JP2014081780A - Management device, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve both power saving and maintenance of operational efficiency.SOLUTION: A management device totals operation results of an image forming apparatus for every day of the week and time zone on the basis of job history information received from the image forming apparatus; allocates jobs based on the totaled operation results for each of combinations of image forming apparatuses to be started; acquires an estimated value of the rate of the average processing time for each of the combinations for every day of the week and time zone, and an estimated value of the total power consumption; manages in advance an allowable value in the acquired estimated value of the rate of the average processing time; selects the combination for every day of the week and time zone to create a schedule on the basis of the estimated value of the rate of the average processing time or the estimated value of the total power consumption, according to whether or not the combination falling within the range of the allowable value that is managed with the acquired estimated value of the rate of the average processing time is present; and transmits the created schedule to the image forming apparatus.

Description

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

There exists a system that centrally manages operation information of an image forming apparatus equipped with a communication control device. In such a system, a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a management apparatus that manages them are connected to each other via a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), the Internet, or the like. The image forming apparatus periodically transmits operation information such as a function usage history to the management apparatus. Alternatively, the management apparatus issues an acquisition request to the image forming apparatus and periodically acquires operation information. The management device is configured to accumulate and manage the received operation information and periodically total the data, and to refer to the operation information and the total result.
In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for power saving for image forming apparatuses, and the system automatically shifts to a power saving mode that consumes less power than usual when there is no job or user operation. Some functions are provided. In the case where a plurality of image forming apparatuses are provided in the same network environment, it is also effective for power saving to control the number of activated devices for each time zone. In view of such a case, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses a technique for counting operation information acquired from an image forming apparatus and determining the number of activations for each time period from the actual value of the number of times of use for each time period. Furthermore, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-228867 allows selection of an image forming apparatus to be activated in consideration of a functional difference for each image forming apparatus by determining the required number by summing up the functions used. Yes.

JP 2005-173690 A

When a plurality of image forming apparatuses are provided in the same network environment, power consumption can be suppressed by limiting the number of activated image forming apparatuses in response to a request for power saving. However, if the number of jobs to be executed increases with respect to the processing capability of the image forming apparatus by limiting the number of startups, the job concentrates on the image forming apparatus depending on the timing, and the waiting time until the job processing is completed increases. There is concern. If the job waiting time becomes long, there is a concern that the work efficiency of the user who uses the image forming apparatus is lowered. Power saving and maintaining business efficiency are contradictory requirements, but the balance of importance often varies depending on the season and time zone. For example, while demand for power saving increases during the day when power consumption increases due to air conditioning or the like, demand for maintaining business efficiency increases in the morning when customers are busy before visits or meetings.
The technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 determines the number of startups for each time zone from the actual value of the number of times used for each time zone, but considers the difference in power consumption for each individual image forming apparatus. Absent. Therefore, with the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is impossible to appropriately control the effect of power. In addition, there is a problem that it is not easy to cope with the change in the balance between power saving and maintenance of business efficiency, because all the comparison table of the actual value of the number of times of use and the number of activated units must be changed. .

  Totaling means for totaling operation results for each day of the week and time zone of the image forming apparatus based on job history information of the image forming apparatus received from an image forming apparatus to be managed that can communicate via a network; The ratio of the average processing time for each combination in the day of the week and the time zone when the jobs based on the operation results tabulated by the means are allocated for each combination of image forming apparatuses to be activated among the image forming apparatuses. Obtained by the obtaining means for obtaining the estimated value and the estimated value of the total power consumption, the managing means for managing in advance the allowable value in the estimated value of the average processing time ratio obtained by the obtaining means, and obtained by the obtaining means Depending on whether or not there is a combination in which the estimated value of the average processing time ratio is within the allowable value range managed by the management means Generating means for generating a schedule by selecting the combination for each day of the week and time period based on the estimated value of the average processing time ratio or the estimated value of the total power consumption, and generated by the generating means Transmitting means for transmitting the schedule to the image forming apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize both power saving and maintenance of business efficiency.

It is a figure which shows an example of a system configuration. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of a management apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the software structure of a management apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the job history which a management apparatus receives. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a process of a management apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the track record value of the job process which the management apparatus computed. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a list of combinations of image forming apparatuses that turn on power extracted by a management apparatus. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a result of a management apparatus assigning a performance value to one image forming apparatus. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a result of a management apparatus assigning performance values to two image forming apparatuses. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing capability value table in which processing capabilities of the image forming apparatus are digitized. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the result of the job processing time estimated by the management apparatus, and power consumption. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement allowable range setting table which a management apparatus hold | maintains. It is a figure which shows an example of the starting and stop schedule which the management apparatus produced | generated.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of the present embodiment.
The image forming apparatus 100 and the management apparatus 110 are connected via a communication line 120 and can communicate with each other.
The image forming apparatus 100 may be a multifunction image forming apparatus MFP (Multi Function Peripheral), a single function image forming apparatus SFP (Single Function Peripheral), or the like, but is not limited thereto.
The management apparatus 110 receives operation information of one or more image forming apparatuses 100 to be managed from the image forming apparatus 100 directly or via a mediation apparatus, and accumulates and manages the operation information. The operation information received by the management apparatus 110 includes job information related to image forming processing such as printing and copying in the image forming apparatus 100.
The communication line 120 is assumed to be a LAN, WAN, Internet, etc., and may be wired or wireless.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the management apparatus 110 according to the present embodiment.
The management device 110 includes an output I / F unit 201 connected to an output device such as a display, an input I / F unit 202 connected to an input device such as a keyboard, a storage device 203, a memory 204, a CPU 205, and a communication I / F unit 206. including.
The storage device 203 stores an OS (Operating System), a management program for managing the operation information of the image forming apparatus 100 particularly for the part related to this system, the operation information received from the image forming apparatus 100, and the like.
The CPU 205 loads a program from the storage device 203 to the memory 204 and executes it.
The CPU 205 executes a program stored in the storage device 203 or the like, thereby realizing a function (software function) of the management apparatus 110 (described later) and a process related to a flowchart.
A communication I / F unit 206 is connected to the communication line 120 and receives operation information and the like of the image forming apparatus 100.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a software configuration of a part related to the present system, among the software configurations of the management apparatus 110.
The processing capability value holding unit 301 holds data obtained by quantifying the processing capability of the image forming apparatus 100 such as the image output speed depending on the model of the image forming apparatus 100.
The power consumption value holding unit 302 holds power consumption data for each processing content (printing, copying, scanning, etc.) depending on the model of the image forming apparatus and for each power state (standby, etc.).
The operation allowable value holding unit 303 holds a value indicating an allowable range of the degree of job load on the image forming apparatus 100 that affects business efficiency. The degree of job load on the image forming apparatus 100 is, for example, a ratio of time taken for job processing. If this ratio is high, there is a concern that it takes time to output a job due to concentration of jobs. Therefore, the upper limit value of the allowable value is set in advance as a value according to the business situation.

The operation information receiving unit 304 receives job history information and the like related to image forming processing in the image forming apparatus 100 via the communication I / F unit 206.
The actual value totaling unit 305 totals the actual value of the job processing amount for each day of the week and time period from the job history information received by the operation information receiving unit 304.
The activation combination extraction unit 306 extracts patterns that can be taken by combinations of the image forming apparatuses 100 that are turned on for the plurality of image forming apparatuses 100 managed by the management apparatus 110. For example, if there are three image forming apparatuses at the same base, there is a combination in which only one is turned on, a combination in which two are turned on, and a combination in which all three are turned on. Moreover, in those combinations, the combination is distinguished depending on which one or two are activated. As described above, the activation combination extraction unit 306 groups the image forming apparatuses 100 based on the installation locations, and extracts combinations of the image forming apparatuses 100 that turn on the power for each group.
The estimated processing amount calculation unit 307 estimates the processing amount when the actual values of the job processing amounts of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 100 aggregated by the actual value aggregation unit 305 are allocated to the image forming apparatuses 100 that are turned on. calculate. The estimated processing amount calculation unit 307 assigns the actual value of the job processing amount to one of the combinations that turns on only one device, and assigns the two to the two of the combination that turns on two devices.

The operation estimated value calculation unit 308 holds, in the processing capability value holding unit 301, the ratio of the time taken for job processing of the image forming apparatus 100 that is turned on in the processing amount estimated by the estimated processing amount calculation unit 307. Calculate using information. Note that a method of calculating the proportion of time taken for job processing of the image forming apparatus 100 by the motion estimation value calculation unit 308 will be described later with reference to FIG. The ratio of time taken for job processing represents the degree of job load.
The power estimated value calculation unit 309 calculates an estimated value of the power consumption in the processing amount estimated by the estimated processing amount calculation unit 307 using information held by the power consumption value holding unit 302.
The motion estimated value determination unit 310 determines whether or not the job load level calculated by the motion estimated value calculation unit 308 is within the allowable range held by the motion allowable value holding unit 303.
The activation combination selection unit 311 determines the combination of the image forming apparatuses 100 to be turned on based on the determination result of the motion estimation value determination unit 310 and the estimated power consumption value of the power estimation value calculation unit 309. Select one each.
The schedule generation unit 312 is a power control that determines a start time and a stop time for each image forming apparatus 100 based on the combination of the image forming apparatuses 100 that is selected by the start combination selecting unit 311 and turns on the power for each day of the week or time period. Generate a schedule.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a job history received by the operation information receiving unit 304.
The operation information receiving unit 304 receives the job history information by periodically requesting the acquisition of job history information from the image forming apparatus 100 or by transmission from the image forming apparatus 100 or the mediating apparatus. The operation information receiving unit 304 temporarily stores the received job history information in the storage device 203, for example, in the format illustrated in FIG. In the example of this embodiment, the job history table 400 is configured so that the operation information receiving unit 304 can hold information on image forming processing received from a plurality of image forming apparatuses 100.
The device ID 401 is an identification ID for specifying one image forming apparatus 100 from among the plurality of image forming apparatuses 100.
A log ID 402 is an identification ID for specifying one job history from one job history of the image forming apparatus 100.

The job reception time 403 is a time when the image forming apparatus 100 receives a job related to image formation, such as a print job reception time or a copy job operation time.
The job start time 404 is a field for the time when the image forming apparatus 100 starts job processing. If there is no job retention and the image forming apparatus 100 is in the standby state, the job start time 404 substantially coincides with the job reception time 403.
The job end time 405 is a field for the time when the image forming apparatus has completed the job processing. The CPU 205 can know the time required for the image forming apparatus 100 to process the job by calculating the difference between the job end time 405 and the job start time 404.
The job type 406 represents the type of job, and includes information such as function classification such as copy / print / scan and black / white / color distinction.
The paper size 407 is a field for the size of the output paper.
The number of faces 408 is a field representing the number of times image formation has been performed on a sheet. The number of pages 408 matches the number of output sheets for single-sided printing, and is twice for each number of output sheets for double-sided printing.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for determining the start and stop schedule of the management apparatus 110. The flowchart of FIG. 5 is an example of information processing of the management apparatus 110.
Hereinafter, according to the flowchart of FIG. 5, the determination process of the start and stop schedule of the management apparatus 110 in this embodiment will be described. In the implementation history of the present embodiment, assuming that there is a difference in the usage status of the image forming apparatus 100 depending on the day of the week and the time zone, the CPU 205 delimits the power source for each day of the week and time zone (for example, every 2 hours). Assume that the combination of the image forming apparatuses 100 that turns on is determined.
First, in S <b> 501, the actual value totaling unit 305 acquires the job history of the target image forming apparatus 100 for calculating the actual value from the information in the job history table 400 received by the operation information receiving unit 304. When the latest usage status is adopted as the actual value, the actual value totaling unit 305 acquires the target for determining the schedule in the most recent week and the job history of the same day from the job history table 400. Then, the result value totaling unit 305 starts processing for determining the combination of the image forming apparatuses 100 to turn on for each day of the week and time zone (S502).

In S503, the result value totaling unit 305 calculates, as a result value, an operation result of job processing in each image forming apparatus 100 for the first time period from the job history acquired in S501.
FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of a result value of job processing calculated by the result value totaling unit 305 in step S503.
In the example of this embodiment, the job performance value table 600 aggregates the job processing amount and job processing time of each image forming apparatus 100 as performance values for each day of the week and time period.
The time zone section 601 is a field that represents a day of the week and a time zone, and in this example, the first record indicates that the actual values in the time zone from 8:00 to 10:00 on Monday are totaled.
The device ID 602 is the same as the device ID 401 and is an identification ID for specifying one image forming apparatus 100.
Fields 603 to 606 represent the total results of the number of pages 408 for each of “monochrome copy”, “color copy”, “monochrome print”, and “color print” classified into the job type 406.

  The job processing time 607 represents the total time required for job processing by the image forming apparatus 100, which is the sum of the differences between the job end time 405 and the job start time 404 in the job history table 400. The job processing time 607 can be used as information indicating the degree of job load with respect to the processing capability of the image forming apparatus 100. The longer the job processing time 607, the longer the time required for job processing, and the higher the frequency of job output waiting. In the present embodiment, the latest usage status is adopted as the actual value. However, the actual value totaling unit 305 calculates the actual value for each day of the week and time period from the job history for a certain period in the past. Also good. At this time, the actual value totaling unit 305 may simply average the total results of each week in the corresponding day of the week and time period from the job history for a certain period in the past to obtain the actual value. Alternatively, the performance value totaling unit 305 may use a weighted average result as a performance value by lightening the weight of past aggregation in order to place importance on the recent performance, and increasing the weighting on the recent aggregation result. More specifically, a date and time that is a threshold value is set in advance, and the result value totaling unit 305 aggregates the weights for the aggregation results after the date and time, and the aggregation results by reducing the weights for the aggregation results before and after the date and time. You may make it make an average of an actual value. The threshold value is arbitrary date / time information. In the processing from S504, the operation estimated value calculation unit 308 and the power estimated value calculation unit 309 are combinations of the image forming apparatuses 100 that turn on the power extracted by the activation combination extraction unit 306 based on the actual value of job processing. Every time, the calculation process of each estimated value is executed.

FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating an example of a list of combinations of the image forming apparatuses 100 that turn on the power extracted by the activation combination extraction unit 306.
The combination ID 651 is an identification ID assigned to identify each combination of the image forming apparatus 100 that turns on the power.
Fields 652 to 654 indicate whether each of the image forming apparatuses 100 is a target to be turned on. For example, in the example in which the combination ID 651 is “1”, only “DEV00001” in the field 652 is “◯”, which indicates that only “DEV00001” is a power-on combination.
In step S505, the estimated processing amount calculation unit 307 performs the job processing result value calculated by the result value totaling unit 305 in step S503 for the image forming apparatus 100 that is turned on in each combination of the activation combination table 650 in FIG. 6B. Is allocated.

FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are diagrams illustrating an example of results obtained by the estimated processing amount calculation unit 307 assigning actual values in S505.
7A and 7B, the estimated processing amount calculation unit 307 turns on the actual values of the three image forming apparatuses whose time zone division 601 in FIG. 6A is “1.Mon08-10 o'clock”. The image forming apparatus 100 is assigned according to each combination.
The job processing estimation table 700 in FIG. 7A is obtained by the estimation processing amount calculation unit 307 assigning actual values when the combination ID is “1” in the activation combination table 650 in FIG. 6B.
The device ID 701 is the same as the device ID 401 and is an identification ID for specifying one image forming apparatus 100.
Fields 702 to 705 represent the estimated values of the number of pages 408 for each of “monochrome copy”, “color copy”, “monochrome print”, and “color print” classified into the job type 406. In the present embodiment, since only one device whose device ID 701 is “DEV00001” is to be turned on, the fields 702 to 705 of “DEV00001” are simply the sum of the actual values of the three image forming apparatuses. Become. On the other hand, in the job processing estimation table 710 in FIG. 7B, the estimation processing amount calculation unit 307 assigns the actual value when the combination ID is “4” in the activation combination table 650 in FIG. 6B. In this case, the estimated processing amount calculation unit 307 allocates the job load levels of the two image forming apparatuses 100 to be equal using the processing capability value of the image forming apparatus 100. Details of an allocation method for equalizing the degree of load by the estimated processing amount calculation unit 307 will be described later with reference to FIG. 7C.

FIG. 7C is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing capability value table in which the processing capability of the image forming apparatus 100 held in the processing capability value holding unit 301 is quantified.
The processing capability value table 750 represents the processing speed of the image forming apparatus 100 for monochrome output / color output, and is defined in advance for each model of the image forming apparatus 100.
The device ID 751 is the same as the device ID 401 and is an identification ID for specifying one image forming apparatus 100.
Fields 752 and 753 are values obtained by quantifying the image output speed for each of “monochrome output (copy / print)” and “color output (copy / print)”. In the example of the present embodiment, the field 752 whose device ID 751 is “DEV00001” is twice (= 60/30) “DEV00002”. This indicates that the “DEV00001” image forming apparatus 100 can perform processing at twice the speed of the “DEV00002” image forming apparatus 100.

The job processing estimation table 710 in FIG. 7B is a table in which the estimated processing amount calculation unit 307 uses this fact and allocates the actual values at the ratio of the image output speed defined by the fields 752 and 753. More specifically, in the case of black-and-white copying, as described above, the image output speed of DEV00001 is twice the image output speed of DEV00002, so the estimated processing amount calculation unit 307 performs the processing of black-and-white copy as DEV00001: DEV00002 = Allocate 2: 1. For example, assuming 110 black-and-white copy processing, as shown in FIG. 7B, the estimated processing amount calculation unit 307 assigns DEV00001: DEV00002 = 73 sheets: 37 sheets.
In step S <b> 506, the estimated operation value calculation unit 308 calculates the time required for job processing of the image forming apparatus 100 and the ratio of the result obtained by the estimation processing amount calculation unit 307 assigning the actual value in step S <b> 505.
In step S <b> 507, the power estimated value calculation unit 309 calculates an estimated value of the power consumption amount of the image forming apparatus 100 for the result of the estimation processing amount calculation unit 307 assigning the actual value in step S <b> 505.
Details of the process of the motion estimated value calculation unit 308 in S506 and the process of the power estimated value calculation unit 309 in S507 will be described later with reference to FIG. The calculation processing in S506 and S507 is an example of acquisition processing.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of results of job processing time and power consumption estimated by the motion estimation value calculation unit 308 and the power estimation value calculation unit 309 in S506 and S507.
The job processing estimated value table 800 is a list of estimated values of the time and ratio of job processing of the image forming apparatus 100 and the power consumption for each combination of the activation combination table 650 of FIG. 6B.
The combination ID 801 is an identification ID that is associated with the combination ID 651 and identifies each combination of the image forming apparatus 100 that turns on the power.
The average job processing time 802 represents an average of estimated job processing times in the image forming apparatus 100 that is turned on. Here, the estimated value of the job processing time in each image forming apparatus 100 is the time required for the image forming apparatus 100 to process the jobs in the fields 702 to 705 in FIG. 7A when the combination ID is “1”. This is the estimated value. The operation estimated value calculation unit 308 may calculate the average job processing time 802 from the estimated job processing in the fields 702 to 705 and the processing capability value defined for each image forming apparatus 100, or the actual value It may be calculated from the job processing time 607 and the processing capability value.

  In this embodiment, the motion estimation value calculation unit 308 performs image formation of a target to be turned on from the reciprocal of the ratio of the processing capability values defined in the fields 752 and 753 during the job processing time 607 of the actual value. An estimated value of job processing time when processing is performed by the apparatus 100 is calculated. For example, in the example of FIG. 6A, when a job that has been processed by the device ID 602 “DEV00002” and takes 720 seconds is processed by “DEV00001”, the motion estimation value calculation unit 308 sets the job processing time to 720 seconds × 30/60 = 360. Estimate seconds. If the estimated operation value calculation unit 308 calculates all three jobs with one “DEV00001” whose combination ID 801 is “1”, the total processing time is 1260 seconds (= 720 + 720 × 30 / 60 + 360 × 30/60). In the combination with the combination ID 801 of “1”, only this one unit is turned on, so the average job processing time 802 is also 1260 seconds. If the processing capability values differ for each function in FIG. 7C, the activation combination extraction unit 306 may add job processing times for each function in S503. In step S506, the operation estimated value calculation unit 308 may calculate an estimated value of job processing time for each function.

The average processing time ratio 803 represents the average of the ratio of job processing time in the image forming apparatus 100 that turns on the power. In the example in which the combination ID 801 is “1”, the average job processing time 802 is “1260 seconds”, so that the ratio to the corresponding time zone (2 hours) is about 0.18 (= 1260/7200).
The total power consumption 804 represents the total estimated value of power consumption in the image forming apparatus 100. Here, when the combination ID is “1”, the estimated value of the power consumption amount in each of the image forming apparatuses 100 is required for the processing by the image forming apparatus 100 for the jobs in the fields 702 to 705 in FIG. 7A. This is an estimate of power consumption. Further, the estimated power value calculation unit 309 may add the standby power amount required during standby to the estimated power consumption value. The power estimation value calculation unit 309 calculates the power consumption estimation value from the power consumption data for each processing content (print, copy, scan, etc.) held by the power consumption value holding unit 302 and power supply state (standby, etc.). calculate. For example, the power estimated value calculation unit 309 calculates an estimated value when outputting 110 black and white copies from a preset standard value of power consumption per monochrome copy.
In S508, the motion estimated value determination unit 310 determines whether the average processing time ratio 803 calculated by the motion estimated value calculation unit 308 in S506 is within a preset allowable range shown in FIG. 9 described later.

FIG. 9A is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation allowable range setting table held by the operation allowable value holding unit 303.
The allowable operation range setting table 900 includes an allowable upper limit value of the ratio of time taken for job processing as a value indicating the allowable range of the degree of job load on the image forming apparatus 100 that affects business efficiency.
The time zone section 901 is a field that represents the day of the week and the time zone as in the time zone section 601. In this example, the first record holds the set values in the time zone from 8:00 to 10:00 on Monday. Indicates that this is a record.
The operation allowable upper limit 902 is an allowable upper limit value of the ratio of job processing time in the image forming apparatus 100 that turns on the power. The operation allowable upper limit 902 is set in advance with a value corresponding to the business situation. For example, it is set to be lower during times when job waiting time needs to be kept as low as possible with an emphasis on business efficiency, and is set higher during times when demand for power saving is relatively high and job waiting time can be tolerated to some extent. Operation is possible.

As described above, in step S <b> 508, the motion estimated value determination unit 310 determines whether the average processing time ratio 803 is less than or equal to the motion allowable upper limit 902 set in the motion allowable range setting table 900. When the processing from S505 to S508 is performed for each combination in the startup combination table 650 of FIG. 6B, the startup combination selection unit 311 selects the optimal startup combination for each day of the week and time zone in the processing of S509. .
In step S509, the activation combination selection unit 311 extracts activation combinations in which the average processing time ratio 803 is determined to be within the allowable range from the job processing estimation value table 800 in step S508. If one or more exist, the process moves to S510, and the activation combination selection unit 311 selects the activation combination having the smallest total power consumption 804 from the extracted as the optimum activation combination for each day of the week and time period. select. For example, in the example of FIG. 8, if the time zone division 901 is “1.Mon08-10 o'clock”, there are three activation combinations in which the average processing time ratio 803 is less than or equal to the operation allowable upper limit 902 “0.15”. . The activation combination selection unit 311 selects the activation combination having the combination ID 801 having the smallest total power consumption 804 as “4” as the optimum activation combination. In other words, the activation combination selection unit 311 may turn on the power of the two image forming apparatuses 100 of “DEV00001” and “DEV00002” in the time zone from 8:00 to 10:00 on Monday. It means that it has been determined that it is optimal. On the other hand, in S509, the activation combination selection unit 311 determines that the activation combination having the minimum average processing time ratio 803 by the day of the week and the time period when the average processing time ratio 803 is within the allowable range does not exist. The optimum starting combination is selected (S511). The activation combination having the minimum average processing time ratio 803 is a combination that turns on all the target image forming apparatuses. When the processes from S502 to S511 described above are performed for all the days of the week and time periods for which the schedule is determined, the process proceeds to S512, and the schedule generation unit 312 starts and stops the schedule of each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 100. Is generated.

FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating an example of the start and stop schedule generated by the schedule generation unit 312 in S512.
The activation schedule table 950 visually arranges activation and deactivation schedules of each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 100 based on the activation combination for each day of the week and time period selected by the activation combination selection unit 311.
The device ID 951 is an identification ID for specifying the image forming apparatus 100 as one, similar to the device ID 401 and the like.
Fields 952 to 954 indicate whether the power of the image forming apparatus 100 is turned on or off in each time zone section 901. According to the example of FIG. 9B, the image forming apparatus 100 with the device ID 951 “DEV00001” is always “O” in the fields 952 to 954, so the power is always turned on from 8:00 to 14:00 on Monday. . Similarly, the image forming apparatus 100 with the device ID 951 “DEV00002” is powered on from 8:00 to 12:00 on Monday, from 8:00 to 14:00, and powered off from 12:00 to 14:00. I understand. The start and stop schedule generated by the schedule generation unit 312 may be browsed by the management apparatus 110 and may be applied to the image forming apparatus 100.
In this embodiment, the power control information transmission unit 313 transmits power control information to the image forming apparatus 100 in S513. The power control information transmission unit 313 transmits information including the start time and stop time of the image forming apparatus 100 generated by the schedule generation unit 312 to the image forming apparatus 100.
The image forming apparatus 100 registers the received start time and stop time information, and controls to automatically start at the start time and to automatically shut down at the stop time. When the image forming apparatus 100 does not have an automatic startup / automatic shutdown function, the management apparatus 110 may transmit a startup or shutdown control instruction to the image forming apparatus 100 at the startup time and the stop time. Good.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the management apparatus 110 includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses 100 in the same network environment, the power consumption and the degree of load for each individual image forming apparatus 100 are calculated. Considering this, it is possible to determine the number of startups corresponding to the actual value. Therefore, power consumption can be suppressed while maintaining a certain level of business efficiency. In addition, the management apparatus 110 can easily follow changes in the balance between power saving and business efficiency by setting an allowable range of the degree of job load on the image forming apparatus 100.

<Other embodiments>
Moreover, this embodiment is implement | achieved also by performing the following processes. 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 mentioned above, according to each embodiment mentioned above, coexistence with power saving and maintenance of business efficiency is realizable.

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

Claims (8)

Based on job history information of the image forming apparatus received from a management target image forming apparatus that can communicate via a network, a counting unit that totals operation results for each day of the week and time zone of the image forming apparatus;
The average processing time for each combination in the day of the week and time zone when the job based on the operation result totaled by the totaling unit is allocated for each combination of image forming apparatuses to be activated among the image forming apparatuses. An obtaining means for obtaining an estimated value of the ratio and an estimated value of the total power consumption;
Management means for managing in advance an allowable value in the estimated value of the ratio of the average processing time acquired by the acquisition means;
Depending on whether or not there exists the combination in which the estimated value of the ratio of the average processing time acquired by the acquisition unit falls within the allowable value range managed by the management unit, the average processing time Based on the estimated value of the ratio or the estimated value of the total power consumption, generating means for selecting the combination for each day of the week and time period and generating a schedule;
Transmitting means for transmitting the schedule generated by the generating means to the image forming apparatus;
A management apparatus comprising:   The aggregating unit calculates the average of the aggregated results obtained by adding the weighting of job history information after a preset date and time and reducing the weighting of job history information before the date and time among the job history information. The management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the management apparatus counts as:   The generation means, when there is the combination in which the estimated value of the average processing time ratio acquired by the acquisition means falls within the allowable value range managed by the management means, A range in which the estimated value of the total power consumption acquired by the acquisition unit is minimized, and the ratio of the average processing time acquired by the acquisition unit is within the range of the allowable value managed by the management unit The schedule is generated by selecting a combination having a minimum estimated value of the ratio of the average processing time acquired by the acquisition unit from the combination when the combination that is within does not exist. The management apparatus according to 1 or 2.   The acquisition unit includes processing speed information associated with each model of the image forming apparatus stored in a storage device, job contents processed by the image forming apparatus stored in the storage device, and the image. Based on the information on the power consumption assumed in the power state of the forming apparatus, the estimated value of the ratio of the average processing time when the job is allocated for each combination and the estimated value of the total power consumption are calculated. The management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an estimated value of the ratio of the average processing time and an estimated value of the total power consumption are acquired.   The acquisition unit includes an estimated value of the ratio of the average processing time when the job based on the operation result totaled by the totaling unit is allocated for each combination based on the processing speed information, and the total power consumption Is calculated based on the processing speed information and the power consumption information, and the estimated value of the average processing time ratio and the estimated value of the total power consumption are obtained. The management apparatus according to claim 4.   The acquisition unit extracts a combination of image forming apparatuses to be activated from the image forming apparatuses, estimates the ratio of the average processing time when the job is allocated for each extracted combination, and the total consumption 6. The management according to claim 1, wherein an estimated value of power is calculated, and an estimated value of the ratio of the average processing time and an estimated value of the total power consumption are acquired. apparatus. An information processing method executed by a management device,
Based on job history information of the image forming apparatus received from a management target image forming apparatus that can communicate via a network, a totaling step of totaling operation results for each day of the week and time zone of the image forming apparatus;
The average processing time for each combination in the day of the week and the time zone when the job based on the operation result totaled in the aggregation step is allocated to each combination of image forming apparatuses to be activated among the image forming apparatuses. An obtaining step for obtaining an estimated value of the ratio and an estimated value of the total power consumption;
A management step for managing in advance an allowable value in the estimated value of the ratio of the average processing time acquired by the acquisition step;
Depending on whether or not there is the combination in which the estimated value of the ratio of the average processing time acquired by the acquisition step is within the range of the allowable value managed by the management step, the average processing time of A generation step of generating a schedule by selecting the combination for each day of the week and time period based on the estimated value of the ratio or the estimated value of the total power consumption;
A transmission step of transmitting the schedule generated by the generation step to the image forming apparatus;
An information processing method comprising: On the computer,
Based on job history information of the image forming apparatus received from a management target image forming apparatus that can communicate via a network, a totaling step of totaling operation results for each day of the week and time zone of the image forming apparatus;
The average processing time for each combination in the day of the week and the time zone when the job based on the operation result totaled in the aggregation step is allocated to each combination of image forming apparatuses to be activated among the image forming apparatuses. An obtaining step for obtaining an estimated value of the ratio and an estimated value of the total power consumption;
A management step for managing in advance an allowable value in the estimated value of the ratio of the average processing time acquired by the acquisition step;
Depending on whether or not there is the combination in which the estimated value of the ratio of the average processing time acquired by the acquisition step is within the range of the allowable value managed by the management step, the average processing time of A generation step of generating a schedule by selecting the combination for each day of the week and time period based on the estimated value of the ratio or the estimated value of the total power consumption;
A transmission step of transmitting the schedule generated by the generation step to the image forming apparatus;
A program that executes

Images