JP2007304936A - Network equipment, and error management system and error management program for this network equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable output/display of display information corresponding to an error without needing registration of display information for responding to all errors on the equipment side such as an image forming device. <P>SOLUTION: In an image forming system 10 including a management device 200 and the image forming device 100 performing print output based on print data, which are mutually connected through a network 300, the image forming device 100 requests, in the event of error, error responding display information for the error to the management device 200. The management device 200 reads and transmits corresponding display information based on the request to the image forming device, and the image forming device 100 displays the display information 201 transmitted from the management device 200 through a display part 140. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a network device including an image forming apparatus having a printing function such as a printer or a multi-function device that is used by being connected to a network. The present invention relates to an error management system for network devices that can be displayed.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus having a printing function such as a printer or a multifunction peripheral, image information is formed by image processing for print data input from a host computer, for example, and print output is performed based on the image information. I try to do it.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the conventional image forming apparatus 900 includes an image processing unit 920 that generates image information based on print data input from the host computer 910, and the image processing unit 920 generates the image information. The image forming unit 930 that performs print output based on the image information that has been output, and the control unit 940 that controls the image processing unit 920 and the image forming unit 930 are configured.

Here, in such an image forming apparatus 900, various errors such as paper jam and out of toner may occur.
When such an error occurs, in the image forming apparatus 900, the control unit 940 generates error information related to the error, reads error handling information registered in advance based on the error information, and details of the error that has occurred. Display information indicating the contents, error canceling method, etc. in text, illustrations, sound, still images, etc. is displayed on the display section of the operation panel or the sound is output by a speaker.

However, since the display itself is relatively small and difficult to see in the display on the operation panel display etc., there are limits to telling in detail how to cancel errors in illustrations and still images, etc. It was not enough.
Also, in the case of voice information from a speaker, the contents may be missed or it may be difficult to hear the sound.

Thus, various proposals have been made for such conventional techniques.
For example, in Patent Document 1, when an error such as out of toner or a waste toner bottle is full is detected, a video indicating an error release operation procedure such as toner replenishment or waste toner bottle replacement is detected. Is displayed on a display unit. An operation guidance display device for an image forming apparatus is disclosed.
According to such an image forming apparatus, the operator can easily perform a necessary error canceling operation by viewing the moving image displayed on the display unit.

Patent Document 2 discloses an image forming apparatus that displays a moving image representing an error cancellation procedure in a mode desired by an operator, for example, frame advance, primary stop, enlarged display, or the like.
According to such an image forming apparatus, an operator can perform an error canceling operation at his / her own pace without inconvenience even if he / she is unfamiliar with the operation by displaying in a desired manner an unintelligible part in the moving image display. It became possible to proceed.

Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a display unit for displaying an error canceling process procedure when an error such as a paper jam occurs. An image forming apparatus is disclosed.
According to such an image forming apparatus, the error canceling procedure is displayed on the display unit provided adjacent to the location where the error canceling process is performed, so that the operator can display the error canceling process on the display unit. The error canceling process can be easily performed while visually checking the error canceling process procedure.

Patent Document 4 discloses an image input / output processing device that notifies error information to a management server via a communication means when an error occurs.
According to such an image input / output processing apparatus, when an error occurs, the error information is notified to the management server, so even if the operator does not grasp the error content, for example, the service center of the image input / output processing apparatus Etc., it is possible to accurately transmit error contents.

Further, in Patent Document 5, a portable terminal is connected to a host computer via a home network, content registered in the host computer is selected, printed by a local printer connected to the host computer, A printer control method using a mobile terminal is disclosed in which a print result is notified to the mobile terminal via a home network.
According to such a printer control method, a host computer can be remotely operated from a portable terminal such as a cellular phone, and print output can be performed by a local printer not included in the home network. By receiving the notification of the result, it can be confirmed that the print output has been performed reliably.

Further, Patent Document 6 discloses a driving monitoring system using a telephone that transmits error information of home appliances to a slave unit of a wireless master / slave phone and reports the service to the service center from the master unit of the wireless master / slave phone. Has been.
According to such an operation monitoring system, it is possible to construct a remote monitoring system using a telephone with a simple configuration in which an additional function is loaded on the wireless parent / child telephone, and to grasp the operation status of home appliances and the like.

JP 2000-155503 A JP-A-2005-208335 Japanese Patent No. 3146237 JP-A-11-234454 JP 2005-346720 A JP 2004-032011 A

However, the techniques proposed so far have various problems as described below.
First, in the operation guidance display device of the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to register moving image information corresponding to all error information.
For this reason, video information is registered even for error information that rarely occurs and optional functions that are not equipped, and the amount of data to be registered becomes enormous. A memory having an enormous storage capacity for registering the memory is also required, which increases the cost and wastes a limited storage capacity.
Here, in order to reduce the amount of data to be registered, it may be possible to reduce or compress the amount of video information. However, for video information with a small amount of data, there is a limit to the content of the expression and sufficient error cancellation. There was a possibility that information could not be displayed.

In addition, the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 has the advantage that even an inexperienced operator can reliably perform an error canceling operation while viewing a moving image display. Similarly to the above, there is a problem that all error canceling procedures that may occur must be registered as moving image information.
In addition, since the moving image is displayed on the operation panel, there is a problem that it is difficult to grasp the operation part, the operation method, and the like.

Further, in the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 3, it is possible to perform the error cancellation processing while viewing the display on the display unit provided adjacent to the location where the error cancellation processing is performed. It is necessary to prepare a plurality of display units for each, and it is extremely difficult to apply to an actual image forming apparatus.
Further, in the image input / output processing device of Patent Document 4, error information is notified to the management server when an error occurs, so that the error content can be accurately transmitted without the operator having to grasp the error content. This is possible, but the service person who sees the error information by the management server goes to the place where the image input / output processing device is installed. The inconvenience of the support display itself could not be solved.

Moreover, in the printer control method using the portable terminal of patent document 5, it is made to print out to a local printer from a host computer by remote operation from a portable terminal, and the printing result is notified to a portable terminal, Even if the print result is an error, the print result (error occurrence) is only notified from the local printer to the mobile terminal via the host computer or home network, and the error canceling method and procedure are output and displayed. I couldn't.
Furthermore, in the remote monitoring system using a telephone set disclosed in Patent Document 6, error information on home appliances is only reported to the service center via a wireless telephone, and error cancellation itself is performed by a service person who has obtained error information from the management server. This is done by going to the installation location of home appliances and the like, and as in the case of Patent Document 4 described above, inconveniences such as error display cannot be solved.

  The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and display information for canceling all errors on a network device side such as an image forming apparatus with a simple configuration. If an error occurs, the display information corresponding to the error can be displayed immediately, and the device does not occupy limited storage resources due to unnecessary / unnecessary information. An object of the present invention is to provide a network device that can quickly output and display error release information and the like on the device side, and an error management system for the network device.

  In order to achieve this object, a network device according to the present invention is a network device that is communicably connected to a management apparatus via a network and controls each part of the network device. A control unit; a display unit that displays predetermined display information for an error that occurs in the network device; and a storage unit that stores predetermined display information for an error that occurs in the network device. When predetermined error information is output due to the occurrence of an error, predetermined display information for the error indicated by the error information is read from the storage unit and displayed on the display unit, and the display information is stored in the storage unit. If not, predetermined request information for requesting the display information is generated and transmitted to the management device. Certain display information transmitted as a configuration for displaying on the display unit from.

According to the network device of the present invention having such a configuration, when an error such as a paper jam or out of toner occurs in the network device including the image forming apparatus connected to the management apparatus via the network, the control unit of the network apparatus Acquires error information and requests display information corresponding to the error information to the management apparatus via the network.
When the display information related to the request is transmitted from the management apparatus via the network, the transmitted display information is displayed on the display unit.

Thus, for example, when a failure such as a paper jam or an error such as paper or toner replenishment occurs in the image forming apparatus, display information indicating an error canceling method corresponding to the generated error is received from the management apparatus. By doing so, the display information can be output and displayed on the image forming apparatus side.
In principle, display information corresponding to an error is not stored on the network device side, but is registered in the management device, and only necessary display information is transmitted from the management device to the network device side when an error occurs. Therefore, it is not necessary to secure a storage capacity for storing display information on the network device side, and it is sufficient to provide a relatively small capacity memory, which can reduce costs and have limited storage resources. Can be used effectively.

In addition, since the display information is stored in a management device provided separately from the network device, it is possible to manage even display information with a relatively large capacity without being limited by the memory capacity on the network device side. It is possible to register in the apparatus, and display information including moving images as well as information based on conventional text, voice, illustrations, and still images can be registered and output / displayed on the network device side.
As a result, for example, a method and procedure for error cancellation can be expressed by a moving image obtained by imaging an actual device, and an operator can easily perform error cancellation work while watching a moving image.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the network device according to claim 2, wherein the storage unit stores only display information for a specific error among predetermined display information for an error that occurs in the network device. can do.

  According to the network device of the present invention having such a configuration, in the image forming apparatus or the like, display information corresponding to an error that normally occurs or an error that occurs relatively frequently is stored in advance. Can be registered in the department. And when such an error occurs, the display information corresponding to the error can be output and displayed more quickly by directly reading from the storage unit on the network device side without going through the management device, The processing load on the management device and the network load can be reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the control unit receives the display information from the management device, the network device according to the present invention displays the display information based on an error occurrence frequency indicated by the display information. It can be set as the structure memorize | stored in the said memory | storage part.
Further, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the control means can be configured to delete display information that has not been accessed for a predetermined period from display information for an error stored in the storage unit.

According to the network device of the present invention having such a configuration, when an error having a relatively high frequency occurs in the image forming apparatus or the like, display information corresponding to the error received from the management apparatus via the network is displayed. The image data can be registered in the storage unit on the image forming apparatus side.
As a result, when the same error occurs next time, the display information corresponding to the same error can be read from the storage unit in the image forming apparatus, and the display information can be output and displayed more quickly, and the processing load of the management apparatus, the network load, etc. Can also be reduced.

In addition, regarding display information registered in the storage unit such as the image forming apparatus, the display information is stored in the storage unit, assuming that the frequency of occurrence of the corresponding error is low in the image forming apparatus. Can be removed from.
As a result, it is possible to prevent the storage unit from being occupied by unnecessary / unnecessary display information, and to effectively utilize the limited storage resources of network devices such as image forming apparatuses. Become.

  The network device according to the present invention is connected to the network device via the network so that predetermined display information displayed on the display unit by the control unit is communicable with the network device. It can be set as the structure which transmits to a portable terminal and the said display information is displayed on the display part of the said portable terminal.

According to the network device of the present invention having such a configuration, display information such as error cancellation displayed on the display unit provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus or the like that constitutes the network device is further transmitted to the network-connected mobile device. It can be transmitted to the terminal and displayed on the display of the portable terminal.
A display unit provided in an image forming apparatus or the like is usually provided on the front portion of the apparatus main body so as to face the upper surface, and when performing error cancellation, the display unit is often not directly visible. For example, when a paper jam or the like occurs, it is necessary to open the side and lower housings of the image device and look into the inside to perform processing. You can't see it directly.
Therefore, in the present invention, the display information displayed on the display unit is further transmitted to the mobile terminal and displayed on the mobile terminal side, so that the worker holds the mobile terminal in his hand and displays it on the display unit of the mobile terminal. It becomes possible to perform operations such as error cancellation while viewing the information to be provided, and to provide a more convenient and easy-to-use image forming apparatus.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a network device according to the sixth aspect, wherein the network device comprises an image forming apparatus that performs print output based on print data.

According to the network device of the present invention having such a configuration, the present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, and a FAX machine.
In general, in an image forming apparatus, when an error such as a paper jam or out of toner occurs, it is difficult to understand how to cancel the error, and it is preferable to display error cancellation information as a moving image. In many cases, the storage capacity of the means is limited in view of cost, function of the apparatus, and the like.

Therefore, by applying the present invention to an image forming apparatus, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that is easy to use at low cost by performing an error canceling method and the like with easy-to-understand video display while effectively using limited storage resources. become able to.
The image forming apparatus to which the present invention can be applied includes a printer, a copier, a dedicated machine such as a fax machine, and a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions such as a printer function, a copy function, and a fax function. Moreover, the effect of the present invention can be exhibited, which is preferable.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to a single network device such as an image forming apparatus, but as a system in which a plurality of devices and apparatuses including such a network device are connected to a network, and for operating such a system. It can also be realized as a computer program.
Specifically, the network device error management system according to the present invention includes a management device that is communicably connected to one or more network devices and the network device via a network. An error management system for a network device comprising: a control unit that controls each unit of the network device; a display unit that displays predetermined display information for an error that occurs in the network device; A storage unit that stores predetermined display information for an error that occurs in the network device, and when the control unit outputs the predetermined error information when an error occurs, the predetermined display for the error indicated by the error information Information is read from the storage unit and displayed on the display unit. If it is not stored in the storage unit, the predetermined request information for requesting the display information is generated and transmitted to the management device, and the display information transmitted from the management device is displayed on the display unit, The management device includes a storage unit that stores predetermined display information for an error that occurs in the network device. When the display information request information is received from the network device, the management device displays the display information for the error indicated by the request information. The information is read from the storage unit and transmitted to the network device.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an error management system for a network device comprising a portable terminal communicably connected to the network device via a network, wherein the control means is connected to the display unit. The predetermined display information to be displayed can be transmitted to the portable terminal, and the display information can be displayed on the display unit of the portable terminal.

  Furthermore, the network device error management program according to the present invention includes one or more network devices and a management device that is communicably connected to the network devices via a network. In the network device error management system, the computer constituting the network device stores, in the storage unit, predetermined display information for an error occurring in the network device, and the predetermined error information is generated when an error occurs in the network device. When output, means for reading out predetermined display information for the error indicated by the error information from the storage unit and displaying it on the display unit, and when the display information is not stored in the storage unit, Generate and send predetermined request information to request to the management device And functioning as a means for displaying the display information transmitted from the management device on the display unit, and causing the computer constituting the management device to store predetermined display information for an error occurring in the network device in the storage unit When the display information request information is received from the network device, the storage unit reads the display information for the error indicated by the request information from the storage unit and transmits the program to the network device.

As described above, the present invention is a system in which a plurality of devices and apparatuses including network devices including image forming apparatuses such as printers, copiers, and fax machines are connected to a network, and for operating such a system. It can also be realized as a computer program.
As a result, the present invention can be realized in a network system in which not only a specific network device but also other information processing devices are connected, and by installing a program in such information processing devices, An error management system with excellent versatility and expandability can be provided.

According to the network device of the present invention and the error management system of the network device, an error can be obtained without registering display information for canceling all errors on the network device side such as an image forming apparatus with a simple configuration. When the error occurs, the display information corresponding to the error can be displayed immediately.
As a result, accurate error release information and the like can be quickly output and displayed on the device side without occupying limited storage resources on the device side due to unnecessary / unnecessary information.

A preferred embodiment of an image forming system to which an error management system for network devices according to the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[First embodiment]
First, a first embodiment of an image forming system to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of an image forming system to which the present invention is applied.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the image forming system 10 includes an image forming apparatus 100 having a printing function, a management apparatus 200, and a network 300.

The network 300 is, for example, a local LAN, a public LAN such as a wireless LAN, or a network such as the Internet, and connects the image forming apparatus 100 and the management apparatus 200 to each other.
In FIG. 1, only one image forming apparatus 100 is illustrated. However, the image forming apparatus 100 is not limited to one, and may include two or more image forming apparatuses 100 as necessary. Other electronic devices can also be provided.
Here, the operations of the image forming apparatus 100 and the management apparatus 200 are controlled by a program that operates on a computer.

In other words, the image forming system according to the present embodiment is realized by processing, means, and functions executed by a computer in accordance with a program (software) instruction. The program sends a command to each component of the computer to perform predetermined processing and functions as shown below. That is, each processing / means in the image forming system of the present embodiment is realized by specific means in which a program and a computer cooperate.
All or part of the program is provided by, for example, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or any other computer-readable recording medium, and the program read from the recording medium is installed in the computer and executed. The program can also be loaded and executed directly on a computer through a communication line without using a recording medium.

  The image forming unit 100 is an image forming apparatus having a printing function such as a printer, a copier, a FAX machine, or a multifunction machine, and generates image information based on print data input from the host computer 110 or the like. Control unit 120, image forming unit 130 that performs print output based on image information generated by image processing unit 120, display unit 140, and control of image processing unit 120, image forming unit 130, and display unit 140. And a storage unit 160 that stores predetermined information.

The image processing unit 120 performs image processing on print data sent from a host computer 110 or the like connected locally or over a network, generates an intermediate drawing object, and further performs page rasterization processing to generate an image composed of a bitmap image. Information is generated and sent to the image forming unit 130.
The image forming unit 130 is, for example, a printer engine. When image information 121 is input from the image processing unit 120, the image forming unit 130 performs print output based on the image information 121.

The display unit 140 is provided adjacent to an operation panel (not shown) provided on the upper surface of the image forming apparatus 100 and the like, and a display unit that displays predetermined information necessary for the processing operation of the image forming apparatus 100. In this embodiment, a moving image is reproduced / displayed. Note that the image forming apparatus 100 can be provided with a speaker, and it is preferable to be able to reproduce sound accompanying moving image reproduction on the display unit 140.
The display unit 140 displays the display information 201 when receiving the display information 201 from the control unit 150 described later.
Here, the display information 201 is information representing a method of canceling the error that occurred and the procedure thereof when an error occurs, and is composed of, for example, text, sound, image, etc. In this embodiment, the error canceling method, etc. Predetermined video information indicating the video is included.

The control unit 150 controls the image processing unit 120, the image forming unit 130, and the display unit 140 described above so that print output is performed based on the input print data, and via the network 300. , Connected to the management apparatus 200.
The storage unit 160 is configured by, for example, a non-volatile memory, and is a storage unit that stores predetermined information necessary for the processing operation of the image forming apparatus 100.
In this embodiment, display information 201 for handling an error with respect to an error occurring in the image processing unit 120 or the image forming unit 130 of the image forming apparatus 100 is registered in the storage unit 160.

In the present embodiment, the storage unit 160 stores only the display information 201 for a specific error among the display information 201 for errors that occur in the image forming apparatus 100. Specifically, the image forming apparatus 100 In FIG. 2, display information corresponding to errors that normally occur or errors that occur relatively frequently is stored in the storage unit 160 in advance.
Further, when display information 201 regarding a specific error is received from the management apparatus 200 under the control of the control unit 150, the display information 201 is stored in the storage unit 160 based on the error occurrence frequency indicated by the display information 201. Memorized and registered.
Further, the storage unit 160 is configured to delete the display information 201 that has not been accessed for a predetermined period of time among the stored display information 201 under the control of the control unit 150 at a predetermined timing.

Then, when an error occurs in the image processing unit 120 or the image forming unit 130, the control unit 150 acquires predetermined error information 131 from the image processing unit 120 or the image forming unit 130 in which the error has occurred.
When the display information 201 corresponding to the error information 131 is registered in the storage unit 160, the control unit 150 that has acquired the error information 131 reads the display information from the storage unit 160, and the display unit 140 Output and display information.
When the display information 201 corresponding to the acquired error information is not registered in the storage unit 160, the control unit 150 sends predetermined request information 151 for requesting the display information 201 via the network 300. To be sent to.

Further, when receiving the display information 201 from the management apparatus 200, the control unit 150 sends the display information 201 to the display unit 140 and causes the display unit 140 to output / display the information.
And the control means 150 discriminate | determines the occurrence frequency of the error which concerns on the display information 201 transmitted from this management apparatus 200, and when the occurrence frequency is high, it registers the said display information 201 in the memory | storage part 160. It has become.
In this case, the control means 150 determines that the occurrence frequency is high when the error occurs a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined period.
Further, the control unit 150 determines the last access date and time of the display information 201 registered in the storage unit 160, and deletes the display information 201 that has not been accessed for a predetermined period from the storage unit 160.

The management device 200 includes an information processing device that constitutes a management server, and includes a processing unit 210 and a storage unit 220.
The processing unit 210 is connected to the control unit 150 of the image forming apparatus 100 via the network 300.
When the processing unit 210 receives the request information 151 requesting the predetermined display information 201 described above from the control unit 150 of the image forming apparatus 100, the processing unit 210 searches the storage unit 220 for the display information 201 corresponding to the request information 161. Thus, the corresponding display information 201 is read out and transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100.
Here, the storage unit 220 of the management apparatus 200 stores and registers display information 201 corresponding to all errors that may occur in the image forming apparatus 100, and is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100. On the basis of the error information 131, a database in which the corresponding display information 201 can be searched is configured.

Next, a processing operation when an error occurs in the image forming apparatus 100 in the image forming system 10 of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.
In FIG. 2, when a paper jam occurs in the image forming unit 130 as an error in step A <b> 1, for example, the control unit 150 acquires error information 131 from the image forming unit 130 in step A <b> 2.

In step A3, the control unit 150 that has acquired the error information 131 first searches the storage unit 160 provided in the image forming apparatus 100 for display information 201 corresponding to the error information 131.
If the corresponding display information 201 is not stored in the storage unit 160 as a search result, the control unit 150 generates request information 151 of the display information 201 corresponding to the error information 131 in step A4. And transmitted to the management apparatus 200 via the network 300.

In response to this, the input / output unit 210 of the management apparatus 200 analyzes the request information 151 sent from the image forming apparatus 100 in step A5, extracts error information 131, and in step A6, extracts the error information 131. Display information 201 corresponding to the error information 131 is read from the storage unit 220.
Then, the input / output unit 210 of the management apparatus 200 transmits the display information 201 to the image forming apparatus 100 via the network 300 in step A7.

Thereby, the control unit 150 of the image forming apparatus 100 determines the occurrence frequency for the error information 131 corresponding to the received display information 201 in step A8.
When the occurrence frequency is high, the control unit 150 registers the display information 201 in the storage unit 160 in association with the corresponding error information 131 in step A9.
If it is determined in step A8 that the frequency of the generated error is low, the control unit 150 does not register the display information 201 corresponding to the error in the storage unit 160 in step A10. The data is sent to the display unit 140 and displayed on the display unit 140.

When the display information 201 is in the storage unit 160 in step A3 described above, the control unit 150 reads the display information 201 from the storage unit 160 in step A11, and proceeds to step A10. The information 201 is sent to the display unit 140 and displayed on the display unit 140.
This completes the processing operation of the error handling display when an error occurs.

As described above, according to the image forming system 10 of the present embodiment, the content of the display information 201 is displayed on the display unit 140, so that the operator can cancel an error occurrence location or an error from the display information 201. By grasping the processing procedure, it is possible to easily perform error cancellation processing.
Here, since the image forming apparatus 100 does not have to register the display information 201 for all the error information 131 in the storage unit 160, the storage capacity of the storage unit 160 can be small, and the cost can be reduced. Will get.

In addition, since the display information 201 is registered in the management apparatus 200 and the management apparatus 200 includes a storage unit 220 for registering the display information 201, the display information 201 depends on the storage capacity of the storage unit 220. Not limited.
Accordingly, the display information 201 may be moving image information representing a detailed error cancellation processing procedure, and may be moving image information based on a live-action photograph of the same model as the image forming apparatus 100. As a result, the operator can easily perform the error canceling operation while viewing the moving image display on the display unit 140.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the image forming system to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the first embodiment of the image forming system to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing operation when an error occurs in the image forming system of this embodiment.
The image forming system according to this embodiment shown in these drawings is a modified embodiment of the first embodiment described above, and includes a portable terminal 400 connected to the image forming apparatus 100 via a network. Therefore, other components are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment in the drawing, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the mobile terminal 400 is a terminal device that can be wirelessly connected to the image forming apparatus 100 and the management apparatus 200 via the network 300, and includes a display unit 410 that can display predetermined information. The portable terminal 400 is configured by a portable wireless communication device including display means (display unit 410) such as a liquid crystal display such as a mobile phone, PHS, and PDA.
In the present embodiment, the control unit 150 of the image forming apparatus 100 transmits predetermined display information 201 to be displayed on the display unit 140 to the mobile terminal 400, and the transmitted display information 201 is displayed on the mobile terminal 400. It is displayed on the part 410.

The display unit 140 provided in the image forming apparatus 100 is usually provided on the front portion of the apparatus main body so as to face the upper surface, and in many cases, when performing error cancellation, the display unit cannot be directly seen. For example, when a paper jam or the like occurs, it is necessary to open the side or lower casing of the image forming apparatus 100 and look into the inside for processing, and the operator displays an error canceling method and the like. The part 140 cannot be seen directly.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the display information 201 displayed on the display unit 140 of the image forming apparatus 100 is further transmitted to the portable terminal 400 and displayed on the portable terminal side, so that the worker can hold the portable terminal 400 in hand. Therefore, it is possible to perform work such as error cancellation while viewing the information displayed on the display unit 410 of the portable terminal 400.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, in the image forming system 10 of the present embodiment, when an error occurs in the image forming apparatus 100 as in the case of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Predetermined display information 201 corresponding to the error is transmitted from the management apparatus 200 or read from the storage unit 160 of the image forming apparatus 100, and display information to be displayed is displayed on the display unit 140 (steps A1 to A11). ).
In the present embodiment, the display information displayed on the display unit 140 is further transmitted to the mobile terminal 400 (step A12) and is also displayed on the display unit 410 of the mobile terminal 400 (step A13).

In the present embodiment in which the display information 201 is displayed on the mobile terminal 400 as described above, the display of the display information 201 (step A10) on the display unit 140 of the image forming apparatus 100 may be omitted.
As described above, according to the image forming system 10 of the present embodiment, display information such as error cancellation displayed on the display unit 140 provided in the image forming apparatus 100 is further transmitted to the mobile terminal 400 connected to the network. Can be displayed on the display (display unit 410) of the portable terminal 40.
As a result, an operator who cancels an error or the like in the image forming apparatus 100 can perform a task such as canceling an error while holding the mobile terminal 400 and viewing the information displayed on the display unit 410 of the mobile terminal 400. become.

The network device and the error management system of the present invention have been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. However, the network device and the error management system according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the present invention. It goes without saying that various modifications can be made within the scope of.
For example, in the embodiment described above, the frequency of occurrence of the error information 131 is determined by the control unit 150 of the image forming apparatus 100, but this is determined by the management apparatus 200 to determine the frequency of occurrence of the error information 131. It may be.
In this case, the management apparatus 200 transmits the determination result of the occurrence frequency together with the display information 201 to the image forming apparatus 100 via the network 300, and the control unit 150 of the image forming apparatus 100 generates the occurrence according to the determination result. The display information 201 may be registered in the storage unit 160 when the frequency is high.
As a result, the management apparatus 200 can effectively deal with initial defects and the like by determining the occurrence frequency in consideration of the error occurrence frequency specific to the model of the image forming apparatus 100.

In the above-described embodiment, the storage unit 160 of the image forming apparatus 100 registers the display information 201 corresponding to the error information 131 having a high occurrence frequency in advance. The display information 201 may not be registered in the unit 160.
Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the management apparatus 200 is configured as a management server. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and an image forming apparatus similar to the image forming apparatus 100 may configure the management apparatus.
In this case, the image forming apparatus as the management apparatus 200 may register the display information 201 for all the error information 131 in the storage unit 220.
Thus, for example, when a plurality of image forming apparatuses 100 are connected to the network 300, the image forming system 10 can be easily constructed with a simple configuration by configuring one image forming apparatus as the management apparatus 200. be able to.

  The present invention can be suitably used for an image forming apparatus connected to a network, for example, a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, a digital multifunction machine, and the like.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a first embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. 3 is a flowchart showing an error handling display processing operation when an error occurs in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of 2nd embodiment of the image forming apparatus by this invention. 3 is a flowchart showing an error handling display processing operation when an error occurs in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of an example of the conventional image forming apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming system 100 Image forming apparatus 110 Host computer 120 Image processing means 121 Image information 130 Image forming means 131 Error information 140 Display part 150 Control means 151 Request information 160 Storage part 200 Management apparatus 210 Input / output part 220 Storage part 300 Network 400 Mobile terminal 410 display unit

Claims (9)

A network device that is communicably connected to a management device via a network,
Control means for controlling each part of the network device; a display unit for displaying predetermined display information for errors occurring in the network device; a storage unit for storing predetermined display information for errors occurring in the network device; With
When the control means outputs predetermined error information due to the occurrence of an error, it reads out predetermined display information for the error indicated by the error information from the storage unit and causes the display unit to display the information.
When the display information is not stored in the storage unit, predetermined request information for requesting the display information is generated and transmitted to the management device, and the display information transmitted from the management device is displayed on the display unit. A network device characterized by being displayed on the screen. The storage unit
The network device according to claim 1, wherein only the display information for a specific error is stored among predetermined display information for an error that occurs in the network device. The control means is
The network device according to claim 1, wherein when the display information is received from the management apparatus, the display information is stored in the storage unit based on an error occurrence frequency indicated by the display information. The control means is
4. The network device according to claim 1, wherein display information that has not been accessed for a predetermined period is deleted from display information for an error stored in the storage unit. 5. The control means is
The predetermined display information to be displayed on the display unit is transmitted to a mobile terminal that is communicably connected to the network device via the network,
The network device according to claim 1, wherein the display information is displayed on a display unit of the mobile terminal.   The network device according to claim 1, wherein the network device includes an image forming apparatus that performs print output based on print data. An error management system for a network device comprising one or more network devices and a management device that is communicably connected to the network device via a network,
The network device is:
Control means for controlling each part of the network device; a display unit for displaying predetermined display information for errors occurring in the network device; a storage unit for storing predetermined display information for errors occurring in the network device; With
When the control means outputs predetermined error information due to the occurrence of an error, it reads out predetermined display information for the error indicated by the error information from the storage unit and causes the display unit to display the information.
When the display information is not stored in the storage unit, the request information for requesting the display information is generated and transmitted to the management device, and the display information transmitted from the management device is displayed on the display unit. Displayed on the
The management device
A storage unit storing predetermined display information for errors occurring in the network device;
When the request information for the display information is received from the network device, the display information for the error indicated by the request information is read from the storage unit and transmitted to the network device. Comprising a portable terminal communicably connected to the network device via a network;
The said control means transmits the predetermined | prescribed display information displayed on the said display part to the said portable terminal, The said display information is displayed on the display part of the said portable terminal. Network device error management system. In an error management system for a network device comprising one or more network devices and a management device that is communicably connected to the network device via a network,
A computer constituting the network device;
Means for storing predetermined display information for an error occurring in the network device in a storage unit;
Means for reading out predetermined display information for the error indicated by the error information from the storage unit and displaying it on the display unit when predetermined error information is output due to an error occurrence in the network device;
Means for generating predetermined request information for requesting the display information and transmitting it to the management device when the display information is not stored in the storage unit;
While functioning as a means for displaying the display information transmitted from the management device on the display unit,
A computer constituting the management device;
Means for storing predetermined display information for an error occurring in the network device in a storage unit;
An error management program for a network device that functions as means for reading display information for an error indicated by the request information from the storage unit and transmitting the display information to the network device when receiving the display information request information from the network device.

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