JP2023108667A - Information processing system, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program capable of more easily acquiring information related to a countermeasure against an operation failure of an ink jet head.SOLUTION: An information processing system (100) includes: a database device (20) which stores failure history information related to a past operation failure of an ink jet head incorporated in an ink jet recording apparatus of a manufacturer different from a manufacturer of the ink jet head and a countermeasure method thereof; and a CPU (11) of a processor (10) for acquiring a retrieval condition of information related to the operation failure of the ink jet head, detecting failure history information corresponding to the retrieval condition from the database device (20), and outputting the detected failure history information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing method and a program.

Conventionally, there is a technology that collects information on failures and repairs of products on the market, creates a database, and estimates the cause and countermeasures based on the database when a new failure occurs (Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2000-155700

An inkjet head, which has nozzles and a driving unit that ejects ink from the nozzles, is a part of an inkjet recording device that records images using the ejected ink, and is incorporated into various inkjet recording devices of other companies. Therefore, conventionally, the conditions under which malfunctions occur are diverse and often complicated, and there is the problem that it is difficult to deal with them.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing system, information processing method, and program capable of more easily acquiring information relating to countermeasures against malfunction of an inkjet head.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1,
a storage unit for storing past operational failures of the inkjet head incorporated in the inkjet recording apparatus manufactured by a manufacturer different from the inkjet head manufacturer and failure history information related to countermeasures;
a processing unit that acquires search conditions for information related to malfunction of an inkjet head, detects the defect history information according to the search conditions from the storage unit, and outputs the detected defect history information;
An information processing system characterized by comprising

Further, the invention according to claim 2 is the information processing system according to claim 1,
Information on the ink supplied to the inkjet head is included in the search condition.

Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the information processing system according to claim 1 or 2,
At least a part of standard data, production information, and shipping data of the inkjet head is included in the search condition.

Further, the invention according to claim 4 is the information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The search conditions include at least part of product information and usage environment information of an inkjet recording apparatus in which the inkjet head is incorporated.

Further, the invention according to claim 5 is the information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The search condition is characterized by including information related to the usage status of the inkjet head.

Further, the invention according to claim 6 is the information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The processing unit is characterized by detecting the defect history information corresponding to a combination of two or more of the search conditions from the storage unit.

Further, the invention according to claim 7 is the information processing system according to claim 6,
The search condition includes information on the ink supplied to the inkjet head,
The processing unit is characterized in that the detection is performed with priority given to the information of the ink in the combination.

Further, the invention according to claim 8 is
storing defect history information related to past malfunctions of the inkjet head incorporated in the inkjet recording apparatus of a manufacturer different from the inkjet head manufacturer and methods of coping with the malfunction;
An information processing method comprising: obtaining a search condition for information related to malfunction of an inkjet head, detecting the defect history information according to the search condition, and outputting the detected defect history information. .

Further, the invention according to claim 9 is
the computer,
storage control means for storing past operational failures of the inkjet head incorporated in the inkjet recording apparatus of a manufacturer different from the inkjet head manufacturer and failure history information related to countermeasures;
It functions as search control means for acquiring search conditions for information related to malfunction of the inkjet head, detecting the defect history information according to the search conditions, and outputting the detected defect history information. It is a program that

According to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to more easily acquire information relating to countermeasures against malfunction of the inkjet head.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 10 is a chart showing an example of contents registered in a database device regarding malfunction cases; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a procedure for coping with an inkjet head defect by a person in charge. 5 is a flow chart showing a control procedure of search control processing and information registration processing;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information processing system 100 of this embodiment.
The information processing system 100 includes a processing device 10, a database device 20 (storage unit), a terminal device 30, and the like.

The processing device 10 may be a normal computer (such as a PC), and includes a CPU 11 (Central Processing Unit) (processing unit), a RAM 12 (Random Access Memory), a storage unit 13, a communication unit 14, and the like.
The CPU 11 is a hardware processor that performs arithmetic processing and centrally controls the operation of the processing device 10 . A single CPU 11 may be used, or a plurality of CPUs may operate in parallel or independently for each application.

The RAM 12 provides working memory space for the CPU 11 and stores temporary data. The RAM 12 is, for example, a DRAM, but may be other.
The storage unit 13 is a non-volatile storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or flash memory. The storage unit 13 stores a program 131 related to database search control.

The communication unit 14 controls communication operations with external devices. The communication unit 14 controls transmission and reception of data based on a predetermined communication standard, such as TCP/IP of a LAN (Local Area Network).

The database device 20 stores and accumulates defect history information 201 related to past failures and defects (collectively referred to as malfunction) of the inkjet head and methods of coping with them. The database device 20 may be a network drive, cloud server, or the like. The format of the database may be arbitrary, and metadata and the like may be generated and held for search processing. The database device 20 does not have to be one unit, and if the defect history information 201 is stored in a common format and can be accessed collectively from the processing unit 10, the defect history information 201 can be divided into a plurality of units and stored. may be stored.

The terminal device 30 is a computer (PC, tablet, smart phone, etc.) that can be connected to the processing device 10 via the network N for communication. In the terminal device 30, when a malfunction of the ink jet head occurs, a person in charge of maintenance or repair or a person in charge of reception in the sales department (hereinafter referred to as a person in charge) who is contacted by a customer or the like reports the malfunction information. It is used for inputting, retrieving coping methods and the like from the defect history information 201 and/or registering new defect causes and coping methods obtained in the defect history information 201 . The terminal device 30 includes a control unit 31, a communication unit 32, a display unit 33, an operation reception unit 34, and the like.

The control unit 31 has a CPU, a RAM, and the like. The CPU performs arithmetic processing and centrally controls the operation of the terminal device 30 . RAM provides the CPU with working memory space and stores temporary data.

The communication unit 32 controls communication with an external device such as the processing device 10 via the network N. FIG.

The display unit 33 has a digital display screen, for example, a liquid crystal display screen (LCD), and performs various displays on the digital display screen based on the control of the control unit 31 . The operation reception unit 34 receives an input operation from the outside such as a user operation, generates an input signal according to the received content, and outputs the input signal to the control unit 31 . The operation reception unit 34 has, for example, a touch panel positioned over the digital display screen, and additionally or instead of this, has a push button switch, a slide switch, a rotary switch, a keyboard, and a pointing device (mouse, etc.). may be

Next, how to deal with malfunction of the inkjet head through the terminal device 30 will be described.
The inkjet head is a company (the same person) that is the same as or related (group company, affiliated company, etc.) to the user of the processing device 10 and the database device 20 (which may be the same as the one that builds, owns, and manages). The "person" referred to here is not limited to an individual, but may be a corporation, i.e., the company's company) (here, the company sells all products under its own brand, such as products that are subcontracted or outsourced to an outside company). (included in manufacturing), etc., and are incorporated in inkjet recording devices (printers) of each company (that is, including different manufacturers (other companies)) regardless of whether they are different from the company concerned and perform ink ejection operations. That is, even the same type of inkjet head can be incorporated in various inkjet recording apparatuses. Also, the inks utilized may vary. Therefore, the ink ejection characteristics of the inkjet head, for example, ejection liquid amount, ejection speed, ejection direction, impact shape, operation failure such as fixing state (can also include adhesion (dirt) of ink to the position where it should not be ejected) is known to be affected not only by the inkjet head but also by the combination of the inkjet recording apparatus and the ink.

Inkjet head malfunctions based on such various combinations can result in a huge number of possible combinations of causes. In particular, it is often difficult to classify the contents of malfunctions only by the type of inkjet head or inkjet recording apparatus. In the database device 20 of the present embodiment, information related to operation failures including not only those due to causes specific to the inkjet head but also those due to various conditions such as the inkjet recording apparatus and ink are stored and accumulated in the failure history information 201. be.

The information related to the malfunction includes the configuration of the inkjet head, the configuration of the combined inkjet recording device, the characteristics of the ink, the time when the malfunction occurred, the operating conditions before the occurrence, the contents of the malfunction, and the cause of the malfunction. It includes how to deal with it. When a malfunction occurs, a search is performed by including the characteristics of the inkjet recording device and ink in the search conditions, thereby detecting malfunction history information of past malfunction cases that match (response to) the search conditions. . The person in charge uses the contents of the detected malfunction case and the coping method to deal with the malfunction currently being dealt with by the target person.

When a malfunction occurs in the inkjet head (this may include a malfunction due to a configuration other than the inkjet head) and the handling of the malfunction is completed, one malfunction case for the malfunction is stored in the database device as an electronic form. 20 , countermeasures are registered in association with configurations and usage conditions of ink jet heads, ink jet recording apparatuses, and ink, and accumulated in defect history information 201 .

FIG. 2 is a chart showing an example of contents registered in the database device 20 regarding malfunction cases.
Items such as the serial number, production date, shipping date (shipping data), product type, nozzle diameter, number of nozzles, variation in speed angle, and the like are listed as the configuration and characteristics of the inkjet head itself. Production information such as serial numbers and production dates can be used to detect variations in properties depending on rods and periods of production. Standard data such as product type, nozzle diameter, number of nozzles, and speed angle variation can be used to specify the structure and operation characteristics of each product type.

The configuration and characteristics of inkjet recording devices (printers) include printer types (driving methods related to ink ejection, such as piezo methods and thermal methods. Piezo methods can be further classified into flexural deformation and shear deformation. ), model number, number of mounted heads, and other items related to product information.
Ink characteristics include type of ink (e.g., water-based, pigment, dye, transition between sol-gel depending on temperature, curing by UV irradiation, etc.), ink color, ink manufacturer, and ink cleaning liquid type. Items such as It should be noted that these characteristics of the ink can also be said to be the usage conditions of the inkjet recording apparatus. If the type of ink is changed during use of the inkjet printing apparatus, information on both the type of ink before the change and the type of ink after the change may be held.

Further, items such as drive voltage, drive frequency, discharge amount, head heating temperature, head circulation flow rate, and head internal pressure information are listed as registered contents related to usage conditions including usage conditions of the inkjet head. The head heating temperature is set mainly when the viscosity of the ink is adjusted to an appropriate level by heating the ink at an appropriate temperature. In addition, adjustment of the heat balance of each part, other parts (for example, recording media such as paper on which images are recorded, transport members such as belts and rollers that transport the recording media, and operating characteristics and operations depending on the temperature) Considering the influence on the resistance element, CPU, IC chip, etc. whose performance changes, not only the temperature of the part contacting the ink or corresponding to the temperature of the ink, but also the temperature of other parts may be adjusted. good. The ink circulation flow rate refers to the ink flow rate in an inkjet head that has an ink circulation flow path that suppresses thickening of the ink by returning the ink that has been supplied to the inkjet head from the ink tank but is not ejected to the ink tank. is.

The drive voltage, drive frequency, and the like affect the deterioration of the drive portion related to ink ejection. Information such as head heating temperature and head internal pressure information can be used to determine the deterioration of the ink flow path of the inkjet head, the heating mechanism (heater), and the liquid delivery mechanism (pump) over time, the accumulation of ink inside, especially foreign matter and solidified ink masses. can affect retention. In addition, recent changes in heating temperature, head circulation flow rate, etc. may be related to malfunction.

Registered contents related to usage conditions and usage status of the inkjet recording apparatus include, for example, items such as maintenance method, maintenance frequency, ink degassing degree, printer heating temperature, cumulative operating time, and stoppage information. Maintenance methods include, for example, wiping to remove ink adhering to the ink ejection surface (the opening surface of the nozzle that ejects ink), spitting out foreign matter in the ink flow path, or increasing the ink pressure to cause leakage. In addition to the maintenance of the inkjet head such as the operation to cause the ink to be discharged, adjustment of the power supply unit, the ink supply unit, the ink mist suction unit, and the recording medium conveyance unit of the inkjet recording apparatus can be mentioned.

The degree of ink degassing is a parameter related to the operation of a degassing device that removes air from ink supplied from an ink tank to an inkjet head. In the degassing device, the air in the ink is separated from the ink to the decompressed portion by bringing the ink into contact with the decompressed portion with a degassing film that selectively allows the gas in the ink to pass through. The degree of degassing varies depending on the air pressure in the depressurized portion, the flow velocity of the ink in the degassing device, the number of times the ink is degassed, and the like. This deviation in the degree of degassing can lead to the occurrence of ink discharge problems due to insufficient degassing, or to the deterioration of the degassing device. In addition, the degree of degassing may be abnormal due to improper attachment of the degassing membrane itself, abnormal opening/closing of the valve, malfunction of the suction pump, or the like.

When the ink temperature is positively controlled in the ink jet head as described above, the ink tank and the ink flow path from the ink tank to the ink jet head also need temperature control in the ink jet recording apparatus. Moreover, even if such temperature control is not performed, the viscosity and volatilization state of most inks may vary slightly depending on the temperature, which may affect the final printed image. Further, heat radiation from the inkjet recording apparatus may be required in response to the temperature rise accompanying the operation of the inkjet recording apparatus. Therefore, the temperature outside the inkjet head can also be controlled.

The cumulative operating time and stoppage information are indices that indicate how long the inkjet printing apparatus has been operating and how long it has been stopped since the start of use of the inkjet printing apparatus. Since the heating operation and the like are also stopped while the machine is stopped, the temperature of the ink jet recording apparatus fluctuates greatly compared to that during operation. Also, if the ink is of a type that solidifies or gels at room temperature, it will solidify or gel within the ink flow path. The frequency of such state changes can also lead to deterioration.

Information related to these inkjet recording devices may be used as it is if it can be obtained from the inkjet recording device, or the above data may be collected and stored independently within the scope of the inkjet head, and the person in charge This collected data may be made available.

Items such as usage period of the ink, temperature, humidity, area of usage, etc. can be cited as examples of the usage conditions and usage status of the ink. The temperature and humidity referred to here are the temperature and humidity of the room in which the inkjet recording apparatus is installed (particularly, the area around the inkjet recording apparatus). These are information about the environment in which the entire inkjet recording apparatus is used, not just the conditions for the ink, but the ink is greatly affected. The information on the area of use is not direct information on temperature and humidity, but can be used as an index indicating the range of change in ambient temperature and humidity because it is associated with climate information.

In addition to the above, the content of the malfunction is also stored. Ink jet head malfunctions include, in addition to ink ejection malfunctions, there are, for example, abnormalities in the ink flow path associated with the circulation of supplied ink and circulated ink, and temperature abnormalities such as heating, heat dissipation, and cooling. Causes include, for example, deterioration of members, misalignment between configurations, loose fixing, electrical abnormalities, physical damage, clogging with ink or foreign matter, errors in operation settings, abnormalities and deficiencies.

It is preferable to input and register all of the above items, but if the contents of some of the items cannot be obtained, the registration of some of the items may not be performed. Also, there may be subordinate items that cannot be selected when a certain item is selected. Entry into the electronic form can be made as selective as possible. As a result, it is possible to prevent deviation from the retrieval conditions due to subtle differences in expression by the person in charge. On the other hand, since it may be difficult to completely classify the description of the malfunction according to the setting items at the stage of occurrence of the malfunction, part or all of the description may be free-form.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a procedure for coping with an inkjet head defect by a person in charge.

First, the person in charge acquires information on the malfunction from the customer (P1). The customer is the user of the inkjet recording device that includes the target inkjet head, and in addition to the information obtained from interviews and declarations from the users themselves, the point that the person in charge can visually recognize the inkjet recording device directly or through the monitor. may be included. In addition, there may be a case where the manufacturer of the inkjet recording apparatus, not the customer, judges that there is a problem with the inkjet head during maintenance or repair work, and passes information on the malfunction to the manufacturer of the inkjet head.

The person in charge acquires the configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus being used (P2). If customer information is stored in advance, the person in charge may acquire the configuration information registered in the customer information.

The person in charge acquires the usage conditions of the inkjet recording apparatus (P3). As mentioned above, usage conditions include not only information directly counted and stored by the inkjet recording device (inkjet head), but also information such as the temperature and humidity of the room where the inkjet recording device is located, and the season (date). may also be included.

The person in charge sets a search condition by combining appropriate information (at least part of it) from the information acquired in P1 to P3, and based on the search condition, the processing device 10 searches the database of the database device 20. Make a request (P4). Search condition settings are selected from predetermined options within the possible range to reduce omissions in searches due to the use of similar terms. may be

The person in charge acquires the search result from the processing device 10 (P5). In setting the search conditions, the person in charge may set the search conditions by narrowing down the content that is likely to correspond to the content of the malfunction based on experience and the like. More preferably, two or more of the registered contents shown in FIG. 2 are combined in the search condition. In addition, it is preferable that the search condition includes ink information (characteristics such as type). In general, ink information (characteristics) is often associated with troubles of inkjet heads.

The person in charge determines whether or not there is an item that matches the search conditions and is detected (P6). If so ("YES" in P6), the person in charge selects one of the detected cases (P7). The person in charge performs a reproduction test of the malfunction according to the conditions of the selected case (P8).

The person in charge determines whether or not the malfunction has been reproduced by the reproduction test (P9). If it is determined that the malfunction has not been reproduced ("NO" in P9), it is determined whether or not there are remaining detection items that have not been selected (P10). If it is determined that there are remaining projects ("YES" in P10), the person in charge returns to the process of P7 and selects another project.

If it is determined that there are no remaining projects ("NO" in P10), the person in charge disassembles the inkjet recording device and, if necessary, asks the department in charge to perform more detailed analysis (P11). . When the cause is identified by this, the identified cause is determined and a coping method is determined (P12). Coping methods include, for example, adjustment of the position of parts, fixation conditions and operation settings, replacement of parts and the entire inkjet head, and the like. Execution of these countermeasures may be performed by appropriate departments, such as development departments, maintenance management departments, and quality assurance departments, instead of the person in charge. In addition, if the malfunction is not caused by the inkjet head and the content (including presumption) that the person in charge cannot deal with, inform the customer or the inkjet recording device that it is an abnormality in another part of the inkjet recording device. Contact the manufacturing company (corporation) of the product. The person in charge performs input for registering the malfunction history information including the determined cause and countermeasures in the malfunction history information 201 of the database device 20 (P13). Then, the person in charge finishes dealing with the malfunction.

In the process of P9, if the malfunction is reproduced under the set conditions ("YES" in P9), the process proceeds to P12.

It should be noted that the detailed analysis by the department in charge in process P11 often takes days to weeks, so the person in charge may suspend the process related to this malfunction case and perform other processes. Also, the above person in charge does not have to be the same person, but may be a plurality of people, and may be replaced during the process. In addition, when the number of occurrences of similar malfunctions is small, it may be difficult to find conditions (items) that are statistically correlated with malfunctions. In this case, provisional measures may be taken while fundamental measures are put on hold. After that, when the cause and countermeasures are determined due to an increase in the number of similar malfunction cases and the progress of analysis research, the countermeasures may be added again by the process P13 after or in parallel with the process P12 being executed again.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a control procedure by the CPU 11 for search control processing and information registration processing executed by the processing device 10. As shown in FIG.

The search control process shown in FIG. 4(a) corresponds to the search operation according to the search conditions in the information processing method of the present embodiment, and corresponds to the search control means of the program 131 of the present embodiment. 30 is started by receiving a search request in accordance with the above process P4.
The CPU 11 acquires search conditions for information related to the malfunction from the content of the received search request (step S101). CPU 11 transmits a search request to database device 20 according to the search conditions, and receives search results from database device 20 (step S102). The received search results are, for example, the content of items that completely match the search conditions, but are not limited to this. For example, the similarity range may be included for the type of the inkjet printing apparatus, and furthermore, points may be given according to the degree of similarity, and the content of the case exceeding the reference score may be included. At this time, the database device 20 executes a search according to the search conditions and transmits the search result to the processing device 10 . Similarity evaluation such as scoring may be performed by the database device 20. In this case, the ink characteristics and related environmental information are weighted (preferentially) so that the score increases as described above. may be done automatically.

The CPU 11 determines whether or not there is an item detected by the search (step S103). If it is determined that there is a detected matter ("YES" in step S103), the CPU 11 lists the outline of the obtained matter and outputs it to the terminal device 30 that transmitted the search request (step S104). The contents of the listed output are not particularly limited, and may be CSV data or the like, or may be image data to be displayed on the display screen of the terminal device 30 . Accompanied by the process of step S104, the terminal device 30 can acquire the search results and display them as a list. The layout of the image may be appropriately determined so as to be easy to see. Also, the layout may be appropriately adjusted according to the size and resolution of the display screen.

The information registration process shown in FIG. 4B relates to the storage operation of the defect history in the information processing method of this embodiment and corresponds to the storage control means of the program 131 of this embodiment. It is started when a malfunction case registration request is received from the device 30 in accordance with the above process P14 or the like.
The CPU 11 acquires the content of the registration request from the received registration request (step S141). The CPU 11 transmits the registered content to the database device 20 together with the registration request (step S142). The CPU 11 receives the registration completion notification from the database device 20 (step S143). Then, the CPU 11 terminates the information registration process.

Note that the registration completion notification may include identification information of the registered malfunction case. When registering additional information for the malfunction case, the malfunction case to be added may be specified using this identification information.

As described above, the information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment provides defect history information related to past malfunctions of inkjet heads incorporated in inkjet recording apparatuses manufactured by a manufacturer different from the inkjet head manufacturer and methods for coping with the malfunctions. 201, and search conditions for information relating to malfunctions of the inkjet head and countermeasures against them are acquired, the defect history information 201 corresponding to the search conditions is detected from the database device 20, and the defect history is obtained. and a CPU 11 of the processing device 10 that outputs information.
In this information processing system 100, information on malfunctions of ink jet heads that are incorporated in various ink jet recording apparatuses and eject various inks and information on countermeasures against such malfunctions is accumulated in an integrated manner, and information on newly occurring malfunctions is stored. Based on this accumulated data, it is possible to detect malfunctions that occur under similar conditions and details, so that the cause of malfunctions that often occur in combination with other configurations can be properly identified, rather than being a problem of the inkjet head itself. can be extracted and dealt with. In addition, by collecting a large number of actual use data, malfunctions of the inkjet head caused by combinations with other configurations that are difficult to grasp experimentally in advance can be statistically and stochastically generated. It is possible to make it easy to detect the combination that is easy to detect and the cause of the malfunction according to the combination. Therefore, according to the information processing system 100, it is possible to more easily acquire information relating to countermeasures against malfunction of the inkjet head.

Also, the search condition may include information on the ink supplied to the inkjet head. Since ink accounts for a large proportion of factors other than the relevant inkjet head related to malfunction of the inkjet head, by including information on ink in the search conditions, the possibility of appropriately detecting the cause of the malfunction and how to deal with it is increased. can be enhanced.

Further, the search condition may include at least part of the inkjet head specification data, production information, and shipping data. Inkjet heads produced in succession in the same production factory often have similar characteristics depending on the characteristics of raw materials and the characteristics of manufacturing equipment. Even if the deviation is not a problem in the pre-shipment inspection of the inkjet head alone, it may become a serious problem when combined with a specific inkjet recording apparatus or ink. Therefore, by including information that can identify them in the search conditions, it is possible to more accurately detect malfunctions of the inkjet head due to deviations in manufacturing characteristics or the like.

Further, the search condition may include at least part of the product information and usage environment information of the inkjet recording apparatus in which the inkjet head is incorporated. In some cases, it is caused by the side of the ink jet recording apparatus in which the ink jet head is incorporated, or the variation in each manufacturing due to the combination may result in an inappropriate range as a whole. In addition, the operating environment of the inkjet recording apparatus may be inappropriate, or the inkjet head may be used in a locally inappropriate environment. Therefore, by including the configuration and usage environment of the inkjet recording apparatus other than the inkjet head in the search conditions, it is possible to easily detect defects that were not assumed in the inkjet head alone.

Further, the search condition may include information regarding the usage status of the inkjet head. An inkjet head that ejects minute ink droplets is likely to be affected by aging due to long-term operation and switching between an operating state and a stopped state. Therefore, malfunctions may also occur later with aging, so by including the usage status in the search conditions, such malfunctions that occur over time can be detected more appropriately.

Also, the CPU 11 detects and acquires the defect history information 201 corresponding to a combination of two or more search conditions from the database device 20 . Inkjet heads used in combination with various ink jet recording apparatuses and inks are difficult to identify the cause of a malfunction simply by the type of ink jet head. By combining a plurality of search conditions, particularly by defining search conditions across combinations of inkjet heads, inkjet recording apparatuses, and inks, it becomes possible to more reliably obtain the causes of malfunctions and their countermeasures.

In addition, the CPU 11 (database device 20) may preferentially detect ink information in combination of search conditions. As described above, ink tends to affect inkjet head troubles relatively often, so by prioritizing ink information in the search operation, it becomes easier to find the cause of malfunctions and how to deal with them more accurately. can be done.

Further, in the information processing method of the present embodiment, past operational failures of the inkjet head incorporated in the inkjet recording apparatus manufactured by a manufacturer different from the inkjet head manufacturer and failure history information related to countermeasures are stored, Search conditions for information related to malfunctions of the inkjet head are acquired, and defect history information corresponding to the search conditions is detected from the stored contents, and the defect history information is output.
In such an information processing method, information on ink jet head malfunctions including information on ink and various ink jet recording apparatuses in which ink jet heads are incorporated is accumulated in an integrated manner, and based on information on newly occurring malfunctions. Since malfunctions occurring under similar conditions and contents are detected from the accumulated data, it is possible to more appropriately consider the combination of the inkjet head and other configurations, extract the causes of the malfunctions, and deal with them. can. In addition, regarding malfunctions of the inkjet head caused by combinations with other configurations that are difficult to grasp experimentally in advance, by collecting a large amount of information on actual malfunctions, we can statistically and stochastically It is possible to easily detect and conceive a combination that is likely to cause a defect and the cause of the malfunction corresponding to the combination. Therefore, according to the information processing system 100, it is possible to more easily acquire information relating to countermeasures against malfunction of the inkjet head.

In addition, by causing the computer (processing device 10) to execute the program 131 related to the search control process and the information registration process, and causing the processing device 10 to function as the search control means and the storage control means, malfunction of the inkjet head can be prevented. It is possible to appropriately extract the information related to the above based on the combination of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the ink jet head is attached and the ink used instead of the ink jet head alone, and to cope with the malfunction more easily.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible.
For example, in the information processing system 100 of the above embodiment, the processing device 10 and the database device 20 are different devices. may be Further, the processing device 10 may not only receive input from the terminal device 30 and output results, but may also receive input operations on its own and display results. Also, in the description of the embodiment, the terminal device 30 is included in the information processing system 100 , but the terminal device 30 may be interpreted as an external component that accesses the information processing system 100 .

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, it is explained that the results extracted by the search are simply displayed in a list. Information processed into a form that is easy to compare may be output together. Further, when there are already a plurality of cases in which malfunctions that occurred under the same conditions have been dealt with by the same coping method, the information may be integrated and the number of corresponding cases may be output together.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, after the cause and coping method for a new malfunction are specified, they are collectively additionally registered in the defect history information 201, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to first register each item related to the content, configuration, characteristics, and environment of the malfunction, and then to additionally register these items after the cause of the malfunction and the coping method are identified.

Further, in the above embodiment, information other than the inkjet head is also obtained directly from the customer or by the person in charge, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if the detailed configuration is determined to some extent according to the model name, it may be possible to reduce the input burden on the person in charge by preparing the correspondence data in advance by another person.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the ink information is preferentially used in the search condition, but the present invention is not limited to this. Some of the other items may have priority. Moreover, the weighting according to the priority may be changed as appropriate, or the degree of each weighting may be predetermined.

Further, in the above embodiment, the reproduction test is performed on all the detected defect history information, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. Similar cases may be merged as appropriate, and reproduction tests may be omitted as appropriate for cases where it is clear from the experience of the person in charge that they do not correspond to the malfunction of this time. In addition, if it is difficult to determine the correspondence between the detected failure history information and the current operation failure because the search conditions cannot be properly narrowed down, processing may be performed without performing the reproduction test or during the reproduction test. Proceed to P11, perform statistical analysis of the detected defect history information, organize the information, extract statistically significant correlations if possible, and then re-determine the cause of the malfunction (causal relationship) ) and how to deal with it may be reconsidered.

In the above description, the storage unit 13 made up of a non-volatile memory such as an HDD or a flash memory is taken as an example of a computer-readable medium for storing the program 131 related to search control and information registration control of the present invention. Although described, it is not limited to this example. As other computer-readable media, it is possible to apply other non-volatile memories such as MRAM, and portable storage media such as CD-ROMs and DVD discs. A carrier wave is also applied to the present invention as a medium for providing program data according to the present invention via a communication line.
In addition, the specific configurations, contents and procedures of processing operations, etc. shown in the above embodiments can be changed as appropriate without departing from the scope of the present invention. The scope of the present invention includes the scope of the invention described in the claims and the scope of equivalents thereof.

10 processing device 11 CPU
12 RAMs
13 storage unit 131 program 14 communication unit 20 database device 201 defect history information 30 terminal device 31 control unit 32 communication unit 33 display unit 34 operation reception unit 100 information processing system N network

Claims (9)

a storage unit for storing past operational failures of the inkjet head incorporated in the inkjet recording apparatus manufactured by a manufacturer different from the inkjet head manufacturer and failure history information related to countermeasures;
a processing unit that acquires search conditions for information related to malfunction of an inkjet head, detects the defect history information according to the search conditions from the storage unit, and outputs the detected defect history information;
An information processing system comprising: 2. An information processing system according to claim 1, wherein said search condition includes information on ink supplied to said inkjet head. 3. An information processing system according to claim 1, wherein said search condition includes at least part of standard data, production information and shipping data of said inkjet head. 4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the search condition includes at least part of product information and usage environment information of an inkjet recording apparatus in which the inkjet head is incorporated. Information processing system. 5. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the search condition includes information relating to the usage status of the inkjet head. 6. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit detects the defect history information corresponding to a combination of two or more of the search conditions from the storage unit. The search condition includes information on the ink supplied to the inkjet head,
7. The information processing system according to claim 6, wherein the processing unit performs the detection with priority given to information on the ink in the combination. storing defect history information related to past malfunctions of the inkjet head incorporated in the inkjet recording apparatus of a manufacturer different from the inkjet head manufacturer and methods of coping with the malfunction;
An information processing method, comprising: obtaining search conditions for information related to malfunction of an inkjet head, detecting the defect history information according to the search conditions, and outputting the detected defect history information. the computer,
storage control means for storing past operational failures of the inkjet head incorporated in the inkjet recording apparatus of a manufacturer different from the inkjet head manufacturer and failure history information related to countermeasures;
It functions as search control means for acquiring search conditions for information related to malfunction of the inkjet head, detecting the defect history information according to the search conditions, and outputting the detected defect history information. program to do.

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