JP4298494B2 - Management device, remote management system, and counter monitoring type remote management method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a management device for remotely managing a managed device, a remote management system including the management device and the managed device, and a counter monitoring type remote management method, and particularly manages the managed device such as a copying machine or a printer. In an environment where the device is remotely managed via the Internet, the management device counts the counter value, which is the number of outputs of specific data such as advertisement information, output by the managed device for each specific data, and billing is based on the totaled result. The present invention relates to a technique for performing various processing such as processing.

Conventionally, image processing devices such as printers, facsimile machines (FAX), digital copiers (copiers), scanners, digital multifunction devices, network home appliances, vending machines, medical equipment, power supplies, air conditioning systems, gas / A communication device (electronic device) that has a communication function (communication means) in a metering system such as water and electricity is a managed device, and the management device in the service center (management center) is a communication line such as a public line (dedicated There has been proposed a remote management system for remotely managing these managed devices via a line).
Alternatively, if the managed device does not have a communication function, or if the managed device does not have a function for communicating with the management device even if it has a communication function, the managed device communicates with the management device. There has also been proposed a remote management system in which a remote management mediating apparatus (hereinafter also simply referred to as “mediation apparatus”) having a possible communication function is connected and the management apparatus remotely manages the managed apparatus via a communication line and the mediation apparatus.

For example, when the managed apparatus is an image forming apparatus (image processing apparatus) such as a digital copying machine, an intermediary apparatus (line adapter) is installed together with the image forming apparatus in a customer's office or the like, and the image forming apparatus and service are provided. 2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus management system (monitoring system) is known in which a management apparatus (monitoring terminal apparatus) in a center can communicate with a public line and an intermediary apparatus, and the management apparatus manages the state of a customer's image forming apparatus. (See Patent Document 1).
On the other hand, conventionally, when an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer outputs specific data such as advertisement information, a technique of counting the output number of the specific data and performing a predetermined process according to the count is utilized. It was. Such a technique is disclosed in Patent Document 2.
JP-A-6-237330 JP 2001-250057 A

  In Patent Document 1, when an image forming apparatus prints out based on image data, if the image data is included in specific data (such as advertisement data) and printed, the counter of the image forming apparatus prints the print data. A technique for counting the number of pages and calculating a usage fee for print output based on the count result is disclosed.

However, since the result counted by the image forming apparatus described above has been used only for each image forming apparatus, the management apparatus that remotely manages a plurality of image forming apparatuses collectively counts each image forming apparatus. The results are totaled, and various processing such as billing processing cannot be executed based on the totaling results.
The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and specific data output by each managed device in an environment in which the managed device remotely manages all the managed devices such as image forming devices. It is an object of the present invention to allow various processes to be executed on the basis of the totaling result by the above-mentioned management device totaling each counter value which is the number of outputs.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a management device, a remote management system, and a counter monitoring type remote management method.
The management device according to the invention of claim 1 is a management device for remotely managing each managed device inside the firewall from the outside of the firewall, wherein each managed device outputs each specific data and outputs by specific data Output counter value management means for managing the counter value in association with customer information including the data provider information of the data provider who provided the specific data, and receiving the output counter value of each specific data in association with the customer information Based on the output counter value receiving means and the output counter value received by the output counter value receiving means, the output counter value of the output counter value managing means is totaled for each specific data and for each customer information, and the total result Output counter value totaling means for updating the output counter value management means based on the above, and the output counter value totaling means updated by And command processing means for executing a predetermined command processing based on force counter value, and specific data receiving means for receiving a data providing main information corresponding to the specific data and the specific data, specific to the specific data receiving means has received The specific data distribution means for distributing data to the managed device and the command processing executed by the command processing means are set to restrict the output of the specific data in the case of an instruction to stop the output of the specific data Output limit setting counter value storage means for storing the output limit setting counter value of the output counter value is provided, and the output counter value management means stores the output counter value of the specific data received by the specific data receiving means in the specific data For each data provider information corresponding to the command processing means, and the command processing means includes the output count. Referring to the value management means, the specific data that has reached the output limit setting counter value is detected, and the specific data distribution means outputs the detected specific data to the managed device that has distributed the specific data. Specific data output stop instruction means for instructing stop is provided .

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a remote management system comprising the management device according to the first aspect and a managed device remotely managed by the management device, wherein the command from the management device is transmitted via the Internet. An intermediary output counter value receiving unit that includes a management intermediary device inside a firewall that transfers to a managed device, and that accepts an output counter value of each specific data in association with customer information from each managed device to the management intermediary device Means, a mediation-side output counter value storage means for storing the output counter value for each specific data received by the mediation-side output counter value reception means in association with the customer information, and the mediation-side output counter value storage means. The output counter value transfer method for transferring the output counter value of each specific data to the management device in association with the customer information. It is provided with a door.

A remote management system according to a third aspect of the present invention is the remote management system according to the second aspect , wherein the output counter value transfer means starts polling the management device and then transmits the output counter value to the management device. Is .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a management apparatus according to the first aspect , wherein in the management apparatus according to the first aspect, the command processing executed by the command processing means is a settlement process for the data provider related to the data provider information. A data provision fee calculation condition storage means for storing a data provision fee calculation condition for calculating a data provision fee based on the value, and the output counter value by referring to the data provision fee calculation condition in the command processing means; A data provider that calculates a data provision fee based on the output counter value stored by the management means and uses the data provision fee to execute a settlement process for the data provider related to the data provider information corresponding to the output counter value For payment.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a management apparatus according to the first aspect , wherein the customer information includes customer attribute information, and identification information of the managed apparatus used by the customer related to the customer attribute information. Distribution zone information storage means for storing each customer, and when the specific data receiving means receives the specific data and the provider information, the customer attribute information includes the specific data and the provider identification information. , The identification information of the managed device used by the customer related to the attribute information received by the specific data receiving means is read out to the specific data distribution means with reference to the distribution zone information storage means, A delivery destination designating means for delivering the specific data to the managed device to which the identification information is assigned is provided.

A management apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the management apparatus according to the fifth aspect , wherein the customer attribute information is the business type or address of the customer.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a management apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention. The management apparatus according to the first aspect further includes an XML processing unit that realizes processing based on information described in XML format with the managed device. It is a thing.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a management apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the command processing means includes a SOAP processing means for realizing communication based on SOAP with the managed apparatus.

Counter-monitoring remote management method according to the invention of claim 9 is the counter-monitoring remote management method in a management apparatus for managing remotely each managed device in the firewall outside of the firewall, the management apparatus, the above-mentioned Output counter value management means for managing the output counter value for each specific data of the number of outputs of the specific data output by the management device in association with the customer information including the data provider information of the data provider who provided the specific data ; And output limit setting counter value storage means for storing the output limit setting counter value of the output counter value set to limit the output of the specific data, the output counter value of each specific data is stored in the customer information Output counter value receiving means received in association with the output counter value received by the output counter value receiving means Based on the output counter value of the output counter value management means for each specific data and for each customer information, output counter value aggregation means for updating the output counter value management means based on the result of the aggregation, Command processing means for executing predetermined command processing based on the output counter value updated by the output counter value counting means, specific data receiving means for receiving the specific data and data provider main information corresponding to the specific data, And a specific data distribution unit that distributes the specific data received by the specific data reception unit to the managed device, wherein the output counter value management unit outputs the specific data received by the specific data reception unit. A step of managing a counter value for each data provider information corresponding to the specific data; When the command processing to be executed is an instruction to stop outputting the specific data, the command processing means refers to the output counter value management means and detects the specific data that has reached the output limit setting counter value. The specific data distribution means includes a step of instructing the managed device that has distributed the specific data to stop outputting the detected specific data .

The counter-monitoring remote management method according to the invention of claim 10 is the counter-monitoring remote management method according to claim 9 , further comprising a management intermediary in the firewall for transferring a command from the management device to the managed device via the Internet. And a mediating output counter value receiving means for receiving the output counter value of each specific data in association with customer information from each managed device, and the mediating output counter. Referring to the mediation-side output counter value storage means for storing the output counter value for each specific data received by the value reception means in association with the customer information, the output of each specific data with reference to the mediation-side output counter value storage means A step of operating an output counter value transfer means for transferring the counter value to the management device in association with the customer information; Those having.

The counter-monitoring remote management method according to the invention of claim 11 is the counter-monitoring remote management method according to claim 10 , wherein the output counter value transfer means starts polling the management device and then outputs the output counter value. And a step of transmitting to the management device .

The counter-monitoring remote management method according to the invention of claim 12 is the counter-monitoring remote management method according to claim 9 , wherein the command processing executed by the command processing means is a settlement process for the data provider related to the data provider information. In this case, the management device further includes data provision fee calculation condition storage means for storing a data provision fee calculation condition for calculating a data provision fee based on the output counter value, and the command processing means includes the data Referring to the provision fee calculation condition, calculate the data provision fee based on the output counter value stored by the output counter value management means, and use the data provision fee to obtain the data provider information corresponding to the output counter value. It has the step which performs the payment process with respect to this data provider.

The counter monitoring type remote management method according to the invention of claim 13 is the counter monitoring type remote management method of claim 9 , wherein the customer information includes customer attribute information, and the management device A distribution zone information storage unit that stores identification information of a managed device used by the customer according to the attribute information for each customer, and the specific data receiving unit receives the specific data and the provider information, When the attribute information is received in association with the specific data and the provider identification information, the specific data distribution unit refers to the distribution zone information storage unit and adds the attribute information received by the specific data reception unit. The identification information of the managed device used by the customer is read, and the specific data is distributed to the managed device to which the identification information is assigned. And it has a.
A counter-monitoring remote management method according to a fourteenth aspect of the invention is the counter-monitoring remote management method according to the thirteenth aspect , wherein the customer attribute information is the business type or address of the customer.

  According to the present invention, in the environment where the management device remotely manages the managed device, the management device counts the output counter value for each specific data of the number of outputs that the managed device has output each specific data. Various processes can be executed based on the counting results.

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
First, a configuration example of a remote management system in which a communication device according to the present invention is a managed device will be described.
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of the remote management system. A communication device (electronic device) having a communication function and managed by a management device is referred to as a “managed device”.

  This remote management system includes image processing apparatuses (OA equipment) such as printers, FAX machines, digital copying machines (copiers), digital multifunction machines, etc., network appliances, vending machines, medical equipment. , Managed devices 10 (10a, 10b, 10a, 10b, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10b, 10c, 10b, 10c, 10c, 10c, 10c, 10b, 10c, 10b) 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f). As an external device connected to the managed device 10 (as viewed from the managed device side), the management mediating device 101 that functions as a client connected to the managed device 10 via a network such as a LAN (local area network). (101a, 101b, 101c) and a management device 102 functioning as a server connected to the management mediating device (hereinafter abbreviated as “mediating device”) 101 via the public line (telephone line) 103 or the Internet 112, The management device 102 can centrally and remotely manage each managed device 10 via the mediation device 101. The managed device 10 and the intermediary device 101 are installed in an office on the device user (user) side, and the management device 102 is installed in a service center (management center).

Here, in the public line 103, the communication line between the mediation device 101 and the management device 102 is bidirectional communication that enables communication with the other party according to requests from both the mediation device 101 and the management device 102. The first communication line used as a line, the communication line between the mediation apparatus 101 and the dial-up server 111 (may be a dedicated line), can communicate with the management apparatus 102 by a request (callback) from the mediation apparatus 101. This is a second communication line used as a one-way communication line. Of the Internet 112, a communication line (which may be a dedicated line) between the dial-up server 111 and the management apparatus 102 is a third communication line used as a one-way communication line.
As the public line 103 (or dedicated line), an analog line, an ADSL line, a digital line (ISDN line), a fixed telephone line such as a fiber optic line, or a mobile telephone line such as a mobile phone line or a PHS line may be used. .

Further, in order to realize a service (NRS) that the management apparatus 102 remotely manages using a new method, an intermediary apparatus 101 in which software corresponding to NRS is installed in a network such as a LAN on the device user side and a managed apparatus A device 10 is connected. The intermediary device 101 and the managed device 10 are also equipped with software corresponding to CSS in order to realize a service (CSS) that is managed remotely by the management device 102 using a conventional method. In order to realize the NRS, the mediation device 101 and the managed device 10 may be initially installed as in the case of realizing the CSS.
The connection between the mediation apparatus 101 and the managed apparatus 10 is not limited to the network, but is performed by serial connection conforming to the RS-485 standard, parallel connection conforming to the SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) standard, or the like. Also good. For example, in the case of the RS-485 standard, a plurality of managed devices 10 can be connected to the intermediary device 101 in series.

The intermediary device 101 and the managed device 10 have various hierarchical structures depending on the usage environment.
For example, in the installation environment A shown in FIG. 1, the intermediary device 101a capable of establishing a direct connection with the management device 102 by HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) has a simple hierarchical structure in which the managed devices 10a and 10b follow. However, since the four managed devices 10 are installed in the installation environment B shown in the figure, the load increases only by installing one intermediary device 101. Therefore, the intermediary device 101b that can establish a direct connection with the management device 102 by HTTP follows not only the managed devices 10c and 10d but also another intermediary device 101c, and the intermediary device 101c uses the managed devices 10e and 10f. Furthermore, a hierarchical structure is formed in which it can be followed. In this case, the information issued from the management device 102 for remotely managing the managed devices 10e and 10f is managed by the managed device 10e or 10f via the mediation device 101b and the mediation device 101c which is a lower node. Will be reached.

Further, as in the installation environment C, managed devices with mediation functions (hereinafter also simply referred to as “managed devices”) 11 a and 11 b in which the managed device 10 has the functions of the mediation device 101 are separately provided as mediation devices 101. You may make it connect with the management apparatus 102 by the public line 103 or the internet 112 without going through.
Although not shown, a managed device equivalent to the managed device 10 can be further connected to the lower level of the managed device 11 with a mediation function.

The dial-up server 111 is a relay device, and connects the management device 102 and the mediation device 101 or the managed device 10 so that they can communicate with each other via the public line 103 (may be a dedicated line) and the Internet 112. For example, in response to a request (communication request with the management apparatus 102) from the intermediary apparatus 101 or the managed apparatus 10, negotiation (information exchange regarding communication) is performed with the request source via the public line 103, and the public line 103 and the Internet 112 are passed. Then, the request source and the management apparatus 102 are communicably connected (the communication between the request source and the management apparatus 102 is made possible). The dial-up server 111 is installed at the provider as an access point.
In each of the installation environments A, B, and C, a firewall 104 (104a, 104b, 104c) is installed in consideration of security. The firewall 104 is configured by a proxy server.
Further, a terminal device such as a personal computer or other electronic device (external device) can be connected to each managed device 10 or 11 via a network.

In such a remote management system, the intermediary device 101 has an application program for control management of the managed device 10 connected thereto.
The management apparatus 102 is mounted with an application program for performing control management of each intermediary apparatus 101 and further performing control management of the managed apparatus 10 via the intermediary apparatus 101. Then, each of these nodes in this remote management system including the managed device 10 transmits a “request” which is a request for processing for a method of the application program to be implemented by RPC (remote procedure call). The “response” that is the result of the processed processing can be acquired.

That is, the intermediary device 101 or the managed device 10 connected thereto can generate a request to the management device 102 and pass it to the management device 102 to obtain a response to this request, while the management device 102 A request to the mediating apparatus 101 is generated and delivered to the mediating apparatus 101, and a response to the request can be acquired. This request includes causing the mediation device 101 to transmit various requests to the managed device 10 and obtaining a response from the managed device 10 via the mediation device 101.
In order to realize RPC, known protocols (communication standards) such as SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), HTTP, FTP (File Transfer Protocol), COM (Component Object Model), CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture), etc. , Technology, specifications, etc. can be used.

The transmission / reception data transmission / reception model is shown in the conceptual diagram of FIG.
(A) is a case where a request to the management apparatus 102 has occurred in the managed apparatus 10. In this case, the managed device 10 generates a managed device-side request “a”, and the management device 102 that has received this request via the mediation device 101 returns a response “a” to this request. A case where there are a plurality of mediation apparatuses 101 shown in the figure can also be assumed (installation environment B shown in FIG. 1). Note that (A) shows a case in which not only the response a but also a response delay notification a ′ is returned. When the management apparatus 102 receives a managed apparatus side request via the intermediary apparatus 101 and determines that the response to the request cannot be returned immediately, it notifies the response delay notification and temporarily disconnects the connection state. This is because the response to the request is delivered again at the time of the next connection.
(B) is a case where a request for the managed device 10 has occurred in the management device 102. In this case, the management apparatus 102 generates a management apparatus side request b, and the managed apparatus 10 that has received the request via the mediation apparatus 101 returns a response b to the request. Even in the case of (B), the response delay notification b ′ is returned in the same manner as in the case of (A) when the response cannot be returned immediately.

Next, the physical configuration of the management device 102 shown in FIG. 1 will be briefly described. The management device 102 includes a control device including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, a database, a modem, a proxy server, and the like. Has been. The configuration will be described later in detail.
Further, the physical configuration of the intermediary device 101 shown in FIG. 1 will be briefly described. The intermediary device 101 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a nonvolatile memory, a network interface card (hereinafter abbreviated as “NIC”), and the like. Has been. The configuration will be described in detail later.

  In addition, for the managed device 11 with an intermediary function, these units may be simply added to the managed device 10 in order to realize the function of the intermediary device 101, but the CPU, ROM, and RAM provided in the managed device 10 The functions of the intermediary device 101 can be realized by causing the CPU to execute appropriate applications and program modules using hardware resources such as the above.

Hereinafter, as a more specific example of the remote management system shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus remote management system which is a remote management system using an image forming apparatus which is an electronic apparatus according to the present invention as a managed apparatus will be described. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of the image forming apparatus remote management system. The managed apparatus 10 is an image forming apparatus 100, the managed function-equipped managed apparatus 11 is an image forming apparatus with a mediating function (hereinafter referred to as an image forming apparatus). Since only the point changed to 110 (also simply referred to as “image forming apparatus”) is different from FIG. 1, description of the overall configuration of the system is omitted.
The image forming apparatus 100 is a digital multi-function peripheral having functions such as a copy, a printer, a facsimile, and a scanner, and a function for communicating with an external device, and an application program for providing a service related to these functions is installed. It is what. The image forming apparatus with a mediation function 110 is obtained by adding the functions of the mediation apparatus 101 to the image forming apparatus 100.

A physical configuration of such an image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a physical configuration example of the image forming apparatus 100.
The image forming apparatus 100 includes a CPU 201, ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 202, SDRAM 203, NVRAM 204, NRS memory 205, PHY (physical media interface) 206, operation unit 207, HDD (hard disk drive) 208, modem 211, PI. (Personal interface) 212, FCU (fax control unit) 213, USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface 214, IEEE 1394 interface 215, plotter / scanner engine 216, and peripheral unit 217. Each of these units is a hardware resource in the image forming apparatus 100. Each plotter / scanner engine 216, which is an engine unit, includes a sensor for detecting an event such as an abnormality.

The CPU 201 is arithmetic processing means that performs data processing (control of each function) via the ASIC 202.
The ASIC 202 is a multi-function device board including a CPU interface, an SDRAM interface, a local bus interface, a PCI interface, a MAC (Media Access Controller), an HDD interface, and the like. From the aspect, it helps to increase the efficiency of development of applications (application software).
The SDRAM 203 is a program memory that stores various programs including an OS (operating system), a main memory that is used as a work memory used when the CPU 201 performs data processing, and the like. In place of the SDRAM 203, a DRAM or SRAM may be used.

  The NVRAM 204 stores a boot loader (boot program) for starting the image forming apparatus 100, a fixed program memory for storing an OS image, an application memory for storing each application, a service memory for storing each service (service software), and firmware. A firmware memory, a data memory for storing an address (network address), model number, and counter information (billing counter data), which are identification information of a device (image forming apparatus 100) whose operation status is monitored / managed, Nonvolatile memory such as EEPROM or flash memory used as a counter (output counter) for counting output counter value for each specific data, which is the number of outputs of each specific data output from the image forming apparatus (managed apparatus) 100 according to the invention And the power is Even in the off is adapted to hold the stored contents. Instead of the NVRAM 204, a nonvolatile RAM in which a RAM and a backup circuit using a battery are integrated may be used.

  Here, regarding the above-described output counter, “output from the image forming apparatus 100” means, for example, including both printing (image formation) and display. For example, each time the image forming apparatus 100 prints specific data, the output counter value of the output counter for counting (counting) the number of printed pages may be incremented (+1). Further, when the image forming apparatus 100 displays specific data on the display unit of the operation unit 207, the output counter value of the output counter for counting the number of times of display may be incremented (+1) each time.

The NRS memory 205 is a non-volatile memory that stores an NRS described later, and an NRS function can be added as an option. Of course, the NRS may be stored in the NVRAM 204 without including the NRS memory 205.
The PHY 206 is an interface for communicating with an external device via a network such as a LAN. The PHY 206 is an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 802.11b standard (compatible with a wireless LAN), an IEEE 1394 standard, an IEEE 802.3 standard (Ethernet). (Registered trademark) compatible interfaces are provided to provide a plurality of communication means.

The operation unit 207 is an operation unit having various operation keys (also referred to as operation switches or operation buttons) for inputting information (data) such as operation commands (commands) for each engine unit and an LCD or CRT display. is there.
The HDD 208 is a non-volatile storage means (recording medium) that stores and saves data regardless of whether the power is on or off. The HDD 208 can store the above-described program in the NVRAM 204 and other data. The HDD 208 can also be used as the above-described service memory or firmware memory.

The modem 211 is modulation / demodulation means. When data is transmitted to an external device via a public line, the modem 211 modulates the data to flow through the public line. In addition, when modulated data sent from the management apparatus 102 is received, the data is demodulated.
The PI 212 includes an interface conforming to the RS485 standard, and is connected to a public line via a line adapter (not shown). Note that the PI 212 can be used to connect the image forming apparatus 100 and the mediation apparatus 101.
The FCU 213 controls communication with an external apparatus such as an image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine or a digital multifunction peripheral having a FAX (fax) apparatus or a modem function (FAX communication function) and a management apparatus 102 via a public line (not shown). .

The USB interface 214 is a low-speed or medium-speed serial interface, and the IEEE 1394 interface 215 is a high-speed serial interface.
The plotter / scanner engine 216 includes a scanner engine (image reading unit) that reads an image of a document, image data (for example, print data including specific data) read by the scanner engine, or text data (for example, specific data) received from an external device. A plotter engine (image forming means) that forms (prints) an image on a recording medium such as paper based on (print data including data). As the plotter engine, a monochrome laser printer or a color laser printer can be used.
The peripheral unit 217 includes an automatic document feeder (ADF) that automatically feeds a document to an image reading position of a scanner engine, and a post-processing device device that performs post-processing such as sorting sheets on which images have been formed by a plotter engine ( For example, finisher).

  Here, when the power is turned on (power is turned on), the CPU 201 activates the boot loader in the NVRAM 204 via the ASIC 202, reads the OS image in the NVRAM 204 according to the boot loader, loads it into the SDRAM 203, and develops it into a usable OS. To do. When the deployment of the OS is completed, the OS is activated. Thereafter, a program such as an application or service in the NVRAM 204 or an NRS in the NRS memory 205 is read out as necessary, and these are loaded into the SDRAM 203 or the NRS memory 205 to be expanded and activated. The boot loader may not be stored in the NVRAM 204, and a ROM storing the boot loader may be provided.

Next, the software configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 (or 110) will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration of the image forming apparatus 100.
The software configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 includes an application module layer, a service module layer, and a general-purpose OS layer. The programs constituting these software are stored in the NVRAM 204 and the NRS memory 205, read by the CPU 201 as necessary, and expanded in the SDRAM 203. The CPU 201 can implement various functions by executing these programs as necessary and controlling the apparatus.

  The application module layer software is configured by a program for causing the CPU 201 to function as a plurality of application control means (process execution means) that operate hardware resources to realize a predetermined function. The CPU 201 is interposed between the hardware resource and each application control unit, and receives an operation request for the hardware resource from a plurality of application control units, arbitrates the operation request, and controls the execution of the operation based on the operation request. It is comprised by the program for functioning as a service control means (process execution means) which performs.

  Of these functions, a method for realizing a function related to communication with the management apparatus 102 (function as a communication unit) differs between the image forming apparatus 100 and the image forming apparatus 110. In other words, since the image forming apparatus 110 has the function of the mediation apparatus 101, the function related to the communication with the management apparatus 102 can be realized by the CPU 201 executing the corresponding program. In the case of the image forming apparatus 100, functions related to communication with the management apparatus 102 can be realized by the CPU 201 executing a corresponding program and using the mediation apparatus 101.

  The service module layer includes an operation control service (OCS) 300, an engine control service (ECS) 301, a memory control service (MCS) 302, a network control service (NCS) 303, a fax control service (FCS) 304, a system control service ( SCS) 306, system resource manager (SRM) 307, image memory handler (IMH) 308, delivery control service (DCS) 316, and user control service (UCS) 317 are implemented. The application module layer includes an NRS application (hereinafter simply referred to as “NRS”) 305, a CSS application (hereinafter simply referred to as “CSS”) 315, a copy application 309, a fax application 310, a printer application 311, a scanner application 312, and a net file. An application 313 and a web application 314 are installed. Furthermore, a general-purpose OS 320 is mounted on the general-purpose OS layer.

These will be described in further detail.
The OCS 300 is a module that controls the operation unit 207.
The ECS 301 is a module that controls engine units such as hardware resources.
The MCS 302 is a module that performs memory control. For example, the MCS 302 acquires and releases an image memory, uses the HDD 208, and the like.
The NCS 303 is a module that performs mediation between the network and each application program in the application module layer.
The FCS 304 is a module that performs facsimile transmission / reception, facsimile reading, facsimile reception printing, and the like.

The SCS 306 is a module that performs start management and end management of each application program in the application module layer according to the content of the command.
The SRM 307 is a module that controls the system and manages resources.
The IMH 308 is a module that manages a memory for temporarily storing image data.
The DCS 316 is a module for transmitting / receiving an image file or the like stored in the HDD 208 or the SDRAM 203 using SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) or FTP (File Transfer Protocol).
The UCS 317 is a module that manages user information such as destination information and address information registered by a device user (user).

The NRS 305 and the CSS 315 are modules in which functions related to remote management (functions related to communication with the management apparatus 102) by different methods are collected.
The copy application 309 is an application program for realizing a copy service.
The fax application 310 is an application program for realizing a fax service.
The printer application 311 is an application program for realizing a printer service.
The scanner application 312 is an application program for realizing a scanner service.

The net file application 313 is an application program for realizing a net file service.
The web application 314 is an application program for realizing a web service.
The general-purpose OS 320 can use an operating system (operation system) such as UNIX (registered trademark), Linux (registered trademark), or Windows (registered trademark). The operating system manages the processing for executing the service module layer and application module layer programs. Here, if UNIX or Linux is used, the safety due to open source is ensured, and there are advantages such as easy source code acquisition.

Next, the internal configuration of the NRS module included in the software configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 described above will be further described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the NRS 305. As shown in the figure, the NRS 305 performs processing between the SCS 306 and the NCS 303. The web server function unit 500 performs response processing related to a request received from the outside. The request here may be a SOAP request by SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) described in XML (Extensible Markup Language) format which is a structured language, for example. The web client function unit 501 performs processing for issuing an external request. The libsoap 502 is a library that processes SOAP, and the libxml 503 is a library that processes data described in the XML format. Also, libwwww 504 is a library that processes HTTP, and libgw_ncs 505 is a library that performs processing with the NCS 303.

Next, the physical configuration of the management apparatus 102 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a physical configuration example of the management apparatus 102.
The management device 102 includes a modem 601, a communication terminal 602, a proxy server 603, an operator terminal 604, a file server 605, a control device 606, and the like.
The modem 601 manages communication with the mediating apparatus 101 or the image forming apparatus 110 on the device user side (for example, a user destination using the image forming apparatus) via the public line 103, and modulates / demodulates data to be transmitted / received To do. The modem 601 and a communication terminal 602, which will be described later, serve as communication means.
The communication terminal 602 controls communication by the modem 601.

The proxy server 603 performs communication (data transmission / reception) and security management with the mediation apparatus 101 on the user (device user) side via the Internet 112. The proxy server 603 also functions as a communication unit.
The operator terminal 604 is a terminal device (personal computer or the like) operated by a center operator who is a service center administrator, and inputs various data on an input unit such as a keyboard or a pointing device (mouse or the like) by the center operator. Information to be received by operation or information to be notified to the center operator is displayed on a display unit such as an LCD or CRT. As input data, for example, in addition to customer information such as an IP address and a call destination telephone number used when communicating with the mediation device 101 or the image forming device 110 on each user side, the mediation device on each user side 101 or parameters to be transmitted to the image forming apparatus 110 (for example, retry time, retry interval, communication time limit), commands, and the like.

The file server 605 includes a storage device such as an HDD (hard disk device). The storage device stores various data including IP addresses and telephone numbers of the mediation device 101 and the image forming device 110 on each user side, data (information) received from those devices, and data input from the operator terminal 604. DB (database) is stored (set).
The control device 606 includes a microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like (not shown), and controls the entire management device 102 in an integrated manner. The CPU operates in accordance with the program (executes the program as necessary), and uses the modem 601, the communication terminal 602, the proxy server 603, the operator terminal 604, or the file server 605, thereby enabling the present invention. (Functions as output counter value management means, output counter value aggregation means, command processing means, specific data reception means, specific data distribution means, specific data detection means) can be realized.

Next, the functional configuration of the management apparatus 102 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the management apparatus 102.
The management apparatus 102 includes a storage unit 700 that stores information, a communication unit 900 that communicates with the management apparatus 102, and a processing unit 800 that controls operations of these units. Among these, the functions as the processing unit 800 and the communication unit 900 can be realized by the modem 601, the communication terminal 602, the proxy server 603, the operator terminal 604, and the control device 606 in FIG.

  The storage unit 700 is for holding data and programs, and corresponds to the DB described with reference to FIG. It does not matter whether the storage unit 700 is physically single or plural. The storage unit 700 includes an output counter value management unit 701, a customer information management unit 702, an output limit setting value storage unit 703, an output time limit storage unit 704, a data provision fee calculation condition storage unit 705, and a service usage fee discount rate calculation condition storage. A section 706 and a distribution zone information storage section 707.

Here, the output counter value management unit 701 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
The output counter value management unit 701 manages the output counter value of each specific data in association with customer information.
The “output counter value of each specific data” here is an output counter value for each specific data, which is the number of outputs of each specific data output by each image forming apparatus 100.

The “specific data” is data included in the print data (for example, normal print contents) when the image forming apparatus 100 performs print output (image formation) based on the print data. The data itself is output separately from the print data. For example, it is composed of text data and image data, and advertising information (such as new product guidance) corresponds to the specific data. “Customer information” includes information about a data output person who outputs specific data and customer information regarding the data provider who provided the specific data.
The mechanism by which the image forming apparatus 100 outputs the output counter value of each specific data has been described in the description of the image forming apparatus 100.

9A and 9B are diagrams showing the data structure of the output counter value management unit 701. FIG. Here, the above-mentioned “specific data” will be described in the case of advertisement information.
As shown in FIG. 9A, the output counter value management unit 701 manages the output counter value of the advertisement information corresponding to the advertisement ID for each advertisement ID and for each customer ID.
Here, “advertisement ID” is information for identifying advertisement information.
“Customer ID” is information for identifying a customer, and is specifically used here to identify a data output person.
The “output counter value” is a value such as “100” or “200”, for example.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, the output counter value management unit 701 manages the output counter value of the advertisement information for each data provider information corresponding to the specific data. Here, the output counter value of the advertisement information corresponding to the advertisement ID is managed for each customer ID and for each advertisement ID.
The “customer ID” here is information for identifying a specific data provider among customers. Other information is the same as in the case of FIG.

Next, the customer information management unit 702 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 10 shows a database structure of the customer information management unit 702.
In the customer information management unit 702, information such as a customer ID, a customer name, a customer business type, and a customer address are associated with each other. The type of business, address, etc. are customer attribute information.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of the output limit setting value storage unit 703.
The output limit setting value storage unit 703 stores an output limit setting counter value.
The “output limit setting counter value” is the maximum value of the output counter value set to limit the output of the specific data described above. In FIG. 11, a method of storing an output restriction setting counter value for each advertisement ID is adopted.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of the output time limit storage unit 704.
The output time limit storage unit 704 stores the output time limit of specific data. In FIG. 12, a method of storing the output deadline for each advertisement ID is adopted.

Returning to FIG. 8, the data provision fee calculation condition storage unit 705 and the service usage fee discount rate calculation condition storage unit 706 will be described in detail.
The data provision fee calculation condition storage unit 705 stores data provision fee calculation conditions.
Here, the “data provision fee calculation condition” is a condition for calculating the data provision fee based on the output counter value described above. For example, information such as a data provision fee added for each output counter value is included in this condition. In addition, information necessary for settlement such as a designated account is also included in this.

The service usage fee discount rate calculation condition storage unit 706 stores service usage fee discount rate calculation conditions.
Here, the “service usage fee discount rate calculation condition” is a condition for calculating the discount rate of the service usage fee based on the output counter value described above. For example, information such as a discount rate of a service usage fee (copying, management fee, etc.) calculated based on the output counter value is included in this condition. In addition, information necessary for settlement such as a designated account is also included in this.
The data provision fee calculation condition and the service usage fee discount rate calculation condition described above are composed of, for example, a program function and a table.

FIGS. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating the data structure of the distribution zone information storage unit 707.
The distribution zone information storage unit 707 stores identification information of the image forming apparatus 100 used by the customer for each customer. In FIG. 13A, a method of storing an image forming apparatus ID for each customer ID is adopted.
Here, the “image forming apparatus ID” is identification information of the image forming apparatus 100.
“Customer ID” is the same as the customer ID of the customer information management unit 702.
The distribution zone information storage unit 707 also stores the image forming apparatus 100 managed by the mediation apparatus 101 for each mediation apparatus 101. In FIG. 13B, a method of storing an image forming apparatus ID for each mediating apparatus ID is adopted.

Returning to FIG.
The communication unit 900 is for transmitting and receiving information, and corresponds to the modem 601 and the proxy server 603 described with reference to FIG.
The processing unit 800 controls the entire management apparatus 102, and corresponds to the control apparatus 606 described with reference to FIG.
The processing unit 800 includes an output counter value receiving unit 801, an output counter value totaling unit 802, a command processing unit 803, a specific data receiving unit 804, a specific data distribution unit 805, and a specific data detection unit 806. Specific functions of these units will be described in the operation section described later (FIGS. 19, 21, 23, and 26).

Next, the physical configuration of the mediation apparatus 101 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a physical configuration example in the mediation apparatus 101.
The intermediary device 101 includes a CPU 31, a DRAM 32, a flash ROM 33, a card memory controller 34, a card memory 35, an image forming device I / F 36, a real time clock circuit (RTC) 37, a modem 38, an NCU (network control device) 39, a NIC ( Network Interface Cards) 40 and 41, and a power supply circuit 42.

  The CPU 31 controls the image forming apparatus 100 connected to the mediation apparatus 101 based on various programs including an OS (operation system) in the DRAM 32, or the public line 103 or the Internet 112 by the NCU 39 or the NICs 40 and 41. The control unit 102 controls transmission / reception of various data (or signals) to the management apparatus 102 via the network, makes a call to the management apparatus 102 via the public line 103 using data from the image forming apparatus 100, and connects the line to the image forming apparatus 100. The intermediary device 101 as a whole, for example, switching control (including control of line switching timing) of whether to connect to a general telephone (TEL) or FAX device side which is an external communication device. Central processing unit to control.

The DRAM 32 is a main memory used as a program memory for storing various programs including the OS, a work memory used when the CPU 31 performs data processing, and the like. An SRAM may be used instead of the DRAM 32.
The flash ROM 33 stores a program memory that stores a boot loader, transmission data from one to the other of the management apparatus 102 and each image forming apparatus 100, and each piece of machine number information (identification) that identifies one of the image forming apparatuses 100. Information), the IP address of the communication destination of the management apparatus 102, the callback destination telephone number (calling destination identification information) that is the telephone number of the dial-up server 111 (access point), and the recurrence when the line connection is not successful A non-volatile memory used as a database (DB) for storing a call time (retry time), a re-calling interval (retry interval), a communication time limit for restricting continuous communication with the management apparatus 102, and the power is turned off. Even if it becomes, the memory contents are retained. Instead of the flash ROM 33, another nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM may be used. Further, the number of re-calls (the number of retries) may be stored instead of the re-call time.

The card memory controller 34 controls reading / writing of various data with respect to the card memory 35.
The card memory 35 is a recording medium such as an SD memory, and records various programs such as an OS, a driver, and an application.
The image forming apparatus I / F 36 is an image forming apparatus connection unit that connects an image forming apparatus (not shown) to be remotely managed, and corresponds to a communication interface such as RS485.
The real-time clock circuit 37 generates time information such as year / month / day / hour / minute / second, and the CPU 31 can read the current time to know the current time.
The modem 38 is modulation / demodulation means. When transmitting data to the management apparatus 102 via the public line 103, the modem 38 modulates the data so that the data can flow through the public line 103. In addition, when modulated data sent from the management apparatus 102 is received, the data is demodulated.

The NCU 39 controls communication (data transmission / reception) with various external devices including the management device 102 or an external communication device (general telephone or facsimile device) via the public line 103. Therefore, the function as the external communication device connection means can be realized.
The NICs 40 and 41 control communication with each of the image forming apparatuses 100 to be remotely managed on a network such as a LAN, a firewall 104, or other electronic devices including a management terminal using a personal computer (not shown). In addition, communication with various external devices including the management device 102 is controlled via the firewall 104 and the Internet 112. Therefore, the function as the image forming apparatus connecting means can be realized.
The power supply circuit 42 converts AC power (commercial power) from the AC adapter 43 into DC power and supplies it to the above-described units in the mediation apparatus 101.

Here, the CPU 31 controls the card memory controller 34 to read various programs including the OS in the card memory 35 according to the boot loader in the DRAM 32 when the power is turned on (power is turned on from the power circuit 42), and the program memory of the DRAM 32 To install. Then, it operates according to the various programs (the various programs are selectively executed as necessary), and the image forming apparatus I / F 36, the real-time clock circuit 37, the modem 38, the NCU 39, and the NICs 40 and 41 are operated as necessary. By selectively using, various functions according to the present invention (functions as an intermediary-side output counter value receiving means, an intermediary-side output counter value storage means, and an output counter value transfer means) can be realized.
The card memory controller 34 includes an HDD, a removable MO disk, a CD-R disk, a CD-RW disk, a DVD + R disk, a DVD + WR disk, a DVD-R disk, a DVD-RW disk, a DVD-RAM disk, and the like. A controller for controlling reading and writing of various data with respect to the recording medium may be provided.

Next, the functional configuration of the mediation apparatus 101 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the mediation apparatus 101.
The intermediary device 101 includes a storage unit 51 that stores information, a communication unit 52 that communicates with an external device, and a processing unit 53 that controls operations of these units. Among these, the functions as the communication unit 52 and the processing unit 53 can be realized by the CPU 31 in FIG. 14 operating according to various programs in the DRAM 32.
The storage unit 51 holds data and programs, and corresponds to the DRAM 32, the flash ROM 33, and the card memory 35 described with reference to FIG. It does not matter whether the storage unit 51 is physically single or plural. The storage unit 51 includes a mediation-side output counter value storage unit 51a and a mediation-side distribution zone information storage unit 51b.

Here, the mediation-side output counter value storage unit 51a will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
Similarly to the output counter value management unit 701 described with reference to FIG. 8, the mediation side output counter value storage unit 51a stores the output counter value of each specific data in association with the customer information.
The configuration of the mediation side output counter value storage unit 51 a is the same as the configuration of the output counter value management unit 701.
Next, the mediation side delivery zone information management unit 51b will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of the mediation-side distribution zone information management unit 51b.
The mediation side delivery zone information storage unit 51b stores identification information of an image forming apparatus (managed apparatus) used by a customer. In FIG. 16, a method of storing the image forming apparatus ID and the customer ID in association with each other is adopted. The image forming apparatus ID and customer ID are the same as the above-described image forming apparatus ID and customer ID, respectively.

Returning to FIG. 15, the description will be continued.
The communication unit 52 is for transmitting and receiving information, and the processing unit 53 corresponding to the NICs 40 and 41 and the image forming apparatus I / F 36 controls the entire mediating apparatus 101, and will be described with reference to FIG. CPU31 which corresponds.
The processing unit 53 includes a mediation-side output counter value receiving unit 53a and an output counter value transfer unit 53b. Specific functions of these units will be described in the operation section described later (FIG. 23).

Based on the above-described configuration, an example of a communication sequence at the time of data transmission / reception performed in the image forming apparatus remote management system of FIG. 3 will be described. Note that the processing by the SCS 306 and NRS 305 described below is actually executed by the CPU 201 operating in accordance with those programs, but for the sake of explanation, these programs execute the processing. Thereafter, the same applies to the case where the program is described as performing some processing.
FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication sequence for data transmission / reception performed between the management apparatus 102, the intermediary apparatus 101, and the image forming apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG.

  In this example, first, the mediation apparatus 101 polls the management apparatus 102 via the Internet 112 (inquiry whether there is a transmission request) (S601). In other words, it generates a polling SOAP message with an identifier that is its own identification information (converts the polling signal to the XML format, which is a structured language format), and generates an HTTP message including it based on the SOAP message Then, it is transmitted to the management apparatus 102 via the Internet 112. As shown in FIG. 3, since the firewall 104 is provided between the mediation device 101 and the management device 102, a communication session cannot be established from the management device 102 to the mediation device 101. Even if it is desired to send a request from the mediating apparatus 101 (or the image forming apparatus 100 via the mediating apparatus 101), it is necessary to wait for polling (inquiry about whether there is a transmission request) from the mediating apparatus 101 in this way. is there. If there is no firewall 104, polling is not necessary.

  When the management apparatus 102 receives the HTTP message (HTTP request) from the mediation apparatus 101, the management apparatus 102 generates an HTTP message (HTTP response) including a SOAP message of information indicating a charging counter (counter information) acquisition request, and transmits it to the Internet 112. It is transmitted as a response to polling to the corresponding mediation apparatus 101 (source of the received SOAP message) via S (S602). At this time, the corresponding intermediary device 101 is recognized based on the identifier added to the SOAP message in the received HTTP message. In this way, if it is a response (HTTP response) to communication (HTTP request) from the inside (inside) of the firewall 104, data can be transmitted from the outside (outside) of the firewall 104 to the inside.

When the intermediary device 101 receives the HTTP message from the management device 102, the mediation device 101 generates a SOAP message of information indicating a charging counter acquisition request on the packet based on the HTTP message, and sends it to the network via a network such as a LAN. The data is transmitted to the NRS 305 of the connected image forming apparatus 100 (S603).
The NRS 305 notifies the SCS 306 of a charging counter acquisition request described in the SOAP message received from the mediation apparatus 101 (S604).
Upon receiving the charge counter acquisition request notification from the NRS 305, the SCS 306 reads the charge counter data stored in the NVRAM 204 (or HDD 208) (S605). Then, the read accounting counter data (response data) is delivered to the NRS 305 (S606).

When the NRS 305 receives (acquires) billing counter data (counter information indicating the counter value) from the SCS 306, the NRS 305 generates a SOAP message of the data (converts the received data into an XML format that is a structured language format). Then, it is transmitted to the mediation apparatus 101 via the network (S607).
When the mediation device 101 receives the SOAP message of the billing counter data from the NRS 305, the mediation device 101 generates an HTTP message including the SOAP message based on the SOAP message, and transmits it to the management device 102 via the Internet 112 (S608).
Thus, data transmission / reception is performed by the communication sequence.

Next, unlike FIG. 17, an example of a communication sequence when data is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100 to the management apparatus 102 via the mediation apparatus 101 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication sequence when data is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100 to the management apparatus 102.
In this example, the OCS 300 first notifies the SCS 306 that a user call key (not shown) on the operation unit 207 has been pressed (S701).
Upon receiving notification from the OCS 300 that the user call key has been pressed, the SCS 306 notifies the NRS 305 of a user call request (S702).

Upon receiving the user call request notification from the SCS 306, the NRS 305 generates a SOAP message of user call information notifying the user call and transmits it to the mediation apparatus 101 via the network (S703).
When the mediation device 101 receives the SOAP message of the user call information from the NRS 305, the mediation device 101 adds an identifier, which is its own identification information, to the SOAP message, and further generates an HTTP message including it based on the SOAP message. A user call is made to the management apparatus 102 via That is, an HTTP message including a SOAP message of user call information with its own identifier added is reported to the management apparatus 102 via the Internet 112 (S704). In this case, since the transmission is from the inside to the outside of the firewall 104, the mediation apparatus 101 can transmit data by creating a session toward the management apparatus 102 itself.
Here, the pattern after the process of step S704 will be described separately in the following (A) to (C).

First, in (A), the management apparatus 102 receives an HTTP message including a SOAP message of user call information from the user's mediation apparatus 101, and if the reception ends normally, that fact (user call is If the call result indicating success) does not end normally (abnormally ends), an HTTP message including a SOAP message with information indicating the call result indicating that the user call has failed is generated. Then, it is transmitted as a response to the intermediary device 101 as the notification source via the Internet 112 (S705).
When the intermediary device 101 receives an HTTP message including a SOAP message of information indicating the call result from the management device 102, the mediation device 101 generates a SOAP message of information indicating the call result on the packet based on the HTTP message, and transmits it to the network. The user call key is transmitted to the NRS 305 of the image forming apparatus 100 that is pressed (S706).

When the NRS 305 receives a SOAP message of information indicating the call result from the mediation apparatus 101, the NRS 305 interprets (determines) the call result indicated by the SOAP message and notifies the SCS 306 of it (S707).
When the SCS 306 receives the call result, it delivers it to the OCS 300.
When the OCS 300 receives the call result from the SCS 306, the OCS 300 displays a message indicating the content, that is, whether the user call is successful or unsuccessful, on a display (character display) on the operation unit 207 (S708).

Next, in (B), when the intermediary device 101 determines that there is no response from the management device 102 after a predetermined time (a predetermined time set in advance), a call result indicating that the user call has failed is displayed. A SOAP message with the indicated information is generated and transmitted to the NRS 305 (S709).
When the NRS 305 receives a SOAP message indicating information indicating a call result indicating failure, the NRS 305 interprets the call result indicating failure described in the SOAP message and notifies the SCS 306 of the result (S710).
When the SCS 306 receives the call result from the NRS 305, the SCS 306 delivers it to the OCS 300.

When the OCS 300 receives the call result from the SCS 306, the OCS 300 displays the content, that is, a message indicating that the user call has failed on the character display on the operation unit 207 (S711).
Next, in (C), when the NRS 305 determines that there is no response from the mediation apparatus 101 even after the specified time has elapsed, the NRS 305 notifies the SCS 306 of a call result indicating that the user call has failed (S712).
When the SCS 306 receives the call result from the NRS 305, the SCS 306 delivers it to the OCS 300.
When the OCS 300 receives the call result from the SCS 306, the OCS 300 displays the content, that is, a message indicating that the user call has failed on the character display on the operation unit 207 (S713).

  Here, in order to transmit data from the management apparatus 102 to the mediation apparatus 101 (or the image forming apparatus 100 via the mediation apparatus 101) over the firewall 104, the data is transmitted in the form of a response to the HTTP request from the mediation apparatus 101. However, the means for going beyond the firewall 104 is not limited to this example. For example, using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), the management apparatus 102 sends a mail describing or attaching data to be transmitted. Transmission to the mediation apparatus 101 is also conceivable. However, HTTP is superior in terms of reliability.

  Hereinafter, the control according to the present invention in the image forming apparatus remote management system configured as described above will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. Here, the above-mentioned “specific data” will be described as advertisement information. Note that the control related to communication between the management apparatus 102 and the mediation apparatus 101 and the control related to communication between the management apparatus 102 and the image forming apparatus 110 having the mediation function (function as the mediation apparatus 101) are substantially the same. Only will be described.

First, advertisement information registration processing will be described.
FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating processing of the management apparatus 102, the intermediary apparatus 101, and the image forming apparatus 100, and registration of advertisement information. Here, it is assumed that advertisement information is registered in response to a request from the image forming apparatus 100. However, advertisement information may be registered in response to a request from a terminal device such as a personal computer.

In step S11, in response to a predetermined operation by the advertisement information provider, the image forming apparatus 100 stores and registers the advertisement information in the area of the NVRAM 204 (or the HDD 208). For example, the advertising information is “new product XX has been released”, “printer driver has been revised”, or “homepage has been renewed”. In addition to the advertisement information, the image forming apparatus 100 also stores and registers in the NVRAM 204 advertisement-related information such as the advertisement period (output deadline) and the target industry of the customer who distributes the advertisement information.
Next, the image forming apparatus 100 receives the notification from the mediation apparatus 101, refers to the NVRAM 204, and transmits the registered advertisement information and advertisement related information to the management apparatus 102 via the mediation apparatus 101 (step S12). To S14).

  Finally, in the next step S15, the management device 102 that has received the advertisement information and advertisement-related information described above via the mediation device 101 receives a periodic notification (polling) from the mediation device 101 (step S13). ), An advertisement ID is assigned to the advertisement information, and predetermined information is registered in each storage unit included in the storage unit 700 (see FIGS. 9 to 13).

Here, FIG. 20 shows an example of a command for registering the advertisement information described above. In FIG. 20, information such as advertisement information, output deadline, and target business type is described in XML format according to SOAP.
That is, each unit 700, 800, 900 of the management apparatus 102 has an XML processing function for realizing processing based on information described in the XML format with the image forming apparatus 100. According to this, since the expandability of the tag is improved, the service in this image forming apparatus remote management system can be improved. The command processing unit 803 of the management apparatus 102 includes a SOAP processing function that realizes communication based on SOAP with the image forming apparatus 100. According to this, since remote communication with the mediation apparatus 101 and the image forming apparatus 100 can be realized, services in this image forming apparatus remote management system can be improved.
The advertisement information registration process is executed as described above.

Next, the advertisement information distribution process described above will be described.
FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a process of distributing advertisement information, which is a process of the management apparatus 102, the mediation apparatus 101, and the image forming apparatus 100.
First, the management apparatus 102 registers (confirms) a distribution destination (mediation apparatus 101) of new advertisement information on the storage unit 700 (step S21). As this confirmation method, for example, there is a method using a flag. The management apparatus 102 detects new advertisement information on the storage unit 700 (step S22).

  After that, the management apparatus 102 receives polling from the mediation apparatus 101 and detects the mediation apparatus 101 as the distribution destination (steps S23 and S24), and sends a response with the advertisement information detected on the storage unit 700 added thereto. Distribution is performed to the distribution destination intermediary device 101 (steps S25 and S26). In the above-described response, an advertisement ID corresponding to the advertisement information is also added.

Step S25 will be described in detail.
The specific data reception unit 804 of the management apparatus 102 corresponds to the customer attribute information and the advertisement information and the provider identification information when receiving the above advertisement information and the above data provider information (such as the data provider ID). Upon receipt, the specific data distribution unit 805 refers to the distribution zone information storage unit 707, and identifies the image forming apparatus 100 used by the customer regarding the attribute information received by the specific data reception unit 804 (image forming apparatus). ID etc.) is read, and the advertisement information is distributed to the image forming apparatus 100 to which the identification information is assigned. Here, this function is called a “delivery destination designation function”.

If it does in this way, it becomes possible to designate the distribution place of advertising information according to a request of a data provider. For example, by accepting a customer's business type and region, it is possible to distribute to customers of the same business type and address.
Finally, the mediation apparatus 101 that has received the response to which the advertisement information or the like is added distributes the response (advertisement information or the like) to the image forming apparatus 100 (step S27).
FIG. 22 shows an example of the advertisement information delivery command described above. In FIG. 22, advertisement information and information such as an advertisement ID added to the advertisement information are included in XML format according to SOAP.
In this way, advertisement information distribution processing is performed.

  Next, the process for counting the output counter values of the advertisement information described above will be described.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the processing of the management device 102, the mediation device 101, and the image forming device 100, and summing up the output counter values of the advertisement information.
First, when the advertisement information stored in the NVRAM 204 is output to the outside, the image forming apparatus 100 counts the output counter value of the advertisement information (step S31). Here, for example, the advertisement information is printed outside together with normal print contents (print data).

Here, step S31 will be specifically described.
When the advertisement information is output (printed), the image forming apparatus 100 counts (counts) the output counter value of the advertisement information in various counters of the NVRAM 204 according to the number of print pages of the advertisement information.
When “output of advertisement information” described above is displayed, the output counter value of the advertisement information in various counters of the NVRAM 204 is counted according to the number of times the advertisement information is displayed.
FIG. 24 shows a print example of advertisement information output by the image forming apparatus 100. In FIG. 24, advertisement information is printed at the bottom of the normal print content. Here, information on new products is shown as advertisement information.

Returning to FIG. 23, the description will be continued.
The image forming apparatus 100 transmits the output counter value of each advertisement information counted by the various counters described above to the mediation apparatus 101 (step S32). In this case, the image forming apparatus 100 transmits customer information (customer ID) associated with the output counter value described above.
Here, an example of a command for transmitting the output counter value of each advertisement information is shown in FIG. In FIG. 25, for each advertisement ID, an output counter value (for example, “1056”) corresponding to the advertisement ID is described.
Finally, the management apparatus 102 receives a periodic notification (polling) from the mediation apparatus 101 (step S33), and receives an output counter value of advertisement information from the mediation apparatus 101 (steps S34 to S36). .

The output counter value receiving unit 801 of the management apparatus 102 receives the output counter value of each advertisement information in association with the customer information (step S34). The acceptance of step S34 is processing after receiving polling from the mediation apparatus 101.
Next, based on the output counter value received by the output counter value receiving unit 801, the output counter value totaling unit 802 adds up the output counter value of the output counter value management unit 701 for each advertisement information and for each customer information. Based on the result of the aggregation, the output counter value management unit 701 is updated (step S35). This update is, for example, an update of an output counter value for each customer classified for each advertisement information, or an update of an output count value for each advertisement information classified for each data provider (see FIG. 9).

Then, the command processing unit 803 executes predetermined command processing based on the output counter value updated by the output counter value totaling unit 802 (step S36). Examples of the “predetermined command process” include an instruction to stop the output of advertisement information and a settlement process for a customer (data provider or data output person).
In this way, in the operating environment in which the management apparatus 102 remotely manages the image forming apparatus 100, various command processing such as settlement according to various output counter values for each advertisement and each customer can be performed.

The various command processes described above will be described below.
First, command processing relating to an instruction to stop the output of advertisement information will be described.
FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating processing of the management apparatus 102, the mediation apparatus 101, and the image forming apparatus 100, which is related to an instruction to stop the output of advertisement information.
First, the output counter value totaling unit 802 of the management apparatus 102 updates the output counter value management unit 701 in the same procedure as the process of step S35 (step S41). After the update, the command processing unit 803 refers to the output counter value management unit 701, detects the advertisement information that has reached the output limit setting counter value in the output limit setting value storage unit 703, and stops outputting the detected advertisement information The specific data distribution unit 805 instructs the image forming apparatus 100 to which the advertisement information has been distributed. This will be specifically described.

The command processing unit 803 determines whether or not the output counter value after aggregation has reached the output limit setting counter value described above (step S42), and if there is advertisement information that has reached the output limit setting counter value, It is determined whether or not there is a distribution destination (mediation apparatus 101) to which the advertisement information has been distributed (step S43). As a determination method in step S43, for example, there is a method using a flag.
As a result, when the above-described distribution destination is detected, the command processing unit 803 detects the advertisement information that has reached the output limit setting counter value, and receives the instruction to stop outputting the advertisement information as a response. (Steps S44 and S45).

An example of the response command described above is shown in FIG. In FIG. 27, an advertisement ID and the like corresponding to advertisement information whose output is to be stopped are described.
Finally, the image forming apparatus 100 that has received the instruction to stop the output of the advertisement information described above via the distribution destination intermediary apparatus 101 stops the output of the advertisement information in accordance with the instruction (step S46). ).
In this way, it is possible to stop the output of advertisement information on each image forming apparatus 100 side based on the output counter value.

Next, command processing relating to payment processing for a customer (data provider, data output person) will be described.
First, the case where the command process executed by the command processing unit 803 is a settlement process for a data provider of advertisement information will be described.
In this case, the command processing unit 803 refers to the data provision fee calculation condition storage unit 705, calculates a data provision fee based on the output counter value stored in the output counter value management unit 701, and uses the data provision fee. Then, settlement processing for the data provider related to the data provider information corresponding to the output counter value is executed. Here, this function is referred to as “data provider settlement function”.
With such a data provider settlement function, for example, based on the output counter value of the advertisement information provided by the data provider, it is possible to charge the advertisement fee of the data provider.

On the other hand, when the command process executed by the command processing unit 803 is a settlement process for a data output person, the command processing unit 803 refers to the service usage fee discount rate calculation condition storage unit 706 and the output counter value management unit 701 A discount rate of the service usage fee based on the stored output count value is calculated, and using the discount rate, a settlement process for the data output person related to the customer information corresponding to the output counter value is executed. Here, this function is referred to as “data output person settlement function”.
With such a data output person settlement function, for example, based on the output counter value for each data output person, it is possible to provide a discount service for service usage fees (printer management costs, etc.) to the data output person It becomes.

Furthermore, the management apparatus 102 can execute the following command processing.
That is, the specific data detection unit 806 of the management apparatus 102 refers to the output time limit storage unit 704 to detect advertisement information whose output time has expired. For example, the output deadline can be specified up to the date.
After that, the specific data distribution unit 805 instructs the image forming apparatus 100 that has distributed the expired advertisement information to stop outputting the advertisement information. Here, this function is called a “specific data output stop instruction function”. According to this, for example, it is possible to output only advertising information effective for advertising.

Note that the following method is conceivable as a method of detecting the “image forming apparatus 100 that has delivered expired advertisement information”.
When the above-described advertisement information is distributed, the specific data distribution unit 805 stores the association between the advertisement information and the distribution destination (the mediation apparatus 101 and the image forming apparatus 100) in the area of the storage unit 700. With reference to the association on 700, the distribution destination (mediation apparatus 101 and image forming apparatus 100) corresponding to the advertisement information whose output has expired is detected.

  According to the embodiment described above, in the environment where the management apparatus 102 remotely manages the image forming apparatus 100, the management apparatus 102 manages the output counter value based on the output counter value for each specific data output from the image forming apparatus 100. The output counter value of the unit 701 is totaled, and predetermined command processing is executed based on the total result. For this reason, the above-described management apparatus 102 can collectively calculate based on the output counter value for each specific data counted for each image forming apparatus 100, and thereby manage based on the above-described output counter value aggregation result. The device 102 can execute various processes such as a settlement process for a customer.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In the above embodiment, the case of the image forming apparatus has been mainly described as an example of the managed apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the following apparatus may be used. For example, network home appliances equipped with communication functions, vending machines, medical equipment, power supply equipment, air conditioning systems, gas / water / electric metering systems, AV equipment, game machines, etc., and computers that can be connected to the network The present invention can be applied to various electronic devices having a communication function. Even when these electronic devices are managed devices, the remote management system can be operated in the same manner as described above. Further, regarding the remote management system of the electronic device, the configuration of the communication device, the mediation device, and the management device and their connection form are not limited to the above embodiments.

  For example, in the remote management system shown in FIG. 1, it is conceivable that the above-described various electronic devices are used as managed devices to form a remote management system as shown in FIG. In FIG. 28, network appliances such as a television receiver 12a and a refrigerator 12b, a medical device 12c, a vending machine 12d, a weighing system 12e, and an air conditioning system 12f are given as examples of managed devices in which the intermediary device 101 is separately provided. ing. As an example of a managed device that also has the function of the intermediary device 101, an automobile 13a and an aircraft 13b are cited. In addition, it is preferable that an apparatus that moves over a wide range, such as an automobile 13a or an aircraft 13b, also has a firewall (FW) 104 function.

A program according to the present invention is a program for causing a computer that controls the above-described managed device, mediation device, and management device to realize various functions according to the present invention, and by causing the computer to execute such a program. The effects as described above can be obtained.
Such a program may be stored in a storage means such as a ROM or HDD provided in the computer from the beginning, but a non-volatile recording such as a CD-ROM or flexible disk, SRAM, EEPROM, memory card or the like as a recording medium. It can also be recorded on a medium (memory) and provided. Each procedure described above can be executed by installing a program recorded in the memory in a computer and causing the CPU to execute the program, or causing the CPU to read and execute the program from the memory.
Furthermore, it is also possible to download and execute an external device that is connected to a network and includes a recording medium that records the program, or an external device that stores the program in the storage unit.

  The present invention can be applied to various electronic devices such as network home appliances, vending machines, medical equipment, power supply devices, air conditioning systems, measuring systems such as gas, water and electricity, AV equipment, game machines and computers.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of a structure of the remote management system of the communication apparatus of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the data transmission / reception model in the remote management system. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an image forming apparatus remote management system which is an example of a communication apparatus management system according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a physical configuration example of the image forming apparatus 100 in FIG. 3. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration of the image forming apparatus 100. FIG.

2 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of an NRS configuration in the image forming apparatus. FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a physical configuration example of the management apparatus 102 in FIG. 3. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the management apparatus 102. FIG. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the output counter value management part 701 of FIG. It is a database structure of the customer information management part 702 of FIG.

It is a figure which shows the data structure of the output restriction setting value memory | storage part 703 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the output time limit memory | storage part 704 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the delivery zone information storage part 707 of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the physical structural example in the mediation apparatus 101 of FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the mediation apparatus 101. FIG.

It is a figure which shows the data structure of the mediation side delivery zone information management part 51b of FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a communication sequence for data transmission / reception performed in the image forming apparatus remote management system shown in FIG. 3. It is a figure which similarly shows the other example of a communication sequence. 4 is a flowchart showing a process of registering advertisement information, which is a process of the management apparatus 102, the intermediary apparatus 101, and the image forming apparatus 100 of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the command which registers advertisement information.

4 is a flowchart showing a process of distributing advertisement information, which is a process of the management apparatus 102, the intermediary apparatus 101, and the image forming apparatus 100 of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the delivery command of advertisement information. 4 is a flowchart showing processing of the management device 102, the mediation device 101, and the image forming device 100 in FIG. 3 and totalizing output counter values of advertisement information. An example of printing advertisement information output by the image forming apparatus 100 of FIG. 3 is shown. It is a figure which shows an example of the command which transmits the output counter value of each advertisement information.

4 is a flowchart showing processing of the management apparatus 102, the mediation apparatus 101, and the image forming apparatus 100 in FIG. 3 relating to an instruction to stop the output of advertisement information. It is a figure which shows an example of the command of the instruction | indication which stops the output of advertisement information. It is a figure which shows another structural example of the remote management system shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10: Managed device 11: Managed device with mediation function 31, 201: CPU 32: DRAM 33: Flash ROM 34: Card memory controller 35: Card memory 36: Image forming device I / F 37: Real time clock circuit 38, 601 : Modem 39: NCU 40, 41: NIC 100: Image forming apparatus 101: Mediating apparatus 102: Management apparatus 103: Public line 104: Firewall 110: Image forming apparatus with mediating function 111: Dial-up server 112: Internet 202: ASIC 203 : SDRAM 204: NVRAM 205: NRS memory 206: PHY 207: Operation unit 216: Plotter / scanner engine 300: OCS 301: ECS 30 : MCS 303: NCS 304: FCS 305: NRS 306: SCS 307: SRM 308: IMH 309: Copy application 310: Fax application 311: Printer application 312: Scanner application 313: Net file application 314: Web application 315: CSS 316: DCS 320: General-purpose OS 602: Communication terminal 603: Proxy server 604: Operator terminal 605: File server 606: Control device

Claims (14)

A management device that remotely manages each managed device inside the firewall from outside the firewall,
Output counter value for managing the output counter value for each specific data of the number of outputs that each managed device outputs each specific data in association with the customer information including the data provider information of the data provider that provided the specific data Management means;
An output counter value receiving means for receiving an output counter value of each specific data in association with customer information;
Based on the output counter value received by the output counter value receiving means, the output counter value of the output counter value managing means is totaled for each specific data and for each customer information, and the output counter value is based on the total result Output counter value aggregation means for updating the management means;
Command processing means for executing predetermined command processing based on the output counter value updated by the output counter value counting means ;
Specific data receiving means for receiving the specific data and data provider information corresponding to the specific data;
Specific data distribution means for distributing the specific data received by the specific data reception means to the managed device;
When the command processing executed by the command processing means is an instruction to stop the output of the specific data,
An output limit setting counter value storage means for storing an output limit setting counter value of an output counter value set to limit the output of the specific data;
The output counter value managing means includes means for managing the output counter value of the specific data received by the specific data receiving means for each data provider main information corresponding to the specific data;
The command processing means includes
Referring to the output counter value management means, the specific data that has reached the output limit setting counter value is detected, and the specific data detected by the specific data distribution means is distributed to the managed device that has distributed the specific data. A specific data output stop instruction means for instructing stop of the output of the management apparatus. A remote management system comprising the management device according to claim 1 and a managed device remotely managed by the management device.
A management intermediary device inside the firewall for transferring commands from the management device to the managed device via the Internet;
In the management mediating device,
An intermediary output counter value accepting unit that accepts an output counter value of each specific data in association with customer information from each managed device;
Intermediary output counter value storage means for storing the output counter value for each specific data received by the mediation side output counter value receiving means in association with the customer information;
A remote counter comprising: an output counter value transfer means for referring to the mediating side output counter value storage means and transferring the output counter value of each specific data to the management device in association with the customer information; Management system. The remote management system according to claim 2 , wherein
The said output counter value transfer means transmits the said output counter value to the said management apparatus, after starting the polling to the said management apparatus, The remote management system characterized by the above-mentioned. The management device according to claim 1 ,
When the command processing executed by the command processing means is a payment processing for the data provider related to the data provider information,
A data provision fee calculation condition storage means for storing a data provision fee calculation condition for calculating a data provision fee based on the output counter value;
The command processing means includes
The data provision fee is calculated based on the output counter value stored by the output counter value management means with reference to the data provision fee calculation condition, and the data provider corresponding to the output counter value is calculated using the data provision fee. A management apparatus comprising a data provider settlement unit for executing a settlement process for a data provider related to information. The management device according to claim 1 ,
The customer information includes customer attribute information,
A distribution zone information storage means for storing, for each customer, identification information of a managed device used by the customer according to the customer's attribute information;
When the specific data receiving means receives the specific data and the provider information, and accepts customer attribute information in association with the specific data and the provider identification information,
The specific data distribution means includes
The identification information of the managed device used by the customer related to the attribute information received by the specific data receiving means is read with reference to the distribution zone information storage means, and the specific information is assigned to the managed device to which the identification information is assigned. A management apparatus comprising a delivery destination designating means for delivering data. The management apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the customer attribute information is a business type or an address of the customer.   The management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the units includes an XML processing unit that realizes processing based on information described in an XML format with the managed apparatus.   The management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the command processing unit includes a SOAP processing unit that realizes communication based on SOAP with the managed device. A counter monitoring type remote management method in a management device for remotely managing each managed device inside the firewall from outside the firewall,
The management device
Output counter value for managing the output counter value for each specific data of the number of outputs that each managed device outputs each specific data in association with the customer information including the data provider information of the data provider that provided the specific data Management means ;
When the output limit setting counter value storage means for storing the output limit setting counter value of the output counter value set to limit the output of the specific data ,
An output counter value receiving means for receiving an output counter value of each specific data in association with customer information;
Based on the output counter value received by the output counter value receiving means, the output counter value of the output counter value managing means is totaled for each specific data and for each customer information, and the output counter value is based on the total result Output counter value aggregation means for updating the management means;
Command processing means for executing predetermined command processing based on the output counter value updated by the output counter value counting means ;
Specific data receiving means for receiving the specific data and data provider information corresponding to the specific data;
A step of operating specific data distribution means for distributing the specific data received by the specific data reception means to the managed device ;
The output counter value managing means includes a step of managing the output counter value of the specific data received by the specific data receiving means for each data provider information corresponding to the specific data;
When the command processing executed by the command processing means is an instruction to stop the output of the specific data,
The command processing means includes
Referring to the output counter value management means, the specific data that has reached the output limit setting counter value is detected, and the specific data detected by the specific data distribution means is distributed to the managed device that has distributed the specific data. A counter monitoring type remote management method comprising a step of instructing to stop the output of the counter. The counter monitoring type remote management method according to claim 9 ,
Furthermore, in the case of having a management mediating device inside the firewall for transferring the command from the management device to the managed device via the Internet,
The management mediating device includes:
An intermediary output counter value accepting unit that accepts an output counter value of each specific data in association with customer information from each managed device;
Intermediary output counter value storage means for storing the output counter value for each specific data received by the mediation side output counter value receiving means in association with the customer information;
With reference to the mediation-side output counter value storage means, output counter value transfer means for transferring the output counter value of each specific data to the management apparatus in association with the customer information;
A counter monitoring type remote management method comprising the steps of: The counter monitoring type remote management method according to claim 10 , wherein
The counter-monitoring type remote management method, wherein the output counter value transfer means includes a step of transmitting the output counter value to the management device after polling the management device is started. The counter monitoring type remote management method according to claim 9 ,
When the command processing executed by the command processing means is a payment processing for the data provider related to the data provider information,
The management device further includes:
Data provision fee calculation condition storage means for storing a data provision fee calculation condition for calculating a data provision fee based on the output counter value;
The command processing means includes
The data provision fee is calculated based on the output counter value stored by the output counter value management means with reference to the data provision fee calculation condition, and the data provider corresponding to the output counter value is calculated using the data provision fee. A counter-monitoring type remote management method comprising a step of executing a settlement process for a data provider related to information. The counter monitoring type remote management method according to claim 9 ,
The customer information includes customer attribute information,
The management device
Distribution zone information storage means for storing identification information of the managed device used by the customer according to the customer attribute information for each customer,
When the specific data receiving means receives the specific data and the provider information, and accepts customer attribute information in association with the specific data and the provider identification information,
The specific data distribution means includes
The identification information of the managed device used by the customer related to the attribute information received by the specific data receiving means is read with reference to the distribution zone information storage means, and the specific information is assigned to the managed device to which the identification information is assigned. A counter monitoring type remote management method comprising a step of distributing data. 14. The counter monitoring type remote management method according to claim 13 , wherein the attribute information of the customer is a business type or address of the customer.

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