JP2023074849A - Image formation device, log information relay device, and log information amount answering device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image formation device, a log information relay device, and a log information amount answering device, capable of controlling a log information amount accumulated in a log information storage device that stores log information required for analyzing a trouble in the image formation device, without adding a function to the log information storage device.SOLUTION: If the memory number of log information that a trouble code of a trouble generated in an image formation device and a detailed code are the same, stored in a log information storage device, is less than a predetermined threshold value (S604:NO), the log information containing log data is transmitted to the log information storage device (S610) to be useful for a trouble analysis and a countermeasure. If the memory number of log information is the predetermined threshold value or larger (S604:YES), a storage capacity of the log information storage device is saved by transmitting a blank file excluding the log data to the log information storage device as log information (S615).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus, a log information relay apparatus, and a log information amount responding apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for controlling log information of an image forming apparatus accumulated in a log information storage apparatus.

In recent years, MFPs (Multi-Function Peripherals) that combine functions such as printing, scanning, copying, facsimile, and box functions have become widespread, and a huge number of MFPs are in use around the world. It is A multifunction machine, also called a digital multifunction machine, executes various firmware processes by means of a built-in computer.

When a trouble occurs in the MFP, log information is transmitted from the MFP to the log information management server by a remote maintenance service such as CSRA (Customer Service Remote Analysis). The log information is, for example, data compression of a set of files necessary for investigating the cause of the trouble.

This compressed file may be given a file name that indicates the type of trouble, a code representing the details of the trouble, the time when the trouble occurred, and the identification information of the multifunction machine in which the trouble occurred.

By analyzing the log information accumulated in the log information management server, it is possible to investigate the number of occurrences of each trouble in subordinate multifunction machines and the cause of the trouble. Also, by updating the firmware of the multi-function device according to such analysis results, it is possible to prevent troubles and improve user convenience.

In addition, it is not uncommon for the log information management server to receive log information from, for example, thousands of multifunction peripherals. Also, the log information is sent from the MFP to the log information management server each time a trouble occurs.

Therefore, if the same trouble with the same cause occurs frequently, a large amount of log information with similar content may be accumulated in the log information management server.

When a large amount of log information is accumulated, there is a limit to the number of log information that can be manually analyzed, so it is difficult to analyze all of the large amount of accumulated log information.

From the point of view of solving the cause of the trouble, it is sufficient to analyze a few to several dozen log information items. You're just under pressure and you have nothing to gain.

To solve such a problem, for example, deleting log information one by one from the oldest log information among the accumulated log information can be considered.

Further, there has been proposed a server that refers to a database in which log information is accumulated, and deletes log information accumulated according to a predetermined pattern when the log information is accumulated according to the predetermined pattern (for example, See Patent Document 1).

By deleting the log information in this way, it is possible to prevent problems that may occur due to an excessive amount of accumulated log information.

JP 2017-49715 A

In recent years, cloud computing services such as Amazon Web Services (registered trademark), Google Cloud Platform (registered trademark), Microsoft Azure (registered trademark), etc. have been provided. It is becoming popular by providing services in a form that charges by the hour according to the amount of data and capacity.

By using these services, service users can flexibly build information processing systems such as web systems at low cost without having to prepare their own physical equipment. becomes. The same applies to the log information management server.

When a log information management server is implemented using cloud storage, a large amount of log information must be accumulated as the number of troubles increases. Therefore, if a large amount of cloud storage is used, the billing amount will increase.

Deleting the log information can be considered as a measure to avoid such an increase in billing amount. However, the use of cloud computing services such as those described above may limit system customization.

For example, when log information is accumulated using cloud storage, it is only possible to collectively delete old log information. It is difficult to select and delete.

The present disclosure has been made in view of the problems as described above. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus, a log information relay apparatus, and a log information amount response apparatus capable of controlling the amount of log information accumulated in an image forming apparatus.

To achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure is one of a plurality of image forming apparatuses that transmit and store log information to a log information storage device, Storage status acquisition means for acquiring the storage status of log information in a log information storage device, and acquisition by the storage status acquisition means of the data size of log information to be sent to the log information storage device with respect to a trouble that has occurred in the device itself. and a control means for changing based on the stored state.

In this case, the storage status acquisition means acquires the number of log information stored in the log information storage device for each type of trouble as the storage status, and the control means transmits log information to the log information storage device. Regarding log information related to troubles related to the above and common troubles, if the number of stored items is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, the log information data to be sent to the log information storage device rather than the case where the number of stored items is less than the specified number. You can reduce the size.

Also, it comprises version information acquisition means for acquiring version information of the firmware installed in the device itself, and countermeasure status storage means for storing the countermeasure status for each combination of the type of trouble and the version of the firmware, If the trouble that occurred in the device itself has been resolved with a version newer than the version of the firmware installed in the device itself, the control means is configured to use a version newer than the version of the firmware installed in the device itself. The data size of the log information to be transmitted to the log information storage device may be smaller than in the case where the countermeasure has not been taken in the above and in the case where the countermeasure has been taken in a version earlier than the version of the firmware installed in the device itself.

The storage status acquisition means acquires, as the storage status, the number of times the log information storage device stores new log information within a predetermined period for each type of trouble, and the control means obtains the log Regarding log information related to troubles common to troubles related to log information to be sent to the information storage device, when the number of stored items is less than a predetermined number, log information is stored more than when the number of stored items is equal to or greater than the predetermined number. The data size of log information to be transmitted to the device may be reduced.

Further, the storage status acquisition means acquires, as the storage status, a free space for storing log information in the log information storage device, and the control means, when the free space is less than a predetermined amount, A data size of the log information to be transmitted to the log information storage device may be made smaller than when the number of stored items is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount.

The storage status acquisition means acquires the number of log information stored in the log information storage device for each type of trouble as the storage status, and troubles common to troubles related to log information transmitted to the log information storage device. If the number of log information items stored is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, the log information may be prohibited from being transmitted to the log information storage device.

version information acquisition means for acquiring version information of firmware installed in the self-device; countermeasure status storage means for storing the countermeasure status for each combination of the type of trouble and the version of the firmware; prohibiting means for prohibiting transmission of log information related to the trouble to the log information storage device when the trouble that has occurred has been dealt with by a newer version of the firmware installed in the own device; You may prepare.

The storage status acquisition means acquires, as the storage status, the number of times the log information storage device stores new log information within a predetermined period for each type of trouble, and transmits the number to the log information storage device. If the number of log information related to the trouble related to the log information and the common trouble is less than a predetermined number, prohibiting means for prohibiting transmission of the log information to the log information storage device may be provided. .

The storage status acquisition means acquires, as the storage status, a free space for storing log information in the log information storage device, and if the free space is less than a predetermined amount, the log information storage device You may provide the prohibition means which prohibits transmitting log information to.

A log information relay device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a log information relay device that receives log information from a plurality of image forming apparatuses, transmits the log information to a log information storage device, and stores the log information. a storage status obtaining means for obtaining a storage status of log information in an information storage device; and upon receipt of log information from the image forming apparatus, a data size of the log information is determined based on the storage status obtained by the storage status obtaining means. and control means for changing the log information and transmitting the log information to the log information storage device.

In this case, version information acquiring means for acquiring version information of firmware installed in the image forming apparatus of the receiving destination of the log information, and storing countermeasure status for each combination of the type of the trouble and the version of the firmware. and countermeasure status storage means, wherein the control means detects that the trouble related to the received log information has been countermeasured with a newer version than the version of the firmware installed in the image forming apparatus receiving the log information. , if the version of the firmware installed in the image forming apparatus receiving the log information is newer than the version of the firmware installed in the image forming apparatus receiving the log information, and the version of the firmware installed in the image forming apparatus receiving the log information The data size of the log information to be transmitted to the log information storage device may be made smaller than in the case where countermeasures have been taken in the previous version.

Version information acquisition means for acquiring version information of firmware installed in an image forming apparatus that receives log information; and countermeasure status for storing countermeasure status for each combination of the trouble type and firmware version If a problem related to the storage means and the received log information has been resolved by a newer version than the version of the firmware installed in the image forming apparatus receiving the log information, the log information is stored in the log information. and prohibiting means for prohibiting transmission to the device.

A log information amount response device according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a receiving unit that receives an inquiry about the data size of log information from a plurality of image forming apparatuses that transmit and store log information to a log information storage device; storage status acquisition means for acquiring the storage status of log information in an information storage device; and log information for which an inquiry has been received should be transmitted to the log information storage device based on the storage status acquired by the storage status acquisition means. and response means for responding with the data size of the log information to the image forming apparatus that is the source of the inquiry.

An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure is an image forming apparatus that transmits and stores log information to a log information storage device, and includes an occurrence frequency acquisition unit that acquires the frequency of occurrence of trouble in the own device; and control means for changing the data size of the log information to be transmitted to the log information storage device based on the frequency.

With this configuration, the data size of the log information to be transmitted from the image forming apparatus to the log information storage device is changed according to the storage status of the log information storage device. can be controlled.

In particular, by controlling the data size of the log information according to the amount of log information stored in the log information storage device, when the same trouble occurs in a plurality of image forming apparatuses, the trouble can be analyzed and The storage capacity of the log information storage device can be saved without interfering with countermeasures.

When reducing the data size of log information, if the log data is omitted from the log information and the type of trouble, the time of occurrence, and the identification information of the image forming apparatus are sent to the log information storage device, the log data that is unnecessary for trouble analysis can be saved. can be suppressed, and the occurrence of trouble can be recorded.

1 is a diagram showing the main configuration of a log information management system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of the image forming apparatus 100; FIG. (a) is a table exemplifying trouble codes, (b) is a table exemplifying the contents of trouble occurrence information, (c) is a table exemplifying a list of trouble codes that have been dealt with, and (d) is a table showing memory 4 is a table illustrating a status table; (a) illustrates a file name of log information, (b) illustrates log data included in the log information, and (c) illustrates a log information list. 4 is a flowchart for explaining processing for creating a storage status table by the image forming apparatus 100; 10 is a flowchart for explaining processing in which the image forming apparatus 100 transmits log information whose data size is changed according to the storage status of the log information storage device 110 to the log information storage device 110. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the main configuration of a log information management system 7 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of a log information relay device 700; FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining processing for creating a storage status table by the log information relay device 700; 10 is a flowchart for explaining processing in which the log information relay device 700 transmits to the log information storage device 110 log information whose data size is changed according to the storage status of the log information storage device 110. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating processing for transmitting log information to the log information relay device 700 of the image forming apparatus 100; FIG. 11 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the log information amount responding device according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. FIG. 11 is a flow chart explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. FIG. 11 is a flow chart explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the main configuration of a log information management system 15 according to a modified example of the present disclosure;

Hereinafter, embodiments of an image forming apparatus, a log information relay apparatus, and a log information amount response apparatus according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.
[1] First Embodiment In this embodiment, when an image forming apparatus generates log information when a trouble occurs, transmits it to a log information storage device, and stores it, the storage status in the log information storage device is Change the data size of the log information according to. This suppresses an increase in the storage capacity of the entire log information stored in the log information storage device.
(1-1) Configuration of Log Information Management System As shown in FIG. are connected so that they can communicate with each other via

Here, the plurality of image forming apparatuses 100 need not all be of the same model, and may be of different models. The image forming apparatus 100 may be a single-function device such as a printer device, a copy device with a scanning function, or a facsimile device with a facsimile function.

Further, the image forming apparatus 100 may be a multi-function peripheral (MFP: Multi-Function Peripheral) having a printer function, a scan function, a copy function, a facsimile function, a BOX function, and the like.

The image forming apparatus 100 forms an image using image data stored in advance, image data generated by scanning a document using a scanning function, image data received from another apparatus using a facsimile function or a network communication function, and the like.

For example, an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer (PC) receives a page description that can be processed by the image forming apparatus 100 using a printer driver based on a drawing command issued by an operating system (OS) or an application program. A drawing instruction described in a language (PDL: Page Description Language) is generated and transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100 as print data including image data.

Print data is document data written in file formats such as PDF (Portable Document Format), TIFF (Tagged Image File Format), JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), and XPS (XML Paper Specification, XML: Extensible Markup Language). may be

When scanning a document with the scanning function, the document can be scanned while placed on the platen glass (platen set method), or the document can be fed one sheet at a time using an automatic document feeder (ADF). You may read while reading (sheet-through method). The image forming apparatus 100 can form an image using image data generated by reading a document by either reading method.

The image forming apparatus 100 can transmit log information regarding its own status and operations to the log information storage device 110 via the communication network 120 . The log information may be sent by attaching it to an e-mail, or may be sent using FTP (File Transfer Protocol).

Further, the image forming apparatus 100 uses WebDAV (Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning) to use the log information storage device 110 as a Web server and itself as a client, thereby transmitting log information to the log information storage device 110. You can also Needless to say, image forming apparatus 100 may use a plurality of transmission methods to transmit log information to log information storage device 110 .

The log information storage device 110 is a general computer device to which a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a fixed storage device such as a hard disk device, a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like are connected. The log information storage device also has a function of receiving log information from a plurality of image forming apparatuses 100 and storing it in a fixed storage device.

As the log information storage device 110, a cloud storage service provided by AWS (Amazon Web Services. Registered trademark) or the like may be used.

Communication network 120 may be a LAN (Local Area Network), the Internet, or a combination thereof. Moreover, it may be a communication network that performs wired communication using a dedicated line or a general line, or it may be a communication network that uses wireless communication. Also, different types of communication networks may be interconnected.
(1-2) Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 100 As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a control section 200, an image reading section 211, an operation panel 212, an image forming section 213, a printer controller 214, and the like.

The control unit 200 includes a CPU 201, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202, an S-RAM (Static RAM) 203, an NV-RAM (Non Volatile RAM) 204, a clock IC (Integrated Circuit) 205, a fixed storage device 206, and a network interface 207. and are communicatively connected to each other by an internal bus 208 .

When the image forming apparatus 100 is powered on and reset, the CPU 201 reads the boot program from the ROM 202 and starts up. The control program, the log processing program 220, etc. are executed.

In this embodiment, a case where Linux (registered trademark) is used as an OS will be described as an example, but it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to this. good. Also, programs such as the control program and the log processing program 220 executed by the CPU 201 are referred to as firmware modules.

The ROM 202 stores version information of the ROM 202 itself and information such as the model of the image forming apparatus 100 in addition to the boot program described above.

The NV-RAM 204 is a battery-backed non-volatile memory and stores various settings of the image forming apparatus 100 . The clock IC 205 is an IC for measuring time, and the date and time to be recorded in the log information is acquired using the clock IC 205 . Network interface 207 performs processing for communicating with other devices such as log information storage device 110 via communication network 120 .

The image reading unit 211 reads a document and generates image data. The document reading method may be the platen setting method or the sheet-through method, as described above. The image reading unit 211 may also be compatible with both of these reading methods.

The operation panel 212 is a user interface for presenting information to the user of the image forming apparatus 100 and receiving instruction input from the user. The operation panel 212 includes ten keys, a PRINT key, a logout key, a display section, and the like.

The numeric keypad is a key for receiving input of numerical values from the user, and the PRINT key is a key for receiving an instruction input to start printing. The logout key is a key for receiving a logout instruction input when the user is logged in.

The display unit is, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, and displays information to be presented to the user. The display unit may constitute a touch panel in combination with the touch pad. The operation panel 212 may also include a speaker that outputs sounds such as beeps.

The image forming unit 213 includes a paper feeding unit, an image forming unit, a fixing unit, and the like. A paper feed unit supplies a recording medium for recording an image. As the recording medium, for example, a recording sheet such as paper or cloth can be used. The image forming section forms an image on the medium supplied by the paper feeding section.

The image forming method used by the image forming unit may be an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method. Also, an image forming method other than these may be used. The fixing section fixes the image on the recording medium. The fixing method differs depending on the image forming method. For example, when the image forming method is an electrophotographic method, a heat fixing method is used, and when an inkjet method is used, an ultraviolet curing method is used.

The printer controller 214 generates image data for printing from image data included in print data received by the control unit 200 from another device and image data generated by the image reading unit 211, and uses the generated image data. The image forming unit 213 is controlled so as to form an image using the

The short-range wireless interface 215 is an interface that executes communication processing for short-range wireless communication. Short-range wireless communication is used, for example, for authentication processing using an IC card.

The wireless interface 216 is an interface that executes communication processing for wireless communication with other wireless devices.
(1-3) Log Processing When a trouble (abnormality) is detected, the image forming apparatus 100 displays a trouble code representing the type of trouble on the display section of the operation panel 212, and stores log information for analyzing the trouble. Record.

The trouble code indicates whether a hardware-related trouble or a firmware-related trouble occurred, and what phenomenon occurred when the trouble occurred.
(1-3-1) Troubles Related to Hardware As troubles related to hardware (HW), for example, the image forming unit 213 adopts an electrophotographic method, and an image (toner image) is transferred to a recording medium. In addition, there is a temperature defect when heat fixing is performed. Further, in a paper tray containing a recording medium (paper), lift-up failure when paper is lifted up and fed out is also a hardware-related problem.

A trouble code can be defined, for example, as shown in FIG. 3(a). For example, the trouble code "C-0101" is "abnormality of paper feeding motor". In other words, when "C-0101" is displayed on the display unit as a trouble code or stored in the log information, the paper feed unit of the image forming unit 213 does not supply the recording medium. It can be seen that an abnormality was detected in the motor.

Further, the trouble code "C-0351" is "paper cooling fan rotation failure". Therefore, if the trouble code is "C-0351", it means that the paper cooling fan for cooling the recording medium on which the image is thermally fixed by the fixing unit of the image forming unit 213 has failed to rotate. I understand.

Incidentally, in the present embodiment, a trouble code that is commonly defined among a plurality of models of image forming apparatus 100 is used. Needless to say, the present disclosure is not limited to this, and different models of the image forming apparatus 100 may have different definitions of trouble codes.
(1-3-2) Troubles related to firmware Troubles related to firmware (FW: Firmware) include, for example, failure of software logic, processing stop when CPU occupancy exceeds a certain level, segmentation fault (segmentation) fault), etc.

For troubles related to firmware, the OS and firmware generate log data regarding the internal state and processing history of the OS and firmware, so the trouble code can be identified by referring to the log data.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3(a), the trouble code "C-E016" is "cannot use the authentication federation browser". This trouble code indicates that the browser for executing user authentication of the image forming apparatus 100 has become unusable.

The trouble code "C-F001" is "BIOS abnormality detected". This trouble code indicates that an abnormality in the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) has been detected.

In addition, a trouble code (hereinafter simply referred to as a "detailed code") may be recorded together with the trouble code so that the occurrence event can be understood in more detail. The trouble occurrence information illustrated in FIG. 3B illustrates a case where two kinds of detailed codes, detailed code #1 and detailed code #2, can be recorded for each trouble code.

For example, when the trouble code is "C-E016", "ABAB" is recorded as detailed code #1, and "1F321F4500000000" is recorded as detailed code #2. On the other hand, when the trouble code is "C-FB8A", "0001" is recorded as detailed code #1, but detailed code #2 is not recorded.

For troubles related to hardware, a detailed code can be written together with the trouble code in the same way.

Also, log data such as "/var/log/dmesg" and "/var/log/messages" can be acquired as log information of troubles related to the firmware.

"/var/log/dmesg" is a file that saves the log from immediately after the Linux OS (registered trademark) starts booting until the file system is mounted. Messages output by the kernel during booting are written here. It is rare.

"/var/log/messages" stores general messages about the system, such as messages about various firmware including user authentication information and control programs, according to syslog settings.

In addition to the above, the firmware records log data necessary for trouble analysis at various timings.

Since the log data required for trouble analysis cannot be identified until trouble analysis is completed, the log information that can be used for trouble analysis is collected from as many firmwares as possible. becomes enormous.

As log data, in addition to the above, for example, Thread_Log output by each thread of firmware, Network_Module_log related to communication, ROM_Version_Log representing the version of ROM 202, and the like are conceivable.
(1-3-3) Log Information The log information is a compressed file obtained by compressing the archive file in which the log data collected as described above is put together. In the present embodiment, log data archive files are created using tar (Tape Archives), and the log data archive files are data-compressed using gzip (GNU zip; GNU: GNU's Not Unix!). Of course, other methods may be used to create archive files and compress data.

For example, after storing the log data in one folder, it is possible to collectively compress the data for each folder.

In the present embodiment, in order to indicate which trouble the log information stored in the log information storage device 110 is related to, a trouble code, a detailed code, and a trouble name are added to the file name of the log information. The date and time of occurrence and the identification information of the image forming apparatus 100 in which the trouble occurred are included.

In the example of FIG. 4A, the file name of the log information is a snake case notation in which the trouble code, the detailed code, the date and time of occurrence, and the identification information of the image forming apparatus 100 are separated by underscores. It goes without saying that the delimiter is not limited to the underscore, and it goes without saying that any character other than the underscore may be used as the delimiter.

In this example, the trouble code is "AAAA" and the detail code is "BBBB".

The date and time when the trouble occurred is "20210827_1500", and the date and time are separated by an underscore. Therefore, it can be seen that the trouble occurred at 15:00 on August 27, 2021.

The identification information of the image forming apparatus 100 is "MACHINE_ID", but this is merely an example. good too. Also, the model code and the serial number may be separated by a delimiter such as an underscore.

The character string "tar" separated by periods from the identification information of the image forming apparatus 100 indicates that the file is an archive file created using tar.

Also, the character string "tar" and the character string "gz" separated by a period indicate that the file is a compressed file whose data has been compressed using gzip.

In the log information file "AAAA_BBBB_20210827_1500_MACHINE_ID.tar.gz", as log data, for example, as shown in FIG. It includes a system log "messages.log", individual thread log "Thread_Log", communication log "Network_Module_Log", ROM 202 version information "ROM_Version_Log", and the like. Furthermore, log data may be obtained from a BSP (Board Support Package), a print module, or the like.
(1-3-4) Log Information Accumulated in Log Information Storage Device 110 Image forming apparatus 100 transmits the log information to log information storage device 110 each time a trouble occurs. Log information storage device 110 stores log information received from image forming apparatus 100 . As a result, log information is accumulated in the log information storage device 110 .

For example, the image forming apparatus 100 logs into the log information storage device 110 using FTP (File Transfer Protocol), and acquires a list of log information accumulated in the log information storage device 110 using an ls command. can.

In this case, a script containing FTP commands may be used. for example,
ftp -s ftp cmd. txt > ftplog. txt
Then, the FTP commands written in the script file "ftpcmd.txt" are sequentially executed, and the execution results are redirected to the file "ftplog.txt".

The contents of the script file "ftpcmd.txt" are, for example,
open [host name of log information storage device 110]
[account name]
[password]
cd [directory name]
ls
bye
is. Here, "open" is an FTP command for FTP connection to the log information storage device 110, and the host name of the log information storage device 110 is used.

[Account Name] is an account name for logging into the log information storage device 110, and [Password] is a password for logging into the log information storage device 110. Both are registered in the log information storage device 110. There is.

“cd” is a TP command to change the current directory in the log information storage device 110 . By specifying the name of the directory in which the log information is stored in [Directory name], it is possible to move to that directory.

"ls" is an FTP command for listing the file names of files stored in the current directory. As described above, since the directory in which the log information is stored is moved to, the log information stored in the directory can be listed by executing the "ls" command.

A list of log information acquired using the "ls" command is hereinafter referred to as a "log information list".

"bye" is an FTP command for disconnecting the FTP connection.

In the log information list obtained in this way, in the example shown in FIG. 4C, all of the log information in which the identification information of the image forming apparatus 100 is "Machine_2020073001682", "Machine_2020073001687" and "Machine_2020073001674" , the trouble code is "E016" and the detail code is "ABAB", so it can be seen that the same trouble has occurred three times.

On the other hand, the log information in which the identification information of the image forming apparatus 100 is "Machine_2019020300012" has the trouble code "FB8A" and the detailed code "0001", which is a single trouble.
(1-3-5) Trouble analysis using log information When analyzing troubles of the image forming apparatus 100 using log information, a plurality of pieces of log information having common trouble codes and detailed codes are referenced. The number of pieces of log information required for analysis is often limited. Log information exceeding the number required for trouble analysis has no use other than referring to the trouble occurrence date and time, and is not used for trouble analysis.

Storing log information that is not used for trouble analysis in the log information storage device 110 unnecessarily occupies the storage capacity of the log information storage device 110 . Also, if the log information storage device 110 is a commercial cloud storage, there is a possibility that the billing amount will increase unnecessarily.

For example, consider a case where the log information storage device 110 stores 100 pieces of log information with a trouble code of "F001". First, one of the log information with the trouble code "F001" is decompressed to proceed with the trouble analysis.

Next, by referring to other log information whose trouble code is "F001", it is confirmed whether or not the trouble occurred due to the same cause as the log information analyzed previously. It is sufficient to perform this confirmation work for about 10 to 20 pieces of log information. For example, even if there are 100 pieces of log information with the trouble code "F001", it is not necessary to check all of them.

Normally, there are only a few patterns in the cause of trouble for each trouble code, so if you check the log information of about 10 to 20 cases, you can find out which pattern of trouble caused the trouble of the trouble code. can be specified.

Therefore, of the 100 pieces of log information, 80 pieces of log information are discarded without being subjected to trouble analysis. That is, 80 unnecessary log information items are stored in the log information storage device 110 .

Therefore, in the case where the log information storage device 110 is a so-called on-premise device operated by the company, if there is not enough storage capacity, unnecessary log information will be accumulated, and necessary log information will be lost. There is a possibility that the data cannot be stored, or that the storage capacity must be unnecessarily increased.

Further, when using a commercial log information storage device 110, the storage capacity of the log information storage device 110 can be flexibly expanded, so there is little risk of not being able to accumulate necessary log information.

However, in the case of pay-as-you-go billing according to the storage capacity used, continuing to accumulate unnecessary log information will only increase the billing amount beyond the purpose of trouble analysis and reduce cost performance. .

In order to save the billing amount, it is conceivable to delete unnecessary log information, but if a commercial cloud storage is used as the log information storage device 110, there are cases where the only option is to collectively delete the log information.

In such a case, in order to maintain log information that may be used for trouble analysis that will be necessary in the future, it becomes impossible to delete clearly unnecessary log information, saving cloud storage charges. Can not do it.

As a countermeasure against such problems, image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment performs the following processing.
(1-4) Log Processing Operation of Image Forming Apparatus 100 Image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment suppresses the number of log information items accumulated in log information storage device 110 by executing log processing program 220. In order to do so, the storage status of the log information in the log information storage device 110 is checked, and the log data is omitted for the log information determined to be unlikely to be used for trouble analysis.
(1-4-1) Confirmation of Log Information Storage Status in Log Information Storage Device 110 When the image forming apparatus 100 confirms the storage status of log information in the log information storage device 110, as shown in FIG. First, the clock IC 205 is used to confirm whether or not it is time to acquire the log information list from the log information storage device 110 .

The timing of acquiring the log information list is, for example, the timing when the main power of the image forming apparatus 100 is turned on. For the image forming apparatus 100 that is always energized for facsimile reception, the log information list may be acquired at the timing when the date changes.

Further, when a large number of image forming apparatuses 100 access the common log information storage device 110, the log information storage device 110 and the communication network can be controlled by differentiating the timing of acquiring the log information list among the image forming devices 100. 120 communication load concentration can be suppressed.

When it is time to acquire the log information list (S501: YES), the image forming apparatus 100 makes an FTP connection to the log information storage device 110 (S502) and acquires the log information list (S503). The procedure for acquiring the log information list using FTP is as described above.

The image forming apparatus 100 further confirms whether or not a list of corrected trouble codes is stored in the log information storage device 110 . If the list of trouble codes with countermeasures is stored in the same directory as the log information, the presence or absence of the list of trouble codes with countermeasures can be checked by referring to the log information list.

Also, in the log information storage device 110, if the directory in which the log information is stored is different from the directory in which the list of trouble codes with countermeasures is stored, the directory is moved to the directory in which the list of trouble codes with countermeasures is stored. Afterwards, by using the above-mentioned "ls" command, it is possible to confirm whether or not the list of trouble codes with countermeasures is stored in the directory.

In this case, in the above script file "ftpcmd.txt",
cd [directory name]
ls
may be added. Here, [directory name] is a directory that may store a list of corrected trouble codes. By doing so, the list of files stored in the directory is added to the above-mentioned "ftplog.txt", so it is possible to check whether or not there is a list of corrected trouble codes.

As a result of confirmation, if there is a list of trouble codes with countermeasures (S504: YES), the list of trouble codes with countermeasures is acquired from the log information storage device 110 (S505). In this case, for example, if the corrected trouble code list is a text file,
ascii
get [file name]
, it is possible to obtain a list of trouble codes that have been dealt with. "ascii" is an FTP command that sets the transfer mode to ASCII mode. [File name] is the file name of the list of trouble codes that have been dealt with. If the corrected trouble code list is a binary file, the "binary" command is used instead of the "ascii" command to set the transfer mode to the binary mode.

FIG. 3(c) is an example of a trouble code list for which countermeasures have been taken. In FIG. 3C, for the image forming apparatus 100 with the model "Machine_Code1", the trouble with the trouble code "E016" and the detail code "ABAB" has been resolved with the version "G00-10". ing.

Therefore, even if a trouble with a trouble code of "C-E016" and a detailed code of "ABAB" occurs in the image forming apparatus 100 of a version earlier than "G00-10", the trouble cannot be analyzed and countermeasures taken. Since it is completed, it can be seen that there is no need to perform trouble analysis again.

Similarly, for the image forming apparatus 100 with the model "Machine_Code2", the trouble with the trouble code "C-FFEE" and the detail code "0001" has been resolved with the version "G00-20". , even if the trouble occurs in the image forming apparatus 100 of a version earlier than "G00-10", there is no need to analyze the trouble again.

In the example of FIG. 3(c), the ROM 202 version naming rule is defined so that G00-00 is the oldest, and 01, 02 . . . 09, 10, . If necessary, a branch number (".01" part) such as G00-55.01 may be added.

Based on this naming rule, it is possible to compare the version of the ROM 202 of the machine itself and the version of the ROM 202 that has already taken measures. That is, by checking the size of the xx portion of G00-xx, it is possible to compare the old and new versions.

When there is no need to perform trouble analysis in this manner, there is no need to store log information related to the trouble in the log information storage device 110 . It can be done without it.

If there is no list of trouble codes for which countermeasures have been taken (S504: NO) and after the process of step S505, the FTP connection with the log information storage device 110 is disconnected (S506).

After that, referring to the "ftplog.txt" file, the number of log information items stored in the log information storage device 110 is calculated for each combination of the trouble code and the detailed code from the file name of the log information included in the log information list. is counted (S507).

Specifically, the log information list is referenced line by line, and the trouble code and the detail code are extracted using the delimiter "_" included in the file name of the log information as a clue. The count value associated with the combination of the extracted trouble code and detailed code is incremented by one for each log information item.

In the example of FIG. 4C, the log information with the trouble code "E016" and the detail code "ABAB" has a count value of 3, and the log information with the trouble code "FB8A" and the detail code "0001". has a count value of 1.

Image forming apparatus 100 stores log information count values for each combination of a trouble code and a detailed code as the storage status of log information in log information storage device 110 . In the example shown in FIG. 3D, the log information with the trouble code "E016" and the detail code "ABAB" has a count value of 3, and the log information with the trouble code "FB8A" and the detail code "0001" As for the information, the count value is one.

After executing the counting process as described above for the entire log information list, the counting result is saved (S508).

The storage destination of the counting result may be NV-RAM 204 or fixed storage device 206 . Each time the image forming apparatus 100 is powered on, the log information list is acquired and the number of log information items stored for each combination of the trouble code and the detailed code is counted. should be preserved.

Needless to say, the acquisition source of the list of corrected trouble codes is not limited to the log information storage device 110, and instead of the log information storage device 110, the list of corrected trouble codes may be acquired from another device.

Hereinafter, as exemplified in FIG. 3D, a table storing the number of log information items for each combination of a trouble code and a detailed code will be referred to as a "storage status table".
(1-4-2) Log Information Control The image forming apparatus 100 refers to the log information storage status in the log information storage device 110 acquired as described above, and transmits the log information to the log information storage device 110. change the data size of

As shown in FIG. 6, when a trouble occurs (S601: YES), the image forming apparatus 100 acquires a trouble code and a detailed code related to the trouble (S602).

Specifically, the firmware module that detected the trouble identifies the trouble code and the detail code, and notifies the log processing program 220 of the trouble code and the detail code so that the log processing program 220 can detect the trouble code and the detail code. to get

Next, the image forming apparatus 100 refers to the storage status table and acquires the number of stored log information corresponding to the trouble code and the detailed code regarding the trouble (S603). In the example shown in FIG. 3D, if the trouble code is "E016" and the detail code is "ABAB", the number of stored cases is three.

As described above, if the number of log information required for trouble analysis is about 10 to 20, even if more log information is stored, it will not be used for trouble analysis, and the date and time of trouble occurrence can be specified. There is no use other than to do. For this reason, the number of cases (for example, 20 cases) necessary for trouble analysis is set as a threshold and compared with the number of stored log information acquired in step S603.

Needless to say, the threshold for the number of stored items is not limited to 20, and the number of items other than 20 may be used. Further, if the number of stored log information necessary for trouble analysis differs for each combination of trouble code and detailed code, the threshold for the number of stored items may also differ for each combination.

If the number of pieces of log information stored in the log information storage device 110 for a trouble related to the trouble code and the detail code is less than the threshold (S604: NO), there is enough storage to analyze the trouble. It is determined that the number of pieces of log information has not yet been stored in the log information storage device 110 .

Therefore, the trouble code list for which the countermeasures have been taken is further referred to, and it is confirmed whether the trouble related to the trouble code and the detailed code has been countermeasured. If the trouble has already been dealt with, the version of the ROM 202 is read to confirm whether the version for which the trouble has been dealt with is earlier than the version of the ROM 202 .

If the trouble has not been dealt with, it is necessary to store the log information in the log information storage device 110 for trouble analysis. In addition, if the trouble occurs even though countermeasures against the trouble have been taken in a version prior to the version of the machine itself, further countermeasures against the trouble will be required. will be stored in

In such a case (S605: NO), the latest log data is collected from the OS and each firmware module (S606). The latest log data is, for example, log data output within a predetermined period including the time when the trouble occurred, and includes not only the period up to the time when the trouble occurred, but also the period after the trouble occurred. It's okay.

Also, the latest log data may simply be log data that was output last among the log data that were output until the time of log data collection. Furthermore, the type of log data to be collected and the timing at which the log data was output may differ according to the trouble code and detailed code of the trouble.

In this way, it is possible to eliminate log data that is clearly unnecessary for trouble analysis, so that the data size of log information can be reduced. Therefore, the storage capacity of the log information storage device 110 required for storing log information can be saved.

After the log data is collected, for example, it is compiled into one file using tar, and then the file is data-compressed using gzip (S607).

Further, as described with reference to FIG. 4A, a file name is generated in the compressed file using the trouble code, the detailed code, the date and time of occurrence, and the identification information of the image forming apparatus 100, It is added to the above compressed file (S608).

After that, according to the same procedure as described above, FTP connection is made to the log information storage device 110 (S609), and the compressed log data is transmitted to the log information storage device 110 as log information (S610). for example,
binary
put [file name]
And it is sufficient. Since the log information is binary data, first, the transfer mode is set to binary mode using the "binary" command. "put" is an FTP command for sending the file specified by [file name] to the FTP server.

Here, the log information storage device 110 is an FTP server, and log information indicated by [file name] is sent to the log information storage device 110 . After that, the FTP connection with the log information storage device 110 is disconnected, and the log information transmission processing ends (S611).

If the number of pieces of log information stored in the log information storage device 110 for a trouble related to the trouble code and the detail code is equal to or greater than the threshold (S604: YES), enough storage to analyze the trouble It is determined that the number of pieces of log information has already been stored in the log information storage device 110 .

In such a case, first, an empty file is generated (S612). For example, when using the Linux OS (registered trademark), an empty file can be created using the "touch" command. Next, a file name is given to the empty file according to the same nomenclature as in step S608 (S613).

After that, according to the same procedure as steps S609 to S611, the empty file is sent as log information to the log information storage device 110 (S614 to S616). In this way, the empty file does not contain log data that is unlikely to be referred to for trouble analysis, so an increase in the storage capacity of the log information storage device 110 can be suppressed. .

Further, by referring to the file name of the empty file, it is possible to obtain the trouble code, the detailed code, the date and time of occurrence of the trouble, and the identification information of the image forming apparatus 100 in which the trouble has occurred. Therefore, since it is possible to check the occurrence status of the trouble (number of occurrences, frequency of occurrence, time of occurrence, etc.), for example, it is possible to take measures such as proceeding with analysis and countermeasures for troubles that occur frequently.

Further, referring to the list of trouble codes that have been dealt with, if the version for which the trouble countermeasures for the trouble code and the detailed code have been completed is newer than the version of the machine itself (S605: YES), Even if the trouble occurs in , it is determined that the trouble has already been analyzed and countermeasures have been taken.

Therefore, if log information is not transmitted to the log information storage device 110, an empty file is also not transmitted. This is because there is no need to repeatedly analyze troubles that have already been dealt with, and sending such log information and empty files only unnecessarily consumes the storage capacity of the log information storage device 110 .

Conversely, in such a case, the storage capacity of the log information storage device 110 can be saved by not transmitting either log information or empty files to the log information storage device 110 .

If the version for which countermeasures have been completed is newer than the version of the device itself (S605: YES), and after the processing of steps S611 and S616, the process proceeds to step S601 and repeats the above processing.
[2] Second Embodiment In the above-described first embodiment, the case where the image forming apparatus 100 controls the data size of log information has been described as an example. While the configuration of the forming apparatus 100 remains the same as before, a log information relay apparatus for relaying transmission of log information from the image forming apparatus 100 to the log information storage apparatus 110 is separately provided. The storage capacity of the log information storage device 110 is saved by adjusting the data amount of the log information according to the storage status of the log information in 110 .
(2-1) Configuration of Log Information Management System As shown in FIG. 7, the log information management system 7 according to the present embodiment has the configuration of the log information management system 1 according to the first embodiment, A log information relay device 700 is added.

Log information relay device 700 can communicate with image forming device 100 and log information storage device 110 via communication network 120 . Image forming apparatus 100 transmits log information to log information relay apparatus 700 when a trouble occurs.

The log information relay device 700 periodically acquires the storage status of log information from the log information storage device 110 . Upon receiving the log information from image forming apparatus 100 , log information relay apparatus 700 adjusts the data size of the log information to be transmitted to log information storage device 110 according to the storage status of log information storage device 110 .
(2-2) Configuration of Log Information Relay Device 700 As shown in FIG.

The control unit 800 includes a CPU 801, a ROM 802, an S-RAM 803, an NV-RAM 804, a clock IC 805, a fixed storage device 806, and a network interface 807, which are connected to each other via an internal bus 808 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

When the log information relay device 700 is powered on and reset, the CPU 801 reads the boot program from the ROM 802 and starts up, and uses the S-RAM 803 as a work storage area to execute the OS read from the fixed storage device 806. , the log information relay program 810 and the like are executed.

The NV-RAM 804 is a battery-backed non-volatile memory, and the clock IC 805 is an IC for timing. A network interface 807 executes processing for communicating with the image forming apparatus 100 and the log information storage device 110 via the communication network 120 .

The input/output unit 809 includes a keyboard, mouse, and monitor, and functions as an input/output interface for the administrator of the log information relay device 700 to operate the log information relay device 700 .
(2-3) Log Information Relay Processing Next, the operation of the log information relay device 700 will be described.
(2-3-1) Processing for Acquiring Storage Status of Log Information Storage Device 110 Log information relay device 700 is always energized and operated because it is necessary to receive and relay log information from image forming device 100 at any time. . Log information relay device 700 uses clock IC 805 to confirm that the predetermined timing has come, and if the predetermined timing has come (S901: YES), log information relay device 700 stores log information. An FTP connection is made to the device 110 (S902), and a log information list is acquired (S903). The procedure for acquiring the log information list is the same as in the case of the image forming apparatus 100. FIG.

The log information relay device 700 further confirms whether a list of trouble codes with countermeasures is stored in the log information storage device 110. As a result, if a list of trouble codes with countermeasures is stored in the log information storage device 110 (S904 : YES), and obtains a list of trouble codes for which countermeasures have been taken from the log information storage device 110 (S905).

The procedure for acquiring the list of trouble codes for which countermeasures have been taken from the log information storage device 110 is the same as in the case of the image forming apparatus 100 .

If the list of corrected trouble codes is not stored in the log information storage device 110 (S904: NO) and after the process of step S905, the log information relay device 700 disconnects the FTP connection with the log information storage device 110 ( S906).

After that, the log information relay device 700 refers to the “ftplog.txt” file, and from the file name of the log information included in the log information list, for each combination of the trouble code and the detail code, the log information storage device The number of log information stored in 110 is counted (S907).

The log information relay device 700 stores the log information count value for each combination of the trouble code and the detailed code as the log information storage status in the log information storage device 110, and then saves the count result in the storage status table ( S908).

The storage status table may be saved in NV-RAM 804 or fixed storage device 806 .
(2-3-2) Log information control When log information relay device 700 receives log information from image forming device 100, log information relay device 700 refers to the storage status of log information in log information storage device 110 acquired as described above. to change the data size of the log information to be transmitted to the log information storage device 110 .

In the present embodiment, log information relay device 700 serves as an FTP server and receives log information through FTP connection from image locking device 100 . Also, it transmits log information to the log information storage device 110 as an FTP client. However, it goes without saying that log information may be transmitted and received using procedures other than FTP.

As shown in FIG. 10, when log information and version information of image forming apparatus 100 are received from image forming apparatus 100 (S1001: YES), log information relay apparatus 700 refers to the storage status table to determine whether the trouble related to the trouble is correct. The number of stored pieces of log information corresponding to the code and detailed code is acquired (S1002).

If the acquired number of stored items is less than the threshold (S1003: NO), the trouble code list for which countermeasures have been taken is referred to, and the trouble associated with the trouble code and the detailed code is later than the version of the image forming apparatus 100. Check if the version has been fixed.

If the trouble has not been resolved in a version later than the version of the image forming apparatus 100 that sent the log information (S1004: NO), the log information storage device follows the procedure similar to that of the first embodiment. 110 (S1005), and after transmitting the log information to the log information storage device 110 (S1006), the FTP connection with the log information storage device 110 is disconnected (S1007).

If the number of pieces of log information stored in the log information storage device 110 for the trouble related to the trouble code and the detail code is equal to or greater than the threshold (S1003: YES), an empty file is generated (S1008), The name of the log information received from the image forming apparatus 100 is used as the name of the empty file (S1009).

After that, an FTP connection is established with the log information storage device 110 (S1010), an empty file is transmitted to the log information storage device 110 as log information (S1011), and the FTP connection with the log information storage device 110 is disconnected (S1012).

If the trouble has not been resolved in a version later than the version of the image forming apparatus 100 that has sent the log information (S1004: YES), and after the processes in steps S1007 and S1012, the process advances to step S1001. Repeat process.
(2-4) Image forming apparatus 100
The image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment has the same configuration as the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 11, when a trouble occurs (S1101: YES), the image forming apparatus 100 acquires a trouble code and a detailed code related to the trouble (S1102), furthermore, from the OS and each firmware module. The latest log data is collected (S1103).

After the log data is collected, the log data is collectively compressed (S1104), a file name is generated using the trouble code, detailed code, date and time of occurrence of the trouble, and identification information of the image forming apparatus 100, and the compression is performed. It is given to the file (S1105).

Also, the image forming apparatus 100 acquires its own version information by reading the version information from the ROM 202 (S1106).

After that, an FTP connection is made to the log information relay device 700 (S1107), the compressed log data is transmitted to the log information relay device 700 as log information, and version information is transmitted to the log information relay device 700 (S1108). When the FTP connection is disconnected (S1109), the process advances to step S1101 to repeat the above processing.

In this way, the log information relay device 700 is the only device that accesses the log information storage device 110 to acquire the storage status of log information. It becomes unnecessary to access the log information storage device 110 in order to acquire the .

Therefore, the communication load and the processing load of the log information storage device 110 for acquiring the storage status can be reduced. Also, if a charge is made for access to the log information storage device 110, the charge can be reduced.
[3] Third Embodiment A log information management system according to the present embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the log information management system 7 according to the second embodiment. The difference is that a log information amount response device is provided instead.

The log information amount response device according to the present embodiment creates a storage status table, similarly to the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment and the log information relay device 700 according to the second embodiment. do.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, when the log information amount response device receives the log information and version information from the image forming apparatus 100 (S1201: YES), it refers to the storage status table to obtain the trouble code and details of the trouble. The number of stored log information corresponding to the code is acquired (S1202).

If the acquired number of stored items is less than the threshold (S1203: NO), the trouble code list after countermeasures is referred to, and the trouble associated with the trouble code and the detailed code is later than the version of the image forming apparatus 100. Check if the version has been fixed.

If the trouble has not been resolved in a version later than the version of the image forming apparatus 100 that sent the log information (S1204: NO), the image forming apparatus 100 responds to send normal log information ( S1205).

On the other hand, if the number of log information stored in the log information storage device 110 for the trouble related to the trouble code and the detail code is equal to or greater than the threshold (S1203: YES), and the trouble is the source of the log information (S1204: YES), it responds to the image forming apparatus 100 to send an empty file (S1206).

After the processing of steps S1205 and S1206, the process advances to step S1201 to repeat the above processing.

In step S1201, the log information amount response device may receive an empty file instead of the log information.

As for the operation of the image forming apparatus 100, as shown in FIG. 13, steps S1301 to S1305 are the same as the operations of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment (steps S1101 to S1105 shown in FIG. 11). is.

After that, the image forming apparatus 100 transmits the log information to the log information amount response device to inquire about the log information amount (S1306). If a response to this inquiry is received from the log information amount responding device (S1307: YES), FTP connection is made to the log information storage device 110 (S1308).

When a response to send normal log information is received from the log information amount response device (S1309: normal), the log information is sent as is to the log information storage device 110 (S1310).

When a response to send an empty file is received from the log information amount response device (S1309: normal), the empty file is sent to the log information storage device 110 (S1311). The method of creating an empty file is the same as in the first and second embodiments.

After that, the image forming apparatus 100 disconnects the FTP connection with the log information storage device 110 (S1312), returns to step S1301, and repeats the above processing.

It should be noted that at the time of the inquiry in step S1306, an empty file may be sent to the log information amount response device instead of the log information.

Even in this way, the number of accesses to the log information storage device 110 required for creating the storage status table can be reduced. Billing amount can be saved.

Of course, instead of sending an empty file, nothing may be sent.
[4] Fourth Embodiment The configuration of the log information management system according to the present embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the log information management system 1 according to the first embodiment. is different in that the amount of log information stored in the log information storage device 110 is controlled without referring to the storage status in the log information storage device 110 .

That is, as shown in FIG. 14, when a trouble occurs (S1401: YES), image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment executes processing from steps S1402 to S1405. This processing is the same as the processing from steps S1102 to S1105 in FIG. 11 executed by the image forming apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment.

Next, the image forming apparatus 100 acquires the trouble occurrence frequency in the own apparatus (S1406). The trouble occurrence frequency is the number of troubles that occurred within a predetermined period, for example, the number of troubles that occurred in the most recent month.

Next, the image forming apparatus 100 makes an FTP connection to the log information storage device 110 (S1407), and if the trouble occurrence frequency is lower than a predetermined frequency (S1408: low), the log information is stored as is. It is transmitted to the device 110 (S1409). On the other hand, if the trouble occurrence frequency is equal to or higher than the predetermined frequency (S1408: high), an empty file is sent to the log information storage device 110 (S1410).

After that, the image forming apparatus 100 disconnects the FTP connection with the log information storage device 110 (S1411), advances to step S1401, and repeats the above processing.

Even in this way, the image forming apparatus 100 can save the storage capacity of the log information storage device 110 while securing the number of items to be stored for trouble analysis and countermeasures.

In addition, access to the log information storage device 110 can be reduced in the sense that the log information storage device 110 is not inquired about the storage status.

Of course, instead of sending an empty file, nothing may be sent.
[5] Modifications The present disclosure has been described above based on the embodiments, but the present disclosure is of course not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the following modifications can be implemented. .
(5-1) In the above embodiment, the number of stored log information is counted for each combination of trouble code and detail code, and the data size of log information is changed according to the counting result. Although described, it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the following may alternatively be used.

For example, as the storage status of the log information storage device 110, a trouble occurrence interval may be used for each combination of a trouble code and a detailed code. Specifically, when the number of times the trouble has occurred in the most recent past month is equal to or greater than a predetermined number of times, the log information is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100 to the log information storage device 110 .

On the other hand, if the number of times the trouble has occurred is less than the predetermined number of times, an empty file with the same file name is sent from the image forming apparatus 100 to the log information storage device 110 instead of the log information.

In this way, it is possible to promote analysis and countermeasures for troubles that frequently occur in a short period of time, while suppressing the data size of log information for troubles that do not occur frequently. storage capacity can be saved.

Also, as the storage status of the log information storage device 110, the total amount of log information stored in the log information storage device 110 may be referred to. In this case, if the total amount of log information is less than the predetermined storage capacity, the log information is transmitted from image forming apparatus 100 to log information storage apparatus 110, and if the total amount of log information is equal to or greater than the predetermined storage capacity, log information is sent from image forming apparatus 100. Send an empty file to the information storage device 110 .

The total amount of log information in the log information storage device 110, in other words, the remaining amount of storage capacity in the log information storage device 110, can be determined using the "SITE" command among the FTP commands. The remaining amount may be obtained by executing a command.

Also, an "ALLO" command may be used. If a storage capacity of a predetermined size can be secured on the log information storage device 110 by using the "ALLO" command, the log information is transmitted because there is room in the storage capacity of the log information storage device 110. . On the other hand, if the storage capacity of the predetermined size cannot be secured, an empty file is transmitted.

Also in this way, the storage capacity of the log information storage device 110 can be saved.
(5-2) In the above embodiment, the case where the data size of the log information transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100 to the log information storage device 110 is changed according to the storage status in the log information storage device 110 will be described as an example. However, it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to this, and instead of this, the following may be done.

For example, each image forming apparatus 100 may manage its own trouble occurrence history, and change the data size of log information according to its own trouble occurrence history instead of the storage status of the log information storage device 110. .

Specifically, if the number of troubles with the same trouble code and detailed code is less than a predetermined number in the trouble occurrence history of the machine itself, log information is sent to the log information storage device 110, while a predetermined number of troubles occur. If it is equal to or greater than the number of times, an empty file as described above may be sent to the log information storage device 110 .

Also in this way, the storage capacity of the log information storage device 110 can be saved.
(5-3) In the above embodiment, the case where the image forming apparatus 100 and the log information storage device 110 are connected to the common communication network 120 has been described as an example, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. Needless to say, the following may alternatively be used.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 15, the communication network 120 to which the log information storage device 110 is connected and the communication network 1510 to which the image forming apparatus 1500 is connected are separate communication networks. If device 1500 and log information storage device 110 cannot communicate directly, log information relay device 700 may be connected to both communication networks 120 and 1510 to relay log information.

In this way, only some of the image forming apparatuses 1500 among the image forming apparatuses 100 under the control of the log information storage apparatus 110 are sent to the log information storage apparatus 110 via the log information relay apparatus 700, and log information and empty files are transferred to the log information storage apparatus 110. is transmitted, the amount of communication between the image forming apparatus 1500 and the log information storage device 110 can be reduced.
(5-4) In the above embodiment, when the version for which the countermeasures for the trouble code and the detailed code have been completed by referring to the trouble code list for which countermeasures have been taken is a newer version than the version of the machine itself. (S605: YES, Y1104: YES), the case where the log information is not transmitted has been described as an example, but it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to this, and instead of this, the following may be performed.

For example, an empty file may be sent even in such a case. In this way, troubles that have already been dealt with can be prevented from occurring by, for example, promoting updating of the firmware.
(5-5) Although not described in detail in the above embodiments, when using a commercial cloud storage service as a log information storage device, the following can also be done.

For example, when using Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service. Registered trademark) provided by AWS (Amazon Web Services. Registered trademark) as a commercial cloud storage service, a bucket is created using the S3 management console. When creating a bucket, you need to enter the bucket name and specify the AWS region.

As the bucket name, any name can be specified as long as it is not an existing bucket name. By selecting an AWS region that is geographically close to the location where the image forming apparatus 100 is installed as the AWS region, latency can be optimized and costs can be reduced.

For example, for a bucket storing log information of the image forming apparatus 100 installed in Ireland, the AWS region may be set to "Europe (Ireland)". For the bucket that accumulates the log information, if the AWS region is set to "Europe (Frankfurt)", latency can be optimized and costs can be reduced.

Data stored in a bucket is called an object, and the maximum size of one object is currently 5 TB (terabytes), although this is subject to change. Log information of the image forming apparatus 100 can be stored in a bucket as an object.

When a bucket is created, an ARN (Amazon Resource Name) is assigned as a property of the created bucket.

In order to FTP-access the created bucket, it is necessary to set the bucket IAM policy and create an IAM user. When you create an IAM user, you are given an access key and a secret access key to access the bucket.

When accessing the bucket by FTP, specifying the host name "s3.amazon.com", port number "443", access key and secret access key enables FTP connection to Amazon S3 (registered trademark).

The procedure after connection is as described above.
(5-6) The present disclosure may be a method implemented by the processes of the image forming apparatus 100, the log information relay apparatus 700, and the log information amount response apparatus described above. Further, the present disclosure may be a computer program implemented by a processor such as a CPU executing these methods, or may be a digital signal comprising the computer program.

In addition, the present disclosure may be a computer-readable recording medium in which the computer program or the digital signal is recorded. Examples of computer-readable recording media include flexible disks, hard disks, CD-ROMs, MOs, DVDs, DVD-ROMs, DVD-RAMs, BDs (Blu-ray (registered trademark) Discs), and semiconductor memories. Also, the present disclosure may be the digital signals recorded on these recording media.

Further, the present disclosure may transmit the computer program or the digital signal via an electric communication line, a wireless or wired communication line, a network represented by the Internet, data broadcasting, or the like.

The present disclosure may also be a computer system comprising a microprocessor and memory, the memory storing the computer program, and the microprocessor operating according to the computer program.

Also, by recording the program or the digital signal on the recording medium and transferring it, or by transferring the program or the digital signal via the network or the like, it can be implemented by another independent computer system. You can do it.
(5-7) The above embodiments and modifications may be combined.

In addition, the numbers used above are all examples for specifically describing the present disclosure, and the present disclosure is not limited to the illustrated numbers.

Also, the division of functional blocks in the block diagram is an example, and a plurality of functional blocks can be realized as one functional block, one functional block can be divided into a plurality of functional blocks, and some functions can be moved to other functional blocks. may Moreover, single hardware or software may process functions of a plurality of functional blocks having similar functions in parallel or in a time division manner.

Also, the order in which the above steps are performed is for illustrative purposes in order to specifically describe the present disclosure, and may be in any order other than the above. Also, some of the above steps may be executed concurrently (in parallel) with other steps.

Furthermore, the present disclosure also includes various modifications in which those skilled in the art make modifications to the present embodiment within the scope of the present disclosure as long as they do not deviate from the gist of the present disclosure.

The image forming apparatus and the log information relay apparatus according to the present disclosure are useful as apparatuses capable of saving storage capacity for storing log information in the log information storage device.

Reference Signs List 1...Log information management systems 100, 1500...Image forming apparatus 110...Log information storage devices 120, 1510...Communication networks 200, 800...Control section 211... …Image reading unit 212 ………………Operation panel 213 ………………Image forming unit 214 ………………Printer controller 809 …………Input/output unit 700 …………Log Information relay device

Claims (14)

One image forming apparatus among a plurality of image forming apparatuses for transmitting and storing log information to a log information storage device,
storage status acquisition means for acquiring storage status of log information in the log information storage device;
and control means for changing a data size of log information to be transmitted to the log information storage device regarding a trouble that has occurred in the own device, based on the storage status acquired by the storage status acquisition means. image forming device. The storage status acquisition means acquires, as the storage status, the number of log information items stored in a log information storage device for each type of trouble,
With respect to log information related to troubles common to troubles related to log information to be transmitted to the log information storage device, if the number of stored items is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, if the number of stored items is less than the predetermined number 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data size of the log information to be transmitted to the log information storage device is smaller than the data size of the log information storage device. version information acquiring means for acquiring version information of the firmware installed in the own device;
countermeasure status storage means for storing countermeasure status for each combination of trouble type and firmware version;
If the trouble that occurred in the device itself has been resolved with a version newer than the version of the firmware installed in the device itself, the control means is configured to use a version newer than the version of the firmware installed in the device itself. a claim characterized in that the data size of the log information to be sent to the log information storage device is made smaller than in the case where the countermeasure has not been taken by the version of the firmware installed in the device itself or in the case where the countermeasure has been taken by the version prior to the version of the firmware installed in the device itself. Item 1. The image forming apparatus according to item 1. The storage status acquisition means acquires, as the storage status, the number of times log information is newly stored by the log information storage device within a predetermined period for each type of trouble,
With respect to log information related to troubles common to troubles related to log information to be transmitted to the log information storage device, if the number of stored items is less than a predetermined number, if the number of stored items is equal to or greater than the predetermined number 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data size of the log information to be transmitted to the log information storage device is smaller than the data size of the log information storage device. The storage status acquisition means acquires, as the storage status, a free space for storing log information in the log information storage device,
The control means reduces the data size of the log information to be transmitted to the log information storage device when the free space is less than a predetermined amount, compared to when the number of stored items is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The storage status acquisition means acquires, as the storage status, the number of log information items stored in a log information storage device for each type of trouble,
Prohibition of sending the log information to the log information storage device when the number of log information related to troubles common to the troubles related to the log information to be sent to the log information storage device is greater than or equal to a predetermined number 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means. version information acquiring means for acquiring version information of the firmware installed in the own device;
countermeasure status storage means for storing the countermeasure status for each combination of the trouble type and firmware version;
Prohibition means for prohibiting transmission of log information related to the trouble to the log information storage device when a trouble that occurred in the own apparatus has been resolved by a version newer than the version of the firmware installed in the own apparatus. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: The storage status acquisition means acquires, as the storage status, the number of times log information is newly stored by the log information storage device within a predetermined period for each type of trouble,
Prohibition of sending the log information to the log information storage device when the number of log information related to troubles common to the troubles related to the log information to be sent to the log information storage device is less than a predetermined number 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means. The storage status acquisition means acquires, as the storage status, a free space for storing log information in the log information storage device,
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising prohibiting means for prohibiting transmission of log information to a log information storage device when said free space is less than a predetermined amount. A log information relay device that receives log information from a plurality of image forming apparatuses and transmits the log information to a log information storage device for storage,
storage status acquisition means for acquiring storage status of log information in the log information storage device;
a control unit that, upon receiving log information from the image forming apparatus, changes the data size of the log information based on the storage status acquired by the storage status acquisition unit, and transmits the log information to the log information storage device. A log information relay device characterized by: version information acquisition means for acquiring version information of firmware installed in an image forming apparatus that receives log information;
countermeasure status storage means for storing countermeasure status for each combination of trouble type and firmware version;
If the trouble associated with the received log information has been resolved with a version newer than the version of the firmware installed in the image forming apparatus of the receiving destination of the log information, the control means If the countermeasure has not been completed with a newer version of the firmware installed in the image forming device, or if the countermeasure has been completed with an earlier version of the firmware installed in the image forming device that receives the log information. 11. The log information relay device according to claim 10, wherein the data size of the log information to be transmitted to the log information storage device is smaller than the data size of the log information storage device. version information acquisition means for acquiring version information of firmware installed in an image forming apparatus that receives log information;
countermeasure status storage means for storing the countermeasure status for each combination of the trouble type and firmware version;
If the trouble associated with the received log information has been resolved with a version newer than the version of the firmware installed in the image forming apparatus receiving the log information, the log information is sent to the log information storage device. 11. The log information relay device according to claim 10, further comprising prohibiting means for prohibiting the log information relaying device. receiving means for receiving inquiries about the data size of the log information from a plurality of image forming apparatuses that transmit and store the log information to the log information storage device;
storage status acquisition means for acquiring storage status of log information in the log information storage device;
A response for responding to the image forming apparatus as the source of the inquiry about the data size of the log information to be transmitted to the log information storage device based on the storage status acquired by the storage status acquisition means for the log information for which the inquiry has been received. and means for responding to log information. An image forming apparatus for transmitting and storing log information to a log information storage device,
Occurrence frequency acquisition means for acquiring the frequency of occurrence of troubles in the own device;
and control means for changing a data size of log information to be transmitted to the log information storage device based on the occurrence frequency.

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