Configuring devices using device management templates

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10382269-B2
Application number	US-201615166193-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 26, 2016
Priority date	May 26, 2016
Publication date	Aug 13, 2019
Grant date	Aug 13, 2019

Abstract

Tools are provided to enable a service technician or administrator to apply settings, via a mobile terminal, from configuration templates to a device, particularly when the device is accessible through a network. Such configuration templates may be obtained or downloaded to the mobile terminal from a device management server on a regular basis or as needed or on demand.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A technician configurator application including one or more programs of instructions embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium and executable by a processor of a host terminal to configure the host terminal to perform a method comprising:
(a) determining, based on user credentials of a technician user of the host terminal, one or more output devices to be serviced by the technician user, by communicating via a network interface of the host terminal with a device management server that manages plural output device, and providing, via an application user interface displayed on the host terminal, a list of said output devices to be serviced by the technician user;
(b) obtaining, by network communication through the network interface of the host terminal with the device management server that manages plural output devices including said one or more output devices to be serviced by the technician user, configuration templates corresponding to said one or more output devices, respectively;
(c) obtaining, by point-to-point communication with an output device, amongst the one or more output devices to be serviced by the technician user, a device identifier of the output device;
(d) retrieving, by said point-to-point communication with the output device, configuration information corresponding to current configuration of the output device, displaying on the host terminal the retrieved configuration information of the output device, and retrieving a configuration template, amongst the obtained configuration templates, corresponding to the output device indicated by the device identifier obtained by said point-to-point communication, and upon confirmation by the technician user of the technician configurator application, applying configuration settings from the retrieved configuration template corresponding to the output device indicated by the device identifier, to the output device,
wherein
upon the technician configurator application connecting with the output device, the technician configurator application retrieves current configuration settings of the output device from the output device, and validates the retrieved current configuration settings of the output device against configuration templates configured for the output device, and the technician configurator application stores locally on the host terminal a validation record including (I) a timestamp associated with the validation, (II) validation results and (III) the configuration templates employed in the validation, and wherein
upon the technician configurator application connecting with the device management server, the technician configurator application uploads to the device management server the validation record stored locally on the host terminal.

2. The technician configurator application as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
the application user interface includes an authentication user interface portion to require the technician user of the host terminal to enter the user credentials via the authentication user interface portion, to commence a preparation session,
wherein the download of the configuration templates by the technician configurator application in the preparation session from the device management server does not commence until the technician user has been authenticated based on the user credentials entered via the authentication user interface portion.

3. The technician configurator application as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
the application user interface includes an authentication user interface portion to require the technician user of the host terminal to enter the user credentials via the authentication user interface portion, to commence a preparation session,
wherein upon authentication of the technician user based on the user credentials entered via the authentication user interface, the technician configurator application communicates with the device management server to determine said one or more output devices to be serviced by the technician user authenticated based on the user credentials entered via the authentication user interface portion.

4. The technician configurator application as claimed in claim 3 , wherein for each specified output device to be serviced by the user authenticated based on the user credentials entered via the authentication user interface portion, the technician configurator application receives from the device management server one or more configuration templates for the specified output device and security credentials for accessing the specified output device via the point-to-point communication with the specified output device.

5. The technician configurator application as claimed in claim 4 , wherein when the device management server indicates that the technician user is to be permitted to select a configuration template for said one or more of the output devices, the technician configurator application receives from the device management server additional configuration templates to be made available for selection by the technician user.

6. The technician configurator application as claimed in claim 3 , wherein upon authentication of the user based on the user credentials entered via the authentication user interface, the technician configurator application additionally receives from the device management server indication of an operating mode, and wherein
the operating mode is one of (i) automatic mode in which the configuration settings in the configuration template received from the device management server are applied in an order specified, upon confirmation by the user and without the application user interface permitting the user to edit the configuration settings, (ii) guided mode in which the application user interface permits the user to specify one or more groups of settings to skip, and (iii) free mode in which the application user interface permits the user to select or unselect each setting in the configuration template and rearrange an order of the settings.

7. The technician configurator application as claimed in claim 6 , wherein
upon connection of the technician configurator application to a connected output device, the device identifier of the connected output device is obtained from the connected output device and the device identifier of the connected output device is compared to the list of said output devices to be serviced by the technician user, and wherein
if the device identifier of the connected output device does not match any of the output devices on the list, the technician configurator application permits the technician user to proceed only if the operating mode is the free mode in which the technician user is permitted to select a configuration template from configuration templates stored locally on the host terminal.

8. The technician configurator application as claimed in claim 6 , wherein
when the operating mode is the free mode, the application user interface proposes (i) a set of templates to the technician user, from amongst associated configuration templates that are associated with the output device, and (ii) an order in which the templates in the set are proposed to be applied, and the application user interface permits the technician user to add other templates, remove specified templates from the set and modify the order in which the templates are to be applied to the output device, and wherein
as the technician configurator application applies the templates to the output device in a configuration session, the technician configurator application maintains locally on the host terminal a configuration record of the configuration session including for each template applied, (i) a timestamp associated with when the template was applied, and (ii) configuration results inc

Assignees

• Haapanen Tom
• Mulholland Tom
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Haapanen Tom
• Mulholland Tom

Classifications

• H04L63/08

  for authentication of entities (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32) · CPC title

• H04L41/0883

  Semiautomatic configuration, e.g. proposals from system · CPC title

• H04L41/22

  comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI] · CPC title

• H04L41/0843 Primary

  based on generic templates · CPC title