JP2001101121A - Information processing system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide flexible service to a user even when the user is obliged to use a device whose running cost is high. SOLUTION: In networking where plural image forming devices 1 to 5 are connected to a server 6 capable of controlling these devices 1 to 5 on a network 10, status information obtained when a job is executed by a certain device 1 is prepared and stored in the server 6 as log information consisting of prescribed data structure including the status information of the other devices 2 to 5 connected to the network 10 and the log information is displayed by the server 6 or respective devices 1 to 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an information processing system and an information processing method, and more particularly to a control device and a control method for controlling a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a network system realized on an intranet such as an office, an image forming apparatus,
A scanner, a server, a personal computer, and the like are connected.

In this case, there are a plurality of various image forming apparatuses which are different in monochrome, color, print speed, resolution and the like.

[0004]

By the way, the charge of the copying machine differs depending on the model. Generally, when outputting the same original in monochrome, the color copying machine is higher than the monochrome copying machine.

For this reason, for example, when it is desired to print out using a black-and-white copying machine connected to a network,
If the black-and-white copying machine is down due to an abnormality, a color copying machine with a high charge must be used.

[0006] Even for copiers of the same model, the same fee is charged for a machine with a large number of recording paper conveyance jams, despite the reduced productivity.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing system and an information processing method capable of providing a flexible service to a user even when forced use of an apparatus having a high running cost is required. is there.

[0008]

The present invention relates to an information processing system for exchanging data between an information processing device connected to a network and a master device capable of controlling the information processing device. The master device is a device for acquiring information on abnormality occurrence during a job in the information processing device, and job information including other device information at the time of job start, and the acquired job information of the information processing device. Log information creating means for creating log information in a predetermined data structure format, log information storage means for storing the created log information, and log information display means for displaying the stored log information. And an information processing system.

The present invention is an information processing system for exchanging data between an information processing device connected on a network and a master device capable of controlling the information processing device, wherein the master device includes the information device. A job information acquisition unit that acquires job occurrence information including information on occurrence of abnormality in a job in a processing device and other device information at the start of the job, and converts the acquired job information of the information processing device into a predetermined data structure format. Log information creating means for creating log information, and log information storage means for storing the created log information, the information processing device, log information display means for acquiring and displaying the stored log information The information processing system is configured by the provision.

The present invention is an information processing system for exchanging data between a plurality of information processing apparatuses connected on a network and a master apparatus capable of controlling the plurality of information processing apparatuses, wherein the master apparatus Is the abnormality occurrence information during a job in the plurality of information processing devices, and
A job information acquisition unit for acquiring job information including other device information at the time of job start; a log information creation unit for creating the acquired job information for each information processing device as log information in a predetermined data structure format; Log information storage means for storing the created log information, and log information display means for displaying the stored log information of the specific information processing device or all the information processing devices connected to the network. Thus, an information processing system is configured.

[0011] The present invention is an information processing system for exchanging data between a plurality of information processing apparatuses connected on a network and a master apparatus capable of controlling the plurality of information processing apparatuses, Is the abnormality occurrence information during a job in the plurality of information processing devices, and
A job information acquisition unit for acquiring job information including other device information at the time of job start; a log information creation unit for creating the acquired job information for each information processing device as log information in a predetermined data structure format; Log information storage means for storing the created log information, wherein the information processing apparatus acquires the stored log information of a specific information processing apparatus or all information processing apparatuses connected to a network. An information processing system is configured by providing log information display means for displaying the information.

[0012] The plurality of information processing apparatuses are constituted by image forming apparatuses or printers, and the master device is configured as a server apparatus, and exchanges information between the plurality of information processing apparatuses and the server apparatus. be able to.

[0013] The abnormality occurrence information during the job may be the number of occurrences of a recording paper conveyance jam.

The abnormality occurrence information during the job may be a ratio between the number of recording sheets processed in the job and the number of occurrences of the recording sheet conveyance jam.

The other device information at the time of starting the job may be information of a device in which an error requiring a serviceman has occurred.

The other device information at the time of starting the job may be information of a device stopped by a recording paper conveyance jam.

The log information in the data structure format can be created by using information for specifying each information processing device, data input / output information of each information processing device, and status information.

The present invention is a server device capable of controlling a plurality of information processing devices connected on a network, the information processing device including information on occurrence of abnormality during a job in the plurality of information processing devices and other information at the start of the job. Job information acquisition means for acquiring job information including device information, log information creation means for creating the acquired job information for each information processing device as log information in a predetermined data structure format, and the created log information By providing log information storage means for storing log information, and log information display means for displaying the stored log information of a specific information processing apparatus or all information processing apparatuses connected to the network. Constitute.

The present invention relates to an information processing method for exchanging data between an information processing device connected to a network and a master device capable of controlling the information processing device, wherein the master device includes the information device. A job information acquisition step of acquiring job occurrence information including information on occurrence of abnormality in a job in the processing device and other device information at the start of the job, and converting the acquired job information of the information processing device into a predetermined data structure format. An information processing method is provided by including a log information creating step of creating log information, a log information storing step of storing the created log information, and a log information displaying step of displaying the stored log information. I do.

The present invention relates to an information processing method for exchanging data between an information processing device connected to a network and a master device capable of controlling the information processing device, wherein the master device includes the information device. A job information acquisition step of acquiring job occurrence information including information on occurrence of abnormality in a job in the processing device and other device information at the start of the job, and converting the acquired job information of the information processing device into a predetermined data structure format. A log information creating step of creating log information, and a log information storing step of storing the created log information, wherein the information processing apparatus obtains the stored log information and displays the log information. In addition, it provides an information processing method.

The present invention relates to an information processing method for exchanging data between a plurality of information processing devices connected on a network and a master device capable of controlling the plurality of information processing devices. The apparatus includes: a job information acquiring step of acquiring job occurrence information including information on occurrence of abnormality in a job in the plurality of information processing apparatuses and other apparatus information at the time of starting the job; and a job for each of the acquired information processing apparatuses. A log information creating step of creating information as log information in a predetermined data structure format, a log information storing step of storing the created log information, and connection to the stored specific information processing device or network. A log information display step of displaying log information of all information processing apparatuses, thereby providing an information processing method.

The present invention relates to an information processing method for exchanging data between a plurality of information processing devices connected on a network and a master device capable of controlling the plurality of information processing devices. The apparatus includes: a job information acquiring step of acquiring job occurrence information including information on occurrence of abnormality in a job in the plurality of information processing apparatuses and other apparatus information at the time of starting the job; and a job for each of the acquired information processing apparatuses. Information, a log information creating step of creating log information of a predetermined data structure format, and a log information storage step of storing the created log information, the information processing device, the stored, specific information Processing equipment, or
An information processing method is provided by including a log information display step of acquiring and displaying log information of all information processing apparatuses connected to a network.

According to the present invention, there is provided a medium which records a control program for controlling data exchange between devices by using a computer and an information processing device connected to a network. The control program causes the computer to acquire abnormality occurrence information during a job in the information processing apparatus, and job information including other apparatus information at the start of the job, and converts the acquired job information of the information processing apparatus into a predetermined information. A medium in which an information processing control program is recorded is provided by creating log information in a data structure format, storing the created log information, and displaying the stored log information.

The present invention is a medium that uses a plurality of information processing devices and a master device connected on a network and records a control program for controlling data exchange between the devices by a computer. The control program causes the computer to acquire information on occurrence of abnormality during a job in the plurality of information processing devices, and job information including other device information at the start of the job. Job information is created as log information in a predetermined data structure format, the created log information is stored, and the stored log information of a specific information processing apparatus or all information processing apparatuses connected to a network is stored. Is provided to provide a medium in which the information processing control program is recorded.

[0025]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Overview] First, an overview of the present invention will be described.

According to the present invention, in a system in which an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a scanner and a server apparatus capable of controlling these apparatuses are connected on a network, information on abnormality occurrence in a job processed by the image forming apparatus, Log creation means for creating information including the status of other devices at the time as job log (recording progress) information, log information storage means for storing the log information, and, among the stored log information, Log information display means for displaying log information of a specific image forming apparatus or all image forming apparatuses connected to the network.

In this case, the image forming apparatus or the server device can be provided with log information display means.

Hereinafter, a specific example will be described.

[First Example] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 and FIGS. 9 to 13.

(System Configuration) First, the configuration of an information processing system applied to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a network system.

The present system includes information processing apparatuses 1 to 5,
A document server 6 (hereinafter, referred to as a server) as a master device is connected on a network 10. Hereinafter, a specific configuration of each unit will be described.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a color image forming apparatus.

This device has an integrated controller unit 11,
An image input device 12 for converting a document into image data (hereinafter, referred to as image data)
A color reader unit) and an image output device 1 for outputting image data as a visible image on recording paper in accordance with a print command
3 (hereinafter, referred to as a color printer unit).

The integrated controller unit 11 controls the functions of the color reader unit 12 and the color printer unit 13 and controls the exchange of jobs and data with the server 6 connected via the network 10.

The integrated controller 11 individually manages and controls the data processing units of each device. For example, in the case of the integrated controller 11 of the color image forming apparatus 1, the color reader unit 12 and the color printer unit 13 are managed independently. With such control, the color reader unit 12 can be used as a network scanner even when the color printer unit 13 is being used as a network printer.

Therefore, by connecting to the network 10 via the integrated controller 11, it is possible to exchange jobs and various data with the server 6.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a monochrome image forming apparatus.

The integrated controller 21, reader unit 22, and printer unit 23 correspond to the integrated controller 11, reader unit 12, and printer unit 13 of the above-described color image forming apparatus 1, respectively, and have equivalent functions.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a printer connected via a LAN, which includes an integrated controller 31 and a printer unit 32.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a scanner connected via a LAN, which includes an integrated controller 41 and a scanner unit 42. The integrated controllers 31 and 41 have functions equivalent to those of the integrated controller 11.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a personal computer connected by a LAN.

The server 6 executes various controls so that communication between the devices on the network 10 can be performed smoothly.

The server 6 includes a job information acquisition unit 6 for acquiring information on occurrence of abnormality during a job in the information processing apparatuses 1 to 5 and information on other apparatuses at the start of the job.
a, a log information creation unit 6b for creating the acquired job information of each of the information processing apparatuses 1 to 5 as log information in a predetermined data structure format, and a log information storage unit 6c for storing the created log information. And a log information display section 6d for displaying the generated log information. The method of creating log information will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In this example, the log information display section 6d
Although provided on the server 6 side, it is not limited to this, and may be provided on each of the information processing apparatuses 1 to 5.

Here, the color image forming apparatus 1 will be described as an example of the configuration of the information processing apparatus.

FIG. 9 shows the configuration of the color image forming apparatus 1.

In the color image forming apparatus 1, the color reader unit 102 and the color printer unit 103 are controlled by the integrated controller 101.

(Color Reader Unit) Color Reader Unit 102
Will be described. In FIG. 9, a platen glass (platen) 301 is provided above the color reader unit 102.
, And a document feeder (DF) 302 is installed thereon. Note that a mirror pressure plate (not shown) may be mounted in place of the document feeder 302.

In the first carriage 314, light sources 303 and 304, which are halogen lamps, are provided.
Reflectors 305 and 306 for condensing the light of No. 04 on the original, and a mirror 307 for reflecting the reflected light or the projected light from the original
Is installed.

The second carriage 315 has a mirror 307
Mirrors 308 and 309 for further condensing reflected light from the CCD 101 on the CCD 101 are mounted.

A substrate 311 on which the CCD 101 is mounted, elements other than the CCD 101 shown in FIG. 11, and a binary conversion unit 201 and video signal counting units 220 and 22 shown in FIG.
1, 222, 223, delay units 202, 203, 204,
An image processing unit 312 including an image processing unit 205 and an interface (I / F) unit 313 with another IPU or the like are provided.

The first carriage 314 moves at a speed V,
The second carriage 315 scans the entire surface of the document (sub-scanning) at a speed V / 2 by mechanically moving the driving unit 316 in a direction perpendicular to the electrical scanning (main scanning) direction of the CCD 101. .

FIG. 11 shows a detailed configuration of the digital image processing unit 312.

The original on the original platen glass 301 is
3, 304, and the reflected light is reflected by the CCD 10
1 and converted into an electric signal (analog image signal).

When the CCD 101 is a color sensor, an RGB color filter is provided on a one-line CCD.
3 line CCD even in line in B order
Thus, the R filter, the G filter, and the B filter may be arranged for each CCD, or the filter may be formed on-chip, or the filter may be configured differently from the CCD.

After the electric signal (analog image signal) is input to the image processing unit 312, the electric signal (clamp & Amp. &
In the S / H & A / D section 102, the sample / hold (S / H) is performed, the dark level of the analog image signal is clamped to the reference potential, amplified to a predetermined amount (the processing order is not limited to the writing order), and / D conversion, for example, R
It is converted into a digital signal of 8 bits for each GB.

The RGB digital signal is subjected to shading correction and black correction by the shading unit 103, and then by the connection & MTF correction correction & document detection unit 104, when the CCD 101 is a three-line CCD, the connection processing is performed by the line processing. Because the reading position between
The delay amount of no line is adjusted according to the reading speed, the signal timing is corrected so that the reading positions of the three lines are the same, and the MTF correction is performed according to the reading speed and the magnification.
Since F changes, the change is corrected, and the document detection recognizes the size of the document on the platen glass.

The digital signal whose read position timing has been corrected is input to the CCD 10 by the input masking unit 105.
1 and the light sources 303 and 304 and the reflector 3
05 and 306 are corrected. The output of the input masking unit 105 is input to a selector 106 that can be switched with an external I / F signal.

The signal output from the selector 106 is input to the color space compression & background removal & LOG conversion unit 107 and background removal unit 115. After the signal input to the background removal unit 115 is removed from the background, the signal is input to a black character determination unit 116 that determines whether a black character of the document in the document is present, and a black character signal is generated from the document.

The color space compression & background removal & LOG conversion unit 107 to which the output of the other selector 106 is input.
Then, color space compression determines whether the read image signal is within the range that can be reproduced by the printer, and if so, corrects it so that the image signal is within the range that can be reproduced by the printer. . Then, a background removal process is performed, and the CMY signals are converted from the RGB signals by LOG conversion.
Convert to a signal.

Color space compression / background removal & LOG to correct the signal and timing generated by black character determination unit 116
The output signal of the conversion unit 107 is adjusted in timing by the delay unit 108. These two kinds of signals are supplied to the moiré removing unit 10.
At 9, the moiré is removed, and then the magnification processing section 110 performs magnification processing in the main scanning direction.

UCR & Masking & Black Character Reflection Unit 111
, The signal processed by the scaling unit 110 is
A CMYK signal is generated from the Y signal by the UCR process, and the masking processing unit corrects the signal to a signal output from the printer, and the determination signal generated by the black character determination unit 116 is feed-hacked to the CMYK signal.

UCR & Masking & Black Character Reflection Unit 111
Is subjected to density adjustment by the γ correction unit 112 and then subjected to smoothing or edge processing by the filter unit 113.

The signal processed as described above is converted from an 8-bit multi-level signal into a binary signal by a binary converter 201 shown in FIG. This conversion method may be any one of the improved dither method, error diffusion method and error diffusion.

(Color Printer Unit) Color Printer Unit 1
03 will be described.

In FIG. 9, Y image forming section 317, M image forming section 318, C image forming section 319, K image forming section 3
20 denotes photosensitive drums 342, 343, and 34, respectively.
4,345, chargers 321,324,327,330,
LED units 210, 211, 212, 213, developing unit 32
2,325,328,331, auxiliary chargers 360,36
1,362,363.

The chargers 321, 324, 327, 3
30 are charging sleeps 370, 371 and 37, respectively.
2, 373 to developing units 322, 325, 328, 331
Are development sleeps 345, 346, 347, and 3, respectively.
48.

In this example, since the respective components of the Y, M, C, and K units are the same, the Y image forming unit 317 will be described in detail, and the other M, C, and K image forming units 318, 31 will be described.
Descriptions of 9, 320 are omitted.

The Y image forming section 317 includes a photosensitive drum 34
2 are provided, and a charger 321 and the LED unit 21 are provided therearound.
0, a developing device 322, an auxiliary charging device 360, and the like. Here, the photosensitive drum 342, the charger 321 and
The developing device 322 is an integrated cartridge 390 as shown in FIG.

These operations are first performed by the auxiliary charger 360
And the charger 321 charges the photosensitive drum 342. Next, a latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 342 by light from the LED array 210, and is developed by the developing device 322 to form a toner image.

The developing device 322 includes a sleeve 345 for applying a developing bias to perform development. Below the developing device 322, transfer belt electricity 323 is disposed with the transfer belt 333 interposed therebetween, and discharges electricity from the back of the transfer belt 333 to transfer the toner image on the photosensitive drum 342 to recording paper on the transfer belt 333. Transcribe.

After the transfer, the toner 503 remaining on the photosensitive drum 342 is once taken into the charger 321 and returned to the photosensitive drum 342 with its electrostatic characteristics changed. The developing unit 322 collects the toner. Reuse.

Next, a procedure for forming an image on a recording paper or the like will be described.

The recording paper and the like stored in the cassettes 340 and 341 are picked up by pickup rollers 338 and 339.
Transfer belt 3 moved by sheet feed rollers 336 and 337
33. The transfer belt 333 includes a Y image forming unit 317, an M image forming unit 318, a C image forming unit 319,
It is arranged below the K image forming unit 320 and is driven by the transfer belt roller 348.

The recording paper fed to the transfer belt 333 is
The leading edge is detected by the paper leading edge sensor 347. The detection signal of the paper leading edge sensor 347 is transmitted to the color printer unit 1.
03 is sent to the color reader unit 102 and used as a sub-scanning synchronization signal when a video signal is sent from the color reader unit 102 to the color printer unit 103.

Thereafter, the recording paper or the like is conveyed by the transfer belt 333, and is transferred to the image forming units 317 to 320.
A toner image is formed on the surface in the order of Y, M, C, and K.

The recording paper or the like that has passed through the K image forming section 320 is separated from the transfer belt 333 after the charge is removed by the charge remover 349 to facilitate separation from the transfer belt 333.

The peeling charger 3 is disposed adjacent to the discharging charger 349.
50 is provided to prevent image disturbance due to peeling discharge when recording paper or the like is separated from the transfer belt 333. The separated recording paper or the like is charged by pre-fixing chargers 351 and 352 in order to supplement the toner attraction force and prevent image disorder, and after the toner image is heat-fixed by the fixing device 334, it is discharged. The paper is discharged to the paper tray 335. Also, the transfer belt 333
Is neutralized by the internal / external static eliminator 353.

(Operation Unit) The configuration of the operation unit 1000 will be described.

FIG. 13 shows the operation unit 1 of the color image forming apparatus.
000.

Reference numeral 1001 denotes a touch panel display, which normally displays the number of copies, the selected paper size, the magnification, and the copy density. A reset key 1002 returns the copy mode to the standard mode. 1003 is
A start key for starting a copy operation. 1004
Is a stop key for interrupting the copying operation. 10
A clear key 05 returns the copy mode to the standard mode. Reference numeral 1006 denotes a numeric keypad for setting the number of copies.

(System Operation) Next, the operation of the system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Operation of Server) Next, the operation of the server 6 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In this example, a certain information processing device processes
A log information creation method for creating log information based on information including abnormality occurrence information during a job and the status of other devices at the start of the job and a display method thereof will be described.

FIG. 2 shows a processing procedure of the server 6.

First, in step S1, the job information acquisition unit 6a stores input / output units that can be used independently for each device on the LAN and usage information of each device.
Obtain as status information. The acquired status information is collected and stored as a device table 700 as shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the data structure of the device table 700 of the server 6.

The device table 700 contains an apparatus name 701
, Input / output unit 702, status (use information) 703
It is composed of

The device name 701 is information for specifying each device on the network 10.

The input / output unit 702 is information indicating the contents of the data input / output unit and the data processing unit of each device.
The data input / output unit and the data processing unit include, for example, a reader unit, a printer unit, and a scanner unit.

The status 703 indicates that each data input / output unit or data processing unit is in a busy state in operation, in a ready state in which operation is possible, in a jam state in which a jam has stopped, or in a stop state due to a serviceman call error. This is information indicating whether an error state has occurred.

Next, in step S2, the log information creation unit 6b uses the device table 700 obtained from the obtained status information of each device to obtain a log having a predetermined data structure as shown in FIG. The information 500 is created.

FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of log information 500 having a predetermined data structure created on the server 6 side based on status information obtained from each device.

The log information 500 includes a job ID 501
, Page number 502, color mode 503, paper size 504, JAM count 505, and other device error information 50
6 are included.

The job ID 501 is a number for identifying a job, and stores a value that is incremented in the order of processed jobs.

The number of pages 502 is the number of pages on which an image has been formed in the job, and the number of processed recording sheets if the apparatus has been capable of automatic two-sided printing. Is stored.

The color mode 503 stores information on whether an image was formed in full color or in black and white.

The paper size 504 is size information of the recording paper on which the image has been formed.

The JAM count 505 is the number of recording paper conveyance jams that occurred during the execution of the job.

The other apparatus error information 506 is error information of another image forming apparatus connected to the network 10 at the time of starting the job, and the integrated controller 101 sends the other image forming apparatus ( For example,
When the status information of the monochrome image forming apparatus 2) is received and the other image forming apparatus is in a serviceman call error state, information indicating the image forming apparatus is stored.

In this example, the JAM count 505 is used as the abnormality occurrence information during the job. However, the ratio between the number of recording paper sheets processed in the job and the number of recording paper conveyance jam occurrences may be used, or the JAM occurrence information may be used. It is also possible to use a value obtained by adding the number of occurrences of the error to the number of times.

In this example, the other device error information 506 is used as the status of other devices at the time of starting a job. However, information of another device stopped by a jam may be used.

Next, in step S3, the created log information 500 is stored in a log information storage unit 6c composed of a RAM or the like.
To save.

Next, in step S4, it is checked whether or not a certain device on the LAN requests log information of another device. If there is a request for log information, step S5
Proceed to.

Next, in step S5, based on the request for the log information, the log information 500 stored in the log information storage section 6c is taken out and notified to the requesting apparatus on the LAN.

In the color image forming apparatus 1 as a device on the LAN, for example, the received log information 500 is displayed on the screen by the log information display means.

FIG. 5 shows the operation unit 1 of the color image forming apparatus 1.
000 indicates the log information 500 of the job displayed in 000. The log information 500 is log information of the job of the color image forming apparatus 1 obtained in the network configuration of FIG.

Simultaneously pressing 7, 9 and 2 among the ten keys in the operation unit 1000 shown in FIG. 13 described above enters a special mode for log display, and the display contents of FIG. 5 are displayed.

FIG. 5 shows a job ID 501 and a page number of 50.
2, log information 5 including color mode 503, paper size 504, JAM count 505, and other device error information 506
00 is created according to the predetermined data structure shown in FIG. 4, and displays the data created and stored in this manner.

In this example, the log information 500 of the job is displayed by entering the special mode for displaying the log information 500. However, a key for displaying the log is provided on the touch panel of the operation unit 1000. It is also possible.

[Second Example] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The description of the same parts as those in the first example is omitted,
The same reference numerals are given.

In this example, the system of FIG. 1 is used, and the operation of the server 6 will be described. In this example, the server 6 displays log information.

FIG. 6 shows a processing procedure of the server 6.

First, in step S10, an input / output unit which can be used independently for each device on the LAN and its use information are obtained as status information.
The information is stored in the device table 700 as shown in FIG.

Next, in step S11, log information 1100 having a predetermined data structure as shown in FIG. 7 is created using the device table 700 obtained from the obtained status information of each device.

FIG. 7 shows log information 110 of the server 6.
It shows an example of a data structure of 0, and stores status information notified from various devices according to this data structure.

An apparatus ID 1101 is an ID for identifying an image forming apparatus.

The job ID 1102 is a number for identifying a job, and stores a value that is incremented in the order of processed jobs.

The number of pages 1103 is the number of pages on which an image has been formed in the job, and if a double-sided printing is performed on a recording sheet by an apparatus capable of automatic double-sided printing, the number of processed recording sheets Is stored.

The color mode 1104 stores information on whether an image was formed in full color or in black and white.

The paper size 1105 is size information of a recording paper on which an image has been formed.

The JAM count 1106 is the number of recording paper conveyance jams that occurred during the execution of the job.

The other apparatus error information 1107 is error information of another image forming apparatus connected to the network at the start of the job, and the integrated controller 101 sends the status of the other image forming apparatus from the server 6 at the start of the job. When the information is received and another image forming apparatus is in a serviceman call error state, information indicating the image forming apparatus is stored.

Here, in this example, the JAM count 1106 is used as the abnormality occurrence information during the job. However, the ratio between the number of recording sheets processed in the job and the number of recording sheet conveyance jams is used, or the JAM occurrence number is used. It is also possible to use a value obtained by adding the number of occurrences of the error to the number of times.

Next, in step S12, the created log information 1100 is stored in the log information storage unit 6c composed of a RAM or the like.

Next, in step S13, the stored log information 1100 is displayed on the display of the server 6 by the log information display section 6d.

FIG. 8 shows job log information 1100 displayed on the display of the server 6.

In this example, the device ID 110 is used as log information.
Since 1 is added, for each image processing device,
The log information 1100 of the processed job can be displayed for each of the color image forming apparatus 1, the monochrome image forming apparatus 2, and the printer 3.

Next, in step S14, it is checked whether or not a certain device on the LAN requests log information of another device. If there is a request for log information, step S
Proceed to 15. If there is no request for log information, the process returns to step S10.

Next, in step S15, based on the request for the log information, the log information 500 stored in the log information storage section 6c is taken out and notified to the requesting apparatus on the LAN.

The present invention can be applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.).
The present invention may be applied to an apparatus including two devices (for example, a copying machine and a facsimile machine).

Further, it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus. Then, a storage medium storing a program represented by software for achieving the present invention is supplied to a system or an apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or M) of the system or the apparatus is supplied.
(PU) reads out and executes the program code stored in the storage medium, so that the effects of the present invention can be enjoyed.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM
(A mask ROM, a flash EEPROM, or the like) can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) May perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a function expansion port inserted into the computer or a memory provided in a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the program code is read based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0139]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Information processing devices such as printers and scanners on a network, and networking in which servers and the like capable of controlling these devices are connected, status information when a job is performed by a certain device, for example, a color image forming device,
Since the server creates and leaves log information of a predetermined data structure including status information of other devices connected to the network, and displays the log information by the server or each device, a desired information processing device can be used. Even if you cannot use the information processing device due to abnormalities and you have to use an information processing device with high running cost, you can discount the charge for the job, or you can use the information processing device as a result of multiple jams during the job. It is possible to provide a flexible service to the user, such as discounting the charge for the job when it takes extra time to obtain the product.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a network system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of a document server.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating a device table of a document server.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram illustrating a data structure of log information of the color image forming apparatus.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating log information displayed on a display unit of the color image forming apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a document server according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram illustrating a data structure of log information of the color image forming apparatus.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing log information displayed on a display unit of the document server.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a color image forming apparatus applied to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a cartridge.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital image processing unit.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an LED driving unit.

FIG. 13 is a front view illustrating an operation unit of the color image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 color image forming apparatus 2 monochrome image forming apparatus 3 printer 4 scanner 5 personal computer 6 document server 10 network 11 integrated controller 12 color reader section 13 color printer section 21 integrated controller 22 reader section 23 printer section 31 integrated controller 32 printer section 41 integrated Controller 42 Scanner unit 500 Log information 1100 Log information

Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 2H027 EJ06 EJ08 EJ09 EJ11 EJ13 ZA07 5B089 GA11 GA21 JA36 JB16 JB17 KA15 KB04 LB14 MC03 5C062 AA05 AA13 AA35 AB22 AB23 AB42 AC24 AC34 AC60 AC69 AF00 AF07 AF08 5K039 DA01 9

Claims (30)

[Claims] 1. An information processing system for exchanging data between an information processing device connected on a network and a master device capable of controlling the information processing device, wherein the master device includes the information processing device Job information acquisition means for acquiring job occurrence information including information on occurrence of abnormality in a job and other device information at the start of the job, and log information in a predetermined data structure format An information processing system, comprising: log information creating means for creating as above; log information storage means for storing the created log information; and log information display means for displaying the stored log information. 2. An information processing system for exchanging data between an information processing device connected on a network and a master device that can control the information processing device, wherein the master device is an information processing device. Job information acquisition means for acquiring job occurrence information including information on occurrence of abnormality in a job and other device information at the start of the job, and log information in a predetermined data structure format Log information creating means for creating the log information, and log information storage means for storing the created log information, and the information processing apparatus comprises log information display means for acquiring and displaying the stored log information. An information processing system, comprising: 3. An information processing system for exchanging data between a plurality of information processing devices connected on a network and a master device capable of controlling the plurality of information processing devices, wherein the master device comprises: Abnormality information during a job in the plurality of information processing devices, and job information acquisition means for acquiring job information including other device information at the time of job start, and the acquired job information for each information processing device, Log information creating means for creating log information in a predetermined data structure format; log information storing means for storing the created log information; and all the information connected to the specific information processing device or network stored An information processing system comprising: log information display means for displaying log information of a processing device. 4. An information processing system for exchanging data between a plurality of information processing devices connected on a network and a master device capable of controlling the plurality of information processing devices, wherein the master device comprises: Abnormality information during a job in the plurality of information processing devices, and job information acquisition means for acquiring job information including other device information at the time of job start, and the acquired job information for each information processing device, Log information creating means for creating log information of a predetermined data structure format, log information storage means for storing the created log information, the information processing device, the stored, specific information processing device, Alternatively, an information processing system comprising a log information display means for acquiring and displaying log information of all information processing apparatuses connected to the network. Tem. 5. The plurality of information processing devices are configured by an image forming device or a printer, the master device is configured as a server device, and information is exchanged between the plurality of information processing devices and the server device. 5. The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein the information processing is performed. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the abnormality occurrence information during the job is the number of occurrences of a recording sheet conveyance jam.
6. The information processing system according to any one of claims 5 to 5. 7. The information according to claim 1, wherein the abnormality occurrence information during the job is a ratio between the number of recording sheets processed in the job and the number of occurrences of the recording sheet conveyance jam. Processing system. 8. The information according to claim 1, wherein the other device information at the start of the job is information of a device in which an error requiring a serviceman has occurred. Processing system. 9. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the other device information at the time of starting the job is information of a device stopped by a recording paper conveyance jam. 10. The log information in the data structure format is created using information for specifying each information processing device, data input / output information of each information processing device, and status information. The information processing system according to claim 1. 11. A server device capable of controlling a plurality of information processing devices connected on a network, comprising: information on abnormality occurrence during a job in the plurality of information processing devices; and other device information at the time of starting the job. A job information acquisition unit for acquiring job information including: a log information creation unit for creating the acquired job information for each information processing device as log information in a predetermined data structure format; and storing the created log information. And a log information display unit for displaying log information of the specific information processing device or all information processing devices connected to the network. 12. An information processing method for exchanging data between an information processing device connected on a network and a master device capable of controlling the information processing device, wherein the master device is an information processing device. A job information acquiring step of acquiring job occurrence information including information on occurrence of abnormality in a job and other device information at the time of starting the job, and converting the acquired job information of the information processing device into log information in a predetermined data structure format. An information processing method, comprising: a log information creating step of creating the log information; a log information storing step of storing the created log information; and a log information displaying step of displaying the stored log information. 13. An information processing method for exchanging data between an information processing device connected on a network and a master device capable of controlling the information processing device, wherein the master device includes the information processing device. A job information acquiring step of acquiring job occurrence information including information on occurrence of abnormality in a job and other device information at the time of starting the job, and converting the acquired job information of the information processing device into log information in a predetermined data structure format. A log information creating step of creating the log information, and a log information storing step of storing the created log information, wherein the information processing apparatus comprises a log information displaying step of acquiring and displaying the stored log information. An information processing method, comprising: 14. An information processing method for exchanging data between a plurality of information processing devices connected on a network and a master device capable of controlling the plurality of information processing devices, wherein the master device is A job information acquisition step of acquiring information on occurrence of abnormality in a job in the plurality of information processing apparatuses, and other apparatus information at the time of job start; and acquiring the acquired job information for each information processing apparatus. A log information creating step of creating the log information in a predetermined data structure format; a log information storing step of storing the created log information; and the stored, specific information processing apparatus or all of the networks connected to the network. A log information display step of displaying log information of the information processing apparatus. 15. An information processing method for exchanging data between a plurality of information processing devices connected on a network and a master device capable of controlling the plurality of information processing devices, wherein the master device is A job information acquisition step of acquiring information on occurrence of abnormality in a job in the plurality of information processing apparatuses, and other apparatus information at the time of job start; and acquiring the acquired job information for each information processing apparatus. A log information creating step of creating log information of a predetermined data structure format, and a log information storing step of storing the created log information, wherein the information processing apparatus comprises: Or a log information display step of acquiring and displaying log information of all information processing apparatuses connected to a network. . 16. The information processing device according to claim 14, wherein the plurality of information processing devices are configured by an image forming device or a printer, and exchange information between the plurality of information processing devices and a server device. The information processing method described. 17. The information processing method according to claim 12, wherein the abnormality occurrence information in the job is the number of occurrences of a recording sheet conveyance jam. 18. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the abnormality occurrence information during the job is a ratio between the number of recording sheets processed in the job and the number of occurrences of the recording sheet conveyance jam.
The information processing method according to any one of the above. 19. Other apparatus information at the time of starting the job,
19. The information processing method according to claim 12, wherein the information is information of a device in which an error requiring a serviceman has occurred. 20. Other device information at the time of starting the job,
19. The information processing method according to claim 12, wherein the information is information of a device stopped by a recording paper conveyance jam. 21. The data structure log information is created using information for specifying each information processing device, data input / output information of each information processing device, and status information. The information processing method according to claim 12. 22. A computer using an information processing device and a master device connected on a network,
A medium in which a control program for controlling exchange of data between the apparatuses is recorded, the control program stores, in a computer, abnormality occurrence information during a job in the information processing apparatus, and other information at the time of job start. Acquiring job information including device information, creating the acquired job information of the information processing device as log information of a predetermined data structure format, storing the created log information, and storing the stored log information. A medium storing an information processing control program characterized by causing a computer to display the information. 23. A medium recording a control program for controlling the exchange of data between devices using a plurality of information processing devices and a master device connected on a network, the computer comprising: The control program causes the computer to acquire information on occurrence of abnormality during a job in the plurality of information processing devices and job information including other device information at the start of the job. Is created as log information in a predetermined data structure format, the created log information is stored, and the stored log information of a specific information processing device or all information processing devices connected to a network is displayed. A medium having recorded thereon an information processing control program. 24. The display of the stored log information is performed by the master device.
24. A medium recording the information processing control program according to 2 or 23. 25. The display according to claim 2, wherein the display of the stored log information is performed by the information processing apparatus.
24. A medium recording the information processing control program according to 2 or 23. 26. The medium according to claim 22, wherein the abnormality occurrence information in the job is the number of occurrences of a recording sheet conveyance jam. 27. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the abnormality occurrence information in the job is a ratio between the number of recording sheets processed in the job and the number of recording sheet conveyance jam occurrences.
A medium recording the information processing control program according to any one of the above. 28. Other device information at the time of starting the job,
28. The medium according to claim 22, wherein the information is information of a device in which an error requiring a serviceman has occurred. 29. Other device information at the time of starting the job,
28. A medium recording the information processing control program according to claim 22, wherein the information is information of a device stopped by a recording paper conveyance jam. 30. The data structure log information is created using information for specifying each information processing device, data input / output information of each information processing device, and status information. A medium recording the information processing control program according to any one of claims 22 to 29.