JP7204432B2 - PRINTING DEVICE, CONTROL METHOD THEREOF, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printing device, its control method, and a program.

2. Description of the Related Art There is known an information processing apparatus that performs self-diagnosis for detecting errors such as malfunctions and failures of mounted components. The information processing device displays, on the display section of the information processing device, a warning notification including a message prompting the user to contact the service in charge of the information processing device when a serious error that cannot be repaired by the user occurs. When the user confirms the warning notification, the user requests repair to the service in charge of the information processing apparatus.

Further, in an information processing device, a remote monitoring service may be used as a means of requesting maintenance to a service in charge before an error occurs in the information processing device. In the remote monitoring service, with the permission of the user, a monitoring server managed by the sales company of the information processing equipment detects a sign of an error occurring in the information processing device (hereinafter referred to as an "error sign"). Monitor occurrences. For example, when an error sign occurs in an information processing device connected to a monitoring server, a warning notification is not displayed on the display unit of the information processing device, and a maintenance request is made to the service in charge via the monitoring server (for example, patent Reference 1). Thereby, in the information processing apparatus, maintenance work is performed at the stage of an error sign.

JP 2007-328641 A

However, conventionally, the monitoring server cannot detect an error sign occurring in an information processing apparatus that cannot communicate with the monitoring server. Therefore, even if an error sign occurs in an information processing apparatus that cannot communicate with the monitoring server, a maintenance request cannot be made at the error sign stage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus, a control method thereof, and a program capable of issuing a maintenance request at the stage of predicting an error.

In order to achieve the above object, a printing device according to the present invention is a printing device having a printing function, the printing device being connectable to an information processing device that provides a remote monitoring service for the printing device, error sign detection means for detecting an error sign of the printing device; transmission means for transmitting alert information corresponding to the detected error sign to the information processing device; and a notification screen corresponding to the detected error sign. display control means for displaying on a display means of the printing device, when an error sign of the printing device is detected by the error sign detection means and communication is impossible between the printing device and the information processing device; The display control means causes the display means to display the notification screen in a state in which the printing function is available, and the error sign detection means detects an error sign of the printing device and the printing device and the information processing are detected. When communication with the apparatus is possible, the display control means does not cause the display means to display the notification screen in a state in which the print function is available .

According to the present invention, maintenance can be requested at the stage of an error sign.

1 is a network diagram schematically showing the configuration of a communication system including MFPs as information processing apparatuses according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a monitoring server in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the MFP of FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 4 is an external view of an operation unit in FIG. 3; 5 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen displayed on the display unit in FIG. 4; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a support registration screen displayed on the display unit in FIG. 4; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a permission setting screen displayed on the display unit in FIG. 4; FIG. FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the procedure of notification control processing executed by the MFP of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a warning screen displayed on the display unit of FIG. 4; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a warning screen displayed on the display unit of FIG. 4; FIG. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the procedure of error sign display determination processing in step S107 of FIG. 8. FIG. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a procedure of a modified example of the notification control process of FIG. 8; FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a warning screen displayed on the display unit in the process of step S202 of FIG. 12;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a case where the present invention is applied to an MFP as an information processing apparatus monitored by a monitoring server will be described, but the present invention is not limited to the MFP. For example, the present invention may be applied to devices such as mobile terminals and client PCs that can communicate with the monitoring server.

FIG. 1 is a network diagram schematically showing the configuration of communication system 100 including MFP 101 as an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1 , the communication system 100 includes an MFP 101 , a monitoring server 102 as a monitoring device, and a service dispatch management server 103 . The MFP 101 and monitoring server 102 are connected via a network 104 . The monitoring server 102 and service dispatch management server 103 are connected via a LAN 105 .

The MFP 101 receives PDL data from an external device (not shown) connected via the network 104 and performs printing based on the received PDL data. In addition, the MFP 101 reads the arranged document by the scanner 308 of FIG. 3, which will be described later, and generates image data. In the MFP 101, the remote monitoring service is activated when support registration is performed using a support registration screen 600 shown in FIG. In the remote monitoring service, the monitoring server 102 monitors the occurrence of a predetermined event in the MFP 101 , specifically, an alert related to an abnormality of the MFP 101 (hereinafter referred to as an “abnormality-related alert”). When the remote monitoring service is activated, the MFP 101 transmits alert information including the content of the abnormality-related alert to the monitoring server 102 when an abnormality-related alert occurs in the MFP 101 . The monitoring server 102 monitors the status of occurrence of anomaly-related alerts in devices for which support registration has been performed. For example, when the monitoring server 102 receives alert information including the content of an abnormality-related alert from the MFP 101, it detects the occurrence of an alert in the MFP 101 based on the alert information, and dispatches a service engineer to repair the MFP 101. Send to the management server 103 . The service dispatch management server 103 arranges a serviceman according to the dispatch request received from the monitoring server 102 .

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the monitoring server 102 of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the monitoring server 102 includes a CPU 201, a RAM 202, an HDD 203, a network I/F 204, and a peripheral device I/F 205. The CPU 201 , RAM 202 , HDD 203 , network I/F 204 and peripheral device I/F 205 are connected to each other via a system bus 206 .

The CPU 201 centrally controls the entire monitoring server 102 . The CPU 201 loads the program read from the HDD 203 into the RAM 202 and executes the program loaded into the RAM 202 . The HDD 203 stores programs and the like executed by the CPU 201 . A RAM 202 is used as a work area for the CPU 201 and as a temporary storage area for each data. A network I/F 204 performs data communication with an external device such as the MFP 101 connected via the network 104 . Also, the network I/F 204 performs data communication with the service dispatch management server 103 connected via the LAN 105 . A peripheral device I/F 205 is an interface for connecting peripheral devices such as a display and a keyboard (not shown) to the monitoring server 102 . The monitoring server 102 outputs information to the user and receives instructions from the user by controlling peripheral devices connected to the peripheral device I/F 205 .

FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of MFP 101 in FIG. The MFP 101 includes a controller 300 , a printer 306 , a scanner 308 and an operation unit 310 . Controller 300 is connected to printer 306 , scanner 308 , and operation unit 310 . The controller 300 also includes a CPU 301 , a RAM 302 , an HDD 303 , a network I/F 304 , a printer I/F 305 , a scanner I/F 307 and an operation unit I/F 309 . The CPU 301 , RAM 302 , HDD 303 , network I/F 304 , printer I/F 305 , scanner I/F 307 and operation unit I/F 309 are connected to each other via a system bus 311 .

A controller 300 centrally controls the entire MFP 101 . The CPU 301 loads the program read from the HDD 303 into the RAM 302 and executes the program loaded into the RAM 302 . A RAM 302 is used as a work area for the CPU 301 and as a temporary storage area for each data. The HDD 303 stores programs executed by the CPU 301, various setting values of the MFP 101, data related to processing requested by the user, data received from an external device, and the like. A network I/F 304 performs data communication with an external device such as the monitoring server 102 connected via the network 104 .

A printer I/F 305 is an interface for connecting the controller 300 and the printer 306 . For example, the printer I/F 305 transfers image data transmitted from the CPU 301 to the printer 306 . Also, the printer I/F 305 transfers the status information of the printer 306 received from the printer 306 to the CPU 301 . A printer 306 prints the image data received from the printer I/F 305 on paper. Also, the printer 306 outputs status information of the printer 306 to the printer I/F 305 .

A scanner I/F 307 is an interface for connecting the controller 300 and the scanner 308 . For example, the scanner I/F 307 transfers an image reading instruction transmitted from the CPU 301 to the scanner 308 . Further, the scanner I/F 307 transfers image data received from the scanner 308 to the CPU 301 . Furthermore, the scanner I/F 307 transfers the status information of the scanner 308 received from the scanner 308 to the CPU 301 . The scanner 308 reads the placed document according to the image reading instruction received from the scanner I/F 307 and outputs digital data of the read information to the scanner I/F 307 . The scanner 308 also outputs status information of the scanner 308 to the scanner I/F 307 .

An operation unit I/F 309 outputs to the CPU 301 the content of an instruction input by the user through the operation unit 310 . Further, the operation unit I/F 309 performs screen display control on the operation unit 310 based on the control signal received from the CPU 301 . An operation unit 310 is a user interface of the MFP 101 . The operation unit 310 includes a display unit 401, a start key 402, a numeric keypad 403, and a stop key 404, as shown in FIG.

The display unit 401 is composed of liquid crystal, and the surface of the liquid crystal is covered with a touch panel sheet. The display unit 401 displays various setting screens including soft keys, for example, the setting screen 500 of FIG. . A start key 402 is used, for example, when the user instructs the start of the document reading operation. The central portion of the start key 402 is composed of LEDs of two colors, green and red, and whether or not the start key 402 can be used is indicated by the lighting colors of the LEDs. A numeric keypad 403 is composed of numeric and character buttons, and is used, for example, when instructing to set the number of copies to be printed or to switch screens on the display unit 401 . A stop key 404 is used, for example, when the user issues an instruction to stop an operation during operation.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a support registration screen 600 displayed on the display unit 401 of FIG. A support registration screen 600 is a setting screen for performing support registration for the remote monitoring service. The support registration screen 600 includes a service list 601 , cancel button 602 and next button 603 . A service list 601 displays a list of services available in the remote monitoring service. A user can select a desired service from the service list 601 . When the cancel button 602 is pressed on the support registration screen 600, the display of the display unit 401 is switched from the support registration screen 600 to another screen without activating the remote monitoring service of the MFP 101. FIG. When the next button 603 is pressed on the support registration screen 600, the display on the display unit 401 switches from the support registration screen 600 to the permission setting screen 700 in FIG.

The consent setting screen 700 includes a cancel button 702 and a consent button 703 . A display field 701 of the permission setting screen 700 displays information indicating the service selected in the service list 601, precautions for using the remote monitoring service, consent confirmation items, and the like. When the cancel button 702 is pressed on the permission setting screen 700, the display of the display unit 401 is switched from the permission setting screen 700 to another screen without activating the remote monitoring service of the MFP 101. FIG. When the consent button 703 is pressed on the consent setting screen 700, the communication setting of the monitoring server 102 indicating that the monitor server 102 is connected is set to "ON", and the remote monitoring service of the MFP 101 is activated. As a result, in the MFP 101, the service dispatch management server 103 arranges for a service person to repair and maintain the MFP 101 without the user making an inquiry to the service in charge (repair service) when the abnormality-related alert occurs. be.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the procedure of notification control processing executed by the MFP 101 in FIG. The processing in FIG. 8 is performed by CPU 301 executing a program stored in HDD 303 . The process of FIG. 8 is executed when an abnormality-related alert is generated in the MFP 101 .

In FIG. 8, the CPU 301 detects occurrence of an abnormality-related alert (step S101). Anomaly-related alerts are specifically error stop and error prediction. An error stop occurs when an abnormality that makes all the functions of the MFP 101 unusable is detected. When an error stop occurs, the user cannot use the MFP 101 until the abnormal state is resolved. The error sign is a warning that occurs when each process is executed in the MFP 101. For example, a patch detection abnormality alarm that occurs during execution of image forming processing, and two current values detected below the threshold value in ATVC control. This is a transcription alarm that occurs when When the MFP 101 is in a normal state, the error sign occurs relatively infrequently depending on operating conditions and the like. On the other hand, the error sign occurs relatively frequently when maintenance is required although the state is not as good as "error stop". The user can use all the functions of the MFP 101 without restriction at the stage of detecting the sign of error. In this embodiment, different notifications are sent to the user depending on the type of abnormality-related alert that has occurred. Next, the CPU 301 determines whether or not the type of the generated abnormality-related alert is "prediction of error" (step S102).

As a result of the determination in step S102, when the type of the generated abnormality-related alert is not "error sign", the CPU 301 determines that the type of the generated abnormality-related alert is "error stop". As a notification to the user, the CPU 301 displays the warning screen 900 of FIG. 9 on the display unit 401 (step S103). The warning screen 900 includes a message 901 prompting to contact the service in charge. Also, when the remote monitoring service is activated, the CPU 301 transmits alert information including the content of the abnormality-related alert and the identification ID of the MFP 101 to the monitoring server 102 . At this time, a message 903 indicating that the alert information has been sent to the monitoring server 102 is displayed in the status display portion 902 of the warning screen 900 . As described above, in the present embodiment, when an abnormality that renders all the functions of MFP 101 unusable is detected, priority is given to promptly arranging for service personnel, and repairs are requested via monitoring server 102. , a means for the user to submit a repair request is also provided. After that, the CPU 301 terminates this process.

As a result of the determination in step S102, when the type of the generated abnormality-related alert is "prediction of error", the CPU 301 determines whether the communication setting of the monitoring server 102 is "ON", that is, whether the communication setting of the monitoring server 102 is "ON". It is determined whether or not there is (step S104) (communication enable/disable determining means).

As a result of the determination in step S104, when it is in the connection state with the monitoring server 102, the CPU 301 determines whether or not the communication test of the monitoring server 102 has succeeded (step S105) (communication availability determining means). In step S105, for example, the CPU 301 determines whether or not the communication test executed when the generation of the abnormality-related alert was detected in step S101 was successful. Alternatively, the CPU 301 performs the determination process of step S105 based on the execution result of the communication test of the monitoring server 102 which is periodically executed regardless of detection of occurrence of an abnormality-related alert.

As a result of the determination in step S105, when the communication test of the monitoring server 102 is successful, communication with the monitoring server 102 is possible. Send. The monitoring server 102 issues a maintenance request to the service dispatch management server 103 in order to deal with the error sign indicated by the received alert information. Also, the CPU 301 does not notify the user (step S106). That is, in the present embodiment, when the MFP 101 can communicate with the monitoring server 102, an error sign maintenance request is issued via the monitoring server 102. In this case, the display unit 401 displays a warning screen prompting the user to contact the service in charge. not displayed in After that, the CPU 301 terminates this process.

When the communication test of the monitoring server 102 fails as a result of the determination in step S105, or when the connection with the monitoring server 102 is not established as a result of the determination in step S104, the CPU 301 performs user predictive display determination processing in FIG. step S107). In step S107, it is determined whether or not the generated abnormality-related alert satisfies the display conditions of the warning screen. Next, the CPU 301 determines whether or not the generated abnormality-related alert satisfies the warning screen display conditions based on the processing result of step S107 (step S108).

As a result of the determination in step S108, when the generated abnormality-related alert does not satisfy the warning screen display conditions, the CPU 301 performs the processing from step S106 onward. As a result of the determination in step S108, when the generated abnormality-related alert satisfies the warning screen display conditions, the CPU 301 displays the warning screen 1000 of FIG. 10 on the display unit 401 as a notification to the user (step S109). A warning screen 1000 includes a message 1001 prompting to contact the service in charge. Also, since the CPU 301 cannot communicate with the monitoring server 102 and cannot transmit alert information to the monitoring server 102, the status line portion 1002 of the warning screen 1000 does not display a message indicating that the alert information has been transmitted. After that, the CPU 301 terminates this process.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the procedure of error sign display determination processing in step S107 of FIG.

In FIG. 11, the CPU 301 adds "1" to the detection count indicating the number of times an "error sign" abnormality-related alert has been detected (step S201) (occurrence count measuring means). A detection count is stored in the HDD 303 . Next, the CPU 301 determines whether or not the cumulative number of "error sign" occurrences is a predetermined number, for example, 10 or more, based on the detection count (step S202).

As a result of the determination in step S202, when the cumulative number of occurrences of the "error sign" is less than a predetermined number, for example, 10 times, the CPU 301 determines that the "error sign" has occurred a plurality of times, for example, three or more times within 24 hours. It is determined whether or not (step S203).

As a result of the determination in step S203, when the "predictive error" does not occur multiple times, for example, three times or more within 24 hours, the CPU 301 determines that the generated abnormality-related alert does not satisfy the warning screen display conditions (step S204). Next, the CPU 301 terminates this process and performs the process from step S108 onward.

As a result of the determination in step S202, when the cumulative number of occurrences of the "predictive error" is a predetermined number, for example, 10 or more, or as a result of the determination in step S203, the "predictive error" occurs a plurality of times within 24 hours, for example, When it has occurred three times or more, the CPU 301 determines that the abnormality-related alert that has occurred satisfies the conditions for displaying the warning screen (step S205). Next, the CPU 301 terminates this process and performs the process from step S108 onward.

8 and 11 described above, whether or not to display a warning screen on the display unit 401 is determined based on whether or not communication with the monitoring server 102 is possible and the number of times an "error sign" has occurred. In other words, another means of requesting maintenance from a service other than the monitoring server 102 is provided. As a result, even if the monitoring server cannot detect the occurrence of an abnormality-related alert of "prediction of error" in the MFP 101, it is possible to request maintenance at the stage of the prediction of error.

8 and 11 described above, the warning screen 1000 is displayed on the display unit 401 when communication with the monitoring server 102 is impossible and the cumulative number of occurrences of the "prediction of error" is equal to or greater than the predetermined number. . That is, another means is provided for requesting maintenance from the service in charge from other than the monitoring server 102 before the "error stop" occurs. As a result, even if communication with the monitoring server 102 is impossible, maintenance can be requested before an error occurs.

8 and 11 described above, the warning screen 1000 is displayed on the display unit 401 when communication with the monitoring server 102 is impossible and the "prediction of error" occurs multiple times within 24 hours. Here, if the "prediction of error" abnormality-related alert occurs multiple times within 24 hours, the MFP 101 is in a state that requires maintenance, although it is not in the same state as "error stop". In such a case, it is preferable to immediately request maintenance from the service in charge. On the other hand, if communication with the monitoring server 102 is not possible, the monitoring server 102 cannot detect an abnormality-related alert of "prediction of error" generated in the MFP 101. need to provide a means of On the other hand, in the present embodiment, when communication with the monitoring server 102 is impossible and an abnormality-related alert of "prediction of error" occurs multiple times within 24 hours, the warning screen 1000 is displayed on the display unit 401. . Thereby, even if communication with the monitoring server 102 is impossible, maintenance can be requested at an appropriate timing when maintenance is required.

8 and 11 described above include the case where communication with the monitoring server 102 is impossible and the case where the MFP 101 is not connected to the monitoring server 102 . In other words, for MFPs that do not use the remote management server, means for requesting maintenance from a service other than the monitoring server 102 is provided. As a result, even in an MFP that does not use a remote management server, a maintenance request can be made at the stage of predicting an error.

8 and 11 described above, the warning screen is not displayed on the display unit 401 when communication with the monitoring server 102 is possible. As a result, it is possible to prevent the same content as that of the monitoring server 102 from being requested by the user who checked the warning screen.

8 and 11 described above, the "prediction of error" is the transfer alarm and the patch detection abnormality alarm. As a result, maintenance can be requested before an error related to a transfer alarm or patch detection error alarm occurs.

Although the present invention has been described using the above-described embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, when the MFP 101 cannot communicate with the monitoring server 102, a message indicating that transmission of alert information has failed may be displayed in the status line portion 1002 of the warning screen 1000. FIG. By doing so, it is possible to inform the user that the remote monitoring service is not functioning.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the predetermined number of times is set to 10 times as the determination criterion in step S202, and the predetermined number of times is set to 3 times within 24 hours as the determination criterion in step S203. It's okay to be For example, by setting the predetermined number of times to 1, the maintenance work of the MFP 101 can be reliably performed by the service person at the stage of an error sign, and error stoppage can be prevented as much as possible.

In the above-described embodiment, the error sign may include a consumables end of life sign indicating that consumables such as the developer and the developer collection container used in the image forming process by the MFP 101 are nearing the end of their lives. The detection of the consumable service life predictor is determined by whether or not the consumption amount exceeds a threshold value, and the threshold value can be arbitrarily set by the administrator of the MFP 101 from the operation unit 310 .

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the procedure of a modified example of the notification control process of FIG. The processing in FIG. 12 is also performed by the CPU 301 executing the program stored in the HDD 303 . The process of FIG. 12 is also executed when the MFP 101 generates an abnormality-related alert.

In FIG. 12, the CPU 301 performs steps S101 to S104. As a result of the determination in step S104, when the connection state with the monitoring server 102 is established, the CPU 301 performs the process of step S105.

As a result of the determination in step S105, when the communication test of the monitoring server 102 is successful, the CPU 301 performs the processes after step S106. When the communication test of the monitoring server 102 fails as a result of the determination in step S105, or when the connection with the monitoring server 102 is not established as a result of the determination in step S104, the CPU 301 determines that the generated abnormality-related alert is a consumable service life prediction. It is determined whether or not (step S301).

As a result of the determination in step S301, when the generated abnormality-related alert is a consumables life prediction, the CPU 301 displays the warning screen 1300 of FIG. 13 on the display unit 401 as a notification to the user (step S302). The warning screen 1300 includes a message 1301 prompting the customer to order the consumables to be replaced from the service in charge. Also, since the CPU 301 cannot communicate with the monitoring server 102 and cannot transmit alert information to the monitoring server 102, the status line portion 1302 of the warning screen 1300 does not display a message indicating that the alert information has been transmitted. After that, the CPU 301 terminates this process.

In the process of FIG. 12 described above, the error sign includes a consumables end-of-life sign indicating that the consumables used by the MFP 101 are nearing the end of their life. As a result, even if the monitoring server cannot detect that the life of the consumable is nearing the end of its life, it is possible to request maintenance before the life of the consumable is reached.

12 described above, the warning screen 1300 is displayed on the display unit 401 when the consumables end-of-life sign is detected. As a result, the user can be made aware of the need to order the consumable before the expiry of the life of the consumable.

Furthermore, in the process of FIG. 12 described above, the threshold for the amount of consumption of the consumables for detecting the consumables end-of-life prediction is set by the administrator of the MFP 101 . Accordingly, it is possible to set an appropriate threshold that enables a maintenance request to be performed before the life of the consumable is reached, according to the usage status of the MFP 101 .

The present invention supplies a program that implements one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or apparatus reads the program. It can also be realized by executing processing. The invention can also be implemented by a circuit (eg, an ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

101 MFPs
102 monitoring server 301 CPU
310 Operation unit 401 Display unit 1000, 1300 Warning screen 1001 Message

Claims (9)

A printing device having a printing function, the printing device being connectable to an information processing device that provides a remote monitoring service for the printing device,
error sign detection means for detecting an error sign of the printing apparatus;
transmitting means for transmitting alert information corresponding to the detected error sign to the information processing apparatus;
display control means for displaying a notification screen corresponding to the detected error sign on a display means of the printing apparatus;
When the error sign detecting means detects an error sign of the printing device and communication between the printing device and the information processing device is impossible, the display control means controls the print function to be available. displaying the notification screen on the display means;
When an error sign of the printing device is detected by the error sign detecting means and communication is possible between the printing device and the information processing device, the display control means controls the print function to be used and the A printing apparatus , wherein a notification screen is not displayed on the display means . A printing device having a printing function, the printing device being connectable to an information processing device that provides a remote monitoring service for the printing device,
error sign detection means for detecting an error sign of the printing apparatus;
a measuring means for measuring the number of times the error predictor detection means detects the error predictor;
display control means for displaying a notification screen corresponding to the detected error sign on a display means of the printing apparatus;
if the remote monitoring service provided by the information processing device is not valid, the display control means causes the display means to display the notification screen;
when the remote monitoring service provided by the information processing device is valid, the display control means does not cause the display means to display the notification screen;
When the remote monitoring service provided by the information processing device is not effective and the number of times the error sign detection means detects the error sign is less than a predetermined number of times, the display control means displays the notification screen as the A printing device characterized by not displaying on a display means. When the remote monitoring service provided by the information processing device is valid and communication between the printing device and the information processing device is impossible, the display control means causes the notification screen to be displayed on the display means. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display is performed on the . 4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the error sign detection unit detects the error sign by detecting a predetermined warning that occurs during execution of image forming processing. printing device. 4. The error sign detection means detects the error sign by detecting a consumables life sign indicating that a consumable used by the printing apparatus is nearing the end of its life. 1. The printer according to claim 1. 6. The printing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein when the consumables end-of-life predictor is detected, the display control means causes the display means to display a notification prompting an order for the consumables. 7. The printing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein a threshold value of the consumption amount of the consumables for detecting the predictive sign of life of the consumables is set by an administrator of the printing apparatus. A control method for a printing device having a printing function, the printing device being connectable to an information processing device that provides a remote monitoring service for the printing device, comprising :
an error sign detection step of detecting an error sign of the printing device;
a transmission step of transmitting alert information corresponding to the detected error sign to the information processing device;
a display control step of displaying a notification screen corresponding to the detected error sign on display means of the printing apparatus;
When an error sign of the printing device is detected in the error sign detection step and communication between the printing device and the information processing device is not possible, the display control step sets the print function to a usable state. to display the notification screen on the display means with
If the error sign detection step detects an error sign of the printing device and communication is possible between the printing device and the information processing device, the display control step performs A method of controlling a printing apparatus, wherein the notification screen is not displayed on the display means . A program for causing a computer to execute a control method for a printing device having a printing function, the printing device being connectable to an information processing device that provides a remote monitoring service for the printing device,
The control method of the printing device includes:
an error sign detection step of detecting an error sign of the printing device;
a transmission step of transmitting alert information corresponding to the detected error sign to the information processing device;
a display control step of displaying a notification screen corresponding to the detected error sign on display means of the printing apparatus;
When an error sign of the printing device is detected in the error sign detection step and communication between the printing device and the information processing device is not possible, the display control step sets the print function to a usable state. to display the notification screen on the display means with
If the error sign detection step detects an error sign of the printing device and communication is possible between the printing device and the information processing device, the display control step performs A program characterized in that the notification screen is not displayed on the display means .

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