JP6746939B2 - Information processing device and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device and a program.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, it has been widely practiced to centrally manage the operating statuses of a plurality of electronic devices via a network.

In this regard, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-141797 (Patent Document 1) divides a plurality of image forming apparatuses installed in companies in various places into groups from the viewpoint of management, and collects information collected from each image forming apparatus for each group. A management device for statistical processing is disclosed.

However, in the management apparatus of Patent Document 1, the grouping of the image forming apparatuses has to be manually redone every time the viewpoint of management is changed. Therefore, the work load increases as the number of managed apparatuses increases. There was a problem.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems in the conventional art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus that enables management of a plurality of electronic devices from various viewpoints with a smaller load.

As a result of earnest studies on an information processing apparatus capable of managing a plurality of electronic devices from various viewpoints with a smaller load, the present inventor has come to the present invention by conceiving the following configuration.

That is, according to the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus for managing a plurality of electronic devices, the device information collecting unit collecting the device information indicating the operating status of the electronic devices from the plurality of electronic devices via a network, and the electronic device. A logical identifier creation unit that creates a logical identifier that indicates a logical attribute of a device, a correspondence registration unit that registers a correspondence between one electronic device and one or more logical identifiers, and a created logical identifier Device information of one or more electronic devices associated with the selected logical identifier in response to a request to aggregate the device information by selecting one or more logical identifiers by selecting the identifiers Is provided and a device information totaling unit that totalizes the total and transmits the totalized result to the request source is provided.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided an information processing device that enables a plurality of electronic devices to be managed from various viewpoints with a smaller burden.

The figure which shows the system configuration of the apparatus management system of this embodiment. The functional block diagram of the apparatus management system of this embodiment. The figure which shows the table which the apparatus management server of this embodiment hold|maintains. The sequence diagram which shows the process which the apparatus management system of this embodiment performs. The figure which shows the service screen of the device management service of this embodiment. The figure which shows the service screen of the device management service of this embodiment. The figure which shows the table which the apparatus management server of this embodiment hold|maintains. The figure which shows the service screen of the device management service of this embodiment. The figure which shows the service screen of the device management service of this embodiment. The figure which shows the table which the apparatus management server of this embodiment hold|maintains. The sequence diagram which shows the process which the apparatus management system of this embodiment performs. The figure which shows the service screen of the device management service of this embodiment. The flowchart which shows apparatus information totalization processing. The figure which shows the service screen of the device management service of this embodiment. The hardware block diagram of the apparatus management system of this embodiment.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. In each of the drawings referred to below, common elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be appropriately omitted.

FIG. 1 shows a system configuration of a device management system 1000 that is an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the device management system 1000 of the present embodiment includes a device management server 100, a plurality of electronic devices 200, and a PC 30 operated by a user or an administrator. 100 and other devices are connected to each other via a network 50 such as a LAN or the Internet so that they can communicate with each other.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates a document input/output device as the electronic device 200, the electronic device 200 has a function of holding/updating its own device information and transmitting the device information to the outside via the network 50. Any type of electronic device may be used as long as it is equipped with. Here, “device information” means various kinds of information indicating the operating status of the electronic device, and various kinds of information are assumed according to the type of the electronic device. For example, when the electronic device 200 is a document input/output device such as an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral), a printer device, and a facsimile device, various counter values such as the monochrome output number, the color output number, and the total output number, and the toner remaining amount for each color (Toner status) and the like can be exemplified as “device information”.

On the other hand, the device management server 100 of the present embodiment is an information processing device equipped with a database function and a Web application server function. The device management server 100 has a role of accumulating device information transmitted from each electronic device 200 via the network 50 and totaling the device information in response to a user request.

The system configuration of the device management system 1000 according to the present embodiment has been described above. Next, the functional configurations of the electronic device 200 and the device management server 100 will be described based on the functional block diagram shown in FIG.

The electronic device 200 manages the storage area 204, which is a unit for holding various device information that is updated every moment according to the operating status of the electronic device 200, and the device information held in the storage area 204 at a predetermined timing. It is configured to include a device information transmission unit 202 that is a means for transmitting to the server 100.

It should be noted that in the present embodiment, the electronic device 200 that executes a predetermined program functions as each unit described above.

On the other hand, the device management server 100 includes a login processing unit 102, a device registration unit 103, a logical identifier creation unit 104, a usage authority setting unit 105, a correspondence registration unit 106, a device information collection unit 107, and device information. It is configured to include an aggregating unit 108 and a database 109.

The login processing unit 102 is means for executing login processing in response to a login request from the PC 30.

The device registration unit 103 is means for registering an electronic device to be managed.

The logical identifier creation unit 104 is means for creating and registering a logical identifier indicating a logical attribute of an electronic device.

The use authority setting unit 105 is means for registering a logical identifier that limits the user.

The association registration unit 106 is means for registering an association between one electronic device and one or more logical identifiers.

The device information collection unit 107 is a unit that collects device information from a plurality of electronic devices via a network.

The device information totaling unit 108 presents the created logical identifiers in a selectable manner, selects one or more logical identifiers, and responds to the request for totaling the device information. It is a means for totaling the device information of one or more associated electronic devices and transmitting the totalized result to the request source.

The database 109 includes a user management table 300 for managing user account information and the like, a device management table 400 for managing attribute information of the electronic device 200, and a device information management table 500 for managing device information collected from the electronic device 200. Hold. Here, FIG. 3A shows the user management table 300, FIG. 3B shows the device management table 400, and FIG. 3C shows the device information management table 500. In addition to this, the database 109 includes five tables described later (logical identifier management table 600, combination prohibition relationship management table 800, usage authority management table 700, logical identifier association table 900, logical identifier association table 950). Hold.

It should be noted that in the present embodiment, the device management server 100 that executes a predetermined program functions as each unit described above.

The functional configurations of the electronic device 200 and the device management server 100 have been described above, and subsequently, the process executed by the device management system 1000 of the present embodiment will be described.

Here, first, the processing executed in a scene in which the “device management service” provided by the device management server 100 is newly introduced will be described based on the sequence diagram shown in FIG.

First, the administrator operates the PC 30 to access the “device management service”, inputs account information in the “login screen” shown in FIG. 5A, and selects the “login” button (S1). In response to this, the PC 30 transmits a login request including the input account information to the device management server 100 (S2). The login processing unit 102 of the device management server 100 executes the user authentication by collating the account information received from the PC 30 with the account information registered in the user management table 300 (see FIG. 3A) (S3), and performs authentication. Allow successful user login.

At this time, the device management server 100 transmits the “menu screen” shown in FIG. 5B to the PC 30 that has successfully logged in (S4), and the PC 30 displays this. In response to this, when the administrator selects the "register device" button displayed on the "menu screen", the "menu screen" transitions to the "device registration screen" shown in FIG. 6(a). At this time, a text box for inputting attribute information (“device name”, “installation date”, “type”) of the electronic device 200 is displayed on the “device registration screen”.

In response to this, the administrator inputs the "device name" and "installation date" of the electronic device 200 to be registered in the corresponding text boxes, and the "type" of the electronic device 200 is pulled down in the corresponding text box pull-down list. Select from the above and input (S5). Then, in response to the administrator selecting the “register” button, the PC 30 transmits a device registration request including the input “device name”, “installation date”, and “type” to the device management server 100. Yes (S6).

In response to this, the device registration unit 103 of the device management server 100 registers the electronic device 200 relating to the device registration request in the device management table 400 (see FIG. 3B) (S7). Specifically, after adding the device ID to the “device name” included in the device registration request, a record of the device ID is created in the device management table 400, and the “device name” included in the device registration request “Installation date” and “type” are stored in the corresponding fields of the record.

Subsequently, when the administrator returns to the “menu screen” shown in FIG. 5B again and selects the “create logical identifier” button, the “menu screen” is displayed as shown in FIG. Transition to “Logical identifier creation screen”. Here, the administrator defines in advance a logical attribute that is considered useful from the viewpoint of management for the electronic device 200 to be managed, and displays the “logical identifier creation screen” shown in FIG. 6B. A "logical identifier", which is an identifier indicating the defined attribute, is created via the.

As shown in FIG. 6B, a text box for inputting the “identifier name” is displayed on the “logical identifier creation screen” with a check box for “viewing authority”. In response to this, the administrator inputs a character string representing a logical attribute of the electronic device 200 defined in advance into the text box of "identifier name" (S8). At this time, if you want to register the logical identifier related to the entered "identifier name" as a logical identifier that represents the viewing authority for aggregated information (hereinafter referred to as the viewing authority identifier), check the corresponding "viewing authority" check box. Put in.

In the example shown in FIG. 6B, “image input device”, “image output device”, “engineering department”, and “general affairs section” are entered in the text box for entering the “identifier name”, and the “general affairs section” is entered. The check box of "Viewing authority" corresponding to the text box in which "" has been entered is checked.

Then, in response to the administrator selecting the "register" button, the PC 30 sends a logical identifier creation request including whether or not the entered "identifier name" and "viewing authority" are checked. It is transmitted to the management server 100 (S9). In response to this, the logical identifier creation unit 104 of the device management server 100 creates and creates a logical identifier indicating a logical attribute represented by the “identifier name” included in the received logical identifier creation request. The created logical identifier is registered in the logical identifier management table 600 (S10).

FIG. 7A shows the logical identifier management table 600. As shown in FIG. 7A, the logical identifier management table 600 includes a field 601 for storing a “logical identifier”, a field 602 for storing an “identifier name”, and a “browsing authority flag”. Field 603 for storing "." In S10, the logical identifier creation unit 104 stores the “identifier name” included in the logical identifier creation request in the field 602, and also stores the logical identifier created for the “identifier name” in the field 601. Also, if the check box of the “viewing authority” corresponding to the “identifier name” included in the logical identifier creation request is “Yes”, the logical identifier creation unit 104 adds the “identifier name” to the “identifier name”. “True” is stored in the field 603 of the corresponding record, and when the check is “absent”, “False” is stored in the field 603.

In the example shown in FIG. 7A, a logical identifier indicating the function of the electronic device 200 such as “image input device” and “image output device”, “engineering department”, “faculty of literature”, “general affairs section”, and “education section”. , A logical identifier indicating the jurisdiction of the electronic device 200, a logical identifier indicating a user of the electronic device 200 such as “professor” and “student”, a predetermined identifier of the electronic device 200 such as “model group A” and “sales company B”. A logical identifier indicating an attribute, a logical identifier indicating a type of the electronic device 200 such as “MFP”, “printer”, and “facsimile” are registered. Among them, “General Affairs Division”, “Kyomu Division”, and “Professor” are registered. , And a logical identifier indicating “student” are registered as “viewing authority identifier”.

Next, when the administrator returns to the “menu screen” shown in FIG. 5B again and selects the “set authority to use logical identifier” button, the “menu screen” shown in FIG. Transit to “Logical identifier usage authority setting screen”.

At this time, on the left side of the “logical identifier use authority setting screen”, the list of the logical identifiers created and registered in the previous S10 is displayed in a form of accepting the alternative selection of the logical identifiers. On the other hand, on the right side, a list of users registered in the user management table 300 (see FIG. 3A) is displayed in the form of accepting selection of a plurality of user names.

In response to this, the administrator selects one logical identifier whose user is desired to be restricted from the list displayed on the left side, and the right to use the logical identifier selected on the left side from the list displayed on the right side. One or more users who want to be given are selected (S11).

Then, in response to the administrator selecting the “set” button, the PC 30 performs device management of a usage right setting request including the selected one logical identifier and the user IDs of the selected one or more users. It is transmitted to the server 100 (S12). In response to this, the use authority setting unit 105 of the device management server 100 sets the use authority of the logical identifier included in the received use authority setting request (S13). Specifically, the usage right setting unit 105 assigns one logical identifier and one or more user IDs included in the usage right setting request to the field 701 of the usage right management table 700 shown in FIG. By storing it in 702, the logical identifier and the user who has the authority to use the logical identifier are registered in association with each other. Note that in FIG. 7B, an identifier name is also shown next to the logical identifier to facilitate understanding. (The same applies to other tables below.)

Subsequently, when the administrator returns to the “menu screen” shown in FIG. 5B again and selects the “associate device with logical identifier” button, the “menu screen” is shown in FIG. 9A. The screen transitions to the “device and logical identifier association screen”.

At this time, on the left side of the “device and logical identifier association screen”, the list of electronic devices registered in S7 is displayed while accepting an alternative selection of the electronic device 200. On the right side of the list, a list of the logical identifiers created and registered in S10 is displayed in a form of accepting selection of a plurality of logical identifiers.

In response to this, the administrator selects one electronic device from the list displayed on the left side, and at the same time, one or more logical identifiers to be associated with the electronic device selected on the left side from the list displayed on the right side. Is selected (S14).

Then, in response to the administrator selecting the “register” button, the PC 30 requests the logical identifier association request including the device ID of the selected electronic device and the selected one or more logical identifiers. Is transmitted to the device management server 100 (S15). In response to this, the association registration unit 106 of the device management server 100 registers the association of the device ID and one or more logical identifiers included in the received logical identifier association request (S16). Specifically, the association registration unit 106 sets one device ID and one or more logical identifiers included in the logical identifier association request to the logical identifier association table 900 shown in FIG. The device ID and the logical identifier are associated with each other by storing them in the fields 901 and 902.

Here, in the example shown in FIG. 10A, four logical identifiers (“L2000”, “L0001”, “L0002”, “L0100”) are associated with the device ID “E001”, Three logical identifiers (“L2001”, “L0002”, “L0101”) are associated with the device ID “E002”. As described above, in this embodiment, a plurality of logical identifiers can be associated with one electronic device.

Note that in the present embodiment, the association registration unit 106 automatically assigns a predetermined logical identifier indicating the registered type (see FIG. 3B) of the electronic device 200 without waiting for a request from the administrator. Correspond to. In this regard, in the example shown in FIG. 10A, the device ID “E001” is automatically associated with the logical identifier “L2000” indicating “MFP”, and the device ID “E002” is associated with the device ID “E002”. A logical identifier “L2001” indicating “printer” is automatically associated.

Next, when the administrator returns to the “menu screen” shown in FIG. 5B again and selects the “associate logical identifier with user” button, the “menu screen” is shown in FIG. 9B. The screen transitions to the "logical identifier and user association screen".

At this time, on the left side of the "logical identifier-user association screen", the list of logical identifiers created and registered in S10 is displayed in a form that accepts alternative selection of the logical identifier. On the other hand, on the right side, a list of users registered in the user management table 300 (see FIG. 3A) is displayed in the form of accepting selections of a plurality of users.

In response to this, the administrator selects one logical identifier from the list displayed on the left side and at least one user who wants to associate it with the logical identifier selected on the left side from the list displayed on the right side. Is selected (S14).

Then, in response to the administrator selecting the "register" button, the PC 30 issues a request for associating logical identifiers including the selected one logical identifier and the user IDs of the one or more selected users. It is transmitted to the device management server 100 (S14). In response to this, the association registration unit 106 of the device management server 100 registers the association of one logical identifier and one or more user IDs included in the received logical identifier association request (S16). Specifically, the association registration unit 106 sets the logical identifier and the one or more user IDs included in the logical identifier association request received from the PC 30 to the logical identifiers illustrated in FIG. The logical identifier and the user ID are associated with each other by storing them in the fields 951 and 952 of the association table 950.

Here, in the example illustrated in FIG. 10B, three user IDs (“U001”, “U002”, and “U003”) are associated with the logical identifier “L0200”, and the logical identifier “L0200” is associated. Three user IDs (“U004”, “U005”, and “U006”) are associated with L0201”. As described above, in this embodiment, a plurality of user IDs can be associated with one logical identifier. It should be noted that the logical identifiers “L0200” and “L0201” are registered as the “viewing authority identifier” in the logical identifier management table 600 shown in FIG. 7A.

The above is the operation performed by the administrator when introducing the “device management service”. After that, the device information collection unit 107 of the device management server 100 periodically requests device information from each electronic device 200 registered in S7 (S17). In response to this, the device information transmission unit 202 of the electronic device 200 reads the latest device information held in the storage area 204 at that time and transmits it to the device management server 100 (S18). In response to this, the device information collection unit 107 updates the device information management table 500 (see FIG. 3C) based on the device information received from each electronic device 200. Specifically, the device information collection unit 107 overwrites and saves the device information received from the electronic device 200 in the corresponding field of the record of the device ID of the electronic device 200. Note that, in FIG. 3C, “output number” and “input number” are illustrated as a part of the updated device information, but the device information managed by the device information management table 500 is not limited to this.

As described above, in the case where the device management server 100 adopts the method of regularly pulling the device information from the electronic device 200, each electronic device 200 establishes a session with the device management server 100 at startup. The device information collection unit 107 of the device management server 100 periodically transmits a device information acquisition request to the electronic device 200 through the session. Note that the device information collection unit 107 does not periodically pull device information from the electronic device 200, but instead of periodically pulling the device information from the electronic device 200, the device information collection unit 107 sends the device information You may make it transmit an acquisition request.

Note that in another embodiment, a method of pushing device information from the electronic device 200 side to the device management server 100 can be adopted. In that case, the electronic device 200 may periodically transmit the device information to the device management server 100, or the latest device information may be updated at the timing when the device information is updated according to the operating status of the device. You may make it transmit to the management server 100.

The processing executed when the “device management service” is introduced has been described above. Next, FIG. 11 shows the processing executed in the scene in which the user aggregates the device information by using the “device management service”. It will be described based on a sequence diagram.

When a user who wants to collect device information logs in to the "device management service" (S1), the PC 30 sends a login request to the device management server 100 (S2). In response to this, the login processing unit 102 of the device management server 100 authenticates the user (S3), and permits the login of the user.

At this time, the device management server 100 transmits the “menu screen” shown in FIG. 5B to the PC 30 that has successfully logged in (S4), and the PC 30 displays this. In response to this, when the user selects the "total device information" button displayed on the "menu screen" (S5), the PC 30 requests the device management server 100 for the device information total screen (S6).

In response to this, the device information totaling unit 108 of the device management server 100 uses the logical identifiers (user-only identifiers) registered in the usage authorization management table 700 (see FIG. 7B) by the login user. It is determined whether or not the user has the authority (S7), and a device information totaling screen that does not selectably present a user-limited identifier that the logged-in user does not have the right to use is generated (S8). Then, the device information totalization unit 108 transmits the generated device information totalization screen to the PC 30 (S9), and the PC 30 displays this.

At this time, the “device information totalizing screen” displayed by the PC 30 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, a list of logical identifiers registered in the logical identifier management table 600 (see FIG. 7A) is displayed on the left side of the “device information totalizing screen”, and a plurality of logical identifiers are selected. Is displayed in a form that accepts, while a box for displaying the aggregation result is displayed on the right side of the box.

In response to this, the user selects one or more logical identifiers that match any administrative viewpoint from the list displayed on the left side. Then, in response to the user selecting the “totalize” button (S10), the PC 30 transmits a device information totalization request including the selected one or more logical identifiers to the device management server 100 (S11). .. In response to this, the device information totaling unit 108 of the device management server 100 executes "device information totaling process" (S12). The details of the “device information totalization process” executed in S12 will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step 501, it is determined whether or not the viewing authority identifier is associated with the logged-in user. Specifically, in the logical identifier association table 950 (see FIG. 10B), the logical identifier associated with the user ID of the login user is extracted, and the logical identifier management table 600 (see FIG. 7( In a)), it is determined whether the extracted logical identifier is registered as a "browsing authority identifier".

As a result, if the extracted logical identifier is not registered as the "browsing authority identifier" (step 501, No), it means that the login user is not subject to any browsing restrictions, and the process proceeds to step 502. .. In step 502, only the electronic device 200 associated with one or more logical identifiers selected by the logged-in user (that is, one or more logical identifiers included in the device information tabulation request) is retrieved/extracted. Specifically, in the logical identifier association table 900 (see FIG. 10A), one or more device IDs associated with one or more logical identifiers selected by the logged-in user are retrieved/extracted.

Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 503. In step 503, the device information collected from the electronic device 200 extracted in the previous step 502 is totaled. Specifically, from the device information stored in the device information management table 500 (see FIG. 3C), the device information associated with one or more device IDs extracted in the previous step 502 or step 504 is extracted. And then total this.

On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step 501, when the extracted logical identifier is registered as the “browsing authority identifier” (step 501, Yes), it means that the logged-in user has a browsing restriction, and thus the processing is not performed. Go to step 504. For example, when the user ID of the logged-in user is “U001”, the user ID “U001” is associated with the logical identifier “L0200” in the logical identifier association table 950 (see FIG. 10B). And the value of the viewing authority flag corresponding to the “L0200” is “True” in the logical identifier management table 600 (see FIG. 7A), the “L0200” is “viewed”. Since it is registered as the “authority identifier”, the process proceeds to step 504.

In this case, in step 504, one or more logical identifiers associated with the logical identifier “L0200” (browsing authority identifier) and selected by the login user (that is, one or more logical identifiers included in the device information aggregation request). Only the electronic device 200 associated with the physical identifier).

Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 503. In step 503, the device information collected from the electronic device 200 extracted in the previous step 504 is totaled. In this case, the device information of the electronic device 200 that is not associated with “L0200 (general affairs department)” registered as the browsing authority identifier is not aggregated.

Returning to FIG. 11 again, the description will be continued.

The device information totaling unit 108 generates totaling information by visualizing the totaling result obtained by the "device information totaling process" using a graph, a table, or the like (S13). After that, the device information totaling unit 108 transmits the generated total information to the PC 30 that is the request source of the device information totaling request (S14), and the PC 30 displays it.

FIG. 14 exemplarily shows a “device information totalizing screen” displayed on the PC 30. FIG. 14A shows a “device information totaling screen” displayed on the PC 30 when the user selects “image output device” and “engineering department” as logical identifiers. In this case, only the device information of the electronic device 200 associated with the two logical identifiers (“image output device” and “engineering department”) is aggregated, and the aggregated information visualizing the aggregated result is displayed on the right side. .. In the example shown in FIG. 14A, there are three electronic devices 200 that meet the conditions (“image output device”, “engineering department”) selected by the user as the total information, and the total value of the output numbers of the three devices is A table showing "2500" is displayed.

FIG. 14B shows a “device information totaling screen” displayed on the PC 30 when the user selects “image output device”, “image input device”, and “engineering department” as logical identifiers. In this case, only the device information of the electronic device 200 associated with the three logical identifiers (“image output device”, “image input device”, and “engineering department”) is aggregated, and the aggregated information is obtained by visualizing the aggregated result. Is displayed on the right side. In the example shown in FIG. 14 (b), as the summary information, condition the user has selected has two electronic devices 200 that matches the ( "image output device", "image input device", "Engineering"), two A table showing that the total number of output sheets is " 1 500" and the total number of input sheets is "1200" is displayed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the device information of the electronic device that matches the desired viewpoint is automatically collected only by arbitrarily selecting one or more logical identifiers. It becomes possible to manage a plurality of electronic devices from various viewpoints with a burden.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various setting changes are possible.

For example, the above-described logical identifier creation unit 104 prepares the combination prohibition relationship management table 800 shown in FIG. 7C, and at the time of creating a logical identifier, a logical identifier (for which a combination with the logical identifier is prohibited) ( Hereinafter, a combination prohibition identifier) may be registered.

In the example shown in FIG. 7C, the logical identifier “L2001 (printer)” and the logical identifier “L2002 (facsimile)” are “combination prohibition identifiers” with respect to the logical identifier “L0001 (image input device)”. Is registered as. In this case, the association registration unit 106, when the logical identifier requested to be associated with the electronic device 200 is the “combination prohibited identifier” related to the logical identifier associated with the electronic device 200, The association between the logical identifier for which the association is requested and the electronic device is not registered. As a result, even if the user attempts to associate the logical identifier “L0001 (image input device)” with a printer device or a facsimile device that does not have a scan function, this is rejected.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the field of “browsing authority flag” is added to the logical identifier management table 600 in order to register the logical identifier as the “browsing authority identifier” has been shown. , A dedicated table for separately managing the “viewing authority identifier” may be prepared. Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the logical identifier and the user are associated with each other has been shown, but instead of this, the logical identifier and a user group including a plurality of users may be associated with each other, or the authority may be changed. It may be combined with a user management method that has a vertical relationship or an inclusive relationship.

Finally, the hardware configurations of the device management server 100 and the electronic device 200 of the present embodiment will be described based on the hardware configuration diagram shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 15A, the information processing apparatus constituting the device management server 100 of this embodiment includes a processor 12 that controls the operation of the entire apparatus, a ROM 13 that stores a boot program, a firmware program, and the like, and a program. RAM 14 for providing an execution space of the device, an auxiliary storage device 15 for storing a program and an operating system (OS) for causing the device management server 100 to function as each of the above-described means, and an input device for connecting an external device. An output interface 16 and a network interface 17 for connecting to the network 50 are provided.

On the other hand, although the hardware configuration of the electronic device 200 varies depending on the model, the hardware configuration of an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) will be described as an example. As shown in FIG. 15B, the MFP controls the operation of the entire device. A processor 22, a ROM 23 for storing a boot program, a firmware program and the like, a RAM 24 for providing a program execution space, and an auxiliary storage device 25 for storing a program for causing the MFP to function as each of the above-mentioned means. An input/output interface 26 for connecting an operation panel and the like, a printer engine 27 for executing print processing, a scan engine 28 for executing scan processing, and a network interface 29 for connecting to a network 50. There is.

Each function of the above-described embodiment can be realized by a device-executable program described in C, C++, C#, Java (registered trademark), etc., and the program of this embodiment is a hard disk device or a CD-ROM. , MO, DVD, flexible disk, EEPROM, EPROM, etc., and can be stored and distributed in a device-readable recording medium, and can be transmitted via a network in a format that can be used by other devices.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and within the scope of the embodiments conceivable to those skilled in the art, as long as the operations and effects of the present invention are exhibited. Are included in the scope of the present invention.

12... Processor 13... ROM
14... RAM
15... Auxiliary storage device 16... Input/output interface 17... Network interface 22... Processor 23... ROM
24... RAM
25... Auxiliary storage device 26... Input/output interface 27... Printer engine 28... Scan engine 29... Network interface 50... Network 100... Device management server 102... Login processing unit 103... Device registration unit 104... Logical identifier creation unit 105... Usage authority setting unit 106...Association registration unit 107...Device information collecting unit 108...Device information collecting unit 109...Database 200...Electronic device 202...Device information transmitting unit 204...Storage area 300...User management table 400...Device management table 500 ... device information management table 600... logical identifier management tables 601, 602, 603... field 700... usage authority management tables 701, 702... field 800... combination prohibition relationship management table 900... logical identifier association tables 901, 902... fields 950... Logical identifier correspondence table 951, 952... Field 1000... Device management system

JP, 2011-141797, A

Claims (8)

An information processing device for managing a plurality of electronic devices,
A device information collection unit that collects device information indicating the operating status of electronic devices from a plurality of electronic devices via a network,
Registration of association between one electronic device and identification information unique to the electronic device, which is different from the identification information unique to the electronic device, and a plurality of logical identification information for logically identifying the electronic device, and the aggregation result of the device information. An association registration unit that accepts a browsing authority identifier that is a logical identifier representing the browsing authority of the user and registration of association with one or more users ,
The logical identification information registered to selectably presented, depending on the the aggregation of the viewing the selected one or more logical identification information from a user associated with the authorization identifier device information is requested , A plurality of electronic devices associated with the viewing authorization identifier, and aggregates only device information of a plurality of electronic devices associated with the selected logical identification information, and a plurality of electronic devices associated with the logical identification information A device information totalization unit that transmits the totalization result of
An information processing device including: A user limited identifier that is a logical identifier that limits the user, and a usage authority setting unit that registers the user in association with each other,
The device information totaling unit,
Do not present the user-limited identifier to any user other than the pre-registered user in a selectable manner,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 . A logical identifier registration unit that registers a combination prohibited identifier that is a logical identifier that prohibits a combination with a plurality of logical identifiers;
The association registration unit,
If the combination of a plurality of logical identifiers requested to be associated with an electronic device is the combination prohibition identifier, the association between the logical identifier requested to be associated with the electronic device is not registered,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The association registration unit,
When the electronic device is registered, the electronic device and the logical identification information are automatically associated and registered,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. A computer that manages multiple electronic devices
Device information collecting means for collecting device information indicating the operating status of electronic devices from a plurality of electronic devices via a network,
Registration of association between one electronic device and identification information unique to the electronic device, which is different from the identification information unique to the electronic device, and a plurality of logical identification information for logically identifying the electronic device, and the aggregation result of the device information. Association registration means for accepting registration of the association of one or more users with a browsing authority identifier that is a logical identifier representing the browsing authority of
The logical identification information registered to selectably presented, depending on the the aggregation of the viewing the selected one or more logical identification information from a user associated with the authorization identifier device information is requested , A plurality of electronic devices associated with the viewing authorization identifier, and aggregates only device information of a plurality of electronic devices associated with the selected logical identification information, and a plurality of electronic devices associated with the logical identification information Device information totalizing means for transmitting the totalized result of
Program to function as. A program that causes the computer to further function as a use authority setting unit that registers a user-limited identifier that is a logical identifier that limits a user and a user in association with each other,
The device information totalizing means,
Do not present the user-limited identifier to any user other than the pre-registered user in a selectable manner,
The program according to claim 5 . A program that causes the computer to further function as a logical identifier registration unit that registers a combination prohibited identifier that is a logical identifier that prohibits a combination with a plurality of logical identifiers,
The association registration means,
If the combination of a plurality of logical identifiers requested to be associated with an electronic device is the combination prohibition identifier, the association between the logical identifier requested to be associated with the electronic device is not registered,
The program according to claim 5 or 6 . The association registration means,
When the electronic device is registered, the electronic device and the logical identification information are automatically associated and registered,
The program according to claim 5 .