JP2016165051A - Image forming apparatus and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To notify an error related to a communication operation that has occurred in an image forming apparatus mounting a plurality of communication interfaces to be connected to different networks, respectively, to an administrator of a network in which the error has occurred.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises: a notification destination determination part 34 that, when an error related to a communication operation is detected by an error detection part 33, determine a notification destination by specifying network interfaces 18 and 19 that were used when the error occurred; and a notification part 35 that notifies the occurrence of the error to the notification destination determined by the notification destination determination part 34.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a program.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-133867 proposes a technique for changing a notification destination and a notification method according to the content of an error when an error occurs in an image forming apparatus. By using Patent Document 1, when a network-related error occurs, it is possible to notify the error to the network administrator.

  By the way, in recent years, a model in which a plurality of communication interfaces are mounted on a multi-function peripheral which is a form of an image forming apparatus has appeared. For example, when a multifunction device with multiple communication interfaces is shared between multiple departments or different companies, a network environment is constructed by connecting (sub) networks formed for each department to each communication interface. It is preferable to set a network administrator for each operation.

JP 2012-160877 A

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to notify an error relating to a communication operation that has occurred in an image forming apparatus equipped with a plurality of communication interfaces for connecting to different networks to a network administrator on the network side where the error has occurred. And

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention has a plurality of communication interface means for connecting to different networks, and when an error related to a communication operation occurs, the error occurs among network administrators of each of the communication interface means. And notifying means for notifying the occurrence of the error to a network administrator of the network connected to the communication interface means used at the time.

  When an error relating to a communication operation occurs in a computer mounted on an image forming apparatus having a plurality of communication interface means for connecting to different networks, the program according to the present invention is provided in each network of the communication interface means. It functions as a notification means for notifying the occurrence of the error to the network administrator of the network connected to the communication interface means used when the error has occurred.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, an error related to a communication operation that occurs in an image forming apparatus equipped with a plurality of communication interfaces for connecting to different networks is detected on the network side on the network side where the error has occurred. Can be notified.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, an error related to a communication operation that occurs in an image forming apparatus equipped with a plurality of communication interfaces for connecting to different networks is detected on the network side on the network side where the error has occurred. Can be notified.

1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention and an overall configuration of an embodiment of an image forming system. 1 is a block configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus in the present embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the data structure of the notification destination information in this Embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the error notification process in this Embodiment.

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

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention and an overall configuration of an image forming system including the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is an apparatus with a built-in computer that is realized by a multifunction machine or the like equipped with various functions such as a print function, a copy function, a scanner function, and a facsimile communication function. In FIG. 1, the CPU 11 controls the operation of various mechanisms mounted on the apparatus such as the scanner 13 and the printer engine 15 according to a program stored in the ROM 16. The address data bus 20 is connected to various mechanisms to be controlled by the CPU 11 and performs data communication. The operation panel 12 receives instructions from the user and displays information. The scanner 13 reads a document set by a user and accumulates it in an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 14 or the like as electronic data. The HDD 14 stores an electronic document read using the scanner 13. The printer engine 15 prints an image on output paper in accordance with an instruction from a control program executed by the CPU 11. The RAM 17 is used as a work memory during program execution and a communication buffer during electronic data transmission / reception. The ROM 16 stores various programs relating to control of the apparatus, encryption of electronic data, and transmission / reception of electronic data. By executing various programs, each component described later exhibits a predetermined processing function.

  The image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment has at least two network interfaces (IF) 18 and 19. The network interface 18 connects a LAN 21 as a network, and the network interface 19 connects a LAN 22 different from the LAN 21. In the present embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the two network interfaces 18 and 19 are mounted on the image forming apparatus 10 in order to clarify the connection destinations. However, a larger number of network interfaces are connected to the image. It may be mounted on the forming apparatus 10 or may be configured with one network interface having at least two or more communication ports.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that each network interface 18 and 19 is connected to a subnetwork constructed for each different group such as a company or a department. In addition, a network administrator who manages each subnetwork is set for each subnetwork group separately from an administrator who manages the image forming apparatus 10 itself (hereinafter referred to as “representative manager”). FIG. 1 shows terminals 23 and 24 connected to the LANs 21 and 22. Each terminal 23 and 24 is an information terminal device such as a PC used by users belonging to each group.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, components that are not used in the description of the present embodiment are omitted. The image forming apparatus 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a processing execution unit 31, a communication control unit 32, an error detection unit 33, a notification destination determination unit 34, a notification unit 35, and a notification destination information storage unit 36. The process execution unit 31 is a process execution unit that executes job processing in response to a request from one of the terminals 23 and 24. Depending on the job to be executed, network communication via the network interfaces 18 and 19 occurs. The communication control unit 32 controls network communication using the network interfaces 18 and 19. The error detection unit 33 detects all errors that occur in the image forming apparatus 10, not only during execution of a job by the processing execution unit 31. Details of the error will be described later. The notification destination determination unit 34 and the notification unit 35 are provided as notification means. When an error related to the communication operation occurs, in other words, when an error related to the communication operation is detected by the error detection unit 33, the network interface The network administrator of the sub-network connected to the network interface 18 or the network interface 19 used when the error occurs among the network managers of the sub-networks connected to the networks 18 and 19 generates the error. To be notified. Among these, when the network interface 18 or 19 is used when an error occurs, the notification destination determination unit 34 specifies the notification destination of the occurrence of the error by specifying the network interface 18 or 19. decide. The notification unit 35 notifies the notification destination determined by the notification destination determination unit 34 of the occurrence of the error.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of the notification destination information stored in the notification destination information storage unit 36 in the present embodiment. The notification destination information is set and registered in advance in the notification destination information storage unit 36 before execution of an error notification process according to the present embodiment, which will be described later, is started. The notification destination information includes network interface identification information (Net IF), information for identifying the network administrator of the network connected to the network interfaces 18 and 19 (manager), and notification to the network administrator. Notification destination is set. Note that network interface identification information is not set in the representative administrator. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the network administrator A is set as the sub-network administrator on the network interface 18 (NET IF 18) side and the network administrator B is set as the sub-network administrator on the network interface 19 (NET IF 19) side. Has been. In this embodiment, a mail address is set as a notification destination of the network administrator. Of course, notification may be made using means other than e-mail.

  The components 31 to 35 in the image forming apparatus 10 are realized by a cooperative operation of a computer built in the image forming apparatus 10 and a program that operates on the CPU 11 mounted on the computer. The notification destination information storage unit 36 is realized by the HDD 14 installed in the image forming apparatus 10. Alternatively, the RAM 17 or an external storage means may be used via a network.

  Further, the program used in this embodiment can be provided not only by communication means but also by storing it in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM or USB memory. The program provided from the communication means or the recording medium is installed in the computer, and various processes are realized by the CPU 11 of the computer sequentially executing the program.

  Here, the types (contents) of errors detected by the error detection unit 33 in the present embodiment will be described. Errors detected by the error detection unit 33 are broadly classified into errors related to communication operations and errors that are not. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that an error related to the communication operation occurs when the network interfaces 18 and 19 included in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment are used as communication means.

  The communication control unit 32 includes service modules such as a server service module that receives a print request and a client service module that transmits scan data. By these service modules, errors related to communication operations are displayed. Detect. Examples of errors related to communication operations include errors returned by the communication partner on the upper protocol (login failure, etc.), name resolution errors due to DNS (Domain Name System), SMB (Server Message Block), etc., timeouts and session rejections. There are errors such as unreachable errors and exception handling. Of course, these are examples and the present invention is not limited thereto. The error detection unit 33 detects an error in response to a notification from the communication control unit 32 that an error has occurred related to a communication operation.

  Further, errors not related to the communication operation include errors such as a paper tray, a DADF (Duplex Automatic Document Feeder), a paper jam in an image output device, a toner exhaustion, a device failure, and the like. Of course, these are examples and the present invention is not limited thereto. The error detection unit 33 detects an error not related to the communication operation in response to a notification from a system control unit (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 10.

  Next, error notification processing performed by the image forming apparatus 10 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The process execution unit 31 in the image forming apparatus 10 executes a designated job via a network or in response to an instruction from the operation panel 12. Further, the error detection unit 33 constantly monitors the occurrence of an error during the operation of the image forming apparatus 10.

  When the error detection unit 33 detects the occurrence of the error exemplified above (step 101), the notification destination determination unit 34 analyzes the content of the error detected by the error detection unit 33, thereby setting the notification destination as follows. decide.

  First, when the error detected by the error detection unit 33 is an error not related to the communication operation such as out of paper (N in Step 102), the notification destination determination unit 34 determines the notification destination of the occurrence of the error as the representative administrator. To do. Note that errors that are not related to communication operations include the above-mentioned errors such as running out of paper. However, errors that occur during communication operations have nothing to do with communication operations such as running out of paper or powering off the device. Errors that occur due to the above are handled as errors not related to communication operations.

  Then, the notification unit 35 creates notification information about the error that has occurred, refers to the notification destination information, acquires the email address of the representative manager determined as the notification destination, and sends the notification information to the representative manager. Send. In this way, the notification unit 35 notifies the representative manager of the occurrence of an error (step 104).

  The notification information to be transmitted includes information necessary for error analysis such as error occurrence date and time, error content, communication connection destination and connection source. In addition, as a method for transmitting the notification information, in the present embodiment, notification is made using electronic mail, but of course, the present invention is not limited to this. The same applies to the notification to the network administrator described later.

  On the other hand, when the error detected by the error detection unit 33 is an error related to the communication operation (Y in Step 102), the notification destination determination unit 34 determines the notification destination of the occurrence of the error as a network administrator. However, in the case of the present embodiment, network administrator A and network administrator B exist as notification destination candidates. The notification destination determination unit 34 in the present embodiment selects any network administrator as the notification destination as follows by analyzing the contents of the error.

  If the error that occurred is a communication error when receiving a job such as LPD (Line Printer Daemon) or WSD (Web Service for Devices), or a communication error when sending a job via SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), The network interface used for communication with the network device that is the job transmission / reception partner is specified, and the network administrator set and registered in the notification destination information storage unit 36 is determined as the notification destination in correspondence with the specified network interface. To do.

  In addition, for example, in the case of a communication error at the time of user authority confirmation at the time of setup, a communication error at the time of billing management, etc. that occur with the execution of the job although the error that has occurred is not directly related to the job execution itself, the LDAP (Lightweight Directory) A network interface used for communication with an authentication server such as (Access Protocol), Kerberos, or Radius or a billing management server is specified, and is set and registered in the notification destination information storage unit 36 in correspondence with the specified network interface. Determine the network administrator who is the notification destination.

  In addition, in the case of a communication error in a system communication session in which the generated error is not caused by a job, a network interface used for system communication such as NTP (Network Time Protocol), Syslog, etc. is specified, and it is made to correspond to the specified network interface. The network administrator set and registered in the notification destination information storage unit 36 is determined as the notification destination.

  The notification destination determination unit 34 analyzes information on the error that has occurred for all types of errors, and identifies the network interface that was used when the error occurred. Note that the network interfaces 18 and 19 used for communication acquire the IP addresses assigned to the network interfaces 18 and 19 of the image forming apparatus 10 from communication session information such as socket descriptors, for example. The network interface 18 or 19 corresponding to the acquired IP address is identified by referring to the routing table managed by the OS.

  Further, when using the VRF (Virtual Routing and Forward) technology, since the network interfaces 18 and 19 used for the communication session are allocated in advance, the allocated network interfaces 18 and 19 are acquired from the socket descriptor.

  As described above, when the notification destination of the detected error is determined, the notification unit 35 refers to the notification destination information, and the mail address of the network administrator of the network connected to the network interfaces 18 and 19 determined. And send notification information to the network administrator. In this way, the notification unit 35 notifies the occurrence of an error only to the corresponding network administrator (step 104).

  The present embodiment is characterized in that an error that has occurred is isolated and notified only to one of the network administrators. However, since the error has occurred in the image forming apparatus 10, it is also adapted to the representative administrator. You may make it notify generation | occurrence | production of the said error.

  In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 equipped with a plurality of network interfaces has been described as an example. However, the configuration and the error notification process described above may be applied to a communication apparatus equipped with a plurality of network interfaces. Good.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus, 11 CPU, 12 Operation panel, 13 Scanner, 14 Hard disk drive (HDD), 15 Printer engine, 16 ROM, 17 RAM, 18, 19 Network interface (I / F), 20 Address data bus, 21, 22 LAN, 23, 24 terminal, 31 process execution unit, 32 communication control unit, 33 error detection unit, 34 notification destination determination unit, 35 notification unit, 36 notification destination information storage unit.

Claims (2)

A plurality of communication interface means for respectively connecting to different networks;
When an error related to communication operation occurs, the network administrator of the network connected to the communication interface means used when the error occurred among the network administrators of each of the communication interface means A notification means for notifying the occurrence of
An image forming apparatus comprising: A computer mounted on an image forming apparatus having a plurality of communication interface means for connecting to different networks;
When an error related to communication operation occurs, the network administrator of the network connected to the communication interface means used when the error occurred among the network administrators of each of the communication interface means A program for functioning as a notification means for notifying occurrence of an error.

Images