JP2005221624A - Communication system for oa equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid an increase of a system cost by an apparatus for management and to reduce the burden on a user side troubled by updating work on the occurrence of changes, such as replacement or addition, of office automation (OA) equipment. <P>SOLUTION: When a personal computer (PC) 2 for work makes a request for printing to a compound machine (OA equipment), the system acquires system state information and contact address information from the compound machine, the system informs a communication acceptance system 3 installed on a service bases side relating to the compound machine of the required communication item (order placement of consumables or the request for repair) determined to be necessary to be communicated based on the system state information through the Internet. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication system for OA devices that automatically notifies service bases of necessary communication items such as ordering of consumables and maintenance requests related to OA devices according to the state of the OA device.

  For office automation equipment (printing devices, facsimile machines, multifunction devices, etc.), if consumables such as toner and paper are appropriately replenished so that no major hindrance to the operation of the equipment occurs, It is necessary to promptly request repairs and restore them promptly. At this time, a contact system that detects the remaining status of consumables and device abnormalities and contacts the service base without human intervention. This construction has the advantage of eliminating the hassle of contacting the user by telephone or the like, and also providing the service provider with the advantage of improving the efficiency of business.

As such a contact system, there has heretofore been known a system in which an abnormality of the own apparatus is detected in a facsimile apparatus and a service call is made to a service base using the PSTN. Limited to those with an interface. On the other hand, a system using a LAN is desirable because many OA devices are compatible with the LAN due to the recent widespread use of the LAN. As such a system, the state of consumables of OA devices connected to the LAN is preferable. A communication system that collects and orders consumables via a LAN is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-194767 (FIG. 1)

  However, in the conventional communication system, necessary communication is performed from a management device (automatic ordering terminal device) that collectively manages a plurality of OA devices to a device on the service base side. For the convenience of constantly monitoring the OA device, it is necessary to prepare a management device specially by introducing a management application to a specific PC, which causes an increase in system cost.

  In addition, since a plurality of OA devices are collectively managed by the management device, the information held by the management device is corrected when the OA device is replaced with another one or newly added. There is a problem that maintenance work on the user side becomes large because update work such as new registration is required.

  The present invention has been devised to solve such problems of the prior art, and the main object of the present invention is to avoid an increase in system cost due to a management device, and to replace OA equipment. Another object of the present invention is to provide a communication system for OA equipment configured to reduce the burden on the user side which is troubled by an update operation when a change such as addition or addition occurs.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an OA device communication system according to the present invention includes an OA device, an information processing device for instructing the OA device to perform a required process, and a service base side related to the OA device. The OA device holds device status information relating to the status of the device itself and contact information relating to the address of the contact accepting device in its storage means, and the work information Both the processing device and the contact accepting device are connected to the Internet, and when the work information processing device instructs the OA device to perform a required process, the device status information and contact information are sent from the OA device. And the necessary contact items determined to be contacted based on the device status information are transmitted to the contact reception device via the Internet based on the contact information. It was a shall.

  According to this, since the information processing device for work individually acquires information from the OA device and contacts the required contact address, it is not necessary to prepare a special device for management, thereby suppressing an increase in system cost. Can do. Moreover, in order to obtain necessary information each time an instruction is given to the OA device, it is particularly necessary to perform an update operation accompanying replacement or addition of the OA device, unless the registration information is changed in the operating OA device. Therefore, the troublesome troublesome of the updating work can be reduced.

  In the OA device communication system, as shown in claim 2, the work information processing device acquires the device status information and contact information, determines whether or not to contact, and contacts the contact reception device. Each process of transmitting items can be configured to be executed by a state monitoring program installed together with a control program for controlling the OA device. According to this, since the state monitoring program is introduced into the information processing apparatus for work together with the control program that must be introduced when using the OA device, it is troublesome to introduce the management program into the information processing apparatus. Therefore, the burden on the user can be reduced.

  In the OA device communication system, as described in claim 3, the OA device writes the contact information according to a write instruction from a state monitoring program installed in the work information processing apparatus. It can be set as the structure which has a control means to perform. According to this, when the contact address is changed in the operating OA device, the contact information update operation can be efficiently performed by the work information processing apparatus.

  In this case, if the write processing of the contact information of the OA device is executed at the time of introducing the status monitoring program for the working information processing apparatus, there is no trouble of setting the contact information in the OA device in advance. Further, the contact information may be stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM together with the control program and the state monitoring program and distributed to the user, and this may be used to set contact information at the time of introduction. Further, when the contact information is updated, the latest contact information is acquired via the Internet, so that the trouble of manually inputting the contact information can be saved.

  In the communication system of the OA device, as shown in claim 4, the OA device is connected to the Internet, and performs the writing process of the contact information in response to a writing instruction by electronic mail received via the Internet. It can be set as the structure which has the control means to perform. According to this, when a contact change occurs in an OA device in operation, the contact information update operation can be performed from the service base side by e-mail, and the maintenance burden on the user side can be reduced. it can.

  In the OA device communication system, as shown in claim 5, the device status information includes information on a remaining state of a consumable and information on an abnormal state of the device, and the contact information includes consumables. Information relating to the address of the contact accepting device corresponding to each of the service base related to the procurement of the service and the service base related to the dispatch of the service person, the work information processing device When it is determined that the remaining amount is insufficient, an address corresponding to the service base related to the procurement of consumables is specified based on the contact information, the consumables are ordered, and it is determined that the device is abnormal based on the device status information. Further, it is possible to make a request for repair by designating an address corresponding to a service base related to dispatch of a service person based on the contact information. According to this, the notification of the communication item according to the state of the OA device can be accurately performed.

  In this case, the contact accepting device constitutes a Web server, accesses the contact accepting device with the URL as an address, and transmits data containing consumables ordered according to HTTP procedures or send data containing repair requests. May be transmitted to the contact accepting device. Note that the contact receiving device itself does not need to be installed at each of the service base related to the procurement of consumables and the service base related to the dispatch of the service person, but is a terminal device installed at each base after being received by the contact receiving device. It may also be configured to transmit to

  In the OA device communication system, as shown in claim 6, the OA device further holds, in addition to the device status information related to the consumables, information related to a product number identifying the consumables, and the work information. The processing device may be configured to attach a consumable item number based on the device status information and transmit a communication item regarding the consumable item order. According to this, since the information processing apparatus for work acquires information on the part number of the consumable item from the OA device and notifies the contact information, the order of the consumable item can be reliably performed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the work information processing apparatus individually acquires information from the OA device and contacts the required contact information, so that it is not necessary to prepare a management apparatus specially, and the system cost is reduced. A great effect can be obtained in suppressing the increase of the. In addition, every time an instruction is given to the OA device, necessary information is acquired every time. Therefore, unless the registration information is changed in the operating OA device, the update work accompanying the replacement or addition of the OA device is particularly performed. This eliminates the need for this, and has a remarkable effect in reducing the burden on the user side and building a user-friendly system.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a network system to which the present invention is applied. This network system communicates the order of consumables and requests for repairs to the required contact for procurement and repair of consumables according to the shortage and abnormal state of consumables in the multifunction device (OA device) 1. It is.

  On the user side, a work PC (working information processing apparatus) 2 that performs various tasks using a required application is connected to the multifunction machine 1 via a LAN, and the multifunction machine responds to a print request from the work PC 2. In step 1, printing on a predetermined sheet is executed. The work PC 2 is connected to the Internet via a LAN.

  On the service side, a contact accepting device (URL server) that accepts communications regarding consumable ordering and repair requests from the user side is connected to the Internet, and can communicate with the work PC 2 by, for example, an HTTP procedure. . In addition, a management PC 4 that updates information registered in the MFP 1 on the user side is connected to the Internet.

  FIG. 2 shows the contents of the device status information held in the multifunction device shown in FIG. The multifunction device 1 develops an electrostatic latent image formed by laser exposure with toner to form an image on a sheet, a sheet feeding unit that supplies the sheet to the image forming unit, and discharges the sheet that has passed through the image forming unit. Paper jams and other abnormalities are detected by a large number of sensors arranged in these parts, and the remaining amount of various consumables such as toner, staples and paper is detected by predetermined sensors. The detection results of these sensors are held in the storage unit as device state information relating to the state of the device itself.

  As the information on the consumables, in addition to the apparatus status information indicating the degree of the remaining amount of the consumables, information on the part number of the consumables is stored for each consumable such as toner, staples, and paper. In addition, as the abnormality information related to the abnormality of the apparatus, apparatus state information indicating an abnormal state and an error code for identifying the abnormal state are stored.

  FIG. 3 shows the contents of the contact information held in the multifunction device shown in FIG. The multifunction device 1 includes contact information on contact information related to the device itself, that is, the URL or telephone number of the contact information (consumables ordering address) of the base that provides the ordering / delivery service of consumables corresponding to the device itself, and Information on the URL or telephone number of the contact (service call destination) of the base that dispatches the service person for repairing the own apparatus is held. In addition, for convenience of inquiries regarding the multifunction device 1, information regarding the contact information of the sales office or dealer is also held.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a point at the time of communication in the network system shown in FIG. The work PC 2 has a printer driver (control program) for controlling the printing process of the multifunction device 1 and a status monitor (state monitoring program) for monitoring the state of the multifunction device 1 and displaying information on the screen. When a printing instruction is issued by a required application, the printer driver is activated to make a print request to the multifunction device 1, and at the same time, the status monitor is activated to request the multifunction device 1 to send apparatus status information. In the control unit 11 of the multi-function device 1, processing is performed for taking out the device status information of the storage unit (storage unit) 12 and sending it to the work PC.

  Further, the status monitor of the work PC 2 obtains contact information along with the device status information from the multifunction device 1 when a print request is made to the multifunction device 1, and determines that contact is necessary based on the device status information. Necessary contact items are notified to the required contact acceptance device 3 based on the contact information. At this time, if necessary, information related to the part number of the consumable is sent from the multi-function machine 1 to the work PC 2, and the work PC 2 attaches the part number of the consumable and sends a communication item to the contact receiving device 3.

  In other words, if it is determined that it is necessary to procure consumables based on the device status information regarding the remaining amount of consumables, the contact is made based on the contact address of the base that provides the ordering / delivery service of consumables shown in FIG. Sending data indicating the order number of the consumables and the part number of the consumables is sent to the accepting device 3.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the repair is necessary based on the device status information regarding the abnormality, the contact reception device 3 is contacted based on the contact address of the base that dispatches the service person for repair shown in FIG. Sends out transmission data indicating a message to request repair.

  FIG. 5 shows a warning screen displayed on the work PC shown in FIG. As described above, in the status monitor of the work PC 2, this warning screen is displayed on the display 21 when it is determined that the required contact is necessary based on the device status information acquired from the multifunction machine 1. Here, the case where it is determined that the remaining amount of consumables is low and the procurement of consumables is necessary based on the device status information regarding the consumables is shown, and it is determined that the multifunction device 1 has an abnormality. In such a case, a message indicating an abnormality such as “device failure” is displayed in the message column 51. When the operator who has confirmed that the remaining amount of consumables is insufficient or that the apparatus is abnormal is operated on this warning screen, the screen is switched to the next contact confirmation screen.

  FIG. 6 shows a contact confirmation screen displayed on the work PC shown in FIG. This contact confirmation screen is displayed on the display 21 next to the warning screen shown in FIG. 5, and prompts the operator to confirm that there is no error in the contact information acquired from the multifunction device 1. Based on the contact information acquired from the multifunction device 1, the URL or telephone number for each contact is displayed in the display field 61. When the operator who has confirmed the contact information on this contact confirmation screen operates the OK button 62, the screen switches to the next consumable ordering screen if the remaining amount of consumables is insufficient.

  FIG. 7 shows a consumables ordering screen displayed on the work PC shown in FIG. This consumables ordering screen is displayed on the display 21 next to the contact confirmation screen shown in FIG. 6, and allows the operator to finally confirm the ordering contents of consumables. The address of the contact accepting device 3 at the site that provides the order receiving / delivery service is displayed, and the name, product number, and quantity of the consumable item to be ordered are displayed in the order content display field 72. When the operator who has confirmed the order contents on this consumables ordering screen operates the order button 73, the process is connected to the contact accepting apparatus 3 related to the ordering / delivery of consumables and sends out the ordering data of the order contents displayed on the screen. Is done.

  In the case of an apparatus abnormality, for example, a service call screen is displayed in which the address of the contact reception device 3 at a base where a service person for repair is dispatched and a word to request repair are displayed. By operating the request button, it is only necessary to perform a process of sending transmission data having a content for requesting repair.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the work PC shown in FIG. When printing is instructed on the work PC 2, the status monitor is activated to acquire the apparatus status information and contact information from the multifunction device 1 as described above, and the level of the remaining amount of consumables that needs to be replenished in step 101. (Consumables warning), and there is a device abnormality (device abnormality), and if any of them, the process proceeds to step 102 to display device information, that is, as shown in FIG. A warning screen is displayed on the display 21. In step 103, the contact information is displayed, that is, the contact confirmation screen shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the display 21, and if the remaining amount of consumables is insufficient in step 104, the ordering of consumables, that is, FIG. The consumables ordering screen shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display 21 and processing for sending ordering data is performed. On the other hand, if the apparatus is abnormal, a service call, that is, transmission data containing a request for repair is sent out. Processing is performed.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a procedure for setting contact information of the multifunction peripheral in the network system shown in FIG. First, the contact information of the multifunction device 1 can be set by an input operation on the operation panel 13 provided in the self-device. The multifunction device 1 includes an operation panel 13 on which character input keys such as a numeric keypad for inputting a destination dial number for facsimile transmission and an alphabet key for inputting a destination name are arranged. The contact information shown in FIG. 3 can be set manually by using.

  Secondly, the contact information of the multifunction device 1 can be set using a status monitor installed in the work PC 2. In response to a write instruction from the status monitor of the work PC 2, the control unit (control means) 11 of the multifunction machine 1 executes a process of rewriting the contact information of the own apparatus based on the contact information received from the work PC 2. To do.

  The contact information setting process by the status monitor is first performed when the status monitor is introduced into the work PC 2 together with the printer driver. The contact information related to the multifunction device 1 is stored together with the printer driver and the status monitor program on the CD-ROM attached to the multifunction device 1 and distributed to the user. The contact information is stored in a predetermined storage means of the PC 2 for use, and the status monitor instructs the MFP 1 to rewrite the contact information using the contact information.

  Further, the status monitor of the work PC 2 displays a contact information setting screen on the display 21 in accordance with an instruction from the operator, and inputs the contact information obtained by a document or the like using the keyboard of the work PC 2. It is also possible to cause the multifunction device 1 to execute a process of rewriting contact information using the contact information acquired by the above. This may be performed when the contact information needs to be updated. At this time, the latest contact information can be acquired from the server device on the service side via the Internet.

  Thirdly, the contact information of the multifunction device 1 can be set by e-mail from the management PC 4 on the service side. The control unit 11 of the multifunction device 1 executes a process of rewriting the contact information of the own apparatus based on the contact information stored in the e-mail in response to a write instruction by e-mail. The multifunction device 1 has an Internet facsimile function for transmitting and receiving image data by e-mail, and analyzes the received e-mail to indicate setting of contact information. Execute.

  The communication system for OA equipment according to the present invention has the effect of suppressing an increase in system cost and reducing the burden of maintenance on the user side. This is useful as a communication system for OA equipment that automatically notifies the service base according to the state of the OA equipment.

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a network system to which the present invention is applied. The figure which shows the content of the apparatus status information hold | maintained at the multifunctional device shown in FIG. The figure which shows the content of the contact information hold | maintained at the multifunctional device shown in FIG. Block diagram showing the point of contact in the network system shown in FIG. The figure which shows the warning screen displayed with the work PC shown in FIG. The figure which shows the contact confirmation screen displayed with the work PC shown in FIG. The figure which shows the consumables ordering screen displayed with the work PC shown in FIG. The flowchart which shows the process sequence in the work PC shown in FIG. Block diagram showing the procedure for setting contact information of a multifunction device in the network system shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Multifunction machine (OA equipment)
2 Work PC (Working information processing device)
3 Contact acceptance device 4 Management PC
11 Control unit (control means)
12 Storage unit (storage means)
13 Operation panel 21 Display

Claims (6)

An OA device, an information processing device for instructing the OA device to perform a required process, and a contact reception device installed on the service base side of the OA device,
The OA device holds in its storage means device status information relating to the status of the device itself and contact information relating to the address of the contact accepting device,
Both the information processing device for work and the contact accepting device are connected to the Internet,
The work information processing device acquires the device status information and contact information from the OA device when the required processing is instructed to the OA device, and needs to be contacted based on the device status information A communication system for office automation equipment, wherein the necessary communication items determined to be transmitted to the contact reception device via the Internet based on the contact information.   The working information processing apparatus is a control program for controlling the OA device for each process of acquiring the apparatus status information and contact information, determining whether contact is necessary, and transmitting a contact item to the contact receiving apparatus. The OA device communication system according to claim 1, which is executed by a state monitoring program introduced together with the OA device.   The said OA apparatus has a control means which performs the write-in process of the said contact information according to the write instruction from the state monitoring program introduced into the said information processing apparatus for work. Contact system for OA equipment as described.   The said OA apparatus is connected to the internet, and has a control means which performs the write-in process of the said contact information according to the write instruction by the email received via the internet. OA equipment communication system. The device status information includes information on the remaining status of the consumables and information on the abnormal status of the device,
The contact information includes information on the address of the contact reception device corresponding to each of the service base related to the procurement of consumables and the service base related to the dispatch of a service person,
If the working information processing apparatus determines that the remaining amount of consumables is insufficient based on the apparatus status information, the work information processing apparatus designates an address corresponding to a service base related to the procurement of consumables based on the contact information and is consumed. When ordering a product and determining that the device is abnormal based on the device status information, a request for repair is made by designating an address corresponding to the service base related to the dispatch of a service person based on the contact information. The communication system for OA equipment according to claim 1, wherein In addition to the device status information related to consumables, the OA device further holds information related to a product number that identifies the consumables,
6. The OA equipment communication system according to claim 5, wherein the working information processing apparatus transmits a communication item relating to the ordering of consumables with a part number of the consumable based on the apparatus status information. .

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