JPH11305978A - Network printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly send an accurate information and to rapidly cope with a fault by acquiring and setting the address of a transmitting destination and also various information on an operating environment and giving a transmission request to a mail server for an electronic mail in response to a remote diagnostic request when a normal printing job is impossible. SOLUTION: The functions of a network part 11 include a mail part which manages the transmission/reception of mails. When a printer 4 has no correct operation, a user transmits the operating environment information via the part 11. In such a case, an item 'test print' is shown on an initialization screen and an item 'remote diagnosis' is added to a hierarchy of the same level as the item 'test print'. The item 'remote diagnosis' includes an item 'electronic mail'. When the item 'electronic mail' is selected, the contents of 'system condition' and 'print condition' are sent to a transmitting destination address in an electronic mail. The transmitting destination address is previously stored in a storage part 13 when the printer 4 is forwarded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a network printing apparatus, and more particularly to a remote diagnosis system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A network in which a printing apparatus and a client PC (personal computer) are connected to a network, and coded print data created by the PC is decoded by the printing apparatus and output in the form of characters and graphics. Various printing systems have been proposed. In such a network environment, since the printing apparatus is located at a remote location relative to the client PC, it is necessary to perform a remote diagnosis (remote diagnosis) of the printing apparatus. That is, when printing cannot be performed correctly in the printing apparatus (or when the printing quality is poor), or when a failure occurs in the printing apparatus, it is necessary to perform a remote diagnosis.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H7-111552 proposes a technique for remotely diagnosing a copy quality defect of a system copying machine or another digital copying machine. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-214875 proposes a technique in which, when printing is not performed normally, an inappropriate environment condition is output and notified after the image forming unit returns to a state where an image can be formed. I have.

[0004]

In general, when printing cannot be performed correctly or a failure occurs in a printing apparatus, a summary sheet for confirming the operating environment of the printing apparatus is usually output and the user or service person makes a judgment. I do. If the serviceman cannot determine the cause at the user site,
The system summary sheet is printed as paper, and the fax is sent to the support center to analyze the cause. In this case, there is a case where the received content is difficult to see on the receiving side of the FAX and is confirmed again by telephone (in the case of the FAX,
(The shaded part may be crushed black.) Further, if the user is informed of the situation by facsimile, a burden is imposed on the user, and a time loss occurs in information transmission.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a network printing apparatus which can solve such a situation, can send accurate information faster, and can quickly respond to a failure.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a network printing apparatus connected to a client personal computer, a mail server, or the like via a network has a remote printing function when printing cannot be performed normally. A remote diagnosis processing unit is provided for acquiring and setting a transmission destination address and acquiring and setting various kinds of information of an operating environment in response to a diagnosis request, and issuing an electronic mail transmission request to a mail server.

[0007] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a second aspect.
According to the invention described in claim 1, in the case of a network failure, the presence or absence of a facsimile function is determined, and if there is, a facsimile is automatically switched to transmit various information of the operating environment to a destination. If there is no facsimile function, output is made on paper.

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, a third aspect is provided.
The invention described in the first aspect is characterized in that it is possible to change the transmission destination of various information of the operating environment.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the above object is achieved.
According to the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3, the various information of the operating environment is a system condition and a printing condition.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the user performs an arbitrary operation from the printing apparatus, the information on the current operating environment can be sent to the support center as a mail using the Internet (TCP / IP). Will be possible.
As a result, the usability of the user is improved, and a quick response in the event of a failure becomes possible.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the network is not operating properly, a retry is automatically performed using the next transmitting means. Recently, MFPs are the mainstream, and many devices are equipped with a single copy, printer, network, and fax function. If information on the operating environment cannot be sent over the network, fax transmission is performed automatically. By doing so, the usability of the user is improved, and quick response to a failure is possible.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the destination to which the operating environment information is automatically transmitted can be changed, so that even if the mail address or the fax number of the support center is changed, the printing apparatus up to now can be changed. It becomes possible to respond. Therefore, it will be versatile for the user in the future.

Here, as described in claim 4, the various kinds of information of the operating environment are system conditions and printing conditions.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a network printing system. Multiple client PCs
1. Mail server 2, server 3, printing device (printer)
4 are connected by a network 5 and the networks 5 are connected by a router 6 to construct the Internet as a whole.

[0015] The current network environment is TCP / IP.
Internet environment by protocol is common,
For both the OS of the PC 1 and the network function of the printing device 4,
TCP / IP can be used as standard. In such an environment, there is a situation where an e-mail (e-mail) can be used to send an e-mail to a person having an e-mail address anywhere in the world. The present invention uses this electronic mail to send information on the operating environment of the printing apparatus 4 to an arbitrary destination (a support center or the like).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the printing apparatus. The printing device 4 includes a network unit 11, a remote diagnosis processing unit 1,
2, a storage unit 13, a facsimile function processing unit 14, a printer function processing unit 15, and an output unit 16. Among the functions of the network unit 11, there is a mail unit for managing transmission and reception of mail. When the printing apparatus 4 does not operate properly, the user transmits the operating environment information through the network unit 11. There are various methods of execution, but the method from the panel is used as an example.

In this case, an initial setting button is pressed on the panel to enter an initial setting screen. Normally, items such as "system conditions" and "print conditions" are included in the items of "test printing" therein, and when each item is selected, the content is output as paper.

In the case of the present invention, an item of "remote diagnosis" is provided at the same level as that of "test printing". In the “remote diagnosis”, there is an item “electronic mail”. By selecting this item, the contents of the "system conditions" and the contents of the "print conditions" are transmitted as electronic mail to the transmission destination address (address of the support center). It is assumed that the destination address is stored in the storage unit 13 in advance when the printing apparatus 4 is shipped.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a first processing example of the remote diagnosis processing section. This flow shows a flow from when a request for transmission of operating environment information is made by the printing apparatus 4 to when a mail is sent. In order to make an initial setting for using the electronic mail function, an item of “initial setting” is added to the same level as the electronic mail. Some of the initial settings are set for normal email transmission. "Mail server name": Name of the server that manages the email. "Inquiry interval": Interval (in minutes) for inquiring the server whether there is a received message. ) "Login name": Name for logging in to the server "Password": Password for login name "Mail address": Mail address of self (printer) "Send name": Name of sender (company name + department name + There are setting items such as the name of the person in charge and the telephone number. Select each item and set its contents.

The setting on the mail server side is performed by a server administrator in the same manner as a normal PC. When “remote diagnosis” → “e-mail” is selected (Y in S1),
The request is sent to the mail section. In the mail section, the contents of the system conditions and printing conditions are the contents of the mail. As the transmission destination address, an address set in the storage unit 13 when the printing apparatus main body is shipped is used. When the transmission destination address is set (S2) and the transmission contents are set (S3, S4), a transmission request is issued to the mail server 2 (S5). As a result, information on the user environment can be quickly and accurately transmitted to the support center.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a second processing example of the remote diagnosis processing section. This flow shows an example of processing when transmission of an electronic mail has failed in the above system. In steps S11 to S15, the same processing as steps S1 to S5 in FIG. 3 is performed.

When the printing apparatus 4 is a multifunction machine having a FAX function, information such as "system conditions" and "print conditions" is automatically transmitted as a FAX. Therefore, if the printing apparatus 4 has a FAX function as a function, the FAX number is written in the storage unit 13 at the time of shipment, similarly to the electronic mail address. If an error occurs during the transmission by the electronic mail address, it is first checked whether or not the fax function is provided (S17).

If there is a FAX function (Yes in S17), a transmission request is issued to the FAX application unit. Upon receiving the request, the FAX application unit creates transmission contents from the system conditions and the printing conditions, and
FAX is performed to the AX number (S18, S19).

If there is no FAX function (No in S17), or if an error occurs even in FAX transmission (S20)
N), and this is reported as a “transmission report”. The transmission report is output as paper (S21, S22). Further, the contents of the system conditions and the printing conditions are simultaneously output as paper. The content of the transmission report is Error cause: (Communication error, initial setting value is incorrect, etc.) is output.

The user can confirm the contents, and if the setting is incorrect, correct the contents and try transmission again. If the content of the error is not known, the content output as paper is transmitted by FAX (another machine) as before.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a third processing example of the remote diagnosis processing section. In this embodiment, the electronic mail address and the fax number can be rewritten in each of the above systems. Due to a change in the support center or the like, it is necessary to change the e-mail address and FAX number set at the time of shipment. When a change is required, a password is provided so that only the system administrator can make the change, and the password is protected so that a normal user cannot do it.

An item for “administrator” is provided in the layer of “remote diagnosis”. Items such as “change of e-mail address”, “change of FAX number”, “change of password” and the like exist for the administrator. The administrator is required to enter the correct password because the password request is displayed on the panel before displaying those items.

If the password is correct (correct at S31),
The request item is determined (S32). If the electronic mail address is to be changed, a new electronic mail address is input and set (S33). If the fax number has been changed, a new fax number is input and set (S34). Also,
If the password is to be changed, the password is changed to a new one (S35). With this function, even when the support destination is changed, the currently used printing apparatus system can cope with the same as before and can be used for general purposes.

[0029]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a printing apparatus used by a user does not print normally, information on the operating environment of the printing apparatus (for example, system conditions And printing conditions) to the support center using electronic mail, accurate information can be sent more quickly, and prompt response is possible. As a result, efficient support can be provided for the user.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the transmission of the electronic mail fails, the information on the operating environment of the printing apparatus is sent to the support center using a facsimile, so that accurate information can be sent earlier. And prompt response is possible. As a result, efficient support can be provided for the user.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the electronic mail address of the support center and the FA registered at the time of product shipment are registered.
By making the X number changeable, it is possible to provide the same usability with the same product even if the transmission destination changes in the future. As a result, efficient and reliable support for the user can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a network printing system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a printing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a first processing example of a remote diagnosis processing unit.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a second processing example of the remote diagnosis processing unit.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a third processing example of the remote diagnosis processing unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 client PC 2 mail server 3 server 4 printing device 5 network 6 router 11 network unit 12 remote diagnostic processing unit 13 storage unit 14 FAX function processing unit 15 printer function processing unit 16 output unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. When printing cannot be performed normally in a network printing device connected to a client personal computer, a mail server, or the like via a network, a remote diagnosis request is issued.
A network printing apparatus comprising: a remote diagnosis processing unit that obtains and sets a transmission destination address and obtains and sets various kinds of information on an operating environment, and issues a request to transmit a mail to a mail server. 2. A facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the case of a network failure, the presence or absence of a facsimile function is determined. A network printing device characterized by outputting to paper if there is no function. 3. The network printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission destination of various kinds of information on the operating environment can be changed. 4. The network printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the various information of the operating environment is a system condition and a printing condition.