JP2003110786A - Network device, fault component replacement support server, method for supporting fault component replacement as well as fault component replacement support program and computer readable recording medium recording the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network device having the function of supporting the replacement of a fault component by displaying substitutable component information of other device in a network when the fault component is detected. SOLUTION: An MFP 1a detects the fault component when the fault occurs, and inquires the presence or absence of the substituting component to other device in the network. When the MFP 1a receives the effect that there is the substituting component from other device in the network, the MFP 1a selects and displays the optimum substituting component based on information regarding the replacing difficulty degree and the operability of the fault component and the substituting component as well as information regarding the using frequency of the device of the MFP 1a and the substituting component.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network device having a failure component replacement support function and a failed component replacement support server for the network device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A scanner, a printer, a facsimile, a digital copying machine, or a multifunction peripheral device (MFP: Multi Function P) that combines these functions.
In an OA system or the like in which a peripheral device or the like is connected via a network, conventionally, when a device failure occurs, a service person or the like is called, and the service person or the like diagnoses the failed apparatus and detects the failed part. It was necessary to identify and order the parts and replace them with defective parts. In the meantime, the user has to use another device on the network with the equivalent function,
When the failed device is a frequently used device or a device with high processing capacity, there is a problem that the processing capacity of the entire network is reduced and a large number of users are affected.

[0003]

However, there may be a device on the network that has a function equivalent to that of the failed device and that has a replaceable part for the failed part, and such a device has failed. When the frequency of use is lower than that of the device, by operating the failed device by substituting the parts of such device, it is possible to minimize the impact on the processing power of the whole network and the user. You can deal with the situation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above point of view, and an object of the present invention is to display, when a faulty component is detected, alternative component information of another device on the network and display the faulty component. It is to provide a network device having a function of supporting exchange.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a network device having a function of displaying which is the optimum substitute component and assisting the replacement of a defective component when a plurality of substitute components exist on the network. To provide.

Still another object of the present invention is, when a device on the network detects a faulty part, it transmits information of a replaceable component of another device on the network to the faulty device and replaces the faulty part. It is to provide a server having a function of supporting the.

[0007]

The above objects of the present invention can be achieved by the following means.

(1) A network device having a function of supporting the replacement of a failed component, the defective component detecting means for detecting a defective component inside the network device, and the component information obtaining means for obtaining component information of another network device. A network device comprising: a substitute component selecting unit that selects a substitute component of the faulty component based on the component information; and a substitute component information display unit that displays information related to the substitute component.

(2) It further comprises use frequency information acquisition means for acquiring use frequency information of the other network device, and the substitute part selection means further selects the substitute part based on the use frequency information. Is (1)
The network device according to 1.

(3) The network device according to (1) or (2), wherein the component information includes information regarding availability of operation of the network device when the component is removed.

(4) The network device according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the component information includes information regarding the degree of difficulty of component replacement.

(5) A parts information storage means for storing the parts information of each network device, and a failed parts information acquisition means for acquiring information related to the failed parts of the network device,
An alternative component selecting unit that selects an alternative component of the failed component based on the component information, and an alternative component information transmitting unit that transmits information related to the alternative component to a network device associated with the failed component. A network device failure component replacement support server.

(6) It further comprises use frequency information acquisition means for acquiring use frequency information of each network device, and the substitute component selection means further selects the substitute component based on the use frequency information. , (5) The failed part replacement support server described in (5).

(7) The fault component replacement support server according to (5) or (6), wherein the component information includes information regarding whether or not the network device can be operated when the component is removed.

(8) A step of detecting a faulty part inside the network device, a step of obtaining the part information of another network device, a step of selecting a substitute part for the faulty part based on the part information, And a step of displaying information related to the replacement part, the method of supporting the replacement of a failed part of a network device.

(9) A procedure for detecting a faulty part inside a network device, a procedure for obtaining the component information of another network device, a procedure for selecting a substitute component for the faulty component based on the component information, A faulty component replacement support program for a network device, which causes a network device to execute a procedure for displaying information related to a substitute component.

(10) A computer-readable recording medium on which the defective part replacement support program according to (9) is recorded.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a network system including network equipment according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The network system according to the present embodiment is the MFP 1 as a network device.
a, an MFP 2a, an MFP 3a, a printer 4a and a scanner 5a, which are communicably connected to each other via a network 6. The types and the number of devices connected to the network 6 are not limited to the example shown in FIG.

Next, the configuration of each of the above-mentioned devices will be described. For the parts having the same function in each device, the description will be given only for the first time and the description will be omitted for the second and subsequent times in order to avoid duplication of description. .

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of the MFP 1a according to this embodiment. Here, the MFP in this specification refers to a multi-function peripheral device that combines functions of a scanner, a printer, a facsimile, a digital copying machine, and the like. In FIG. 2, the MFP 1a includes a CPU 11 and a ROM.
12, RAM 13, operation panel unit 14, document reading unit 1
5, a printing unit 16, a network interface 17, and a telephone line interface 18, which are connected to each other via a bus 19 for exchanging signals.

The CPU 11 performs various control and calculation processes. The ROM 12 stores various programs and data.
In this embodiment, the MFP 1a performs a predetermined operation described later, and a program for controlling the operation of the MFP 1a for this purpose is stored in the ROM 12. The RAM 13 temporarily stores programs and data as a work area. The operation panel unit 14 includes a touch panel, fixed keys outside the touch panel, a display lamp, and the like, and is used for performing various inputs and displays. Document reading unit 15
Reads a document set at a predetermined position and captures it as image data. The printing unit 16 prints the image data according to the set conditions. The network interface 17 is an interface for connecting to a network and communicating with other devices on the network, and the telephone line interface 18 is an interface for connecting to a telephone line and performing communication.

With the above-described configuration, the MFP 1a functions as a scanner for reading a document and transmitting image data to other devices on the network, and as a printer for printing based on a print job received from another device on the network. , A function as a copying machine for copying an original, and a function as a facsimile for transmitting and receiving image data via a telephone line.

The MFPs 2a and 3a have the same configuration and functions as the MFP 1a except that they have no telephone line interface and no facsimile function. Also,
The printer 4a and the scanner 5a have a single function as a printer and a scanner, respectively.

The network 6 is composed of a LAN or the like in which network devices are connected to each other according to standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), token ring, and FDDI.

Next, an outline of the operation of the network system in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the MFP 1a in this embodiment. In FIG. 3, the MFP 1a checks its own operation to see if the instructed processing such as scanning, printing, copying, and facsimile is normally performed, and monitors the occurrence of failure (NO in S101 and S102). And
When the occurrence of a failure is detected (YES in S102), the failed component is identified (S103), and the failed component table is created by referring to the component table stored in the ROM 12 (S104).

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a parts table stored in the MFP 1a. Here, the parts table is a list in which part information such as part names, part numbers, compatible part numbers, replacement difficulty levels, and availability of major parts of the device are recorded. The part number is a common number assigned to each part in the network system. The compatible part number is a part number of a part that is compatible with and replaceable with the part. Further, the replacement difficulty level is information indicating the standard of the difficulty of replacement of the part, "A" is a level that can be replaced by a general user, "B" is a level that can be replaced by an administrator, and "C" is a level. Indicates the level that requires replacement by a service person. Further, the availability of operation is information indicating whether the equipment can be operated when the component fails or is removed. “Available” means that the equipment can operate and “No” means the equipment. Indicates that all functions are unavailable due to the inability to operate. If the device can be operated but some functions cannot be used when the part is removed, the information indicating that the device can be operated is, for example, "staple disabled", "electronic sort disabled". Etc. are added. In the present specification, a part is a concept that includes both a part that constitutes a network device and is a replaceable minimum unit, and a unit that is a combination of a plurality of replaceable minimum unit parts. is there. In the parts table of FIG.
a has components such as the fixing unit (1), the fixing unit (1) includes components such as the fixing roller (2) and the pressure roller, and the degree of difficulty of replacement of the fixing unit (1) is “A”. It is recorded that the availability is "No", the replacement difficulty of the fixing roller (2) is "C", and the availability is "No".

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a failed component table of the MFP 1a. Here, the failure part table is
It is a list created by extracting the part information related to the failed part specified by the device from the parts table of the device, and including the part number related to the failed part, the compatible part number, the replacement difficulty, the availability of operation, etc. . In the faulty part table of FIG. 5, the faulty part specified by the MFP 1a is the fixing roller (2), and the faulty part is recorded with part information about the fixing roller (2) and the fixing unit (1) including this.

Next, the MFP 1a transmits an inquiry about the presence / absence of a substitute part to other devices on the network via the network interface 17 and the network 6 (S105). Here, the substitute parts are the same parts as the failed parts, that is, the parts having the same part numbers, and the parts compatible with the failed parts, that is, the parts having the compatible part numbers. That is, the inquiry about the presence / absence of a substitute part transmitted to the other device on the network by the MFP 1a includes the part number and the compatible part number in the faulty part table.

FIG. 6 shows another device (MFP 2a, MFP 3a, printer 4a) on the network in this embodiment.
3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the scanner 5a). The operation of other devices on the network will be described below using the MFP.
2a will be described as an example. In FIG. 6, the MFP 2a
Waits until it receives an inquiry about the presence / absence of a substitute component from another device on the network (NO in S201), and upon receiving an inquiry about the presence / absence of a substitute component from another device (MFP 1a) on the network (YES in S201). ),
The stored component table of the MFP 2a is searched for whether or not there is a substitute component (S202). FIG. 7 shows the MFP 2.
It is an example of a parts table stored in a. MFP2
The a retrieves the part having the same part number as the part number of the failed part or the compatible part number related to the received inquiry about the presence or absence of the alternative part from the part table.

If there is no substitute part in the parts table (S
(NO in 203), a notification indicating that there is no substitute component is transmitted to the device (MFP 1a) related to the inquiry about the presence or absence of the substitute component (S204). On the other hand, if there is a substitute component in the component table (YES in S203), a substitute component table and a use frequency table are created (S205), and the device (MFP1a) inquiring whether there is a substitute component has a substitute component. It is transmitted together with the notification (S206).

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the substitute parts table of the MFP 2a. Here, the substitute parts table is
It is a list created by extracting the part information related to the alternative parts, that is, the part having the same part number as the part number of the failed part or the compatible part number from the parts table of the device, and the part number related to the alternative parts and the replacement difficulty level. It also includes information such as availability of operation. In the alternative parts table of FIG. 8, the MFP 2a has the same fixing roller (2) as the failed part, and the parts information about the fixing roller (2) and the fixing unit (1) including this is recorded as an alternative part. There is. Further, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a usage frequency table of the MFP 2a. Here, the usage frequency table is a list in which the number of times the device is used per unit time is calculated for each function of the device. The copy and print functions are the number of discharged sheets per week, and the scan function is 1 Number of scans per week, facsimile function is 1
The number of sent and received sheets per week is shown.

In FIG. 3, when the MFP 1a receives a notification indicating that there is no substitute component from all other devices on the network (NO in S106), the MFP 1a substitutes another component on the network on the operation panel unit. There is no display (S107). On the other hand, if a notification indicating that there is a substitute part is received from another device on the network (Y in S106).
ES), the failed component table, the usage frequency table of the MFP 1a, and all the received alternative component tables and usage frequency tables are selected (S108).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the optimum alternative component selection process of the MFP 1a. In FIG. 10, the MFP 1a first uses the replacement difficulty index, the availability index, and the availability index for each alternative component based on the replacement difficulty level and the availability information of the replacement parts table and the usage frequency information of the usage frequency table. The frequency index is calculated and the priority index is calculated (S301 to S304).
Here, the replacement difficulty index is an index that is a measure of the ease of replacement of the failed component and the replacement component, and is represented by a combination of the replacement difficulty level of the failed component and the replacement difficulty level of the replacement component.
Calculate from the table shown in. In addition, the availability index is an index that is a measure of the low loss due to both devices becoming inoperable after replacing the failed part and the replacement part, and the availability of the device related to the failed part and the replacement part It is determined from the table shown in FIG. 12 in combination with the availability of equipment operation. Further, the usage frequency index is an index indicating the standard of usage frequency of the device, and is calculated by the formula shown in FIG. 13 using the usage frequency for each function of the usage frequency table of the device. In this case, by appropriately adjusting the constants a to d in the formula, the weighting of the usage frequency for each function in the usage frequency index can be adjusted. The priority index is an index that serves as a guideline for the priority of selecting a replacement part, and includes a replacement difficulty index of the replacement part, an availability index, and a usage frequency index of a device related to the replacement part and a device related to a failed part. It is calculated using the formula shown in FIG.
In this case, by appropriately adjusting the constants α to γ in the formula, it is possible to adjust the weighting of each index of the priority index, such as exchange difficulty, availability, and frequency of use. In addition,
The calculation methods of the exchange difficulty index, the availability index, the usage frequency index, and the priority index shown in FIGS. 11 to 14 are examples for explaining the procedure of the process for selecting the optimum alternative component in the present embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various calculation methods can be adopted.

In FIG. 10, the MFP 1a selects an optimum substitute part based on the priority index calculated for each substitute part (S305) and creates an optimum substitute part table (S).
306). FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the optimum substitute component table created by the MFP 1a. In the optimum replacement parts table, the device name, the part name,
The replacement difficulty, availability, function, frequency of use by function, frequency of use index, priority index, etc. are recorded in correspondence with those of the device related to the faulty part, and the replacement part with the highest priority index is the optimum replacement part. (⊚), and the alternative part with the next highest priority index is selected as the suboptimal alternative part (○). In the example of the optimum substitute product table shown in FIG.
As a candidate for an alternative component of the fixing roller (1) or the fixing unit (2) including the fixing roller (1) which is the defective component of 1a, the MFP
There is a fixing roller (1) or a fixing unit (2) for the printer 2a and the printer 4a, and there is no difference between them in terms of availability, but the printer 4a having a low frequency of use is prioritized in terms of frequency of use, and replacement is difficult. In terms of degree, priority is given to the fixing unit (2) that is easy to replace, not the fixing roller (1) alone,
As a result, the fixing unit (2) of the printer 4a is selected as the optimum alternative component, and the fixing roller (1) of the printer 4a is selected as the sub-optimal alternative component.

Then, in FIG. 3, the MFP 1a displays the created optimum alternative component table on the operation panel unit 14 (S109). This allows the user not only to know which component has failed when the MFP 1a has failed, but also to determine whether or not there is a replaceable component in another device on the network. It is possible to know which is the optimum alternative component when there are multiple, and by replacing the defective component with the alternative component in accordance with such a display, it is possible to minimize the deterioration of the processing capacity of the entire network and the effect on the user. You can stop it and deal with unexpected situations.

In the first embodiment, the MFP 1a inquires of another device on the network whether or not there is a substitute part, and receives the substitute part table and the usage frequency table from the other device on the network. Instead of the substitute parts table from other devices on the network, the parts table of each device is received, the substitute parts are searched from the parts table received by the MFP 1a, and the substitute parts table can be created.

In the first embodiment, the MFP 1
In the case of a, the created optimum alternative parts table is displayed on the operation panel unit. However, while displaying the optimum alternative parts table on the operation panel unit, or instead of displaying it,
The optimum alternative parts table may be transmitted to a designated destination, for example, an e-mail address of an administrator registered in advance.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the entire network system including a server according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The network system according to the present embodiment includes the MFP 1b and the MF as network devices.
P2b, MFP3b, printer 4b and scanner 5
b, and a server 7, which are connected via a network 6 so that they can communicate with each other. The type and the number of devices connected to the network 6 are not limited to the example shown in FIG.

The MFP 1b, the MFP 2b, the MFP 3b, the printer 4b, and the scanner 5b have the same configurations as the MFP 1a, the MFP 2a, the MFP 3a, the printer 4a, and the scanner 5a in the first embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server 7 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 17, the server 7 is a computer, and includes a CPU 71, a ROM 72, and an R.
An AM 73, a hard disk 74, a display 75, an input device 76 and a network interface 77 are provided, and these are a bus 78 for exchanging signals.
Are connected to each other via.

The hard disk 74 stores various programs and data, the display 75 performs various displays, and the input device 76 is a keyboard, a mouse or the like, and is used for performing various inputs. In the present embodiment, the server 7 performs a predetermined operation described later, and a program for controlling the operation of the server 7 for this purpose is stored in the hard disk 74.

Next, an outline of the operation of the network system in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 18 shows devices (MFP 1b, MFP 1) on the network according to the present embodiment.
2b, MFP 3b, printer 4b and scanner 5b).
3 is a flowchart showing the operation of FIG. The operation of the device on the network will be described below by taking the MFP 1b as an example.
In FIG. 6, the MFP 1b checks its own operation to see if the instructed processing such as scanning, printing, copying, and facsimile is normally performed, and monitors the occurrence of failure (NO in S401 and S402). Then, when the occurrence of a failure is detected (YES in S402), the failed part is identified (S403), and the failure table similar to that in FIG. 5 is created by referring to the parts table stored in the hard disk 74. Further, a usage frequency table similar to that of FIG. 9 is also created (S404). Then, the created failed component table and usage frequency table are transmitted to the server 7 via the network interface 77 and the network 6 together with the component failure notification.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing the operation of the server 7 in this embodiment. In FIG. 19, the server 7 waits until it receives a component failure notification from a device on the network (NO in S501), and when it receives a component failure notification from the device (MFP1b) on the network (YES in S501), the hard disk 74. It is searched whether or not there is an alternative component from the component table database stored in (S502). Here, the parts table database is a database that stores a parts table for each network device as in FIG. Server 7
Searches the part table database for a part having the same part number as the part number of the failed part or the compatible part number related to the received part failure notification.

If there is no substitute component in the component table database (NO in S503), a notification indicating that there is no substitute component is sent to the device (MFP1b) involved in the component failure notification (S504). On the other hand, when there is a substitute component in the component table database (YES in S503), the substitute component table similar to that of FIG. 8 is created (S505), and a transfer request for the usage frequency table is transmitted to the device relating to the substitute component (( S506), and waits until the usage frequency table is received from the device related to the alternative component (NO in S507).
When the usage frequency table is received from the device related to the substitute component (YES in S507), the optimum substitute component selection process is performed by the same procedure as in FIG. 10 (S508), and the optimum substitute component table similar to that in FIG. 15 is created. To do. Then, the obtained optimum substitute component table is used to notify the fact that there is a substitute component and the device (MFP1
It is transmitted to b) (S509).

Next, referring to FIG. 18, the MFP 1b
When the notification indicating that there is no substitute component is received from the server 7 (NO in S406), it is displayed on the operation panel unit that there is no substitute component in another device on the network (S407).
On the other hand, when the notification indicating that there is a substitute component is received from the server 7 (YES in S406), the optimum substitute component table received together with the notification that there is a substitute component is displayed on the operation panel unit 14 (S408). At this time, if a request for a replacement part replacement manual is received from the user (YES in S409), the destination is specified to the server 7 and a transfer request for a replacement part replacement manual is sent (S).
410).

In FIG. 19, when the server 7 receives a transfer request for a replacement manual of a failed part from the device which is notified of the part failure (YES in S510), the server 7 stores the part related to the failure stored in the hard disk 74. The exchange manual is transmitted to a designated destination, for example, the email address of the administrator registered in advance or the email address of the user input when requesting the exchange manual (S511). However, the replacement manual may be transmitted to a printer or the like on the network that is operating and output, or the replacement manual is not transmitted to the designated destination and the replacement manual is stored in the server 7. The path, URL, etc. of a predetermined directory on the hard disk 74 may be notified.

In the second embodiment described above, the server 7 sends the optimum alternative parts table to the device for the part failure notification, but the server 7 sends the optimum alternative parts table to the device for the part failure notification. Alternatively, instead of transmitting the component failure notification to the device, the optimum alternative component table may be transmitted to a designated destination, for example, an e-mail address of a manager registered in advance.

In the second embodiment, the server 7
Was to create an optimal alternative parts table and send it to the device related to the part failure notification, the server 7 simply provides only the parts table database, and the failed device accesses the server 7 to access the parts table database. The configuration may be such that the optimum substitute component table is created by referring to the table.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the optimum alternative part is selected based on the information about the degree of difficulty of replacement and the availability of operation of the failed part and the alternative part, and the information about the usage frequency of the device related to the failed part and the device related to the alternative part. However, the selection may be made based on only one of these pieces of information, or other information, for example, position information (distance) between the device related to the failed part and the device related to the substitute part. Etc. may be selected in combination with a part or all of the above information.

The network system according to the present invention is not limited to the network equipment related to the image processing apparatus such as the scanner, the printer, the facsimile, the digital copying machine, or the MFP in which these functions are combined, as described in the above embodiment. It can be applied as a replacement support system for failed parts in computers such as personal computers, workstations, servers, and other network equipment such as office automation equipment.

The network device and the server according to the present invention and the method for supporting the replacement of a failed part of the network device can be realized by a dedicated hardware circuit for executing each of the above-mentioned steps, or by executing a predetermined program describing each of the above steps in a CPU. Can also be implemented by executing. When the present invention is implemented by the latter, the above-mentioned predetermined program for operating a network device or the like may be provided by a computer-readable recording medium such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk or a CD-ROM, or the Internet or the like. It may be provided online via a network. In this case, the program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium is usually a ROM.
Or transferred to a hard disk or the like and stored. Further, this program may be provided as, for example, independent application software, or may be incorporated into the software of the network device as a function of the device.

The embodiments of the present invention described above include the inventions as shown in the following supplementary notes 1 to 16, in addition to the inventions described in claims 1 to 10.

[Supplementary Note 1] The failed parts replacement support server according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the parts information includes information on the degree of difficulty of replacing parts.

[Supplementary Note 2] The method further comprises a step of acquiring usage frequency information of the other network device, and the step of selecting the replacement component further selects the replacement component based on the usage frequency information. The method for assisting replacement of a failed component according to claim 8,

[Supplementary Note 3] The component replacement support method according to Claim 8 or Supplementary Note 2, wherein the component information includes information regarding availability of operation of the network device when the component is removed.

[Supplementary Note 4] The faulty component replacement support method according to Claim 8 or Supplementary Note 2 or 3, wherein the component information includes information regarding the degree of difficulty of component replacement.

[Supplementary Note 5] A step of storing part information of each network device, a step of acquiring information on a failed part of the network device, and a step of selecting an alternative part of the failed part based on the part information. And a step of transmitting the information related to the alternative component to the network device related to the failed component, the method for supporting replacement of a failed component of a network device.

[Supplementary Note 6] The method further comprises a step of acquiring usage frequency information of each network device, and the step of selecting the replacement component further selects the replacement component based on the usage frequency information. The method for supporting replacement of a failed component according to attachment 5.

[Supplementary Note 7] The faulty component replacement support method according to Supplementary Note 5 or 6, wherein the component information includes information regarding availability of operation of the network device when the component is removed.

[Supplementary Note 8] The faulty component replacement support method according to any one of Supplementary Notes 5 to 7, wherein the component information includes information on the degree of difficulty of component replacement.

[Supplementary Note 9] The network device is caused to further execute the procedure of acquiring the usage frequency information of the other network device, and the procedure of selecting the alternative component is further based on the usage frequency information. The defective part replacement support program according to claim 9, which selects a part.

[Supplementary note 10] The defective component replacement support program according to claim 9 or supplementary note 9, wherein the component information includes information regarding whether or not the network device can be operated when the component is removed.

[Supplementary Note 11] The faulty component replacement support program according to Claim 9 or Supplementary Note 9 or 10, wherein the component information includes information on the degree of difficulty of component replacement.

[Supplementary Note 12] A procedure for storing the component information of each network device, a procedure for acquiring information on a defective component of the network device, and a procedure for selecting a substitute component for the defective component based on the component information. And a procedure for transmitting information on the alternative component to the network device related to the faulty component, and causing the server to execute the faulty component replacement support program for the network device.

[Supplementary Note 13] The procedure for obtaining the usage frequency information of each network device is further executed by the server, and the procedure for selecting the alternative component further selects the alternative component based on the usage frequency information. The defective part replacement support program according to attachment 12, which is to be executed.

[Supplementary Note 14] The failed component replacement support program according to Supplementary Note 12 or 13, wherein the component information includes information regarding whether or not the network device can be operated when the component is removed.

[Supplementary Note 15] The supplementary information 12 includes information on the degree of difficulty of exchanging the components.
The defective part replacement support program according to any one of 1.

[Supplementary Note 16] Any one of Supplementary Notes 9 to 15
A computer-readable recording medium in which the faulty component replacement support program according to item 1 is recorded.

[0070]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a network device fails, the failed component is displayed and whether another device on the network has a replaceable component or not When there are a plurality of possible parts, the optimum alternative part is also displayed. Therefore, the user can replace the defective part with the alternative part according to such a display, thereby lowering the processing capacity of the entire network and the user. An accidental failure can be dealt with with a minimal effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an entire network system including a network device according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an MFP 1a according to this embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the MFP 1a in this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a parts table of the MFP 1a.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a failed component table of the MFP 1a.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing operations of other devices (MFP 2a, MFP 3a, printer 4a, and scanner 5a) on the network in the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a parts table of the MFP 2a.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an alternative parts table of the MFP 2a.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a usage frequency table of the MFP 2a.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of optimum alternative component selection processing of the MFP 1a.

FIG. 11 is a table for obtaining a replacement difficulty index of a substitute part.

FIG. 12 is a table for obtaining an availability index of alternative parts.

FIG. 13 is an equation for obtaining a usage frequency index of a substitute part.

FIG. 14 is an equation for obtaining a priority index of a substitute part.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of an optimum alternative component table created by the MFP 2a.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an entire network system including a server according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a server 7 according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a device (MFP 1b, MFP 2b, MFP 3b, printer 4b) on the network according to the present embodiment.
7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the scanner 5b).

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an operation of the server 7 in this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b ... MFP, 11, 71 ... CPU, 12, 72 ... ROM, 13, 73 ... RAM, 14 ... Operation panel section, 15 ... Original reading section, 16 ... Printing department, 17, 77 ... Network interface, 18 ... Telephone line interface, 19,79 ... Bus, 4a, 4b ... Printer, 5a, 5b ... Scanner, 6 ... network, 7 ... server, 74 ... hard disk, 75 ... display, 76 ... Input device.

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G06F 3/12 G06F 3/12 K F term (reference) 2H027 DA44 EE07 EJ08 EJ13 GB07 HA01 HA10 HA12 ZA07 5B021 AA01 AA21 BB01 BB10 CC05 EE04 NN17 5C062 AA02 AA05 AA35 AB38 AC41 AC42 AC55 AF00 BA04

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A network device having a failure component replacement support function, comprising: a failed component detection unit that detects a failed component inside the network device; and a component information acquisition unit that acquires component information of another network device. A network device comprising: a substitute component selection unit that selects a substitute component of the faulty component based on the component information; and a substitute component information display unit that displays information related to the substitute component. 2. A usage frequency information acquisition unit that acquires usage frequency information of the other network device is further provided, and the replacement component selection unit further selects the replacement component based on the usage frequency information. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the network device is a network device. 3. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the component information includes information regarding availability of operation of the network device when the component is removed. 4. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the component information includes information regarding a degree of difficulty of component replacement. 5. A parts information storage unit that stores parts information of each network device, a failure parts information acquisition unit that acquires information related to a failed parts of the network device, and a replacement part of the failed parts based on the parts information. And a substitute component information transmitting unit that transmits information related to the substitute component to the network device related to the faulty component, the faulty component replacement support server for the network device. 6. A use frequency information acquiring unit for acquiring use frequency information of each network device is further provided, and the substitute component selecting unit further selects the substitute component based on the use frequency information. The failed component replacement support server according to claim 5. 7. The failed component replacement support server according to claim 5, wherein the component information includes information regarding availability of operation of the network device when the component is removed. 8. A step of detecting a faulty part inside a network device, a step of obtaining part information of another network device, a step of selecting a substitute part for the faulty part based on the part information, And a step of displaying information related to parts, the method for supporting the replacement of a failed part of a network device. 9. A procedure of detecting a faulty component inside a network device, a process of acquiring component information of another network device, a process of selecting a substitute component of the faulty component based on the component information, and the substitution. A faulty component replacement support program for a network device, characterized by causing a network device to execute a procedure for displaying information related to the component. 10. A computer-readable recording medium in which the failed component replacement support program according to claim 9 is recorded.