JP2008259014A - Image processor, information transmission method in the image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To normally perform management of an image processor after resale by stopping information transmission to a management server which remotely manages the image processor when there is no access from the management server. <P>SOLUTION: An alert transmitting part 109 transmits a trouble alert to an FSS server 20 in generation of a trouble or maintenance of a multifunction peripheral 10. The FSS server 20 transmits a command for changing setting of the multifunction peripheral 10 and transmits a command for requesting setting data of the multifunction peripheral 10. Here, in an alert stopping part 109, when pieces of information of the command for setting change and the command for requesting the setting data are not received, transmission of the trouble alert is stopped. For example, in the case information transmitted from the FSS server 20 can not be received for fixed period or can not be received for predetermined frequencies, processing for stopping transmission of the trouble alert is performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing apparatus management system, and an image processing method, and more particularly, an image processing apparatus capable of performing various remote maintenance by remote management using a network, and the like. The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus including a simple image processing apparatus and a server.

  Conventionally, in companies and the like, so-called FSS (Field Support System) is used to accumulate knowledge such as information on technology and product specifications, customer information, trouble information, etc. in a database system, and to support users by using the knowledge. It is used. By using such a system, business efficiency, customer response speed, and cost reduction have been achieved.

In such FSS (Field Support System), a user support service is provided for a multifunction peripheral (MFP) having a complex image processing function such as a network function and a facsimile function.
In FSS in a multifunction machine, information on the state of the multifunction machine can be transmitted to a customer center equipped with a database system for customer management and service management, or the multifunction machine can be operated remotely from the customer center. The system is configured so that settings can be changed. In such a configuration, it is possible to avoid trouble without a service person visiting by accessing the multifunction device from the management server of the customer center and changing the setting of the multifunction device.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228628 easily sets or changes connection parameters between an image forming apparatus and a network using e-mail. A system that can do this is disclosed.
In the system of Patent Document 1, a data processing unit of an image forming apparatus creates connection parameters according to setting inputs from an operation unit and sends them to a memory. Then, using the connection parameter, the connection state of the transmission / reception unit and the outgoing mail storage unit and the connection state of the transmission / reception unit and the incoming mail storage unit are monitored to determine whether or not the connection parameter is valid.
Then, the display unit displays discrimination result display data for displaying the discrimination result and input prompting display data for performing display for prompting re-input of the connection parameter when it is determined that the connection parameter is not valid. indicate. In addition, if the image forming apparatus needs to be restarted when setting the parameters of the image forming apparatus using e-mail from the support center, this is displayed on the operation panel of the image forming apparatus. The contents of inducing the restart are shown in FIG.

  Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a system for enabling maintenance to be performed immediately without bothering a service person when an adjustment value stored in a memory is destroyed due to noise or the like. Here, when a trouble occurs in the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus transmits a trouble code to the host computer, and the host computer repairs the image forming apparatus accordingly. That is, when the adjustment value is destroyed, the image forming apparatus transmits a memory data trouble code to the host computer, and in response thereto, the host computer transmits the adjustment value to the copying machine to repair the adjustment value. Do.

Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a remote maintenance system for performing trouble shooting of an image forming apparatus by remote control. Here, the set value that is a criterion for execution of remote maintenance is varied according to an instruction from the control center.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-7206 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-113701 JP 2001-166644 A

However, the system of the above-mentioned patent document does not deal with a case where communication cannot be performed between a host computer that remotely manages an image processing apparatus such as an image forming apparatus and the image processing apparatus.
For example, consider a case where an image processing apparatus owned by a specific user is resold and a new image processing apparatus is purchased, so that the image processing apparatus owned by the user is replaced. In such a case, the address of the host computer to be remotely managed is initially set in both the original image processing apparatus and the new image processing apparatus that have been resold. Therefore, when trouble occurs in each image processing apparatus, access to the computer is possible.

However, if the host computer does not know that the image processing apparatus has been resold, the host computer assumes that the original image processing apparatus that has been resold is owned by the user, and the image processing apparatus To access data and execute data acquisition. Therefore, the host computer cannot remotely operate the new image processing apparatus that has been replaced.
Furthermore, there is a problem in that even when data for remote management cannot be acquired by the host computer, information at the time of trouble or maintenance is sent from the new image processing apparatus to the host computer and cannot be managed normally. .

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the image processing apparatus remotely managed by the host computer. FIG. 6A is a diagram showing the operation when the management by the host computer is managed in a normal state. FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating an operation after the image processing apparatus is resold.
The management server corresponds to the host computer that manages the image processing apparatus from a remote location.

  For example, when a predetermined trouble such as a continuous paper jam occurs or when maintenance such as replacement of a toner cartridge is necessary, the image processing apparatus sends a predetermined trouble code corresponding to the trouble and the content of the maintenance to the host computer. The function to transmit to.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 6A, the image processing apparatus calls the telephone number 222 to connect to the management server, and sends a trouble code indicating a trouble alert to the management server. Then, after the connection is disconnected, the management server calls the telephone number 111 to connect to the image processing apparatus and transmits a data acquisition request for requesting setting data of the image processing apparatus. Then, the management server can perform a countermeasure process for the trouble alert by acquiring the setting data of the image processing apparatus.

  On the other hand, when the image processing apparatus is resold, as shown in FIG. 5B, after the image processing apparatus transmits a trouble code to the management server having the telephone number 222, the management server performs the image processing of the telephone number 111. Even if the data acquisition request is issued by calling the device, the image processing device normally resends the data acquisition request from the management server because the telephone number is changed when the image processing device is resold. Cannot receive. Therefore, the management server cannot acquire setting data from the image processing apparatus in which the trouble alert has occurred.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances. When there is no access from a management server that remotely manages the image processing apparatus, the information transmission to the management server is stopped, thereby reselling the image processing apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus capable of performing normal management and an information transmission method in the image processing apparatus.

  In order to solve the above problem, a first technical means of the present invention is an image processing apparatus that enables remote management by a management server and transmits / receives information for executing remote management to / from the management server. The image processing apparatus is characterized by comprising a judging means for judging whether or not the information to be transmitted from the image processing apparatus can be transmitted according to the reception state of the information from the management server.

  According to a second technical means, in the first technical means, the image processing apparatus transmits information about its own alert to the management server as information to be transmitted from the image processing apparatus to the management server. And a means for receiving information requesting change or acquisition of setting data of the image processing apparatus transmitted to the processing apparatus, and the determination means receives information requesting change or acquisition of setting data from the management server Based on the status, it is determined whether or not transmission of information related to the alert is possible.

  The third technical means is characterized in that, in the first technical means, the judging means judges to stop transmission of information to the management server when the information sent from the management server has not been received for a certain period. It is what.

  According to a fourth technical means, in the third technical means, the judging means judges that the transmission of information to the management server is stopped when the information from the management server has not been normally received more than a predetermined number of times. It is characterized by that.

  According to a fifth technical means, in any one of the second to fourth technical means, a command for canceling the transmission stop is issued from the management server while the image processing apparatus stops the transmission of information according to the determination of the determining means. When received, transmission of information to the management server is resumed.

  According to a sixth technical means, in any one of the second to fourth technical means, the setting data of the image processing apparatus is transmitted from the management server while the image processing apparatus stops transmitting information in accordance with the judgment of the judgment means. The transmission of information to the management server is resumed when the information for requesting the change or acquisition is normally received.

  A seventh technical means is an information transmission method in an image processing apparatus that enables remote management by a management server and transmits / receives information for executing remote management to / from the management server. According to the reception state of information from the server, there is a step of determining whether or not transmission of information to be transmitted from the image processing apparatus is possible.

  According to the present invention, when there is no access from the management server that remotely manages the image processing apparatus, the management of the image processing apparatus after resale can be normally performed by stopping the information transmission to the management server. An image processing apparatus and an information transmission method in the image processing apparatus can be provided.

  In particular, according to the present invention, when the reception of information from the management server is not normal, that is, when the information from the management server cannot be received for a certain period of time, or when the information from the management server cannot be normally received a predetermined number of times, By stopping the transmission of information from the apparatus to the management server, it is possible to prevent unnecessary transmission processing from being performed until the management server knows resale of the image processing apparatus and can manage normally.

  Further, according to the present invention, for example, the management server knows the resale information of the image processing apparatus and then sends a command to cancel the transmission stop so that normal management can be resumed. In addition, when the image processing apparatus has successfully received the information requesting the change or acquisition of the setting data from the management server, the management apparatus and the image processing apparatus are reconnected by restarting the transmission of information to the management server. As a result, normal management by the management server can be resumed.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a system configuration example of an FSS (Field Support System) to which an image processing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied. The FSS is operated by an FSS server that targets an image processing apparatus and is connected to the image processing apparatus via a network. In this example, an example in which a multifunction peripheral (MFP) 10 having a scanner function, a printer function, etc. is used as an image processing apparatus will be described. However, in the present invention, various image processing functions such as a printer, a network scanner, and a facsimile apparatus are provided. An image processing apparatus can be applied.

  The MFP 10 to be serviced by the FSS is installed in a user's (service customer) office or store, and the FSS service is provided by a system (FSS server) in the customer center 40 installed by the service provider. Shall. In a system that operates an FSS, the MFP 10 owned by the user is connected to the system of the customer center 40 via a communication means, and the user support service from the remote by the FSS is provided by the system.

In the user support service by FSS, a remote meter reading and remote diagnosis function 11 for meter reading of the counter value (recording paper usage) of the multifunction machine 10 by the customer center 40 system, and remote from the customer center 40 system to the multifunction machine 10 A remote maintenance function 12 for performing maintenance, an alert transmission function 13 for the system of the customer center 40 from the multifunction machine 10, and the like are provided.
For example, the setting contents of the multifunction machine 10 are periodically transmitted to the customer center 40 by the remote diagnosis function. Further, the alert transmission function 13 transmits information regarding the content of trouble occurring in the multifunction machine 10 to the customer center 40.

The customer center 40 performs a primary trouble handling process 15 and an automatic toner delivery process 16 based on the alert information and meter reading / diagnosis information transmitted from the user's multifunction machine 10. In the primary troubleshooting, maintenance is performed remotely from the customer center 40 using the remote maintenance function 12. If an alert indicating that the remaining amount of toner is low is transmitted from the multifunction device 10, an automatic toner delivery process 16 for the user is executed.
Further, when a service person needs to visit due to the content of the trouble, the customer center 40 sends the trouble contents (diagnosis information) 17 to the service base (authorized store) 50, and the service person at the service base 17 is in the state of the multifunction machine 10. And visits the user (18).
In addition, the customer center 40 can appropriately notify the movable status report 14 such as the current month's usage fee of the multi-function device 10, for example.

Further, the customer center 40 can remotely change the settings of the multifunction device 10 in response to the trouble of the multifunction device 10. The change of the setting is executed by, for example, updating the firmware that operates the multifunction machine 10.
When the setting is changed, the multifunction device 10 displays the changed setting content information on the display unit included in the multifunction device 10 or prints out the setting content information and notifies the information. Alternatively, the contents of the setting change are notified to a user having administrator authority. As a result, the trouble of the multifunction device 10 is solved, and the user is notified of the setting contents of the multifunction device 10, so that the user can grasp the state of the multifunction device 10, and the anxiety can be solved.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration example of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention, and shows the multifunction machine 10 applied to the FSS shown in FIG. 1 as an example of the image processing apparatus. In FIG. 2, the multifunction machine 10 is connected to the FSS server 20 of the customer center 40 via the network 30. The FSS server 20 is a host computer that remotely manages the multifunction machine 10 and corresponds to the management server of the present invention. As the network 30, a public line network such as a telephone line or a network such as a LAN can be appropriately applied. Usually, a plurality of MFPs 10 to be provided by the FSS server 20 are connected on the network 30, and the state of these MFPs 10 is managed by the FSS server 20.

  The multi-function device 10 includes a device control unit 4 including a CPU that performs calculations and a RAM that stores temporary information associated with the calculations. The device control unit 4 includes a ROM that stores a control program for controlling the multifunction machine 10. The device control unit 4 is connected to a management unit 7 that is a memory for storing management information (various control information) for managing processing performed by the multifunction machine 10. Further, the device control unit 4 is connected to an image reading unit 1 that reads an image recorded on a recording sheet and generates image data. The image reading unit 1 is provided with a CCD 1a for taking a document image as image data. Further, the device control unit 4 includes an input unit 2a such as a touch panel or a numeric keypad for inputting information such as a command from a user, a display panel for displaying information necessary for operation, setting change contents, and the like. The operation unit 2 including the display unit 2b is connected.

  The device control unit 4 is connected to an image forming unit 3 that forms an image of image data on a recording sheet. The image forming unit 3 includes a memory 3a that temporarily stores image data, a printing unit (LSU) 3b that forms an image from image data stored in the memory 3a and records the image on recording paper, and a printing unit 3b. A paper feed tray 3c for storing recording paper for image formation is provided. The multi-function device 10 can temporarily store the image data generated by the image reading unit 1 in the memory 3a and then form an image with the printing unit 3b. The image data once stored in the memory 3a may be stored in the hard disk (HD) 6.

  Further, the multifunction machine 10 can receive image data transmitted from an external PC (personal computer) or the like (not shown) by the communication unit 5, and can form an image from the received image data by the image forming unit 3. Thus, the multifunction device 10 can function as a network printer.

The multifunction machine 10 as described above is provided with an FSS function for executing FSS. When the FSS function of the multifunction device is enabled with the above configuration, information can be transmitted from the multifunction device 10 to the FSS server 20 via the network 30.
For example, information such as [counter value] for printing and [occurrence of trouble] is transmitted from the multifunction device 10 to the FSS server 20 at the customer center. [Counter value] is periodically transmitted from the multifunction device 10 to the FSS server 20, and [Trouble occurrence] is information that is urgently transmitted whenever a trouble occurs. These pieces of transmission information are accumulated in a database (DB) 21 in the FSS server 20.

In response to a trouble alert indicating [occurrence of trouble] transmitted from the multifunction machine 10, the FSS server 20 notifies information to a necessary portion by an alert monitoring function. For example, if the trouble alert is a toner near-end notification indicating that the remaining amount of toner in the multifunction peripheral 10 has become low, processing is performed so that toner that needs to be replenished is automatically shipped.
Here, when the remaining amount of toner used by the multifunction device 10 is low, the multifunction device 10 detects this and transmits a near-end notification of toner to the FSS server 20. In the customer center 40, in accordance with the near-end notification received by the FSS server 20, arrangement processing for automatically sending toner to the customer who uses the multifunction machine 10 is performed. As a result, the user can use the multifunction device without worrying about the remaining amount of toner.

  If the trouble alert is a serviceman call notification for calling a serviceman, arrange for serviceman dispatch (repair support). Here, the MFP 10 detects its own trouble, and transmits the trouble code to the FSS server 20 of the customer center 40 according to the detection result. The customer center 40 estimates the troubled part of the multifunction device 10 according to the trouble code transmitted from the multifunction device 10 to the FSS server 20, and has a replacement part that is likely to be replaced if a service person visit is necessary. To do on-site repairs.

  Regarding the [counter value], the multifunction machine 10 integrates the print counter every time the recording paper is used after image formation (printing) is performed on the recording paper. Counter numerical value information of the print counter is periodically transmitted to the FSS server 20. If a contract to be charged for the copy volume of the multifunction machine 10 is made, the customer center 40 checks the counter value of the database 21 on the FSS server 20 and records the usage fee of the target customer. Also, here, by using the counter value to print the usage status of the multifunction machine 10 by remote control, it is possible to notify the user (customer) of the usage fee for this month, for example.

  On the other hand, when a user makes a direct telephone call to the customer center 40, the user is connected to a technical operator in the customer center 40. The technical operator performs an appropriate response while checking the database 21 of the FSS server 20. For example, if the location can be confirmed and changed by remote operation from the FSS server 20, diagnosis and remote maintenance are performed by the remote diagnosis and remote maintenance function of the FSS server 20. If the toner is ordered, it can be notified that the toner has already been automatically shipped, and a repair instruction can be given to the maintenance department if a visit by a service person is necessary.

If the problem occurs only when a specific setting is made in the multifunction device 10, the setting of the multifunction device 10 is corrected by remote maintenance from the FSS server 20, and once the trouble is not generated, the service is performed. Arrange visits for man.
The remote maintenance function enables the FSS server 20 to change the settings in the multifunction machine 10 and perform remote operation after obtaining a request from the user or an approval by the user. Here, setting items and setting values of various setting values for operating the multifunction machine 10 can be read and written, and setting contents of simulation settings used by a service person can be read and written. In addition, in the remote maintenance function, for example, restart instruction of the multifunction machine 10, operation prohibition / release of the multifunction machine 10, multi-copy setting prohibition / release, machine status information of the multifunction machine 10 (for example, door open, in energy saving mode, During recovery, warm-up, ready, etc.) and reading of the version information of the application of the multifunction machine 10 is possible.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram for explaining an example of the configuration of the control unit of the image processing apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2 are assigned to the portions corresponding to the configuration shown in FIG. The image processing apparatus (multifunction machine 10) includes an input unit 2a that receives user operations such as a print request, a main control unit 101 that controls the entire apparatus, and a storage unit (memory) 102 that stores various data and programs. Prepare.

The main control unit 101 includes sub-control units, that is, a print control unit 103, a communication control unit 104, a display control unit 105, a setting change permission unit 106, a setting change processing unit 107, a trouble alert transmission unit 108, and an alert stop unit 109. The setting content transmission control unit 110 and the like are connected, and each sub-control unit is controlled to control the entire apparatus.
When the input unit 2a receives a print request from the user, the print control unit 103 controls the image forming unit 3 to print image data on a recording sheet. The print request may be input from the communication unit 5 via a communication line via the network 30 or the like.

The communication control unit 104 controls the communication unit 5 to transmit / receive data to / from the FSS server 20 of the customer center 40 via the network. The communication unit 5 receives a print request from an external device such as a PC. The display control unit 105 controls the display unit 2b such as an LCD to display various information, notification information related to setting changes, and the like.
When the setting change permission unit 106 is instructed by the FSS server 20 to change the setting of the multifunction device 10, the setting change permission unit 106 determines whether or not to allow the setting change. For setting permission, for example, authentication information transmitted from the FSS server 20 is authenticated by the setting change permitting unit 106, and it is determined whether or not to permit setting change based on an instruction from the FSS server 20 according to the authentication result.
The setting change processing unit 107 performs setting change processing of the multifunction machine 10 in accordance with the setting change instruction from the FSS server 20 when the setting change permission unit 106 permits the setting change from the FSS server 20.

  The trouble alert transmission unit 108 performs control to transmit a trouble code as a trouble alert to the FSS server 20 when a trouble occurs in the multifunction device 10 or during maintenance of the multifunction device 10. The trouble content and maintenance content to which the trouble alert should be transmitted are determined in advance. When the trouble alert transmission unit 108 or the main control unit 101 detects the occurrence of trouble to which these trouble alerts should be transmitted or the necessity of maintenance, the trouble alert transmission unit 108 transmits a trouble alert. The trouble alert transmission unit 108 corresponds to means for transmitting information related to an alert of the image processing apparatus to the management server.

In addition, the alert stop unit 109 performs a control for stopping the transmission of the trouble alert to the FSS server 20 by determining the stop of the trouble alert. For example, the FSS server 20 transmits a command (setting change notification) for changing the setting of the multifunction device 10 or transmits a command (data acquisition request notification) for requesting the setting content of the multifunction device 10. The command from the FSS server 20 is received by the communication unit 5, and the reception state is determined by the alert stop unit 109.
Here, the alert stop unit 109 stops the transmission of the trouble alert when the information of the command for changing the setting or the command for requesting the setting data is not received. Here, for example, when the information transmitted from the FSS server 20 cannot be received for a certain period of time or when the information cannot be received a predetermined number of times, a process of stopping the transmission of the trouble alert is performed.

  The setting content transmission control unit 110 performs control to transmit setting data of the multifunction device 10 in response to a request from the FSS server 20. Here, the setting content transmission control unit 111 resumes transmission of information to the FSS server when receiving a transmission stop cancellation command from the FSS server 20 while stopping transmission of the trouble alert to the FSS server 20. Take control. For example, when the FSS server 20 knows the resale information of the multifunction device 10 and sends a transmission stop cancellation command, the normal management of the multifunction device 10 can be resumed.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention, and shows an example of a trouble alert transmission determination process in the above-described multifunction device 10.
First, the multifunction device 10 performs trouble alert notification setting (step S1). As described above, when a predetermined trouble occurs in the multifunction device 10 or when a predetermined maintenance is required for the multifunction device 10, a predetermined trouble code corresponding to the trouble or the maintenance is generated and To the FSS server 20 as a trouble alert. Here, the trouble alert notification function is set to be valid.

  Then, it is determined whether a trouble actually occurs in the multifunction machine 10 or whether a maintenance time corresponding to the trouble alert has arrived (step S2). If trouble occurs or the maintenance time comes, it is determined whether or not trouble alert transmission is stopped (step S3). Here, if the transmission of the trouble alert is stopped, the process returns to step S2 without transmitting the trouble alert to the FSS server 20. If the transmission of the trouble alert is not stopped, a trouble alert corresponding to the trouble content and the maintenance content at that time is transmitted from the multifunction device 10 to the FSS server 20 (step S4).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining another example of the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention, and shows an example of trouble alert stop processing in the multifunction machine 10.
When the trouble alert notification is set (step S11), the multifunction device 10 starts counting the non-access time from the FSS server 20 (step S12). When the MFP 10 receives a setting change notification or a data acquisition request notification from the FSS server 20 (step S13—YES), the MFP 10 changes its own setting according to the notification or acquires its own setting data. Is performed (step S14).
The setting change notification from the FSS server 20 is a notification for changing the setting data of the multifunction device 10 by remote maintenance from the FSS server 20, and the data acquisition request notification is the FSS server. 20 is a request notification for acquisition.

In response to the notification in step S13, the multifunction device 10 transmits its own setting change data or setting data to the server (step S15), and resets the counting non-access time (step S16).
When there is no setting change notification or data acquisition request notification from the server in step S13, or after resetting the non-access time in step S16, it is determined whether or not the non-access time is greater than a predetermined time (step S17). If the non-access time is not longer than the predetermined time, the process returns to step S13. The predetermined time is set in advance as a period until transmission of the trouble alert to the FSS server 20 is stopped, and the set value can be changed as appropriate. Here, since the non-access time is reset in step S16, whether or not the non-access time from the FSS server 20 has substantially exceeded the predetermined time in the state where there is no setting change notification or data acquisition request notification in step S13. Will be monitored.

  If the non-access time is longer than the predetermined time in step S17, trouble alert stop setting is performed (step S18). That is, when there is no access from the FSS server 20 for a predetermined time, transmission of the trouble alert from the multifunction machine 10 to the FSS server 20 is stopped. Accordingly, for example, when the MFP 10 is inaccessible from the FSS server 20 due to the resale described above, by not sending a trouble alert to the FSS server 20, the MFP 10 after the resale Normal management can be realized without causing confusion in management. After the trouble alert stop setting, if the setting change notification or the data acquisition request notification is normally received from the FSS server 20 (step S13-YES), the MFP 10 and the FSS server 20 are normally connected again. Since it can be regarded as a thing, the MFP 10 resumes transmission of setting change data or setting data to the FSS server 20.

  In the above example, the multifunction device 10 counts the time of non-access from the FSS server 20 and performs a process of stopping the transmission of the trouble alert to the FSS server 20 if the time of non-access is greater than a predetermined time. However, the transmission of the trouble alert to the FSS server 20 may be stopped when the information from the FSS server 20 cannot be normally received a predetermined number of times.

  In this case, after sending a trouble alert from the multifunction device 10 to the FSS server 20, the multifunction device 10 counts whether or not the data acquisition request from the FSS server 20 has been received and retries sending the trouble alert a predetermined number of times. However, if a data acquisition request for the trouble alert cannot be received, processing for stopping the transmission of the trouble alert from the multifunction device 10 to the FSS server 20 is performed. As a result, when the information from the FSS server 20 cannot be received a predetermined number of times, the trouble alert is not transmitted to the FSS server 20 so that the management after the resale of the multifunction device 10 is not confused. , Will be able to achieve normal management.

  Then, in response to the trouble alert stop determination process described above, the multifunction device 10 receives a command to cancel the transmission stop from the FSS server 20 while stopping sending the trouble alert. Control to resume transmission. Thus, for example, the FSS server 20 knows the resale information of the multifunction device 10 and then sends a transmission stop cancellation command to the multifunction device 10 to resume normal management.

It is a figure for demonstrating the system configuration example of FSS which can apply the image processing apparatus by this invention. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the structural example of the image processing apparatus by this invention. It is a functional block diagram for demonstrating an example of a structure of the control part of the image processing apparatus of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of operation | movement of the image processing apparatus by this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the other example of operation | movement of the image processing apparatus by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the image processing apparatus managed remotely by a host computer.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image reading part 1a ... CCD, 2 ... Operation part, 2a ... Input part, 2b ... Display part, 3 ... Image formation part, 3a ... Memory, 3b ... Printing part, 3c ... Paper feed tray, 4 ... Equipment Control unit, 5 ... communication unit, 6 ... hard disk, 7 ... management unit, 10 ... multifunction device, 11 ... remote diagnosis function, 12 ... remote maintenance function, 13 ... alert transmission function, 14 ... moving status report, 15 ... primary trouble Corresponding process, 16 ... automatic toner delivery process, 17 ... service base, 20 ... FSS server, 21 ... database, 30 ... network, 40 ... customer center, 101 ... main control unit, 102 ... storage unit, 103 ... print control unit, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 104 ... Communication control part, 105 ... Display control part, 106 ... Setting change permission part, 107 ... Setting change process part, 108 ... Trouble alert transmission part, 109 ... Alert stop part, 11 ... setting the transmission control unit.

Claims (7)

An image processing apparatus that enables remote management by a management server and transmits / receives information for executing the remote management to / from the management server,
The image processing apparatus includes a determination unit that determines whether or not transmission of information to be transmitted from the image processing apparatus is possible according to a reception state of information from the management server. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1.
The image processing apparatus transmits information about its own alert to the management server as information to be transmitted from the image processing apparatus to the management server;
Means for receiving information requesting change or acquisition of setting data of the image processing device transmitted from the management server to the image processing device;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether or not to transmit information related to the alert based on a reception state of information requesting to change or acquire the setting data from the management server.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines to stop transmission of information to the management server when the information transmitted from the management server has not been received for a certain period. An image processing apparatus.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the determination unit determines to stop transmission of information to the management server when the information from the management server has not been received normally more than a predetermined number of times. An image processing apparatus.   5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image processing apparatus stops a transmission stop cancellation command from the management server while stopping the transmission of the information according to the determination of the determination unit. An image processing apparatus that resumes transmission of information to the management server when receiving a message.   5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image processing apparatus stops the transmission of the information according to the determination by the determination unit from the management server. An image processing apparatus that resumes transmission of information to the management server when information for requesting change or acquisition of setting data is normally received. An information transmission method in an image processing apparatus that enables remote management by a management server and transmits / receives information for executing the remote management to / from the management server,
An information transmission method comprising: a step of determining whether or not transmission of information to be transmitted from the image processing apparatus is possible according to a reception state of information from the management server.

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