JP2007133307A - Apparatus managing system and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a apparatus managing system achieving provision of a maintenance service which is appropriate for needs of each customer. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus managing system is provided with a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a managing server which is connected to the image forming apparatuses through a network so as to be communicable. The image forming apparatuses are managed in the system so that the managing server copes with states of the image forming apparatuses requiring maintenance. The system detects state values reflecting a specified status in each image forming apparatus, retains a threshold which is a reference value in judging that the image forming apparatus is in the state requiring maintenance for the detected state value for each image forming apparatus, and judges whether the image forming apparatus is in the state requiring maintenance based on the detected state value and the retained threshold for each image forming apparatus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus management system and a program for managing an image forming apparatus so as to cope with troubles occurring in an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, and a multifunctional multifunction peripheral.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, image forming apparatuses such as printers, copiers, fax machines, and multifunctional multifunction machines installed in offices, for example, are managed by a maintenance server that is communicably connected to the apparatuses via a network. 2. Description of the Related Art An apparatus management system is known in which a maintenance service is provided to solve a trouble by dispatching a service person in response to detection of occurrence of trouble such as cutting or paper jam. In such an apparatus management system, a threshold value is set as a criterion for determining the occurrence of a trouble with respect to a status value reflecting the status such as the remaining amount of paper in the image forming apparatus and the occurrence frequency of a jam. For example, when the status value exceeds the threshold value In addition, it is determined that the apparatus is in a state requiring maintenance.

  In recent years, various improvements have been proposed to further improve the device management system. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-166644, a maintenance server (control center) acquires information indicating a jam frequency from an image forming apparatus, and based on the information, the operation state of each image forming apparatus is taken into account. A remote maintenance system is disclosed in which a threshold value, which is a criterion for determining the occurrence of troubles, is calculated and set in the image forming apparatus so that the operation can be continued without stopping the main body of the image forming apparatus.

JP 2001-166644 A

  Now, with the diversification of customer needs regarding the functions of the image forming apparatus itself, the customer needs regarding maintenance services have also diversified, and the required maintenance services are different for each customer. For example, while there are customers who request high-precision maintenance services without worrying about costs, there are also customers who want to reduce the cost burden required for maintenance as much as possible. However, in the conventional system, in general, a threshold value for a state value reflecting a predetermined status of the image forming apparatus is determined in advance by the manufacturer's judgment and set in common for a plurality of image forming apparatuses existing on the network. As a result, the same maintenance service is provided to all customers, and it is difficult to respond to the needs of each customer.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above technical problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus management system and a program for realizing a maintenance service suitable for each customer's needs.

  Accordingly, an invention according to claim 1 of the present application includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a management server that is communicably connected to the image forming apparatuses via a network, and the management server performs maintenance of the image forming apparatus. In a device management system for managing an image forming apparatus to cope with a state that requires a state, a state value detecting unit that detects a state value reflecting a predetermined status of each of the image forming apparatuses, and the state for each of the image forming apparatuses A threshold value holding means for holding a threshold value that is a reference value for determining that the image forming apparatus is in a state requiring maintenance with respect to the state value detected by the value detecting means; and for each image forming apparatus The image forming apparatus is in a state that requires maintenance based on the state value detected by the state value detecting unit and the threshold value held by the threshold value holding unit. Judging means for judging whether or has it is obtained by it said.

  In the invention according to claim 2 of the present application, in the invention according to claim 1, when the management server determines that each of the image forming apparatuses is in a state requiring maintenance by the determination means, It is characterized by having a notification means for notifying the service person to that effect.

  Furthermore, the invention according to claim 3 of the present application is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1 or 2, the threshold value holding means and the judging means are provided on each image forming apparatus side. It is.

  Furthermore, the invention according to claim 4 of the present application is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1 or 2, the threshold value holding means and the judging means are provided on the management server side. It is.

  Further, the invention according to claim 5 of the present application further includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a management server connected to the image forming apparatuses via a network so that the management server is an image forming apparatus. A procedure for detecting a state value reflecting a predetermined status of each image forming apparatus in an apparatus management system that manages the image forming apparatus to cope with a state requiring maintenance of the image forming apparatus, and is detected for each image forming apparatus. A procedure for holding a threshold value, which is a reference value for determining that the image forming apparatus is in a state requiring maintenance, with respect to the state value, and the detected state value and the hold value for each image forming apparatus. And a procedure for determining whether or not the image forming apparatus is in a state requiring maintenance based on the threshold value.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since a threshold value that is a criterion for determining a state requiring maintenance is held for each image forming apparatus, for example, a threshold value reflecting the content of the maintenance service requested by the customer is set. By doing so, it is possible to provide a maintenance service suitable for the needs of each customer.

  Further, according to the invention according to claim 2 of the present application, since the notification from the management server to the service person is automatically performed, the efficiency of device management can be improved.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 3 of the present application, since the threshold value holding unit and the determination unit are provided on each image forming apparatus side, it is timely confirmed that each image forming apparatus is in a state requiring maintenance. Judgment can be made.

  Further, according to the invention according to claim 4 of the present application, since the threshold value holding unit and the determination unit are provided on the management server side, the existing functions can be used on each image forming apparatus side, Addition of new functions can be omitted.

  Further, according to the invention according to claim 5 of the present application, since a threshold value that is a criterion for determining a state requiring maintenance is held for each image forming apparatus, for example, the content of the maintenance service requested by the customer is reflected. By setting the threshold value, it is possible to provide a maintenance service suitable for each customer's needs.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, a multifunction multifunction peripheral (hereinafter referred to as MFP) having a plurality of functions such as a printer function, a facsimile function, a copy function, and a scanner function is taken up as the image forming apparatus described in the claims.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an apparatus management system according to an embodiment of the present invention configured on a network. The device management system 1 is installed in, for example, a plurality of LANs (first, second, and third LANs 10, 20, and 30) constructed in different offices, for example, in a service center, and each LAN 10, 20, and 30 is connected to the Internet. And a maintenance server 40 connected via the network 50. The first LAN 10 includes an MFP 11 to be managed by the maintenance server 40 and a plurality of PCs 12 connected to the MFP 11 via a network bus and operating the MFP 10 as job data output destinations.

  As with the first LAN 10, the second and third LANs 20 and 30 are configured to include the MFP, and further description thereof is omitted. Hereinafter, in order to distinguish MFPs included in the first, second, and third LANs 10, 20, and 30 in some cases, they are referred to as first, second, and third MFPs.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a basic configuration of the MFP 11 included in the first LAN 10. The MFP 11 is basically used as a work area for data processing in the MFP 10, a control unit (CPU) 111 that controls various internal configurations thereof, a ROM 112 that stores a program to be controlled by the control unit 11. RAM 113 for temporarily storing various data, hard disk ("HD" in the figure) 114 for storing OS, application program and various data, display panel and mechanical buttons, and various setting inputs An operation unit 115 for performing scanning, a scanning unit 116 for reading a document at a predetermined resolution and creating image data corresponding to the document, a printing unit 117 for executing print output based on the image data, and detection of a jam (JAM) occurrence Jam detection unit 118, toner remaining amount detection unit 119 for detecting the remaining amount of toner, image shift And a status management unit that collectively manages the total number of detections acquired by various detection units and information acquired by the adjustment unit as counter information of the MFP main body to be transmitted to the maintenance server 40 121 and, for example, a network interface (“network I / F” in the figure) 122 for performing communication with external devices inside and outside the same LAN.

  Although not specifically illustrated, the MFP 11 is configured to count the number of printed sheets in addition to the above-described configuration in order to detect the status of the main body, a fixing cleaning web, a cleaning blade, a charging wire, a charging grid, a charging cleaning unit, The status management unit 121 can collectively manage information acquired by all of these configurations as counter information. The configuration includes a configuration that detects usage operations of the development cleaning unit, the development suction filter, and the transfer / separation wire.

  In this apparatus management system 1, each MFP 11 in the LAN 10, 20, and 30 having such a configuration is managed by the maintenance server 40 based on the counter information held in the MFP body, and a trouble that requires maintenance of each MFP 11 has occurred. If it is determined that the printer is in the state, a service person is dispatched as necessary to perform maintenance on the MFP 11. As a criterion for determining the occurrence of trouble in each MFP 11, conventionally, threshold values for the state values of the items constituting the counter information are set in common for all the MFPs 11 in the LANs 10, 20, and 30, and are suitable for the needs of various customers. Although the maintenance service could not be received, in order to solve this, in this embodiment, the customer requests for each MFP 11 in different LANs 10, 20, and 30 as a threshold for the state value of each item constituting the counter information. A value that reflects the contents of the maintenance service to be set is set. The content of the maintenance service requested by the customer is determined based on the type of contract service established between the customer and the service provider when the MFP 11 is purchased or lease starts, for example.

  In the present embodiment, as the type of contract service, “Type 1”, which is highly accurate in determining the occurrence of trouble, “Type 2”, which is lower in accuracy than “Type 1”, and in determining the occurrence of trouble. Are set to “Type 3”, which is lower than “Type 2”. The customer who owns the first MFP receives the contract service of “Type 1” and the customer who owns the second MFP Assume that the customer who receives the contract service of “2” and the customer who owns the third MFP receives the contract service of “type 3”. Then, a value that reflects the content of the maintenance service requested by the customer is set for each of the first, second, and third MFPs as a threshold value that is a criterion for determining the occurrence of travel in each MFP 11 for each of the first, second, and third MFPs. The The cost required for receiving each contract service decreases in the order of “type 1”, “type 2”, and “type 3”.

  FIG. 3 is a table showing threshold values set for each MFP based on the type of contract service. For example, for the item “image registration”, the threshold value “1 mm” is set in the contract service of “type 1”, and occurrence of trouble is determined when the image deviation exceeds 1 mm. On the other hand, in the “type 3” contract service, the threshold value “3 mm” is set, and the occurrence of trouble is determined when the image shift exceeds 3 mm. That is, the occurrence of a trouble is determined more strictly and accurately with respect to the first MFP owned by the customer who receives the “type 1” contract service.

  For example, with respect to the item “jam occurrence frequency”, the threshold value “once / day” is set for the contract service of “type 1”, and the occurrence of trouble is determined when the jam occurs even once a day. . On the other hand, in the “type 3” contract service, a threshold value “3 times / day” is set, and occurrence of trouble is determined only when a jam occurs three times or more per day. That is, the occurrence of a trouble is determined more strictly and accurately with respect to the first MFP owned by the customer who receives the “type 1” contract service.

  A customer who receives the service “type 1”, that is, a customer who owns the first MFP, can receive a service in which a trouble occurrence is determined with higher accuracy, but the customer who receives the “type 3” Although the customer who owns the 3MFP is inferior to the case of “Type 1” in determining the occurrence of trouble, the cost required for maintenance can be suppressed.

  By the way, the threshold value that is the determination criterion for the occurrence of trouble as shown in FIG. 3 may be stored in each MFP 11 or the management server 40. Hereinafter, an example in which the threshold value is stored in each MFP 11 and an example in which the threshold value is stored in the maintenance server 40 will be described as Examples 1 and 2, respectively.

Example 1
In the first embodiment, each MFP 11 stores a threshold value that serves as a criterion for determining the occurrence of a trouble. The threshold value storing operation in each MFP 11 is performed by, for example, a serviceman registering based on the content of a contract service established between the customer and the service provider at the time of purchasing or leasing the MFP. The threshold value is stored in the RAM 113 of each MFP 11.

  In each MFP 11, when the status value of each item constituting the counter information managed by the status management unit 121 is updated, the threshold value stored in the RAM 113 is read and compared with each status value. If there is an item whose status value is equal to or greater than the threshold value as a result of the comparison between each status value and the corresponding threshold value, it is determined that a trouble has occurred in the MFP main body, and information notifying it is transmitted to the maintenance server 40. Is done.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of counter information managed by the status management unit 121 of the third MFP, and threshold values that are set corresponding to each item constituting the counter information and stored in the RAM 113. In the state shown in FIG. 4, the threshold value is “90%” for the item “toner usage”, whereas the state value is “94%”. To be notified. In response to the notification of the occurrence of the trouble, the maintenance server 40 notifies the service person that the remaining amount of toner in the third MFP is low and requests to dispatch to the MFP. Such notification is performed, for example, by sending an e-mail from the maintenance server 40 to a portable terminal possessed by the service person.

  Note that, in each MFP 11, when it is determined that some trouble has occurred in the MFP main body, for example, the status value of each item constituting the counter information does not change, regardless of the threshold value that is the determination criterion for the occurrence of the trouble. Alternatively, information notifying that may be transmitted to the maintenance server 40.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart of processing executed on each MFP 11 side in order to realize management for each MEP 11 by the maintenance server 40. In this process, it is first determined whether or not the counter information has been updated (# 11). As a result, if it is determined that the counter information has not been updated, step # 11 is repeated again, If it is determined that the counter information has been updated, then the threshold value is read (# 12). Thereafter, the state value of each item constituting the updated counter information is compared with the threshold value (# 13).

  Then, it is determined whether or not the state value of each item is smaller than the corresponding threshold value (# 14). As a result, if it is determined that the state value is smaller than the threshold value for all items, On the other hand, if it is determined that the status value of at least one of the items is greater than or equal to the threshold value, it is determined that a trouble has occurred in the MFP main body, and trouble has occurred in the maintenance server 40. Notification is made (# 15). The process is thus completed.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart of processing executed on the maintenance server 40 side in correspondence with processing executed on the MFP 11 side shown in FIG. In this process, first, it is determined whether or not a trouble occurrence has been notified from any of the MFPs 11 (# 21). As a result, if it is determined that a trouble occurrence has not been notified, step # 21 is performed again. On the other hand, if it is determined that the trouble has been notified, the service person is notified of the trouble and dispatch request to the MFP 11 (# 22). The process is thus completed.

  As described above, when the threshold value is stored in each MFP 11, the state value of each item is compared with the threshold value every time the counter information is updated, so that each MFP 11 is in a state where a trouble requiring maintenance has occurred. Is determined in a timely manner and a notification to that effect is sent to the maintenance server, so that trouble can be dealt with promptly.

(Example 2)
In the second embodiment, a threshold value that is a criterion for determining the occurrence of a trouble is stored in the maintenance server 40. In this case, counter information is requested from the maintenance server 40 to each MFP 11 at a preset timing, and in response to this, the counter information managed by each MFP 11 uses a telephone line or mail. And periodically transmitted to the maintenance server 40 via the network I / F 122. For example, when the timing for requesting the counter information of each MFP 11 in the service center is set to the 20th of every month, when the 20th of every month is reached, the maintenance server 40 requests the MFP 11 of each of the LANs 10, 20, and 30 to transmit the counter information. Information to be sent. When such information is received on the MFP 11 side, counter information managed by the status management unit 121 is transmitted to the maintenance server 40.

  In response to the reception of the counter information from each MFP 11, the maintenance server 40 reads the threshold value stored in advance in a recording device (not shown) such as a RAM, reads the state value of each item constituting the counter information, and the reading The issued threshold is compared. As a result, if the status value is equal to or greater than the threshold value, it is determined that a trouble has occurred in the MFP 11 that is the transmission source of the counter information, and the contents of the trouble are notified to the service person and a dispatch to the MFP is requested. Notification is made. This notification is performed, for example, by sending an e-mail from the maintenance server 40 to the portable terminal owned by the service person.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart of apparatus management processing executed on the maintenance server 40 side in order to realize management for each MEP 11 by the maintenance server 40. In this process, first, based on a preset timing, it is determined whether or not it is a timing to request counter information from the MFP (# 31), and as a result, it is determined that it is not a timing to request counter information. If it is determined that it is time to request counter information, the counter information is requested to the MFP 11 (# 32).

  After step # 32, it is determined whether or not counter information has been returned from the MFP 11 (# 33). As a result, if it is determined that counter information has not been returned, step # 33 is repeated again. On the other hand, if it is determined that the counter information has been returned, the threshold value is subsequently read (# 34). Thereafter, the state value of each item constituting the counter information returned from the MFP 11 is compared with the threshold value (# 35).

  Then, it is determined whether or not the state value of each item is smaller than the corresponding threshold value (# 36). As a result, if it is determined that the state value is smaller than the threshold value for all items, On the other hand, if it is determined that the status value of at least one of the items is equal to or greater than the threshold value, it is determined that a trouble has occurred in the MFP main body, and the serviceman is informed to the MFP 11. Notification of trouble occurrence and dispatch request are made (# 37). The process is thus completed.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the processing executed on each MFP 11 side in correspondence with the processing executed on the maintenance server 40 side shown in FIG. In this process, first, it is determined whether or not a request for counter information has been received from the maintenance server 40 (# 41). If it is determined that a request for counter information has not been received as a result, step # 41 is again performed. On the other hand, if it is determined that a request for counter information has been received, the counter information is transmitted to the maintenance server 40 (# 42). The process is thus completed.

  As described above, when the threshold value corresponding to each MFP is stored in the maintenance server 40, each MFP 11 side uses an existing function for transmitting counter information to the maintenance server 40, and omits the addition of a new function. can do.

  The processing performed by the MFP 11 or the maintenance server 40 shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 is executed by reading a program stored in the ROM or the hard disk of the MFP 11 or the maintenance server 40. The program is stored in the MFP 11 or the maintenance server 40. External recording such as an optical disc such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM or a floppy (registered trademark) disc as a device management program even if it is incorporated in advance as part of a program that is the basis of control by the control unit It may be installed in each MFP 11 and the maintenance server 40 by using a medium or downloaded via a network and additionally stored in the hard disk.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments, and it goes without saying that various improvements and design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, when it is determined whether each MFP is in a state requiring maintenance, only the comparison result between the state value of each item constituting the counter information and the corresponding threshold value is considered. However, in addition, for example, the machine environment of each MFP such as a change in usage frequency may be considered. In this case, it is possible to make a more timely determination as to the state requiring maintenance of each MFP.

1 is a diagram schematically showing an apparatus management system according to an embodiment of the present invention configured on a network. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a basic configuration of an MFP to be managed by the device management system. 6 is a table showing threshold values set for each MFP based on the type of contract service. 7 is a table showing counter information managed by a predetermined MFP and threshold values set corresponding to the state values of the items constituting the counter information. 10 is a flowchart of processing executed on each MFP side with respect to the first embodiment in which a threshold value is stored in each MFP. 6 is a flowchart of processing executed on the maintenance server side in response to processing executed on the MFP side shown in FIG. It is a flowchart about the process performed by the maintenance side regarding Example 2 with which the threshold value is stored in the maintenance server. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of processing executed on each MFP side in response to processing executed on the maintenance server side shown in FIG. 7. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Network, 10 ... 1st LAN, 11 ... MFP, 12 ... Client PC, 20 ... 2nd LAN, 30 ... 3rd LAN, 40 ... Maintenance server, 50 ... Internet, 111 ... Control part, 112 ... ROM, 113 ... RAM, 114, hard disk, 118, jam detection unit, 119, toner remaining amount detection unit, 120, image adjustment unit, 121, status management unit, 122, network interface.

Claims (5)

A plurality of image forming apparatuses, and a management server communicably connected to each image forming apparatus via a network, wherein the management server manages the image forming apparatus in order to cope with a state that requires maintenance of the image forming apparatus In the device management system
State value detecting means for detecting a state value reflecting a predetermined status of each image forming apparatus;
For each of the image forming apparatuses, a threshold value holding that is a threshold value that is a reference value for determining that the image forming apparatus is in a state that requires maintenance with respect to the state value detected by the state value detecting unit. Means,
Determination means for determining whether the image forming apparatus is in a state requiring maintenance based on the state value detected by the state value detecting means and the threshold value held by the threshold value holding means for each image forming apparatus. And an apparatus management system characterized by comprising:   The management server has notification means for notifying a service person when the image forming apparatus determines that the image forming apparatus is in a state that requires maintenance by the determining means. Item 2. The device management system according to Item 1.   The apparatus management system according to claim 1, wherein the threshold value holding unit and the determination unit are provided on each image forming apparatus side.   The apparatus management system according to claim 1, wherein the threshold value holding unit and the determination unit are provided on the management server side. A plurality of image forming apparatuses, and a management server communicably connected to each image forming apparatus via a network, wherein the management server manages the image forming apparatus in order to cope with a state that requires maintenance of the image forming apparatus To the device management system
A procedure for detecting a state value reflecting a predetermined status of each of the image forming apparatuses;
A procedure for holding a threshold value, which is a reference value for determining that the image forming apparatus is in a state requiring maintenance, with respect to the detected state value for each image forming apparatus;
An apparatus management program for executing, for each image forming apparatus, a procedure for determining whether or not the image forming apparatus is in a state requiring maintenance based on a detected state value and a held threshold value.

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