JP2013062599A - Image forming apparatus, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To properly perform a communication test.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus which transmits operation information containing counter information and fault information to a management apparatus comprises: management means for managing a history of failures in transmission of the operation information; input means for receiving an instruction of a communication test; and transmission control means which, when the input means receives the instruction of a communication test, transmits along with the communication test the operation information unsuccessfully transmitted and managed in the management means and successfully transmitted operation information in the same class with the unsuccessfully transmitted operation information, to the management apparatus.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an information processing method, and a program.

In a monitoring system in which an image forming apparatus is remotely monitored by a management apparatus, monitoring data from the image forming apparatus may not be received for some reason after installation. When such a situation occurs, a maintenance worker or an administrator of the image forming apparatus performs a communication test for the purpose of confirming a network communication state from the image forming apparatus to the management apparatus.
However, the communication test does not actually transmit monitoring data for the purpose of confirming continuity. Therefore, although the communication test is successful, there are cases where the failure to transmit the essential monitoring data cannot be recovered.

JP 2005-135171 A

  In the technique of Patent Document 1, information acquisition (status check) is performed using a plurality of protocols based on whether or not a printing process is performed for a certain time in a specific image forming apparatus. It is carried out.

  An object of the present invention is to perform an appropriate communication test by performing communication confirmation of partial monitoring data in consideration of the communication status up to that time when executing the communication test.

  Therefore, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus that transmits operation information including counter information and failure information to a management apparatus, a management unit that manages a history of transmission failure of the operation information, and a communication test. An input unit that receives an instruction, and a transmission test that is managed as a history by the management unit when the input unit receives a communication test instruction, and a transmission of the same classification as the operation information that failed to be transmitted And transmission control means for transmitting to the management device along with the communication test.

  According to the present invention, an appropriate communication test can be performed.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of an image forming apparatus monitoring system. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 101. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of hardware constitutions, such as management apparatus 102. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a module group 400 of the image forming apparatus 101. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing module group 500 of the management apparatus 102. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication history storage table that stores a result of communication with the management apparatus 102 prepared in the storage device 204 of the image forming apparatus 101. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication classification storage table that stores classifications of communication types to the management apparatus 102 prepared in the storage device 204 of the image forming apparatus 101. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of information processing related to a communication test. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a communication selection process. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication test function screen 900. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the communication test execution result screen 903. FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of an image forming apparatus monitoring system.
The image forming apparatus 101 can be connected to an external network 106 via a local area network 104 and a network device 105 such as a proxy or a firewall.
The management apparatus 102 can be connected to an external network 106 via a local area network 108 and a network device 107 such as a proxy or a firewall, and can receive communication from the image forming apparatus 101.
The information processing apparatus 103 can connect to the management apparatus 102 via the local area network 108 and use the setting function and information reference function of the management apparatus.
The network 106 may be any local area network (LAN), a dedicated line such as a fixed telephone line or a mobile telephone line, the Internet, or the like that can perform communication.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 101.
The image forming apparatus 101 is an apparatus such as a digital multi-function peripheral, a facsimile machine, a laser beam printer, an ink jet printer, or a scanner device.
The image forming apparatus 101 includes a CPU 201 that executes a program stored in the ROM 203 (including a program that implements each process of FIG. 4 described later). The CPU 201 generally controls each image forming apparatus via the internal bus 206.
The image forming apparatus 101 includes a CPU 201, a RAM 202, a ROM 203, a storage device (hereinafter referred to as a storage device) 204 such as a hard disk device and a nonvolatile memory, a device control 207 that controls a printing unit that performs image formation, and a printing unit 208 that includes a printing mechanism. It has.
A CPU 201 is a central processing unit and controls the image forming apparatus.
The RAM 202 functions as a memory or work area for the CPU 201.
The ROM 203 and the storage device 204 function as an external storage device, and can store print data, counter information, system information, and status information in addition to programs processed by the CPU 201.

Further, the image forming apparatus 101 includes a network interface (NW I / F) 205 for connecting to the local area network 104 and an input / output device 209 for displaying settings and status of the image forming apparatus. These are connected to the CPU 201 and the like via the internal bus 206.
The input / output device 209 includes a touch panel, a numeric keypad, and the like for operating the image forming apparatus 101. The user can use the input / output device 209 to perform connection setting and connection check to the management apparatus 102 in addition to the operation of the image forming apparatus 101.
The device control 207 not only controls the printing unit 208 but also can acquire the progress of printing, the status of the image forming apparatus, counter information, and the like by a sensor provided in the printing unit. The acquired information can be notified from the network interface 205 to the management apparatus 102 via the local area network 104 by the CPU 201 as necessary.
When the CPU 201 executes processing based on a program, the module configuration of the image forming apparatus 101 and processing of a flowchart executed by the image forming apparatus 101 described later are realized.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the management apparatus 102 and the like.
The management apparatus 102 is an apparatus that monitors and manages the image forming apparatus 101. For example, a PC, a server, or the like can be applied to the management apparatus 102.
The management apparatus 102 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 301 that executes a program stored in the ROM 303 (including a program that implements each process of FIG. 5 described later). The CPU 301 comprehensively controls each management apparatus 102 via the internal bus 306. A CPU 301, a RAM 302, a ROM 303, a hard disk device and a non-volatile memory (hereinafter, similarly to 204, a storage device) 304, and a network interface (NW I / F) 305 are connected via an internal bus 306.
The network interface 305 exchanges data with an external network device via the local area network 108. The storage device 304 functions as an external storage device and can store registered information of the image forming apparatus 101 and can also store notified counter information, system information, and status information.
In addition, the management device 102 includes an input / output interface (input / output I / F) 307 for setting and managing the management device 102 and an input / output device 308 such as a display, a keyboard, and a mouse connected thereto. In addition to the input / output device 308, the management device 102 can also provide the same input / output function to another information processing device 103 or the like via the local area network 108. The input / output function refers to a UI function program that can be set and managed from the outside using a protocol such as HTTP, for example.
When the CPU 301 executes processing based on a program, the module configuration of the management apparatus 102 is realized.
Since the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 103 is the same as that of the management apparatus 102, description thereof is omitted.

Next, module (processing unit) configurations of the image forming apparatus 101 and the management apparatus 102 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the module group 400 of the image forming apparatus 101. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the processing module group 500 of the management apparatus 102.
In FIG. 4, the image forming apparatus 101 is connected to the local area network 104 via the network interface 205. The network interface 205 is controlled by the communication processing unit 401 and performs processing for exchanging necessary information with the external management apparatus 102 in accordance with an instruction from the device management unit 402 that controls the image forming apparatus 101.
The communication processing unit 401 has a function of processing a communication protocol for communicating with the management apparatus 102.
Examples of communication protocols include SNMP (SIMPLE Network Management Protocol) and SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol).

Next, the device management unit 402 will be described. A device management unit 402 manages and controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 101.
The device management unit 402 exchanges information with the recording areas of the RAM 202, the ROM 203, and the storage device 204, and includes a communication processing unit 401, a device control unit 403, an input / output processing unit 404, a history management unit 405, and a communication test processing unit 406. Work together.
Further, the device management unit 402 can handle not only information that can be acquired by the device control 207 but also information that can be acquired by the communication processing unit 401 as communication data. When the image forming apparatus 101 transmits these pieces of information to the management apparatus 102, the image forming apparatus specific or setting information (IP address, MAC address, device serial number, product name, product type, etc.) is also transmitted. As a result, the management apparatus 102 can determine and perform individual processing for each image forming apparatus.
The device control unit 403 is a module that controls the device control 207. The device control 207 can acquire the above-described status, counter information, and the like, and provide the information to the device management unit 402.

The input / output processing unit 404 is a module that controls the input / output device 209. The input / output processing unit 404 processes information input from the touch panel and keys, and displays information instructed by the device management unit 402 on the input / output device 209. Control. The input / output processing unit 404 controls a continuity check instruction and a continuity check result display, which will be described later.
The history management unit 405 is a module that manages the result of the image forming apparatus 101 communicating with the management apparatus 102 and manages the result of communication for a certain period as a history. An example of history management will be described with reference to FIG.
The communication test processing unit 406 is a module that controls a continuity check function for confirming communication with the management apparatus 102 that manages the image forming apparatus 101.
The communication test processing unit 406 can acquire the result of whether the communication has succeeded or failed from the history management unit 405 via the device management unit 402. The communication test processing unit 406 can determine a necessary process before the continuity check using the acquired history. The determination of the process will be described with reference to FIG.

Next, each processing unit of the management apparatus 102 will be described with reference to FIG.
The communication processing unit 501 is connected to the local area network 108 via the network interface 305, and in accordance with an instruction from the management system processing unit 502 that controls the entire management apparatus 102, the image processing apparatus 101 to be monitored and necessary information are displayed. Interact.
The communication processing unit 501 has a function of processing a communication protocol, and is prepared on the image forming apparatus side such as SMTP or HTTP described with reference to FIG. 4 in order to receive and process the notification from the image forming apparatus 101. A protocol is available.
The management apparatus 102 manages the image forming apparatus specific or setting information (IP address, MAC address, device serial number, product name, etc.) notified from the image forming apparatus 101 described with reference to FIG. Discrimination by unit and individual processing can be performed.
Information of communication processed by the communication processing unit 501 is recorded by the management system processing unit 502 in the ROM 303 or the storage device 304 as a storage area. The recorded information can be displayed on the input / output device 308 such as a display by the input / output processing unit 503.
The display processing unit 504 can generate display information in a display language such as HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and transmit the display information to an external device such as the information processing apparatus 103 via the communication processing unit 501 and the network interface 305.

Next, details of the transmission control processing of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6, 7, 8, and 9.
FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication history storage table that stores a result of communication with the management apparatus 102 prepared in the storage device 204 of the image forming apparatus 101.
The storage process to the communication history storage table is stored in any of the storage areas of the RAM 202, ROM 203, and storage device 204, and the CPU 201 executes the process.
The communication history storage table stores the time of communication, the type of communication, and the communication result. For example, a component counter indicating the usage status of a component is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 101 to the management apparatus 102 at 5:45 Japan time on June 11, 2011, and a response indicating a successful communication result is returned from the management apparatus 102. Suppose. At this time, the transmission history “2011 06/11 05:45”, the communication type “component counter”, and the communication result “success” are recorded in the communication history storage table.
When a communication failure response is returned from the management apparatus 102, and communication with the management apparatus 102 cannot be established, the communication result “failure” is recorded.
In addition, in a communication for which retransmission processing is set when communication fails, “retransmission” is recorded in the communication result. This indicates that communication with the management apparatus 102 has not been successful and that retransmission processing is being performed continuously.

FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication classification storage table that stores classifications of communication types to the management apparatus 102 prepared in the storage device 204 of the image forming apparatus 101.
The storage processing in the communication classification storage table is stored in any storage area of the RAM 202, ROM 203, and storage device 204, and the CPU 201 executes the processing.
In the communication classification storage table, whether it is a communication type that performs communication periodically for each communication type, a communication type that completes processing in one communication, or a communication type in which the same communication should not be performed multiple times, Is stored.
For example, a billing counter indicating the usage status of printing is periodically notified to the management apparatus 102, and since there are various billing counters and the data amount is large, the billing counter is transmitted in a divided manner. In this case, “charging counter” is stored as the communication type, and “periodic, divided” is stored as the classification.
Since program versions that are transmitted periodically but have a small amount of data are not divided, only “periodic” is stored as the classification. “Event (duplicate notification prohibited)” is stored in the classification for communication types that occur only when there is an error, such as an error or a paper jam (jam), and communication with the same content must not be performed multiple times.
A billing counter, a component counter, a function counter, and the like are examples of counter information. An error or the like is an example of failure information. Counter information and failure information are examples of operation information of the image forming apparatus.

The use of the communication history storage table and the communication classification storage table will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
The processing executed in each flowchart is executed by each processing unit of the image forming apparatus 101 in FIG. More specifically, each process is recorded as a program in a storage unit of the RAM 202, the ROM 203, or the storage device 204 in the image forming apparatus 101, and each processing unit is executed by the CPU 201.
The generated information is recorded in the ROM 203 and the storage device 204 so that the generated information is not lost even when the image forming apparatus 101 is turned off.
First, in step S <b> 701, the user calls a communication test function for confirming continuity with the management apparatus 102 at the input / output device 209. The device management unit 402 receives a communication test function request via the input / output processing unit 404 and instructs the communication test processing unit 406 to execute the communication test function.
The communication test processing unit 406 instructs the input / output processing unit 404 to display a communication test screen via the device management unit 402. In parallel, the communication test processing unit 406 proceeds to step S702 and checks whether a communication test has been executed in the past. Whether or not the communication test can be executed is recorded in the ROM 203, and the communication test processing unit 406 proceeds to step S703 or step S711 according to the recording.
If a communication test has not been performed in the past, in step S711, the communication test processing unit 406 performs only continuity communication and ends the communication test.

Next, processing when a communication test has been performed in the past will be described.
In step S703, the communication test processing unit 406 confirms whether there is communication that has failed or been retransmitted from the communication result of the communication history storage table. If there is no failed or retransmitted communication, the communication test processing unit 406 proceeds to step S711 and executes only the communication test. If even one failed or retransmitted communication exists, the communication test processing unit 406 proceeds to step S704.
In step S704, the communication test processing unit 406 confirms whether all communication has failed. The communication history storage table stores a history for a certain period, for example, two weeks. If the communication result is failed or retransmitted in all communications stored in the communication history storage table, the communication test processing unit 406 proceeds to step S711 and executes only the communication test. If there is at least one successful communication, the communication test processing unit 406 proceeds to step S705.
In step S <b> 705, the communication test processing unit 406 confirms whether or not duplication notification prohibition communication is included in the communication classification storage table in the communication type that is failed or retransmitted in the communication result of the communication history storage table. . If it is included, the communication test processing unit 406 proceeds to step S706 and confirms whether at least one communication of the communication type for which duplicate notification is prohibited is being retransmitted. When there is no communication type being retransmitted, the communication test processing unit 406 records in the ROM 203 that there is no communication type being retransmitted as record information.
If at least one communication type that is not prohibited from duplicate notification is included in step S706, the communication test processing unit 406 proceeds to step S707.

In step S707, the communication test processing unit 406 performs communication type selection processing for performing communication before the communication test is performed. Details of the processing in step S707 will be described with reference to FIG.
Step S707 includes steps S801 to S806.
In step S <b> 801, the communication test processing unit 406 confirms whether the communication type for which duplicate notification is prohibited is included in the communication types that have failed and are being retransmitted based on the above-described record information. If not included, the communication test processing unit 406 determines that the failed communication type is only the periodic communication type, and proceeds to step S802.
In step S802, the communication test processing unit 406 confirms whether there is a successful communication type of the same communication type as the failed communication type. The communication test processing unit 406 can confirm whether or not the communication test processing unit 406 is successful from the communication result of the above-described communication history storage table. For example, when communication of the component counter has failed, the communication test processing unit 406 is a classification to be notified because the accounting counter and the function counter are regularly notified and divided based on the classification of the communication classification storage table. I can confirm that. In this case, the communication test processing unit 406 determines that there is a communication type that is similar and has been successfully communicated, and proceeds to step S803.

In step S803, the communication test processing unit 406 performs a process of setting a communication type for performing communication before the communication test. More specifically, the communication test processing unit 406 records, in the ROM 203, the communication type in which communication is successful based on the above-described result. If there are a plurality of successful communications, the communication test processing unit 406 may record all of them, or may narrow down and record as follows. For example, the communication test processing unit 406 assigns priorities to communication types of the same classification in the classification of the communication classification storage table, and when there are a plurality of successful communication types, the highest priority among them. Only the communication type may be narrowed down and recorded in the ROM 203. The communication test processing unit 406 can narrow down to one or more according to how to assign priorities.
Next, proceeding to step S804, the communication test processing unit 406 performs processing for setting the failed communication type that has been confirmed earlier to be performed before the communication test.
The communication test processing unit 406 records, in the ROM 203, the communication type that is a periodic communication in the communication history storage table and fails in the communication result, and ends the communication type selection process.

On the other hand, if the communication type for which duplicate notification is prohibited is included in the communication type that has failed or is being retransmitted in step S801, the communication test processing unit 406 proceeds to step S805 and retransmits with the communication type for which duplicate notification is prohibited. What is inside is recorded in the ROM 203. Then, the communication test processing unit 406 proceeds to step S804.
If there is no communication type similar to the communication type that failed in step S802 and successful in communication, the communication test processing unit 406 proceeds to step S806.
For example, when communication of both the program version and the environment log has failed, the communication test processing unit 406 shows from the communication classification storage table that there is no communication type with the same periodic notification.
In step S806, the communication test processing unit 406 records in the ROM 203 as a communication type of successful communication because the communication of the accounting counter is high in importance although the classification is different, and the process proceeds to step S806.
When step S804 ends, the communication test processing unit 406 proceeds to step S708 in FIG.

In step 708, the communication test processing unit 406 performs communication of a communication type to be performed before the communication test based on the recorded information in the ROM 203 recorded in the above steps S804, S805, S806, and S807. In step S709, the communication test processing unit 406 records the communication result for each communication type performed in step S708 in the ROM 203, and the process proceeds to step S710.
In step S <b> 710, the communication test processing unit 406 performs communication for confirming conduction to the management apparatus 102. At this time, the communication test processing unit 406 sends information to the management apparatus 102 with information indicating what kind of communication is transmitted to the management apparatus 102, and as a result, whether the communication has succeeded or failed.
Regardless of the success or failure of the notification of continuity confirmation, the process proceeds to step S712, and the communication test processing unit 406 displays the processing result of the communication test and ends the communication test process.
Although not shown, in the management apparatus 102, what kind of communication is performed based on a communication test from the image forming apparatus 101, and the result of each communication can be confirmed.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a screen displayed on the input / output device 209 for the communication test based on the flowchart described with reference to FIGS.
An example of a screen when a communication test execution instruction is received in step S701 will be described with reference to FIG. 9A.
A communication test function screen 900 in FIG. 9A is a screen for the user to perform a communication test from the image forming apparatus 101 to the management apparatus 102. The communication test function screen 900 is provided with an “execute” button 901 for executing a communication test. When the user presses the “execute” button 901, the processing from step S701 is started.
When ending without executing the communication test, the communication test function screen can be ended by pressing a “return” button 902 for canceling the communication test process.

A communication test execution result screen 903 in FIG. 9B shows a result display screen in which the user has performed a communication test from the image forming apparatus 101 to the management apparatus 102. The communication test execution result screen 903 displays the result of step S709 and the result of the continuity check in S710 or S711.
In this figure, communication of the communication type between the billing counter and the component counter is performed before the communication of conduction, and as a result, it is indicated by OK that both communication are successful.
In addition, OK is displayed because the result of the continuity confirmation itself is also successful.
The user can end the communication test function screen by pressing an “end” button 904.
In the present embodiment, the case where a billing counter, a component counter, or the like is used has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to these communication types.
For example, any information that can be generated by the image forming apparatus 101, such as log information that records the operation state of the image forming apparatus or image diagnostic information used for image diagnosis, may be used.
In the embodiment, the communication test is manually executed. However, the communication test process according to the present embodiment may be automatically executed according to a condition, or the communication test process is executed according to an instruction from the management apparatus 102. May be.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

As described above, according to each of the above-described embodiments, an appropriate communication test can be performed by performing communication of partial monitoring data in consideration of the communication status up to that time when executing the communication test. In addition, it is possible to perform appropriate reproduction confirmation by selecting a failed communication from the communication result history, instead of confirming with a fixed number of protocols. Also, when checking when a communication abnormality occurs, not only the monitoring data transmission of the occurrence of the abnormality but also the normal monitoring data communication can be executed together so that the normal / abnormal state can be grasped at the same time.
Therefore, an appropriate communication test can be performed.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.・ Change is possible.

Claims (7)

An image forming apparatus that transmits operation information including counter information and failure information to a management apparatus,
Management means for managing a history of failure in transmission of the operation information;
An input means for receiving a communication test instruction;
When receiving an instruction of a communication test by the input unit, the operation information managed as a history by the management unit failed to transmit, the operation information failed to transmit the operation information and the operation information successfully transmitted in the same category, Transmission control means for transmitting to the management device along with the communication test,
An image forming apparatus.   When the transmission control unit receives an instruction of a communication test by the input unit and the operation information managed as history by the management unit is failure information, the operation information of the transmission failed The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication test is performed without transmitting a message.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the classification is a classification of a communication type.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the classification of the communication type is regular, regular, divided, and event (duplication notification prohibition).   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying an execution result of the communication test. An information processing method executed by an image forming apparatus that transmits operation information including counter information and failure information to a management apparatus,
A management step for managing a history of failure in transmission of the operation information;
An input step for receiving a communication test instruction;
When receiving an instruction for a communication test in the input step, operation information managed as history in the management step, operation information that failed to transmit, operation information that succeeded in the same classification as the operation information that failed to transmit, and Transmission control step for transmitting to the management device in accordance with the communication test,
An information processing method including: To the computer that transmits operation information including counter information and failure information to the management device,
A management step for managing a history of failure in transmission of the operation information;
An input step for receiving a communication test instruction;
When receiving an instruction for a communication test in the input step, operation information managed as history in the management step, operation information that failed to transmit, operation information that succeeded in the same classification as the operation information that failed to transmit, and Transmission control step for transmitting to the management device in accordance with the communication test,
A program for running

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