Remote management server to generate policy including configuration data for image forming apparatuses, receive a request from image forming apparatus for changing the configuration data of the image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12468493-B2
Application number	US-202118561870-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 15, 2021
Priority date	May 25, 2021
Publication date	Nov 11, 2025
Grant date	Nov 11, 2025

Abstract

An example remote management server is operable to generate a policy including configuration data for image forming devices and a list of a plurality of image forming devices for which the configuration data is applied, receive, from one of the plurality of image forming devices, a request for a change in the configuration data for the image forming device, and process the request for the change in the configuration data in accordance with a preset rule.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A remote management server, comprising:
a processor; and a memory to store instructions that, based on their execution, cause the processor to:
generate a policy comprising configuration data for image forming devices and a list of a plurality of image forming devices for which the configuration data is to be applied;
receive, from an image forming device of the plurality of image forming devices, a request for a change in the configuration data for the image forming device in response to the image forming device receiving a separate request to perform the change to the configuration data on the image forming device;
process the request in accordance with a preset rule for accepting the requested change;
in response to the change in the configuration data, update the policy to remove the image forming device from the list; and
in response to the image forming device being rebooted or onboarded to the remote management server, update the list to incorporate the image forming device.

2 . The remote management server of claim 1 , wherein the preset rule comprises at least one of:
a first rule for accepting the requested change if the request is to change the configuration data that is allowed to change; or a second rule for accepting the requested change and submitting, to a service provider of the plurality of image forming devices, a request for approval for the change.

3 . The remote management server of claim 2 , wherein after receiving an affirmative response to the request for approval of the change, the remote management server updates the policy with the accepted change; and
after receiving a negative response to the request for approval of the change, the remote management server restores the changed configuration data for the image forming device to what the configuration data for the image forming device was before the change.

4 . The remote management server of claim 1 , wherein, based on the change in the configuration data for the image forming device
the remote management server generates a different policy corresponding to the changed configuration data and the removed image forming device.

5 . The remote management server of claim 1 , wherein, based on their execution, the instructions further cause the processor to:
based on receiving, from an unlisted image forming device that is not comprised in the list, a request for a change in configuration data for the unlisted image forming device, change the configuration data for the unlisted image forming device.

6 . The remote management server of claim 1 , wherein, based on their execution, the instructions further cause the processor to:
receive a request for onboarding of a new image forming device; verify whether the new image forming device is comprised in the list; and if the new image forming device is comprised in the list, apply the policy to the new image forming device.

7 . The remote management server of claim 1 , wherein, based on their execution, the instructions further cause the processor to:
receive, at a particular periodic interval, from the plurality of image forming devices or a service provider device, the configuration data for the plurality of image forming devices; compare the received configuration data to the configuration data comprised in the policy; and configure, based on a result of the comparison, the plurality of image forming devices with the configuration data comprised in the policy.

8 . An image forming device, comprising:
a processor; and a memory to store instructions that, based on their execution, cause the processor to:
receive, from a remote management server, a policy comprising configuration data for the image forming device, the remote management server having a list comprising the image forming device;
receive, at the image forming device a request for a change in the configuration data;
send a notification to the remote management server in response to the request; and
in response to determining that the received request is to change the configuration data comprised in the policy, request the remote management server remove the image forming device from the list and process the request in accordance with a preset rule for accepting the requested change and to update the policy to incorporate the image forming device, if rebooted or onboarded to the remote management server, back into the list.

9 . The image forming device of claim 8 , wherein the preset rule comprises at least one of:
a first rule for accepting the requested change if the request is to change the configuration data that is allowed to change; or a second rule for accepting the requested change and submitting, to a service provider of the image forming device, a request for approval for the change.

10 . The image forming device of claim 9 , wherein the first rule comprises:
a rule for generating a different policy corresponding to the changed configuration data and the image forming device.

11 . The image forming device of claim 9 , wherein, based on the change in the configuration data for the image forming device being accepted, the second rule comprises:
requesting the remote management server to update the policy to incorporate the image forming device, if rebooted or onboarded to the remote management server, back into the list; or requesting the remote management server to generate a different policy corresponding to the changed configuration data and the image forming device.

12 . The image forming device of claim 9 , wherein the second rule comprises a rule for requesting, based on receiving from the service provider an affirmative response to the request for the approval for the change, the remote management server to update the policy with the accepted change.

13 . The image forming device of claim 9 , wherein the second rule comprises a rule for restoring, based on receiving from the service provider a negative response to the request for the approval for the change, the changed configuration data for the image forming device to what the configuration data for the image forming device was before the change is made upon the request for the change.

14 . A method, comprising:
generating a policy comprising configuration data for image forming devices and a list of a plurality of image forming devices for which the configuration data is to be applied; receiving, from an image forming device of the plurality of image forming devices, a request for a change in the configuration data for the image forming device, in response to the image forming device receiving a separate request made to perform the change in the applied configuration data on the image forming device, and processing the request in accordance with a preset rule, wherein the preset rule comprises at least one of: a first rule for accepting the requested change and removing the image forming device from the list of the plurality of image forming devices for which the configuration data is to be applied; a second rule for accepting the requested change and removing the image forming device from the list of the plurality of image forming devices for which the configuration data is to be applied and updating the list to include the image forming device if the image forming device is rebooted or onboarded to a remote management server if the request is to change configuration data that is allowed to change; or a third rule for accepting the requested change, removing the image forming device from the list of the plurality of image forming devices for which the configuration data is to be applied, and

Assignees

• Hewlett Packard Development Co

Inventors

• Seo Giwon
• Kim Junghun
• Kang Hyungjong
• Hwang Byeongju
• Son Minyoung
• Kim Sangmi

Classifications

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• G06F3/1297

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• G06F3/1285

  Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server · CPC title

• G06F3/1204 Primary

  resulting in reduced user or operator actions, e.g. presetting, automatic actions, using hardware token storing data · CPC title

• H04N2201/0094

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