JP2019164525A - Remote management system, remote management apparatus and remote management method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a remote management system capable of starting device management without visiting an environment-to-be-managed after a contract of device management has been made.SOLUTION: A remote management system has a mediation device incorporated in a housing of a device set up within a LAN and a remote management apparatus for managing the device set up within the LAN through a wide-area communication network. The mediation device has a transmitting/receiving section that regularly sends a request telegram for a determination result of whether or not a use contract of device management has been made to the remote management apparatus and receives a determination result, and a device management section that makes effective a management function for a device set up within the local area network if a determination result is of a value indicative of being already contracted. The remote management apparatus has a control section that receives a request telegram, determines whether or not a use contract has been made on the mediation device based on information stored in a storage section and sends a value indicative of being already contracted to the mediation device if contracted.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote management system, a remote management device, and a remote management method.

  Conventionally, a device management device that manages devices installed in a customer environment via a LAN (Local Area Network) or the like, and a remote device that remotely manages devices installed in a customer environment via the device management device or the Internet A device management system including a management device is known.

  Conventionally, there is a device management system that enables a customer who has introduced a device management apparatus to simplify the prior work for starting operation of device management by the device management apparatus (for example, Patent Document 1).

  In a conventional device management system, after a contract for device management is concluded with a customer, it is necessary to visit the customer environment and operate the device management apparatus to validate the device management function. For this reason, the visit cost was high.

  Even in the technique of Patent Document 1, device management cannot be performed unless the device management apparatus is installed in the customer environment.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a technique that can start device management without visiting a management target environment after a device management contract is concluded.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an aspect of the present invention is an apparatus installed in a local area network via a mediation device incorporated in a housing of a device installed in the local area network and a wide area communication network. A remote management system having a remote management device for managing the device, wherein the intermediary device sends a request message requesting a determination result as to whether or not a usage contract of a function related to device management is concluded to the wide area A transmission / reception unit that periodically transmits to the remote management device via a communication network and receives the determination result, and the determination result received by the transmission / reception unit is a value indicating contracted, the local area network A device management unit that enables a management function for the devices installed in the device, and the remote management device has information on the mediation device and a use contract signed A storage unit that stores information on whether or not the request is received, and whether or not a use contract has been concluded for the intermediary device that has received the request message and has been stored in the storage unit. And a control unit that transmits the value indicating that the contract has been made to the intermediary device as a transmission source when the determination is made based on the information and the contract is concluded.

  According to the present invention, device management can be started without visiting a management target environment after a device management contract is concluded. Therefore, the visit cost can be reduced.

It is a figure which shows the example of whole structure of the apparatus management system of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of the mediation apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement outline | summary of the apparatus management system of embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the apparatus management system of embodiment. It is a sequence diagram showing an operation example of the device management system at the time of MFP delivery and after delivery of the embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the operation example of the apparatus management system after having concluded the contract regarding the apparatus management of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the data structural example of the contract information table of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the data structural example of the mediation apparatus information table of embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the operation example at the time of the apparatus information acquisition of the apparatus management system of embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a remote management system, a remote management device, and a remote management method of this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a device management system according to the present embodiment. The device management system 100 (remote management system) includes a contract management device 1, a service providing device 2, a remote management device 3, a terminal device 4, mediation devices 15A and 15B, and devices 20A to 20F. The contract management apparatus 1, the service providing apparatus 2, the remote management apparatus 3, and the terminal apparatus 4 are installed in a vendor environment 110 that is a facility of a vendor that provides the system or a data center. The intermediary device 15A and the devices 20A, 20B, and 20C are installed in a customer environment 150A in a customer company's facility, and these are connected to the local area network 30A and can exchange data with each other. The intermediary device 15B and the devices 20D, 20E, and 20F are installed in a customer environment 150B in a facility of another customer company, and these are connected to the local area network 30B and can exchange data with each other. The vendor environment 110 and the customer environments 150A and 150B can communicate with each other via the Internet 180.

  Further, the intermediary device 15A and the device 20A are incorporated in a housing of an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) 10A that is an image forming apparatus. The device 20A in this case is, for example, a device or apparatus that performs printer, copy, scanner, FAX, or the like. The mediation device 15B is also incorporated in the MFP 10B together with the device 20D. That is, the MFPs 10A and 10B are delivered to the customer environments 150A and 150B and incorporated into the system, and at the same time, the intermediary device 15A and the intermediary device 15B are also incorporated into the system.

  Hereinafter, the MFPs 10A and 10B are collectively referred to as MFP 10. The intermediary devices 15A and 15B are collectively referred to as the intermediary device 15, and the devices 20A to 20F are collectively referred to as the device 20. The customer environments 150A and 150B are collectively referred to as the customer environment 150.

  The contract management apparatus 1 is an apparatus (computer) that manages contracts with customers. The contract management apparatus 1 holds a database for managing the contract status of what kind of service contract is concluded with the customer or not. The contract management apparatus 1 manages each contract by searching, registering, updating, and deleting data registered in the database.

  The service providing apparatus 2 is a server (computer) that provides an individual solution (a set of processes for realizing a specific function and a specific service) by using a device access means provided by the remote management apparatus 3. The services provided by the service providing apparatus 2 include management functions such as a log collection service, a counter collection service, and a device maintenance service.

  The remote management device 3 is a device (computer) having communication path information between the service providing device 2, the mediation device 15, and the device 20 in a database. The remote management device 3 supports bidirectional communication between the service providing device 2, the mediation device 15, and the device 20 so as to correctly provide a contracted service and not to provide an uncontracted service.

  The terminal device 4 is a computer having a user interface for registering contract information in the contract management apparatus 1. Note that the terminal device 4 may access the service providing device 2 and the remote management device 3 to change settings, check contents, and the like.

  The intermediary device 15 is installed in a LAN (Local Area Network) protected by a firewall, and accesses each device 20 or notifies the remote management device 3 of an alert notification from the device 20. Further, the intermediary device 15 performs device information acquisition notification and life / death monitoring based on preset schedule information.

  The device 20 is a device to be monitored and managed, and refers to, for example, a device (for example, a copying machine or a projector) that requires maintenance or counter meter reading, or a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC). Further, for example, a device or an apparatus such as a human sensor that has not been provided with a network function in the past may be provided with a communication function as the device 20.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the intermediary device 15 and a configuration example of a computer. The contract management device 1, the service providing device 2, the remote management device 3, and the terminal device 4 also have the hardware configuration shown in FIG.

  The intermediary device 15 includes a CPU 201, a memory 202, a storage 203, a network I / F (Interface) 204, a power source 205, and other I / O (Input / Output) 206.

  A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201 is a control that controls each hardware in the remote management device 3 by realizing a calculation processing function and executing a program stored in the storage 203 using the calculation processing function. It corresponds to a device. The CPU 201 is a unit that executes processing that mediates communication with the device 20, processing that monitors the device 20, acquires setting information, and transmits the setting information to the remote management device 3.

  The memory 202 is a main storage device for providing a temporary storage area for the CPU 201 to perform the above processing. The main storage device is volatile, and data stored in the memory 202 is lost when the power source 205 is turned off.

  The storage 203 is a non-volatile storage device that stores data to be stored even when the power is turned off. Generally, the storage 203 is a large-capacity flash memory, a hard disk drive, an SSD (solid state drive), or the like.

  The network I / F 204 indicates a physical communication interface for communicating with the remote management device 3 and the device 20, and the communication form may be wired / wireless.

  The power source 205 is a power source for driving the substrate in the intermediary device 15 and supplies commercial power into the device using an AC adapter or the like.

  Other I / Os assume various input / output interfaces such as hardware keys (buttons), status notification lamps, and liquid crystal displays.

  As described above, since the intermediary device 15 is incorporated in the MFP 10, each hardware unit shown in FIG. 15 may share each hardware unit provided in the MFP 10. The implementation of the intermediary device 15 is not limited to this, and the function of the intermediary device 15 can be applied to a device (for example, a PC, a server device, or a communication device) having a calculation processing unit such as a CPU or a storage unit such as a memory or storage. Can be realized. A configuration in which a part or all of the arithmetic processing unit is implemented by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) may be employed. A configuration including such an integrated circuit can also be regarded as one mode of the intermediary device 15 or a computer.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an outline of the operation of the device management system 100. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the MFP 10A is delivered to the customer environment 150A (customer ID: A0001) and incorporated in the customer environment. FIG. 3 illustrates an example in which device management can be started without visiting the customer environment after the contract even if the device management contract is not concluded when the MFP 10A is incorporated. Although the customer environment 150A is mentioned here, the same applies to the customer environment 150B.

  When the MFP 10 is delivered, the device introducer 301 installs and activates the device management software in the intermediary device 15A so that the device management software is in operation (S301). When the device management software starts operation, the intermediary device 15A transmits the contract information request to the remote management device 3 via the router 31A, with its own machine number (machine number: 3F66-100001) attached. (S302). When the use contract of the function related to the device management is not concluded, the remote management device 3 returns a value indicating that it is not contracted (S305). The intermediary device 15A that has received the value indicating that it is not contracted continues to continuously transmit the contract information request to the remote management device 3 without enabling the device management function (S302). That is, when a contract for device management is not concluded, S302 and S305 are repeatedly executed.

  On the other hand, when the use contract for the function related to device management is concluded, the contract person 302 (user) registers the contract content in the contract management apparatus 1 via the terminal device 4 (S303). The contract management apparatus 1 notifies the remote management apparatus 3 that the MFP 10A of the customer (customer ID: A0001) has been contracted (S304). It is assumed that the MFP 10A has the same machine number as the intermediary device 15A: 3F66-100001. The remote management device 3 receives this notification, associates a value indicating that the contract has been made, and registers the machine number. When this registration is performed, when receiving the contract information request transmitted from the intermediary device 15A, the remote management device 3 returns a value indicating that the contract has been made (S305).

  Receiving the value indicating that the contract has been made, the intermediary device 15A stops the periodic transmission of the contract information request and enables the device management function (S306). Then, the intermediary device 15A executes the device management software and starts to acquire setting values and device statistical data (such as resource usage rate) for the devices 20A and 20B. Further, the intermediary device 15A receives an alert from the devices 20A and 20B and transfers the alert to the remote management device 3.

  With this operation, the device introducer 301 only needs to visit the customer environment at the time of delivery of the MFP, and after the contract for device management is concluded, the device introducer 301 can be in a state where device management can be performed without visiting the customer environment. it can.

  The customer ID is information necessary for the customer to log in to the device management system 100 and display a list of devices managed by the customer. Further, the order of the set of S301 and S302 and the set of S303 and S304 may be reversed. When S303 and S304 are performed first, and S301 and S302 are performed, it is determined that the contract has been made in response to S302, and therefore S306 is executed.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the device management system 100. The contract management apparatus 1 includes a contract information transmission unit 411. The contract information transmission unit 411 transmits the contract information and difference information to the remote management device 3 when a new contract is concluded or a contract change occurs.

  The service providing apparatus 2 includes a user I / F 421, a command issuing unit 422, and a notification receiving unit 423. The user I / F 421 is a functional unit having a screen for displaying a list of the statuses of the devices 20 and the intermediary device 15 to be managed, setting contents, and displaying detailed information. In addition, the user I / F 421 displays a screen including buttons for instructing the device 20 to acquire information, control, and the like.

  The command issuing unit 422 transmits a command addressed to the mediating device 15 or the device 20 to the remote management device 3 in accordance with an instruction via the user I / F 421. The communication means at this time assumes HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), but is not limited to this.

  The notification receiving unit 423 receives the result of the command transmitted by the service providing apparatus 2 and the spontaneous alert notification of the mediating apparatus 15 and the device 20.

  In addition to these, the service providing apparatus 2 is mounted with a functional unit for realizing a service provided to the customer. For example, the service providing apparatus 2 includes a log storage unit and a log analysis unit that collect and analyze device logs, and a monitoring level setting / control unit that sets the monitoring level of the device and controls whether to notify or not. In addition, the service providing apparatus 2 includes a report totaling unit, a data analysis unit specialized for each service, a report display unit for displaying analysis results, and the like.

  The remote management device 3 includes a command transfer unit 431, a communication path management unit 432, a file storage unit 433, a file access control unit 434, and a contract information reception unit 435. The command transfer unit 431, the communication path management unit 432, the file access control unit 434, and the contract information reception unit 435 may be a single function unit (for example, a control unit). Also good.

  The command transfer unit 431 transfers the command issued from the service providing device 2 to the mediation device 15. Further, the command transfer unit 431 receives a result for the command transmitted from the service providing apparatus 2 from the mediation apparatus 15 and transfers the result to the service providing apparatus 2. The command transfer unit 431 receives a spontaneous alert notification from the mediation device 15 or the device 20 and transfers it to the service providing device 2.

  In communication between the remote management device 3 and the intermediary device 15, a firewall is usually installed during connection from the LAN environment to the Internet 180. For this reason, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that a session is established by periodically polling from the intermediary device 15 toward the remote management device 3, and a command is acquired from the remote management device 3 using the session. Alternatively, an implementation (WebSocket or the like) may be used in which a session is established so that communication can always be performed from the mediating device 15 to the service providing device 2 and command transmission from the service providing device 2 to the mediating device 15 is performed as necessary.

  The communication path management unit 432 manages communication paths among the service providing apparatus 2, the intermediary apparatus 15, and the device 20 using a database. When a command is issued from the service providing apparatus 2, the communication path management unit 432 determines which intermediary apparatus 15 should be routed using this information. Conversely, the database is also used when deciding to which service providing device 2 the information notified from the intermediary device 15 is to be transferred. In the present embodiment, since one service providing apparatus is configured, the opportunity to use the routing information of the communication path management unit 432 is limited. On the other hand, when a plurality of service providing apparatuses are provided and the installed locations differ for each service providing apparatus, the frequency of using the routing information in the communication path management unit 432 increases.

  The file storage unit 433 stores a file received from the service providing device 2 or the mediation device 15. In the file storage unit 433, a database is constructed, and various tables are stored. The file access control unit 434 controls access to the stored file or database, and manages the file or database by searching, registering, updating, or deleting.

  The contract information receiving unit 435 receives contract information from the contract management apparatus 1. The received contract information is registered by the file storage unit 433 and the file access control unit 434.

  The intermediary device 15 includes a device connection definition management unit 441, a task scheduler 442, a remote management device communication unit 443, an installation user I / F 444, and a system monitoring unit 445. The intermediary device 15 includes a device information management unit 446, a log policy control unit 447, a device abnormality detection unit 448, and a device communication unit 449. The device connection definition management unit 441, the system monitoring unit 445, the device information management unit 446, the log policy control unit 447, the device abnormality detection unit 448, and the device communication unit 449 may be one function unit, for example, a device management unit.

  The device connection definition management unit 441 is a functional unit that registers and manages communication parameters for executing addition / deletion / search of the device 20 and acquisition / communication confirmation of device information in the database. For example, in the case of HTTP, a resource URI, a method, a header / query / body parameter, etc. are registered and managed. For SNMP, a command type (Get / GetBulk), version, community name, and OID (object identifier) are registered and managed.

  The task scheduler 442 performs a regular operation based on schedule information set in advance by the internal clock of the mediating apparatus 15. In the task scheduler 442, an operation for acquiring information from the device 20 to be monitored and notifying the remote management device 3 and an operation for checking whether the device can communicate (life monitoring) are registered as regular operations. . The log transmission operation is also registered in the task scheduler 442.

  The remote management device communication unit 443 performs communication control such as receiving a command from the remote management device 3, transmitting an alert from the device 20 to the remote management device 3, and inquiring a contract status. The remote management device communication unit 443 assumes communication using HTTPS, but is not limited thereto.

  The installation user I / F 444 provides a screen for performing network settings for communicating with the device and the remote management device 3 from the LAN, an activation procedure for starting communication with the remote management device 3, and connection confirmation.

  The system monitoring unit 445 detects a system abnormal state such as function enable / disable, memory shortage, disk shortage, and disk write error as the system state.

  The device information management unit 446 manages a device identifier, a device type, and a device IP address for communicating with a device in a database.

  The log policy control unit 447 sets a policy in advance such as whether there is a specified keyword from a character string included in the log, or a value is extracted with a regular expression and the value is within the range.

  The device abnormality detection unit 448 detects whether there is an abnormality sign according to the policy set by the log policy control unit 447. When an abnormality sign is detected, the device abnormality detection unit 448 notifies the remote management device 3.

  The device communication unit 449 controls communication such as transmitting a command from the service providing apparatus 2 to the device 20 and receiving a text message and a file (binary) from the device 20. In addition, the device communication unit 449 transmits a request message to each device 20 and receives setting information and status information (device information) from each device. The communication protocol is assumed to be HTTP, SNMP, etc., but is not limited to these communication protocols.

  The device 20 includes a log generation unit 461, a log server unit 462, and a device alert transmission unit 463. Note that portions not directly related to the present embodiment are omitted. For example, in the case of an MFP, description of a printer, a copy, a scanner, a FAX function, etc. is omitted.

  The log generation unit 461 records and accumulates the operation log of the device 20. The log server unit 462 returns an operation log of the device 20 when a log is requested from the mediation device 15. The device alert transmission unit 463 transmits a device alert to the mediation device 15 using the detection timing transmitted from the device communication unit 449 of the mediation device 15 as a trigger.

  FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation example of the device management system 100 at the time of delivery of the MFP 10 to the customer environment 150 and after incorporation into the customer environment. When incorporating the MFP 10 into the customer environment 150, the device introducer 301 installs device management software in the mediation device 15 and makes necessary settings (S501). Necessary settings here include, for example, network settings to be applied to the customer environment 150, default parameter settings, and take over of existing MFP settings when the reason for delivery is to replace an MFP. If the device management software is installed before shipment, this installation work itself becomes unnecessary and only the setting work is performed.

  When the device management software is installed, the intermediary device 15 uses the function of the task scheduler 442 to activate the remote management device communication unit 443 and inquires about the presence or absence of the contract status. A contract information request is transmitted (S502, S503). Here, an inquiry is made as to whether or not a contract for use of functions related to device management is concluded. At this time, the intermediary device 15 sends an inquiry message with a machine number.

  When the remote management device 3 receives the inquiry message, the remote management device 3 activates the file access control unit 434 and refers to an intermediary device information table (described later) held in the file storage unit 433. Then, the file access control unit 434 of the remote management device 3 performs a contract status determination as to whether or not the machine number attached to the inquiry message has been contracted (S504). At the stage shown in FIG. 5, since it is not contracted, a message (determination result) indicating non-contract is returned to the mediation apparatus 15 that is the transmission source (S505).

  If it is not contracted, S502 to S505 are repeatedly executed.

  FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation example of the device management system 100 after a use contract for functions related to device management is concluded. When the contract is concluded, the contract person registers the contract information in the contract management apparatus 1 via the terminal device 4 (S601). At this time, it is registered with at least a machine number. The contract management apparatus 1 operates the contract information table in the database constructed in advance and registers that the contract has been completed (S602).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the contract information table. The contract information table 701 includes a contract ID for uniquely identifying a contract, a machine number (contract machine number in the figure) for identifying a mediation device or a device in which the mediation device is incorporated, a type indicating the type of mediation device, and device management. The contract status is associated and held as one record. In FIG. 7, “BOX” indicating a network device and “MFP” indicating an image forming apparatus are illustrated as types, and “expired”, “not contracted”, “contract” are illustrated as device management contract states. Is illustrated. The contract management apparatus 1 changes the device management contract status to “contract” when the record of the corresponding device number is registered in the “uncontracted” state, and the record of the corresponding device number is not in the contract information table 701. In this case, the device management contract status is newly set as “contract” and new registration is performed.

  The contract information transmission unit 411 of the contract management apparatus 1 transmits the contract information or difference information that has been contracted this time to the remote management apparatus 3 (S603). Here, at least a machine number and a value indicating that a contract has been made are transmitted.

  The contract information receiving unit 435 of the remote management device 3 receives the contract information or the difference information, activates the file access control unit 434, and writes the information in the mediation device information table in the file storage unit 433 (S604).

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a device information table. The device information table 801 has columns of machine number, type, device management contract status, and mediation device status. The machine number, type, and device management contract status are the same as those in the contract information table 701 described above. In the example of FIG. 8, “returned”, “in operation”, and “not in operation” are illustrated as mediation device states. “Returned” indicates that the intermediary device is not already in the customer environment, and “Active” confirms that the remote management device 3 recognizes the intermediary device and is operating. Refers to the state. However, in the example of the second record in FIG. 8, since it is “uncontracted”, it is only recognized and is not functioning. “Non-operating” indicates a state in which the remote management device 3 does not recognize the mediation device.

  Returning to the description of FIG. The intermediary device 15 continues to regularly send an inquiry message as to whether or not a contract for device management is concluded (S604, S605). This operation is the same as S502 and S503 in FIG. The remote management device 3 also makes a contract status determination in the same manner as S504 (S606). However, since the device management contract status of the relevant machine number is “contract” here, a message indicating that the contract has been made is returned (S607). At this time, the communication path management unit 432 registers the routing information regarding the mediating device 15. In addition, the state of the mediation apparatus in the apparatus information table 801 relating to the machine number is also rewritten from “not operating” to “operating”.

  When the remote management device communication unit 443 of the mediation device 15 receives the message indicating that the contract has been made, the remote management device communication unit 443 enables the management function for the subordinate device 20 (S610).

  Next, an operation of collecting device information from the device 20, which is one of management functions, will be described with reference to FIG. In the example of FIG. 9, the scanner, copier, finisher, and the like in the MFP 10 are the device 20A, the personal computer is the device 20B, and the router 31 is the device 20C.

  The mediating device 15 periodically activates the device communication unit 449 by the task scheduler 442, transmits a request message of device information to the devices 20A, 20B, and 20C, and acquires device information from each device (S901, S902, S905, S908). The device information is information indicating the state (resource usage rate) of each device, or information on a setting value.

  The mediation device 15 transmits the acquired device information to the remote management device 3 (S903, S906, S909). The remote management apparatus 3 that has received the device information operates the file access control unit 434 to store the device information in the file storage unit 433 (S904, S907, S910). At this time, the device information is stored in association with the machine number of the intermediary device 15.

  Although the device information collection function has been described with reference to FIG. 9, the management function of the mediation device 15 is not limited to this. For example, there is a function of detecting an abnormality of the device 20 by the device abnormality detection unit 448 and the log policy control unit 447 and a function of transferring an alert from the device 20 by the device communication unit 449 to the remote management device 3. In addition, the remote management device communication unit 443 and the device communication unit 449 receive from the device 20 a function for issuing a command from the service providing device 2 to the corresponding device 20 and the command execution result, and transfer this to the remote management device 3. There is a function to do.

  In the above embodiment, even if the device management apparatus (remote management device 3) is not incorporated in the management target environment (customer environment 150), the device management software is installed and operated in the management target device (MFP 10). Thus, after the device management contract is concluded, the mode in which the device management can be started without visiting the management target environment has been described. In addition, a system composed of three devices, that is, a device management device (remote management device 3), a wide area communication network (Internet 180), and a management target environment (customer environment 150) will be described. The aspect of managing devices in the managed environment has been described. Further, an aspect has been described in which device management can be performed for other devices (devices 20B, 20C, etc.) connected to the management target device via the management target device (MFP 10).

  In the above embodiment, the mode in which the intermediary device 15 that executes the device management software is incorporated in the MFP 10 has been described. An MFP is usually installed in an office or the like. By incorporating an intermediary device into the MFP, when replacing an existing MFP, the intermediary device can also be incorporated into the management target environment. In addition, the threshold is lower for the customer than when a server or communication device having the function of the intermediary device is newly provided.

  In the above embodiment, the mediation device is described as being a device incorporated in the MFP, and has been described as a device including a CPU, a memory, and the like. Not limited to this, it may be provided as a single chip or ASIC. In addition, a computer having a CPU, a memory, and the like may be made in a state where dedicated software can be used so that the computer functions as an intermediary device. In addition, a chip is installed in a housing of a device (for example, a network device, a terminal computer, a server, or a sensor device) that is already incorporated in the local area network, or software is installed in the housing to operate. Thus, it may function as an intermediary device. These are all forms of mediation devices. The name of the mediation device is not limited to this. For example, it may be called a relay device, an intermediate device, a conversion device, a transfer device, or the like. In other words, as long as the intermediary device is a device that intervenes between the communication between the remote management device and a device connected to the local area network (including the device and the device including the mediation device in the housing), Various forms and names may be used.

  Moreover, each function part shown in FIG. 4 etc. is an example to the last, and the name of each function part and the function which each function part provides are not limited to this. Any one functional unit shown in FIG. 4 may be divided into a plurality of functional units, or a plurality of functional units may be integrated into one functional unit. For example, the mediation device may have a configuration including a transmission / reception unit responsible for a communication function and a device management unit responsible for device management. In addition, the remote management device may include a storage unit that has a function of storing data, a control unit that has a determination function and a communication function, and a reception unit that has a communication function, particularly a reception function.

  By applying the aspect of this embodiment, if a brokerage device has already been incorporated in the customer environment, the device management function can be performed without visiting the customer environment after concluding a contract for device management with the customer. Can be activated. Therefore, the visit cost can be reduced.

  The managed device (MFP 10) according to the present embodiment is not limited to the image forming apparatus as described above, but is a network home appliance, vending machine, medical device, 3D printer, power supply device, air conditioning system, gas / water / electricity A device having a communication function in a weighing system or the like may be used. For example, the medical device includes a fundus examination apparatus, an X-ray examination apparatus, a sphygmomanometer, a body fat scale, a vision meter, a pacemaker, and the like. The medical device transmits the identification information of the device, the operation status of the device, the presence / absence of abnormal operation, the measurement result by the device, etc. to the remote management device using various information transmission means such as a data format or an image format. .

  3D printers include material extrusion deposition (FDM), material jetting, binder jetting, powder sintering additive manufacturing (SLS), and stereolithography (SLA). The 3D printer may transmit the identification information of the device, the operating status of the device, the presence / absence of abnormal operation, the state of consumables attached to the device, etc. to the remote management device using various information transmission means. Is possible.

1: Contract management device 2: Service providing device 3: Remote management device 4: Terminal devices 10, 10A, 10B: MFP
15, 15A, 15B: Mediation device 20, 20A to 20F: Device 31: Router 100: Device management system 411: Contract information transmission unit 421: User I / F
422: Command issuing unit 423: Notification receiving unit 431: Command transfer unit 432: Communication path management unit 433: File storage unit 434: File access control unit 435: Contract information receiving unit 441: Device connection definition management unit 442: Task scheduler 443 : Remote management device communication unit 444: Installation user I / F
445: System monitoring unit 446: Device information management unit 447: Log policy control unit 448: Device abnormality detection unit 449: Device communication unit 461: Log generation unit 462: Log server unit 463: Device alert transmission unit

JP 2017-134472 A

Claims (7)

A remote management system having an intermediary device incorporated in a housing of a device installed in a local area network and a remote management device for managing the devices installed in the local area network via a wide area communication network Because
The intermediary device is:
A request message for requesting a determination result as to whether or not a contract for using a function related to device management is concluded is periodically transmitted to the remote management device via the wide area communication network, and the determination result is received / transmitted. And
When the determination result received by the transmission / reception unit is a value indicating that a contract has been made, a device management unit that enables a management function for a device installed in the local area network, and
The remote management device is:
A storage unit that stores information relating to the intermediary device and information indicating whether or not a use contract is concluded;
The request message is received, and it is determined whether or not a use contract is concluded for the transmission intermediary device based on the information stored in the storage unit. And a control unit for transmitting to the mediation device of the transmission source,
Remote management system. The remote management system according to claim 1,
The intermediary device, when the received determination result is a value indicating uncontracted, continues to periodically transmit the request message,
Remote management system. The remote management system according to claim 1,
Furthermore, the remote management device has a contract management device that associates information about the mediation device with information about whether or not a usage contract is concluded and transmits the information to the remote management device,
The storage unit of the remote management device stores information transmitted by the contract management device.
Remote management system. The remote management system according to claim 1,
The intermediary device is incorporated in the housing of the image forming apparatus.
Remote management system. A remote management device for managing devices installed in a local area network via a wide area communication network,
A storage unit for storing information relating to an intermediary device incorporated in a housing of a device installed in the local area network and information indicating whether or not a contract for using a function related to device management is concluded; ,
A request message is periodically received from the intermediary device, and whether or not a use contract is concluded for the intermediary device is determined based on information stored in the storage unit. A control unit that transmits a value indicating
After transmitting a value indicating contracted to the intermediary device, a receiving unit that receives information about the device installed in the local area network from the intermediary device;
Remote management device having. The remote management device according to claim 5, wherein
The receiving unit further receives, from the contract management device, information associated with information on the intermediary device and information on whether or not a use contract is concluded,
The storage unit of the remote management device stores information received from the contract management device;
Remote management device. A remote management system having an intermediary device incorporated in a housing of a device installed in a local area network and a remote management device for managing the devices installed in the local area network via a wide area communication network Remote management method of
The intermediary device is:
A request message for requesting a determination result as to whether or not a contract for use of a function related to device management is concluded, is periodically transmitted to the remote management device via the wide area communication network, and the determination result is received.
When the received determination result is a value indicating contracted, the management function for the device installed in the local area network is enabled,
The remote management device is:
Information related to the intermediary device and information on whether or not a use contract is concluded are stored in the storage unit in association with each other,
Receiving the request message;
It is determined based on information stored in the storage unit whether or not a use contract has been concluded for the transmission intermediary device,
If it is concluded, the value indicating that the contract has been made is transmitted to the mediation device of the transmission source.
Remote management method.