JP6627470B2 - Equipment management systems, information equipment and programs - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a device management system, an information device, and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, teleworking at home to perform work at home has been known as one of working styles. With the development of telecommunications infrastructure, it is expected that the number of companies adopting telecommuting will increase in the future. In some cases, a so-called BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), in which a worker brings a personal information terminal or the like and uses it for work, may be performed.

  When the above-mentioned telecommuting is performed, information devices such as a printer and a laptop computer may be used for both private use and business use. In such a case, it is required that the cost be properly paid for the use of the information device. In other words, there is a view that the costs for workers' private use should be borne by the workers, and the costs for use for business purposes should be borne by the employer. Therefore, there is a need for a technology that can appropriately determine the accounting destination (whether it is an employee or a worker) to which the result of measuring the usage status such as the number of prints or the communication volume is to be recorded.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-214186 (Patent Literature 1) is known regarding the use of the device at home. Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for measuring power consumption in a home office and notifying an employer or the like of a home office worker of an integrated value of power consumption in a certain period. In Patent Literature 1, in a power consumption management device, a power outlet supplies power to an electric device connected thereto, and an electronic power measurement function unit measures an integrated power consumption consumed by the electric device, The device control unit stores the obtained integrated power consumption. Then, the NCU unit and the DTMF signal transmitting / receiving unit notify the integrated power consumption stored by the device control unit to the outside via the communication line.

  However, in the related art of Patent Literature 1, it is necessary to switch whether or not the power consumption is to be managed by a manual operation of the changeover switch by the operator. In other words, it is not possible to appropriately determine the accounting destination for recording the measurement result of the usage status without the need for the operator.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and the present invention provides a device management system capable of determining the accounting destination of the result of measuring the usage status of an information device based on the communication state of the information device. The purpose is to:

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a device management system having the following features for managing the use status of information devices. The device management system includes: storage means for storing association information that associates a communication state of the information device with an accounting destination of a measurement result of a usage status according to a use location when the information device is in the communication state; The communication device includes a detection unit that detects a communication state and a determination unit that determines an accounting destination corresponding to the communication state of the detected information device based on the association information.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to appropriately determine the accounting destination of the result of measuring the usage status of the information device based on the communication state of the information device.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a device management system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the information terminal according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a device management system according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of a measurement classification table managed by the device management system according to the embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating another example of the data structure of the measurement classification table managed by the device management system according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a usage measurement process executed by the device management system according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of a measurement result collected by the device management system according to the embodiment.

  Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described, but the present embodiment is not limited to the embodiment described below. In the embodiments described below, the device management system 100 and the portable information terminal 150 will be described as examples of the device management system and the information devices.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a device management system 100 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the device management system 100 includes a device management server 104 that manages the usage status of information devices to be managed, and a portable information terminal 150 as an information device managed by the device management server 104. You.

  In FIG. 1, as locations where the portable information terminals 150 managed by the device management server 104 can exist, offices in offices of organizations such as government offices, medical institutions, educational institutions, and companies (hereinafter simply referred to as in-house offices). ) 110 and a home office 130, typically the home of a worker working in the organization. For convenience, the portable information terminal in the office 110 is referred to as the portable information terminal 150C, and the portable information terminal in the home office 130 is referred to as the portable information terminal 150H. In FIG. 1, the portable information terminal 150C and the portable information terminal 150H represent the same device. The mobile information terminal 150C in the office 110 is moved to the home office 130, and is referred to by the mobile information terminal 150H.

  Office office 110 includes an office network 112, such as a wired, wireless, or mixed local area network (LAN). Other information devices 120 such as a multifunction peripheral 120a and a printer 120b may be installed in the office 110. The portable information terminal 150C and the information device 120 can be connected to the in-house network 112. The portable information terminal 150C in the office office 110 and the device management server 104 installed separately from the office office 110 are connected via a public network 102 such as the Internet.

  Similarly, home office 130 also includes a home network 132, such as a wired, wireless, or mixed local area network (LAN). Another information device 140 such as a printer 140 may be installed in the home office 130. The portable information terminal 150H and the information device 140 described above can be connected to the home network 132. The portable information terminal 150H in the home office 130 and the device management server 104 installed separately from the home office 130 are connected via the public network 102.

  In the embodiment described below, the portable information terminal 150 will be described as being managed by the device management server 104. However, the use of the information devices 120 and 140 described above other than the portable information terminal 150 can be managed by the device management server 104.

  The device management server 104 is configured as, but not limited to, a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer, a workstation, or a server computer, and provides a server function related to device management. In a specific embodiment, the device management server 104 is installed at a service provider site that provides an information device management service. Alternatively, in another embodiment, a mode in which the in-house network 112 and the network in which the device management server 104 is installed may be connected via a private network such as a VPN or a dedicated line, The device management server 104 may be provided on the company network 112.

  The portable information terminal 150 is configured as an information device carried by a user such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, and a smartphone, although not particularly limited. Examples of the information devices 120 and 140 include image processing devices such as the multifunction device 120a and the printers 120b and 140 that execute the above-described print processing and scanner processing, but are not particularly limited. May be. The portable information terminal 150 can use the functions provided by the information devices 120 and 140 by requesting the information devices 120 and 140 to perform processing such as a print job via a local network to which the portable information terminal 150 is connected. . Information devices 120 and 140 connected to such a portable information terminal 150 can also be used for management of usage status.

  As described above, when working at home in the home office 130, information devices such as the multifunction peripheral 120a, the printer 120b, and the portable information terminal 150 may be used for both private use and business use. is there. In some cases, a so-called BYOD is performed in which a worker brings his / her personal information terminal 150 or the like into an office and uses it for business. In such a case, in order to appropriately bear the cost of using the information devices 120 and 140 and the portable information terminal 150, the usage status such as the communication volume and the number of prints is measured, and an appropriate accounting destination for accounting the measurement result is provided. Is required to be determined.

  Therefore, in the device management system 100 according to the present embodiment, the communication status of the portable information terminal 150 and the usage status of the portable information terminal 150 are measured in order to manage the use status of the portable information terminal 150 and the information devices 120 and 140. Correspondence information that defines the correspondence with the accounting destination that accumulates the results is prepared and stored in advance. This association information is information for associating a predetermined accounting destination according to a use place assumed when the portable information terminal 150 is in a predetermined communication state. The device management system 100 detects the communication state of the portable information terminal 150, and determines an accounting destination corresponding to the detected communication state of the portable information terminal 150 based on the association information. Here, the usage status includes the communication amount and communication time of the portable information terminal 150, the number of processes such as image processing using information devices such as the multifunction peripheral 120a and the printers 120b and 140 connected to the portable information terminal 150, the portable information, and the like. It may include a work time using the terminal 150 and the like.

  According to the above configuration, according to the communication state of the portable information terminal, the accounting destination (for example, an employer or a worker who bears the cost such as an employee or a worker) for accounting the measurement result of the usage status such as the number of prints, the communication amount, and the working time is determined. Be able to judge appropriately.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 8, a more detailed description will be given of the control performed by the device management system 100 according to the present embodiment for measuring the usage status of information devices.

  Hereinafter, first, a hardware configuration of a device included in the device management system 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the portable information terminal 150 according to the present embodiment. The portable information terminal 150 is configured as a laptop or tablet personal computer, a portable information terminal such as a smartphone, or the like. The portable information terminal 150 shown in FIG. 2 includes a single-core or multi-core CPU (Central Processing Unit) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 14 for providing a work area for the CPU 12, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 16, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 18, an input device 20, a display device 22, and a network interface 24.

  The input device 20 is an input device such as a mouse, a keyboard, and a touch screen panel. The display device 22 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display device and an organic EL (Electroluminescence) display. The input device 20 and the display device 22 provide a user interface for receiving input of various instructions from an operator. The network interface 24 is an interface device for connecting a portable information terminal 150 such as a wireless LAN adapter or a NIC (Network Interface Card) conforming to a standard such as IEEE 802.11 to the networks 112 and 132. The ROM stores a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) and the like. The HDD 18 stores an OS for controlling the computer device, a control program for implementing a functional unit described later, various system information, and various setting information.

  The portable information terminal 150 according to the present embodiment reads out a control program from the ROM 16 or the HDD 18 and develops the control program in a work space provided by the RAM 14 to realize each unit and each process described below under the control of the CPU 12. Although the portable information terminal 150 has been described with reference to FIG. 2, the device management server 104 can also have a similar hardware configuration.

  FIG. 3 shows a hardware configuration of the information devices 120 and 140 according to the present embodiment. Each of the information devices 120 and 140 is configured as an image processing apparatus having an image forming function and an image reading function such as a multifunction peripheral. Each of the information devices 120 and 150 shown in FIG. 3 includes, on a controller board 50, a single-core or multi-core CPU 52, a storage device 54 that provides a work area for the CPU 52, and an external interface 56. An operation panel 60, a scanner 62, and a plotter 64 are further connected to the controller board 50.

  The storage device 54 stores a memory used as a drawing memory, an image buffer, a code buffer, and the like, a storage for storing image data and programs, a control program for controlling the MFP, various system information, and various setting information. Includes NV-RAM to store. The external interface 56 includes an NIC that connects the information devices 120 and 140 to a network such as a LAN, and an interface conforming to respective standards such as a USB interface and an IEEE 1394 interface.

  The operation panel 60 is connected to the controller board 50, and includes a display device such as a liquid crystal panel and an input device such as a touch screen panel. The operation panel 60 provides a user interface for receiving input of various instructions from an operator and displaying a screen. The scanner 62 executes an image reading process in response to an image reading execution command from the controller board 50. The plotter 64 executes an image forming process based on print data from the host computer and image read data read by the scanner 62 in response to an image forming execution command from the controller board 50.

  Hereinafter, the function of measuring the usage status of the information device provided in the device management system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the device management system 100 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 shows a module configuration 250 included in the portable information terminal 150 and a module configuration 210 included in the device management server 104.

  On the portable information terminal 150, a usage measurement application 252 is installed and operating. The usage measurement application 252 operates on the mobile information terminal 150 to be managed in the device management system 100, and measures the usage status of the mobile information terminal 150 and other information devices connected to the mobile information terminal 150. The usage measurement application 252 further transmits the measurement result data measured by itself to the device management server 104 set in advance. Although not particularly limited, the usage measurement application 252 runs on the portable information terminal 150 in the form of, for example, a resident program, and monitors the state of the portable information terminal 150.

  The usage measurement application 252 may be provided to the portable information terminal 150 in the form of a program, for example. In this case, the CPU 12 of the portable information terminal 150 expands the program in a work area provided by the RAM 14 and executes each command specified in the expanded program, thereby allowing each unit described below to Realize on top.

  More specifically, the usage measurement application 252 includes a measurement control unit 254, a communication state detection unit 256, a measurement classification table storage unit 258, a data measurement unit 260, a measurement data storage unit 262, and a data transmission unit 264. It is comprised including. These units may be implemented, for example, as components such as an executable file, a library, and a data structure configuring the usage measurement application 252, or as a part thereof.

  The measurement control unit 254 controls the measurement of the usage status according to the communication state of the portable information terminal 150 according to a predefined measurement classification table. Communication state detection section 256 detects the current communication state of portable information terminal 150 and notifies measurement control section 254 of the detected communication state. Here, the communication state can be determined based on the network to which the portable information terminal 150 is connected and the communication protocol used. The communication state detection unit 256 checks, for example, the network configuration of the portable information terminal 150, and determines whether the mobile information terminal 150 is connected to the in-house network 112, the home network 132, or the home network 132. Further, it is determined whether or not a VPN connection has been established.

  The measurement classification table storage unit 258 stores a measurement classification table referred to by the measurement control unit 254. The measurement classification table storage unit 258 includes, for example, a storage area provided by the HDD 18 or the RAM 14 of the portable information terminal 150. The measurement classification table is association information that defines the correspondence between the communication state of the portable information terminal 150 and the accounting destination that accumulates the result of measuring the usage status of the portable information terminal 150. In a specific embodiment, the measurement classification table associates a predetermined accounting destination according to a use place and a use intended when the portable information terminal 150 is in a predetermined communication state.

  FIG. 5 illustrates a data structure of a measurement classification table managed by the device management system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5A shows a first example, and FIG. 5B shows a second example. The measurement classification table shown in FIG. 5A includes a plurality of classifications (first to third classifications), and each classification includes “communication status”, “location”, “work mode”, and “work time”. , "Communication", and "print" are stored.

  In the above, the item “communication state” holds a value indicating the communication state of the portable information terminal 150. The value for the item “communication state” is not particularly limited, but as described above, a network and a protocol to be connected, such as “in-house network”, “home network (VPN)”, and “home network” Can be defined. The item “location” holds a value based on which location the portable information terminal 150 in the communication state corresponding to the value of the item “communication state” is assumed to be. The value for the item “location” is not particularly limited, but a value indicating “in-house”, “outside”, or a specific office or branch office can be defined. The item “work mode” holds a value based on which usage purpose the portable information terminal 150 in the communication state corresponding to the value of the item “communication state” is assumed to be used. The value for the item “work mode” is not particularly limited, but defines a value indicating a use purpose such as “ON” indicating that the user is working and “OFF” indicating that the user is not working. be able to. In addition, values indicating a break time, a travel time, and the like may be defined.

  In the above, the items “working time”, “communication” and “printing” indicate whether or not it is necessary to measure the use status, such as measurement of commuting time, measurement of communication time or communication amount, measurement of the number of printed sheets, and the like. Hold the value. As values for the items “working time”, “communication”, and “printing”, values are set according to the assumed place of use of the portable information terminal 150 and the purpose of use.

  For example, in the first category, when the communication state indicates connection to the in-house network, the location “in-house” and the work mode “ON” are associated with each other, and the work time and printing are measured. Is defined. The second category is a case where the communication state indicates connection to the home network, and when the connection state indicates that a VPN connection has been established, the location “outside the office” and the work mode “ON” are associated with each other. Further, it stipulates that working hours, communication, and printing are to be measured. On the other hand, the third category is a case where the communication state indicates connection to the home network, and when the connection state indicates that a VPN connection has not been established, the location “off-site” and the work mode “OFF” correspond. And stipulates that neither working hours, communication nor printing is measured.

  In the above measurement classification table, (1) the communication state “in-house network” indicates that the worker works in the company, and (2) the “home network (VPN)” indicates that the worker works outside the company. (3) “Home network” is treated as indicating that the worker is outside the company and is not working. Focusing on the item of “communication”, in the first category, since the use of the in-house network is originally borne by the employer because the user is in the office, the communication time or the communication amount is not measured with the employer as the accounting destination. On the other hand, in the second category, it is assumed that the user is outside the office but is performing business with a VPN, and communication costs for the business can be separately incurred. You. In the third category, since it is assumed that the user is not engaged in business in the first place, the communication time or the communication amount is not measured with the work location as the accounting destination.

  In the example shown in FIG. 5A, the accounting destination is associated with whether or not the predetermined measurement item is to be allocated to the predetermined accounting destination. For example, in the second category, a value such as “measurement (workplace)” is held for “communication”. However, the manner of association is not particularly limited, and when accounting is performed, it is assumed that the accounting is performed at a predetermined accounting destination (for example, a workplace). Can be associated with a predetermined accounting destination. For example, the definition may be such that the value "measurement" is used to indicate that the value is to be calculated at work.

  The measurement classification table shown in FIG. 5A is an example, and FIG. 5B shows another example. In the example shown in FIG. 5A, for example, the third category indicates that communication and printing are measured, but indicates that communication and printing measurement items are included in individual workers. That is, in the example illustrated in FIG. 5A, it is assumed that the measurement is not performed for the individual and the measurement is not performed. In the example illustrated in FIG. 5B, the measurement is also performed for the individual. It is stipulated that it be accounted for. By measuring the communication time or the communication amount while distinguishing the accounting destination between the work place and the individual, the communication cost is apportioned, for example, by the ratio of the communication time (communication amount) of the work accounting to the total communication time (communication amount). And so on.

  FIG. 6 shows still another example of the data structure of the measurement classification table managed by the device management system according to the present embodiment. In the data structure shown in FIG. 5, the “communication status” includes, in addition to the “location” and “work mode”, whether the measurement of “working time”, “communication”, and “printing” is necessary and the accounting destination is one table. Was defined in On the other hand, in the data structure shown in FIG. 6, the measurement classification table includes two tables.

  FIG. 6A shows a table in which “communication state” is associated with “location” and “work mode”, and whether or not measurement items are measured for combinations of values of “location” and “work mode”. The accounting destination is associated. In each of the measurement classification tables in FIGS. 5 and 6, a predetermined accounting destination is associated with a use place (and a use purpose) assumed when the portable information terminal 150 is in a predetermined communication state. .

  Referring back to FIG. 4, the measurement control unit 254 refers to the measurement classification table stored in the measurement classification table storage unit 258 and calculates the accounting corresponding to the communication state of the portable information terminal 150 detected by the communication state detection unit 256. Determine the destination. Then, the measurement control unit 254 sets the data measurement unit 260 to measure the usage status of the determined accounting destination.

  Although the usage status to be measured is not particularly limited, the number of image processing processes for business use (for example, the number of prints shown in the example of the measurement classification table) and the work amount or work time for business use It may include measurement items (for example, the above-mentioned working hours), communication amount, or communication time (for example, elapsed time or packet amount).

  The above-mentioned working hours can be measured by measuring the time from the timing when the working mode is turned “ON” to the timing when the working mode is turned “OFF”. The communication time or communication amount is the time of network connection from detecting the communication status corresponding to the category that requires measurement of the measurement item to detecting the communication status corresponding to the category that does not require measurement of the measurement item. It can be measured by measuring or measuring the amount of packets and the amount of data transmitted and received via the network. The number of prints can be measured by monitoring the status of the spooler and counting the number of prints of each job.

  According to the measurement classification tables shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the data measurement unit 260 operates as follows. In response to the measurement control unit 254 determining that the communication mode corresponds to the classification of the work mode “ON” from the communication state, the data measurement unit 260 starts measuring the work time and printing for the accounting destination. The data measurement unit 260 also terminates the measurement of the usage status in response to the measurement control unit 254 determining that the communication mode corresponds to the classification of the work mode “OFF”. In response to the measurement control unit 254 determining that the work mode is “ON” and the location is “outside the office” from the communication state, the data measurement unit 260 Measurement of the communication of the information device started. Then, the data measurement unit 260 ends the communication measurement in response to the measurement control unit 254 determining that the communication state corresponds to a category other than the above.

  The measurement data holding unit 262 holds the measurement result data of each measurement item measured by the data measurement unit 260. The measurement result data is held, for example, in association with the classification. If the data transmission unit 264 can communicate with the device management server 104, the data transmission unit 264 sequentially transmits the measurement result data to the device management server 104. The data transmission unit 264 transmits the untransmitted measurement result data held in the measurement data holding unit 262 to the device management server 104 in response to the communication with the device management server 104 being enabled. In a preferred embodiment, the data transmission unit 264 can transmit measurement result data to the device management server 104 with user identification information (user ID) for identifying a user. This makes it possible to count the usage status not only for each information device but also for each user. For this reason, even when the user uses a plurality of portable information terminals, it is possible to appropriately collect the usage status of each user.

  With reference to FIG. 4, the module configuration 250 of the portable information terminal 150 has been described with a specific embodiment, but the above-described measurement control unit 254, measurement classification table storage unit 258, communication state detection unit 256, data measurement unit The 260 and the data transmission unit 264 constitute a determination unit, a storage unit, a detection unit, a measurement unit, and a transmission unit in the embodiment described above, respectively. However, the module configuration 250 of the portable information terminal 150 illustrated in FIG. 4 is an example, and in another embodiment, a plurality of modules illustrated in FIG. 4 may be combined into one, or one module may be divided into a plurality. It may be implemented as an application, or may be implemented as a component configuring an operation system or an application execution environment, and the implementation is not limited.

  On the other hand, the device management application 212 is installed and running on the device management server 104. The device management application 212 is a server-side component that runs on the device management server 104 that manages the management target in the device management system 100, receives measurement data transmitted from the management target, and collects measurement results. The device management application 212 is provided to the device management server 104 in the form of a program, and the CPU 12 of the device management server 104 loads the program into a work area provided by the RAM 14 and executes each command specified in the loaded program. By doing so, each unit described below is realized.

  More specifically, the device management application 212 includes a data reception unit 214, a collected data management unit 216, and a report generation unit 218. The data receiving unit 214 receives measurement result data from the portable information terminal 150 on which the usage measurement application 252 operates.

  The collected data management unit 216 manages measurement result data received from one or a plurality of portable information terminals 150 on a database. The collected data management unit 216 also has a function of receiving correction of the held measurement result data and performing tallying as necessary. For example, the user of the portable information terminal 150 can query the device management server 104 for measurement result data, edit a part of the data, and re-register. The report generation unit 218 can generate a report on the usage status by counting the user identification information received together with the measurement result data from the portable information terminal 150. For example, you can generate a report summarizing the working hours, communication volume, and number of prints for a specific user's workplace, or apply a unit price to the time, amount, and number to give a specific user You can generate a report summarizing the costs to be paid.

  With reference to FIG. 4, the module configuration 250 of the portable information terminal 150 has been described in the specific embodiment. However, the collected data management unit 216 and the report generation unit 218 each include the correction unit and the report in the described embodiment. The generating means is configured. However, the module configuration 210 of the device management server 104 illustrated in FIG. 4 is an example, and in another embodiment, a plurality of modules illustrated in FIG. 4 may be combined into one, or one module may be divided into a plurality. It may be implemented as an application, or may be implemented as a component configuring an operation system or an application execution environment, and the implementation method is not limited.

  Hereinafter, the flow of data and processing will be described in more detail with reference to the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 7 as an example when mobile information terminal 150 moves from office 110 to home office 130.

  FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating a usage measurement process performed by the device management system according to the present embodiment. The process illustrated in FIG. 7 is started in response to the portable information terminal 150 starting connection with the in-house network 112 in step S101.

  In step S102, the usage measurement application 252 monitors the portable information terminal 150. In step S103, the usage measurement application 252 responds to the fact that it has become communicable with the device management server 104 by being connected to the in-house network 112, and Send to

  In step S104, the usage measurement application 252 detects the communication state by the communication state detection unit 256. In step S105, the usage measurement application 252 causes the measurement control unit 254 to change the setting state to a classification corresponding to the detected current communication state based on the measurement classification table stored in the measurement classification table storage unit 258. Do. Here, since the in-house network 112 is detected, according to the measurement classification table shown in FIG. 5A, the data measurement unit 260 starts the measurement of the working hours and the printing according to the first classification. The setting is performed, and the end of communication measurement is set as necessary. In step S106, the usage measurement application 252 causes the data measurement unit 260 to start measuring the working hours and the usage status of printing.

  FIG. 8 illustrates a data structure of a measurement result collected by the device management system according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 8, with the start of the measurement in step S <b> 106, the start of the working time is recorded for the measurement item “working time” with the workplace as the accounting destination. In addition, for the measurement item “print”, the number of prints “printer A: 10” is calculated with the workplace as the accounting destination. When the worker leaves the office 110 and is disconnected from the office network 112, the end of working hours may be recorded as appropriate, as shown in FIG.

  Here, the case where the portable information terminal 150 moves from the office 110 to the home office 130 will be further described below. In step S201, the portable information terminal 150 starts connection to the home network 132, and at this time, it is assumed that a virtual private network and an in-house network are configured by a VPN connection.

  In step S202, the usage measurement application 252 monitors the portable information terminal 150. In step S203, the usage measurement application 252 responds to the fact that it has become communicable with the device management server 104 by being connected to the home network 132 and, if there is any untransmitted measurement data, Is transmitted to the device management server 104 together with the user ID.

  In step S204, the usage measurement application 252 detects the communication state by the communication state detection unit 256. In step S205, the usage measurement application 252 causes the measurement control unit 254 to change the classification according to the current communication state based on the measurement classification table stored in the measurement classification table storage unit 258. Here, as the communication state, it is detected that the home network 132 and the VPN connection are established. Therefore, according to the measurement classification table shown in FIG. The setting is made to start the measurement. In step S206, the usage measurement application 252 causes the data measurement unit 260 to start measuring the usage status.

  Referring to FIG. 8 again, with the start of the measurement in step S206, the start of the working time is recorded for the measurement item “working time” with the work place as the accounting destination. For the measurement item “communication”, the start of communication is recorded with the workplace as the accounting destination. For the measurement item “print”, the number of prints “printer B: 50 sheets” and “printer B: 5 sheets” are counted with the workplace as the accounting destination.

  Here, it is assumed that the VPN connection is disconnected in step S207. In step S208, the usage measurement application 252 detects the communication state by the communication state detection unit 256. In step S209, the usage measurement application 252 uses the measurement control unit 254 based on the current measurement classification table stored in the measurement classification table storage unit 258. The classification is changed according to the communication status. Here, since the home network 132 and the VPN non-connection are detected as the communication state, the third classification corresponds to the measurement classification table shown in FIG. In step S210, the usage measurement application 252 causes the data measurement unit 260 to end all measurements of working hours, communication, and printing.

  Referring again to FIG. 8, with the end of the measurement in step S <b> 210, the end of the working hours is recorded for the measurement item “working hours” with the workplace as the accounting destination. For the measurement item “communication”, the end of communication and the communication volume are recorded with the workplace as the accounting destination.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, according to the communication state of the portable information terminal 150, the accounting destination (for example, the accounting destination that accumulates the result of measuring the usage status such as the number of prints, the communication volume, and the working time (working time)) , An employer or a worker). With this configuration, even when working at home or performing BYOD, it is possible to appropriately perform cost calculation not only for equipment but also for work time and communication cost calculation.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, based on the communication state of the information device (portable information terminal 150), the device management system 100 capable of determining the accounting destination of the result of measuring the usage status of the information device, the information device And programs can be provided.

  The functional unit can be realized by a computer-executable program described in a legacy programming language such as assembler, C, C ++, C #, Java (registered trademark), or an object-oriented programming language. ROM, EEPROM, EPROM , A flash disk, a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-RW, a DVD-ROM, a DVD-RAM, a DVD-RW, a Blu-ray disk, an SD card, an MO, etc., stored in a readable recording medium, or through an electric communication line. Can be distributed.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and other embodiments, additions, modifications, deletions, and the like may be made by those skilled in the art. Modifications can be made within the range that can be made, and any aspect is included in the scope of the present invention as long as the functions and effects of the present invention are exhibited.

100 device management system, 102 public network, 104 device management server, 110 in-house office, 112 in-house network, 130 home office, 132 home network, 150 portable information terminal, 210 module configuration, 212 Device management application, 214: Data receiving unit, 216: Collected data management unit, 218: Report generation unit, 250: Module configuration, 252: Usage measurement application, 252: Measurement control unit, 256: Communication state detection unit, 258: Measurement Classification table storage unit, 260: data measurement unit, 262: measurement data holding unit, 264: data transmission unit, 12: CPU, 14: RAM, 16: ROM, 18: HDD, 20: input device, 22: display device, 24 Network interface, 50 Control Board, 52 ... CPU, 54 ... storage device, 56 ... external interfaces, 60 ... operation panel, 62 ... scanner, 64 ... plotter

JP 2000-214186 A

Claims (10)

An equipment management system for managing the usage status of information equipment,
A storage unit that stores association information that associates a communication state of the information device with an accounting destination of a measurement result of the use status according to a use location when the information device is in the communication state,
Detecting means for detecting a communication state of the information device;
A determination unit that determines an accounting destination corresponding to the detected communication state of the information device based on the association information.   The associating information is associated with an accounting destination corresponding to a use purpose assumed when the information device is in the communication state, and the device management system determines that the communication state of the information device is the first. 2. The device management system according to claim 1, further comprising: a measurement unit that starts measuring a usage status of the information device for the accounting destination when indicating a use purpose. 3.   When the communication state of the information device indicates a second use purpose different from the first use purpose, the measurement unit ends measurement of the use status of the information device for the accounting destination. The device management system according to claim 2, which performs the operation. When the communication state of the information device indicates the use of the first use, the use status of the information device measured by the measurement unit is determined by the image processing connected to the information device in the use of the first use. 4. The device management system according to claim 2, wherein the device management system includes a processing number of image processing using the device and a work amount or a work time in the first use application, or at least one of these measurement items. 5.   The usage status of the information device measured by the measurement unit includes a measurement item of a communication amount or a communication time, and the measurement unit is a case where the communication state of the information device indicates the use of the first use. The device management system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein, when indicating a first use place, measurement of a communication amount or a communication time of the information device is started. The device management system includes the information device, and a device management device that manages a use state of the information device,
The communication state is based on a network to which the information device is connected and a communication protocol to be used,
The information device includes the storage unit, the detection unit, the determination unit, and a transmission unit that transmits a measurement result of a usage status of the information device to the device management apparatus.
The device management system according to claim 1. Wherein the transmitting unit of the information device transmits user identification information for identifying a user to the device management device,
The device management device further includes a generation unit that generates a report on the usage status of the information device by totalizing the information in association with the user identification information.
The device management system according to claim 6. The device management system further includes:
The device management system according to claim 6, further comprising a correction unit configured to correct a result held by the device management device. An information device that measures usage,
Storage means for storing association information for associating the communication state of the information device with the accounting destination of the measurement result of the use status according to the use location when the information device is in the communication state,
Detecting means for detecting the communication state of the information device;
A determination unit that determines an accounting destination corresponding to the detected communication state of the information device based on the association information. A program for realizing an information device for measuring a use situation, comprising:
Storage means for storing association information for associating a communication state of the information device with an accounting destination of the measurement result of the use status according to a use place when the information device is in the communication state;
A program for functioning as detecting means for detecting a communication state of the information device, and determining means for determining an accounting destination corresponding to the detected communication state of the information device based on the association information.