Image forming apparatus having restricted USB socket
AssigneeSharp Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorHiroyuki Ishikura
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An image forming apparatus is provided with USB sockets on front and back sides, and includes a determining unit for determining whether or not a USB device inserted to a front side USB socket is a function enhancement device, and a control unit making, when it is determined by the determining unit that a function enhancement device is inserted to the front side USB socket, the USB device unusable and making, when it is determined that a USB device other than the function enhancement device is inserted, the USB device usable. Thus, it is possible to prevent a USB wireless LAN adapter or the like from being used constantly connected to the front side USB socket and thereby to reduce possibility of USB wireless LAN adapter of being damaged or removed.
Claims17
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of USB sockets;
- and
- a controller that selectively executes a process of making, in mutually different manners, usable or unusable a device connected to a first USB socket of the plurality of USB sockets and a device connected to a second USB socket of the plurality of USB sockets different from the first USB socket;
- wherein
- a plurality of different types of devices usable with the first USB socket are set;
- one or a plurality of different types of devices usable with the second USB socket are set;
- at least one of the plurality of different types of devices set for the first USB socket is a USB memory device;
- and
- at least one of the plurality of different types of devices set for the second USB socket is a user authentication device or a human interface device.
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of USB sockets;
- and
- a controller that selectively executes a process of making, in mutually different manners, usable or unusable a device connected to a first USB socket of the plurality of USB sockets and a device connected to a second USB socket of the plurality of USB sockets that is different from the first USB socket;
- wherein
- only one type of device usable with the first USB socket is set;
- a plurality of different types of devices usable with the second USB socket are set;
- the only one type of device set for the first USB socket is a USB memory device;
- and
- at least one of the plurality of different types of devices set for the second USB socket is a user authentication device or a human interface device.
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- a first USB socket at a first location on the image forming apparatus;
- a second USB socket at a second location on the image forming apparatus different from the first location, the second USB socket being usable with at least one device that is different from a device or devices usable with the first USB socket;
- and
- a controller that selectively executes a process of restricting use of one of the first USB socket and the second USB socket without affecting usability of the other one of the first USB socket and the second USB socket that is not restricted by the controller;
- wherein
- the device or devices usable with the first USB socket includes a USB memory device;
- and
- the at least one device usable with the second USB socket includes a user authentication device or a human interface device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.