JP2006203309A - Computer and system for managing image forming apparatus and maintenance schedule creating method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the quality of maintenance service by scheduling a maintenance work on the basis of operation tendency of an image forming apparatus of each client in maintenance service of an image forming apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: A system includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses 10 and a host computer 20 for controlling the apparatuses 10. In this system, the host computer 20 includes an actual operation information management unit 23 for acquiring operation information from each of the apparatuses 10 to manage the information for each client to whom each of the apparatuses 10 belongs; and a maintenance schedule creating unit 24 for creating a schedule for executing the maintenance operation per client on the basis of the operation information so that the maintenance operation may be conducted on a schedule in which utilization frequency of the image forming apparatus 10 belonging to each client is not more than a predetermined value. Also, the host computer 20 modifies the schedule as necessary on the basis of operation schedule of each apparatus 10 and monitoring information of parts, and specifies concrete contents in the maintenance work such as part replacement etc. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a system for maintenance service of an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to scheduling for implementing maintenance service of the apparatus.

  Image forming apparatuses such as copiers and printers are systems that are easily affected by the environment, and therefore it is essential to perform appropriate maintenance work. Therefore, in order to maintain the printing performance of the device, it is common for a service engineer with a maintenance contract to visit the customer regularly to perform maintenance work (preventive maintenance) such as replacement of functional parts and consumables and internal cleaning. Has been done.

  Normally, the performance maintenance index information for the entire system and subsystem units is disclosed from the supplier (manufacturer, etc.) of the image forming apparatus to the customer, the service department, etc. Then, based on the information, the service staff base and the service engineer in charge make a plan (scheduling) to visit the customer in order to perform the maintenance work as described above. Since the customer can no longer use the image forming apparatus at the time of maintenance work, the print output work can be efficiently performed by making a plan to use the apparatus outside the time period when the maintenance work is performed. be able to.

  However, in the case of a printer system (image forming device) with a medium to high printing speed that outputs various information in response to requests from the host computer, the amount of print output varies greatly depending on the status of the customer's business and the timing conditions. There are many. And if the amount of print output that is larger than usual continues, the appropriate replacement time for functional parts and consumables will be passed sooner than the scheduled visit by the service engineer, causing a sudden failure. It becomes easy. In the event of a sudden failure, the responsible service engineer will go to the customer's site and perform maintenance work at the request of the customer. However, in such unscheduled work, there is a waiting time for the movement of the service engineer, and as a result of investigating the cause of the failure, the service engineer may not have the necessary parts or consumables. . Furthermore, in the event of a sudden failure, the customer's image forming apparatus will be unusable until the maintenance work is completed. Since it is necessary to take immediate measures such as interrupting, a great loss of time and expenses will occur.

  In order to avoid such accidents and accidental failures that may cause loss, conventionally, the image forming apparatus has been provided with means for detecting the deterioration state of the parts that are subject to maintenance and replacement. On the basis of such information, there has been proposed a technique for outputting a message requesting maintenance work to the image forming apparatus (for example, see Patent Document 1). By requesting maintenance work according to the deterioration status of parts, it is possible to avoid inconvenience and business loss when performing emergency work by a service engineer suddenly after a sudden failure occurs. .

JP-A-4-84231

  In the maintenance service of the image forming apparatus, when a sudden failure occurs, the emergency work with respect to the failure causes trouble, or a great loss in business occurs. Therefore, a preventive measure for preventing this sudden failure is desired. As described above, a major cause of this sudden failure is the temporal fluctuation of the print output amount based on the customer's business. Therefore, it is desirable that the maintenance work by the service engineer is not only periodically performed according to the scheduling based on the performance maintenance index information but also individually corresponding to the print output amount of each device.

  In the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1, the image forming apparatus itself detects a deterioration state of a component and requests maintenance work according to the state. Therefore, it is possible to perform maintenance work according to the actual state of the components for each apparatus. However, in order to more efficiently perform the maintenance work by the service engineer, it is preferable to schedule the maintenance work in consideration of the operation tendency of the image forming apparatus in the customer.

  For example, even if the image forming apparatus detects a deterioration state of a component and outputs a maintenance request message, if the print output by the job decreases or stops for a certain period of time, it is immediately sudden. It is considered unlikely that a failure will occur. Therefore, it can be said that it is more efficient to wait for the regular maintenance work to be performed and perform the work in response to the request message than to perform the maintenance work immediately by the service engineer. On the other hand, if print output increases due to work after the image forming apparatus outputs a maintenance work request message, the deterioration of the components will accelerate, so the request message will be promptly displayed without waiting for regular maintenance work. Individual tasks should be performed accordingly.

  By the way, when performing maintenance work, the image forming apparatus cannot be used for the original print output work. Therefore, it is preferable for the customer to perform the maintenance work when the use frequency of the image forming apparatus is low. On the other hand, since the service engineer goes to the customer for maintenance work, it is efficient to schedule the visit by scheduling for each customer, not for each device.

  The present invention has been made to solve the technical problems as described above, and its purpose is to perform maintenance work based on the operating tendency of the image forming apparatus belonging to each customer in the maintenance service of the image forming apparatus. Therefore, the quality of the maintenance service for the image forming apparatus is improved.

  For this purpose, the present invention is realized as an image forming apparatus management system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a host computer that manages the image forming apparatuses via a network. In this system, the image forming apparatus acquires the operation information of the own apparatus by the monitoring unit, and transmits the operation information acquired by the monitoring unit to the host computer via the network by the data transmission / reception unit. Further, the host computer stores the operation information received from the image forming apparatus in a storage device and manages it for each customer to which each image forming apparatus belongs by the actual operation information management unit. Then, based on this operation information, the maintenance schedule creation unit performs maintenance work on a schedule in which the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus belonging to the customer is below a certain level, and the performance of each image forming apparatus. It is characterized in that a schedule for carrying out maintenance work is created so as to satisfy a timing standard for carrying out maintenance work necessary for maintenance.

  In the above system, the host computer may further include an operation schedule management unit that stores and manages the operation schedule received from the image forming apparatus. In this case, the maintenance schedule creation unit is created based on the operation information so that the schedule for the use of the image forming apparatus in the operation schedule managed by the operation schedule management unit does not overlap with the schedule for the maintenance work. The schedule can be modified. The operation schedule can be collected when each image forming apparatus transmits its operation schedule to the host computer by the data transmission / reception unit.

  Further, in the above-described system, the image forming apparatus can acquire monitoring information of its own device and parts by the monitoring unit, and transmit the monitoring information together with the operation information to the host computer by the data transmitting / receiving unit. In this case, the host computer stores the monitoring information together with the operation information by the operation information management unit, and identifies the maintenance work to be performed based on the monitoring information stored in the operation information management unit by the maintenance schedule creation unit Can do.

  The present invention that achieves the above object is also realized as a maintenance schedule creation method by a computer as follows. In this method, the computer acquires operation information from a plurality of image forming apparatuses managed via a network, and stores the operation information in a storage device in association with each customer to which each image forming apparatus corresponding to the operation information belongs. Then, the operation information is read from the storage device, and on the basis of the operation information, the maintenance work schedule is performed so that the maintenance work is performed on a schedule basis when the usage frequency of the image forming apparatus belonging to the customer is less than a certain level. Creating a step.

  According to the present invention, the visit schedule for the maintenance work is created based on the operation information (job history information, etc.) of the image forming apparatuses belonging to each customer, so that the actual operation tendency of the image forming apparatuses is met. Since scheduling becomes possible, the quality of the maintenance service can be improved.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as an embodiment) will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a maintenance service system according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the system of the present embodiment includes an image forming apparatus 10 installed at a customer and a host computer 20 connected to each image forming apparatus 10 via a network 30. . In this embodiment, it is assumed that the image forming apparatus 10 is an apparatus in which a service engineer visits a customer where the apparatus is installed to perform periodic inspections and repairs of failures. The host computer 20 is provided for each service base in charge of each image forming apparatus 10. The network 30 can use various existing networks such as the Internet or a WAN (Wide Area Network) using a public line.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a monitoring unit 11 that monitors the state and operation of each component included in the apparatus, provides information to the user, and performs an input operation by the user. It includes an input / output unit 12 that receives data, a data transmission / reception unit 13 for accessing the host computer 20 via the network 30, and a control unit 14 that controls these functions. In the present embodiment, the part of the image forming apparatus 10 that is the target of the maintenance service is referred to as a maintenance target system 15. That is, the maintenance target system 15 conveys an exposure device, a developing device, an image carrier, a transfer member, a fixing device, a paper tray, and a paper, which realize an image forming unit that is an original function of the image forming device 10. It consists of various parts and units (hereinafter, referred to as parts and the like) such as a transport device that drives and a drive roller that drives the transport device.

  The monitoring unit 11 includes a program-controlled CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), and various sensors and timers for acquiring information on the state and operation from each component of the apparatus. It is realized with. Then, information on the operation status of each component, etc., associated with execution of a normal job (image output), and information on the internal environment such as temperature and humidity in the apparatus are acquired, stored in a memory, and stored. Hereinafter, these pieces of information acquired by the monitoring unit 11 are referred to as monitoring information. In addition, the monitoring unit 11 acquires job history information as operation information, stores the information in a memory, and stores the job history information along with the execution of a normal job (image output) in the image forming apparatus 10. In addition, today, an existing image forming apparatus is generally provided with a self-monitoring function for monitoring the state of the apparatus and notifying a user, and a function for taking job history information. As the monitoring unit 11, such an existing function can be used as it is. A program for controlling the CPU to realize the function of the monitoring unit 11 is stored in a non-volatile memory (ROM), and is read out and executed by the CPU when the image forming apparatus 10 is started or reset. Realize the function.

  The input / output unit 12 is a console including a display device that displays images and text, and input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse. Moreover, it can also be comprised with the touchscreen which serves as a display apparatus and an input device. The input / output unit 12 is controlled by the control unit 14 to display menus and instructions on the screen of the display device of the input / output unit 12, and based on these, an operation performed by the user using the input device is received. Realize user interface. In the present embodiment, the input / output unit 12 can input an operation schedule of the own apparatus.

  The data transmission / reception unit 13 is realized by a network interface and accesses the host computer 20 via the network 30. Then, information collected by the monitoring unit 11 and information input by the input / output unit 12 are transmitted to the host computer 20 and data transmitted from the host computer 20 is received.

  The control unit 14 is realized by a program-controlled CPU and a memory such as a RAM, and performs operation control of each function and maintenance target system 15 described above. Specifically, the user interface is realized by controlling the input / output unit 12, the data transmission / reception unit 13 is controlled to perform data communication with the host computer 20, or the maintenance target system 15 is controlled to display an image. For example, image forming and printing output, which are the original functions of the forming apparatus 10, are performed. A program for controlling the CPU to realize the function of the control unit 14 is stored in a non-volatile memory (ROM), and is read and executed by the CPU when the image forming apparatus 10 is started up or reset. Realize the function.

The host computer 20 is realized by a workstation, a personal computer, or other computer devices.
FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a computer apparatus suitable as the host computer 20 of the present embodiment.
The computer apparatus shown in FIG. 3 includes a CPU 101 that is arithmetic means, a main memory 102 that is storage means, and a magnetic disk device (HDD) 103. The network interface 104, a graphics display mechanism 105 including a video memory and a display, and an input device 106 such as a keyboard and a mouse are provided. Note that FIG. 3 merely illustrates the hardware configuration of the computer apparatus that implements the present embodiment, and various other configurations can be employed as long as the present embodiment is applicable.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the host computer 20.
As shown in FIG. 4, the host computer 20 includes a data transmission / reception unit 21, an operation schedule management unit 22, an actual operation information management unit 23, and a maintenance schedule creation unit 24.
For example, when the host computer 20 includes the computer apparatus shown in FIG. 3, the data transmission / reception unit 21 is realized by the network interface 104 and performs data communication with the image forming apparatus 10 via the network 30.

  The operation schedule management unit 22 is realized by, for example, the program-controlled CPU 101 and the storage device such as the main memory 102 and the magnetic disk device 103 shown in FIG. Then, the operation schedule of each image forming apparatus 10 under management is acquired, stored in the magnetic disk device 103, and held. This operation schedule can be acquired by receiving the schedule of the apparatus itself from each image forming apparatus 10 via the network 30.

  The actual operation information management unit 23 is realized by, for example, the program-controlled CPU 101 and the storage device such as the main memory 102 and the magnetic disk device 103 shown in FIG. Then, the monitoring information and history information collected by the respective image forming apparatuses 10 under management by the monitoring unit 11 are acquired via the network 30, stored in the magnetic disk device 103, and held.

  The maintenance schedule creation unit 24 is realized, for example, by the program-controlled CPU 101 and main memory 102 shown in FIG. Then, based on the operation schedule of each image forming apparatus 10 managed by the operation schedule management unit 22 and the monitoring information and history information of each image forming apparatus 10 managed by the actual operation information management unit 23, each image is displayed. The maintenance work for the forming apparatus 10 is scheduled.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of scheduling processing by the maintenance schedule creation unit 24.
Referring to FIG. 5, the maintenance schedule creation unit 24 first creates an operation performance management table for each image forming apparatus 10 based on job history information for each image forming apparatus 10 stored in the actual operation information management unit 23. Create (step 501). This management table may be created when scheduling maintenance work, or may be created in advance (for example, every month) and stored in the magnetic disk device 103 of FIG. .

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the management table created in step 501.
In the example shown in FIG. 6, for each image forming apparatus 10 (denoted as M / C in the figure) of each customer, the usage frequency (number of jobs) of the image forming apparatus 10 is five levels (double circle, (Circle, white triangle, black triangle, black square). The illustrated table is merely an example, and the use frequency presentation interval can be arbitrarily set such as every week or every day other than every half month shown. By shortening the management unit, for example, in one customer, the usage frequency of all devices is high at the end of the month, but in the second lap of every other month, the usage frequency of all devices is low. It is possible to make a detailed determination that the frequency of use of the device is low. Further, the usage frequency is not limited to the five stages shown in the figure, and may be expressed in more stages or fewer stages, or only the presence or absence of use of the image forming apparatus 10 may be distinguished. . It should be noted that at least the job of the original printout job has been performed, and the type of job (color printing or black-and-white printing, paper size, number of output sheets, type of tray used, etc.) is a problem. And not. However, it is also possible to register the job types in the management table with distinction.

  Returning to FIG. 5, the maintenance schedule creation unit 24 creates a customer visit date schedule for the service engineer to visit the customer and perform maintenance work based on the management table created in step 501 (step 502). Here, for the customer, it is preferable that the maintenance work is performed when the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus 10 in business is low. On the other hand, the visit schedule for the maintenance work by the service engineer is efficient to determine the visit schedule for each customer.

  In view of these, referring to the management table of FIG. 6, for example, in the case of customer 1, in the first half of February (1-15 days), the usage frequency of the device a is the fifth stage (minimum), and the usage of the device b The frequency is the third stage. When the usage frequency of all the image forming apparatuses 10 of the customer 1 is comprehensively determined, the usage frequency of the apparatus is the lowest during this period. Therefore, it is most preferable to perform maintenance work during this period. Further, referring to the second half of March (16-31 days), the usage frequency of the device b is in the fifth stage, but the usage frequency of the device a is highest in the first stage. For this reason, if maintenance work is performed during this period, the frequently used device a must be stopped, resulting in a large loss for the customer. Therefore, it is not preferable as a period for carrying out the maintenance work as compared with the first half of February.

  In practice, a standard (threshold value) is set for the interval at which maintenance work necessary for maintaining the performance of the image forming apparatus 10 and the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus 10 are set, and an appropriate schedule is determined within the standard. Determine the customer visit date to perform maintenance work. For example, the time standard can be set within two months from the previous maintenance work based on the performance maintenance index of the image forming apparatus 10 and its subsystems. In addition, it is not permissible to stop the device whose usage frequency is in the third stage in the example of FIG. 6 for maintenance work for each customer, but the device whose usage frequency is in the fourth stage. There are individual circumstances such that it is permissible to stop. Therefore, as a standard for the use frequency, it is possible to set individually for each customer how maintenance work can be performed on the day until the use frequency reaches the fourth stage.

  If such a usage frequency criterion is used, for example, if the threshold value for determining that maintenance work can be performed on the customer 1 in FIG. 6 is the third stage, all image forming apparatuses (in the first half and the second half of February) Since the frequency of use of both the devices a and b) is equal to or lower than the third stage, it is possible to schedule maintenance work during this period.

  In the example of FIG. 6, the period of use is divided into half-months to indicate the usage frequency of the image forming apparatus 10, and therefore the time suitable for maintenance work is once every several months. By setting the management unit to one day or the like, it is possible to specify a time suitable for maintenance work in a shorter period. In this way, for example, the usage frequency of the image forming apparatus 10 is high for the three days at the end of the month and the usage frequency of the image forming apparatus 10 is low on the second week of the month, Tuesday or Wednesday. You can schedule accordingly. In addition, when there are a plurality of days that satisfy the usage frequency standard in a period that satisfies the timing standard for a certain customer, for example, the day with the lowest average usage frequency in all the image forming apparatuses 10 of the customer is selected. An appropriate schedule may be appropriately selected by a method such as selecting the earliest day among the days satisfying the frequency standard. On the other hand, if there is no day that meets the usage frequency criteria in the period that meets the timing criteria, the day that satisfies the usage frequency criteria is selected earliest after that period, and the day that satisfies the criteria by raising the usage frequency criteria by one step Or a method of selecting the day with the lowest total use frequency of all the image forming apparatuses 10 belonging to the customer (the numerical value is large in the example of FIG. 5) or the like.

  Next, based on the operation schedule of each image forming apparatus 10 stored in the operation schedule management unit 22, the maintenance schedule creation unit 24 appropriately creates the schedule created based on the operation results of the image forming apparatus 10 in step 502. Correction is made (step 503). For example, in step 502, it is assumed that the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus 10 is low in the second week of each month for a predetermined customer, and the service engineer schedules the customer to visit the customer on this schedule. However, it is assumed that the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus 10 in the second week increases only for a specific month in order to perform irregular operations at this customer. In this case, from the operation schedule of the image forming apparatus 10 by the customer, it can be seen that the frequency of use of the apparatus is high in the second week of the specific month (that is, the schedule for the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus 10 and maintenance work). Therefore, the schedule created in step 502 is changed based on this information. The schedule can be changed according to the work and circumstances of each customer, such as relaxing the above-mentioned timing criteria or usage frequency criteria and setting the other day as the visit date, or simply skipping the visit date determined in step 502. It can be decided individually.

  Next, the maintenance schedule creation unit 24 determines the content of the maintenance work based on the monitoring information for each component of each image forming apparatus 10 stored in the actual operation information management unit 23 (step 504). According to the monitoring information transmitted from the image forming apparatus 10, information such as a deterioration state and how many times the remaining life is currently used can be known in detail for each component in the apparatus. Therefore, based on this monitoring information and the visit schedule created up to step 503, in the next maintenance work, in addition to the basic work contents to be performed in each maintenance work, work to be carried out in particular such as parts replacement is performed. Can be identified.

  More specifically, for example, it is assumed that the remaining life of a certain part in a certain image forming apparatus 10 becomes short and needs to be replaced immediately. If the period until the next visit date for the customer in which the image forming apparatus 10 is installed is long, or if the frequency of use of the device until the next visit date is high, separately from the created visit schedule, A service engineer needs to visit the customer to replace the part. On the other hand, the period until the next visit date for the customer in which the image forming apparatus 10 is installed is short (for example, within two days), and the frequency of use of the apparatus until the next visit date is low (for example, the fifth in FIG. 6). Stage), the part may be replaced in the maintenance work on the visit date on the created schedule.

  As described above, the schedule for the service engineer to visit the customer and the content of the maintenance work to be performed at the visit are determined by the maintenance schedule creation unit 24 of the present embodiment. The created visit schedule is stored, for example, in the magnetic disk device 103 of FIG. The service engineer can use the terminal computer or the like to check the visit schedule and work contents of the customer in charge by accessing the host computer 20 to read out and display the visit schedule. Further, the host computer 20 can transmit this visit schedule to the image forming apparatus 10 via the network 30. The image forming apparatus 10 can display and print out the visit schedule received from the host computer 20 by the input / output unit 12. The customer who has the image forming apparatus 10 manages the print output paper and consumables based on the information on the visit date of the service engineer and the contents of the maintenance work described in the output visit schedule, and forms the image. Business management such as the arrangement of operators of the apparatus 10 can be performed.

Next, the overall operation from when information is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 10 to the host computer 20 until scheduling is performed in the host computer 20 will be described.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 10 and the host computer 20 of this embodiment.
Referring to FIG. 7, the image forming apparatus 10 acquires job history information and monitoring information by the monitoring unit 11 and sequentially stores them in the memory. Further, the operation schedule of the image forming apparatus 10 is input by operating the input / output unit 12 and stored in the memory (step 701). Here, the input / output unit 12 displays an operation schedule input input form prepared in advance under the control of the control unit 14, receives an operator's input operation on the input form, and inputs the operation schedule. These pieces of information stored in the memory are transmitted via the network 30 by the data transmitting / receiving unit 13 when a specific condition such as when the image forming apparatus 10 is turned off or a preset time is satisfied (step 702). It is transmitted to the host computer 20 (step 703). The information transmitted from the image forming apparatus 10 to the host computer 20 includes the identification information of the own apparatus and the identification information of the customer to which the own apparatus belongs.

  The host computer 20 passes the operation schedule to the operation schedule management unit 22 based on the identification information of the device and the customer among the information received by the data transmission / reception unit 21 via the network 30, and also manages history information and monitoring. The information is passed to the actual operation information management unit 23 for management (step 704). Periodically, the maintenance schedule creation unit 24 reads the information stored in the operation schedule management unit 22 and the actual operation information management unit 23, and sets the service engineer's visit schedule according to the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. Create (step 705).

As described above, according to the system of the present embodiment, the host computer 20 visits a customer for a maintenance work by a service engineer based on an actual operation tendency in each managed image forming apparatus 10. Create As a result, maintenance work can be performed while avoiding the high frequency of use of the image forming apparatus 10 in each customer's business, and therefore, there is little loss for the customer and an efficient maintenance service can be provided.
In addition to the actual operating tendency of the image forming apparatus 10, by taking into account the operating schedule of each image forming apparatus 10 by the customer, the customer by a more appropriate service engineer from the viewpoint of avoiding loss and improving efficiency at the customer You can schedule visits.
Further, based on monitoring information associated with actual operation in each image forming apparatus 10, the deterioration state of the apparatus and its subsystems and the remaining life of the parts are determined, and the content of maintenance work to be performed is specified based on this. Can do. As a result, more efficient maintenance work can be performed, and the quality of service provided to customers can be improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, each image forming apparatus 10 transmits various types of information about the own apparatus to the host computer 20. However, for example, a print server installed for each customer receives these information from the managed image forming apparatus 10. The information may be collected and transmitted to the host computer 20 via the network 30.

It is a figure explaining schematic structure of the maintenance service system by this embodiment. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. It is the figure which showed typically the example of the hardware constitutions of a computer apparatus suitable as a host computer of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the function structure of the host computer of this embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the process of the scheduling by the maintenance schedule preparation part of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the management table used by this embodiment. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an overall operation by the image forming apparatus and the host computer according to the present exemplary embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Image forming apparatus, 11 ... Monitoring part, 12 ... Input / output part, 13 ... Data transmission / reception part, 14 ... Control part, 20 ... Host computer, 21 ... Data transmission / reception part, 22 ... Operation schedule management part, 23 ... Actual operation Information management unit 24 ... Maintenance schedule creation unit 30 ... Network 101 ... CPU 102 ... Main memory 103 ... Magnetic disk device (HDD) 104 ... Network interface 105 ... Graphic display mechanism 106 ... Input device

Claims (10)

A computer that manages a plurality of image forming apparatuses via a network,
An actual operation information management unit that acquires operation information from the plurality of image forming apparatuses and manages for each customer to which each image forming apparatus belongs;
Based on the operation information of each image forming apparatus managed by the actual operation information management unit, maintenance work is carried out on a schedule in which the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus belonging to the customer is below a certain level for each customer. Thus, a computer comprising a maintenance schedule creation unit for creating a maintenance work schedule.   2. The maintenance schedule creation unit creates a maintenance work schedule so as to satisfy a timing standard for performing maintenance work necessary for maintaining the performance of each image forming apparatus. Computer. An operation schedule management unit for acquiring and managing operation schedules from the plurality of image forming apparatuses;
The maintenance schedule creation unit is created based on the operation information so that a schedule in which the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus in the operation schedule managed by the operation schedule management unit does not overlap with a schedule of maintenance work. 2. The computer according to claim 1, wherein the schedule is modified. The actual operation information management unit acquires apparatus and component monitoring information from the plurality of image forming apparatuses,
The computer according to claim 1, wherein the maintenance schedule creation unit specifies maintenance work to be performed based on the monitoring information. An image forming apparatus management system comprising a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a host computer that manages the image forming apparatuses via a network,
The image forming apparatus includes:
A monitoring unit for acquiring operation information of the own device;
A data transmission / reception unit for transmitting operation information acquired by the monitoring unit via the network to the host computer;
The host computer
An actual operation information management unit that stores the operation information received from the image forming apparatus and manages for each customer to which each image forming apparatus belongs;
Based on the operation information stored in the actual operation information management unit, maintenance work is performed so that the maintenance work is performed on a schedule in which the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus belonging to the customer is less than or equal to a certain level on the customer basis. An image forming apparatus management system comprising: a maintenance schedule creation unit that creates a schedule for implementation. The image forming apparatus transmits the operation schedule of the apparatus to the host computer by the data transmitting / receiving unit,
The host computer further includes an operation schedule management unit that stores and manages an operation schedule received from the image forming apparatus,
The maintenance schedule creation unit of the host computer includes the operation information so that a schedule in which the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus is high and a maintenance schedule do not overlap in the operation schedule managed by the operation schedule management unit. The image forming apparatus management system according to claim 5, wherein the schedule created based on the schedule is corrected. The monitoring unit of the image forming apparatus acquires monitoring information of the own apparatus and parts,
The data transmitting / receiving unit of the image forming apparatus transmits the monitoring information together with the operation information to the host computer,
The operation information management unit of the host computer stores the monitoring information together with the operation information,
The image forming apparatus management according to claim 5, wherein the maintenance schedule creation unit of the host computer specifies a maintenance operation to be performed based on the monitoring information stored in the actual operation information management unit. system. A step in which a computer acquires operation information from a plurality of image forming apparatuses managed via a network and stores them in a storage device in association with customers to which the plurality of image forming apparatuses belong;
The computer reads the operation information from the storage device, and based on the operation information, maintenance work is performed on a schedule in which the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus belonging to the customer is less than a certain level for each customer. To create a maintenance schedule,
A maintenance schedule creation method comprising:   The computer reads out the operation schedules of the plurality of image forming apparatuses from the storage device, and based on the operation information so that the schedule in which the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus increases in the operation schedule and the schedule of maintenance work do not overlap. The maintenance schedule creation method according to claim 8, further comprising a step of correcting the schedule created in step S10. The computer acquiring monitoring information on the status of the apparatus and components from the image forming apparatus under management and storing the monitoring information in a storage device;
9. The maintenance schedule creation method according to claim 8, further comprising a step in which the computer reads the monitoring information from the storage device and specifies a maintenance work to be performed based on the monitoring information.

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