JP2007243465A - Image processing system, information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing system, information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program for remotely monitoring a plurality of image processors connected to a network. <P>SOLUTION: The image processing system 10 comprises the image processors (12, 14, 16, and 18) connected to the network, and a monitor device 20 which monitors the operating status of the image processors (12, 14, 16, and 18) connected to the network and map-displays the operating status of the image processors in response to the positions thereof. The monitor device 20 acquires a job status change message from the image processors (12, 14, 16, and 18) or the job history of the image processors (12, 14, 16, and 18), and map-displays the operating status of the image processors (12, 14, 16, and 18) based on the acquired information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing system, and more particularly to an image processing system, an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program for remotely monitoring a plurality of image processing apparatuses connected via a network.

  In recent years, a plurality of image forming apparatuses are installed on an office floor and process print requests, mail transmission requests, facsimile transmission requests, and the like from a plurality of users. For this reason, when performing maintenance on an image processing apparatus installed on the office floor, if a maintenance manager is established and the failure status and the progress status of the job requested by the user can be known, It is considered that the time for searching for each device or waiting for a job that has already been completed, and the user spending wasted time, can be assigned to another job.

  In addition, it is necessary for an administrator who is in charge of maintenance of the image processing system to search for the position of the failed image processing apparatus every time or to deal with the failed image processing apparatus after receiving a notification from another user. For example, with the widespread use of image processing apparatuses, it is required to improve the efficiency of maintenance management.

Up to now, as a technique for managing the status of the image processing apparatus arranged on the office floor, for example, a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-070518 (Patent Document 1) can be cited. In Patent Document 1, when an instruction is given to print to a nearby image processing apparatus using wireless communication from a portable terminal, an image processing apparatus that has an environment suitable for the portable terminal and that is disposed closest to the portable terminal is disclosed. Select and issue a job command. In addition, a printer utility that allows an image processing apparatus connected to a personal computer to display a job status on the personal computer has been known.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-070518

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-133830 discloses that a most appropriate image processing apparatus is selected for a user holding a portable terminal and a job command is issued. However, in an environment where a plurality of image processing apparatuses are installed on the office floor, it is possible to visually recognize which image processing apparatus is executing its own job, thereby efficiently performing post-job processing. Preferred above.

  For maintenance managers, acquiring the status of jobs connected to the network and not directly related to their own jobs on the desktop of their personal computer along with their location information It is considered that it becomes easier to control the occurrence of failures and the consumption of consumables due to the efficiency of jobs and the efficient distribution of jobs.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art. In the present invention, a monitor device is provided that grasps the operating status of a plurality of image processing apparatuses remotely arranged on the office floor. The monitor device simultaneously manages the position data and floor map of the image processing device arranged in the office floor. The monitor device detects that a specific image processing device has started a job, searches for a display image indicating that the corresponding image processing device in the floor map is “in operation”, and corresponds to the corresponding position in the office map. A structured file such as HTML, XML, XHTML or the like that displays a display image corresponding to “in operation” is created. The created structured file is displayed on a device or terminal that has instructed remote monitoring via a browser processing unit such as a Web browser. The monitor device also identifies a user who has requested a job from the image processing device, and displays the position of the user on the office floor on the floor map.

  Furthermore, the monitor device periodically collects log data from the image processing device installed in the office floor, performs statistical analysis, and uses the specific image processing device and the image processing device. Create a list that associates users with high frequency. The list that associates a specific image processing device with the user improves the recognizability on the map, so the browser processing unit uses a different display image such as an enlarged image, framed image, filled image, or commented image. Is displayed. The maintenance manager can recognize a specific user-image processing apparatus combination on the floor map and efficiently perform management processing.

  In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the structured file created by the monitor device in this case sets a display image for designating the corresponding user as a button. The maintenance manager clicks the user's button from the floor map arranged on the desktop of his / her personal computer. In response to the click, a pop-up menu is displayed on the desktop. The maintenance administrator, for example, by selecting the “e-mail” transmission menu from the pop-up menu, addresses the e-mail address acquired from the address list in which the user's location data and the user's e-mail address are associated with each other. The mailer object is activated, and it is possible to efficiently send e-mails such as caution comments. In addition, the maintenance manager can perform processing when the user is away due to, for example, personnel changes, user attribute management processing, and the like from the pop-up menu displayed at the same time.

That is, according to the present invention,
An image processing device connected to the network;
And an information processing apparatus connected to the network and monitoring an operation state of the image processing apparatus and displaying the operation state in a map in response to a position of the image processing apparatus.

  The information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a structured file creation unit that receives a message notifying a change in the operation state of the image processing apparatus and creates a structured file that gives a display image different from the previous operation state. be able to. The information processing apparatus acquires log data including an operation state history of the image processing apparatus, lists the image processing apparatus and a user of the image processing apparatus from the analysis of the log data, and A display data acquisition unit for notifying the structured file creation unit can be included. In addition, the structured file creation unit may include a button setting unit that searches for a display image to be highlighted relative to another display image as the different display image and sets it as a button. In the present invention, the structured file creation unit searches for a display image that highlights the listed image processing device and the user of the image processing device at the same time relative to other display images. The highlighted display image can be set as a button.

According to the present invention, an information processing apparatus for remotely monitoring an image processing apparatus connected via a network,
A structured file creating unit that receives a message indicating a change in an operating state of an image processing apparatus connected to a network, searches a display image indicating the operating state given by the message, and creates a structured file;
A browser processing unit that displays the structured file on a display screen in response to the position of the image processing apparatus can be provided.

  In the present invention, the structured file creation unit can create a structured file by searching for a display image different from the previous operation state in response to the message indicating the change of the operation state. The information processing apparatus acquires log data including an operation state history of the image processing apparatus, lists the image processing apparatus and a user of the image processing apparatus from the analysis of the log data, and A display data acquisition unit for notifying the structured file creation unit can be included. In addition, the structured file creation unit may include a button setting unit that searches for a display image to be highlighted relative to another display image as the different display image and sets it as a button. The structured file creation unit searches for a display image that highlights the listed image processing device and the user of the image processing device simultaneously with respect to another display image, and highlights the user. The displayed image can be set as a button. The information processing apparatus of the present invention can be a Web server.

According to the present invention, there is provided an information processing method for monitoring an image processing system connected to an information processing apparatus via a network,
Receiving a message indicating a change in an operating state of an image processing apparatus connected to a network;
Obtaining a display image indicating an operation state given by the message and creating a structured file;
And displaying a map of the structured file on a display screen in response to the position of the image processing device via a browser processing unit.

  The step of creating the structured file of the present invention may include the step of creating a structured file including the acquired display image. Further, the step of creating the structured file may include a step of searching for a display image to be highlighted with respect to another display image in response to the operation state and setting it as a button. The step of creating the structured file acquires log data including an operation state history of the image processing apparatus, and lists the image processing apparatus and a user of the image processing apparatus from the analysis of the log data. And searching for a display image that highlights the listed image processing device and the user of the image processing device at the same time relative to other display images, and buttoning the highlighted display image of the user Can be included as a step. The method may further include receiving a mouse event for the button and sending an email to the user.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a program that causes an information processing apparatus to execute any one of the information processing methods described above.

  The present invention will be described below with reference to specific embodiments shown in the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming system of the present invention. In the present invention, the image processing system 10 includes a multifunction machine 12 having a plurality of functions, a copying machine 14 having a copying function, a facsimile 16, a printer 18 such as a laser printer, and the like in an office floor. . Each image forming apparatus constitutes a LAN (Local Area Network) networked by Ethernet (registered trademark) or the like. The LAN forming the image processing system 10 is connected to the router 24 through the switch 22, and another LAN or VLAN 30 is formed further downstream via the other switch 22. In addition, the image processing system 10 is connected to a network 26 such as the Internet via a router 24 and enables transactions with the server 28.

  In the image forming system 10 shown in FIG. 1, a monitor device 20 is arranged to remotely monitor the image processing devices 12, 14, 16, and 18 installed in the office floor via a LAN. . The monitor device 20 can be operated as a monitor device by installing an appropriate program in an information processing device such as a personal computer or a workstation. The monitor device 20 is not particularly limited, and the monitor device 20 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a memory such as a RAM, a ROM, an EEPROM, and a flash memory, and an external storage device such as a hard disk, and a network interface card. Remote monitoring of the image processing apparatus is performed through the above. Furthermore, the monitor device 20 receives the job history of the image processing device as log data, and executes analysis processing. More specifically, the CPU used by the monitor device 20 includes, for example, PENTIUM (registered trademark) to PENTIUM (registered trademark) IV, PENTIUM (registered trademark) compatible CPU, POWER PC (registered trademark), and the like. it can.

  As an operating system (OS) to be used, MacOS (trademark), Windows (registered trademark), Windows (registered trademark) 200X Server, UNIX (registered trademark), AIX (registered trademark), LINUX (registered trademark) or Other suitable OS can be mentioned. Furthermore, the information processing apparatus 10 stores application programs written in an object-oriented programming language such as C ++, Visual C ++, Visual Basic, Java (registered trademark), Perl, Ruby, etc., which operate on the OS described above. Execute. Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the monitor device 20 is installed with browser software, a servlet, an applet, and the like, and displays a remote monitoring status using the map image on the desktop screen.

  In the present invention, “on the desktop screen” refers to a display device of an administrator terminal (not shown) that is remotely connected to the monitor device 20 and maintains the image processing system 10, or on the monitor device 20. It means displaying on a display device directly connected by a VGA standard bus or the like. For this reason, the browser processing unit used in the present invention is configured by installing browser software. Examples of browser software that can be used in the present invention include Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Netscape Navigator, or Apache that is freeware.

  The monitor device 20 creates a structured file that provides an appropriate display image, and displays the monitoring status on its desktop or maintenance manager terminal via the browser processing unit.

  The switch 22 manages communication at the data link layer level referred to in the OSI reference model, and the router 24 performs network control at the network layer / transport layer level. A LAN environment is connected to another network 26 such as an area network (WAN) or the Internet using a suitable transport layer protocol such as TCP / IP or UDP (User Datagram Protocol) / IP.

  In the first embodiment described in the present invention, the image processing system 10 is managed on a network management system using the SNMP protocol or the SOAP protocol. The monitor device 20 receives a job status change message, which is a message notifying that the operation status has been changed, from the image processing device, and further requests the image processing device to transmit log data to monitor processing. Use for.

  In the present invention, log data may be acquired using a file transmission protocol such as FTP or TFTP protocol, or a web browsing protocol such as HTTP protocol, in addition to the SNMP or SOAP protocol.

  FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of the image processing apparatus of the present invention. The image processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 exemplarily shows an image processing apparatus referred to as a multi-function peripheral 12. The image processing apparatus 12 of the present invention acquires data or image data from a scanner device 32 having an ADF and an input unit 34 such as a panel and input keys. Image data acquired by the scanner device 32 or the like is sent to the image processing unit 40 via the scanner I / F 36. In addition, the image processing apparatus 12 includes a CPU 42 that functions as a system controller. The CPU 42 manages the execution of each application processing unit of the image processing apparatus 12 using object-oriented programming such as method invocation.

  The image processing apparatus 12 further includes a RAM 44 for processing images and the like, and providing an execution space for application software, and a ROM 46 for storing data for processing or microcode. The ROM 46 allows the CPU 42 to provide the functions of the image processing apparatus. In the embodiment of the present invention, an appropriate address area is reserved in the RAM 44 for storing log data, and a part of the log data accumulated in the RAM 44 or a request from the monitor device 20 is stored. In response, the whole is transmitted to the monitor device 20.

  As the CPU used by the image processing apparatus 12 of the present invention, a CPU having the same configuration as the monitor apparatus 20 can be used. More specifically, for example, PENTIUM (registered trademark) to PENTIUM (registered trademark) IV, Examples include CPUs based on CISC architecture such as PENTIUM (registered trademark) compatible CPU, POWER PC (registered trademark) or POWER PC (registered trademark), MIPS based on RISC architecture.

  The operating system (OS) used by the image processing apparatus is not particularly limited, and MacOS (registered trademark), Windows (registered trademark), Windows (registered trademark) 200X Server, UNIX (registered trademark), LINUX (registered trademark). (Trademark) or other appropriate OS. Furthermore, the image processing apparatus 12 executes an application program written in an object-oriented programming language such as C, C ++, Visual C ++, VisualBasic, Java (registered trademark), which operates on the OS described above.

  The image processing unit 40 performs filtering processing, character image extraction processing, halftone image extraction processing, and the like on the image data acquired by the image scanner, and performs image processing based on various attribute values generated as a result. The print command is sent to the engine controller 50. The engine controller 50 is configured for a printer including a photosensitive drum, a developing device, a fixing device, etc., directly or via a bus such as USB (Universal Serial BUS) or IEEE1284, depending on the specifications of the image processing device 12. Let the statue do. The image processing apparatus 12 includes an interface such as a facsimile controller 48 or a network interface card (NIC) 52, a storage device interface 54 having standards such as ATA, serial ATA, ATAPI, and ATA-4.

  The facsimile controller 48 converts the acquired image data into a facsimile format such as G3, G4, etc., and transmits the data to the T.C via the facsimile transmission / reception device 38 such as a modem or the DSU / TA 58. 4, T.A. 6, T. Under a communication protocol such as 90, facsimile communication is performed via an analog or digital line via a public telephone network or ISDN.

  The NIC 52 is connected to a network 62 such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or the Internet via an Ethernet (registered trademark) cable such as 100BASE-TX. On the other hand, the image processing apparatus 12 functions as a remote printer, and services such as e-mail are provided under protocols such as SMTP and POP. In addition, services such as e-mail are sent / received by specifying the connection destination each time via dial-up connection via PPPoE (Point-to-Point Protocol on Ethernet (registered trademark)) via modem etc. without going through NIC52 You can also

  The storage device interface 54 connects an external storage device such as a hard disk drive, an SD card, or a memory stick, and stores original image data, address book data, and the like acquired by the ADF in the external storage device. . In addition, the image processing apparatus 12 is connected to an external storage device 64 such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD, and an MO via a bus such as USB and PCI using an appropriate interface such as SCSI. Also good. Further, the image processing apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, etc. leaves functional means for executing the transaction of the present invention with the monitor device 20 among the functions exemplified by using the multifunction peripheral. This is a configuration that eliminates unnecessary functions.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data flow between the image processing apparatus and the monitor apparatus in the image processing system 10 of the present invention. The multifunction machine 12, the copier 14, the printer 18, and the like receive job commands from each user and execute the commanded job. The execution result is stored in a RAM, a ROM, or the like and saved as a job history of the image processing apparatus. In the present invention, when the job is started, the image processing apparatuses 12, 14, and 18 record the start and end of the job as a part of the log data, and the start and end of the job as a job status change message. The data is transmitted to the monitor device 20 via a network such as LAN / WAN. As a protocol for this, for example, a “Trap” command in the SNMP protocol using the UDP protocol can be used.

  Further, the image processing apparatuses 12, 14, and 18 receive a log data transmission command from the monitor apparatus, for example, as an SNMP “get_request” command, and the log data accumulated at that time is used as a “get_response” command. To the monitor device 20.

  The job status change message from the image processing apparatuses 12, 14, and 18 is sent to the monitor apparatus 20 via the HUB and used for processing in the monitor apparatus 20. Upon receiving the job status change message, the monitor device 20 sets a display image indicating the corresponding status as an image file, and displays the status via the browser software, the display device 20a, the keyboard 20b, and the mouse included in the monitor device 20. 20c or the like is used to display with the floor map. Note that the monitor device 20 may be configured as a server that provides a Web service. In this case, HTML, XHTML, XML using the HTTP protocol to the administrator terminal 68 connected via the network. It is also possible to transmit the structured file created by the above and display the operating status of the image processing apparatus on the desktop of the administrator terminal 68.

  The monitor device 20 manages a database 66, and the database 66 stores a floor map of the office floor, device data, log data, user data, and the like. The monitor device 20 uses the job status change message transmitted by the “Trap” command from the image processing device 12, 14, 18 or the like or the log data received as “get_response” to perform remote monitoring of the image processing device. Execute. In another embodiment of the present invention, the monitor device 20 stores the job status change message in association with the start and end of the job status, and does not particularly use the “get_request”-“get_response” sequence. The log data necessary for the remote monitoring of the present invention can be accumulated.

  FIG. 4 shows a functional block diagram of the monitor device 20 of the present invention. The monitor device 20 of the present invention includes a network interface card (NIC) 84, and executes transactions with the image processing devices 12, 14, 18 and the like via the network. The result of the transaction with the image processing apparatus 12, 14, 18 is sent to the structured file creation unit 72, and the analysis is executed. The monitor device 20 requests the display data acquisition unit 74 to search for corresponding data using the analysis result. The display data acquisition unit 74 requests the log / data management unit 76, the device management unit 78, the map management unit 80, and the user / data management unit 82 to search and transmit the requested data, and structures the acquired data. The file creation unit 72 is notified.

  The structured file creation unit 72 takes in the notified data and creates a structured file, passes the created structured file to the browser processing unit, and sends it to the administrator terminal 68 via the display device of the monitor device 20 or the NIC 84. And display it as a window on the desktop for remote monitoring of job status.

  In the present invention, the structured file creation unit 72 responds to whether the display destination is the monitor device 20 or an administrator terminal remotely connected via a network. It can be configured as a software module created in a structured language such as a servlet, applet, C ++, etc. The structured file creation unit 72 sets the data retrieved by the display data acquisition unit as the display image data to be displayed in the structured file, and displays the display image data and the user information in response to the job status change message of the image processing apparatus. Execute processing to refer data to structured file.

  When the display destination is the administrator terminal 68, the structured file creation unit 72 including the applet is transmitted from the monitor device 20 to the administrator terminal 68 in order to execute processing corresponding to a button operation described later. The The administrator terminal 68 receives a structured file including an applet and provides a graphical user interface (GUI) on the display screen of the administrator terminal 68 that enables processing using the applet.

  FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a data structure used in the present invention and managed by the database 66 of the monitor device 20. Although the data structure 88 shown in FIG. 5 is shown as a specific format for convenience of explanation, it is limited to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 as long as the monitor device 20 can efficiently refer to the data shown in FIG. It is not something. As shown in FIG. 5, the monitor device 20 manages by assigning a device identification value such as a device number for each image processing device placed on the office floor, and for each device number, a model such as “MFP_XXXXXXX”. The location of the data, the office floor, and the location within the office floor is “○ △ × Office □□, Building 3rd Floor”, and the location of the image processing device is located on the west side of the 4th row on the right side of the 4th row of the 3rd floor. The indicated position data “3F4-rW” is entered.

  Further, as shown in the data structure 88a, the data structure managed by the monitor device 20 includes machine_image (i), which is data for referring to the display image of the model corresponding to the model data and the position data, and the office. The floor_image (f), which is data for referring to the floor image, is registered correspondingly. When the monitor device 20 receives a job status change message from the image processing device, the monitor device 20 retrieves the corresponding image data and executes processing for setting a display image in response to the job status. In the present invention, as an image corresponding to the job status, in order to graphically recognize standby, in operation, in failure, remaining consumables, etc., size, color, framed, image with comments, etc. It can be prepared for each corresponding model. In response to the job status change message, these display images are searched for corresponding display images, and can be referenced by the structured file by rewriting the corresponding command line in the structured file.

In the data structure 88a, log data of the corresponding image processing apparatus is registered in association with each image processing apparatus. The log data includes job contents such as fax, copy, ADF processing, mail transmission, start time, end time, job result, IP address, physical address, terminal name, uniquely identifying the user who commanded the job, Or when managing use by a user ID, a user identification value such as a user ID is entered. The job status change message received by the monitor device 20 is issued in synchronization with the start time and end time of the image forming apparatus separately from the log data, thereby realizing the synchronization of the monitoring process. On the other hand, the log data entered in the data structure 88a in FIG. 5 is data acquired by the monitor device 20 by get_response of the SNMP protocol, for example, and can be used for statistical processing described later. FIG. 5 also shows that similar data structures 88b and 88c are formed for the same image processing apparatus. In the present invention, instead of the data structure of the table format shown in FIG. 5, the data structure 88 may be configured as a tree structure by a structured language such as XML that gives the same searchability as the table format. it can. In this case, the XML structure is DOM (Document
Object model) is used to parse and retrieve predetermined data.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the structured file creation unit of the monitor device of the present invention. The process shown in FIG. 6 starts from step S100, and in step S101, it is continuously determined whether a job status change message is received from the image processing apparatus. If a job status change message is received from the image processing apparatus in step S101 (yes), the image processing apparatus and position are specified from the received packet in step S102. After that, in step S103, an image corresponding to the job status change of the specified image processing apparatus, for example, a job status change message is received from the MFP, and if it is determined that the job status has been changed during the job from standby, Replace the display image data with the corresponding display image data after the status change. In step S104, the structured file including the display image after the state change and the position data of the device is transmitted to the network.

  In step S105, it is determined whether or not the next job status change message is transmitted from the image processing apparatus that has issued the job status change message in step S101. If the next job status change message is not sent (no), it waits for a job status change message from the corresponding image processing apparatus. When the next job status change message from the corresponding image processing apparatus is received (yes), the value of the display image after the change (shown in FIG. 6) is added to the variable that gives the display image of the corresponding image processing apparatus in step S106. In this case, the job status change message received in step S105 is set to a display image for notifying that the job has been changed to the standby status due to job completion. In step S107, the standby status image after the status change is set. Then, the structured file including the position data of the image processing apparatus is transmitted to the network. In the present invention, a timeout timer is set in the standby loop in step S105, and when there is no job status change message before the timeout timer expires, a display image for notifying abnormality can be selected.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing when displaying the operation state of the image processing device remotely detected by the monitor device 20 in the present invention on the display device. The process shown in FIG. 7 starts from step S200, and a map is displayed via the browser processing unit in step S201. In step S202, in response to receiving the job status change message, the image processing apparatus that has changed the job status at that time and the user who is the job request destination are specified, and the device data of the image processing apparatus specified in step S203. The display data acquisition unit is made to search each position data corresponding to the user identification value. In step S204, a display image corresponding to a change in job status is set to a value for displaying the corresponding image processing apparatus in the structured file for the searched image processing apparatus. At the same time, for the user who commanded the job, a display image corresponding to the job being requested is retrieved, and the retrieved display image data is set as a value to be displayed at a corresponding position in the structured file. In step S205, since the structured file is created so that display images corresponding to the image processing apparatus and the user can be displayed, the structured file is passed to the browser processing unit to execute display processing, and the processing is performed in step S206. Exit.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a window display 90 displayed on the display screen of the monitor device 20 or the administrator terminal 68 by the processing of FIG. FIG. 8A shows an embodiment in which all the image processing apparatuses are in a dormant state. FIG. 8B shows an example in which the image processing apparatus specified by the model image 92 is on the desktop when it is in operation. This is a window display 94 displayed in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8A, when all the image processing apparatuses are on standby, a model image 92 corresponding to the position and model of the image processing apparatus arranged on the office floor is displayed on the floor map. The arrangement of the image processing devices on the office floor can be confirmed visually.

  FIG. 8B shows a window display 94 displayed when the monitor device 20 is in use. When the monitor device 20 receives a job status change message notifying the start of a job from the image processing device specified by the highlighted model image 92, the monitor device 20 displays the message on the display screen of the monitor device 20 or the administrator terminal. Recognition is improved by changing the display image of the corresponding image processing apparatus. As shown in FIG. 8B, upon receiving the job start notification, the monitor device 20 activates the structured file creation unit to operate a servlet for creating a structured file such as HTML, and displays it on the map. The display image to be highlighted is selected for the image processing apparatus arranged at the corresponding position, is entered in the structured file, and is passed to the browser processing unit. The browser processing unit receives the structured file and displays a GUI including the highlighted model image 92 shown in FIG. At the same time, the monitor device 20 highlights the position of the in-use user image 96 using the image processing device on the office floor.

  On the other hand, when a mouse event such as the user clicking the enlarge / reduce button 98 is generated from the GUI shown in FIG. 8B, a pop-up menu 100 is displayed. The pop-up menu 100 provides an enlarged screen for the maintenance manager to display a detailed menu for providing more detailed information and more detailed data of the image processing apparatus specified by the model image. Contains a menu. FIG. 8B shows the user in use 96 by using the position data of the user who requested the job to the image processing apparatus designated by the highlight image 92. It is displayed as. Note that the present invention uses any previously known structured file such as HTML, XHTML, XML, etc. to create a display that includes a pop-up menu or user input event including radio buttons as required. Can do. In order to create these structured files, an object-oriented programming technique using a structured programming language such as JAVA (registered trademark) or C ++ can be used.

For example, regarding creation of HTML and servlets and applets using JAVA (registered trademark), “JAVA (registered trademark) Cookbook”, published on August 28, 2002, by Ian F. Darwin, O'Reilly, Inc.・ Published in Japan, “JAVA (registered trademark) network programming”, published on October 19, 2001, first edition, Elliotte
You can refer to the book by Rusty Harold, published by O'Reilly Japan. Regarding GUI creation including HTML and applets, for example, “HTML tag dictionary”, 5th edition, issued on November 5, 2003, Shosuisha Co., Ltd., XML data processing basic technique, October 1, 2003 You can refer to the first edition and CQ Publishing Co., Ltd.

  FIG. 9 shows a case where the user generates a mouse event by right-clicking the enlargement / reduction button 98 in FIG. 8, for example, and left-clicks the “details” menu from the pop-up menu 110 to generate a mouse event. It is the figure which showed the window display 102 which showed the detailed image displayed on a display screen. When the monitor device 20 receives the job status change message, the monitor device 20 identifies the image processing device whose job status has been changed, and as shown in FIG. 9, the display image of the image processing device whose job status has been changed is highlighted in a frame. The display image 92 is changed and displayed on the browser processing unit. At the same time, the user 96 who requested the job to the image processing apparatus designated by the highlight image 92 is specified, the user's display image is changed to the highlight image, and the user in use who requested the job to the image processing apparatus This is displayed on the display screen together with the position display in the office floor.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an information processing method in which the monitor device 20 performs the operation state of the image processing device using a job history in the present invention. In the information processing method illustrated in FIG. 10, the structured file creation unit 72 sets a display image indicating a user together with the structured file as a button, and a servlet or applet that provides a plurality of functions related to the button. The process activated by the operation is executed. Referring to the flowchart shown in FIG. 10, the process of FIG. 10 starts from step S300, and in step S301, the browser processing unit is activated to display a Web image. In step S302, the monitor device 20 transmits log data to the specific image processing device using the SNMP protocol get_response or a protocol having a similar function in the SOAP protocol to the image processing device. To In another embodiment of the present invention, every time the monitor device 20 acquires a job status change message, it is stored as log data, and when log data is stored in the monitor device 20, step S 302 is executed. It is not necessary to use processing. In step S303, the monitor device 20 reads the log data of the designated image processing device and statistically analyzes the usage frequency of the user for each image processing device. Statistical analysis enters a particular image processing device and user pair into the list using criteria set for a given image processing device.

  Note that, as a criterion of the present invention, in response to statistical analysis, it means that the upper and lower setting ranges have been set for high and low usage frequencies and job types. Any known method can be used as long as a predetermined threshold value and the like can be provided to the user and a specific user / image processing device pair can be generated.

  In step S304, a structured file in which a display image indicating the corresponding user is set as a button is created, and the structured file is passed to the browser processing unit to be displayed as a web page on the display screen. In step S305, a pop-up menu corresponding to a mouse event including mail transmission is displayed in response to the mouse event of the display image indicating the user. Further, in step S305, in response to the input of a predetermined mouse event by the maintenance manager, processing such as mailer activation is executed, and a warning / caution / instruction message is sent to the corresponding user by a structured file, text, applet or the like. Is transmitted, and the process ends in step S306.

  FIG. It is the figure which showed the window display 104 displayed on a display screen by the process shown in FIG. 10 of this invention. As shown in FIG. 11, the window display 104 shows a highlighted model image 92. Further, the user 106 whose usage frequency for the highlighted image processing apparatus exceeds a predetermined reference value is highlighted at the same time. At this stage, an administrator of the monitor device 20 or a maintenance administrator of a remotely connected administrator terminal inputs a mouse event for right-clicking the highlighted user display image, for example. . Upon receiving an input of a mouse event, the monitor device 20 displays on the window display 104 a pop-up menu 110 that displays menus such as edit, delete, mail transmission, and property.

  At this stage, the maintenance manager who accesses the user of the monitor device 20 or the administrator terminal, for example, moves the mouse cursor to the “e-mail transmission” menu and performs a left-click mouse event. When processing) or an applet (when processing at the administrator terminal) is activated, a mailer object that executes mail transmission is activated.

  When the mailer object is activated, the mailer object searches the user's mail address highlighted in FIG. 11 as the destination address, sets it as the destination address, and sets the mail address of the administrator or the like as the source address.・ Set the address. In this case, an administrator or the like can create and send a mail body on the mailer input screen, or automatically select text, HTML, etc. described in a predetermined format and send the mail. Can be executed automatically.

FIG. 12 shows an address list 112 that the monitor device 20 or the administrator terminal 68 stores to execute mail transmission. In the address list 112 shown in FIG. 12, the user's mail address 116 is entered corresponding to the position data 114 in the user's office floor. When the user of the monitor device 20 or the administrator of the administrator terminal 68 designates the corresponding user on the display screen and generates a mouse event, the user's position data is acquired. After that, the mail address is acquired by using the address list shown in FIG. 12 as the search key of the user position data, and set as the destination address of the mailer object. For this reason, the monitor device 20 uses the identified user's mail address as the destination for the structured file creation unit, and mailto: u_name1
A process such as linking a command such as @ domain_name.co.jp to a button indicating the user is performed and displayed on the desktop of the monitor device 20 as it is, or a structured file including the button setting is displayed on the administrator terminal 68. Send to. In another embodiment, an applet that executes the same processing can be transmitted to the administrator terminal 68 to be used as a mail transmission button. When the administrator terminal 68 manages the address list 112, the user position data transmitted from the monitor device 20 is acquired, and the corresponding user address is set as the mailto: destination address. Processing can be executed.

  FIG. 13 shows a sequence diagram of the information processing method of the present invention. In the information processing method of the present invention, first, the user of the monitor device 20 or the maintenance manager of the manager terminal commands a floor map display from the display screen via the browser processing unit (1). This processing can be registered, for example, as a pull-down menu of a file menu for window display. The browser processing unit that has received the command instructs the structured file creation unit to acquire map data (2). The structured file creation unit instructs the display data acquisition unit to acquire data managed by each function processing unit to the map management unit, device management unit, and user / data management unit (3).

  The display data acquisition unit further instructs each function processing unit to search and acquire log data, etc. in response to the map data, device data, user data, and processing (4). Upon receiving the response, display data is acquired and listed as map data (5). Thereafter, the display data acquisition unit passes the acquired map data to the structured file creation unit, and instructs the structured file creation unit to create a structured file (6).

  The structured file creation unit activates a servlet for creating a structured file, creates a structured file in an appropriate format such as HTML, XHTML, and XML, and passes it to the browser processing unit. (7) Browser processing unit Processes the received structured file, and displays the floor map display as a GUI indicating the arrangement of the image processing apparatus on the office floor on the desktop where the display is instructed. In the present invention, when the display destination is not the monitor device 20 but a map display request is made from the administrator terminal to the monitor device 20, the browser processing unit uses the HTTP protocol to send an HTTP response. By returning a response to the administrator terminal, the map can be displayed more than the administrator terminal.

  Thereafter, when the user issues a command to monitor the usage status via the displayed GUI (9), the browser processing unit uses the corresponding processing of the SNMP protocol or the SOAP protocol to execute the job status from the image processing apparatus. When monitoring of the change message is started and the job status change message is received (10), the structured file creation unit is notified of the change of the job status together with the content of the job status change message (11). The display data acquisition unit issues a command to search for corresponding device data and user data (12). The display data acquisition unit notifies the structured file creation unit of the searched device data and user data as “in-use data” (14).

  The structured file creation unit refers to the data given by the in-use data, creates a structured file that includes the display image corresponding to the highlighting used for display, and creates the structured file as a browser processing unit. Pass to (15). The browser processing unit provides a floor map including a corresponding display image as a window display on the desktop using the received structured file. In this case as well, a map image can be displayed on the corresponding desktop by returning an HTTP response to the address in response to the usage status display command from the monitor device or the remote command from the administrator terminal. it can.

  FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram of an embodiment in the case where the monitor device 20 collects log data and performs analysis in the present invention. In the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 14, the sequences (1) to (8) are the same processing as in FIG. When the user makes a usage frequency display request by, for example, clicking on the usage frequency display from the pull-down menu of the file menu (9), the browser processing unit accepts the request and receives the structured file. The creation unit is notified that a use frequency display command has been issued, and commands the structured file creation unit to acquire data (10). When receiving the notification, the structured file creation unit instructs the display data acquisition unit to call the log data (11).

  In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the log data can be stored in advance in the appropriate storage area by the monitor device 20 using the get_request and get_response command sequences. In another embodiment of the present invention, the monitor device 20 can instruct the latest log data to be acquired when a usage frequency display request is received from the user. Furthermore, in another embodiment of the present invention, the monitor device 20 stores the job status change message in association with the end time corresponding to the start time of returning the status, the job content, the user identification value, and the like. Data necessary for information processing for remote monitoring can be accumulated in time series. In the embodiment in which the monitor device 20 periodically acquires log data, the monitor device 20 sequentially transmits the get_request command to the managing image processing device, for example, in the order registered in the list. can do. In the present invention, the latest log data is requested to be transmitted by multicast or broadcast within a range not excessively added to the image processing system 10, and the returned log data is processed using conventional parallel processing. Transaction management can be performed.

  After that, the display data acquisition unit analyzes the acquired log data, specifies the device data and user that responded to the analysis result (14) (15), and returns the result to the structured file creation unit as usage history data. . The structured file creation unit creates a structured file including display image values for highlighting using the received usage history data, and passes the structured file to the browser processing unit (18). -Display as a window display on the desktop of the monitor device or administrator terminal via software.

  At this time, in the structured file created by the structured file creation unit, a display image for highlighting a user selected from a predetermined standard (usage frequency, job frequency, etc.) is set as a button. The set button has a tag that pops up a pop-up menu such as edit, delete, send mail, and properties. On the other hand, corresponding servlets, applets, JSPs, etc. are associated with pop-up menus such as edit, delete, mail transmission, property, etc., and the requested processing is executed in response to the selection by the user. In another embodiment of the present invention, when the display is performed not by the monitor device 20 but by the administrator terminal 68 connected to the monitor device 20 via the network, the structured file creation unit includes a button tag. An applet created by JAVA (registered trademark) or the like that provides the corresponding function together with the structured file including the URL is transmitted to the administrator terminal 68, and the same function can be realized on the administrator terminal.

  In the present invention, the map display provided on the desktop of the monitor terminal 20 or the administrator terminal 68 may be used in any manner as long as the position of the image processing apparatus and the user on the map can be provided with high visibility. Can do. The buttons can be set for the highlighted user, the image processing apparatus, and both the user and the image processing apparatus. Each message is sent to the user, and the latest log in the image processing apparatus in which the failure has occurred. Can be used to obtain data

  The above functions of the present invention are object oriented such as C ++, Java (registered trademark), Java (registered trademark) Beans, Java (registered trademark) Servlet, Java (registered trademark) Applet, Java (registered trademark) Script, Perl, and Ruby. It can be realized by a device-executable program described in a programming language or the like, and can be stored in a device-readable recording medium and distributed.

  Although the present invention has been described with the embodiments shown in the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings, and other embodiments, additions, modifications, deletions, etc. It can be changed within the range that can be conceived by a trader, and any embodiment is included in the scope of the present invention as long as the effects and effects of the present invention are exhibited.

1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming system of the present invention. 1 is a functional block diagram of an image processing apparatus according to the present invention. The figure which showed the data flow between the image processing apparatus and the monitor apparatus in the image processing system 10 of this invention. The functional block diagram of the monitor apparatus of this invention. The figure which showed embodiment of the data structure used by the database 66 of a monitoring apparatus used by this invention. The flowchart which showed the process which the structured file preparation part of the monitor apparatus of this invention performs. The flowchart which showed the process in the case of making the display apparatus display the operation state of the image processing apparatus which the monitor apparatus detected remotely in this invention. The figure which showed the window display displayed on the display screen of a monitor apparatus or an administrator terminal by the process of FIG. The figure which showed embodiment of the window display shown when a user operates the enlargement / reduction button in FIG. The figure which showed embodiment which performs window display using the structured file created by the structured file creation apparatus in this invention. The figure which showed the window display displayed on a display screen by the process shown in FIG. The figure which showed the address list | wrist which a monitor apparatus or an administrator terminal stores in order to perform mail transmission. The sequence diagram of the information processing method of this invention. The sequence diagram of the information processing method of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Image processing system 12, 14, 16, 18 ... Image processing apparatus, 20 ... Monitor apparatus, 22 ... Switch, 24 ... Router, 26 ... Network, 28 ... Server, 30 ... LAN (VLAN), 32 ... Scanner apparatus 34 ... Input unit, 36 ... Scanner I / F, 38 ... Input / output I / F, 40 ... Image processing unit, 42 ... CPU, 44 ... RAM, 46 ... ROM, 48 ... Facsimile controller, 50 ... Engine controller 52 ... NIC, 54 ... storage device interface, 58 ... DSU / TA, 60 ... printer, 62 ... LAN / WAN / Internet, 64 ... storage device, 66 ... database, 68 ... administrator terminal, 70 ... browser processing unit, 72 ... structured file creation unit, 74 ... display data acquisition unit, 76 ... log data management unit, 78 ... device management unit, 80 ... Management unit, 82 ... user data management unit, 84 ... network interface card (NIC), 88 ... data structure, 90, 94, 102, 104 ... window display, 92 ... highlighted image, 96 ... in use User image, 98 ... Zoom in / out button, 110 ... Pop-up menu, 112 ... Address list, 114 ... Location data, 116 ... Email address

Claims (17)

An image processing device connected to the network;
An image processing system comprising: an information processing apparatus connected to the network, monitoring an operation state of the image processing apparatus, and displaying the operation state in a map in response to a position of the image processing apparatus.   The information processing apparatus includes a structured file creation unit that receives a message notifying a change in an operation state of the image processing apparatus and creates a structured file that gives a display image different from the previous operation state. 2. The image processing system according to 1.   The information processing apparatus acquires log data including an operation state history of the image processing apparatus, lists the image processing apparatus and a user of the image processing apparatus from the analysis of the log data, and performs the structuring. The image processing system according to claim 1, further comprising a display data acquisition unit that notifies the file creation unit.   The said structured file preparation part is provided with the button setting means which searches the display image highlighted as relative to another display image as said different display image, and sets as a button. The image processing system according to item 1.   The structured file creation unit searches for a display image that highlights the listed image processing device and the user of the image processing device at the same time relative to other display images, and the user highlights the displayed image. The image processing system according to claim 3, wherein the display image is set as a button. An information processing apparatus for remotely monitoring an image processing apparatus connected via a network,
A structured file creating unit that receives a message indicating a change in an operating state of an image processing apparatus connected to a network, searches a display image indicating the operating state given by the message, and creates a structured file;
A browser processing unit that displays the structured file on a display screen in response to a position of the image processing device.   The information processing according to claim 6, wherein the structured file creation unit creates a structured file by searching for a display image different from the previous operation state in response to the message indicating the change of the operation state. apparatus.   The information processing apparatus acquires log data including an operation state history of the image processing apparatus, lists the image processing apparatus and a user of the image processing apparatus from the analysis of the log data, and performs the structuring. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, comprising a display data acquisition unit that notifies the file creation unit.   The said structured file creation part is provided with the button setting means which searches the display image highlighted as relative to another display image as said different display image, and sets as a button. Information processing device.   The structured file creation unit searches for a display image that highlights the listed image processing device and the user of the image processing device at the same time relative to other display images, and the user highlights the displayed image. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the display image is set as a button.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the information processing apparatus is a Web server. An information processing method for monitoring an image processing system connected to an information processing apparatus via a network,
Receiving a message indicating a change in an operating state of an image processing apparatus connected to a network;
Obtaining a display image indicating an operation state given by the message and creating a structured file;
Displaying the structured file on a display screen via a browser processing unit in response to the position of the image processing apparatus.   The method of claim 12, wherein creating the structured file comprises creating a structured file that includes the acquired display image.   14. The information according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the step of creating the structured file includes a step of searching for a display image to be highlighted with respect to another display image in response to the operation state and setting it as a button. Processing method.   The step of creating the structured file obtains log data including an operation state history of the image processing apparatus, and lists the image processing apparatus and a user of the image processing apparatus from the analysis of the log data. And searching the display image for highlighting the listed image processing device and the user of the image processing device at the same time relative to other display images, and setting the highlighted display image of the user as a button. The method according to claim 12 or 13, comprising the step of:   16. A method according to claim 14 or 15, comprising the step of accepting a mouse event for the button and mailing to the user. The program which makes an information processing apparatus perform the information processing method of any one of Claims 12-16.

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