machine.

  Accordingly, the downloaded update program includes a plurality of programs such as a printer program that can be updated only by one image forming apparatus and a scanner program that can be updated by all image forming apparatuses. Yes. Furthermore, a program such as a program for updating the boot area that cannot be recovered unless the service person who performs maintenance responds when the update fails is also included.

  As techniques relating to such an update program, for example, the inventions described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known. Among them, the patent document 1 is easy to manage data, and it is possible to find update data from a large number of data at high speed, and to prevent unauthorized use of update data of the image forming apparatus. The data / program update means for updating the data and the program for operating the image forming apparatus using the update data stored in the medium storing the file information is used to update the update data in the medium. An invention is disclosed in which data and a program in an image forming apparatus are updated only when a regular media determination file is stored under a folder having a name indicating a storage location. .

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 is intended to enable an appropriate update of a program even if it is an update program in which various programs are mixed. Hardware resources used in image forming processing And an update program acquisition means for acquiring an update program, and whether or not to update the program with the acquired update program. And a program updating means for updating the program.
JP 2004-234135 A JP 2004-234151 A

  By the way, in the program that configures the image forming system, each module that configures the program may have a configuration that cannot be normally started depending on the combination after updating any module when there are changes in a plurality of modules. .

  Conventionally, even if there is a module configuration in which a combination error occurs, it does not have such information for each module, so it cannot be determined that a combination error has occurred at startup and cannot be started normally Had fallen into. In addition, if it cannot start normally, it will not be possible to start the update, so when updating a module where a combination error occurred, there was no choice but to update using a special means to forcibly write the program on the device . This point was not particularly considered in the invention described in Patent Document 2.

  Therefore, a problem to be solved by the present invention is to enable updating of a device by a normal update means even in a module configuration in which a combination abnormality occurs.

  In order to solve the above problem, the first means configures the program in an image forming apparatus having hardware resources used in the image forming process and one or more programs for performing the process related to the image forming. Each module has firmware condition information that causes a combination error when there is a module that generates a combination error, and transitions to a mode that can only be updated when the device starts up with the firmware configuration that generates the combination error. It has the means to do, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  The second means is characterized in that, in the first means, means for checking the presence or absence of a firm having combination condition information that causes a combination abnormality when starting is started.

  The third means includes means for checking whether the currently activated version of the firmware to be combined satisfies the condition in the second means when there is a firmware having the combination condition information. It is characterized by.

  The fourth means is a program configuration which is the minimum necessary for updating when the currently activated version of the firmware to be combined does not satisfy the condition and a combination abnormality occurs in the third means. And a means for starting a system constituting the apparatus.

  A fifth means is characterized in that, in the fourth means, there is provided means for displaying program information in which the combination is generated on the device panel when the program is started with the minimum program configuration necessary for the update. To do.

  A sixth means is characterized in that, in the fourth means, there is provided means for restricting so that only a program in which a combination is generated can be updated when the program is started with the minimum program configuration required for the update. To do.

  The seventh means is the fourth means in which a firmware satisfying a combination condition of a module in which a combination abnormality has occurred is obtained from an external device connected to the device when the program is started with the minimum program configuration required for the update. It is characterized by having means for starting update immediately when data is found.

  The eighth means is characterized in that, in the seventh means, means for remotely updating the program in which the combination abnormality has occurred when the update is started.

  Ninth means is characterized in that, in the second means, there is provided means for normally starting a system constituting the device when there is no firmware having the combination condition information.

  The tenth means includes: a first process for obtaining version information of the startup program; a second process for confirming the presence of combination condition information that causes a combination abnormality at the start of startup; and a combination abnormality in the second procedure. When it is confirmed that there is combination condition information that causes occurrence of the above, when the combination condition information does not exist in the third process for checking whether the version information satisfies the combination condition or the second process Or when the version information satisfies the combination condition in the third process, and when the fourth process is normally started and when the combination condition is not satisfied in the third process, The present invention is characterized by a computer program that causes a computer to execute a fifth process that starts with a limited program configuration.

  The eleventh means is the tenth means, wherein the fifth process further includes a sixth process for confirming whether an external medium is connected, and a connection to the external medium by the sixth process. When it is confirmed that the update file of the program in which the combination abnormality occurs is confirmed, and when the existence of the update file is confirmed in the seventh process When an external medium is not connected in the eighth process and the sixth process in which update is performed using the update file, or when the update file does not exist in the seventh process, an abnormality has occurred. And a ninth process for displaying the combination condition information.

  In the embodiment described later, the hardware resource is denoted by reference numeral 4, the programs are software group 2, printer application 9, copy application 10, fax application 11, scanner application 12, system program 101, network program 102, copy program 103, Means for switching to a mode in which only the update can be performed in the printer program 104, the operation unit program 105, and the engine program 106, means for checking whether or not there is a firmware having combination condition information, and the currently activated version of the firmware to be combined Means for checking whether the system satisfies the conditions, means for starting up the system comprising the device with the minimum program configuration required for the update, and updating only the program in which the combination occurs Means for limiting so that a firmware that satisfies a combination condition of a module in which a combination abnormality has occurred satisfies a combination of data, and if there is no firmware having the combination condition information, the device is Means for normally starting a system to be configured, means for remotely updating the program in which the combination abnormality has occurred, are displayed in the system program 101, and means for displaying the program information in which the combination has occurred on the device panel is an operation unit program 105 respectively.

  According to the present invention, since a transition is made to a mode in which only an update can be performed when a device starts up in a firmware configuration in which a combination abnormality occurs, the device can be updated by a normal update means even in a module configuration in which a combination abnormality occurs. Can do. As a result, even if the module configuration in which the combination abnormality occurs is matched, the device can be restored.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an example of an image forming apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as a multifunction peripheral) according to an embodiment of the present invention. The compound machine 1 includes a software group 2, a compound machine starting unit 3, and a hardware resource 4.

  The compound machine starting unit 3 is executed first when the compound machine 1 is powered on, and activates the application layer 5 and the controller 6. For example, the multi-function apparatus activation unit 3 reads out the programs of the application layer 5 and the controller 6 from a hard disk device (hereinafter referred to as HD) and transfers each read program to a memory area and activates it. The hardware resources 4 include a monochrome laser printer (B & W LP) 25, a color laser printer (Color LP) 26, and hardware resources 24 such as a scanner and a facsimile. The software group 2 includes an application layer 5 and a controller 6 that are activated on an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) such as UNIX (registered trademark). The application layer 5 includes programs that perform processing unique to user services related to image formation, such as a printer, copy, fax, and scanner.

  The application layer 5 includes a printer application 9 that is a printer application, a copy application 10 that is a copy application, a fax application 11 that is a fax application, and a scanner application 12 that is a scanner application. Further, the controller 6 interprets a processing request from the application layer 5 to generate a hardware resource 4 acquisition request, and manages one or more hardware resources 4 to control the control service layer 7. A system resource manager (hereinafter referred to as SRM) 21 that arbitrates acquisition requests from the SRM 21 and a handler layer 8 that manages the hardware resources 4 in response to the acquisition requests from the SRM 21.

  The control service layer 7 includes a network control service (hereinafter referred to as “NCS”) 13, a remote service (hereinafter referred to as “RS”) 14, an operation panel control service (hereinafter referred to as “OCS”) 15, a fax control service (hereinafter referred to as “CS”) corresponding to the communication means. FCS) 16, engine control service (hereinafter referred to as ECS) 17, memory control service (hereinafter referred to as MCS) 18, on-demand update service (hereinafter referred to as OUS) 19, system control service (hereinafter referred to as SCS) 20, etc. It is configured to include one or more service modules. The controller 6 is configured to have an API 28 that can receive a processing request from the application layer 5 using a predefined function. The OS executes the software of the application layer 5 and the controller 6 in parallel as processes.

  The process of the NCS 13 provides a service that can be commonly used for applications that require network I / O. Data received from the network side according to each protocol is distributed to each application, or data from each application. Mediation when sending to the network side. For example, the NCS 13 controls data communication with a network device connected via a network using HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) by HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Daemon).

  The process of RS14 provides a service using a network such as the Internet. The process of the OCS 15 controls an operation panel serving as information transmission means between the operator and the main body control. The FCS16 process provides APIs for sending and receiving faxes from the application layer 5 using the PSTN or ISDN network, registering / quoting various fax data managed in the backup memory, reading faxes, receiving faxes, etc. To do.

  The process of the ECS 17 controls engine units such as the black and white laser printer 25, the color laser printer 26, and the hardware resource 24. The process of the MCS 18 performs memory control such as acquisition and release of memory and use of HD. The OUS 19 corresponding to the update program acquisition means downloads the program and expands it in the memory in response to a notification from the network. The process of the SCS 20 corresponding to the program update unit performs processing such as application management, operation unit control, system screen display, LED display, hardware resource management, interrupt application control. The process of the SRM 21 controls the system and manages the hardware resources 4 together with the SCS 20. For example, the process of the SRM 21 performs arbitration according to an acquisition request from an upper layer using the hardware resource 4 such as the black and white laser printer 25 and the color laser printer 26, and executes and controls the execution. Specifically, the process of the SRM 21 determines whether the requested hardware resource 4 can be used (whether it is not used by another acquisition request). The higher layer is notified that the resource 4 is available. In addition, the process of the SRM 21 performs scheduling for using the hardware resource 4 in response to an acquisition request from an upper layer, and the request contents (for example, paper conveyance and image forming operation by the printer engine, memory allocation, file generation, etc.) Has been implemented directly.

  The handler layer 8 is a fax control unit handler (hereinafter referred to as FCUH) 24 that manages a fax control unit (hereinafter referred to as FCU), which will be described later, and an image for allocating memory to the process and managing the memory allocated to the process. And a memory handler (hereinafter referred to as IMH) 23. The SRM 39 and the FCUH 40 make a processing request for the hardware resource 4 using the engine I / F 27 that enables transmission of the processing request for the hardware resource 4 by a predefined function.

  As described above, the multi-function apparatus 1 can process the processes commonly required for each application by the controller 6 in an integrated manner.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the compound machine according to the present embodiment. The multi-function apparatus 1 includes a controller board 30, an operation panel 39, an FCU 40, a USB device 41, an IEEE 1394 device 42, and an engine unit 43. The controller board 30 includes a CPU 31, a system memory (MEM-P) 32, a north bridge (hereinafter referred to as NB) 33, a south bridge (hereinafter referred to as SB) 34, an ASIC 36, and a local memory (MEM-P). C) 37, HD38, and FLASH-ROM 46 which is a non-volatile storage device. The operation panel 39 is connected to the ASIC 36 of the controller board 30. Further, the FCU 40, the USB device 41, the IEEE 1394 device 42, and the engine unit 43 are connected to the ASIC 36 of the controller board 30 via a PCI bus.

  In the controller board 30, a local memory 37, an HD 38, and the like are connected to the ASIC 36, and the CPU 31 and the ASIC 36 are connected via an NB 33 of a CPU chip set. In this way, if the CPU 31 and the ASIC 36 are connected via the NB 33, it is possible to cope with a case where the interface of the CPU 31 is not disclosed. The ASIC 36 and the NB 33 are not connected via a PCI bus, but are connected via an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) 35. As described above, in order to control execution of one or more processes forming the application layer 5 and the controller 6 in FIG. 1, the ASIC 36 and the NB 33 are connected via the AGP 35 instead of the low-speed PCI bus to prevent the performance degradation. It is out.

  The CPU 31 performs overall control of the compound machine 1. The CPU 31 starts and executes NCS13, RS14, OCS15, FCS16, ECS17, MCS18, OUS19, SCS20, SRM21, FCUH22 and IMH23 as processes on the OS, and also executes a printer application 9 and a copy application that form the application layer 5 10. Start and execute the fax application 11 and the scanner application 12. The NB 33 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 31, the system memory 32, the SB 34 and the ASIC 36. The system memory 32 is a memory used as a drawing memory or the like of the multifunction machine 1. The SB 34 is a bridge for connecting the NB 33 to the ROM, the PCI bus, and peripheral devices. The local memory 37 is a memory used as a copy image buffer and a code buffer. The ASIC 36 is an IC for use in image processing having hardware elements for image processing. The HD 38 is a storage for storing image data, document data, programs, font data, forms, and the like. The operation panel 39 is an operation unit that accepts an input operation from an operator and performs display for the operator.

  Next, the positioning of the program in the MFP 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the controller board 50 that controls the entire MFP 1 will be described. The controller board 50 is a board on which the program shown in FIG. 1 is executed. A board described below is connected from the controller board 50. The operation panel board 55 that performs processing for displaying information related to the multifunction machine 1 to an operator who operates the multifunction machine 1 is a board that controls the operation panel 39. As shown in the figure, an operation panel farm 61 is mounted on this board. The operation panel board 55 and the controller board 50 are connected by a synchronous serial line 64 for communication. The firmware indicates firmware.

  The FCU board 51 is the above-described fax control unit. The FCU farm 56 is mounted on the board as shown in the figure. Further, the FCU board 51 and the controller board 50 are connected by a PCI bus 62 for communication. The engine board 52 is mounted with a farm of an engine unit such as a plotter furr 57 and a scanner farm 58. The engine board 52 is also connected by a PCI bus 62 in order to communicate with the controller board 50. Each of these boards can be rebooted by the controller 6.

  The processing at the time of starting up each board connected in this way will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows a sequence diagram among the controller board 50, the engine board 52, the FCUH 22, and the OCS 19. The FCUH 22 manages the startup of the FCU board 62, and the OCS 19 manages the startup of the operation panel board 55. First, in step S1 and step S2, it is confirmed that the controller board 50 and the engine board 52 can communicate with each other due to a change in the break signal. In step S3, the controller board 50 notifies the engine board 52 that it has been connected to the controller. Similarly, the engine board 52 notifies the controller board 50 that the engine is connected in step S4. At this time, the engine board 52 also transmits information about the installed program at the same time.

  When the FCUH 22 confirms that the FCU board 51 has been activated in step S <b> 5, the FCUH 22 transmits to the controller board 50 information about the activation of the FCU board 51 and the program installed on the FCU board 51. Similarly, when the operation panel board 55 is activated, the OCS 19 transmits information about the activation of the OCS and the program installed on the operation panel board 55 (S6). In this manner, information such as the version of the program installed on each board is transmitted to the controller board 50 when each board is activated. Note that the information on each program may be requested to each board by the controller board 50 as needed, not at the time of startup. As described above, each board in FIG. 3 is loaded with a program, and processing is executed based on the program. These programs are stored in the FLASH-ROM and can be updated. The FLASH-ROM stores a program boot area and a program area for performing original processing as a set.

  FIG. 5 to FIG. 8 are explanatory diagrams showing version information of each module constituting the program. The version information includes a module name, a module ID, a version, and combination condition information. The combination condition information is expressed using a module ID, a version, and a symbol (<,>, =, etc.). One module can have a plurality of combination condition information.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing version information of system modules that do not have combination condition information. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing version information of a system module having one combination condition information. The combination condition information is engine:> = 1.01. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the version information of the engine module that is combined with the system module of FIG. 6, and the combination condition information is system:> = 1.01. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing version information of a system module having two combination condition information, where engine:> = 1.01 and operation:> 1.01.

  FIG. 9 to FIG. 13 are version information lists in which the version information of the modules constituting the program is collected by the image forming system that has started. The version information list includes the module name, module ID, version, combination condition information, and condition abnormality.

  FIG. 10 is a version information list when there is no program having combination condition information. FIG. 10 is a version information list when the system program has one combination condition information, engine:> = 1.01. At this time, it can be seen that a combination abnormality has occurred in the engine program.

  FIG. 11 is a version information list when one system program and one engine program have combination condition information. The combination condition is engine:> = 1.01 in the system and system:> = 1.01 in the engine. At this time, since the combination condition information of the system and the engine satisfies the conditions, it can be seen that no combination abnormality has occurred.

  FIG. 12 is a version information list when two system programs and one engine program have combination condition information. The combination condition is engine:> = 1.01, operation:> 1.01 in the system, and system:> = 1.01 in the engine. At this time, the combination condition of the engine program is satisfied, but the combination condition of the system program is not satisfied. Therefore, it is understood that a combination abnormality has occurred in the operation unit program.

  FIG. 13 is a version information list in the case where two system programs, one operation unit program, and one engine program have combination condition information. The combination condition is engine:> = 1.01, operation:> 1.01 in the system, system:> = 1.02 in the operation unit, and system:> = 1.01 in the engine. At this time, since the combination condition information of the system, the operation unit, and the engine satisfies the conditions, it is understood that no combination abnormality has occurred.

  FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 are diagrams showing a module configuration of a program constituting the image forming system. FIG. 14 shows a module configuration for operating as an image forming system. The module configuration includes a system program 101, a network program 102, a copy application program 103, a printer application program 104, an operation unit program 105, and an engine program 106. These are all activated.

  FIG. 15 shows the minimum module configuration necessary for executing the update. As the module configuration, the system program 101 and the operation unit program 105 need only be activated in the configuration of FIG. At this time, the system program 101 and the operation unit program 105 have a mechanism for displaying a minimum character string even if a combination abnormality occurs between them.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of combination condition detection after the main power is turned on. In the figure, the system program 101 collects the version information of each module as shown in FIGS. 5 to 9 at the time of activation and creates a version information list as shown in FIGS. 9 to 13 (step S101). Next, it is checked whether or not combination condition information exists in the created version information list (step S102). If it does not exist, it is normally activated (step S104). If it exists, it is checked whether or not the version information satisfies the combination condition (step S103). If the condition is satisfied, normal activation (activation with the module configuration of FIG. 14) is performed (step S104). If the condition is not satisfied, the system is activated in the update only mode (activation with the module configuration in FIG. 15) (step S105).

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure after detection of a combination abnormality (during update-only activation). In this processing procedure, the system activated exclusively for updating checks whether an external medium is connected to the device (step S201). Here, the external medium indicates an SD card, a USB storage, a flash memory, or the like. If it is determined in step S201 that an external medium is not connected, the process shifts to a remote update standby state, and the combination condition information in which an abnormality has occurred is displayed on the operation unit screen (step S203).

  On the other hand, if an external medium is connected, it is checked whether there is an update file for the program in which the combination has occurred (step S202). If it does not exist, the process shifts to a remote update standby state, and the combination condition information in which an abnormality has occurred is displayed on the operation unit screen (step S203). If it exists, execution of the update is started (step S204).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

1) Since each module has combination condition information, it is possible to have a criterion for detecting that a combination abnormality will occur later.

2) By checking the presence / absence of combination condition information at the start of system startup, it is possible to determine whether to normally start the system or to perform update-only startup without checking the combination conditions.

3) By checking the combination conditions, it is possible to detect that an abnormality has occurred in advance.

4) When there is no abnormality in the combination of modules, the combination abnormality detection process can always be executed when the system is activated by starting normally.

5) When there is an abnormality in the combination of modules, start up in the exclusive update mode that is not affected by the abnormality in the combination, so that the update is completed with the normal update means even in the module configuration where the combination abnormality occurs be able to.

6) When there is an abnormality in the combination of modules, it is activated in an exclusive update mode that is not affected by the abnormality of the combination, and the combination abnormality has occurred by displaying the information of the combination abnormality on the operation unit screen. The module can be recognized from the device panel.

7) When there is an abnormality in the combination of modules, it is started in an exclusive update mode that is not affected by the abnormality of the combination, and the modules that can be updated are limited to only the modules where the combination abnormality has occurred. Occurrence of a combination abnormality can be suppressed.

8) When there is an abnormality in the combination of modules, it is activated in a dedicated update mode that is not affected by the abnormality of the combination, and the module is updated from an external medium, so that the device can be restored.

9) When there is an abnormality in the combination of modules, the device is updated via the network from the state in which it is activated in the update exclusive mode that is not affected by the abnormality of the combination, so that the device can be recovered.
There are effects such as.

  The program in the present embodiment is not realized by dedicated hardware, but a program for realizing the function is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium is recorded. It may be read by a computer system and executed. The computer-readable recording medium refers to a recording medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, and a CD-ROM, and a storage device such as a hard disk device built in a computer system. Furthermore, a computer-readable recording medium is a server that dynamically holds a program (transmission medium or transmission wave) for a short period of time as in the case of transmitting a program via the Internet, and a server in that case Some of them hold programs for a certain period of time, such as volatile memory inside computer systems.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the compound machine which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the compound machine which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the position in the compound machine of a program. It is a figure which shows the process at the time of starting of each board of the compound machine concerning this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the version information of the system module which does not have combination condition information. It is a figure which shows the version information of the system module which has one combination condition information. It is a figure which shows the version information of the engine module used as a combination with the system module of FIG. It is a figure which shows the version information of the system module which has two combination condition information. It is a figure which shows the version information list when the program with combination condition information does not exist. It is a figure which shows the version information list in case a system program has one combination condition information. It is a figure which shows the version information list in case one system program and one engine program have combination condition information. It is a figure which shows a version information list in case two system programs and an engine program have one combination condition information. It is a figure which shows the version information list in case two system programs, one operation part program, and an engine program have one combination condition information. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a module configuration of a program that configures the image forming system, and illustrates a module configuration for operating as the image forming system. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a module configuration of a program that configures an image forming system, and illustrates a module configuration that is minimum necessary for executing an update. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the combination condition detection after main power supply ON. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence after combination abnormality detection (at the time of starting only for an update).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fusion machine 2 Software group 3 Fusion machine starting part 4 Hardware resource 101 System program 102 Network program 103 Copy program 104 Printer program 105 Operation part program 106 Engine program

Claims (11)

In an image forming apparatus having hardware resources used in image forming processing and one or more programs for performing processing related to image forming,
Each module that constitutes the program has condition information of firmware that causes a combination abnormality when there is a module that causes a combination abnormality, and is updated when a device starts to boot with the firmware configuration in which the combination abnormality occurs. An image forming apparatus characterized by comprising means for making a transition to a mode that can only be performed.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for checking whether or not there is a firmware having combination condition information in which a combination abnormality occurs at the start of activation.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for checking whether a currently activated version of a firmware to be combined satisfies a condition when there is a firmware having the combination condition information. .   Means for activating a system constituting the apparatus with a program configuration minimum required for update when a currently activated version of the firmware to be combined does not satisfy the condition and a combination abnormality occurs; The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image forming apparatus is provided.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising means for displaying, on the device panel, program information in which a combination is generated when the program is started up with a minimum program configuration required for the update.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising means for restricting so that only a program in which a combination is generated can be updated when the program is started with a minimum program configuration.   Means for immediately starting an update when a firmware satisfying a combination condition of a module in which a combination abnormality has occurred is found from an external device connected to the device when the program is started with the minimum program configuration required for the update. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:   8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising means for remotely updating the program in which the combination abnormality has occurred when the update is started.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for normally starting a system constituting the apparatus when there is no firmware having the combination condition information. A first process for obtaining version information of the startup program;
A second process for confirming the presence of combination condition information in which a combination abnormality occurs at the start of startup;
A third process for confirming whether or not the version information satisfies the combination condition when it is confirmed that there is combination condition information in which a combination abnormality occurs in the second procedure;
A fourth process that normally starts when the combination condition information does not exist in the second process, or when the version information satisfies the combination condition in the third process;
A fifth process that starts with a program configuration that is the minimum necessary for the update when the combination condition is not satisfied in the third process;
A computer program that causes a computer to execute. The fifth process further includes:
A sixth process for checking whether or not an external medium is connected;
A seventh process for confirming the existence of an update file of a program in which the combination abnormality occurs when it is confirmed that the connection to the external medium is performed in the sixth process;
An eighth process of executing an update using the update file when the presence of the update file is confirmed in the seventh process;
When an external medium is not connected in the sixth process, or when the update file does not exist in the seventh process, a ninth process for displaying combination condition information in which an abnormality has occurred;
The computer program characterized by including.

Images