JP3594916B2 - Image forming apparatus management system, host computer, program, and computer-readable recording medium - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and a printing machine, a management system for an image forming apparatus that performs meter reading and failure management of the image forming apparatus by a remote computer, and a management system for the image forming apparatus. The present invention relates to a host computer to be configured, a program for controlling the host computer, and a recording medium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, an MO disk, and a CDROM in which such a program is recorded.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, for example, an image forming apparatus is connected to a remote host computer via a telephone line, data such as count information transmitted from the image forming apparatus is received by the host computer, and the received data is analyzed and displayed on the host computer side. 2. Description of the Related Art A management system for an image forming apparatus is known.
[0003]
In the conventional image forming apparatus management system, when an image forming apparatus fails, a notification of the failure is automatically transmitted from the image forming apparatus to the host computer of the service center, and the failure notification is transmitted to the host computer. The information is recorded in the management list and displayed on the monitor so that the operator of the host computer can grasp the failure state of the image forming apparatus. Then, the operator of the host computer looks at the display on the monitor, and finds out, from his / her experience, a service man who is deemed appropriate among a large number of service technicians belonging to a sales office in charge of service for the failed image forming apparatus. And request repairs to the selected serviceman.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
This repair request to the serviceman is made to the serviceman who is closest to the failed image forming apparatus, and the time required to move to the installation location of the failed image forming apparatus and the time required for the movement are required. It is preferable in terms of transportation costs. However, conventionally, the operator of the host computer does not always know the individual working positions of a plurality of service personnel in real time, and therefore requests the service personnel closest to the failed image forming apparatus to repair. In some cases, it was difficult to select service personnel efficiently from the viewpoint of time and economy.
[0005]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to enable a host computer operator to know the location of a service person in real time and to request a service person near a failed image forming apparatus for repair.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention according to claim 1 relates to a management system for an image forming apparatus configured to be able to transmit and receive various data to and from a communication unit of the image forming apparatus, a communication unit of a host computer, and a PHS of a service person. Then, when the failure is detected by the failure diagnosis unit, the control unit of the image forming apparatus reads failure data corresponding to the failure from the storage unit, and transmits the read failure data to the host computer by the communication unit. It has become. When the host computer receives the failure data transmitted from the image forming apparatus, the host computer reads out the position information of the failed image forming apparatus from the storage unit and displays it on the display unit. The position information is acquired, and the position information of the PHS is displayed on the display means. The host computer calculates a time required for the serviceman to move to the failed image forming apparatus based on the position information of the image forming apparatus and the position information of the PHS, and calculates the calculated moving time data. Is transmitted to the failed image forming apparatus via the communication unit. The image forming apparatus, upon receiving the travel time data from the host computer, displays the travel time data on the display unit of the image forming apparatus as the estimated arrival time of the serviceman.
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the management system for the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the host computer stores a service engineer's field of repair expertise in a database. Then, the host computer selects a plurality of the optimal service personnel capable of responding to the failure state of the image forming apparatus, and provides the service personnel closest to the failed image forming apparatus among the selected service personnel. To request repairs.
[0008]
The invention of claim 3 relates to a host computer configured to be able to transmit and receive various data to and from the PHS of an image forming apparatus and a serviceman by a communication unit. When the host computer receives the failure data transmitted from the image forming apparatus, the host computer reads out the position information of the failed image forming apparatus from the storage unit and causes the display unit to display the information. The position information is acquired, and the position information of the PHS is displayed on the display means. Further, based on the position information of the image forming apparatus and the position information of the PHS, a time required for the serviceman to move to the failed image forming apparatus is calculated, and the calculated moving time data is transmitted to the communication unit. The image data is transmitted to the failed image forming apparatus via the image forming apparatus.
[0009]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the host computer according to the third aspect of the present invention, a field of servicemen who are good at repair is stored in a database, and the most suitable serviceman capable of coping with a failure state of the image forming apparatus is identified. A plurality of the servicemen are selected and a repair request is made to the serviceman closest to the failed image forming apparatus among the selected servicemen.
[0010]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when the failure data transmitted from the image forming apparatus is received by a host computer configured to be able to transmit and receive various data to and from the PHS of the image forming apparatus and the serviceman by a communication unit, the failure occurs. Reading the obtained position information of the image forming apparatus from the storage means and displaying the read information on the display means, obtaining the position information from the position registration computer of the PHS, and displaying the obtained PHS position information on the display means. Calculating a time required for a serviceman to move to the failed image forming apparatus based on the position information of the image forming apparatus and the position information of the PHS; and transmitting the calculated moving time data to the communication unit. Transmitting to the failed image forming apparatus via It is intended to.
[0011]
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, when the failure data transmitted from the image forming apparatus is received by a host computer configured to be able to transmit and receive various data to and from the PHS of the image forming apparatus and the serviceman by a communication unit, the failure occurs. Reading the obtained position information of the image forming apparatus from the storage means and displaying the read information on the display means, obtaining the position information from the position registration computer of the PHS, and displaying the obtained PHS position information on the display means. Calculating a time required for a serviceman to move to the failed image forming apparatus based on the position information of the image forming apparatus and the position information of the PHS; and transmitting the calculated moving time data to the communication unit. And transmitting to the failed image forming apparatus through the computer. It relates to a recording medium that can be taken only.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0016]
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a management system for an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 1, a copying machine 1 as an image forming apparatus has a built-in PHS communication means 2 and a host computer of a business office (referred to as a meter reading host computer to distinguish it from a host computer of a service center) 3. The host computer of the service center (referred to as a failure management host computer in order to distinguish it from the host computer of the sales office) 4 can be transmitted and received. The meter reading host computer 3 and the failure management host computer 4 are each connected to an ISDN line via a terminal adapter (TA), and are connected to the PHS network on the copying machine 1 side. A plurality of copiers 1, 1 connected to the meter reading host computers 3, 3 of the sales offices A, B in charge of meter reading and repair are provided with a failure management host computer of a service center that supervises and manages each sales office. 4. The PHS 9 possessed by a plurality of service personnel belonging to each of the business offices A and B can transmit and receive various data to and from the meter reading host computer 3 and the failure management host computer 4. The location information of the PHS 9 is registered in the location registration computer 19, and the data of the location registration computer is acquired by the failure management host computer 4.
[0018]
FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the copier 1, the meter reading host computer 3, and the failure management host computer 4 which constitute the management system of the image forming apparatus.
[0019]
The copying machine 1 includes an exposure unit for reading an original, an image forming unit including a photoconductor and a developing unit for converting an image read by the exposure unit into a toner image, and a toner formed by the image forming unit. Transfer means disposed in a transfer area for transferring an image to transfer paper, paper feeding means for supplying the transfer paper to the transfer area, and heating and pressing the toner image transferred to the transfer paper to transfer paper Fixing means for fixing. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the copying machine is provided with a failure diagnosis means 5 having various sensors for detecting a failure of each part of the copying machine, a jam (paper jam), etc., and an upper part of the copying machine main body. Input means 6 such as a keyboard, a touch panel, and operation buttons of an operation panel; display means 7 such as a liquid crystal display device for displaying various data and a function selection screen relating to the operation of the copier; The PHS communication unit 2 enables transmission and reception of data to and from the management host computer 4, and the control unit 8 controls the operation of the PHS communication unit 2, the failure diagnosis unit 5, and the like.
[0020]
The control means 8 includes a CPU 10 for executing arithmetic processing according to the control program, a storage means 11 including a ROM for storing the control program and the like and a readable and writable RAM for storing the calculation results and the like, and an input / output interface (not shown). It is composed of a microcomputer provided with the microcomputer. When an external storage device such as a hard disk is installed in the main body of the copying machine, the control means 8 is also connected to the external storage device.
[0021]
The meter reading host computer 3 is installed in a business office that provides services such as meter reading and maintenance of the copying machine 1. The CPU 12 executes arithmetic processing according to a control program, a ROM that stores a control program and the like, and a ROM and a calculation result. And the like, and a not-shown input / output interface. The meter reading host computer 3 includes an external storage device 14 such as a hard disk, an input device 15 such as an input keyboard and operation buttons, a communication device 16 that enables transmission and reception of data to and from the copier 1, It is connected to a display means 17 such as a CRT or a liquid crystal display device via an input / output interface (not shown).
[0022]
The failure management host computer 4 is installed in a service center that controls a plurality of sales offices. Note that the service center collectively receives a report of a failure of each of the copying machines 1 and 1 (for example, a trouble such as a voltage abnormality of the charger, which cannot be easily solved by the user), and the trouble has occurred. A task of requesting repair to a service technician of a sales office in charge of the copying machine 1 is performed.
[0023]
The failure management host computer 4 includes a CPU 18 for executing arithmetic processing in accordance with a control program, a storage means 20 including a ROM for storing a control program and the like and a readable and writable RAM for storing arithmetic results and the like, It has an interface. The failure management host computer 4 includes an external storage device 22 such as a hard disk, a keyboard (input means) 23 for input, a communication means 24 for transmitting and receiving data to and from a copier, a CRT and a liquid crystal display. It is connected to display means 25 such as a display device via an input / output interface (not shown).
[0024]
Further, the failure management host computer 4 can access the location registration computer 19 of the PHS 9 possessed by each serviceman, and provides location information indicating where each PHS 9 is located, that is, where the serviceman is located. And the display means 25 can display where in the area of the sales offices A and B to which the serviceman belongs. In addition, in the storage means 20 of the failure management host computer 4, data relating to the installation location of each copying machine 1 is registered when the copying machine 1 is initialized. When the failure management host computer 4 receives the failure data from the copying machine 1, the failure management host computer 4 reads out from the recording means the data indicating the installation location of the copying machine 1 that has transmitted the failure data, and reads the installation of the copying machine 1 The location can be displayed on the display means 25.
[0025]
The operation of the management system for the image forming apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
[0026]
First, the operation of the copying machine will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the power of the copying machine 1 is turned on, the control means 8 activates the failure diagnosis means 5 to detect the presence or absence of a failure in the copying machine 1 (step S1).
[0027]
When the failure diagnosis unit 5 detects a failure, the control unit 8 reads out failure detection data corresponding to the failure from the storage unit 11 (step S2), and sends the failure detection data to the failure management host computer 4 by the PHS communication unit 2. Transmit (step S3). The failure detection data is recorded in the storage unit 11 of the copying machine 1 in advance. When such a failure of the copying machine 1 is detected, the control unit 8 stops the copying operation until the repair by the service person is completed.
[0028]
Next, the operation of the failure management host computer 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0029]
The failure management host computer 4 is configured to be able to receive the failure detection data transmitted from the copier 1 (step S11), and to write the failure detection data to the failure management list, and to store the failure management list. It is updated (step S12). Then, the failure management host computer 4 reads out the position information of the copying machine 1 which has transmitted the failure detection data from the storage means 20 (step S13), and displays the read out position of the copying machine 1 on the display means 25. Along with (Step S14), the failure management list of the failed copying machine 1 is read from the storage unit 20 (Step S15), and the failure management list is partially or entirely displayed on the display unit 25 (Step S15). Step S16).
[0030]
Further, the failure management host computer 4 checks the position of the PHS 9 possessed by the service person of the business office in charge of the service to the failed copying machine 1, in other words, the position registration computer of the PHS. 19, the PHS location information is acquired (step S17), and the acquired location information is displayed on the display means 25 as the location of the serviceman (step S18). Here, the position of the failed copying machine 1 and the position of each PHS 9 (the position of the service person) are displayed, for example, on a jurisdiction area map of a sales office in charge of the service of the failed copying machine 1. Therefore, the operator of the failure management host computer 4 can visually grasp the position of the failed copying machine 1 and the positions of the plurality of servicemen, and determine which serviceman is closest to the failed copying machine 1. Can be easily determined.
[0031]
According to the above-described embodiment, the display means 25 of the failure management host computer 4 displays the position information of the failed copying machine 1 and the plurality of sales offices in charge of repairing the failed copying machine 1. Is displayed, and the failure information of the copier 1 is displayed. As a result, the operator of the failure management host computer 4 can know the failure state of the failed copying machine 1 and can identify the service person located closest to the failed copying machine 1 in real time, A repair request can be made to the specified serviceman. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when requesting the dispatch of a serviceman to the failed copying machine 1, the traveling time of the serviceman can be minimized, and the transportation cost of the serviceman can be minimized.・ Efficient dispatch of service personnel from an economic point of view becomes possible. According to the present embodiment, if it is difficult to dispatch the nearest service technician to the faulty copying machine 1 for some reason, the next closest service technician is sequentially requested to repair. It is possible to efficiently perform a repair request to a service person.
[0032]
Further, since the management system of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment employs the PHS communication means 2 as the communication means of the copying machine 1, there is no need to connect a telephone line to the copying machine 1. This increases the degree of freedom of the installation location, and can be widely applied to the copier 1 without the FAX function.
[0033]
[Second embodiment]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation state of the failure management host computer 4 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Steps S11 to S18 in FIG. 5 are the same as steps S11 to S18 in the flowchart of FIG. 4 described above, and thus the operation state after step S19 will be described to omit redundant description.
[0034]
The operator of the failure management host computer 4 calls the serviceman's PHS 9 which is determined to be closest to the failed copying machine 1 and determines that the serviceman is dispatched for repair (step S19). The time required to move to the first installation location is predicted (step S20). Here, the travel time of the serviceman is empirically predicted by the operator of the failure management host computer 4 looking at the area map displayed on the display means 25, or is predicted by calculation by the failure management host computer 4. You may do so. For example, the travel time by the failure management host computer 4 is represented by the coordinates of the location of the failed copying machine 1 and the location of the serviceman on an area map, and the location of the failed copying machine 1 and the location of the serviceman. , And a predetermined coefficient K (K is empirically determined in consideration of the degree of road congestion that varies depending on the day of the week and time zone, etc.). The coefficient).
[0035]
Then, the failure management host computer 4 transmits the serviceman's travel time data input by the operator from the input unit 23 or the calculated value (serviceman's travel time data) calculated as described above to the communication unit 24. Is transmitted to the copying machine 1 through the server (step S21).
[0036]
Upon receiving the travel time data transmitted from the failure management host computer 4, the control means 8 of the copying machine 1 causes the display means 7 to display the data as the estimated arrival time of the serviceman. As a result, the user of the failed copier 1 can easily grasp the arrival time of the service person, the psychological burden on the failure of the copier 1 is reduced, and the next work plan can be easily set.
[0037]
(Other Modifications of the Present Invention)
In each of the above-described embodiments, the field of servicemen who are good at repairs is made into a database, which is stored in the failure management host computer, and a plurality of optimal servicemen that can cope with the failure state of the copying machine 1 are selected. Alternatively, a repair request may be made to a service person who is closest to the failed copying machine 1 among the selected service people.
[0038]
In the above-described embodiment, the copier 1 is exemplified as the image forming apparatus, and the management system of the image forming apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the image forming apparatus may include a facsimile, a page printer, , Printing machines and the like.
[0039]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the service center and the sales office are separate is illustrated. However, when the service center also serves as the sales office, the host computer of the service center is used for failure management and meter reading. Becomes a host computer.
[0040]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the PHS communication means has been exemplified as the communication means of the copying machine 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this. If a line can be connected, wired communication means using a general telephone line may be used.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the position information of a failed image forming apparatus and the position information of a plurality of service personnel of a sales office in charge of repairing the failed image forming apparatus are displayed on the display means of the host computer. Therefore, the operator of the host computer can identify the serviceman who is closest to the failed image forming apparatus in real time, and can request the identified serviceman for repair. it can. Therefore, according to the present invention, when requesting the dispatch of a serviceman to a failed image forming apparatus, the traveling time of the serviceman can be minimized, and the transportation cost of the serviceman can be minimized. Dispatch of efficient service personnel becomes possible from an economic viewpoint.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a management system of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of a copying machine, a meter reading host computer, and a failure management host computer that constitute the image forming apparatus management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation state of the copying machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation state of the failure management host computer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation state of a failure management host computer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Copy machine (image forming apparatus), 2 ... PHS communication means (communication means), 4 ... Failure management host computer (host computer), 5 ... Failure diagnosis means, 7, 25 ... Display means, 8 control means, 9 PHS, 11, 20 storage means, 19 location registration computer, 24 communication means

Claims (6)

An image forming apparatus management system configured to be able to transmit and receive various data to and from a communication unit of the image forming apparatus, a communication unit of a host computer, and a PHS of a service person,
The control unit of the image forming apparatus, when detecting a failure by the failure diagnosis unit, reads failure data corresponding to the failure from the storage unit, transmits the read failure data to the host computer by the communication unit,
When the host computer receives the failure data transmitted from the image forming apparatus, the host computer reads out the position information of the failed image forming apparatus from the storage means and displays it on the display means. Is acquired, the position information of the PHS is displayed on a display unit, and the serviceman is required to move to the failed image forming apparatus based on the position information of the image forming apparatus and the position information of the PHS. Calculate the time, and transmit the calculated travel time data to the failed image forming apparatus via the communication unit,
The image forming apparatus, when receiving the travel time data from the host computer, displays the travel time data on a display unit of the image forming apparatus as an estimated arrival time of the service person. system. The host computer stores the serviceman's field of repair expertise in a database and stores the database.
The host computer selects a plurality of optimal service personnel capable of responding to the failure state of the image forming apparatus, and repairs the service personnel closest to the failed image forming apparatus among the selected service personnel. 2. The management system for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the request is made. A host computer configured to be able to transmit and receive various data to and from a PHS of an image forming apparatus and a serviceman by communication means,
Upon receiving the failure data transmitted from the image forming apparatus, the position information of the failed image forming apparatus is read from the storage unit and displayed on the display unit, and the position information is acquired from the position registration computer of the PHS, and Display the position information of the PHS on the display means,
Based on the position information of the image forming apparatus and the position information of the PHS, a time required for the serviceman to move to the failed image forming apparatus is calculated, and the calculated moving time data is transmitted via the communication unit. A host computer for transmitting to the failed image forming apparatus. The service man's field of repair expertise is stored in a database and stored, and a plurality of optimum service persons capable of coping with the failure state of the image forming apparatus are selected. 4. The host computer according to claim 3, wherein a repair request is made to the service person closest to the forming apparatus. A host computer configured to be able to transmit and receive various data to and from the PHS of the image forming apparatus and the serviceman by communication means;
Upon receiving the failure data transmitted from the image forming apparatus, reading the position information of the failed image forming apparatus from the storage unit and displaying the information on the display unit;
Obtaining location information from the location registration computer of the PHS;
Displaying the acquired PHS position information on the display means;
Calculating a time required for the serviceman to move to the failed image forming apparatus based on the position information of the image forming apparatus and the position information of the PHS;
Transmitting the calculated travel time data to the failed image forming apparatus via the communication unit;
The program to execute. A host computer configured to be able to transmit and receive various data to and from the PHS of the image forming apparatus and the serviceman by communication means;
Upon receiving the failure data transmitted from the image forming apparatus, reading the position information of the failed image forming apparatus from the storage unit and displaying the information on the display unit;
Obtaining location information from the location registration computer of the PHS;
Displaying the acquired PHS position information on the display means;
Calculating a time required for the serviceman to move to the failed image forming apparatus based on the position information of the image forming apparatus and the position information of the PHS;
Transmitting the calculated travel time data to the failed image forming apparatus via the communication unit;
And a computer-readable recording medium for executing the program.

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