JP2015232857A - Device management system/medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that, in a device management system, when the replacement thereof is performed due to the failure or the like of an image forming device, a device name and a product name are not displayed in the output of a job history in the case that the information of an old style image forming device is deleted from an image forming device list on a device management system.SOLUTION: A device management system/medium includes: determination processing means 1101 for determining whether or not it is deletion information of an image forming device in a device management system; acquisition processing means 1102 of an identifier (device ID) of the deleted image forming device; determination processing means 1103 as to whether there is an image forming device log after a previous job history is prepared; image forming device information acquisition processing means 1104; job history preparation processing means 1105 of the image forming device; determination processing means 1201 as to whether it is a job history preparation instruction; image forming device information acquisition processing means 1202; job history preparation means 1203; job history preparation processing means 1205 of a target image forming device; and margin processing means 1206 toward the job history, thereby enabling a display.

Description

  The present invention relates to a device management system, a management apparatus, a management method, and a program for periodically collecting data such as a job log from an image forming apparatus.

  Conventionally, there has been known a device management apparatus for acquiring and managing data such as operation information of an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a multifunction peripheral (see Patent Document 1).

  From the viewpoint of an increase in the number of image forming apparatuses to be managed, cost reduction of the management server, and maintenance, there is a demand for an increase in the number of image forming apparatuses that can be managed by a single management apparatus. Further, in the market, the image forming apparatus may be replaced due to a failure or the like, and in recent years, a summary report reflecting the change in the configuration of the electronic device in the customer environment is required.

JP 2013-61932 A

  In a device management system that periodically collects data such as job logs from image forming apparatuses, when the image forming apparatus is replaced due to a failure or the like, the information of the old image forming apparatus is displayed in the image forming apparatus list on the device management system. If deleted from, there is a problem that the device name and product name are not displayed in the output of the job history.

  In addition, in the output of the totaling result, there is a problem that totalization through the old image forming apparatus and the new image forming apparatus cannot be performed, and even the same device name is totalized separately.

The configuration of the device management system according to the present invention is as follows.
A device management system for managing a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to a network,
In deleting an image forming apparatus from the image forming apparatus list of the system,
A determination processing unit 1101 for determining deletion information of the image forming apparatus;
An identifier (device ID) acquisition processing unit 1102 of the deleted image forming apparatus;
A determination processing unit 1103 for determining whether there is an image forming apparatus log after the previous job history is created;
Image forming apparatus information acquisition processing means 1104;
Job history creation processing means 1105 of the image forming apparatus;
Storage processing means 1106 in a database;
In the job history creation of the system,
A determination processing unit 1201 that determines whether or not to create a job history;
Image forming apparatus information acquisition processing means 1202;
Job history creation means 1203;
A determination processing unit 1204 for determining whether there is a previously created automatic creation job history;
A job history acquisition processing unit 1205 of the target image forming apparatus;
Merge processing means 1206 for job history;
In the job summary display of the system,
A determination processing means 1601 for determining whether or not to add a job;
A determination processing unit 1602 that determines whether or not an automatic creation history has been created for the job types to be aggregated;
Automatic creation history merging processing means 1603 for counting,
A determination processing unit 1604 for determining whether the display mode is the old or new unified display mode;
Unified aggregate data creation processing means 1605;
Non-uniform data creation processing means 1606;
Total data display processing means 1607;
In the job summary display of the system,
A determination processing unit 1801 for determining whether or not to add a job,
A determination processing unit 1802 for determining whether or not an automatic creation history has been created for the job types to be aggregated;
Total attribute acquisition processing means 1803;
A determination processing unit 1804 for determining whether or not the attribute can be merged;
Job acquisition method acquisition processing means 1805;
A determination processing unit 1806 for determining whether or not total merging is possible;
Merge total data creation processing means 1807;
Normal aggregate data creation processing means 1808;
Total data display processing means 1809 corresponding to the mode,
It is characterized by comprising.

  According to the present invention, in a device management system that periodically collects data such as job logs from an image forming apparatus, when the image forming apparatus is replaced due to a failure or the like, information on the old image forming apparatus is stored in the device management system. Even if it is deleted from the above image forming apparatus list, it is possible to display the device name and product name in the output of the job history.

  Further, in the output of the totaling result, it is possible to perform totaling through the old image forming apparatus and the new image forming apparatus, and it is possible to select the totaling through and display of separate totals.

  Furthermore, for each job type (printing / copying / scanning / faxing), the aggregation attributes of the same model and different models are taken into account, and the difference in the job history acquisition method is taken into consideration to determine whether or not unified counting is possible. It is possible to aggregate and display.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the device management system which shows embodiment of this invention. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of an information processing apparatus that configures a client computer 101 and a management server 102. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of a multifunction machine 104. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a client computer 101. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a management server 102. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a data processing configuration of a multifunction machine 104. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the table with which the device information management part 502 is provided. It is a figure which shows an example of the table with which the power supply state monitoring part 503 is provided. It is a figure which shows an example of the table with which the data collection part 504 is provided. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example of the flow of a data collection process. It is a flowchart of the device management system characterizing this invention. It is a flowchart of the device management system characterizing this invention. 3 is a diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus list of the device management system. FIG. It is the figure which illustrated the acquisition log of this device management system. It is the figure which illustrated the job history of this device management system. It is a flowchart of the device management system characterizing this invention. It is the figure which illustrated the flow of totalization which characterizes this invention. It is a flowchart of the device management system characterizing this invention. It is the figure which illustrated the flow of totalization which characterizes this invention. It is the figure which illustrated the total attribute which characterizes the present invention.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<Description of system configuration>
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a device management system showing an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a client computer, which is used by a user to generate image data and perform printing. The client computer 101 includes hardware resources described later, and software resources including an operating system (OS), a printer driver, and the like. Further, the client computer 101 is communicably connected to an image forming apparatus connected to the network 105 using a predetermined protocol.

  A printer 103 receives print data received via a network, and prints on actual paper using a known print technology such as electrophotographic technology or inkjet technology. Reference numeral 104 denotes a multifunction peripheral (MFP (Multi Function Printer)) that receives print data received via a network and prints on actual paper using a known printing technique such as an electrophotographic technique or an inkjet technique. The multifunction device 104 also has a function of reading a paper document through a scanner, copying it, converting it into image data, and transmitting it by Email or the like. Of course, a printer having no copy function is also applicable. The printer 103 and the multifunction peripheral 104 are collectively referred to as an image forming apparatus.

  A management server 102 collects data such as a job log from the printer 103 or the multifunction peripheral 104. Note that the client computer 101, the management server 102, the printer 103, and the multi-function peripheral 104 are connected to each other via a network 105 based on a known technique such as Ethernet (registered trademark).

  In this embodiment, the management server 102 is provided as a separate configuration from the printer 103 and the multifunction device 104. However, a module having the same function may be provided inside the printer 103 and the multifunction device 104. I do not care. In this case, network communication performed between the management server 102, the printer 103, and the multi-function peripheral 104 can be replaced with data exchange via a system bus or the like.

<Internal configuration of computer>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of an information processing apparatus that configures the client computer 101 and the management server 102. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 200 denotes the entire computer. The PC 200 includes a CPU 201 that executes software stored in a ROM 202 or, for example, an HD 211 as a large-scale storage device, and the CPU 201 generally controls each piece of hardware connected to the system bus 205.

  A RAM 203 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 201. Reference numeral 204 denotes a network interface card (NIC) that exchanges data bidirectionally with other nodes via the network 105.

  A keyboard controller (KBDC) 206 controls an instruction input from a keyboard (KBD) 209 provided in the PC. Reference numeral 207 denotes a display controller (DISPC) that controls the display of a display module (DISPLAY) 210 constituted by, for example, a liquid crystal display. A disk controller (DKC) 208 controls a hard disk (HD) 211 that is a mass storage device.

<Internal configuration of MFP>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of the multifunction peripheral 104 illustrated in FIG. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 300 denotes the entire multifunction peripheral. The multi-function device 300 includes a CPU 301 that executes software stored in a ROM 302 or an HD 313 as a large-scale storage device such as a hard disk.

  A RAM 303 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 301. A network interface card (NIC) 304 exchanges data with other nodes via the network 105. Reference numeral 306 denotes a panel controller (PANELC) which controls an instruction input from an operation panel (PANEL) 311 provided in the multifunction peripheral.

  Reference numeral 307 denotes a display controller (DISPC), which controls the display of a display module (DISPLAY) 312 composed of a liquid crystal display, for example. A disk controller (DKC) 308 controls a hard disk (HD) 313 that is a large-capacity storage device.

  Reference numeral 309 denotes a scanner controller (SCCANC) which controls an optical scanner device (scanner) 314 provided in the multifunction peripheral and reads a paper document. A printer controller (PRNC) 310 controls a printer device (printer) 315 provided in the multifunction peripheral, and prints on an actual sheet using a known printing technique such as an electrophotographic technique or an inkjet technique.

  The internal configuration of the printer 103 shown in FIG. 1 can be considered to be obtained by removing the scanner controller 309 and the optical scanner device 314 from the internal configuration of the multifunction machine 104 shown above. Furthermore, the configuration may be such that the panel controller (PANELC) 306, the operation panel 311, the display controller (DISPC) 307, the display module (DISPLAY) 312, the disk controller (DKC) 308, the hard disk (HD) 313, and the like are removed.

<Functional configuration of client computer>
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the client computer 101 illustrated in FIG. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 400 denotes the entire client computer. A print application 401 issues a print instruction by sending a drawing command or the like to the printer driver 402.

  A printer driver 402 converts a drawing command received from the print application 401 into print data that can be interpreted by the multifunction device, that is, PDL (Page Description Language). Further, the printer driver 402 creates a print job and transmits it to the print job transmission unit 403.

  A print job transmission unit 403 transmits a print job received from the printer driver 402 to the multifunction peripheral 104.

<Functional configuration of management server>
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the management server 102 illustrated in FIG. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 500 denotes the entire management server. Reference numeral 501 denotes an interface unit that communicates with the client computer 101, the printer 103, and the multifunction peripheral 104 via the network 105 via the NIC 204 shown in FIG.

  A device information management unit 502 holds information related to the image forming apparatus. The device information management unit 502 can also acquire and store information from the printer 103 and the multifunction peripheral 104 via the interface unit 501.

  A power state monitoring unit 503 receives a power state notification from the printer 103 and the multifunction peripheral 104 via the interface unit 501 and stores it.

  A data collection unit 504 periodically collects and stores data held by the printer 103 and the multifunction peripheral 104 via the interface unit 501. In this embodiment, an example is shown in which job log information managed by the job log management unit 610 is periodically collected.

<Functional configuration of MFP>
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a data processing configuration of the MFP 104 illustrated in FIG. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 600 denotes the entire multifunction peripheral. An interface unit 601 is connected to the network 105 and receives a print job from the client computer 101.

  A print data storage unit 602 temporarily stores print job data. Reference numeral 603 denotes a UI control unit that controls the operation panel 311 via a panel controller (PANELC) 306 and accepts a copy instruction from the user to the MFP 104 and a scan transmission instruction.

  A job management unit 604 analyzes a print job received from the client computer 101, acquires output attribute information such as a user name, the number of copies, and color printing, and manages it as job information together with the job start date and time. A print data expansion unit 605 acquires print data from the print data storage unit 602 according to job information stored in the job management unit 604, performs image generation processing, and generates image data on the RAM 303.

  A scanner control unit 606 controls the scanner controller 309, scans a paper document, and creates created image data. The scanner control unit 606 controls document feeding and document ejection from the ADF or RDF when an ADF, RDF, or the like can be connected as the document feeder. Further, when reading a double-sided document, the scanner control unit 606 may perform document reversal control.

  An image data storage unit 607 temporarily stores image data generated by the print data development unit 605 and the scanner control unit 606. A printer control unit 608 controls the printer engine 609 to print the image data stored in the image data storage unit 607.

  Reference numeral 609 denotes a printer engine, which actually prints image data stored in the image data storage unit 607 on a medium such as printing paper using a known printing technique such as an electrophotographic technique or an inkjet technique. A job log management unit 610 manages job log information. When the job is completed, the job management unit 604 transmits job information to be managed as job log information to the job log management unit 610 and stores it in the job log management unit 610. The job log management unit 610 transmits a job log in response to a request from the management server 105.

  A power supply control unit 612 controls the power supply of the multi-function peripheral 104 and manages power supply states such as a standby mode, a power saving mode, and power off. The power control unit 612 can transition to each power state according to various conditions. For example, in the standby mode, the power control unit 612 does not perform any operation for a certain period of time on the multifunction peripheral 104, and does not perform power-off or save when a print job is not received, a FAX is received, or a command is not received from the network. Transition to power mode. In addition, the power control unit 612 changes the power state in response to a power state change request from the management server 102 such as power off or transition to a power saving mode. Furthermore, the power control unit 612 shifts to the power-off or power saving mode at a preset time. The power supply control unit 612 notifies the power supply state notification unit 611 when changing the power supply state.

  A power state notification unit 611 receives a notification from the power control unit 612 and notifies the power state via the interface unit 601. Further, the power state notification unit 611 may periodically notify the power state. Specifically, the power status notification includes types of standby, power saving transition, power saving cancellation, power on, and power off. The standby notification indicates that the multifunction device is operating in the standby mode. The notification of the power saving transition is notified when the multifunction peripheral shifts from the standby mode to the power saving mode. The notification of canceling the power saving is notified when the multifunction peripheral shifts from the power saving mode to the standby mode. The power-on notification is performed when the MFP is turned on from the power-off state and shifts to the standby mode. The notification of power off is performed when the multifunction peripheral shifts to power off. Note that the notification method via the interface unit 601 may be an original communication protocol or a publicly defined communication protocol. The management server 102 designated in advance may also notify a plurality of partners by multicast or broadcast.

  Note that there may be a multi-function peripheral having a configuration that does not include the power status notification function (excluding the power status notification unit 611). In this case, the power supply control unit 612 does not notify the power supply state notification unit 611 when changing the power supply state.

  The configuration of the printer 103 that does not have a scanner can be considered as a configuration in which the scanner control unit 606, the UI control unit 603, and the like are excluded from the configuration of the multifunction peripheral 104 described with reference to FIG.

<Device information table>
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a device information table provided in the device information management unit 502 illustrated in FIG. In FIG. 7, a column 701 is a device ID, which indicates an ID that uniquely identifies the image forming apparatus in the system.

  A column 702 indicates a device name of the image forming apparatus in the corresponding row. A column 703 indicates the IP address of the image forming apparatus in the corresponding row. A column 704 indicates the model of the image forming apparatus in the corresponding row. A column 705 indicates whether the image forming apparatus in the corresponding row has a power state notification function. In the case where the image forming apparatus in the corresponding row has a power supply state notification unit 611, there is a power supply state notification function.

  A column 706 indicates the maximum job log holding number of the image forming apparatus in the corresponding row, and indicates the maximum number of job logs that can be stored in the job log management unit 610 by the image forming apparatus in the corresponding row. A column 707 indicates whether the image forming apparatus in the corresponding row is equipped with a hard disk. If the image forming apparatus in the corresponding row has a disk controller (DKC) 308 and a hard disk (HD) 313, a hard disk is mounted. Generally, it can be determined that an image forming apparatus equipped with a hard disk has a large number of job logs that can be stored.

  A column 708 indicates whether or not the image forming apparatus in the corresponding row is a data collection target. Details of the data collection process will be described later. Data collection target information is set in advance by an administrator of the image forming apparatus. A column 709 indicates a data acquisition state of the image forming apparatus in the corresponding row. The data acquisition state is set in the data collection process. In this embodiment, the data acquisition status includes response confirmation wait, response confirmation wait, data acquisition wait, data acquisition in progress, data acquisition completed, and data forced acquisition wait. Details of the data collection process will be described later.

  The initial values of the power status notification function 705, the maximum job log holding number 706, the hard disk information 707, etc. in the device information table can be determined according to the model of the image forming apparatus. The device information management unit 502 can also acquire information from the image forming apparatus via a network using a protocol such as SNMP.

<Power status information table>
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a power state information table included in the power state monitoring unit 503 illustrated in FIG. The power status information table is a table that records the current power status for each image forming apparatus based on the power status notification transmitted by the image forming apparatus.

  In FIG. 8, a column 801 indicates a device ID of the image forming apparatus. A column 802 indicates the date and time when the power state of the image forming apparatus in the corresponding row is changed. A column 803 indicates a power supply state in which the image forming apparatus in the corresponding row transitions to the date and time in the corresponding row. From these pieces of information managed by the power supply state monitoring unit 503, the current power supply state of the image forming apparatus can be known.

<Job log information table>
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a job log information table provided in the data collection unit 504 illustrated in FIG. The data collection unit 504 stores job logs collected from a plurality of image forming apparatuses in a job log information table.

  In FIG. 9, a column 901 indicates a job log ID, which indicates an ID for uniquely identifying the job log in the system. A column 902 indicates the device ID of the image forming apparatus that has processed the job. A column 903 indicates a job type. Examples of job types include printing that is printing from the host, copying, scanning, FAX transmission, FAX reception, and box printing that prints a document stored in the multifunction peripheral. A column 904 indicates a job processing start date and time. A column 905 indicates a job processing end date and time. A column 906 indicates the name of the user who executed the job.

  With these pieces of information, it is possible to know who, when and what job is issued with which image forming apparatus. Further, the job log table may be created for each job type.

<Outline of data collection processing>
The data collection process is a process in which the management server 102 collects data from a device as an information processing apparatus. The management server 102 executes data collection processing at regular intervals and collects data from a plurality of devices. In this embodiment, an example of collecting job log information from an image forming apparatus is shown. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the flow of data collection processing.

  In FIG. 10, reference numeral 1001 denotes an object indicating a main thread. The main thread is a thread that executes data collection processing in the data collection unit 504. The main thread executes processes other than those executed by a response confirmation execution thread 1002 and a data acquisition execution thread 1003 described later.

  Reference numeral 1002 denotes an object indicating a response confirmation execution thread. The response confirmation execution thread is a thread that asynchronously executes the response confirmation process shown in FIG. 15 in the data collection unit 504. Reference numeral 1003 denotes an object indicating a data acquisition execution thread. The data acquisition execution thread is a thread for executing the data acquisition process shown in FIG. 19 asynchronously in the data collection unit 504. Reference numeral 1004 denotes an object indicating the image forming apparatus.

  When the data collection process is started, the main thread 1001 instructs the response confirmation execution thread 1002 to execute the response confirmation process in 1005. Subsequently, at 1006, the response confirmation execution thread 1002 executes response confirmation with respect to the image forming apparatus 1004.

  Subsequently, in 1007, the image forming apparatus 1004 transmits a response to the response confirmation 1006. Here, when the power state of the image forming apparatus 1004 is off, the image forming apparatus 1004 cannot transmit a response to the response confirmation 1006. Subsequently, at 1008, the response confirmation execution thread 1002 notifies the main thread 1001 of the response confirmation result. Here, when there is a response from the image forming apparatus 1004, the response confirmation execution thread 1002 notifies OK as a response confirmation result, and when there is no response, notifies NG as a response confirmation result.

  In step 1009, the main thread 1001 instructs the data acquisition execution thread 1003 to execute the data acquisition process. Here, if the response confirmation result is NG, the main thread 1001 ends this process without giving an instruction to execute the data acquisition process. Subsequently, in 1010, the data acquisition execution thread 1003 executes data acquisition for the image forming apparatus 1004.

  Subsequently, in 1011, the image forming apparatus 1004 transmits data in response to a request for data acquisition 1010. The data acquisition execution thread 1003 stores the received data and ends this processing.

  FIGS. 11 to 20 are diagrams illustrating the flow of the device management system that characterizes the present invention. The processing flow of this invention is demonstrated using these. 11 and 12 are flowcharts showing an example of the present embodiment. In this example, the management server 102 illustrated in FIG. 1 performs processing as an information processing apparatus. In addition, the management server 102 executes this data collection process at regular intervals to collect data from a plurality of image forming apparatuses. Reference numerals 1101 to 1106 and 1201 to 1206 denote steps, and each step is realized by the CPU 201 loading a control program from the HD 211, ROM 202, etc. to the RAM 203 and executing it.

  When the image forming apparatus is replaced due to a failure or the like, the actual image forming apparatus is replaced, a new image forming apparatus is registered on the device management system, and the previous image forming apparatus is deleted. As a result, the image forming apparatus information is also replaced on the system. Here, it is assumed that the device ID 101 is changed to 201.

  First, a determination processing unit 1101 for determining deletion information of the image forming apparatus is performed. This is a process for determining whether the image forming apparatus has been deleted by an operation such as a UI on the device management system.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 13, since it is assumed that the device ID 101 is changed to 201, it is determined that the image forming apparatus with the device ID 101 has been deleted, that is, whether the image forming apparatus has been deleted. Suppose. Then, the deletion image forming apparatus identifier (device ID) acquisition processing unit 1102 is performed. This is processing for acquiring an identifier for identifying the deleted image forming apparatus, here, a device ID. Here, since the device ID 101 is replaced with 201 as previously assumed, the device ID 101 is acquired.

  Then, a determination processing unit 1103 for determining whether there is the image forming apparatus log after the previous job history creation is performed. This is a process for determining whether or not there is an acquired log after the job history is created and printing or the like is performed by the image forming apparatus. Here, as shown in FIG. Assume that the jobs 1 and 2 have been acquired and it is determined that there is an image forming apparatus log. Then, the next job history creation processing unit 1105 of the image forming apparatus is performed. As shown in FIG. 15, this is a process of generating a job history of an image forming apparatus from information on the deleted image forming apparatus and an acquisition log. Here, the job history 1501 is generated from the job history of the device ID 101 and the image forming apparatus information of the device ID 101. Then, storage processing means 1106 for the database is performed. This is a process of storing the previously generated job history in the database for later job history generation. Here, the job history indicated by 1501 is stored in the database.

  This time, this is the process when creating the job history. First, a determination processing unit 1201 for determining whether a job history is instructed is performed. This is processing for determining whether or not a job history creation instruction has been issued by an operation such as a UI on the device management system. Here, it is assumed that a job history creation instruction has been issued on the UI, and that determination is made. Then, the image forming apparatus information acquisition processing unit 1202 is performed. This is processing for acquiring image forming apparatus information from all device IDs in the acquisition log for later job history generation. Here, it is assumed that the image forming apparatus information of the device ID 201 is acquired from the acquisition log illustrated in FIG. At this time, the image forming apparatus information of the device ID 101 is not acquired because it has already been deleted. Of course, if there is an acquisition log of another image forming apparatus, that information is also acquired.

  Next, job history creation means 1203 is performed. As described above, this is a process for generating a job history of an image forming apparatus from the information of the image forming apparatus and an acquisition log. Here, a job history of the device ID 201 is created. Then, determination processing means 1204 is performed to determine whether there is a previously created automatically created job history. This is a process for determining whether or not a job history has been created according to the previous flow as the image forming apparatus information is deleted. Here, since the job history of the device ID 101 has been created, it is assumed that such a determination is made.

  Then, the job history acquisition processing unit 1205 of the target image forming apparatus is performed. This is a process of acquiring the already created job history from the database. Here, the device ID 101 is already stored in the database, and the job history is acquired. Then, merge processing means 1206 for job history is performed. As a result, the job history in which the image forming apparatus has been deleted and the job history in which the image forming apparatus is still merged, and all the job histories passed in that period are acquired. Here, as indicated by 1502, the job history of the device ID 101 and the job history of the device ID 201 are merged and acquired.

  Through this series of processing, the job history of the image forming apparatus that has already been deleted includes the device name and product name, and is output in the same manner as the job history of other image forming apparatuses.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the total display according to this embodiment. The total display process will be described using this. Reference numerals 1601 to 1607 denote steps, and each step is realized by the CPU 201 loading a control program from the HD 211, ROM 202, etc. to the RAM 203 and executing it.

  First, a determination processing unit 1601 for determining whether or not to add a job is performed. This is a process for determining whether or not a job totaling instruction has been performed by an operation such as a UI on the device management system.

  Here, as exemplified above, it is assumed that the device ID 101 is changed to 201, and a job totaling instruction is given to display the totaling result at that time. Then, a determination processing unit 1602 is performed to determine whether an automatic creation history has been created for the next job type to be aggregated. This is a process for determining whether or not a job history has been created according to the previous flow as the image forming apparatus information is deleted. Here, it is assumed that the device ID 101 has been deleted, and it is determined that the job history has been created. Then, the automatic creation history merge processing means 1603 for aggregation is performed. This is a process of merging the created job history with the total result. As described above, the created job history of the device ID 101 is acquired here.

  Then, a determination processing unit 1604 for whether the display mode is the old or new unified display mode is performed. This is a process for determining whether to aggregate and display the old image forming apparatus and the new image forming apparatus based on a specific identifier (device name, IP address, etc.) set by a UI or the like. Here, it is assumed that the old and new unified display mode is selected. Then, the next unified data creation processing means 1605 is performed. This is a process of creating unified aggregate data in order to display the old image forming apparatus and the new image forming apparatus in a unified manner. Here, the old image forming apparatus is a device ID 101 and the new image forming apparatus is a device ID 201, which are merged and totaled with a specific identifier (here, a device name) to create data as indicated by 1702 in FIG. Is done.

  If the new and old display modes are selected on the UI, it is determined by the determination processing means 1604 whether the previous and new unified display modes are not the unified display mode, and the non-uniform data creation processing means 1606 is performed. . This is a process of creating data for separately counting the new and old image forming apparatuses, and data as indicated by 1701 is created. Then, the total data display processing unit 1607 performs display on the actual UI, and displays corresponding to 1701 and 1702 are performed according to the respective modes. The example illustrated in FIG. 17 illustrates an example in which device names are merged.

Through this series of processing, the old image forming apparatus and the new image forming apparatus are aggregated in a unified / non-uniform manner and the display on the UI is switched based on a specific identifier (device name, IP address, etc.). become.
[Other embodiment 1]

  As another embodiment, considering the aggregation attributes of the same model and different models for each job type (printing / copying / scanning / faxing), and considering the difference in the job history acquisition method, It may be possible to determine whether unified counting is possible. This operation will be described with reference to FIGS. Reference numerals 1801 to 1809 denote steps, and each step is realized by the CPU 201 loading a control program from the HD 211, ROM 202, etc. to the RAM 203 and executing it.

  First, as in the previous embodiment, a determination processing unit 1801 for determining whether or not to add a job is performed. This is a process for determining whether or not a job totaling instruction has been performed by an operation such as a UI on the device management system.

  Here, it is assumed that the device IDs 101 to 201 are replaced, and these are the different models shown in FIG. The aggregate attribute will be described later. Further, it is assumed that a job totaling instruction has been issued in order to display the totaling result at that time. Then, determination processing means 1802 is performed to determine whether an automatic creation history has been created for the next job type to be aggregated. This is a process for determining whether or not a job history has been created according to the previous flow as the image forming apparatus information is deleted. Here, it is assumed that the device ID 101 has been deleted, and it is determined that the job history has been created. Then, the total attribute acquisition processing unit 1803 is performed.

  Aggregated attributes refer to a system of aggregate items for each model and job type. As shown in FIG. 20, merging is possible between the same models, but attributes such as color and page layout may be different between different models. Among them, if it makes sense by merging as totals, it is possible to merge as total attribute: different attribute A. In some cases, such as a multi-function printer and a large-format printer, merging does not make sense. In that case, the control is performed so that aggregation is not allowed as aggregation attribute: different attribute B.

  These tabulation attributes have tabulation items as information for each model, and are managed on the table as attribute information between models due to the difference in the items. The determination is performed based on the information. In the case of a different model, merge information is displayed. Here, since it is assumed that the device ID 101 and the device ID 201 are aggregate attributes: different attribute B, the aggregate attribute: different attribute B is acquired. Then, a determination processing unit 1804 for determining whether or not the total merging is possible is performed. This is a process for determining whether or not the previously acquired aggregate attribute can be merged as an aggregate. Since the different attribute B is acquired, it is determined that merge aggregation is impossible. Then, the normal summary data creation processing means 1808 is performed. This is a process of creating data for separately counting the new and old image forming apparatuses, and data as indicated by 1901 is created. Then, the total data display processing unit 1809 corresponding to the mode performs display on the actual UI according to the flow described above, and displays corresponding to 1901.

  If it is determined by the determination processing means 1804 whether the previous attribute can be merged, the next job acquisition method acquisition processing means 1805 is performed. There are cases where there are job acquisition methods other than the data collection processing described above with reference to FIG. For example, there is a method in which an application for job collection is placed on each image forming apparatus and data is collected by the application, or is acquired via a printer driver depending on the job type. This is a process for acquiring the job acquisition method because merging may not be appropriate due to the difference in the job history acquisition methods or may not result in a sufficient combination. Then, the determination processing unit 1806 determines whether or not total merging is possible. As a result, it is determined whether the previously acquired job acquisition method can be merged before and after the new and old image forming apparatuses. If it is determined that merging is possible, merge total data creation processing means 1807 is performed. As a result, merge-aggregated data as indicated by 1902 is created.

  Similarly, the total data display processing unit 1809 corresponding to the mode performs display on the actual UI according to the above-described flow, and a display corresponding to 1902 is performed. If it is determined by the determination processing unit 1806 whether or not the total can be merged, it is determined that merging is not possible, the normal total data creation processing unit 1808 is performed as described above. As a result, aggregated data that is not merged as indicated by 1901 is created. Similarly, the total data display processing unit 1809 corresponding to the mode performs display on the actual UI according to the above-described flow, and display corresponding to 1901 is performed.

Through this series of processing, the aggregation attributes of the same model and different models are considered for each job type (printing / copying / scanning / faxing), and the tabulation is unified by taking into account the differences in the job history acquisition methods. Judgment is made, and the totals are displayed.
[Other embodiment 2]

  Note that the present invention can be applied to a system (for example, a copier, a facsimile machine, etc.) consisting of a single device even if it is applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, interface device, reader, printer, etc.) You may apply. Another object of the present invention is to supply a recording medium recording a program code for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and the system or apparatus computer reads out and executes the program code stored in the storage medium. Is also achieved. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code itself and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention. In addition, according to the present invention, an operating system (OS) operating on a computer performs part or all of actual processing based on an instruction of a program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. This is also included. Furthermore, the present invention is also applied to the case where the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. In that case, the CPU of the function expansion card or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the written program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. .

101 client computer, 102 management server, 103 printer,
104 MFP, 105 network

Claims (6)

A device management system for managing a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to a network,
In deleting an image forming apparatus from the image forming apparatus list of the system,
A determination processing unit 1101 for determining deletion information of the image forming apparatus;
An identifier (device ID) acquisition processing unit 1102 of the deleted image forming apparatus;
A determination processing unit 1103 for determining whether there is an image forming apparatus log after the previous job history is created;
Image forming apparatus information acquisition processing means 1104;
Job history creation processing means 1105 of the image forming apparatus;
Storage processing means 1106 in a database;
In the job history creation of the system,
A determination processing unit 1201 that determines whether or not to create a job history;
Image forming apparatus information acquisition processing means 1202;
Job history creation means 1203;
A determination processing unit 1204 for determining whether there is a previously created automatic creation job history;
A job history acquisition processing unit 1205 of the target image forming apparatus;
Merge processing means 1206 for job history;
A device management system comprising: In the job summary display,
A determination processing means 1601 for determining whether or not to add a job;
A determination processing unit 1602 that determines whether or not an automatic creation history has been created for the job types to be aggregated;
Automatic creation history merging processing means 1603 for counting,
A determination processing unit 1604 for determining whether the display mode is the old or new unified display mode;
Unified aggregate data creation processing means 1605;
Non-uniform data creation processing means 1606;
Total data display processing means 1607;
The device management system according to claim 1, further comprising: In the job summary display,
A determination processing unit 1801 for determining whether or not to add a job,
A determination processing unit 1802 for determining whether or not an automatic creation history has been created for the job types to be aggregated;
Total attribute acquisition processing means 1803;
A determination processing unit 1804 for determining whether or not the attribute can be merged;
Job acquisition method acquisition processing means 1805;
A determination processing unit 1806 for determining whether or not total merging is possible;
Merge total data creation processing means 1807;
Normal aggregate data creation processing means 1808;
Total data display processing means 1809 corresponding to the mode,
The device management system according to claim 1, further comprising: A device management system for managing a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to a network,
In deleting an image forming apparatus from the image forming apparatus list of the system,
A determination processing unit 1101 for determining deletion information of the image forming apparatus;
An identifier (device ID) acquisition processing unit 1102 of the deleted image forming apparatus;
A determination processing unit 1103 for determining whether there is an image forming apparatus log after the previous job history is created;
Image forming apparatus information acquisition processing means 1104;
Job history creation processing means 1105 of the image forming apparatus;
Storage processing means 1106 in a database;
In the job history creation of the system,
A determination processing unit 1201 that determines whether or not to create a job history;
Image forming apparatus information acquisition processing means 1202;
Job history creation means 1203;
A determination processing unit 1204 for determining whether there is a previously created automatic creation job history;
A job history acquisition processing unit 1205 of the target image forming apparatus;
Merge processing means 1206 for job history;
A medium having recorded thereon a device management system. In the job summary display,
A determination processing means 1601 for determining whether or not to add a job;
A determination processing unit 1602 that determines whether or not an automatic creation history has been created for the job types to be aggregated;
Automatic creation history merging processing means 1603 for counting,
A determination processing unit 1604 for determining whether the display mode is the old or new unified display mode;
Unified aggregate data creation processing means 1605;
Non-uniform data creation processing means 1606;
Total data display processing means 1607;
The medium having recorded thereon the device management system according to claim 4. In the job summary display,
A determination processing unit 1801 for determining whether or not to add a job,
A determination processing unit 1802 for determining whether or not an automatic creation history has been created for the job types to be aggregated;
Total attribute acquisition processing means 1803;
A determination processing unit 1804 for determining whether or not the attribute can be merged;
Job acquisition method acquisition processing means 1805;
A determination processing unit 1806 for determining whether or not total merging is possible;
Merge total data creation processing means 1807;
Normal aggregate data creation processing means 1808;
Total data display processing means 1809 corresponding to the mode,
The medium having recorded thereon the device management system according to claim 4.