JP2006094021A - Image forming device, and its managing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve efficiency in a maintenance operation by collecting minute configuration information of an image forming device at a low cost with less space and confirming a component number etc. without stopping the device. <P>SOLUTION: A radio tag 31 for storing intrinsic information of each applicable configuration unit or configuration component is added to each configuration unit to be mounted on the image forming device 10 and the configuration component. A configuration information acquiring part 17 acquires the configuration information by receiving the intrinsic information of each configuration unit or component, which is stored in the radio tag 31 from the radio tag 31 by radio communication. A configuration information management control unit 163 transmits the configuration information acquired by the configuration information acquiring part 17 to a management device through a communication I/F part 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a plurality of units and / or parts as components, and a management system thereof, and more specifically, a wireless tag or information storing each unique information for each component of the image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus which adds a tag and collects and registers unique information through the wireless tag or the information tag, thereby acquiring configuration information without stopping the image forming apparatus and improving the efficiency of maintenance operation; and It relates to the management system system.

  As a conventional technique for acquiring configuration information of an apparatus such as an image forming apparatus for the purpose of managing the apparatus, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for downloading firmware for updating according to the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. It is disclosed.

  Patent Document 2 below discloses a technique for transmitting unit configuration information of an image output apparatus to a center and determining consistency between the image output apparatus and a unit or consistency between units.

Patent Document 3 below discloses a technology in which a wireless module having a non-volatile memory is provided as a consumable, and the consumable ID, usage status, and the like are transmitted to the management apparatus.
JP 2002-91719 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-162401 JP 2002-111943 A

  However, in the techniques described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, since the configuration information is stored in the ROM, the cost is increased, and the number of units to which the ROM can be added is limited, and detailed configuration information is acquired. There was a problem that could not.

  Further, in the technique described in Patent Document 3, information collection using a wireless module is limited to consumables, and the purpose is to improve the inventory management of consumables, and a method for collecting configuration information is described. However, there is a problem in that it is difficult to easily collect configuration information and perform maintenance operations.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, collects detailed configuration information of the image forming apparatus at low cost and saves space, and can confirm the unit number and part number without stopping the image forming apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus and a management system for the same.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus including a plurality of units or components as a component, and the unique information of the component is added to each component. And a configuration information acquisition unit configured to wirelessly receive the unique information from the wireless tag and acquire configuration information of the image forming apparatus.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the wireless tag is a component that indicates a component name of the component and a type of the component as the specific information corresponding to the component of the addition destination. A number and a component identification number are stored.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein the wireless tag includes, as the unique information corresponding to the component of the addition destination, the name of the manufacturer of the component, the production lot number, the date of manufacture. Further, at least one of the days is further stored.

  According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the invention of the third aspect, the wireless tag encrypts and stores a manufacturing company name, a manufacturing lot number, and a manufacturing date of the component among the specific information. It is characterized by that.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the display control for displaying the unique information for each of the components acquired as the configuration information by the configuration information acquisition unit on the display unit of the image forming apparatus. Means are provided.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 1, further comprising print output means for printing out unique information for each of the components acquired as the configuration information by the configuration information acquisition means. And

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the connection means for connecting an external processing device and the unique information for each of the constituent elements acquired as the configuration information by the configuration information acquisition means are connected. And processing means for sending to the external processing device through the means.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the configuration information acquired by the configuration information acquisition unit is connected to a management apparatus that remotely manages a plurality of image forming apparatuses via a communication line. Configuration information transmitting means for transmitting to the management apparatus is provided.

  The invention according to claim 9 is the invention according to claim 8, wherein an automatic transmission mode for automatically transmitting the configuration information, a semi-automatic transmission mode for semi-automatic transmission, and a manual transmission mode for manual transmission to the configuration information transmitting means. Transmission mode setting means for selectively setting any one of the above.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the first or ninth aspect of the invention, the configuration information acquisition unit includes a unit that acquires the configuration information when the image forming apparatus first starts operation. And

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the first or ninth aspect, the configuration information acquisition unit is started after any one of replacement, addition, and removal of the component of the image forming apparatus is performed. Immediately after, it has means for acquiring the configuration information.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the first or ninth aspect of the invention, the configuration information acquisition means includes means for acquiring the configuration information when the image forming apparatus is powered on or warmed up. And

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, when the configuration information acquired by the configuration information acquisition unit is acquired by the holding unit that holds the configuration information acquired by the configuration information acquisition unit, the acquisition is performed. Comparing means for comparing whether the configuration information is different from the configuration information held in the holding means, and if the configuration information is different as a result of the comparison, the acquired configuration information is stored in the management device. And transmitting means for transmitting to.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in an image forming apparatus including a plurality of at least one of a unit or a component as a constituent element, an information tag added to each constituent element and storing unique information of the constituent element, and the information Tag information reading means for reading the unique information from the tag, and configuration information acquiring means for acquiring the configuration information of the image forming apparatus from the unique information read by the tag information reading means.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the fourteenth aspect, the configuration information acquisition unit updates the configuration information that has already been read when the tag information of the information tag is read by the tag information reading unit. It is characterized by having.

  The invention according to claim 16 is the invention according to claim 14 or 15, wherein as the information tag, a first information tag comprising a read-only memory, and a second information tag comprising a barcode or a two-dimensional code, As the tag information reading means, a memory reading means for reading the unique information from the read-only memory and a code reading means for reading the barcode or two-dimensional code are provided.

  According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the above sixteenth aspect, the code reading unit is provided in at least one of the inside and the outside of the image forming apparatus.

  The invention according to claim 18 is the invention according to claim 15, wherein the first information tag is added to a component replaceable by a customer, and the second information tag has a configuration impossible for the customer. It is added to the element.

  According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the fourteenth aspect, the configuration information acquired by the configuration information acquisition unit is connected to a management apparatus that remotely manages a plurality of image forming apparatuses via a communication line. Configuration information transmitting means for transmitting to the management apparatus is provided.

  According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus including a plurality of units or parts as components, and a management apparatus connected to the image forming apparatus via a communication line and remotely managing the image forming apparatus. In the image forming apparatus management system, the image forming apparatus is added to each component, stores a unique tag of the component, and stores the unique information from the wireless tag and wirelessly receives the unique information. A configuration information acquisition unit configured to acquire configuration information of the image forming apparatus; and a configuration information transmission unit configured to transmit the configuration information acquired by the configuration information acquisition unit to the management apparatus. Receiving means for receiving the configuration information transmitted by the configuration information transmission control means of the apparatus; and the configuration information received by the receiving means. , Characterized by comprising registration means for registering the configuration information storage means in correspondence with the image forming apparatus of the configuration information source.

  According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus including a plurality of units and / or parts as components, and a management apparatus that is connected to the image forming apparatus via a communication line and remotely manages the image forming apparatus. In the image forming apparatus management system, the image forming apparatus is added to each component and stores an information tag storing unique information of the component, and tag information reading means for reading the unique information from the information tag A configuration information acquisition unit that acquires configuration information of the image forming apparatus from the unique information read by the tag information reading unit, and a configuration that transmits the configuration information acquired by the configuration information acquisition unit to the management apparatus An information transmission unit, and the management apparatus transmits the configuration transmitted by the configuration information transmission control unit of the image forming apparatus. A receiving unit that receives information; and a registration unit that registers the configuration information received by the receiving unit in a configuration information storage unit corresponding to the image forming apparatus that is the source of the configuration information. To do.

  According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the twentieth or twenty-first aspect, the configuration information registered in the configuration information storage unit includes a component name and a component for each component included in the image forming apparatus to be managed. Consisting of a part number, a component identification number, a manufacturing company name, a manufacturing lot number, and a manufacturing date. The receiving means includes the component name, part number, component identification number, manufacturing company name, and manufacturing. A lot number and a manufacturing date are received from the image forming apparatus as the configuration information.

  According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, in the above-described twenty-first or twenty-first aspect, the configuration information registered in the configuration information storage means includes a component name and a component for each component included in the image forming apparatus to be managed. The component information, the component identification number, the manufacturer name, the manufacturing lot number, and the manufacturing date, and the component information name, the manufacturing company name, the manufacturing lot number, and the manufacturing date are stored in the configuration information storage means. Setting means, and the receiving means receives the part number and the component identification number as the configuration information from the image forming apparatus.

  According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided the latest configuration information storage means for registering the latest configuration information of the components used for each model of the image forming apparatus to be managed in the invention of the twentieth or twenty-first aspect. It is characterized by.

  According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the invention, in the twenty-fourth aspect of the invention, when the configuration information is received from the image forming apparatus or when the latest configuration information storage unit is updated, the configuration information storage unit A comparison means for comparing the configuration information registered in the latest configuration information and the latest configuration information registered in the latest configuration information storage means, and as a result of comparison by the comparison means, the configuration information and the latest configuration information match. In the case where there is a component that is not to be replaced, the image forming apparatus includes a replacement request notification unit that notifies a corresponding image forming apparatus and a registered contact address that the component needs to be replaced.

  According to a twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the twenty-fourth aspect, when the failure information is notified from the image forming apparatus, the configuration information registered in the configuration information storage unit and the latest configuration information storage unit If there is a part number that does not match the configuration information and the latest configuration information as a result of comparison by the comparison unit and the latest configuration information registered in the comparison unit, the component having the part number is Failure candidate extracting means for extracting as a failure candidate, and failure candidate notifying means for notifying a failure candidate extracted by the failure candidate extracting means to a corresponding image forming apparatus and a registered contact address are provided.

  According to a twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the twentieth or twenty-first aspect, an exchange frequency totaling unit that totalizes an exchange frequency within a predetermined period for each component based on the configuration information registered in the configuration information storage unit. And supply / demand prediction calculation processing means for calculating a supply / demand forecast for the next predetermined period for each component based on the replacement frequency within the predetermined period for each of the components aggregated by the exchange frequency aggregation means. Features.

According to the present invention, for each component, the image forming apparatus adds a wireless tag storing the unique information of the component, and wirelessly receives the unique information from the wireless tag to obtain the configuration information of the device To do.
According to the invention, the image forming apparatus transmits the acquired information information to the management apparatus, the management apparatus receives the configuration information transmitted from the image forming apparatus, and transmits the configuration information to the configuration information transmission source. Corresponding to the image forming apparatus is registered in the configuration information storage means.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, the image forming apparatus can acquire the configuration information by wirelessly receiving the unique information transmitted from the wireless tag, and the management apparatus also receives the configuration information transmitted from the image forming apparatus as the configuration information. Since it can be stored and managed in the storage unit, detailed configuration information of the image forming apparatus can be collected with a configuration that is excellent in cost and space saving by adding a wireless tag.

  Further, according to the present invention, the image forming apparatus is provided with means for outputting the acquired configuration information (display control means, print output means), or the configuration information does not match the latest configuration information in the management apparatus. In the case where there is a component, a configuration may be provided in which the relevant image forming apparatus needs to be replaced, and a replacement notification means for notifying the registered contact information that the component needs to be replaced. Without checking the component number of each component, etc., it can be compared with the revision number of each component, and the administrator and service personnel can be promptly replaced with components for efficient maintenance. It becomes possible.

  In particular, according to the configuration in which the image forming apparatus is provided with means for outputting the acquired configuration information, the configuration information can be collected without being connected to an external network, and convenient maintenance can be performed.

  Further, according to the present invention, the configuration information acquisition means is immediately after start-up after any of the constituent elements in the image forming apparatus is replaced, added, or removed when the image forming apparatus first starts operation. It can be configured by means for acquiring configuration information when the power is turned on or warmed up, and the user can select the timing for acquiring the configuration information in various ways, so that convenience can be further enhanced.

  According to the present invention, when the failure information is notified from the image forming apparatus, the management apparatus has a part number in which the configuration information does not match the latest configuration information as a result of comparison between the configuration information and the latest configuration information. In this case, since it has failure candidate notifying means for extracting the component having the part number as a failure candidate and notifying the corresponding image forming apparatus and the registered contact address, it is easy to take measures for failure recovery.

  Further, according to the present invention, the management device aggregates the replacement frequency within a predetermined period for each component based on the configuration information registered in the configuration information storage unit, and based on the replacement frequency, It may be configured to have a supply and demand prediction calculation processing means for calculating a supply and demand prediction for a predetermined period, thereby making it easy to make a supply and demand prediction for each component used in the image forming apparatus, and optimizing the inventory securing of each component. I can plan.

  Further, according to the present invention, the image forming apparatus adds, for each component, an information tag storing unique information of the component, and the unique information read by the tag information reading unit from the information tag Device configuration information is acquired.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, it is possible to collect detailed configuration information of the image forming apparatus with a configuration that is excellent in low cost and space saving by adding an information tag.

  Further, according to the present invention, as an information tag, a read-only memory is added to a component that can be replaced by a customer, for example, and a barcode (or a two-dimensional code) is added to a component that cannot be replaced by a customer, for example. As the tag information reading means, a memory reading means for reading the unique information from the read-only memory and a code reading means for reading the bar code (or two-dimensional code) are provided, so that the customer is troubled to read the information tag. In addition, the configuration information can be automatically updated when the unit / parts are replaced without service personnel such as replacement of consumables.

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

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus management system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  The image forming apparatus management system includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses 10 [10-11, 10-12,... (For example, multifunction peripherals and copiers installed in the company A), 10-21, 10-22,. , And the like, and a central management management device (hereinafter referred to as a management device) 50 for remotely managing the plurality of image forming apparatuses 10 is a network (NW) 30. It is configured to connect through.

  In this system, each image forming apparatus 10 and the management apparatus 50 are connected via a communication line in the NW 30 so that bidirectional communication is possible.

  In this system, by using the bidirectional communication function, each image forming apparatus 10 acquires configuration information (see FIG. 5), which will be described later, regarding a plurality of units or parts constituting the device itself, and the management device 50. The management apparatus 50 collects the configuration information sent from the plurality of image forming apparatuses 10 via the communication line, registers them in correspondence with the image forming apparatuses, and centrally manages them.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, each image forming apparatus 10 has a wireless tag storing unique information of the unit or part added to each constituent unit or part in the own apparatus, and unique information transmitted from the wireless tag. And receiving the configuration information of the device, and transmitting the configuration information to the management device 50.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 used in the image forming apparatus management system according to the present exemplary embodiment.

  Note that the image forming apparatus 10 used in the present system is a multifunction machine (for example, the image forming apparatus 10 in FIG. 1) in which functions such as a printer function, a copy (copy) function, and a facsimile (FAX) communication are integrated into one unit. -11, 10-21, etc.), printers specialized for individual functions, copiers (for example, image forming apparatuses 10-12, 10-22, etc. in FIG. 1), facsimile machines, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a communication interface (I / F) unit 11 having an interface function with a communication line connected to the management device 50, an operation panel having a plurality of keys, a liquid crystal display unit, and the like. And input execution instructions for various functions corresponding to key presses on the operation panel (copy, printer, scanner, FAX), and display various information such as operation guidance and operation status of the execution functions on the liquid crystal display unit. The operation display unit 12, a reading unit (scanner) 13 for reading an image on a document when copying or FAX transmission, image data read by the reading unit 13, image data input from a PC, image data received by FAX, etc. Acquired by an image forming unit 14 that performs image forming processing to be printed on a recording medium, image data before printing, and a configuration information acquiring unit 17 described later. A storage unit 15 for storing various information such as configuration information, a copy function for printing image data read from a document by the reading unit 13 by the image forming unit 14, and an external device via the communication I / F unit 11. A printing (printer) function for printing image data input from a PC or the like by the image forming unit 14, and image data read from the original by the reading unit 13 are transmitted to the partner facsimile machine via the communication I / F unit 11. Control that controls the entire apparatus, such as control related to various functions such as a facsimile (FAX) transmission function that prints image data received from the other facsimile apparatus via the communication I / F unit 11 by the image forming unit 14 Unit 16 and functional units (photosensitive band unit, toner cartridge, fixing unit, etc.) and parts (intermediate transfer belt, paper transport roller, etc.) in image forming unit 14 The configuration information is acquired by receiving wirelessly the information unique to each component unit or component stored in the wireless tag 31 from the wireless tag 31 added to a plurality of units and / or components constituting the device. And a connection terminal of an external processing device 60 such as a PC (personal computer), and the interface for transferring configuration information to the external processing device 60 connected to the connection terminal. An external interface (I / F) unit 18 is provided.

  The control unit 16 includes a state detection unit 161, a state analysis unit 162, and a configuration information management control unit 163.

  The state detection unit 161 indicates the operation state of the communication I / F unit 11, the operation display unit 12, the reading unit 13, the image forming unit 14, and the like during the operation of each function such as the above-described copy, printer, scanner, and FAX. Perform processing to detect.

  In the detection process of the state detection unit 161, the operation information of each hardware unit corresponding to each function (copy, printer, scanner, FAX) described above is detected through appropriate sensors or the like arranged in each unit in the apparatus. In addition, a process for detecting the operation state of the software job that controls the respective units is also included.

  The state analysis unit 162 analyzes what abnormality (failure) has occurred in the device based on the operation state of each device and software job detected by the state detection unit 161.

  When the state information analysis unit 162 recognizes that a failure has occurred, the control unit 16 transmits failure information indicating the content of the failure to the management device 50 via the communication I / F unit 11.

  The configuration information management control unit 163 performs processing such as holding the configuration information acquired by the configuration information acquisition unit 17 in the storage unit 15 or transmitting the configuration information to the management device 50 through the communication I / F 11.

  FIG. 3 is a conceptual block diagram showing a functional configuration related to the configuration information acquisition function of the image forming apparatus 10 in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a plurality of constituent units 1 (21-1), 2 (21-2),..., An intermediate transfer belt, A plurality of component parts 1 (22-1), 2 (22-2),... Such as a sheet conveying roller are mounted.

  Further, each of the constituent units 21 (21-1, 21-2,...) And the constituent parts 22 (22-1, 22-2,...) Has unique information of the corresponding constituent unit 21 or constituent part 22, respectively. Are attached (added) to wireless tags 31 (31-11, 31-12,..., 31-21, 31-22,...).

  Each of the wireless tags 31 stores unique information of the component unit 21 or the component part 22 to which each wireless tag 31 is added.

  On the other hand, the configuration information acquisition unit 17 includes a tag information receiving unit 171 that wirelessly receives the unique information stored in the wireless tag 31 from the wireless tag 31.

  The configuration information acquisition unit 17 receives the unique information transmitted from the wireless tag 31 by the tag information reception 171 and acquires the received unique information as configuration information of the image forming apparatus 10.

  FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a work procedure for writing unique information to the wireless tag 31.

  In FIG. 4, writing (storage) of unique information to the wireless tag 31 can be realized by, for example, RFID (Radio Frequency-Identification) technology.

  That is, in this embodiment, the wireless tag 31 is configured by an RFID-type IC wireless tag on which an IC chip (not shown) capable of storing data is mounted.

  On the other hand, the tag information processing apparatus 80 is configured by a PC terminal to which a tag reading / writing unit 801 including an antenna and a controller having a RFID data reading / writing function is added.

  Thus, by inputting desired data (unique information) from the tag information processing device 80 in a state where the wireless tag 31 is close to the tag reading / writing unit 801, the controller in the tag reading / writing unit 801 The unique information can be written to the IC chip in the wireless tag 31 by non-contact wireless communication.

  As a wireless communication method between the tag reading / writing unit 801 and the wireless tag 31, an electromagnetic induction method, an electromagnetic coupling method, a microwave method, and an optical (infrared) method can be adopted.

  The tag reading / writing unit 801 can also read information from the IC chip in the wireless tag 31 with the wireless tag 33 being in proximity.

  In FIG. 3, the tag information receiving unit 171 provided in the configuration information acquiring unit 17 has a function corresponding to the tag reading processing function in the tag reading / writing unit 801 of the tag information processing apparatus 80 shown in FIG. .

  Further, the unique information is stored in each wireless tag 31 by the writing procedure shown in FIG. 4, and then the wireless tag 31 is added to each corresponding component unit 21 or component part 22, and then each of these component units 21 or components is configured. When the device is returned to the operable information after the components 22 are mounted at the respective locations, the wireless tags 31 are placed in proximity to the tag information receiving unit 171 of the configuration information acquiring unit 17.

  Thereafter, the configuration information acquisition unit 17 applies a reading trigger to the tag information reception unit 171 (start command transmission) at an arbitrary timing, and transmits the unique information transmitted from each wireless tag 31 at the timing to the tag information reception unit. By receiving (reading) at 171, the unique information can be acquired as configuration information of the image forming apparatus 10.

  In the operation of the system according to the present embodiment, when an arbitrary constituent unit 21 or constituent part 22 is mounted or replaced in the image forming apparatus 10, the wireless tag 31 to be added to the constituent unit 21 or the constituent part 22 is attached. The unique information of the corresponding component unit 21 or component 22 is stored in the procedure shown in FIG.

  At this time, the wireless tag 31 includes at least the name of the constituent unit 21 or the constituent part 22 (unit name or part), the specific information of the constituent unit 21 or the constituent part 22, and the constituent unit 21 or the constituent part 22. A unit number or part number (part number) representing the type, and an ID (identification code) that is a serial number uniquely assigned to each of the constituent unit 21 or constituent part 22 are stored (see FIG. 4).

  Further, if necessary, at least one of the manufacturing lot number and the manufacturing date of the corresponding component unit 21 or component 22 is stored in the wireless tag 31 together with the above information. good.

  After the wireless tag 31 storing the unique information as described above is added to the corresponding component unit 21 or component part 22 and mounted in the image forming apparatus 10, the configuration information acquisition unit 17 performs each timing at an arbitrary timing. Unique information (unit name / part name, unit number / part number, ID, manufacturing lot number, manufacturing date, etc.) stored in each wireless tag 31 is received by the tag information receiving unit 171 from the wireless tag 31; Next, the configuration information management control unit 163 performs a process of collectively storing the received unique information as, for example, the configuration information of the image forming apparatus 10 in the storage unit 15.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of configuration information acquired by the configuration information acquisition unit 17 and held in a predetermined area of the storage unit 15.

  In the case of this example, the unit name / part name, unit number / part of each corresponding constituent unit 21 or constituent part 22 is added to the wireless tag 31 added to each constituent unit 21 or constituent part 22 in the apparatus 10. The configuration information 151 collected by the configuration information acquisition unit 17 and held in the storage unit 15 by the configuration information management control unit 163 corresponding to the storage of the number, ID, production lot number, and date of manufacture, The unit name / part name, unit number / part number, ID, manufacturing lot number, and manufacturing date of all the constituent units 21 or the constituent parts 22 are collected together.

  The timing at which the configuration information acquisition unit 17 collects the configuration information is, for example, that the image forming apparatus 10 first starts operating (for example, immediately after the power is turned on or after some functional operation is started). The method of collecting immediately is applicable.

  Further, immediately after the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 is started after the constituent unit 21 or the component part 22 is replaced, added, removed or the like in the image forming apparatus 10 (for example, The configuration information acquisition unit 17 may collect the configuration information at a timing immediately after the power is turned on.

  Note that the above-described operation conditions (the image forming apparatus 10 has started operating first, the component unit 21 or the component part 22 has been replaced, added, or removed, and then the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 has been started up). Etc.) can be recognized by the configuration information management control unit 163 from the detection result of the state detection unit 161, for example.

  Therefore, when the configuration information collection timing is set to the above operating conditions, the configuration information management control unit 163 sends the configuration information acquisition instruction of the configuration information acquisition unit 17 when recognizing these operating conditions. It becomes possible to collect configuration information triggered by operating conditions.

  The configuration information management control unit 163 is also responsible for output control of configuration information held in the storage unit 15.

  Thereby, for example, when a predetermined operation for requesting display of the configuration information is performed on the operation panel constituting the operation display unit 12, the configuration information management control unit 163 receives and stores a key input associated with the display request operation. The configuration information 151 is read from the unit 15 and displayed on the liquid crystal display unit on the operation panel.

  Further, for example, when a predetermined operation for requesting printing of the configuration information is performed on the operation panel constituting the operation display unit 12, the configuration information management control unit 163 receives a key input accompanying the print request operation, and stores the storage unit. The configuration information 151 is read from 15 and the image forming unit 14 performs control to print out a list of the configuration information on a recording sheet.

  The print output of the configuration information 151 may be performed in response to a predetermined print request operation when the configuration information 151 is displayed on the operation panel, for example.

  The configuration information management control unit 163 also has a control function for transferring the configuration information 151 held in the storage unit 15 to the external processing device 60.

  That is, the image forming apparatus 10 includes an external I / F unit 18 as a communication unit that can be connected to a local port such as RS232C or USB, or a local or internal processing terminal 60 such as a NIC.

  Thereby, after connecting the image forming apparatus 10 to the external processing terminal 60 dedicated to the apparatus via the external I / F unit 10, the configuration information management control unit 163 receives the configuration information acquisition request from the external processing terminal 60. As a result, the configuration information 151 held in the storage unit 15 is read, and the configuration information is controlled to be transmitted to the external processing device 60 via the external I / F unit 18.

  According to such control, even when the image forming apparatus 10 cannot be connected to the management apparatus 50 via the communication line (the connection to the management apparatus 50 will be described in detail later), the maintenance of the image forming apparatus 10 is performed. The service person who performs the inspection needs to replace the unit number or the part number of the component unit 21 or the component part 22 installed without disassembling the apparatus at the place where the image forming apparatus 10 is installed. It is possible to easily check whether a unit or a part is present.

  In the image forming apparatus 10, the configuration information management control unit 163 performs control to transmit the configuration information collected by the configuration information acquisition unit 17 to the external management device 50 via a communication line.

  The image forming apparatus 50 has a configuration information transmission mode setting function for selectively setting one of an automatic transmission mode, a semi-automatic transmission mode, and a manual transmission mode with respect to the configuration information transmission mode for transmitting the configuration information to the management apparatus 50. ing.

  For the setting of the transmission mode by this mode setting function, for example, based on a predetermined mode setting request operation on the operation panel, the control unit 16 prompts the user to select one of the automatic transmission mode, the semi-automatic transmission mode, and the manual transmission mode. This can be realized by a method in which a mode setting screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit, and a mode selected by an operation on the operation panel in this state is set as a configuration information transmission mode in the present apparatus.

  Hereinafter, a processing operation when the configuration information is transmitted to the management apparatus 50 in each set transmission mode in the image forming apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a configuration information transmission processing operation corresponding to a case in which configuration information is collected immediately after the operation is started (immediately after power-on) when the configuration unit 21 or the component part 22 is replaced in the image forming apparatus 10. It is.

  In FIG. 6, the configuration information management control unit 163 takes in the detection output of the state information detection unit 161 and monitors whether the power is turned on (step S101).

  If it is determined that the power is turned on (YES in step S101), the configuration information management control unit 163 checks whether any of the configuration units 21 or the component parts 22 has been replaced (step S102).

  The processing in this step S102 is performed by, for example, providing attachment / detachment detection sensors for detecting whether or not each component unit 21 or component 22 corresponding to the mounting portion of each component unit 21 or component 22 is mounted. The configuration information management control unit 163 fetches through the status information detection unit 161 the status information corresponding to the detection result of the attachment / detachment detection sensor (respective status information on whether it has been replaced, added, or removed). This can be realized by a method of determining whether or not the constituent unit 21 or the constituent part 22 has been replaced based on the captured state information.

  Here, when the component unit 21 or the component part 22 has not been replaced (NO in step S102), the configuration information management control unit 163 proceeds to a power-on transmission process (see FIG. 8) described later.

  On the other hand, when the constituent unit 21 or the constituent part 22 has been replaced (YES in step S102), the constituent information management control unit 163 is unique from the wireless tag 31 added to each constituent unit 21 or constituent part 22. The configuration information is collected by receiving the information (see FIG. 3) (step S103), and the collected unique information is temporarily stored in the storage unit 15 (step S104).

  Next, the configuration information management control unit 163 checks whether the transmission mode set by the transmission mode setting function described above is an automatic transmission mode, a semi-automatic transmission mode, or a manual transmission mode (step S105).

  Here, when the automatic transmission mode is set (automatic transmission mode in step S105), the configuration information management control unit 163 reads the configuration information from the storage unit 15 and transmits the configuration information to the management device 50 through the communication I / F unit 11. (Step S106).

  If the semi-automatic transmission mode is set (semi-automatic transmission mode in step S105), the configuration information management control unit 163 prompts the user to select whether or not to transmit configuration information to the operation panel of the operation display unit 12. Is displayed (step S107).

  Thereafter, it is checked whether or not there is a transmission instruction (step S108). If there is a transmission instruction (YES in step S108), the configuration information is read from the storage unit 15 and transmitted to the management apparatus 50 through the communication I / F unit 11. If there is no transmission instruction (step S106), the process ends.

  If the manual transmission mode is set (manual transmission mode in step S105), the configuration information management control unit 163 proceeds to manual mode transmission processing (see FIG. 7) described later.

  FIG. 7 shows the transmission processing operation in the manual transmission mode of the configuration information collected when either the configuration unit 21 or the component 22 is replaced after the power is turned on (determined as the manual transmission mode in step S105 in FIG. 6). 6 is a flowchart showing a transmission processing operation in the case of

  In FIG. 7, the configuration information management control unit 163 monitors whether there is a configuration information display request operation by the user of the image forming apparatus 10 from the operation panel (step S <b> 121).

  If there is a configuration information display request operation (YES in step S121), the configuration information management control unit 163 reads the configuration information stored in the storage unit 15, and transmits the read configuration information and the configuration information. Information for prompting selection of whether or not is displayed on the operation panel (step S122).

  Thereafter, it is checked whether or not there is an instruction to transmit configuration information (step S123). If there is an instruction to transmit (YES in step S123), the configuration information is read from the storage unit 15, and the management device 50 is transmitted through the communication I / F unit 11. If there is no transmission instruction (NO in step S123), the process ends.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation of transmitting configuration information (transmission processing at power-on after step S102 NO in FIG. 6) after it is determined that the configuration unit 21 or component 22 has not been replaced after the power is turned on. .

  In FIG. 8, the configuration information management control unit 163 determines that the configuration unit 21 or the component part 22 has not been replaced in step S102 of FIG. 6 (NO in step S102), and then adds the information to each configuration unit 21 or component part 22. The configuration information is collected by receiving each unique information from the wireless tag 31 (see FIG. 3) (step S111), while the configuration information collected before that is read from the storage unit 15 (step S112). The read collected configuration information is compared with the currently collected configuration information to check whether the unique information of the two is different (step S113).

  Here, if the unique information is different between the collected configuration information and the currently collected configuration information (YES in step S113), the unique information in the currently collected configuration information is extracted as the difference content from the different unique information. Then, the difference contents are transmitted to the management apparatus 50 through the communication I / F unit 11 (step S114). If the unique information between the collected configuration information and the currently collected configuration information is not different (step S113 NO), the configuration information The process is terminated without sending.

  In this way, in this embodiment, the configuration information acquired by the configuration information acquisition unit 17 is transmitted to the management device 50 in one of the preset transmission modes among the automatic transmission mode, the semi-automatic transmission mode, and the manual transmission mode. Can be sent.

  6 and 7, the configuration information transmission process in the case where the configuration information is collected when it is determined that the configuration unit 21 or the component part 22 is replaced after the power is turned on has been described. When it is determined that the unit 21 or the component 22 is added or removed, or when the configuration information is collected at another timing, such as immediately after the image forming apparatus 10 starts operation, any of the above The transmission process in the transmission mode is possible.

  As described above, when the image forming apparatus 10 starts operating for the first time, each timing immediately after the start of the operation after the constituent unit 21 or the constituent part 22 of the image forming apparatus 10 is replaced, added, or removed. In the case of acquiring the configuration information, it is necessary to provide means for recognizing that the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 is the first time or that the configuration unit 21 or the component part 22 has been replaced at the time of re-operation. .

  In view of these points, the configuration information may be acquired every time the image forming apparatus 10 is turned on, or the configuration information may be collected when the image forming apparatus 10 is warmed up.

  In this case, for example, for the processing of steps S101 → S102NO in FIG. 6 → steps S111 to S114 in FIG. 8, the configuration information is acquired when the image forming apparatus 10 is turned on or warmed up, and the acquired configuration information is stored. A process of transmitting the different result (unique information different from the collected configuration information in the newly acquired configuration information) to the management device 50 when the configuration information is different from the collected configuration information stored in the unit 15 Thus, the functional configuration relating to the acquisition of configuration information can be simplified.

  As described above, in the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment, the wireless tag 31 storing the unique information of the corresponding configuration unit 21 or component 22 is added to each configuration unit 21 or component 22, respectively. Since the information acquisition unit 17 collects the specific information transmitted from each wireless tag 31 as configuration information by wireless reception, the configuration for acquiring the configuration information is low-cost only by adding the wireless tag 31, This can be realized by a configuration effective for space saving.

  Further, since the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment has an output function such as displaying and printing the collected configuration information, the output can be performed without stopping the image forming apparatus 10 and checking each unit or part number. The configuration information thus revised can be compared with the revised unit or part number, and efficient maintenance can be performed based on the comparison result.

  Also, it has a configuration in which the user can arbitrarily select when to collect the configuration information and whether to transmit the collected configuration information automatically, semi-automatically, or manually to the management apparatus 50. Thus, user convenience is also improved.

  In the image forming apparatus management system according to the present exemplary embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 transmits the information to the management apparatus 50 by the various methods described above, while the management apparatus 50 receives the configuration information transmitted from each image forming apparatus 10. Register in the configuration information holding means.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration information communication control sequence between the image forming apparatus 10 and the management apparatus 50 in the image forming apparatus management system of the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 9, in this system, each image forming apparatus 10 puts the configuration information acquired by the configuration information acquisition unit 17 and the identification information (ID) of its own apparatus in the configuration information notification format to the management apparatus 50. By transmitting, the configuration information is notified to the management device 50 (steps S11-1, S11-2, S11-n).

  On the other hand, every time the management apparatus 50 receives the configuration information notification from each image forming apparatus 10 (receives the configuration information notification format), the management apparatus 50 extracts the apparatus ID and the configuration information in the format, and configures the configuration for each apparatus ID. Processing for registering information in the configuration information holding means (steps S51-1, S51-2, S51-n) is performed.

  Thereafter, the management apparatus 50 performs overall management of operations related to maintenance and the like of each image forming apparatus 10 in the system using the configuration information registered in the configuration information holding unit.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the management apparatus 50 according to the present embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 10, the management device 50 includes a communication interface (I / F) unit 51 having a communication interface function with a communication line connected to the image forming apparatus 10, a display unit 52 that displays various types of information, and various types of information. An operation unit 53 that performs input operations such as a command and a command, a recording unit 54 that prints out various information such as a supply and demand prediction result to be described later, a storage unit 55 that stores various information, and a control unit 56 that controls the operation of the entire apparatus. Configured.

  The storage unit 55 includes a configuration management database (DB) 551, a latest configuration management database (DB) 553, and an exchange frequency management database (DB) 555.

  In the configuration management DB 551, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, the configuration information (unit / part name, unit / part number, unit / part ID, production lot number, production date) of all the image forming apparatuses 10 in the system. Date) is stored in correspondence with the ID of the image forming apparatus 10 as the transmission source.

  Of the configuration information stored in the configuration management DB 551, the unit / part name, the manufacturing lot number, and the manufacturing date are not only collected from each image forming apparatus 10 but also set (registered) in advance on the management apparatus 50 side. You may be allowed to keep it. In this case, the wireless tag 31 used on the image forming apparatus 10 side has unique information (unit / part number, unit / part ID, etc.) other than that registered on the management apparatus 50 side as inherent information. Only will be remembered.

  In the latest configuration management DB 553, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, the latest configuration information (unit / part name, unit name) of the configuration unit 21 or the component part 22 collected for each model for all image forming apparatuses 10 in the system. (Unit / part number, unit / part ID, production lot number, production date) are stored.

  The latest configuration information is, for example, the latest configuration information (old product) of the configuration unit 21 or component 22 obtained from the manufacturer as the latest product of the configuration unit 21 or component 22 is shipped by the manufacturer. The unit / part number, the unit / part ID, the manufacturing lot number, the manufacturing date, etc., which have been revised from the above, are registered in the latest configuration information DB 553 as the person in charge sequentially inputs from the operation unit 53.

  The replacement frequency management database (DB) 555 includes a configuration for each image forming apparatus 10 calculated based on a comparison result between the configuration information stored in the configuration management DB 551 and the latest configuration information stored in the latest configuration management DB 553. The replacement frequency information of the unit 21 or the component part 22 is stored.

  Further, the control unit 56 includes a configuration information registration processing unit 561, a maintenance required notification unit 562, a failure candidate notification unit 563, and a supply and demand prediction calculation processing unit 563.

  The configuration information registration processing unit 561 receives the configuration information received from each image forming apparatus 10 through the communication I / F unit 51 in the configuration management DB 551 as shown in FIG. 11 (however, the wireless tag 31 used on the image forming apparatus 10 side). And the unit / part name, unit / part number, unit / part ID, manufacturing lot number, and manufacturing date).

  The maintenance required notification unit 562 performs a maintenance required (replacement required) notification process illustrated in FIG. 13, and the failure candidate notification unit 563 performs a failure candidate extraction / notification process illustrated in FIG.

  Based on the comparison result between the configuration information stored in the configuration management DB 551 and the latest configuration information stored in the latest configuration management DB 553, the supply and demand prediction calculation processing unit 563 configures the configuration unit 21 or component for each image forming apparatus 10. In addition to obtaining the replacement frequency within a certain period of 22, a process for calculating the supply and demand forecast for the next period of the component unit 21 or the component part 22 from the replacement frequency is performed.

  Next, various processing operations in the management apparatus 50 will be described in detail.

  The management apparatus 50 according to the present embodiment uses which image forming apparatus 10 and which configuration unit 21 or configuration based on the comparison result between the configuration information stored in the configuration management DB 551 and the latest configuration information stored in the latest configuration management DB 553. Processing for determining whether maintenance is necessary, such as whether the part 22 needs to be replaced, and notifying the relevant image forming apparatus 10 or its administrator or serviceman that maintenance is necessary (maintenance required) It has a function.

  In the management apparatus 50 according to the present embodiment, the configuration information for determining the maintenance required and the latest configuration information are compared, for example, when the configuration information is received from the image forming apparatus 10 or when the configuration unit 21 or the component part 22 is received. This is performed when the unit / part number is revised and the specific information of the corresponding constituent unit 21 or constituent part 22 in the latest configuration management DB 553 is updated and registered based on this.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the maintenance notification processing operation of the management apparatus 50 according to this embodiment.

  In FIG. 13, the control unit 56 (maintenance notifying unit 562) of the management apparatus 50 monitors whether or not the unit / part number has been updated in the latest configuration management DB 553 during system operation ( Step S201).

  Here, when the latest configuration management DB 553 has not been updated (NO in step S201), the maintenance required notification unit 562 checks whether configuration information has been received from the image forming apparatus 10 (step S202). When the configuration information is not received (step S202 NO), the processing after step S201 is continued.

  During this time, if the latest configuration management DB 553 is updated (YES in step S201), the maintenance notifying unit 562 requires the target configuration unit 21 based on the updated contents (updated unit / part number, etc.) in the latest configuration management DB 553. Alternatively, models that use the component parts 22 are listed (step S203), and the image forming apparatus 10 that corresponds to the configuration information comparison target (corresponding to the listed models) registered in the configuration management DB 551 is specified (step S203). S204).

  Next, the maintenance notifying unit 562 extracts the configuration information of the specified image forming apparatus 10 from the configuration management DB 551 (Step S205), and extracts the latest configuration information of the image forming apparatus 10 from the latest configuration management DB 553 (Step S205). After the step S206), the extracted configuration information is compared with the latest configuration information (step S207), and it is checked whether the pieces of unique information of the both pieces of configuration information match (step S208).

  If the two pieces of configuration information match (YES in step S208), the maintenance required notification unit 562 ends the process.

  On the other hand, if the two pieces of configuration information do not match (NO in step S208), the maintenance required notification unit 562 indicates that, for example, the configuration unit 21 or the component 22 corresponding to the unique information (unit / part number etc.) that does not match is old. A maintenance required message is sent to the corresponding image forming apparatus 10, the administrator, and the service person in charge of the image forming apparatus 10 to notify that it is present and that it needs to be replaced (step S209).

  Here, the notification of the maintenance-required message to the administrator and the service person in charge is performed by using, for example, the information processing terminal (for example, in FIG. This can be realized by sending a maintenance required message to the administrator terminal 70) by e-mail.

  On the other hand, when the latest configuration management DB 553 is not updated (NO in step S201) and configuration information is received from the image forming apparatus 202 (YES in step S201), the maintenance required notification unit 562 sends the received configuration information to the configuration management DB 511. Once this is registered (step S202a), the latest configuration information of the image forming apparatus 10 is extracted from the latest configuration management DB 553 (step S206) and compared with the configuration information received this time (step S202a). S207).

  Thereafter, as in the case of updating the latest configuration management DB 553, if the configuration information (received configuration information) does not match the latest configuration information (NO in step S208), the maintenance required notification unit 562 does not match the unique information (unit / part number, etc.). ) To generate a maintenance-required message, and notify the maintenance-required message to the image forming apparatus 10, the administrator, and the service person in charge of the image forming apparatus 10 (step S209).

  Whether or not a maintenance-necessary message is to be transmitted to each corresponding destination in step S209 is determined by the level of configuration information mismatch in step S208 [for example, the elapsed time from the date of manufacture of the latest component unit 21 or component. (How many months are old) etc.].

  According to the maintenance message notification function, for example, when the number of the component unit 21 or the component part 21 is revised and the latest configuration management DB 553 is updated, the configuration management DB 551 is registered at the same time as the update depending on the level of revision. The image forming apparatus 10 is compared with the configuration information of each of the image forming apparatuses 10, the image forming apparatus 10 on which the old configuration unit 21 or the component 22 is mounted is listed, and a maintenance required message is sent to the image forming apparatus 10. The maintenance work can be facilitated by notifying the user, the administrator, or the service person in charge and prompting an early replacement.

  Further, in the management apparatus 50 according to the present embodiment, the number of the component unit 21 or the component part 21 is revised at a level that is not as urgent as maintenance required (replacement required), and the latest configuration management DB 553 is updated. Even when the latest configuration information is not compared with the configuration information registered in the configuration management DB 551, if a failure occurs in the image forming apparatus 10, the registered configuration information in the configuration management DB 551 and the latest configuration management are stored. When there is a configuration unit 21 or a component 22 having a different number by comparing with the latest configuration information in the DB 553, it has a processing function of extracting the configuration unit 21 or the component 22 as a failure candidate.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating the failure candidate extraction / notification processing operation of the management apparatus 50 according to the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 14, the control unit 56 (failure candidate notification unit 563) of the management apparatus 50 receives failure information from the image forming apparatus 10 during system operation (YES in step S221), and stores the failure information from the configuration management DB 551. The configuration information of the image forming apparatus 10 as the transmission source is extracted (step S222), and the latest configuration information corresponding to the model of the image forming apparatus 10 is extracted from the latest configuration management 553 (step S223), and then these extracted configurations are extracted. The information and the latest configuration information are compared (step S224), and it is checked whether or not there is a configuration unit 21 or component 22 having a different unique information such as a number (other manufacturing date) (step S225).

  Here, when there is no component unit 21 or component 22 having different unique information such as a number (NO in step S225), the failure candidate notification unit 563 proceeds to an appropriate analysis process of the received failure information (step S228).

  On the other hand, when there is a constituent unit 21 or a constituent part 22 having different unique information such as a number (YES in step S225), the failure candidate notifying unit 563 extracts the constituent unit 21 or the constituent part 22 as a fault candidate ( Step S226).

  Then, the component unit 21 or the component 22 that is the failure candidate is used as a replacement unit or component, as in the case of notification of the maintenance required message, by e-mail or the like, the image forming apparatus 10, the administrator, or the person in charge Each is notified to the service person (step S227).

  In FIG. 14, failure candidates are extracted and notified when failure information is received from the image forming apparatus 10. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and even if a failure does not occur in the image forming apparatus 10. The configuration information is periodically compared with the latest configuration information, and if there is a configuration unit 21 or component 22 having a different number or the like, it is extracted as a failure candidate, and replacement is required for the corresponding image forming apparatus 10, administrator, or service in charge. It is also possible to operate so as to notify a man.

  According to the failure candidate extraction / notification function described above, when a failure occurs in the image forming apparatus 10, the failure candidate (the configuration unit 21 or the component part 22) that is involved in the failure is notified from the management device 50 to the responsible service person or the like. Thus, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the failure recovery work by the service person in charge.

  Further, in the management apparatus 50 according to the present embodiment, the replacement frequency of the configuration unit 21 or the component part 22 within a predetermined period is tabulated based on the configuration information registered in the configuration management DB 551, and further based on the tabulation result. It has a processing function to forecast supply and demand for the next predetermined period.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the replacement frequency counting processing operation of the management apparatus 50 according to the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 15, the control unit 56 (supply / demand prediction processing unit 564) of the management device 50 sets an arbitrary replacement frequency counting period (for example, one month) during system operation (step S <b> 231), and then each component unit 21. Alternatively, after the number of replacement of the component 21 is reset (step S232), it is checked whether or not the counting period has expired (step S233).

  Here, when the total period has not expired (NO in step S233), the supply and demand prediction processing unit 564 monitors whether or not configuration information has been received from the image forming apparatus 10 (step S234).

  When the configuration information is received from the image forming apparatus 10 (YES in step S234), the demand / supply prediction processing unit 564 extracts the configuration information of the image forming apparatus 10 that is the transmission source of the configuration information from the configuration management DB 551 ( In step S235), the extracted configuration information is compared with the received configuration information (step S236), and it is checked whether there is a configuration unit 21 or a component 22 having different configuration information (step S237).

  If there is a configuration unit 21 or component 22 having different configuration information (YES in step S237), “1” is added to the number of replacements of the configuration unit 21 or component 22 to update the replacement number (step S238). After that, the process returns to step S233 and the same processing is repeated.

  In the meantime, when the counting period has expired (YES in step S233), the demand-and-supply prediction processing unit 564 counts the number of exchanges for each component unit 21 or component part 22 (step S241), and exchanges the counting result within the counting period. It is stored in the exchange frequency management DB 555 as frequency information.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the supply and demand prediction processing operation of the component unit 21 and the component 22 of the management apparatus 50 according to the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 16, when the demand / supply prediction processing unit 564 of the management device 50 receives a demand / supply prediction request operation from the operation unit 53 during system operation (YES in step S251), the supply / demand prediction target constituent unit specified in the supply / demand prediction request operation 21 or the component 22 is specified (step S252).

  Next, the supply and demand prediction processing unit 564 extracts replacement frequency information for a preset aggregation period (for example, several months) from the replacement frequency management DB 555 for the component unit 21 or the component part 22 (step S253). Further, based on the extracted replacement frequency information, a supply and demand prediction for the next predetermined period (for example, one month) for the component unit 21 or the component part 22 is calculated (step S254), and the calculated supply and demand prediction result is calculated. Output (step S255).

  As a method for outputting the demand / supply prediction result, for example, there are a method for displaying the demand / supply prediction result on the display unit 52 and a method for printing out the demand / supply prediction result on the recording unit 53.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an output example of the supply / demand prediction result in the supply / demand prediction processing unit 564 of the management device 50.

  In this example, the result of predicting and calculating the number of supply and demand for the next month (August) is output for the component A based on the replacement frequency in the past six months (February to July 2004).

  As described above, according to the supply and demand prediction processing function provided in the management device 50 according to the present embodiment, the replacement of the configuration unit 21 or the component part 22 within the past predetermined period calculated based on the configuration information registered in the configuration management DB 551 is performed. Based on the frequency, the supply and demand prediction for the next predetermined period is performed and the supply and demand prediction result is output, so that it is possible to optimize the inventory securing for each component unit 21 or component part 22 with reference to the supply and demand prediction result. become.

  As for this supply and demand prediction processing function, for example, the supply and demand prediction may be calculated by linking with the failure information generated in the image forming apparatus 10, and in this case, the developer is linked to the failure information. By feeding back the supply and demand prediction, it can be used to improve the quality of the next design equipment.

  In the system according to this embodiment, on each image forming apparatus 10 side, the configuration information acquisition unit 17 wirelessly receives unique information transmitted from the wireless tag 31 added to each configuration unit 21 or component 22. As a result, the configuration information is collected and transmitted to the management apparatus 50. On the management apparatus 50 side, the configuration information sent from each image forming apparatus 10 is registered in the configuration management DB 551, and the registered configuration information and the latest configuration are registered. When an operation is considered in which processing such as which image forming apparatus 10 needs to replace which component unit 21 or component part 22 is required based on the result of comparison with the latest information registered in the management DB 553 is considered. The wireless tag 31 to be added to each component unit 21 or component 22 of the forming apparatus 10 has at least each component unit to which it is added as unique information. The unit number or part number representing the type of the base 21 or the component part 22 and the unit ID or part ID are stored, and other unique information, that is, the manufacturing company name, the manufacturing lot number, the manufacturing date, etc. On the management device 50 side, it may be set in advance in the configuration management DB 553 corresponding to the unit ID or component ID.

  Thus, setting the manufacturing company name, manufacturing lot number, manufacturing date, etc. of each component unit 21 or component 22 on the management device 50 side is limited to the wireless tag 31 used on the image forming device 10 side. It is useful for effective use of storage capacity and confidentiality.

  Even when the manufacturing company name, manufacturing lot number, manufacturing date, etc. set in the management device 50 in advance are recorded in the wireless tag 31, if these pieces of information are encrypted and stored in the wireless tag 31, It is effective in terms of confidentiality.

  Further, according to the method of encrypting the manufacturing company name, the manufacturing lot number, the manufacturing date, etc. set in the management device 50 in advance and storing them in the wireless tag 31, for example, if the communication line is defective, the management device This is also effective as a countermeasure when a serviceman cannot refer to the manufacturing company name registered in 50 from the image forming apparatus 10.

  In this case, when the image forming apparatus 10 is maintained, the service person can extract the information of the manufacturing company or the like that is encrypted and recorded in the wireless tag 31 and read the information locally, thereby maintaining confidentiality. Maintenance efficiency can be improved while maintaining the above.

  FIG. 18 is a conceptual block diagram illustrating a functional configuration related to the configuration information acquisition function of the image forming apparatus 10A according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 18, the same components as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 18, in the image forming apparatus 10A, each of the constituent units 21 (21-1, 21-2,...) And the constituent parts 22 (22-1, 22-2,. Information tags 35A-11, 35A-12 and identification tags 35B-11, 35B-12 storing unique information of each component unit 21 or component 22 are attached (added).

  Here, the information tag 35A (35A-11, 35A-12) is a bar code or a two-dimensional code, and is formed as a sticker on each corresponding constituent unit 21 (or constituent part 22) or by stamping. Is.

  The information tag 35B (tags 35B-11 and 35B-12) is a ROM (read only memory) and is attached to each corresponding component 22 (or component unit 21) by a predetermined method.

  The information tag (hereinafter referred to as “barcode”) 35A and the information tag (hereinafter referred to as “ROM”) 35B are unique information of the component unit 21 or the component 22 to which the respective barcode 35A and ROM 35B are added. For example, a unit / part number and a unit / part ID are stored.

  In addition, as the specific information, the manufacturing company name, manufacturing lot number, and manufacturing date of the corresponding component unit 21 or component 22 may be additionally stored, and the same operation as in the first embodiment is possible.

  In the operation of the image forming apparatus 10A of the present embodiment, the barcode 35A is, for example, the component unit 21 or component that the serviceman must stop and remove the image forming apparatus 10 when a failure occurs. The ROM 35B is added to the constituent unit 21 or the constituent part 22 that can be replaced by a general user during normal use, such as consumables and CRUM.

  On the other hand, the configuration information acquisition unit 17A includes a barcode reader 175 that reads the barcode 35A, and a ROM reading unit 176 that reads unique information from the ROM 35B.

  In the configuration information acquisition unit 17A, the unique information stored in the barcode 35A is read by the barcode reader 175, or the unique information stored in the ROM 35B is read by the ROM reading unit 176, so that each unique information is read. Obtained as configuration information of the image forming apparatus 10.

  Specifically, the configuration information of the image forming apparatus 10 is stored in the ROM 35B when the configuration unit 21 or the component 22 is attached to the configuration unit 21 or the component 22 to which the ROM 35B is added such as consumables. The unique information is read and collected by the ROM 176 of the configuration information acquisition unit 17A.

  On the other hand, the component unit 21 or the component 22 to which the barcode 35A is added is attached when the component unit 21 or the component 22 is mounted or when the component unit 21 or the component 22 is replaced when a failure occurs. When the service person reads the unique information of the barcode 35A using the barcode reader 175 incorporated in the image forming apparatus 10A, the unique information is collected and managed as configuration information in the configuration information acquisition unit 17A.

  The barcode reader 175 is not limited to being provided inside the image forming apparatus 10, and may be provided outside or both inside and outside.

  Prior to shipment of the image forming apparatus 10A, tag information (unique information) of each component unit 21 or component 22 is collected by another reading means at the time of assembly, and when the image forming apparatus 10A is assembled, The collected unique information may be stored in the configuration information acquisition unit 17A as configuration information.

  Configurations or operations other than those described above regarding the image forming apparatus 10A of the present embodiment are the same as those of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment.

  That is, the image forming apparatus 10A of the present embodiment is connected to the management apparatus 50 that remotely manages these together with the other image forming apparatuses 10A, and constitutes an image forming apparatus management system.

  In each image forming apparatus 10 </ b> A, the configuration information acquired by the configuration information acquisition unit 17 </ b> A is transmitted to the management apparatus 50 through the communication I / F 11.

  The management apparatus 50 receives the configuration information transmitted from each image forming apparatus 10 </ b> A through the communication I / F 51 and registers it in the configuration management DB 551.

  Thereafter, the management apparatus 50 uses the configuration information registered in the configuration management DB 551 and the latest configuration information registered in the latest configuration management DB 553 to perform the maintenance notification process (FIG. 5) described in the first embodiment. 13), failure candidate extraction / notification processing (see FIG. 14), supply and demand prediction calculation processing (see FIGS. 15 and 16).

  As described above, in the system according to the second embodiment, each image forming apparatus 10 side stores the information tags 35 </ b> A and 35 </ b> B such as ROMs and barcodes added to the constituent units 21 or the constituent parts 22. The specific information of each component unit 21 or component part 22 is read, the configuration information is collected and transmitted to the management device 50, and the management device 50 side registers and manages the configuration information received from each image forming device 10 As in Example 1, detailed configuration information of the image forming apparatus 10A can be collected with a low-cost and space-saving configuration, and comparison with the revision number can be performed without stopping the image forming apparatus 10A and checking the part numbers one by one. , Efficient maintenance becomes possible.

  Further, an information tag 35B made of ROM is added to a unit / part that can be replaced by a user, and an information tag 35A such as a barcode is added to a unit / part that the user does not normally perform replacement work. By reading the tag information (unique information) when replacing the unit / part, etc., the unit / part that does not require the user to read the tag information and that does not involve service personnel such as replacement of consumables. The configuration information can be automatically updated even when the exchange is performed.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, and can be implemented by being appropriately modified within a range not changing the gist thereof.

  For example, in the present invention, a system configuration in which the image forming apparatus 10 in the first embodiment and the image forming apparatus 10A in the second embodiment are mixed is possible.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus including a plurality of units and / or parts as a component and a management system thereof, and a wireless tag or an information tag storing unique information is added to each component of the image forming apparatus. Then, by collecting and registering the unique information through the wireless tag or the information tag, it is possible to obtain the configuration information without stopping the image forming apparatus and to improve the efficiency of the maintenance operation.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus management system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment. 3 is a conceptual block diagram illustrating a functional configuration related to a configuration information acquisition function of the image forming apparatus. FIG. The conceptual diagram which shows the work procedure which writes intrinsic | native information with respect to a radio | wireless tag. The figure which shows an example of structure information. 6 is a flowchart showing a configuration information transmission processing operation immediately after starting up an operation when replacing a configuration unit or the like in the image forming apparatus. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission processing operation in a manual transmission mode of configuration information collected when a configuration unit or the like is replaced after power is turned on in the image forming apparatus. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a configuration information transmission processing operation when a configuration unit or the like after power-on in the image forming apparatus is not replaced. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration information communication control sequence between the image forming apparatus and the management apparatus in the image forming apparatus management system according to the first embodiment. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a management device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which shows the memory | storage form of the structure information in a structure management database. The figure which shows the memory | storage form of the newest structure information in the newest structure management database. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a maintenance notification processing operation of the management apparatus according to the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a failure candidate extraction / notification processing operation of the management apparatus according to the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an exchange frequency totaling process operation of the management apparatus according to the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a supply and demand prediction processing operation of the management device according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows the output example of the demand-and-supply prediction result in the demand-and-supply prediction processing part of a management apparatus. FIG. 9 is a conceptual block diagram illustrating a functional configuration related to a configuration information acquisition function of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,10-11,10-12,10-21,10-22,10A ... Image forming apparatus, 11 ... Communication interface (I / F) part, 12 ... Operation display part, 13 ... Reading part, 14 ... Image formation 15 ... Storage unit 151 ... Configuration information 16 ... Control unit 161 ... Status detection unit 162 ... State analysis unit 163 ... Configuration information management control unit 17, 17A ... Configuration information acquisition unit 171 ... Tag information Receiving units 171, 175, 175A ... Bar code reader, 176 ... ROM reading unit 176, 18 ... External interface (I / F) unit, 21, 21-1, 21-2 ... Constituent unit, 22, 22-1, 22 -2 ... component parts 31, 31-11, 31-12, 31-21, 31-22 ... wireless tags, 35A-11, 35A-12 ... information tags (barcodes), 35B-11, 35B-12 ... Information (ROM), 50 ... management device, 51 ... communication interface (I / F) section, 52 ... display section, 53 ... operation section, 54 ... recording section, 55 ... storage section, 551 ... configuration management database (DB), 553 ... latest configuration management database (DB), 555 ... replacement frequency management database (DB), 56 ... control unit, 561 ... configuration information registration processing unit, 562 ... maintenance required notification unit, 563 ... failure candidate notification unit, 564 ... supply and demand prediction Calculation processing unit, 60 ... external processing device, 70 ... administrator terminal, 80 ... tag information processing device, 801 ... tag reading / writing unit

Claims (27)

In an image forming apparatus comprising a plurality of units or components as a constituent element,
A wireless tag that is added to each component and stores unique information of the component;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a configuration information acquiring unit that wirelessly receives the unique information from the wireless tag and acquires configuration information of the image forming apparatus. The wireless tag is
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a component name of the component, a part number indicating a type of the component, and a component identification number are stored as the unique information corresponding to the component of the addition destination. . The wireless tag is
The at least one of a manufacturing company name, a manufacturing lot number, and a manufacturing date of the constituent element is further stored as the specific information corresponding to the constituent element of the addition destination. Image forming apparatus. The wireless tag is
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein among the unique information, a manufacturing company name, a manufacturing lot number, and a manufacturing date of the component are encrypted and stored. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a display control unit configured to display unique information for each of the components acquired as the configuration information by the configuration information acquisition unit on a display unit of the image forming apparatus. . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a print output unit that prints out the unique information for each component acquired as the configuration information by the configuration information acquisition unit. Connection means for connecting an external processing device;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: processing means for sending unique information for each of the constituent elements acquired as the configuration information by the configuration information acquiring means to the external processing device through the connection means. apparatus. It is connected via a communication line to a management apparatus that remotely manages a plurality of image forming apparatuses.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a configuration information transmission unit configured to transmit the configuration information acquired by the configuration information acquisition unit to the management apparatus. Transmission mode setting means for selectively setting any one of an automatic transmission mode for automatically transmitting the configuration information, a semi-automatic transmission mode for semi-automatic transmission, and a manual transmission mode for manual transmission to the configuration information transmission means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8. The configuration information acquisition unit includes:
The image forming apparatus management according to claim 1, further comprising means for acquiring the configuration information when the image forming apparatus first starts operation. The configuration information acquisition unit includes:
10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit that acquires the configuration information immediately after start-up after replacement, addition, or removal of the component of the image forming apparatus. . The configuration information acquisition unit includes:
The image forming apparatus management according to claim 1, further comprising means for acquiring the configuration information when the image forming apparatus is powered on or warmed up. Holding means for holding the configuration information acquired by the configuration information acquisition means;
Comparing means for comparing whether or not the acquired configuration information is different from the acquired configuration information when acquiring the configuration information by the configuration information acquiring means;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit the acquired configuration information to the management apparatus when the configuration information is different as a result of the comparison. In an image forming apparatus comprising a plurality of units or components as a constituent element,
An information tag that is added to each component and stores unique information of the component;
Tag information reading means for reading the unique information from the information tag;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a configuration information acquiring unit configured to acquire configuration information of the image forming apparatus from the unique information read by the tag information reading unit. The configuration information acquisition unit includes:
The image forming apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising a unit that updates the configuration information that has already been read when the tag information of the information tag is read by the tag information reading unit. As the information tag,
A first information tag comprising a read-only memory;
A second information tag comprising a barcode or a two-dimensional code is provided,
As the tag information reading means,
Memory reading means for reading the unique information from the read-only memory;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising: a code reading unit that reads the bar code or the two-dimensional code. The code reading means includes
The image forming apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the image forming apparatus is provided inside or outside the image forming apparatus. The first information tag is:
Added to customer replaceable components,
The second information tag is:
The image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the image forming apparatus is added to a component that is impossible for a customer. It is connected via a communication line to a management apparatus that remotely manages a plurality of image forming apparatuses.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising: a configuration information transmitting unit that transmits the configuration information acquired by the configuration information acquiring unit to the management apparatus. Image forming apparatus management system comprising: an image forming apparatus including a plurality of at least one of units and parts as components; and a management apparatus connected to the image forming apparatus via a communication line and remotely managing the image forming apparatus In
The image forming apparatus includes:
A wireless tag that is added to each component and stores unique information of the component;
Configuration information acquisition means for wirelessly receiving the unique information from the wireless tag and acquiring configuration information of the image forming apparatus;
Comprising configuration information transmitting means for transmitting the configuration information acquired by the configuration information acquiring means to the management device,
The management device
Receiving means for receiving the configuration information transmitted by the configuration information transmission control means of the image forming apparatus;
An image forming apparatus management system comprising: registration means for registering the configuration information received by the receiving means in a configuration information storage means corresponding to the image forming apparatus that is the configuration information transmission source. Image forming apparatus management system comprising: an image forming apparatus including a plurality of at least one of units and parts as components; and a management apparatus connected to the image forming apparatus via a communication line and remotely managing the image forming apparatus In
The image forming apparatus includes:
An information tag that is added to each component and stores unique information of the component;
Tag information reading means for reading the unique information from the information tag;
Configuration information acquisition means for acquiring configuration information of the image forming apparatus from the unique information read by the tag information reading means;
Comprising configuration information transmitting means for transmitting the configuration information acquired by the configuration information acquiring means to the management device,
The management device
Receiving means for receiving the configuration information transmitted by the configuration information transmission control means of the image forming apparatus;
An image forming apparatus management system comprising: registration means for registering the configuration information received by the receiving means in a configuration information storage means corresponding to the image forming apparatus that is the configuration information transmission source. The configuration information registered in the configuration information storage means includes a component name for each component included in the image forming apparatus to be managed, a part number indicating the type of component, a component identification number, a manufacturer name, and a manufacturing lot number. Consists of the date of manufacture,
The receiving means includes
The component name, part number, component identification number, manufacturer name, production lot number, and production date are received from the image forming apparatus as the component information. Image forming apparatus management system. The configuration information registered in the configuration information storage means includes a component name for each component included in the image forming apparatus to be managed, a part number indicating the type of component, a component identification number, a manufacturer name, and a manufacturing lot number. Consists of the date of manufacture,
Setting means for setting the component name, manufacturer name, production lot number, and date of manufacture in the configuration information storage means,
The receiving means includes
The image forming apparatus management system according to claim 20 or 21, wherein the part number and the component identification number are received from the image forming apparatus as the configuration information. The image forming apparatus management system according to claim 20 or 21, further comprising: latest configuration information storage means for registering the latest configuration information of components used for each model of the image forming apparatus to be managed. When the configuration information is received from the image forming apparatus or when the latest configuration information storage unit is updated, the configuration information registered in the configuration information storage unit and the latest configuration information storage unit are registered. Comparing means for comparing the updated configuration information,
As a result of comparison by the comparison means, if there is a component that does not match the configuration information and the latest configuration information, it is necessary to notify the corresponding image forming apparatus and registration contact that the component needs to be replaced. The image forming apparatus management system according to claim 24, further comprising: a replacement notification unit. A comparison unit that compares the configuration information registered in the configuration information storage unit with the latest configuration information registered in the latest configuration information storage unit when failure information is notified from the image forming apparatus;
As a result of the comparison by the comparison means, if there is a part number where the configuration information and the latest configuration information do not match, failure candidate extraction means for extracting a component having the part number as a failure candidate;
25. The image forming apparatus management system according to claim 24, further comprising failure candidate notifying means for notifying a failure candidate extracted by the failure candidate extracting means to a corresponding image forming apparatus and a registered contact address. Replacement frequency counting means for counting the replacement frequency within a predetermined period for each component based on the configuration information registered in the configuration information storage means;
Supply / demand prediction calculation processing means for calculating a supply / demand prediction for the next predetermined period for each component based on the exchange frequency within a predetermined period for each of the components aggregated by the exchange frequency aggregation means, The image forming apparatus management system according to claim 20 or 21.

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