JPH0520470A - Recording device management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To check whether collected management data is appropriate or not and to clear data accumulated in management devices. CONSTITUTION:A management data recognition means 5 displays management data transferred from a repeater 2 in a display means 6 for respective sections and for respective items. A host computer 1 executes a processing for clearing management data accumulated in the management devices 3-1 to 3-N with setting it to be a condition that a command for continuing the processing is issued from an input means 7. Since management data accumulated in the management devices 3-l to 3-N are cleared after the recognition of an operator, recovery can easily be executed when abnormal management data is received.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording device management system for classifying users by registration number and totalizing and managing recording devices such as copying machines, printers and the like by department or user.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the diversification of corporate activities, a plurality of users (hereinafter referred to as departments) having different accounting units, such as a plurality of companies and groups within the same building or a certain area, share various resources. Is being done. Examples of such shared resources include recording devices such as copiers and printers. When a plurality of departments share a copier in this way, a recording medium in which department information such as a registration number assigned to each department is written, for example, a magnetic card, is used to determine the usage status and usage fee of the copier. A recording device management system is used that manages each of the categories according to the use department. An example of the configuration is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 5, recording devices 4-1 to 4-N are shown.
Is a recording device for copying / printing out a document, an image, a photograph, etc. on a sheet of paper such as a copying machine or a printer, and is a copying machine here. The management devices 3-1 to 3-N read department information written on a recording medium such as a magnetic card to enable the recording devices 4-1 to 4-N, and register the usage information (management data). The data is classified and aggregated for each number and stored. As the management data, data about the type of copy mode such as monochrome, single color, full color, monochrome tracing paper, printing, print single color, plain color, paper size data, billing meter value data, etc. There are various kinds of data, but it goes without saying that what kind of data is collected is selected according to the management purpose.

The relay device 2 relays the transfer of the management data from the management devices 3-1 to 3-N to the host computer (hereinafter, simply referred to as the host) 1, but at a predetermined time. Alternatively, the management devices 3-1 to 3-N are sequentially accessed by polling communication at predetermined time intervals, and the number of copies for each department is collected and managed. That is, the number of copies that can be used in one month is usually set for each department. Therefore, the management devices 3-1 to 3-N are periodically accessed to obtain information on the number of copies for each department. It collects and manages whether or not the cumulative number of copies for each department for the current month is within a predetermined number of copies.

The host 1 collects the management data for January accumulated in the management devices 3-1 to 3-N via the relay device 2 at a predetermined time, for example, at the end of every month, and performs monthly totalization. Various processes such as calculation of charges for each department, issuance of bills, creation of statistical data for analyzing utilization status and other usage conditions for each department and each terminal are performed. Although not shown in FIG. 5, the host 1 has a reading means such as a keyboard, a floppy disk (FD), a memory card, etc., and as described above, the data related to the department for which management data cannot be collected online is stored in the FD or memory card. , Tape, keyboard, etc., and process the data in the same way.

The host 1 manages the management device 3-for monthly totalization.
An example of communication processing when collecting management data from 1 to 3-N will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, it is assumed that the host 1 collects size data for each department, that is, data of the number of copies for each paper size and billing data as management data. When performing monthly totalization, the host 1 first instructs the relay device 2 to prohibit polling (S1), and stops the totalization process of the cumulative number of copies for each department. When receiving the response (S2) from the repeater 2, the host 1 instructs the repeater 2 to collect the management data (S3). Upon receiving this instruction, the repeater 2 performs the processing described below on all the connected management devices in the order of the terminal numbers defined in the management device, for example.
Now, assuming that the management device 3-1 is accessed first, the repeater 2 notifies the management device 3-1 of a management data collection request (S4). When receiving this, the management device 3
-1 transfers the data of the size number by department to the repeater 2 (S5). When the reception of the management data is completed, the repeater 2 gives an instruction to clear all data (S6). Next, billing data is transferred in response to the management data collection request (S7) instructed by the repeater 2 (S8). When the relay 2 completes the reception of these data, it notifies the host 1 of the completion of the management data reception (S9). Upon receiving this, the host 1 requests the relay device 2 to transfer the management data (S10), and the transfer of the management data from the relay device 2 (S11) is completed.

By the above processing, the management data collected by the management device 3-1 for one month is cleared, but the internal memory of the repeater 2 collects the number of copies for each department collected by polling communication. Data remains, the host 1 next performs processing to clear the data stored in the repeater 2. This processing is performed by the management device 3 described above.
Similarly, the management data in 1 is cleared, but the host 1 first notifies the repeater 2 of a request for collecting size number data for all departments (S12), and transfers it as a response (S13). The contents of the number of sizes that have been received are confirmed, and if the data is not cleared, an instruction to clear the data is issued (S14). As a result, the size number data for each department stored in the internal memory of the repeater 2 is cleared.

When the above processing is completed for all management devices, the host 1 notifies the repeater 2 of a command indicating cancellation of polling inhibition (S15), and the response (S15).
When 16) is confirmed, the management data collection processing is terminated, and thereafter, the monthly totalization processing is performed based on the collected management data.

[0009]

By the way, the capacity of the memory for storing the management data installed in the management device is naturally limited, and therefore it must be cleared sometime, but as described above. The reason for clearing at the time of monthly aggregation is that it is the most rational to clear the management data when performing monthly aggregation, so that the next month can be started from zero. However, in the conventional recording apparatus management system, as described above, the repeater 2 automatically gives an instruction to clear the management data when the collection of the management data is completed. Therefore, static electricity or impulse noise generated in the copying machine or other When the management data accumulated in the management device is destroyed or changed due to the above, there is no way to confirm whether the collected management data is valid or not.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a recording apparatus management system capable of checking whether the management data collected from the management apparatus is appropriate or not. It is a thing.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the recording apparatus management system of the present invention is shown in FIG.
, The recording devices 4-1 to 4-N and the recording device 4
Management devices 3-1 to 3-N attached to -1 to 4-N
And a relay device 2 connected to the management devices 3-1 to 3-N via a communication line, and a relay device 2 connected to the relay device 2 via a communication line and collected by the management devices 3-1 to 3-N via the relay device 2. In the recording device management system, which includes a host computer 1 that collects the generated management data at predetermined intervals and performs processing including charge calculation for each department, the host computer 1 determines whether the management data transferred from the repeater 2 is abnormal. The management data confirmation means 5 for confirming the presence or absence is provided. Note that FIG.
In FIG. 5, the same components as those shown in FIG. 5 are designated by the same reference numerals. The same applies hereinafter. The management data confirmation means 5 confirms the management data by the management data confirmation means 5 automatically checking whether the management data transferred from the repeater 2 is abnormal and displaying the result to notify the operator. Or display means 6
Alternatively, the management data transferred from the relay device 2 may be displayed, and the operator may confirm whether or not there is an abnormality in the management data.

In the former case, the management data confirmation means 5
When the management data is transferred from the repeater 2, checks the value of each data and displays the result on the display means 6.
After that, the host computer 1 performs a process of clearing the management data stored in the management devices 3-1 to 3-N on condition that the command to continue the processing is issued from the input means 7.

In the latter case, the management data confirmation means 5
Displays the value of the management data transferred from the repeater 2 on the display means 6. And then the host computer 1
Performs a process of clearing the management data accumulated in the management devices 3-1 to 3-N on condition that a command to continue the process is issued from the input means 7.

As described above, in the present invention, the management data accumulated in the management devices 3-1 to 3-N will be cleared after confirmation by the operator, so that abnormal management data is received. In some cases it can be easily recovered.

[0015]

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a recording apparatus management system according to the present invention, in which reference numeral 8 denotes a management data display processing section. The operation of each unit at the time of monthly aggregation in the configuration shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The host 1 is the repeater 2 first
Is instructed to prohibit polling (S31), and the process of counting the cumulative number of copies for each department is stopped. When the host 1 receives the response (S32) from the relay device 2, the host 1 first collects management data, for example, the management device 3-1 from the recording device 4-1 to which it is attached. The repeater 2 is notified of the instruction to prohibit copying (S33).
As will be described later, this is the management device 3-1 in this embodiment.
When it is determined that the management data collected from the management data is appropriate, the management data is collected from the management device 3-1 again. Therefore, the copying of the recording device 4-1 is prohibited during that time, and the confirmed management data is checked. This is to prevent the management data actually used for monthly aggregation from becoming different.

When the repeater 2 receives a copy prohibition instruction from the host 1, it instructs the management apparatus 3-1 to prohibit copy (S34), and when the response (S35) is received, it copies the recording apparatus 4-1. The host 1 is notified of the prohibition (S36). Upon receiving this, the host 1 then repeats the relay 2
Is instructed to collect management data (S37). Upon receiving this instruction, the repeater 2 notifies the management device 3-1 of a management data collection request (S38). On the other hand, the management device 3-1 transfers the data of the number of sheets for each department to the repeater 2 (S39), and billing data for the management data collection request (S40) instructed from the repeater 2 next. Transfer (S41). When the relay 2 completes the reception of these data, it notifies the host 1 of the completion of the management data reception (S42), and responds to the management data transfer request (S43) from the host 1 by the management device 3 The management data collected from -1 is transferred (S44).

When the host 1 finishes receiving the management data transferred from the repeater 2, it can accept the input from the input means 7 composed of a keyboard, a mouse, etc., and the management data confirmation means 5 of the present invention. The management data display processing unit 8 is activated. As a result, the management data display processing unit 8 displays the transferred management data on the display unit 6 for each department and each item. As a result, the operator can visually confirm whether each displayed data is valid or not, and the number of sheets that cannot be collected by the management apparatus 3-1 such as the number of miscopy and the number of sheets after post-processing such as stapling. Etc. can be input based on the slip, and the name of the operator who has confirmed the management data can be input.

If the operator visually judges that the collected management data is valid, the operator issues a command from the input means 7 to continue processing, and if the management data is judged to be abnormal. Instructs to continue processing after performing recovery by an appropriate method. This is the process of S45 of FIG. The management data can be recovered by using the value of the mechanical counter installed in the recording device as the actual usage data to correct abnormal data, or by storing it in a non-volatile memory built into the recording device. There is a method to correct the value that has been used as actual usage data.

When the instruction to continue processing is issued from the input means 7, the management data display processing section 8 notifies the means for collecting management data (not shown in FIG. 2). As a result, the relay 2 is notified by the host 1 of a command for instructing collection and clearing of management data (S46). In response to this, the repeater 2 notifies the management device 3-1 of a management data collection request (S47), and when the management data transfer (S48) is completed, instructs the clearing of all data (S49). After that, the repeater 2 again notifies the management data collection request (S50), and when it confirms that all the management data have been cleared from the contents of the management data transferred as the response (S51), it sends the request to the host 1. It notifies that the management data of the management device 3-1 has been cleared (S52). Next, the host 1 notifies the repeater 2 of a management data collection request in order to collect the management data from the repeater 2 (S53), and receives the management data transferred from the repeater 2 as a response (S54). Upon completion, a data clear instruction is sent to clear all the data stored in the repeater 2 (S55). Upon confirming that all the data have been cleared, the repeater 2 notifies the host 1 that the management data has been cleared (S5).
6).

Next, the host 1 issues a command for canceling the copy inhibition to the repeater 2 (S57). In response to this, the repeater 2 notifies the management apparatus 3-1 of the copy prohibition cancellation (S58), and the response from the management apparatus 3-1 (S59).
When it receives, the host 1 is notified that the copy inhibition of the recording device 4-1 has been released (S60). When the above processing is completed for all management devices, the host 1
When a command indicating cancellation of polling prohibition is sent to the repeater 2 (S61) and the response (S62) is confirmed, management data collection processing ends, and then monthly aggregation processing based on the collected management data. I do.

While one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, another embodiment will be described next. In the above example, the confirmation of the management data was performed by the operator's visual inspection,
In this embodiment, the management data transferred from the repeater 2 is automatically checked. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the host 1 has the management data checking unit 9 as the management data checking means 5 of the present invention. Is equipped with.

The management data check unit 9 determines whether or not the received management data is abnormal by the following method.
One of the methods is that, when the management data collected this time is based on the average value of the past several months of the received management data, for example, the past six months, for each management device or each department, exceeds n times the average value. And less than 1 / m, it is a method of judging that the data is abnormal. In addition, for each management device or department, the growth rate or decrease rate for each item is obtained from the results for the past 3 to 6 months to predict the actual value for this month, and the value of each item of the management data collected this time is the predicted value. It is also possible to employ a method of determining that the data is abnormal when it exceeds n times the value or when it is less than 1 / m. The values of n and m can be arbitrarily determined, but both values of about 2 to 5 are suitable.

When the management data check unit 9 finishes checking the management data, the result is displayed on the display means 6. Based on the displayed check result, the operator
If the display indicates that the management data is valid, the input means 7 is instructed to continue the processing, but if it is abnormal, the recovery operation is performed and then the processing is instructed to continue. To do. At this time, the management data check unit 9 may not accept the command to continue the process when the management data is abnormal and the recovery operation is not performed.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and various modifications can be made.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, the management data accumulated in the management device is cleared after confirming whether the collected management data is valid or not. Even if a trouble occurs, it can be easily dealt with, and it is possible to prevent monthly totalization from being performed with wrong management data.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a process of collecting management data in the configuration of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a recording device management system.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a conventional management data collection process.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Host computer, 2 ... Repeater, 3 ... Management device,
4 ... Recording device, 5 ... Management data confirmation means, 6 ... Display means, 7 ... Input means, 8 ... Management data display processing section, 9 ... Management data check section.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A recording device, a management device attached to the recording device, a relay connected to the management device by a communication line, and a relay connected to the relay by a communication line,
A recording device management system comprising: a host computer that collects management data collected by the management device via the repeater at predetermined intervals and performs a process including charge calculation for each department. A recording device management system comprising a management data confirmation means for confirming whether or not there is an abnormality in the management data transferred from the container. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the management data confirmation unit confirms whether the management data is abnormal or not by displaying the management data transferred from the repeater on a display device. Management system.