JP2011014136A - Method of retrieving status of business office appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To retrieve a status of one or more business office appliances operating behind a firewall.SOLUTION: A method for determining a status of one or more business office appliances includes steps: in a first network of one or more computing devices, of generating a request document that includes information that causes one or more functions to be performed with respect to the one or more office appliances; of sending the request document from the first network to a computing device behind a firewall on a second network of one or more computing devices; and of receiving, from the computing device on the second network, a response document that is responsive to the request document and includes a status that reflects a result of performing the one or more functions with respect to the one or more office appliances.

Description

  The present invention relates generally to document duplication, printing, scanning and faxing. In particular, the present invention relates to extraction of the state of business office equipment such as a multifunction peripheral.

  The approaches described in this section are approaches that can be sought, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or sought. Accordingly, unless otherwise noted, the approaches described in this section may not be prior art to the claims of this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

  As offices have become more automated and less dependent on manual equipment, the use of business office equipment has expanded. As used herein, the term “business office appliance” is configured to create an electronic or paper document, including providing one or more of the following functions: copy, print, scan and fax Broadly means any device that is made. One example of a business office device is a multifunction peripheral (MFP). As more companies expand into new markets while decentralizing, the number of business office equipment used is also increasing. Many business office equipment often operates as a network device behind a firewall.

  In addition to the obvious security benefits gained by operating commercial office equipment behind a firewall, there are several problems. Extracting the current state of business office equipment requires a visit by a technician. Such visits result in both service interruptions that will ultimately be incurred by the user and increased operational costs.

  Therefore, there is a need for an approach that extracts the status of one or more business office devices that operate behind a firewall.

  The current status information of one or more business office devices is remotely extracted from the device management application by the service management application. The service management application transmits information specifying one or more business office devices from the first network behind the first firewall via the firewall friendly protocol. This information is extracted by a proxy server behind the second firewall and transferred to the device management application. The device management application receives information specifying one or more business office devices, and the device management application uses this information to generate a command for extracting the status of the one or more business office devices. The device management application communicates to one or more business office devices for execution of this command. Each business office device executes a command simultaneously with its normal operation process. As a result of executing one of these instructions, the status of the business office device is returned to the device management application. The device management application may then communicate the status to the service management application via a firewall friendly protocol.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to extract the state of one or more business office devices operating behind a firewall.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a multifunction peripheral connected to a network. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the hardware and software components of a service management system connected to a network and passing through one or more firewalls. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a service management application. FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an approach for checking, extracting and changing software patch information, status information and / or log information. FIG. 5 shows the administrator user interface in the form of a web page. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a device management application. FIG. 7 shows the user interface of the MFP before the software patch is installed. FIG. 8 shows the user interface of the MFP after the software patch is installed. FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating an approach for detecting a state change in a business office device and updating the database on the service management system to reflect this state change. FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a computer system that can implement each embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[A. Outline]
The current status information of one or more business office devices is remotely extracted from the device management application by the service management application. The service management application transmits information specifying the one or more business office devices from the first network behind the first firewall via the firewall friendly protocol. This information is extracted by a proxy server behind the second firewall and transferred to the device management application. The device management application receives information specifying one or more business office devices, and generates a command for extracting the status of the one or more business office devices using this information. The device management application communicates instructions to one or more business office devices for execution. Each business office device executes these instructions simultaneously with its normal operation processing. One execution result of the instruction returns the state of the business office device to the device management application. The device management application then sends this state back to the service management application via a firewall friendly protocol.

One embodiment of the present invention generates a status request document, sends the status request document over a first network behind a first firewall, and the proxy server extracts the status request document from the server via a firewall friendly protocol. Is stored in the server so that it is possible to convert the status request document by a device command communicator as necessary, and the status request document is transferred to the device management application via a second network different from the first network behind the second firewall. Has a service management application to send.
[B. Service Management System Configuration]
In the following, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are given to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention.

  FIG. 1 shows a system 100 in which a business office device (MFP 110 in this example) is connected to a network 102 connected to a management computer 120 and a user computer 130. The MFP 110 typically provides functions for document copying, printing, scanning, and fax transmission. User access to the MFP 110 is provided by a user interface 112 on the MFP 110. In one embodiment, user access to MFP 110 is provided by user computer 130. The network 102 is internal and is optionally separated from the external network by a firewall (not shown). Access to internal data such as MFP status, software, and log files in the MFP 110 may be obtained via the MFP 110, and optionally via the management computer 120 or the user computer 130. An instruction to access data from the MFP 110 may be executed via the network 102, but the MFP is not directly accessible by other networks via a firewall.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of exemplary hardware and software components connected to a network and configured to send request documents and / or software patches to a proxy server via one or more firewalls. The service management application 200 is connected to a database management system (DBMS) 210 on the first network 221 behind the first firewall. The service management application 200 is executed on a network computer (not shown) connected to the first network such as a personal computer. The DBMS 210 may be implemented using any type of database management system including a relational database. In one embodiment, DBMS 210 is implemented using MySQL 5.0. The networks 221 and 222 are conventional wired or wireless networks using unconnected or connected base sockets. In one embodiment, the networks 221 and 222 are Ethernet wide area networks using Internet standard protocols.

  The first firewall 230 restricts data transmission between the first network 221 having the service management application 200 and the DBMS 210 and the intermediate network 220. The second firewall 235 restricts data transmission between the second network 222 having the proxy server 240 and the device management application 250 and the intermediate network 220. The firewalls 230 and 235 may be realized by hardware, software, or any combination thereof. However, the firewall 235 allows the proxy server 240 to extract messages in the intermediate network 220, the first network 221, or the second network 222. For example, this extraction may be performed by using POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3), IMAP4 (Internet Message Access Protocol version 4), SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), or HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). May be. Although some embodiments of the present invention are described with respect to electronic mail messages, the present invention is not so limited and applies to any type of electronic message, such as a message sent using instant messaging. Is possible.

  The proxy server 240 is connected to the device management application 250. As will be described later with reference to FIG. 6, one embodiment of the device management application 250 includes a conversion interface 610 and a device command communicator 620. The device management application 250 receives an e-mail message transmitted from the service management application 200 extracted from the proxy server 240 and sent from the first network 221 to the second network 222. Using the proxy server 240 provides services through the firewall 230 and / or 235 while maintaining the desirable functionality of the firewall 230 and / or 235 useful in a business environment without changing the firewall 230 and / or 235. Enable communication by the management system. In one embodiment, email messages extracted by proxy server 240 are addressed to device management application 250.

  One or more business office devices are connected to the device management application 250. FIG. 2 shows MFPs 261, 262, and 263, although any number of business office devices for operation may be connected to the device management application 250. From the administrator's perspective, the MFPs 261, 262, 263 have a specific “remote system” of business office equipment controlled by the device management application 250. For example, the remote system shown in FIG. 2 may be located at a specific company.

  Although not shown in FIG. 2, the service management application 200 and the first network 221 may be configured to communicate with a plurality of proxy servers via a plurality of firewalls. Makes it possible to service a virtually unlimited number of business office equipment connected to any number of different networks.

In FIG. 6, exemplary components of the device management application 250 are shown. If necessary, the conversion interface 610 converts information transmitted from the service management application 200 by an e-mail message into a device command such as a status update command executed by the device command communicator 620 in one or more of the MFPs 261, 262, and 263. Configured to convert to The conversion interface 610 is further configured to convert the software patch information of the e-mail message into a software patch installed in one or more of the MFPs 261, 262, 263 by the device command communicator 620 as necessary. The device command communicator 620 further receives device status and log files from one or more of the MFPs 261, 262, 263, and converts them into e-mail messages for transmission back to the service management application 200 via the proxy server 240 as necessary. Therefore, the device status and the log file are configured to be transferred to the conversion interface 610. In one embodiment, the device command communicator 620 detects the status conversion of one or more business office devices and forwards the device status to the conversion interface 610 for conversion to an email message for return to the service management application 200. Configured to do. Both the service management application 200 and the proxy server 240 are further described with reference to FIGS.
[C. Service management application initialization]
FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a service management application 200 having an administrator interface 310, an application server 320, a database interface 330, and a communicator 340. In actual use, the service management application 200 need not have separate components corresponding to the administrator interface 310, the application server 320, the database interface 330, and the communicator 340. The particular embodiment shown here is given to illustrate the various functions that the service management application 200 can perform.

  The elements shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are first described below with respect to functions performed as part of the initialization process used to notify the service management application 200 by the MFPs 261-263 opposite the firewall 235. These functions are represented in step 440 of FIG.

  In one embodiment, the overall coordination of each function of the service management application 200 is provided by the application server 320. In one embodiment, the application server 320 is a Java (registered trademark) Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE or J2EE) application server. In one embodiment, the administrator interface 310, the database interface 330, and the communicator 340 constitute an application that depends on the application server 320.

  The administrator interface 310 remotely checks one or more states of the MFPs 261, 262, 263 stored in the database 330, selects appropriate software patches for transmission to one or more of the MFPs 261, 262, 263, and updates them. Provides an interface for extracting the status information and / or viewing log files from one or more of the MFPs 261, 262, 263.

  In one embodiment, the administrator interface 310 is provided as an Internet Explorer web page running in the Windows® operating environment and is written as a JAVA servlet using the Java Server Page (JSP). In response to the initial activation of the administrator interface 310 by the administrator, the administrator is presented with one or more input screens used to enter information regarding the username, password, host IP address, and DBMS 210 port.

  In one embodiment, the administrator interface 310 then prompts the administrator to enter input mail server information such as a username, password, host IP address, port, and the like. Similarly, the administrator is prompted for output mail server information such as host IP address and port. This information is used to establish a connection between the service management application 200, the DBMS 210 and the first network 221.

  In one embodiment, the administrator interface 310 is one of each proxy server 240 that is connected to both the specific device management application 250 (or remote system) and the service management application 200 that subsequently manage one or more MFPs to the administrator. Prompt for one email address. As described above, the service management application 200 can be remotely connected to a plurality of device management applications each connected to a different network.

  Information entered by an administrator regarding one or more MFPs managed by a particular device management application is used to initialize the MFP entry in the DBMS 210 via the database interface 330. The database interface 330 provides an interface for converting administrator data input and commands to a format understandable by the DBMS 210, as needed, for viewing by the administrator or for control or installation of the MFP, as required. Therefore, the data received from the DBMS 210 is similarly converted.

  FIG. 2 shows a service management application 200 that is separate from the DBMS 210 and connected to the DBMS 210 via a connection such as, but not limited to, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc. The application 200 may be provided in a computer.

  Referring to FIG. 2, after the administrator initializes the entries in the MFPs 261, 262, and 263 to the DBMS 210, the DBMS 210 uses the initial state information from the MFPs 261, 262, and 263 to determine the device status. When confirming, a basic information set may be provided. In one embodiment, the administrator enters initial state information. In other embodiments, the initial state information of a particular device is communicated to the second network when the device is installed on the second network.

  In one embodiment, the initial state information from the MFPs 261, 262, and 263 is automatically acquired by the DBMS 210 when the DBMS 210 transmits an initialization command to the database interface 330. These instructions are then prepared by the communicator 340 for transmission via e-mail from the intermediate network 220 to the proxy server 240, for example. Initialization commands and other commands used to access and control the MFP will be described later with reference to FIG.

In one embodiment, the communicator 340 formats the initialization instruction as a file that is addressed to the device management application 250 and attached to an email message that includes one or more MFP destination identifiers, such as those corresponding to the MFP 261. To do.
[D. Service management application processing]
Once initialized, typical processing of the service management application 200 is initiated when an administrator accesses the service management application 200 via the administrator interface 310. FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary steps performed by an administrator during processing. A portion of a sample administrator interface is shown in FIG. 5 and described following the description of FIG.

  The description here assumes that the administrator has already performed the appropriate initialization corresponding to step 440 of FIG. 4 described above. The administrator selects a particular remote system for confirmation via the administrator interface 310. Information regarding the last received state of the remote system managed by the service management application 200 is accessible via the DBMS 210. Information regarding the current state may be extracted via a state command sent to the device management application 250. This information is obtained in steps 410 and 430.

  Any combination of steps 410, 420, 430, and 440 may be performed until the administrator determines the remote system for which service management is desired, corresponding to step 450. In step 460, if the remote system does not have business office equipment that can be used for modification or confirmation, the process ends in step 470.

  If the administrator selects a remote system with available business office equipment at step 460, the administrator is presented with a complete list of available business office equipment. In one embodiment, the administrator interface 310 presents the status of all software patches associated with the selected business office device.

  In step 486, the administrator (1) imports software patches from the DBMS 210 into the service management application 200, and (2) one or more software patches from the service management application 200 to one or more selected business office devices. And (3) activate one or more software patches in one or more selected business office devices, and (4) one or more currently active in one or more selected business office devices The software patch may be invalidated, and (5) a command for deleting one or more software patches currently existing in one or more selected business office devices may be set.

  Alternatively or additionally, at step 490, the administrator may also query the current status information and / or log file via the administrator interface 310 to one or more selected business office devices. When this command is activated, an e-mail message including a command for instructing a business office device to transmit current state information and / or a log file is transmitted by the application server 320 for processing by the proxy server 240. .

  In one embodiment, the administrator may also synchronize software patches and other parameter sets from one or more selected business office devices with corresponding sets specified by DBMS 210. In this embodiment, the message from the service management application 200 requests the status of all software patches and other parameters of one or more selected business office devices.

  The administrator (1) sets all software patch commands in step 486 and then launches a “submit” command. (2) In step 490, updated status information or log file for confirmation , And then execute one or more of invoking a “send” command, then data for generating the requested document is fetched from the DBMS 210 by the database interface 330 and one or more electronic by the communicator 340 A request document is generated for transmission by mail message and is transmitted by the application server 320 for processing by the proxy server 240.

  In one embodiment, the status of one or more business office equipment is extracted by communicating information about the business office equipment with a structured document transmitted between the service management application and the device management application. . In the first network 221, a request document including information for executing one or more state extraction functions for one or more business office devices is generated. Optionally, the information may be stored in XML format. For example, this information may include a tag such as “id”, a value including a device identifier, and a tag such as “patch” having a value for identifying a patch for inquiring the status. . In one embodiment, the request document is generated by the service management application 200. In other embodiments, the request document is generated by an application specifically configured to generate a request document for a business office device.

  The request document may be transmitted from the first network 221 to a computing device behind the firewall on the second network 222. For example, the request document may be sent by an email message addressed to an account associated with the device management application 250. In one embodiment, the request document is sent to the device management application 250 using a SOAP call. In other embodiments, the request document is sent using other firewall friendly protocols.

  In one embodiment, the request document is sent to a customer account on a mail server on the first network 221 or the second network 222. The computing device on the second network 222 is configured to extract the requested document from the mail server. In one example, the mail server may provide access via POP3, and the computing device has a mail client for accessing the mail server via POP3.

  In certain embodiments, the request document may be encrypted when it is transmitted over the intermediate network 220. For example, the request document may be encrypted using a shared key. The request document may also be sent using a secure firewall friendly protocol such as secure http or secure ftp.

  FIG. 5 illustrates a portion of one embodiment of an administrator interface 310 that is provided to an administrator as a web page 500. The selection area 510 contains information about the business office device selected as part of the selected remote system (eg, “AINVenusC2_2.1” which is part of the selected remote system referred to herein as “localSite” on the web page 500). 4 ”, etc.), and allows reselection if desired.

  Activation of the sync button 520 enables synchronization between an applicable software patch (referred to as “patch” or “patch point” in the web page 500) and other parameters for the DBMS 210 or selected office device. To.

  After synchronization, the status area 530 displays status information regarding patch points and other parameters applicable to the selected business office device AINVenus C2_2.4. For example, the patch name 540 represents a “ResizeButton” patch with a “NotDownloaded” current state 550 indicating that the “ResizeButton” patch is currently in the DBMS 210 and has not been downloaded to AINVenus C2 — 2.4.

  The first six columns of the status area 530 display radio button selections that allow the administrator to reset the patch point status. Radio button selection is context-aware, meaning that for a given patch, the available radio button selection depends on the current state of the patch. For example, after the transmission button 580 is activated, (1) transmission of the ResizeButton patch to the device management application 250 is executed, (2) transmission of the ResizeButton patch to the selected business office device is executed, and (3) Further, a button 560 corresponding to a “Do All Steps to Enable” action that executes the ResizeButton patch on the selected business office device and (4) returns the status information of the ResizeButton patch on the last selected business office device. Is selected. However, in this example, the administrator may not be presented with an option to activate the radio button corresponding to the “Disable + Deatch + RemoveFromDevice (if Enable)” action. This is because the ResizeButton patch is not currently valid or attached to the selected business office device.

The software patch installation method will be described in further detail with respect to processing executed inside a firewall in which actual business office equipment is executed.
[E. Device management application processing]
FIG. 6 shows a device management application 250 having a conversion interface 610 and a device command communicator 620. However, the device management application 250 need not be composed of components independent of the proxy server 240 as shown in FIG. The example herein is given to illustrate the various functions that the device management application 250 can expect to perform. In one embodiment, proxy server 240 operates using Apache Tomcat.

  Email messages containing software patches and / or status requests to be downloaded, enabled or disabled are fetched by proxy server 240 and converted to a format suitable for installation on each MFP by conversion interface 610 as needed. Is done. Thereafter, a status request and / or a software patch is transmitted to each business office device by the device command communicator 620. Commands for status extraction or software patch validation, invalidation, or download are executed on each business office device. In one embodiment, device command communicator 620 includes remote debug software. One example of remote debug software is Field Diagnostics that allows access to selected portions of the MFP 110 memory.

  The conversion interface 610 acquires a command encoded in the e-mail message fetched by the proxy server 240, and converts the command into a format that can be executed by the destination office device as necessary. In one embodiment, such an instruction changes the processing of the destination business office device. For example, this command can change the user interface on the MFP. Thereafter, the device command communicator 620 transfers the command during normal operation of the business office device in order to make the change effective without requiring a reboot of the business office device.

  In one embodiment, the instructions encoded in the email message ask for status data, such as a software patch, a log file or other information about the status of one or more parameters, from a business office device. After the device command communicator 620 transfers these instructions to the office device, the device command communicator 620 waits for transmission of status data from the business office device. The received status data is converted by the conversion interface 610 into a format suitable for transmission as an attachment to an e-mail message, if necessary, and transmitted to the service management application 200 via the intermediate network 220. To the proxy server 240.

  In one embodiment, the request document received from the service management application 200 is processed by the device management application 250. In one embodiment, a mail server on the first network or the second network is periodically checked to determine if one or more requested documents have been sent. In another embodiment, the request document is sent from the first network to the second network using a firewall friendly protocol that does not require the proxy server 240 to periodically check for new messages.

  The device management application 250 identifies one or more business office devices whose status is requested using information from the request document. Optionally, the device management application 250 identifies the specific patch whose status is being requested. The device management application generates one or more instructions for extracting a state from one or more business office devices. In one embodiment, these instructions are embedded in the request document. In other embodiments, the instructions are configured based on one or more parameters included in the request document and other information available on the device management application 250 or the second network 222. In one embodiment, the one or more parameters from the request document are operators or variables used by one or more functions performed by a computing device that manages one or more business office devices. In other embodiments, the one or more parameters are operators or variables used by one or more functions performed on the one or more business office devices.

  The above instruction is executed on one or more business office devices, and the status of each business office device is extracted. In one embodiment, the state extraction instructions are included with instructions for updating one or more patches on one or more business office devices. The state may be extracted when one or more business office devices operate without interrupting operation. For example, this information may be extracted from the shared memory of one or more business office devices.

  In one embodiment, the request document includes information instructing the computing device to activate one or more patches on one or more business office devices. Based on the requested document, the computing device instructs one or more business office devices to install one or more patches. If the patch installation is successful as a result of this command, a response document indicating that the patch has been successfully activated on one or more business office devices may be generated by the computing device. If the patch installation was not successful, the response document may indicate that the patch was not installed. If the patch already exists on the business office device before receiving the request document, the request document is activated or installed on the one or more business office devices, although the patch is on one or more business office devices It may be shown that there was no need to be done.

  A computing device on the second network such as the device management application 250 generates a response document that responds to the request document. In one embodiment, the device management application 250 waits until the status of each business office device is received before generating a response document. In another embodiment, the device management application 250 waits until results are received in response to multiple request documents before generating one response document.

  In other embodiments, device management application 250 may send a document when information is received from one or more business office devices or periodically, regardless of whether the document is responsive to any requested document. To do. A document generated in response to a state change detected on one or more business office devices may be referred to as a warning document. The warning document may be generated by the device management application 250 without receiving the request document when a state change is detected. In one embodiment, the shared memory of one or more business office devices is monitored by the device management application 250 and changes to the shared memory are communicated by a warning document sent to the service management application 200.

  In yet another embodiment, the device management application 250 periodically sends status information updates to the service management application 200 regardless of whether a change has occurred. For example, the device management application 250 may notify the service management application of all status information updates every 5 minutes.

  The response document or the warning document is transmitted from the computing device to the second network. The response document or the warning document includes status information reflecting a result of executing the status extraction command on one or more business office devices. For example, the status of a certain patch on a certain business office device may be “NotDownloaded”, “NotOnDevice”, or “Enabled”. In this example, the “NotOnDevice” state indicates that the patch has been downloaded to the computing device on the second network 222 but has not yet been installed in the business office device.

  Other status information may indicate, for example, whether the office device is online and, if so, busy or available. In another embodiment, status information quantifying the use of business office equipment such as the number of printed sheets and the number of operating days is provided. In yet another embodiment, the status information may indicate a physical orientation of the business office equipment. For example, “TrayRemoved” or “PaperJam” may be provided as the status information. In other embodiments, the status information may indicate network orientation and statistics, such as which computers have used or are in use of business office equipment. The technology disclosed herein is not limited to any particular type of status information.

FIG. 9 shows an approach for detecting a state change on a business office device and updating the database on the service management system to reflect this state change. Step 910 includes monitoring a shared memory that includes the status of one or more business office devices. In step 920, it is determined whether a state change has been detected in the shared memory. If no state change is detected, the process either remains at step 910 or ends at step 930. If a state change is detected, the process moves to step 940, and the conversion interface 610 of the device management application 250 automatically generates a warning document representing the detected change to be transmitted to the service management application 200. In step 950, the device command communicator 620 sends the warning document to the service management application 200.
[F. Processing result]
7 and 8, some results of installing or updating software patches are shown. FIG. 7 shows a user interface 700 displayed on the MFP operating in the network behind the firewall prior to software patch installation. The user interface 700 shows a clear button 710 with a default size. Referring to FIG. 5, the administrator sets up the web page 500 as shown, activates the send button 580, and activates the ResizeButton patch on the MFP that currently displays the user interface 700 and the clear button 710. Trying to. In this example, the ResizeButton patch corresponds to software that increases the size of the clear button 710 to improve visibility and usability, such as to assist visually impaired users by using an MFP during installation.

Immediately after the administrator activates the send button 580, the ResizeButton patch is enabled on the MFP with the results shown in FIG. The user interface 800 is displayed in the same manner as the user interface 700 when the clear button 810 is enlarged. For this reason, the administrator can reconfigure the MFP while remotely operating from the opposite side of the firewall without requiring (1) rebooting the MFP or (2) manual operation by a user physically at the MFP location. I was able to. After the reset command is executed on the MFP, the state of the ResizeButton patch on the MFP is updated to “Enabled”. The updated status is returned for display to the administrator. This example is not meant to be limiting and there are few limitations on software patches that can be sent in this way. In another example, the software patch can reconfigure the user interface for calculating and displaying the replication cost based on the type and size of the replication job performed by the user.
[G. Calculation platform]
The approach for managing usage information described herein can be implemented on any type of computing platform or architecture. In one embodiment, the techniques described herein are implemented by one or more special purpose computing devices. The special purpose computing device may be a wiring for performing these techniques, or one or more ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits) or FPGAs that are continuously programmed to perform these techniques. One or more general-purpose hardware that may include digital electronic devices such as (Field Programmable Gate Array) or that are programmed to perform the above techniques according to program instructions in firmware, memory, other storage, or combinations thereof A processor may be included. Such special purpose computing devices may also combine custom wiring logic, ASIC or FPGA and custom programming to implement the above techniques. The special purpose computing device may be a desktop computer system, portable computer system, portable device, network device, or any other device that includes wiring and / or program logic to implement the above techniques.

  For example, FIG. 10 is a block diagram that illustrates a computer system 1000 upon which an embodiment of the invention may be implemented. Computer system 1000 includes a bus 1002 or other communication mechanism for communicating information, and a hardware processor 1004 connected with bus 1002 for processing information. The hardware processor 1004 may be a general-purpose microprocessor, for example.

  The computer system 1000 also has a main memory 1006 such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or other dynamic storage device connected to the bus 1002 for storing instructions and information executed by the processor 1004. Main memory 1006 may also be utilized to store temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions executed by processor 1004. When stored in a storage medium accessible to the processor 1004, such instructions cause the computer system 1000 to be a special purpose machine that is customized to perform the processes defined in these instructions.

  Computer system 1000 further includes a read only memory (ROM) 1008 or other static storage device connected to bus 1002 for storing static information and instructions for processor 1004. A storage device 1010 such as a magnetic disk or optical disk is provided and connected to the bus 1002 for storing information and instructions.

  The computer system 1000 may be connected via a bus 1002 to a display 1012 such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) for displaying information to a computer user. An input device 1014 containing alphanumeric and other keys is connected to the bus 1002 for communicating information and command selections with the processor 1004. Another type of user input device is a cursor control 1016, such as a mouse, trackball, cursor direction key, etc., to communicate direction information and command selections to the processor 1004 and control cursor movement on the display 1012. The input device typically has two degrees of freedom, two axes, a first axis (such as x) and a second axis (such as y) that allow the device to specify a position on the plane. Have. The computer system 1000 is described herein using customized wiring logic, one or more ASICs or FPGAs, firmware, and / or program logic that, in combination with the computer system, make or program the computer system 1000 to an application specific machine. May be realized. According to one embodiment, the techniques herein are performed by computer system 1000 by processor 1004 executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 1006. Such an instruction may be read into the main memory 1006 from a storage medium such as the storage device 1010. Execution of the instruction sequence contained in main memory 1006 causes processor 1004 to execute the processing steps described herein. In other embodiments, wiring circuitry may be utilized instead of or in combination with software instructions.

  The term “storage medium” as used herein refers to any medium that stores data and / or instructions that cause a machine to perform a process in a specific manner. Such a storage medium may be composed of a nonvolatile medium and / or a volatile medium. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks such as storage device 1010. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 1006. As a general storage medium, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a flexible disk, a hard disk, a solid state drive, a magnetic tape or any other magnetic data storage medium, a CD-ROM, or any other optical data storage Examples include a medium, any physical medium having a hole pattern, RAM, PROM, EPROM, FLASH-EPROM, NVRAM, and any other memory chip or cartridge.

  The storage medium is different from the transmission medium, but may be used together therewith. Transmission media are used to transfer information between storage media. For example, the transmission medium includes a coaxial cable and a conductive optical fiber, and includes a wiring constituting the bus 1002. Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during wireless and infrared data communications. Various forms of media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 1004 for execution. For example, these instructions are first conveyed to a remote computer magnetic disk or solid state drive. The remote computer loads the instructions into its dynamic memory and transmits it over the telephone line using a modem. The local modem of computer system 1000 can receive data over a telephone line and convert it to an infrared signal using an infrared transmitter. Infrared detectors can receive data carried by infrared signals and appropriate circuitry can place the data on bus 1002. Bus 1002 carries data to main memory 1006, from which processor 1004 extracts and executes instructions. The instructions received by main memory 1006 may optionally be stored on storage device 1010 either before or after execution by processor 1004. The computer system 1000 also has a communication interface 1018 that is connected to the bus 1002. The communication interface 1018 provides two-way data communication connected to a network link 1020 connected to the local network 1022. For example, the communication interface 1018 may be an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) card, a cable modem, a satellite modem, or a modem for providing a data communication connection with a corresponding type of telephone line. As another example, the communication interface 1018 may be a LAN (Local Area Network) card for providing a data communication connection with a compatible LAN. A wireless link may also be implemented. In any such implementation, communication interface 1018 sends and receives electronic, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information.

  Network link 1020 typically provides data communication with other data devices over one or more networks. For example, the network link 1020 may provide a connection through a local network 1022 with a data device or host computer 1024 operated by an Internet service provider (ISP) 1026. ISP 1026 provides data communication services over a world wide packet data communication network commonly referred to as the Internet 1028. Local network 1022 and Internet 1028 both use electronic, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams. Signals via various networks and signals via communication interface 1018 and network link 1020 for exchanging digital data with computer system 1000 are examples of forms of transmission media.

  The computer system 1000 can send and receive data including program codes and messages via the network, the network link 1020 and the communication interface 1018. In the Internet example, the server 1030 may send the requested code of the application program via the Internet 1028, ISP 1026, local network 1022 and communication interface 1018. The received code may be executed by processor 1004 upon receipt and / or when stored in storage device 1010 or other non-volatile storage for subsequent execution.

  In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the invention have been described with reference to numerous specific details that may vary from implementation to implementation. For this reason, the only indication of what the present invention is and what the applicant intends to be is the claims given by this application, and depending on the specific form in which such claims are given, Is a claim including a correction of The definitions explicitly given for terms contained in such claims determine the meaning of such terms as used in the claims. Accordingly, no limitation, element, property, feature, effect or attribute that is not expressly recited in a claim should limit the scope of the claim. The specification and drawings are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

100 System 110 Business office equipment (MFP)
120 Administrator computer 130 User computer 200 Service management application 210 DBMS
220, 221, 222 Network 230 Firewall 240 Proxy server 250 Device management application

Claims (20)

A method for determining the status of one or more office devices,
Generating a request document including information for performing one or more functions on the one or more office devices in a first network of one or more computing devices;
Sending the request document from the first network to a computing device behind a firewall of a second network of one or more computing devices;
Receiving a response document that is a response to the request document from the computing device on the second network and includes a state reflecting a result of executing the one or more functions with respect to the one or more office devices; ,
Having a method. Sending the request document from the first network to the computing device of the second network comprises sending the request document to a customer account of a mail server on the first network;
The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device is configured to extract the requested document from the mail server.   The method of claim 1, wherein the information of the request document includes one or more parameters of one or more functions performed by one or more computing devices that manage the one or more office devices.   The method of claim 1, wherein the information includes one or more parameters of one or more functions performed on the one or more office devices. The one or more functions activate one or more patches on the one or more office devices;
The result of the response document is that the one or more patches were successfully activated on the one or more office devices, the one or more patches were not activated on the one or more office devices, and The method of claim 1, wherein the method indicates one or more of one or more patches on the one or more office devices that did not require activation.   The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the request document to the computing device is completed without changing the firewall.   The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a warning document from the computing device on the second network that does not respond to the requested document and includes a state change detected on one or more office devices. A computer readable storage medium storing instructions for determining the status of one or more office devices,
The instructions are sent to one or more processors,
Generating a request document including information for performing one or more functions on the one or more office devices in a first network of one or more computing devices;
Sending the request document from the first network to a computing device behind a firewall of a second network of one or more computing devices;
A computer that responds to the request document from a computing device on the second network, and receives a response document including a state reflecting a result of executing the one or more functions for the one or more office devices. A readable storage medium. Sending the requested document from the first network to the computing device of the second network comprises sending the requested document to a customer account of a mail server on the first network;
The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the computing device is configured to extract the requested document from the mail server.   The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the information of the request document includes one or more parameters of one or more functions executed by one or more computing devices that manage the one or more office devices.   The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the information includes one or more parameters of one or more functions performed on the one or more office devices. The one or more functions activate one or more patches on the one or more office devices;
The result of the response document is that the one or more patches were successfully activated on the one or more office devices, the one or more patches were not activated on the one or more office devices, and The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein one or more of the one or more patches are on the one or more office devices but did not require activation.   The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein causing the request document to be sent to the computing device is completed without changing the firewall.   9. The instruction of claim 8, further comprising: receiving a warning document including a status change detected on one or more office devices without responding to the request document from the computing device on the second network. Computer-readable storage medium. A device for determining the status of one or more office devices,
Have one or more processors,
One or more instruction sequences are sent to the one or more processors,
Generating a request document including information for performing one or more functions on the one or more office devices in a first network of one or more computing devices;
Sending the request document from the first network to a computing device behind a firewall of a second network of one or more computing devices;
An apparatus for responding to the request document from a computing device on the second network and receiving a response document including a state reflecting a result of executing the one or more functions for the one or more office devices. . Sending the requested document from the first network to the computing device of the second network comprises sending the requested document to a customer account of a mail server on the first network;
The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the computing device is configured to extract the requested document from the mail server.   The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the information of the request document includes one or more parameters of one or more functions performed by one or more computing devices that manage the one or more office devices.   The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the information includes one or more parameters of one or more functions performed on the one or more office devices. The one or more functions activate one or more patches on the one or more office devices;
The result of the response document is that the one or more patches were successfully activated on the one or more office devices, the one or more patches were not activated on the one or more office devices, and The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus indicates one or more of one or more patches on the one or more office devices that did not require activation.   The apparatus of claim 15, wherein sending the request document to the computing device is completed without changing the firewall.