JP6686339B2 - System, information processing device, service determination method and program - Google Patents

Description

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

  Traditionally, information is collected remotely from the image forming device installed in the customer environment, and if an abnormality is detected, maintenance personnel are dispatched to perform maintenance work, and the collected information is analyzed to determine the time to replace consumable parts. There is known a technique of predicting and making a plan for preventive maintenance of consumable parts (maintenance before consumable parts are consumed) (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  The conventional technology as described above effectively uses the analysis result of the information acquired from the device for a plurality of types of maintenance services, but it notifies the occurrence of necessary maintenance and predicts the timing of occurrence of required maintenance. It's just something to do.

  Therefore, in the related art as described above, the number of times a customer engineer visits a customer environment tends to increase in order to perform maintenance work on equipment, and the efficiency of maintenance work tends to deteriorate.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a system, an information processing apparatus, a service determination method, and a system that can improve the efficiency of maintenance work while effectively utilizing the analysis result of information acquired from a device. The purpose is to provide the program.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, a system according to one aspect of the present invention provides a device information acquisition unit that acquires device information about the device from the device, and an analysis based on the acquired device information. an analysis unit that performs, based on the analysis result, said apparatus from among a plurality of types of services, including services that perform together based on the analysis result maintenance when servicing next determines a service to the device A service determining unit that updates service information about the service, and notifies a predetermined address associated with the terminal of the updated service information via the network so that the updated service information is displayed on the terminal. And a service information notifying unit .

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that the efficiency of maintenance work can be improved while effectively utilizing the analysis result of the information acquired from the device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the system of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the device of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the device of the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the center system of the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the center system of the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the terminal of the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a service chart of the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the failure diagnosis prediction of the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a device history of the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the transfer paper jam of the first embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a document jam according to the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing SC information according to the first embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the counter information of the first embodiment. FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed by the system of the first embodiment. FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the system of the second embodiment. FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the center system of the second embodiment. FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the inventory management system of the second embodiment. FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the inventory management system of the second embodiment. FIG. 20 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed by the system of the second embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a system, an information processing apparatus, a service determination method, and a program according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the system 1 of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the system 1 includes a device 100, a center system 200 (an example of an information processing system), and a terminal 300.

  The device 100, the center system 200, and the terminal 300 are connected via the network 2. The network 2 can be realized by, for example, the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network).

  The device 100 is a device to be managed installed in the customer environment. The device 100 is, for example, an image forming apparatus such as a printing device, a copying machine, a multifunction peripheral, a scanner device, a facsimile device, a projector, a camera, an air conditioner, a refrigerator, a fluorescent lamp, a vending machine, and various electronic devices such as a handheld terminal. In addition, an information processing device such as a PC (Personal Computer) may be used. The multi-function peripheral has at least two functions of a copying function, a printing function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function.

  In the first embodiment, the case where the device 100 is an image forming apparatus connectable to the network 2 will be described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the device 100 may be a device that is not connected to the network 2. In this case, the device 100 may be connected to the intermediary device or the like connected to the network 2. Although only one device 100 is shown in the example shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of devices 100 actually exist.

  The center system 200 is a system including one or more information processing devices. The center system 200 determines the service for the device 100 by managing the state of the device 100.

  The terminal 300 is a terminal used by a customer engineer who provides a service to the device 100, and examples thereof include a tablet terminal, a smartphone, and a PC. The terminal 300 displays the service information regarding the service determined by the center system 200 to assist the customer engineer in servicing the device 100. Although only one terminal 300 is shown in the example shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of terminals 300 (for example, the number of customer engineers) actually exist.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the device 100 of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the device 100 has a configuration in which a controller 110 and an engine unit (Engine) 160 are connected by a PCI bus. The controller 110 is a controller that controls the entire device 100, drawing, communication, and input from the operation display unit 120. The engine unit 160 is an engine that can be connected to a PCI bus, and is, for example, a printer engine such as a monochrome plotter, a one-drum color plotter, or a four-drum color plotter, or a scanner engine such as a scanner. The engine section 160 includes an image processing section such as error diffusion and gamma conversion in addition to the engine section.

  The controller 110 includes a CPU 111, a north bridge (NB) 113, a system memory (MEM-P) 112, a south bridge (SB) 114, a local memory (MEM-C) 117, and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). 116 and a hard disk drive (HDD) 118, and the north bridge (NB) 113 and the ASIC 116 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 115. In addition, the MEM-P 112 further includes a ROM 112a and a RAM 112b.

  The CPU 111 performs overall control of the device 100, has a chip set including the NB 113, the MEM-P 112, and the SB 114, and is connected to other devices via this chip set.

  The NB 113 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 111 to the MEM-P 112, SB 114, and AGP bus 115, and has a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 112, a PCI master, and an AGP target.

  The MEM-P 112 is a system memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, a memory for expanding programs and data, a drawing memory for a printer, and the like, and includes a ROM 112a and a RAM 112b. The ROM 112a is a read-only memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, and the RAM 112b is a writable and readable memory used as a memory for developing programs and data, a drawing memory for a printer, and the like.

  The SB 114 is a bridge for connecting the NB 113 to PCI devices and peripheral devices. The SB 114 is connected to the NB 113 via a PCI bus, and a network interface (I / F) unit and the like are also connected to the PCI bus.

  The ASIC 116 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for image processing applications having a hardware element for image processing, and has a role of a bridge that connects the AGP bus 115, the PCI bus, the HDD 118, and the MEM-C 117, respectively. The ASIC 116 includes a PCI target and an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that forms the core of the ASIC 116, a memory controller that controls the MEM-C 117, and a plurality of DMACs (Direct Memory) that rotate image data by hardware logic. Access controller) and a PCI unit that performs data transfer between the engine unit 160 and the PCI bus. A USB 140 and an IEEE 1394 (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) interface (I / F) 150 are connected to the ASIC 116 via a PCI bus. The operation display unit 120 is directly connected to the ASIC 116.

  The MEM-C 117 is a local memory used as a copy image buffer and a code buffer, and the HDD 118 is a storage for storing image data, programs, font data, and forms.

  The AGP bus 115 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card that has been proposed for accelerating graphics processing, and makes the graphics accelerator card faster by directly accessing the MEM-P112 with high throughput. Is.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the device 100 of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the device 100 includes a device monitoring unit 170, a device information storage unit 172, and a device information notification unit 174.

  The device monitoring unit 170 and the device information notification unit 174 can be realized by, for example, the CPU 111 and the MEM-P 112, and the device information storage unit 172 can be realized by at least one of the HDD 118 and the MEM-P 112.

  The device monitoring unit 170 monitors the device 100, generates device information about the device 100, and stores the device information in the device information storage unit 172. The device information includes identification information for identifying the device 100, state information regarding the state of the device 100, and the like. The identification information includes, for example, a serial number, a model name, a MAC address and the like. The status information includes, for example, failure information regarding a failure that has occurred in the device 100 and consumable part information regarding a consumable part.

  If the failure is a jam (JAM: paper jam), the failure information may include the location and time of occurrence. In addition, if stains occur on the transfer belt, the sensor value of a sensor that detects stains may be used. The failure information may include, for each failure, the latest information and a predetermined number of times of history (past information).

  The consumable part information includes information on the degree of wear of the consumable part (for example, a counter value and the number of times of use), a predetermined life value of the consumable part (a guaranteed value of the manufacturer), the number of pages per job, and temperature and humidity. Can be mentioned.

  However, each information included in the device information is not limited to the above example.

  The device information notification unit 174 notifies the center system 200 of the device information generated by the device monitoring unit 170. In the present embodiment, the device information notification unit 174 acquires the device information from the device information storage unit 172 and notifies the center system 200 once a day, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the center system 200 of the first embodiment. The center system 200 includes a control device 202 such as a CPU and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a storage device 204 such as a ROM and a RAM, an external storage device 206 such as an HDD and an SSD (Solid State Drive), and a display such as a display. The device 207, an input device 208 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a communication device 210 such as a communication interface are provided, and the hardware configuration uses a normal computer.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the center system 200 of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the center system 200 includes a device information acquisition unit 250, a device information storage unit 252, a service history storage unit 253, an analysis unit 254, a service determination unit 256, and a service information storage unit 258. , And a service information notifying unit 260.

  The device information acquisition unit 250, the analysis unit 254, the service determination unit 256, and the service information notification unit 260 can be realized by, for example, the control device 202 and the storage device 204, and the device information storage unit 252, the service history storage unit 253, and the service. The information storage unit 258 can be realized by, for example, at least one of the storage device 204 and the external storage device 206.

  The device information acquisition unit 250 acquires the device information of the device 100 from the device 100 and stores it in the device information storage unit 252. If there is an overlap between the device information of the device 100 already stored in the device information storage unit 252 and the device information of the device 100 newly stored in the device information storage unit 252, the device information acquisition unit 250. May merge the duplicated information and store it in the device information storage unit 252.

  The service history storage unit 253 stores service history information indicating an execution history of a plurality of types of services for the device 100. The service execution history includes, for example, a history of maintenance work performed by the customer engineer on the device 100 by visiting the customer environment. The maintenance work history includes the serial number and model name of the device 100 that has performed the maintenance work, the type of maintenance, the content of the maintenance work, the date and time of the occurrence, the end date and time, and the like.

  The types of maintenance are defined by post-maintenance maintenance of the failure after the failure occurs, pre-maintenance maintenance of the failure when the failure is predicted, preventive maintenance of maintenance according to the preventive maintenance plan, and contract with the customer. Examples of the regular maintenance (inspection) are the regular maintenance (inspection), but the present invention is not limited to these. In this embodiment, the post-maintenance is assumed to have been requested by the customer, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  The service history information may be stored in the service history storage unit 253 by the customer engineer using the terminal 300 or the input device 208.

  The analysis unit 254 performs analysis based on the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 250. Specifically, the analysis unit 254 analyzes one or more analysis items based on the device information stored in the device information storage unit 252. The analysis items include items related to failures and items related to consumable parts.

  For example, the analysis unit 254 acquires the device information stored in the device information storage unit 252 and the service history information stored in the service history storage unit 253, and based on the acquired device information and service history information, items related to the failure. To analyze. Specifically, the analysis unit 254 analyzes the acquired device information and service history information to determine the probability of occurrence of a failure within a predetermined period of time and the pattern of the proportion of post-maintenance increasing. To generate. Then, the analysis unit 254 calculates the occurrence probability of the failure within the predetermined period from the acquired device information, and analyzes the information based on the occurrence probability. The information based on the occurrence probability is, for example, a comparison result with the occurrence probability of the generated pattern. Note that a known prediction method such as Weibull analysis or a decision tree may be used to generate the pattern.

  Further, for example, the analysis unit 254 acquires the device information stored in the device information storage unit 252, and analyzes the item related to the consumable component based on the acquired device information. Specifically, the analysis unit 254 considers the information about the degree of consumption of the consumable component, the number of pages per job, the temperature and humidity, and the like for the predetermined life value of the consumable component to determine the consumable component. The actual life is calculated, and the elapsed rate or elapsed period of the actual life is analyzed.

  Based on the analysis result of the analysis unit 254, the service determination unit 256 selects a device from among a plurality of types of services including a first service that performs maintenance based on the analysis result when the device 100 is maintained next time. Determine the service for 100. The next maintenance is the earliest maintenance among post maintenance, preliminary maintenance, preventive maintenance, and regular maintenance. Here, the plurality of types of services include a second service of performing maintenance based on the analysis result within a predetermined period, and a third service of performing preventive maintenance based on the analysis result. The second service corresponds to the above-mentioned preliminary maintenance, and the third service corresponds to planning the above-mentioned preventive maintenance.

  For example, when the analysis result of the analysis unit 254 includes an analysis item that satisfies the first condition, the service determination unit 256 determines the analysis item as the first service. Then, the service determination unit 256 writes, in the service information of the device 100 stored in the service information storage unit 258, information indicating that the first service will be performed in the analysis item.

  The first condition is, for example, when the probability of occurrence of a calculated failure within a predetermined period is higher than the probability of occurrence of a failure in a generated pattern within a predetermined period, or the elapsed rate or elapsed time with respect to the actual life of a consumable part. There is a case where is near the actual life. It should be noted that the term “actual life approaching” differs depending on consumable parts, and may be set for each consumable part.

  Further, for example, when the analysis result of the analysis unit 254 includes an analysis item that satisfies the second condition, the service determination unit 256 determines the analysis item as the second service. Then, the service determination unit 256 writes, in the service information of the device 100 stored in the service information storage unit 258, information indicating that the second service will be performed in the analysis item.

  The second condition is, for example, when the calculated occurrence probability of a failure within a predetermined period is extremely higher than the occurrence probability of a failure in the generated pattern within a predetermined period, or the elapsed rate of the consumable component with respect to the actual life or Examples include cases where the elapsed period has exceeded the actual life. It should be noted that "extremely high" differs depending on the failure, and thus may be set for each failure.

  Further, for example, when the analysis result of the analysis unit 254 includes an analysis item that satisfies the third condition, the service determination unit 256 determines the analysis item to be the third service. Then, the service determination unit 256 performs the third service (preventive maintenance plan) for the analysis item in the service information of the device 100 stored in the service information storage unit 258. The third condition is, for example, a case where the elapsed rate or the elapsed period of the consumable component with respect to the actual life is not close to the actual life.

  Here, a specific example of conditions for determining the service of the service determining unit 256 will be described. It is assumed that the device 100 is an MFP and the information about the paper jam (JAM) is acquired from the device information acquired from the device information acquisition unit 250.

  It is assumed that the condition is “paper jams continue n times at a specific location of the MFP within a certain period”. This is because it can be determined that there is a high possibility that a customer will request maintenance if paper jams frequently occur at a specific location. In addition, the condition is set to “after the occurrence of a paper jam, the copy number interval between the occurrences of the next paper jams becomes a threshold value n or less”. This is because it can be determined that there is a high possibility that the customer will request maintenance when the interval at which the paper jam occurs becomes short. In these cases, the service determination unit 256 may determine the maintenance of the relevant portion from any of the first service to the third service based on the urgency.

  Note that the threshold value is different n times depending on the occurrence location and the customer. This is because each part has different durability, and even the same part has a different degree of wear depending on how the customer uses it. Therefore, in order to change the threshold value for each customer, from the history of maintenance request (service history information) from the customer and the past paper jam occurrence history (device information), "How many times a paper jam occurs for each customer ( It suffices to calculate and hold "how many sheets or less the paper jam occurs before a maintenance request is made."

  Furthermore, time-series pattern analysis of paper jam occurrence can be used as a condition. For example, if a paper jam occurs continuously in the first paper feed, which is the most frequently used paper, and then the paper jam occurs more frequently in the second paper feed and the third paper feed, the customer requests maintenance. There are cases. In such a case, the condition may be "the occurrence of a paper jam in the first paper feed is equal to or more than the threshold" instead of "the number of occurrences of the paper jam is equal to or more than the threshold" as described above. If it is decided to perform maintenance (repair) of the first paper feed as the first service under such conditions, the paper jam of the first paper feed may occur before the second paper feed or the third paper feed is jammed. By eliminating the possibility, the customer does not have to request maintenance.

  In addition, the condition may be that "a state in which the time taken for the customer to remove a paper jam exceeds a certain threshold value has occurred a predetermined number of times". By setting this condition, the customer who has not cleared the paper jam can instruct the maintenance of the paper jam and the method of clearing the paper jam before requesting the maintenance.

  Further, when setting the above conditions, the conditions may be set for each customer based on the customer information. For example, the customer may be using special paper, and the customer may be aware that the paper jam is likely to occur. In that case, since the customer does not request maintenance for a paper jam, it is not necessary to set the condition of “the number of paper jam occurrences is greater than or equal to a threshold”.

  In addition to paper jam information, for example, information that records the paper transport time interval between multiple points related to paper transport in a machine for each print job may be acquired and used together for analysis. Conceivable. This is because, if the paper conveyance time interval becomes statistically long, the conveyance capacity may be deteriorated due to dirt or deterioration of the paper conveyance parts, which may cause paper jam.

  It is also assumed that not only a paper jam but also a sensor error.

  The condition is defined as “the difference between the initial value of the sensor value and the current value is calculated, and the difference becomes a certain value or more”. This is because when the sensor is dirty, a difference often occurs in the sensor value. When the condition is satisfied, it is determined to perform the cleaning of the sensor as any of the first service to the third service according to the degree of urgency (the size of the difference).

  Further, the condition is set to "the number of times of error correction by automatic control after the occurrence of an internal error exceeds a threshold value". If the error correction increases, there is a high possibility of leading to a fatal error. In that case, the maintenance (repair, replacement, cleaning) of the sensor is carried out according to the number of error corrections, whichever of the first service to the third service. Decide to run as.

  The service information notification unit 260 notifies the service information regarding the service determined by the service determination unit 256. For example, the service information notification unit 260 notifies the email address of the customer engineer in charge of the device 100 that the service information of the device 100 has been updated, or determines that the device 100 is to perform the first service. Or notify you.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal 300 of the first embodiment. The terminal 300 includes a control device 302 such as a CPU and a GPU, a storage device 304 such as a ROM and a RAM, an external storage device 306 such as an HDD and an SSD, a display device 308 such as a display, and an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse. 310 and a communication device 312 such as a communication interface, and has a hardware configuration using a normal computer.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the terminal 300 of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the terminal 300 includes a service information acquisition unit 350, a display control unit 352, and a service information request unit 354.

  The service information acquisition unit 350, the display control unit 352, and the service information request unit 354 can be realized by the control device 302 and the storage device 304, for example.

  The service information acquisition unit 350 acquires service information from the center system 200.

  The display control unit 352 displays the service information acquired by the service information acquisition unit 350 on the display device 308.

  When the customer engineer performs an operation of requesting acquisition of further service information from the input device 310, the service information request unit 354 requests the center system 200 for further service information. As a result, the service information acquisition unit 350 acquires further service information from the center system 200.

  8 to 14 are diagrams showing an example of the service information of the first embodiment, FIG. 8 shows the service chart of the first embodiment, and FIG. 9 shows the failure diagnosis prediction of the first embodiment. 10 shows the device history of the first embodiment, FIG. 11 shows the transfer paper jam of the first embodiment, FIG. 12 shows the original jam of the first embodiment, and FIG. SC information (presentation information to a customer engineer) of the embodiment is shown, and FIG. 14 shows counter information of the first embodiment.

  The service information acquisition unit 350 first acquires the service information of the service chart shown in FIG. 8, and the display control unit 352 displays it on the display device 308.

  When the customer device information link is selected from the input device 310, the service information request unit 354 requests the service information (not shown) of the customer device information from the center system 200, and the service information acquisition unit 350 causes the customer The device information is acquired, and the display control unit 352 displays it on the display device 308.

  When the failure diagnosis prediction link is selected from the input device 310, the service information request unit 354 requests the failure diagnosis prediction service information (FIG. 9) from the center system 200, and the service information acquisition unit 350 causes the failure. The diagnosis prediction (FIG. 9) is acquired, and the display control unit 352 displays it on the display device 308.

  In the example shown in FIG. 9, the result of the failure diagnosis prediction is the simultaneous work, and the information that the first service is provided to the JAM of the manual feed tray is shown.

  When the device history link is selected from the input device 310, the service information requesting unit 354 requests the service information (FIG. 10) of the device history from the center system 200, and the service information acquiring unit 350 causes the device history ( 10) is acquired, and the display control unit 352 displays it on the display device 308.

  When the transfer paper jam link is selected from the input device 310, the service information request unit 354 requests the service information (FIG. 11) of the transfer paper jam from the center system 200, and the service information acquisition unit 350 causes the transfer information jam unit 350 to transfer the transfer paper jam. The paper jam (FIG. 11) is acquired, and the display control unit 352 displays it on the display device 308.

  Further, when the link of the document jam is selected from the input device 310, the service information requesting unit 354 requests the service information (FIG. 12) of the document jam from the center system 200, and the service information acquisition unit 350 causes the document jam ( 12) is acquired, and the display control unit 352 displays it on the display device 308.

  Further, if the SC information link is selected from the input device 310, the service information requesting unit 354 requests the SC system service information (FIG. 13) from the center system 200, and the service information acquiring unit 350 causes the SC information (SC information ( 13) is acquired, and the display control unit 352 displays it on the display device 308.

  If the PM component information link is selected from the input device 310, the service information requesting unit 354 requests the service information (not shown) of the PM component information from the center system 200, and the service information acquiring unit 350 causes the PM information to be displayed. The component information is acquired, and the display control unit 352 displays it on the display device 308.

  When the firmware information link is selected from the input device 310, the service information request unit 354 requests the service information (not shown) of the firmware from the center system 200, and the service information acquisition unit 350 acquires the firmware. The display control unit 352 displays on the display device 308.

  Further, when the counter information link is selected from the input device 310, the service information requesting unit 354 requests the counter system service information (FIG. 14) from the center system 200, and the service information acquiring unit 350 determines the counter information ( 14) is acquired, and the display control unit 352 displays it on the display device 308.

  FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed by the system 1 of the first embodiment.

  First, the device monitoring unit 170 of the device 100 monitors the device 100, generates device information about the device 100, and stores the device information in the device information storage unit 172 (step S100).

  Subsequently, the device information notification unit 174 of the device 100 acquires the device information from the device information storage unit 172 (step S102) and notifies the center system 200 (step S104).

  Subsequently, the device information acquisition unit 250 of the center system 200 acquires the device information of the device 100 from the device 100 and stores the device information in the device information storage unit 252 (step S106).

  Subsequently, the analysis unit 254 of the center system 200 performs analysis based on the device information stored in the device information storage unit 252 and the service history information stored in the service history storage unit 253 (step S108).

  Subsequently, the service determination unit 256 of the center system 200 includes a plurality of types including the first service that performs maintenance based on the analysis result when the device 100 is maintained next time based on the analysis result of the analysis unit 254. The service for the device 100 is determined from among these services (step S110), and the service information of the device 100 stored in the service information storage unit 258 is updated (step S112).

  Subsequently, the service information notification unit 260 of the center system 200 notifies the terminal 300 (mail address) of the customer engineer in charge of the device 100 that the service information has been updated (step S114).

  Subsequently, when the customer engineer performs a service information acquisition request operation from the input device 310, the service information requesting unit 354 of the terminal 300 requests the service information to the center system 200 (step S116).

  Then, the service information notification unit 260 of the center system 200 acquires the requested service information from the service information storage unit 258 and notifies the terminal 300 of the service information (step S118).

  Subsequently, the display control unit 352 of the center system 200 displays the service information acquired by the service information acquisition unit 350 on the display device 308 (step S120).

  After that, the processes of steps S116 to S120 are repeated.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the service for the device is determined from a plurality of types of services based on the analysis result of the device information regarding the device, and thus the analysis result of the information acquired from the device is valid. Can be used for.

  In particular, according to the first embodiment, the plurality of types of services include a service that also performs maintenance based on the analysis result when the equipment is to be maintained next time. It is also possible to improve the efficiency of maintenance work because it can be expected to reduce the number of times the customer engineer visits the customer environment.

(Second embodiment)
In the second embodiment, an example of automatically placing an order when a replacement part required for maintenance is out of stock will be described. In the following, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and components having the same functions as those in the first embodiment will be given the same names and reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted. Omit it.

  FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the system 1001 of the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 16, the system 1001 further includes an inventory management system 1400, and the center system 1200 is different from that of the first embodiment.

  The inventory management system 1400 is a system configured by one or more information processing devices, and manages the inventory of replacement parts of the device 100. The inventory management system 1400 is connected to the network 2.

  FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the center system 1200 of the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17, the center system 1200 differs from the first embodiment in that an inventory confirmation unit 262 is further provided. The inventory check unit 262 can be realized by the control device 202 and the storage device 204, for example.

  When the analysis result of the analysis unit 254 includes an analysis item that satisfies the first condition or the second condition, the inventory confirmation unit 262 confirms whether or not there is a stock of replacement parts necessary for maintenance of the analysis item. The inventory management system 1400 is instructed to instruct the inventory management system 1400 to place an order for the replacement part when there is no inventory.

  FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the inventory management system 1400 of the second embodiment. The inventory management system 1400 includes a control device 1402 such as a CPU or GPU, a storage device 1404 such as ROM or RAM, an external storage device 1406 such as HDD or SSD, a display device 1408 such as a display, a keyboard or a mouse. It is provided with an input device 1410 and a communication device 1412 such as a communication interface, and has a hardware configuration using an ordinary computer.

  FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the inventory management system 1400 of the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 19, the inventory management system 1400 includes an inventory information notification unit 1450 and an inventory information storage unit 1452.

  The inventory information notification unit 1450 can be realized by, for example, the control device 1402 and the storage device 1404, and the inventory information storage unit 1452 can be realized by at least one of the storage device 1404 and the external storage device 1406.

  When the center system 1200 requests the inventory information notifying unit 1450 to confirm the inventory of the replacement component to be inspected, the inventory information notifying unit 1450 refers to the inventory information storage unit 1452 that stores the number of inventories of each of the replacement components to check the inventory of the replacement component. The presence / absence is notified to the center system 1200.

  Further, when the center system 1200 instructs the stock information notification unit 1450 to order a replacement part, the stock information notification unit 1450 orders the replacement part from the manufacturer.

  FIG. 20 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed by the system 1001 of the second embodiment.

  First, the processing of steps S200 to S212 is the same as the processing of steps S100 to S112 of the sequence diagram shown in FIG.

  Subsequently, when the analysis result of the analysis unit 254 includes an analysis item that satisfies the first condition or the second condition, the inventory confirmation unit 262 of the center system 1200 determines that the inventory of replacement parts necessary for maintenance of the analysis item is It is confirmed with the inventory management system 1400 whether or not there is any (step S214).

  Then, the inventory information notification unit 1450 of the inventory management system 1400 refers to the inventory information storage unit 1452 to notify the center system 1200 of whether or not the replacement part is in stock (step S216).

  Subsequently, if the result of the confirmation is that the replacement part is not in stock, the inventory confirmation unit 262 instructs the inventory management system 1400 to order the replacement component (step S218), and the inventory information notification unit 1450 causes the replacement component to notify the replacement component. Place an order with the manufacturer.

  Subsequently, the processes of steps S220 to S226 are the same as the processes of steps S114 to S120 of the sequence diagram shown in FIG.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, when the replacement parts required for the maintenance work are not in stock, the order is automatically placed, so that the maintenance waiting time can be shortened.

(Modification)
Alternatively, a company that provides the device 100 may use the above system to generate income. In this case, the center systems 200 and 1200 may further include a calculation unit that calculates the usage fee. This calculation unit can be realized by, for example, the control device 202 and the storage device 204. Note that the calculation unit that calculates the usage fee may not be included in the center systems 200 and 1200, but may be included in another computer connected to the center systems 200 and 1200.

  At this time, the calculation unit may calculate the system usage fee according to, for example, the number of people who use the system (the number of customer engineers, the number of accounts, the number of connected terminals, etc.). For example, it may be calculated as 1 account XX yen or 100 licenses XX yen. Further, the calculation unit may calculate the usage fee according to the number of managed devices 100 (for example, XX yen for each 100 managed devices). Further, the calculation unit may calculate the usage fee according to the determined service, or may calculate the usage fee according to the notification from the service information notification unit 260. For example, the usage fee is calculated according to the number of times the service is determined, the number of times the service is notified to the customer engineer, the content of the determined service, etc. If you decide on the service of XX yen, decide on the second service of XX yen.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the display on the terminal is shown as the method of notifying the service, but the present invention is not limited to this, and print output may be used. In that case, the calculation unit may calculate the usage fee according to the number of print outputs. Furthermore, the calculation unit calculates the usage fee according to the number of times the system is accessed (the number of times the information is viewed, the number of times the display screen is clicked, etc.) and the amount of communication with the system (the amount of data viewed by the customer engineer). Good. Furthermore, the calculation unit may calculate the usage fee according to the difference between the number of visits of the customer engineer expected when the system is not used and the actual number of visits of the customer engineer when the system is used. Good.

  Note that the usage fee is expressed in the amount of the currency of the physical currency (in this example, the unit is yen, but may be, for example, dollars), but is not limited to this, and for example, electronic money may be used instead of the currency of the physical currency. Of electronic money (for example, Edy (registered trademark) or the like) to be settled using temporary data, virtual currency (for example, Bitcoin (registered trademark) or the like) that operates electronic data as currency, purchase of products, or use of services It may be in a form represented by points (for example, T point (registered trademark), mileage (registered trademark), etc.) given according to the above.

(program)
The programs executed by the apparatus and system of each of the above-described embodiments are files in an installable format or an executable format in a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a memory card, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), a flexible disk (FD). Etc. are stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as the computer and provided.

  Further, the programs executed by the devices and systems of the above embodiments may be stored in a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. Further, the programs executed by the apparatus and system of each of the above embodiments may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet. Further, the programs executed by the apparatus and system of each of the above-described embodiments may be incorporated in a ROM or the like in advance and provided.

  The program executed by the apparatus and system of each of the above-described embodiments has a module configuration for realizing the above-described units on a computer. As the actual hardware, the CPU reads out a program from the ROM onto the RAM and executes the program, so that the above functional units are realized on the computer.

1, 1001 system 2 network 100 device 170 device monitoring unit 172 device information storage unit 174 device information notification unit 200, 1200 center system 250 device information acquisition unit 252 device information storage unit 253 service history storage unit 254 analysis unit 256 service determination unit 258 Service information storage unit 260 Service information notification unit 262 Inventory confirmation unit 300 Terminal 350 Service information acquisition unit 352 Display control unit 354 Service information request unit 1400 Inventory management system 1450 Inventory information notification unit 1452 Inventory information storage unit

Japanese Patent No. 4943241

Claims (18)

A device information acquisition unit that acquires device information about the device from the device,
An analysis unit that performs analysis based on the acquired device information,
Based on the analysis result, the service for the device is determined by selecting a service for the device from among a plurality of types of services including the first service that the maintenance based on the analysis result is also performed when the device is maintained next time. A service determining unit for updating service information ,
A service information notification unit for notifying updated service information via a network to a predetermined address associated with the terminal so that the updated service information is displayed on the terminal;
A system comprising.   The system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of types of services include a second service that performs maintenance based on the analysis result within a predetermined period. The system according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of types of services include a third service of planning preventive maintenance based on the analysis result. The analysis unit analyzes one or more analysis items based on the acquired device information,
The system according to claim 3, wherein when the analysis result includes an analysis item that satisfies the first condition, the service determination unit determines the analysis item to be the first service.   The system according to claim 4, wherein when the analysis result includes an analysis item that satisfies a second condition, the service determination unit determines the analysis item to be the second service. The system according to claim 5 , wherein when the analysis result includes an analysis item that satisfies a third condition, the service determination unit determines the analysis service to be the third service. At least one of the one or more analysis items is an item related to a failure,
Wherein the analysis unit, the further acquires a plurality of types of service history information indicating the execution history of the service, based on the obtained device information and the acquired service history information, according to claim 5 for analyzing the items related to the fault Or the system according to 6 .   The system according to claim 7, wherein the analysis result is information based on an occurrence probability of the failure within a predetermined period. At least one of the one or more analysis items is an item related to consumable parts,
The analysis unit A system according to any one of claims 5-8, which based on the obtained device information, analyzing the item relating to the consumable component.   The system according to claim 9, wherein the analysis result is an elapsed rate or an elapsed period of the actual life of the consumable part.   The system according to claim 1, further comprising a service information notifying unit that notifies service information regarding the determined service. When the analysis result includes an analysis item satisfying the first condition or the second condition, the inventory management system is checked whether or not there is a stock of replacement parts necessary for maintenance of the analysis item. If there is no stock, the system according to any one of claims 5-10, further comprising an inventory check unit for instructing an order of the replacement part to the inventory management system.   The system according to claim 1, further comprising a calculation unit that calculates a usage fee according to the service determined by the service determination unit.   The system according to claim 11 or 12, further comprising a calculation unit that calculates a usage fee according to the notification by the service information notification unit. A system including a device and an information processing system,
The device is
A device monitoring unit that monitors the device and generates device information about the device;
A device information notification unit that notifies the information processing system of the generated device information,
The information processing system,
From the device, a device information acquisition unit that acquires the notified device information,
An analysis unit that performs analysis based on the acquired device information,
Based on the analysis results, the device from among a plurality of types of services, including a first service of performing together based on the analysis result maintenance when servicing next, regarding the service and determines the service to the device a service determination unit that updates the service information, such service information that has been updated is displayed on the terminal, service information notification which notifies the service information updated through a network to a predetermined address associated with the terminal And a system. A device information acquisition unit that acquires device information about the device from the device,
An analysis unit that performs analysis based on the acquired device information,
Based on the analysis result, the service for the device is determined by selecting a service for the device from among a plurality of types of services including the first service that the maintenance based on the analysis result is also performed when the device is maintained next time. A service determining unit for updating service information ,
A service information notification unit for notifying updated service information via a network to a predetermined address associated with the terminal so that the updated service information is displayed on the terminal;
An information processing apparatus including. A device information acquisition step of acquiring device information about the device from the device;
An analysis step of performing an analysis based on the acquired device information,
Based on the analysis result, the service for the device is determined by selecting a service for the device from among a plurality of types of services including the first service that the maintenance based on the analysis result is also performed when the device is maintained next time. A service determination step of updating service information ,
A service information notification step of notifying updated service information via a network to a predetermined address associated with the terminal so that the updated service information is displayed on the terminal;
Service determination method including. A device information acquisition step of acquiring device information about the device from the device;
An analysis step of performing an analysis based on the acquired device information,
Based on the analysis result, the service for the device is determined by selecting a service for the device from among a plurality of types of services including the first service that the maintenance based on the analysis result is also performed when the device is maintained next time. A service determination step of updating service information ,
A service information notification step of notifying updated service information via a network to a predetermined address associated with the terminal so that the updated service information is displayed on the terminal;
A program that causes a computer to execute.

Images