JP2020038533A - Management device and control method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a management device and a control method that support to properly grasp whether or not operation by a serviceman is required in a network device when a failure is considered to be eliminated although the failure is not eliminated actually and when a failure is considered not to be eliminated although the failure is eliminated actually.SOLUTION: A device management device receives an event notification from a network device, manages event information and a work status in response to the received event notification, and outputs the managed event information according to a corresponding work status.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to a management device and a control method.

In a network device such as an image forming apparatus connected to a network, internal components gradually wear out and become dirty during use. For this reason, it is necessary to periodically perform operations such as component replacement / cleaning depending on the degree of wear of components and the degree of contamination. Further, when a component breaks down due to a cause other than the consumption of the component and stops operating normally, it is necessary to immediately replace the component causing the cause. Therefore, it has been practiced to monitor the state of the network device from a remote place, present necessary work to a serviceman at an appropriate timing in accordance with the work content, and reduce the downtime by dispatching the serviceman.
As one of means for remotely monitoring the status of a network device, there is a method of notifying an event occurring in the network device to a monitoring server. The monitoring server displays necessary work in accordance with the content of the notification, or notifies a service person.
Patent Document 1 discloses that an image forming apparatus notifies a monitoring server of a status notification periodically after a failure occurs in addition to a failure occurrence notification to a monitoring server. A technology for notifying the user of a request is disclosed. As a result, after a failure occurs, the content of the failure is displayed on the operation panel and the device temporarily becomes unavailable, and if the failure has been resolved by the user turning off and on the power by the user, an unnecessary service man is required. No need to dispatch.

JP 2007-58766 A

In some cases, the failure has been resolved in the network device even though the failure has not actually been resolved. For example, it is assumed that a failure that has occurred in the image forming apparatus, which is a network device, does not occur in the startup process that is executed when the power is turned on, but is a failure that occurs only when printing is actually performed and paper is flown. In this case, since the failure does not occur in the startup process when the power is turned on, the failure appears to have been resolved. However, since the failure actually reoccurs due to printing, the image forming apparatus requires a serviceman's operation.
Further, in the network device, there is a case where the failure is not resolved even though the failure is actually resolved. For example, if the failure that occurred in the image forming apparatus, which is a network device, is a failure that occurs when printing in a low-temperature environment, if the outside air temperature is no longer low, even if printing is performed and paper is run, the failure occurs. Does not occur. For this reason, in this case, the work is not required to be performed by the serviceman, and the failure has been resolved. However, if information on the fault that has occurred remains, it is considered that a fault has occurred.
Thus, it may not be possible to correctly determine whether or not the failure has been resolved in the network device. For this reason, there is a problem that it is difficult to appropriately determine whether or not work by a service person is required.

  The information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes: a receiving unit that receives an event notification from a network device; and, in response to the event notification received by the receiving unit, event information that is information about an event that has occurred in the network device; Management means for managing a work status indicating the necessity of work with respect to the server, and output means for outputting the event information managed by the management means in accordance with the work status; When an occurrence event notification is received, the management unit registers event information relating to the failure indicated in the failure event notification, and sets a first status indicating that work is required to the event information relating to the failure. Registered as a work status, and responds to the failure by the receiving means If the failure resolution event notification is received, the management unit updates the work status corresponding to the event information regarding the failure to a second status indicating that work may be required, and When an event notification that notifies the occurrence of the event that triggered the failure is received, and the failure occurrence event notification is not received along with the event, the management unit responds to the event information related to the failure. The work status to be updated is updated to a third status indicating that the work is unnecessary.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can assist to grasp | ascertain appropriately whether the work by a serviceman is needed.

It is a figure showing an example of the system configuration of a providing system. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration and the like of a device management apparatus. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a device management device. It is a figure showing an example of an event notice. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process of the device management apparatus. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process of the device management apparatus.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a providing system according to the present embodiment.
The providing system includes a device management apparatus 131, an image forming apparatus 120, and client terminals 111 to 112. The providing system is a system that provides information on failures that have occurred in the image forming apparatus 120 to a serviceman together with information on the necessity of work for those failures.
The device management apparatus 131, the image forming apparatus 120, and the client terminals 111 to 112 are connected via at least one of the networks 102 to 104, respectively. Each of the networks 102 to 104 is, for example, a LAN such as the Internet, a WAN, a telephone line, a dedicated digital line, an ATM or a frame relay line, a cable TV line, a data broadcasting wireless line, or the like. Further, each of the networks 102 to 104 may be a so-called communication network realized by a combination thereof. In the present embodiment, the network 102 is the Internet. Each of the networks 103 to 104 is a company network or a service provider network.

The device management apparatus 131 is an information processing apparatus that collects, accumulates, and displays event information, which is information on various events that have occurred in each of the image forming apparatuses 120. An event that has occurred in an image forming apparatus is an event that has occurred in the image forming apparatus. Events that may occur in the image forming apparatus include abnormalities such as component failure, abnormal temperature, etc., errors during a job, start of a job, completion of a job, exhaustion of the remaining amount of consumables such as toner, replacement of a component, and the like. . The information related to the event is information indicating the attribute of the event, such as the content of the event, the location where the event occurred, the occurrence time, the cancellation time, and the identification information of the event. Further, the device management apparatus 131 outputs a list of information indicating operations to be performed on the image forming apparatus 120 based on the collected event information, and provides the serviceman with the list. Hereinafter, a list of information indicating works to be performed is referred to as a work list. Further, the device management apparatus 131 has a charging function based on counter information collected from the image forming apparatus 120, an automatic delivery instruction function for consumables, a remote instruction function for the image forming apparatus 120, and the like. The device management device 131 is, for example, a personal computer (PC), a server device, or the like.
The device management apparatus 131 also performs functions such as billing and automatic delivery of consumables to the user, firmware distribution, and log transmission instructions based on various counter information such as the number of prints collected from the image forming apparatus 120 and various event information. It has a function to give a remote instruction such as

Each of the client terminals 111 to 112 is an information processing apparatus that receives and displays a work list from the device management apparatus 131. Each of the client terminals 111 to 112 is, for example, a desktop personal computer, a notebook personal computer, a mobile personal computer, a PDA (personal data assistant), a mobile phone having a built-in program execution environment, or the like.
The image forming apparatus 120 is an image forming apparatus that can be connected to a network. The image forming apparatus 120 is, for example, a digital multifunction peripheral, a facsimile machine, a laser beam printer, an inkjet printer, a scanner device, or the like. The image forming apparatus 120 is an example of a network device that can be operated via a network. In the present embodiment, the providing system includes three image forming apparatuses 120.

FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the device management apparatus 131 according to the present embodiment. The device management apparatus 131 includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 202, a Random Access Memory (RAM) 203, and a Read Only Memory (ROM) 204. In addition, the device management apparatus 131 includes a hard disk drive (HDD) 205, a display 206, a keyboard 207, an interface 208, and a network interface card (NIC) 209. The components are communicably connected to each other via a system bus 201.
The system bus 201 is a bus used for data communication in the device management device 131. The CPU 202 is a central processing unit that controls the entire device management apparatus 131. The RAM 203 is a storage device that functions as a main memory of the CPU 202, a work area, a temporary storage area for data, and the like. The ROM 204 is a storage device that stores various data such as a basic I / O program. The HDD 205 is a storage device that stores various programs, various setting information, and the like. The HDD 205 stores an application program such as a Web browser, a service server group program, an OS, related programs, and the like. The CPU 202 executes an application program, an OS, and the like stored in the HDD 205, and performs control to temporarily store information, files, and the like necessary for the execution of the program in the RAM 203.

The display 206 is a display unit. The keyboard 207 is an input unit used for inputting information. The CPU 202 displays information on the display 206 according to the input via the keyboard 207. The interface 208 is an interface used for connection with an external device, and is used for connection with a printer, a USB device, a peripheral device, and the like. The NIC 209 is a network card used for communication with an external device via the networks 102 to 104.
When the CPU 202 executes processing according to programs stored in the HDD 205, the ROM 204, and the like, the function of the device management apparatus 131 described later with reference to FIG. 4 and the processing of flowcharts described later with reference to FIGS. .

In the present embodiment, the hardware configuration of the client terminal 111 is the same as the hardware configuration of the device management apparatus 131 described with reference to FIG.
The CPU of the client terminal 111 executes processing in accordance with a program stored in the HDD, ROM, or the like of the client terminal 111, so that functions of the client terminal 111 described later with reference to FIG. Are realized.
The hardware configuration of the client terminal 112 is the same as the hardware configuration of the client terminal 111. When the CPU of the client terminal 112 executes processing in accordance with a program stored in the HDD, ROM, or the like of the client terminal 111, the same functions as in FIG. 2B, the processing of the client terminal 112, and the like are realized. You.
FIG. 2B is an example of a functional configuration of the client terminal 111. The client terminal 111 includes a browser control unit 212. The browser control unit 212 displays a Web browser (Internet browser, WWW browser, browser for using the World Wide Web) on the display of the client terminal 111, and receives an operation on the displayed browser. The functional configuration of the client terminal 112 is the same as the functional configuration of the client terminal 111.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 120 according to the present embodiment.
The image forming apparatus 120 includes a CPU 301, a RAM 302, a ROM 303, a storage device 304, a network I / F 305, an internal bus 306, a device control unit 307, a printing unit 308, an input / output I / F 309, an input / output device 310, and a sensor 312. The components are communicably connected to each other via an internal bus 306.
The CPU 301 is a central processing unit that controls each element via the internal bus 306. The RAM 302 is a storage device that functions as a main memory and a work area of the CPU 301, a temporary storage area for data, and the like. The ROM 303 is a storage device that stores various programs, various setting information, destination information indicating an area where the image forming apparatus 120 is shipped, and the like. The CPU 301 determines a language to be displayed on the input / output device 310 according to the destination information stored in the ROM 303.

The storage device 304 is a storage device that stores various programs, various setting information, image data, and the like. The storage device 304 is, for example, an HDD. The storage device 304 may store counter information, system information, monitoring information, and the like, instead of the RAM 302. The CPU 301 executes processing of a program together with the RAM 302 and the ROM 303 and performs processing of recording image data on a recording medium such as the storage device 304.
The network I / F 305 is an interface used for communication with an external device via the networks 102 to 104. The device control unit 307 is a control unit that controls the printing unit 308. The printing unit 308 is a mechanism for performing printing on a print medium. The CPU 301 controls the printing unit 308 via the device control unit 307 in accordance with an instruction received from an external device via the network I / F 305.

The input / output I / F 309 is an interface used for input / output of information with the input / output device. The input / output device 310 is an input / output device used for input / output of information to / from the image forming apparatus 120. The input / output device 310 includes an input device such as a hard button for receiving an input (button input or the like) from a user, an input unit of a touch panel, and an output device such as a display unit of a touch panel for displaying information. . The CPU 301 receives information input via the input / output device 310 via the input / output I / F 309, and executes a process according to the received information. Further, the CPU 301 causes the input / output device 310 to display information by outputting information such as help information for the user to the input / output device 310 via the input / output I / F 309. Further, the input / output device 310 may include a scanning device for reading a document and receiving electronic data as input.
The sensors 312 are various sensors mounted on the image forming apparatus 120. The sensor 312 includes a sensor for measuring the voltage value of the drum of the printing unit 308 and the remaining amount of toner, a sensor for detecting abnormal rotation of a motor in the image forming apparatus 120, and a sensor for measuring the temperature inside the image forming apparatus 120. The CPU 301 determines whether a failure has occurred in the image forming apparatus 120 based on information detected via the sensor 312.
The CPU 301 executes processing in accordance with programs stored in the storage device 304, the ROM 303, and the like, thereby realizing the functions of the image forming apparatus 120 and the processing of the image forming apparatus 120 described later with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the device management apparatus 131. The device management device 131 includes an external I / F unit 501, a state management unit 502, and an event management unit 503.
The external I / F unit 501 receives the event notification transmitted from the image forming apparatus 120, and transmits the received event notification to the event control unit 521 of the event management unit 503. The event notification is information for notifying an event that has occurred in the image forming apparatus 120.
Further, the external I / F unit 501 outputs information of the work list managed by the work management unit 513 to the client terminals 111 and 112 by transmitting the information.

The state management unit 502 includes a state control unit 511, a determination unit 512, and a work management unit 513. The state control unit 511 controls the state management unit 502. The determination unit 512 determines whether any operation is necessary for an event (for example, a failure or the like) corresponding to the event notification transmitted from the image forming apparatus 120. The work management unit 513 stores and manages, in a table format, the event information on the event indicated in the event notification transmitted from the image forming apparatus 120 and the work status indicating the necessity of the work for the event in the HDD 205. . Hereinafter, a table including the event information and the work status is referred to as a management table. Details of the management table will be described later in Table 1.
The event management unit 503 includes an event control unit 521 and a history management unit 522. The event control unit 521 controls the event management unit 503. The history management unit 522 stores and manages the event notification from the image forming apparatus 120 as event history information in the HDD 205.

An example of an event notification transmitted from the image forming apparatus 120 will be described with reference to FIG.
A job completion event notification 601 illustrated in FIG. 5A is an example of an event notification transmitted to the device management apparatus 131 when a job such as a print job is completed in the image forming apparatus 120.
The job completion event notification 601 includes a device ID 611, an event name 612, an event ID 613, an occurrence time 614, a job type 615, job information 616, and a user name 617.
The device ID 611 is identification information (ID) for uniquely identifying the image forming apparatus that has transmitted the event notification. The event name 612 is information indicating the name of the event related to the event notification. The event ID 613 is identification information (ID) for uniquely identifying an event that has occurred in the image forming apparatus 120. The occurrence time 614 is information indicating the time when the event occurred. The job type 615 is information indicating the type of the completed job. The job information 616 is detailed information of a completed job. The user name 617 is information indicating the name of the user who has instructed the execution of the job.

A failure occurrence event notification 602 illustrated in FIG. 5B is an example of an event notification transmitted to the device management apparatus 131 when a failure occurs in the image forming apparatus 120. The failure is an event that hinders the normal operation of the image forming apparatus, and is, for example, a failure of a component, an abnormality such as an abnormal temperature, an error during a job, a depletion of the consumables, or the like.
The failure event notification 602 includes a device ID 621, an event name 622, an event ID 623, an occurrence time 624, an error ID 625, an E code 626, an occurrence location 627, a trigger 628, and a trigger event ID 629.

The device ID 621, event name 622, event ID 623, and occurrence time 624 are the same information as the device ID 611, event name 612, event ID 613, and occurrence time 614 described with reference to FIG.
The error ID 625 is identification information (ID) for uniquely identifying a failure. The E code 626 is information indicating an error code. The occurrence location 627 is information indicating a location where a failure has occurred. The trigger 628 is information indicating an event that has triggered the occurrence of a failure. In the example of FIG. 5B, since the trigger 628 is print_job_complete, the execution of the print job is used as a trigger to transmit the failure event notification 602 to the device management apparatus 131. The trigger event ID 629 is identification information (ID) of the event indicated by the trigger 628. In the example of FIG. 5B, since the value of the trigger event ID 629 is 10938, it is determined that the failure has occurred due to the event having the event ID of 10938 (the job completion event notification 601 in the example of FIG. 5). Become.

The failure elimination event notification 603 illustrated in FIG. 5C is an example of an event notification transmitted to the device management apparatus 131 when the failure has been resolved in the image forming apparatus 120.
The failure resolution event notification 603 includes a device ID 631, an event name 632, an event ID 633, an occurrence time 634, an error ID 635, and an E code 636.
The device ID 631, event name 632, event ID 633, and occurrence time 634 are the same information as the device ID 611, event name 612, event ID 613, and occurrence time 614 described with reference to FIG.
The error ID 635 is identification information (ID) for uniquely identifying a failure. The E code 636 is information indicating an error code. The error ID 635 and the E code 636 in the failure resolution event notification 603 correspond to the error ID 625 and the E code 626 in the failure occurrence event notification 602. The error ID 635 and the E code 636 in the failure elimination event notification 603 and the error ID 625 and the E code 626 in the failure occurrence event notification 602 are information that links the occurrence and elimination of the failure.
In the example of FIG. 5, the device ID 631 in the job completion event notification 601, the failure occurrence event notification 602, and the failure resolution event notification 603 are the same (ABC00001). Therefore, these three event notifications are transmitted from the same image forming apparatus.

  Here, a management table managed by the work management unit 513 will be described using Table 1 below. In response to the event notification transmitted from the image forming apparatus 120, the work management unit 513 stores, in a management table in the HDD 205, event information on an event that has occurred in the image forming apparatus 120 and a work status indicating the necessity of work for the event. To store and manage. Here, the management of information means registering the information in the storage unit and updating the information in response to a request. In the present embodiment, in response to the event notification transmitted from the image forming apparatus 120, the work management unit 513 stores event information regarding a failure which is an event indicated in the event notification, and a work status indicating the necessity of work for the failure. Are stored in the management table. Table 1 is a table showing an example of a management table managed by the work management unit 513.

The management table includes items of device ID, error ID, occurrence time, resolution time, E code, occurrence location, work status, and trigger. Each row of the management table stores information on one fault. The information of the device ID, error ID, occurrence time, resolution time, E code, occurrence location, and trigger item are event information related to the corresponding fault.
By ascertaining the event information relating to the failure, the service person can grasp the work necessary for solving the failure. Therefore, the event information can be regarded as information indicating the content of the work. That is, the information in each row of the management table can be regarded as the correspondence information between the work information indicating the work and the work status indicating the necessity of the work.
The item of device ID indicates identification information (ID) for uniquely identifying the image forming apparatus. The item of the error ID indicates identification information (ID) for uniquely identifying a failure in the image forming apparatus indicated by the corresponding device ID. The item of occurrence time indicates the time at which the corresponding failure occurred. The item of “resolved time” indicates the time at which the failure indicated by the corresponding error ID is resolved. The item of the E code indicates a code indicating the type of the corresponding fault. In the present embodiment, if the value of the E code is E001, the corresponding fault is the fixing temperature abnormality. If the value of the E code is E002, the corresponding obstacle is a drum charging abnormality. That is, in the image forming apparatus indicated by the device ID, the failure indicated by the E code has occurred at the time indicated by the occurrence time and has been resolved at the time indicated by the resolution time.

The item of occurrence location indicates a code indicating the location where the failure indicated by the corresponding E code has occurred. When a failure has occurred, the image forming apparatus 120 executes a process of identifying the location of the failure, and identifies the location of the failure. Then, the image forming apparatus 120 includes the information of the identified occurrence location in the event notification transmitted to the device management apparatus 131 as information of the occurrence location 627. Therefore, the work management unit 513 can acquire information on the location of the failure from the information on the location of occurrence 627 included in the notification of the failure occurrence event. The first three digits of the code of the occurrence location are information indicating a unit in the image forming apparatus such as a drum unit. The last three digits of the code of the occurrence location are information indicating the child parts constituting the unit represented by the first three digits of the code of the occurrence location.
The item of the work status indicates a work status indicating whether work by a serviceman is necessary for the failure indicated by the corresponding error ID. The value “necessary” of the work status indicates that work is necessary for the corresponding failure. “Necessary” is an example of a first status indicating that work is required. The value “possible” of the work status indicates that work for the corresponding failure may be required. “Possible” is an example of a second status indicating that work may be required. The work status value “closed” indicates that work for the corresponding fault is not required. “Closed” is an example of a third status indicating that work is unnecessary.

The work management unit 513 can determine the value of the work status item in the management table from the result of the processing of the determination unit 512. More specifically, when receiving the event notification from the event control unit 521, the state control unit 511 requests the determination unit 512 to determine whether or not work is necessary for the failure indicated by the event notification. The determination unit 512 determines the necessity of work for the failure indicated in the event notification based on the event notification received from the state control unit 511 and the management table managed by the work management unit 513. Then, the work management unit 513 updates the work status item corresponding to the failure indicated in the event notification in the management table based on the result of the determination by the determination unit 512.
The trigger item indicates the event that caused the corresponding failure to occur. For example, if the trigger is “print_job_comlete”, the corresponding fault is a fault that has occurred due to execution of the printing process. If the trigger is “calibration”, the corresponding fault is a fault that has occurred due to execution of calibration such as gradation correction.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the work list is data in the management table managed by the work management unit 513 excluding the data of the row whose work status value is “closed”. That is, the device management apparatus 131 outputs, as a work list, data in the management table excluding the data of the row whose work status value is “closed”.
When the service person uses the client terminal 111, the operation is as follows. The browser control unit 212 of the client terminal 111 acquires a work list from the device management apparatus 131 based on an operation of the client terminal 111 by a serviceman, and displays the acquired work list on the display unit of the client terminal 111. Display above. When the service person uses the client terminal 112, the following is performed. The browser control unit 212 of the client terminal 112 acquires a work list from the device management apparatus 131 based on the operation of the client terminal 112 by the serviceman, and displays the acquired work list on the display unit of the client terminal 112. Display above.
By looking at the device ID, E code, occurrence location, trigger, and the like in the displayed work list, the service person can grasp what kind of trouble has occurred and what kind of work is required. In addition, the serviceman can see, by looking at the work status of the displayed work list, whether work for the corresponding failure is necessary or may be necessary. This allows the service technician to decide, for example, to work on a failure that requires work, and to take action such as considering whether to work on a failure that may require work. Can be. In this way, the serviceman can take a more flexible response than in the case where it is decided to perform the operation for all the failures.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 120. The image forming apparatus 120 includes a communication unit 401, a storage control unit 402, a formation unit 403, an update unit 404, a detection unit 405, a diagnosis unit 406, a management unit 407, an operation unit 408, and a display control unit 409.
The communication unit 401 transmits device information regarding the image forming apparatus 120 to the device management apparatus 131. The communication unit 401 receives an instruction and information transmitted from the device management apparatus 131. The communication unit 401 performs communication using SMTP, HTTP / HTTPS, or the like.

The storage control unit 402 reads and writes information from and to the RAM 302, the ROM 303, and the storage device 304. Further, the storage control unit 402 stores various information such as device information of the image forming apparatus 120, information of an event generated in the image forming apparatus 120, and information of various counters in the storage device 304. The device information includes identification information of the image forming apparatus such as an apparatus ID, and communication information such as an IP address. The event notifications that can be transmitted by the image forming apparatus 120 include, in addition to the event notification described with reference to FIG. 6, an energy saving mode transition event notification, a calibration completion event notification, a toner remaining amount reduction event notification, and a toner replacement completion event notification. Etc. The event notification information that can be transmitted by the image forming apparatus 120 is stored in the storage device 304. Further, the storage control unit 402 stores, as the management server information, communication information such as the IP address of the device management apparatus 131 that manages the image forming apparatus 120 in the storage device 304.
The forming unit 403 generates and outputs print data. The update unit 404 performs update management of firmware information of the image forming apparatus 120. More specifically, the update unit 404 receives a firmware update instruction from the device management apparatus 131 and performs the update.

The detection unit 405 detects a failure by determining whether a failure has occurred in the image forming apparatus 120 based on information acquired via the sensor 312. When detecting a failure, the detection unit 405 requests the diagnosis unit 406 to diagnose the location where the failure has occurred. The diagnosis unit 406 specifies the location where the failure detected by the detection unit 405 has occurred. The detection unit 405 generates a failure event notification indicating the location of the occurrence location 627 indicated by the diagnosis unit 406, and instructs the storage control unit 402 to store the generated failure event notification in the storage device 304. I do.
Further, when the image forming apparatus 120 is restarted, the detection unit 405 confirms whether the failure indicated by the failure occurrence event notification stored in the storage device 304 by the storage control unit 402 has recurred. If the recurrence has not occurred, the detection unit 405 generates a failure elimination event notification corresponding to the failure, and instructs the storage control unit 402 to store the information in the storage device 304.
The diagnosis unit 406 operates the printing unit 308 based on the information on the failure detected by the detection unit 405, and specifies the location where the failure has occurred.

The management unit 407 manages each event stored by the storage control unit 402 and controls each of the managed events to be transmitted to the device management apparatus 131 via the communication unit 401. The operation unit 408 converts input information input via the input / output device 310 such as a touch panel from a displayed screen or a pressed position to an internal signal, and stores the converted signal in the RAM 302 or the like. To make it available at the time of execution of processing according to various programs.
The display control unit 409 performs display control on a status bar or the like displayed on the input / output device 310 to display notification information regarding status information of the image forming apparatus 120. Further, the display control unit 409 also controls display of a notification indicating the arrival of a message in response to the acquisition of the instruction information or the like from the device management apparatus 131 on the status bar or the like. The display control unit 409 activates a browser function (Web browser or the like) in response to a user operation via the input / output device 310, and displays a message or the like from the device management device 131 on the input / output device 310. Control.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of the device management apparatus 131.
When the event notification is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 120, the device management apparatus 131 executes the following processing prior to the processing of each flowchart in FIG.
First, the external I / F unit 501 receives the event notification transmitted from the image forming apparatus 120. The external I / F unit 501 transmits the received event notification to the event control unit 521. The event control unit 521 transmits the received event notification to the history management unit 522, and instructs management. The history management unit 522 stores and manages the received event notification in the HDD 205 as event history information.

In addition, the event control unit 521 transmits the received event notification to the state control unit 511, and instructs whether the failure indicated in the event notification requires work. The state control unit 511 determines the type of the received event notification based on the event name of the received event notification. If the state control unit 511 determines that the type of the received event notification is a failure occurrence event notification, the process proceeds to the flowchart in FIG.
If the state control unit 511 determines that the type of the received event notification is a failure resolution event notification, the process proceeds to the flowchart in FIG. If the state control unit 511 determines that the type of the received event notification is an event notification that is different from both the failure occurrence event notification and the failure resolution event notification, the process proceeds to the flowchart in FIG.
Hereinafter, the processing of the flowcharts in FIGS. 7A to 7C will be described.

A process performed by the device management apparatus 131 when a failure event notification is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 120 will be described with reference to FIG.
In step S701, the determination unit 512 determines whether the E-code 626 included in the transmitted failure event notification and the event information related to the failure specified by the occurrence location 627 are present in the work list. The work list is data in a management table managed by the work management unit 513, excluding data of a row whose work status value is “closed”. If the determination unit 512 determines that it exists, the process proceeds to S703; otherwise, the process proceeds to S702.
In S702, the determination unit 512 determines that work is required for the failure indicated in the transmitted failure occurrence event notification, and determines the work status corresponding to the event information related to the failure to “necessary”. Then, the work management unit 513 determines event information related to the failure indicated in the failure occurrence event notification based on the failure occurrence event notification. More specifically, the work management unit 513 specifies information on the device ID 621, error ID 625, occurrence time 624, E code 626, occurrence location 627, and trigger 628 included in the failure occurrence event notification as event information related to the failure. I do. Then, the work management unit 513 associates the specified event information with the work status “necessary”, which is the result of the determination by the determination unit 512, and registers it as a management target in the management table.

In step S703, the determination unit 512 acquires from the management table the E code 626 included in the notification of the occurred failure event and the status value of the work status corresponding to the event information of the failure specified by the occurrence location 627. The determination unit 512 ends the process of FIG. 7A when the obtained status value is “necessary”, and advances the process to S704 when the obtained status value is “possible”.
In S704, the work management unit 513 updates the value of the work status corresponding to the event information regarding the failure determined to exist in S701 to “necessary”, and ends the processing in FIG.
When a failure event is transmitted by the processing of FIG. 7A, the work status for the failure indicated by the failure event in the management table becomes “necessary”.

The process of the device management apparatus 131 when a failure resolution event is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 120 will be described with reference to FIG.
In S711, the determination unit 512 determines whether or not the work list includes failure data corresponding to the E code 636 of the transmitted failure resolution event notification. If the determination unit 512 determines that it exists, the process proceeds to S712; otherwise, the determination unit 512 ends the process of FIG. 7B. If the determination unit 512 determines that there is no event notification, the management unit 407 of the image forming apparatus 120 has lost the event notification due to failure in processing for transmitting a failure event notification to the device management apparatus 131. Is the case.
In S712, the determination unit 512 specifies event information on the failure indicated by the E code 636 of the transmitted failure resolution event notification from the management table. Then, the determination unit 512 specifies the value of the work status corresponding to the specified event information. If the specified value is “necessary”, the process proceeds to step S713. If the specified value is “possible”, the determination unit 512 ends the process of FIG. 7B.
In S713, the work management unit 513 updates the work status value specified in S712 in the management table to “possible”, and ends the processing in FIG. 7B.

Even when the failure elimination event notification is transmitted, the failure occurrence event notification may be transmitted again, triggered by the start of a specific job or the like, without actually solving the failure. Accordingly, even when the failure management event notification is received by the processing of FIG. 7B, the device management apparatus 131 sets the work status for the failure corresponding to the failure management event notification to “possible” instead of “closed”. Yes ". As a result, the device management apparatus 131 can indicate to the serviceman that the failure may not have been resolved and that work may be required.
Further, for example, for a failure that appears to be resolved in the image forming apparatus 120 (a failure that is not displayed on the operation panel), there is a possibility that a serviceman needs to perform work when parts replacement is actually required. It can be shown that there is. For example, the serviceman can confirm and exchange parts for the work corresponding to such a trouble after the work is dispatched to the corresponding image forming apparatus 120 for another reason. Cost is reduced.

A process performed by the device management apparatus 131 when an event notification different from both a failure occurrence event notification and a failure elimination event notification is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 120 will be described with reference to FIG. In the example of FIG. 7C, it is assumed that the event control unit 521 has transmitted a job completion event notification of the print job.
In S721, the determination unit 512 determines whether or not the event information of the failure triggered by the event indicated in the transmitted event notification exists in the work list. More specifically, the determination unit 512 determines whether or not data whose trigger item value is the same as the event name 612 of the job completion event notification exists in the work list. When the job completion event notification 601 illustrated in FIG. 5 is transmitted, the determination unit 512 determines whether or not there is data in which the value of the trigger item is “print_job_complete” in the work list. If the determination unit 512 determines that there is a file, the process proceeds to S722, and if it determines that the file does not exist, the process of FIG. 7C ends.

In S722, the determination unit 512 determines whether or not the failure event notification having the event ID 613 of the transmitted event notification as the trigger event ID 629 exists in the event history information. If the determination unit 512 determines that it exists, it ends the process of FIG. 7C, and if it determines that it does not exist, the process proceeds to S723.
The process of S722 is a process of determining whether a failure event notification has been newly transmitted along with the transmitted event notification. If a failure occurrence event is not transmitted without a failure occurring along with the event indicated in the transmitted event notification, normal processing is performed in the image forming apparatus 120 in which the event has occurred, and the failure is resolved. It can be determined that there is. Further, when a failure occurs along with the event indicated in the transmitted event notification and the failure occurrence event is transmitted, it can be determined that the failure has not been resolved in the image forming apparatus 120 in which this event has occurred.
In S723, the work management unit 513 updates the value of the work status corresponding to the event information determined to exist in S721 in the work management table to “closed”.

If the work list contains data corresponding to a fault, but the fault event notification has not been sent along with the new event that triggered the fault, the fault has been resolved. It can be determined that there is. Therefore, the device management apparatus 131 executes the process of FIG. 7C to newly generate an event that has triggered a failure. If the failure has not occurred, the device management apparatus 131 sets the work status corresponding to the event information related to the failure. The value was updated to "closed". As a result, the device management apparatus 131 can exclude from the work list data corresponding to the failure that can be determined to have been resolved. Therefore, the serviceman does not need to perform unnecessary work.
For another reason, when the serviceman works on the corresponding image forming apparatus 120, the serviceman only needs to confirm whether the work is really necessary. Therefore, the device management apparatus 131 can reduce the cost of dispatching a serviceman, unnecessary component costs, and the like if a failure occurs by chance.

When the client terminal 111 makes a request for the work list to the device management apparatus 131, the external I / F unit 501 performs the following. That is, the external I / F unit 501 outputs information of the work list extracted from the work management table in which the data is registered and updated in the processing of FIG. 7 to the client terminal 111 that is the request source and outputs the information. The browser control unit 212 of the client terminal 111 displays the received work list information on the browser displayed on the display unit of the client terminal 111, and presents the information to the serviceman.
Then, the serviceman confirms the information of the presented work list and grasps whether or not to perform the work.

In the present embodiment, the external I / F unit 501 outputs the work list to the client terminal. However, the output destination of the work list is not limited to the client terminal. For example, when a service person can check the display unit of the device management apparatus 131, the external I / F unit 501 may output the information of the work list by displaying the information on the work list on the display unit of the device management apparatus 131. The serviceman checks the work list displayed on the display unit of the device management apparatus 131, and knows whether or not to perform the work.
In the present embodiment, the external I / F unit 501 outputs the work list to the output destination. However, the external I / F unit 501 may output only the event information included in the work list to the output destination instead of the work list. The external I / F unit 501 may output some event information included in the management table. Further, the external I / F unit 501 may output information of the management table to the output destination instead of the work list.

In the present embodiment, the external I / F unit 501 outputs the device ID, error ID, occurrence time, resolution time, E code, occurrence location, and trigger stored in the management table as event information. However, the event information output by the external I / F unit 501 is not limited to a device ID, an error ID, an occurrence time, a resolution time, an E code, an occurrence location, and a trigger. As another example, the external I / F unit 501 may output a part of the device ID, the error ID, the occurrence time, the cancellation time, the E code, the occurrence location, and the trigger as event information. For example, when only one type of failure is assumed in the image forming apparatus 120, the external I / F unit 501 may output only the device ID as event information.
Further, when there is only one image forming apparatus 120 (when there is only one device to be managed), the external I / F unit 501 does not need to output the device ID. In this case, the external I / F unit 501 only needs to output information on the content of the failure as event information.

  As described above, by the processing of the present embodiment, the device management apparatus 131 can output a work list that more accurately indicates the necessity of work for a failure that has occurred in the image forming apparatus 120. By confirming the contents of the output work list, the serviceman can appropriately grasp whether or not work is required. As described above, the device management apparatus 131 can assist in appropriately grasping whether or not work by a serviceman is required.

<Embodiment 2>
In the present embodiment, it may be difficult for the service technician to determine whether or not to perform an operation for a failure whose operation status is “possible”. In addition, unnecessary time and parts cost may be required by a service person performing unnecessary dispatch. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the providing system determines whether or not work is required for a failure whose corresponding work status is “possible”, based on the attribute information of the image forming apparatus 120 in which the failure has occurred. Perform the processing to determine.
The system configuration of the providing system of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment. Also, the hardware configuration of each system component of the providing system is the same as in the first embodiment. The functional configuration of each system component of the providing system is the same as that of the first embodiment.

The processing of this embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment in the processing when the device management apparatus 131 receives an error elimination event notification from any of the image forming apparatuses 120. Differences between the processing of the present embodiment and the first embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, the device management apparatus 131 executes the processing in FIG. 8 instead of the processing in FIG. 7B. The processing of FIG. 8 will be described.
The process of S711 is the same process as S711 of FIG. 7B.
Either the work status corresponding to this error resolution event notification included in the work list is “possible”, or it is originally “necessary” but is updated to “possible”. It is. That is, the work status corresponding to the error elimination event notification included in the work list is substantially “possible”. Therefore, the device management apparatus 131 substantially performs the processes of S801 to S803 on the data whose work status is “possible”.

In step S <b> 801, the determination unit 512 acquires predetermined attribute information of the image forming apparatus 120 that is the transmission source of the failure resolution event notification transmitted from the event control unit 521. In the present embodiment, the attribute information is at least one of design value information of the image forming apparatus 120, past failure information of the image forming apparatus 120, and dispatch history information of a serviceman for the image forming apparatus 120. Suppose there is. In the present embodiment, this attribute information is stored in the HDD 205 in advance. Therefore, the determination unit 512 acquires this attribute information from the HDD 205.
Then, the determination unit 512 performs a rule-based determination using the acquired attribute information to determine whether or not the work on the failure corresponding to the failure resolution event notification transmitted from the event control unit 521 is unnecessary. I do. More specifically, the determination unit 512 determines that the work for the fault is unnecessary when the value of the acquired attribute information satisfies a predetermined condition (rule), and when the value is not satisfied, the determination unit 512 Does not judge that work is unnecessary. The condition includes, for example, that the value indicated by the attribute information is included in a predetermined range. If the determination unit 512 determines that the work for the failure is unnecessary, the process proceeds to S803. If the determination unit 512 does not determine that the work for the failure is unnecessary, the process proceeds to S802.

In step S802, the work management unit 513 updates the work status value corresponding to the failure indicated by the failure resolution event notification transmitted from the event control unit 521 in the work management table to “possible”. Note that the work management unit 513 does not update the work management table when the value of the work status is “possible” from the beginning.
In step S803, the work management unit 513 updates the work status value corresponding to the failure indicated by the failure resolution event notification transmitted from the event control unit 521 in the work management table to “closed”.

In the present embodiment, when the failure resolution event notification is transmitted, the device management apparatus 131 performs a process of determining whether or not work is necessary for a failure whose work status is “possible”.
However, the device management apparatus 131 may perform processing for determining whether or not work is necessary for a failure whose work status is “possible” at another timing. For example, the device management apparatus 131 may be executed at a predetermined time, or may be executed periodically at a predetermined interval. In this case, for example, the device management apparatus 131 extracts data whose work status is “possible” from the work list, and performs the same processing as S801 to S803 on each of the extracted data.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the device management apparatus 131 determines whether or not it is unnecessary to perform a work for a failure with a work status of “possible” based on the attribute information of the image forming apparatus 120 that has caused the failure. It was determined. If the device management apparatus 131 determines that the work for the failure is unnecessary, the device management apparatus 131 updates the work status for the failure to “closed” and removes the data of the failure from the work list. As a result, the providing system does not present the data of the trouble that does not require the work to the service person. As a result, unnecessary work by the service person can be reduced. Therefore, the time and the cost of parts for the serviceman are reduced.

<Other embodiments>
In the first and second embodiments, the device management apparatus 131 is a single information processing apparatus. However, the device management apparatus 131 may be a single virtual server that is virtually realized on a certain information processing apparatus. Further, the device management apparatus 131 may be a plurality of virtual servers virtually realized on each of a plurality of information processing apparatuses. Further, the device management apparatus 131 may be a plurality of virtual servers virtually realized on a single single information processing apparatus. Further, the device management apparatus 131 may be a system including a plurality of information processing apparatuses. In that case, the CPU of each information processing apparatus included in the device management apparatus 131 executes processing in cooperation with each other in accordance with the program stored in the HDD in each information processing apparatus, thereby explaining the processing described in the first and second embodiments. The functions and processes of the device management apparatus 131 are realized.
In the first and second embodiments, the device management apparatus 131 updates the work status of a failure determined to be unnecessary in S723 or S803 to “closed”. However, the device management apparatus 131 may delete, from the work management table, the data of the failure determined that the work is unnecessary (one line of the work management data). Also, at this time, if there is a request to keep a history of failures that have become unnecessary, the device management apparatus 131 may perform the following. That is, the device management apparatus 131 may store, in the HDD 205, data to be retained (for example, a set of a device ID and an error ID) among the data to be deleted from the work management table.

  The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or the apparatus read and execute the program. This process can be realized. Further, it can also be realized by a circuit (for example, an ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

For example, a part or all of the functional configuration of the above-described providing system may be implemented as hardware in the device management apparatus 131 or the like.
As described above, an example of the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail, but the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment. For example, the above embodiments may be arbitrarily combined.

131 Device management device 202 CPU

Claims (6)

Receiving means for receiving an event notification from a network device;
A management unit that manages event information that is information on an event that has occurred in the network device and a work status indicating the necessity of work on the event, in response to the event notification received by the reception unit,
Output means for outputting the event information managed by the management means according to the work status;
Has,
When the failure occurrence event notification is received by the reception unit, the management unit registers event information relating to the failure indicated in the failure occurrence event notification, and sets a first status indicating that work is required to the failure status. Registered as work status corresponding to event information related to
When a failure elimination event notification corresponding to the failure is received by the receiving unit, the management unit changes a work status corresponding to the event information related to the failure to a second indicating that work may be required. Update to status,
If an event notification that notifies the occurrence of the event that triggered the failure is received by the receiving unit, and the failure occurrence event notification is not received in conjunction with the event, the management unit performs an event related to the failure. A management device that updates a work status corresponding to information to a third status indicating that work is unnecessary.   If the failure occurrence event notification is received by the receiving means, and event information relating to the failure indicated in the failure occurrence event notification is not registered by the management means, the management means sets the event information and the first A status corresponding to the event information relating to the failure, wherein the status is registered, the failure occurrence event notification is received by the receiving unit, and the event information relating to the failure indicated in the failure event notification is already registered, and The management device according to claim 1, wherein when the status is the second status, a work status corresponding to the event information on the failure is updated to the first status.   The management device according to claim 1, wherein the output unit outputs event information associated with the first status and the second status, out of the event information managed by the management unit. According to a predetermined condition relating to the attribute of the network device, further comprising a determination unit that determines whether or not the work on the event indicated in the event information associated with the second status is unnecessary,
4. The management according to claim 1, wherein when the determination unit determines that the work is unnecessary, the management unit updates a work status corresponding to the event to the third status. 5. apparatus.   The management device according to claim 1, wherein the management unit manages event information that is information regarding a failure that has occurred in the network device. A method for controlling a management device, comprising:
A receiving step of receiving an event notification from the network device;
In response to the event notification received in the receiving step, a management step of managing event information that is information about an event that has occurred in the network device and a work status indicating the necessity of work for the event,
An output step of outputting the event information managed in the management step according to the work status,
Including
When a failure occurrence event notification is received in the receiving step, in the management step, event information relating to the failure indicated in the failure occurrence event notification is registered, and a first status indicating that work is required is set to the failure status. Registered as work status corresponding to event information related to
When a failure resolution event notification corresponding to the failure is received in the receiving step, the management step sets a work status corresponding to the event information regarding the failure to a second status indicating that work may be required. Update to status,
If an event notification notifying the occurrence of the event that triggered the failure in the receiving step is received, and the failure occurrence event notification is not received along with the event, the management step includes an A control method for updating a work status corresponding to information to a third status indicating that work is unnecessary.

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