KR20160045175A - Office automation equipment lental system and managing method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an office automation (OA) machine rental system with improved security and a management method using same, the system being capable of automatically issuing a notice and a bill depending on a usage of OA machine, and of performing remote management and abnormal situation analysis of the OA machine. The system comprises: a client unit combined with the OA machine, and capable of checking OA machine information including the information selected among the usage, a consumable state and abnormality of the corresponding OA machine and of transmitting the checked information through an online network; a machine management unit managing OA machine use including reception of restrict information such as usage information and abnormality information of the OA machine through the client unit; and a user management unit performing integrated usage check and automatic notice process for the OA machines used by users, and informing a corresponding local manager of abnormality information. Thus, the system provides advantages of reducing a management cost and improving user convenience.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an office automation equipment rental system and a management method using the same,

The present invention relates to an office equipment rental system and a management method using the same, and more particularly, to a system for automatically issuing notices and bills according to the usage amount of office equipment, remote management of office equipment, The present invention relates to an office equipment rental system and a management method using the same.

As the functions of office equipment are becoming complex and sophisticated, the prices are rising, and the number of cases where such office equipment is purchased and used in individual homes or offices is decreasing. Instead, rental systems that pay for rent and usage are used instead Is increasing. In particular, renting of such office equipment is being generalized because it is possible to alleviate the burden of maintenance and maintenance such as regular inspection and maintenance in case of an abnormality. However, management of such office equipment, settlement of expenses, It depends on the passive method of visiting.

For example, in the case of multifunction devices (printers, copiers, scanners, faxes, etc.), the monthly usage is counted and managed by the device itself. However, After checking whether the equipment is abnormal, checking whether the consumables are replaced or not, checking the count information, notifying the user of monthly usage information and invoices according to the usage amount through documents, e-mail, etc., Respectively.

As the use of these rental systems becomes more common, the number of people to be managed by local administrators in the area is increased, and it takes a lot of time and effort to prepare such notification documents, which causes an increase in management costs.

Although it is possible to apply a remote management system such as collecting online information about the usage amount or creating an automatic notification, it is difficult to apply such a network access function to only some of the MFPs, and thus it is difficult to apply them collectively to office devices having no such functions. Because the information is processed through the multifunction device, the user frequently refuses to access the network of the office equipment due to the security problem. On the contrary, since the usage report can be adjusted through simple hacking, security for the management is low. There is a problem that it is difficult to configure such an online management system throughout the rental system of a device.

Also, in case of such a rental system, even when there is a minor error, since the users request the visit of the local manager, the load of equipment management by the local manager is increasing, and since various types of office equipment are managed, It is difficult to carry the parts or carry the consumables, so that it is necessary to grasp the abnormal type through the visit and bring the device back for repairs or repairs, thereby increasing the inconvenience of the administrator and the user.

Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2006-0007603 [System and Method for Remote Control of Rental Equipment Using Wireless Modem]

An object of embodiments of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems is to provide a client unit which is coupled to an office apparatus and can confirm the usage amount or abnormality of the office apparatus and provide the information to the network, A device management unit for receiving limited information such as usage information and abnormality information of office equipment through the corresponding client unit; and a control unit for collecting registration information from the user, collecting usage information from the user, And a user management unit for notifying the corresponding area manager of the abnormality information obtained through the equipment management unit, thereby reducing the management cost and improving the convenience of the user, and an office equipment rental system Used To provide a Li method.

Another object of the embodiments of the present invention is to separate the management of office equipment and the management of users using the office equipment so as to improve the management convenience for the installation equipment or office equipment frequently changed by users, The user can not access user information using important information including personal information through the device management unit, thereby improving the security of the office equipment rental system And a management method using the same.

It is another object of the embodiments of the present invention to classify a plurality of types of office equipment error information into error categories that are prepared in advance, collect necessary contents from the history information according to a diagnostic scenario prepared according to the error classification, By collecting the information through the client unit configured in the office equipment, diagnosing the abnormality through the collected information, and providing the collected contents and diagnosis contents to the local manager terminal, the local manager can grasp the actual abnormal information and take immediate measures The present invention provides an office equipment rental system and a management method using the same, which are provided to a user or made ready for proper management.

Another object of the embodiments of the present invention is to generate a notification information to be provided to a user by collecting information on an office equipment after authenticating a connection to a client unit configured in an office equipment using a verification code provided to a user management unit by a user And notifies an unauthorized client unit of access by encrypting and notifying the user through an authentication code set by the user, thereby improving the security of contents notified to the user, and a management method using the same will be.

In order to achieve the above object, an office equipment rental system according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured to be connected to an office equipment, and includes an office equipment including a usage amount of the office equipment, a consumable condition of the equipment, A client unit capable of verifying device information and capable of transmitting confirmed information on-line; A device management unit for accessing the client unit to request and receive information on the office equipment and generate status information including usage information for the corresponding office equipment, replacement of consumables, and abnormality; A user terminal for collecting user information, contracted office equipment, installation place, and information related to a notice, and generates a notice to be provided to the user by requesting usage information corresponding to the office equipment to the device management unit, And a user management unit for providing a notification message including status information to the local administrator terminal when the status information is received, wherein the user management unit prevents the device management unit from providing user related information.

As an example, when the device management unit receives the abnormality information of the device from the client unit, the abnormality information of the plurality of types of the business equipment is classified into the standardized error group, Collecting history information, requesting a client to confirm a series of information, collecting the result, and generating a history and collection result as state information to be provided to the local administrator terminal, and providing the history information to the user management unit .

For example, the diagnosis unit may generate diagnosis results and correspondence information on the abnormality generated by using the history and the collection result, and provide the diagnostic result and the correspondence information to the user management unit, and the user management unit may transmit the diagnosis result and the corresponding information to the local administrator terminal Or a user terminal.

As an example, the client unit collects and provides the office equipment information requested by the device management unit from the connected office equipment as an SNMP client using SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), and the device management unit provides the office equipment information And an SNMP manager unit for collecting the result of the request. When an error of the office equipment occurs, the client unit transmits the office equipment information including the abnormality information to the basic communication port To the SNMP manager unit of the device management unit.

For example, the client unit receives the authentication code information from the user and internally holds the authentication code information. The user management unit receives the authentication code information from the user terminal and provides the authentication code information to the device management unit as security enhancement information of the corresponding office device. The client unit may attempt to connect after converting the connection information using the security enhancement information, and the client unit may authenticate the access information of the device management unit through the authentication code stored internally. Also, the user management unit may encrypt and provide a notice to be provided to the user terminal through an authentication code.

As an example, the client unit and the device management unit access through the SNMP protocol, and when the community string for identifying the device management unit matches the community string, the client unit reconfirms the access message through the authentication code to determine whether the device is the authenticated device management unit . Here, the device management unit finally confirms the information provided by the corresponding client unit from the history, and provides the encrypted content of the promised part of the information using the corresponding authentication code in the access information, and the client unit provides the access information It can be decrypted with the authentication code to check whether it matches a part of the information previously sent by the user.

A management method using an office equipment rental system according to another embodiment of the present invention is a management method using an office equipment rental system according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which a device management unit receives, from a client unit coupled to an office equipment, Receiving device information; A step in which the device management unit generates status information including usage information for the corresponding office equipment and replacement or abnormality of the consumable item using the office equipment information received from the client unit and manages the status information using the history; The device management unit transmitting the generated status information to the user management unit; The user management unit collecting user information, contracted office equipment, installation place, and notice related information from the user terminal; A step in which the user management unit requests the usage information corresponding to the office equipment to the device management unit and generates a notification to be provided to the user; When the user management unit receives the status information of the office device from the device management unit, providing a notification message including status information to the local administrator terminal; When the device management unit receives the abnormality information of the device from the client unit, the abnormality information of the plurality of types of business equipment is classified into the standardized error group, and the history information of the corresponding office equipment Requesting a client to confirm a series of information, collecting the result, and generating the history and the collection result as state information to be provided to the local administrator terminal, and providing the collected information to the user management unit.

The office equipment rental system and the management method using the same according to the embodiment of the present invention include a client unit coupled to an office equipment and a use of office equipment including reception of limited information such as usage information and abnormality information of the office equipment through the client unit A user management section that performs integrated usage management and automatic notification processing for the management device management unit and the office equipment used by the user and informs the corresponding area manager of the abnormality information to reduce the management cost and improve the user's convenience It is effective.

The office equipment rental system and the management method using the same according to the embodiment of the present invention separate the management of the office equipment and the management of the user using the office equipment by making it impossible to access the user information through the equipment management unit, It is possible to reduce anxiety of a user who has a sense of refusal to connect to the network of office equipment.

In the office equipment rental system and the management method using the same according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the equipment management unit receives the abnormality occurrence information, the result of checking the status of the office equipment using the abnormality check scenario prepared in advance according to the office equipment, Provide to the terminal so that the local administrator can more clearly grasp the abnormal status of the office equipment. The inspection scenario can be updated according to the request of the local manager, so that it is practically It is possible to easily check and respond to information that needs to be confirmed.

The office equipment rental system and the management method using the same according to the embodiment of the present invention are characterized in that the user provides the authentication code to the device management unit through the user management unit and accesses the client using the two- The authentication function of the SNMP protocol which lacks the verification function for the device management unit is reinforced, and the contents of the notification provided to the user can be encrypted by using the corresponding authentication code, thereby enhancing the security.

1 is a configuration diagram of an office equipment rental system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a configuration diagram of a user management unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a configuration diagram of a client unit and a device management unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an operation process using an office equipment rental system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a configuration diagram of a diagnosis unit of a device management unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
6 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an anomaly diagnosis process of an office equipment rental system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a conceptual diagram of a security enhanced configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention;

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

It is noted that the technical terms used in the present invention are used only to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, the technical terms used in the present invention should be construed in a sense generally understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs, unless otherwise defined in the present invention, Should not be construed to mean, or be interpreted in an excessively reduced sense. In addition, when a technical term used in the present invention is an erroneous technical term that does not accurately express the concept of the present invention, it should be understood that technical terms can be understood by those skilled in the art. In addition, the general terms used in the present invention should be interpreted according to a predefined or prior context, and should not be construed as being excessively reduced.

Furthermore, the singular expressions used in the present invention include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present invention, terms such as "comprising" or "comprising" and the like should not be construed as encompassing various elements or stages of the invention, Or may further include additional components or steps.

Furthermore, terms including ordinals such as first, second, etc. used in the present invention can be used to describe elements, but the elements should not be limited by terms. Terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like or similar elements throughout the several views, and redundant description thereof will be omitted.

In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail. It is to be noted that the accompanying drawings are only for the purpose of facilitating understanding of the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an office equipment rental system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the office equipment 10 rented to a user according to a contract, and the user terminal of a user renting the office equipment An office equipment rental system 100 managed by a management unit divided into the office equipment 10 and the user terminal 20 and a local administrator terminal 150 managing the area where the office equipment is installed .

Here, the office-equipment rental system 100 may be physically configured in one server or in a plurality of physically separated servers as needed, but these various physical configurations may be embodied in the present invention Can be regarded as an example.

The illustrated office equipment rental system 100 includes a user management unit 110 that manages contract information and notice information for a user in cooperation with the user terminal 20 and a device management unit 110 that remotely accesses and manages the office equipment 10. [ (120), and a database (130) in which they can use the divided areas. It should be noted that the database 130 may be separately configured for the user management unit 110 and the device management unit 120, but the illustrated configuration is merely shown as a logical example.

The user management unit 110 receives user information (contract address, contract information, contact information, business registration number, billing account, etc.), contracted office equipment, installation place and information related to the notification (E. G., A notice of usage, an invoice, a tax invoice), etc.), and transmits the collected information to the device management unit 120 for use by a user-specific office equipment Upon receipt of the status information of the office equipment from the equipment management unit 120, a notification message including the status information (office equipment information, User information, replacement of consumables, abnormal information, etc.). It is preferable that the user management unit 110 is separated from the device management unit 120. For this purpose, it is preferable that the user management unit 110 excludes a function of providing the user management information to the device management unit 120. [ That is, the device management unit 120 can provide the information requested by the user management unit 110 and provide the error occurrence information. However, the device management unit 120 can not request user related information to the user management unit 110, Instead of providing the temporary information, the path for acquiring the user information can be fundamentally blocked through the device management unit 120 where the connection information can be exposed, thereby protecting the user's personal information, Thereby reducing the user's security concerns about connecting to the network.

In the illustrated example, the office equipment 1 11 is contracted by a user who uses the user terminal 1 21 and the office equipment 2 12 is a contract by a user who uses the user terminal 2 22, The management unit 120 independently manages only the office equipment 11 and 12 and the user management unit 110 can manage the relationship between the office equipment 11 and 12 and the user terminals 21 and 22. [ Through this separate configuration, the device management unit can be prevented from accessing the user information including the protection object information.

On the other hand, the device management unit 120 requests and receives office equipment information including selected usage amount of the office equipment, state of the consumables of the equipment, and abnormality of the equipment, and stores usage information for the office equipment, And generates and manages the state information. In addition, if the status information is provided to the user management unit 110 upon request, or if there is no request according to the content of the status information (when the supply of the consumable is necessary or the asynchronous information needs to be provided, for example) Management unit 110 and the user management unit 110 may provide a notification message including the corresponding status information to the local administrator terminal 150. [

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a user management unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the user management unit 110 collects various information from contracted users, that is, (111), the matching information with the identifier of the office equipment actually assigned to the user in accordance with the contract information provided by the member information collection unit (111), and the status information (usage information, A device information matching management unit 112 for collecting information from a device management unit 120, a user information management unit 120, a user information management unit 120, A schedule management unit 113 for managing a schedule for collecting information and a status management unit 113 for managing status information collected by the device information matching management unit 112 according to a schedule of the schedule management unit 113. [ A notification management unit 114 for providing notification messages to the user terminal based on the usage information and providing a notification message including the status information to the user terminal when the consumable needs to be replaced or an error occurs according to the device status information ).

Accordingly, the user management unit 110 collects and notifies the device status information through the device management unit 110, and does not provide the device management unit 110 with the user related information.

On the other hand, the device management unit 110 requests and receives office equipment information for a specific office equipment, generates status information about the office equipment, and manages the status information by history.

To this end, the device management unit 110 performs communication with a client unit included in various office equipment 10, which will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

3 is a configuration diagram of a client unit and a device management unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, a client unit 10a is coupled to a client unit 10, It is possible to confirm the office equipment information including the usage amount of the equipment 10, the consumable status of the equipment, and the abnormality of the equipment, and transmits the confirmed information to the equipment management unit 120 online.

In the case of a specific office equipment, in particular, a multifunction apparatus that provides network connection and management functions, even if there is no such client unit, it may be directly connected to the server to enable remote management of usage or errors. However, It is difficult to use the built-in function of a specific office equipment which can access the contents of the document management unit configured in the multifunction apparatus by the network management function. In particular, it is difficult to use a configuration dependent on a particular maker or device since remote management must be performed on office equipment that does not support the network connection configuration.

Therefore, the client unit 10a configured to be insensitive to the specificity of the type of office equipment, the manufacturer, the version, etc. has a configuration that internally handles the interface with the office equipment, and the apparatus information of the office equipment is requested And to provide only the limited information related to the rental service to the device management unit 120. [0033] FIG.

In the illustrated example, the client unit 10a is configured to include a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) client function, and the device management unit 120 accesses the client unit 10a to request the device information of the required office equipment Related information about an identifier, kind, product information, period of use, and consumables related to individual office equipment, and the user management unit 110 manages the information related to the equipment, An information management unit 122 for collecting information on the occurrence of abnormality through the SNMP manager unit 121 and providing the collected information as status information, and information on abnormality among information received through the SNMP manager unit 121, A diagnosis unit 123 for storing the device status information of the diagnostic unit 123 and the information managed by the information management unit 122 in the status information, And a device information management unit 124 to manage. The configuration of each functional unit is merely a logical division, and may be integrated or subdivided according to need, and some functions may be omitted. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific configuration of the device management unit 120.

This configuration enables individual management of each office equipment, history management of consumables, history management of errors, and the like.

In addition to this configuration, an additional second communication means may be further provided in the client unit 10a in case of a problem in the network environment or a problem in the SNMP communication. For example, when an SNMP device or a communication network abnormality occurs at a time when the usage amount is required, the device-related information of the limited office device can be provided to the device management unit 120 or the local administrator terminal through the second communication means. The communication means may be capable of transmitting one of an e-mail (SMTP), a short message (SMS) and a multimedia message (MMS) and may use a separate communication network (mobile communication network, WiBro network, Wi- It may be possible to respond to an error in the SNMP communication unit of the network or the client unit. Of course, in order to receive the information, a corresponding configuration (SMTP server, SMS / MMS receiving and analyzing unit, etc.) for receiving information provided to the second communication means may be added to the device management unit 120, When provided to the administrator terminal, an interface through which the local administrator terminal can provide it to the device management unit 120 may be further added to the device management unit 120. [

4 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an operation procedure using an office equipment rental system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the office client 10 includes an office client 10 and an SNMP client 10a, The user terminal 20 contracting the device, and the device management unit 120 and the user management unit 110 that manage the devices.

First, when a contract is established and the office equipment 10 and the SNMP client unit 10a are installed in a contract position, basic equipment setting is performed through the network connection with the device management unit 120. [ This device setting includes installation information and network setting information as to which office equipment having an identifier is connected through which SNMP client unit 10a.

The user then accesses the user management unit 110 through the user terminal 20 and performs user registration to provide the member information. The user management unit 110 collects the member information about the user and collects information about which user is assigned to which office equipment, what notice is given to which user, and when.

Upon completion of the installation of the contracted office equipment, the device setting, and the user registration, the device management unit 120 stores the selected information in the SNMP client unit 10a, such as the usage amount, the consumable status of the device, As management information.

Accordingly, the SNMP client unit 10a collects the corresponding office equipment information in the office equipment 10 and provides it to the equipment management unit 120 as a response to the inquiry.

The device management unit 120 generates status information including the usage amount and provides the status information to the user management unit 110. [

The user management unit 110 generates a notification using the usage information included in the corresponding status information, and provides the notification to the user terminal 20. The notice may be a usage report, an invoice, a bill, or the like.

In the illustrated example, the device management unit 120 independently inquires management information about the usage amount. However, this is an example of a method of providing the periodic information collection contents to the user management unit 110. When the user management unit 110 receives the usage information A method of requesting the device management unit 120 to provide such status information may be used.

On the other hand, when an error occurs in the office equipment 10, the SNMP client unit 10a receives the error information and provides a report on the error to the device management unit 120 as office equipment information. That is, even if the device management unit 120 does not inquire, the SNMP client unit 10a first reports an error occurrence to the device management unit 120, and the device management unit 120 notifies the user management unit 110). The user management unit 110 notifies this to the local administrator terminal, and can also notify the user terminal 20 if necessary.

Since the error content (for example, an error code) may be of a type that can be identified only through the corresponding manual according to the type, manufacturer, version, etc. of the office equipment to be used, the device management unit 120 includes the SNMP client unit 10a, The error information received from the plurality of types of office equipments is standardized into error groups and classified into specific error groups in accordance with the divided information, and description information corresponding to the classified error groups is transmitted to the user management unit 110 Can be provided as status information.

In the illustrated configuration, the client unit 10a and the device management unit 120 can communicate using SNMP. The SNMP is used to grasp the status of the network communication equipment originally. Here, the status of the office equipment Based on the information exchange of the inquiry / response method for providing a response to the contents inquired by the SNMP manager unit 121 configured in the device management unit 120. [ In the case of such a query / response, information is exchanged through the basic communication port (e.g., port 161).

On the other hand, in normal SNMP, the SNMP client can use a trap message that urgently notifies the SNMP manager when an SNMP client function such as power failure or communication interruption occurs. In this case, (E.g., port 162).

However, the SNMP client unit 10a according to the embodiment of the present invention notifies the device management unit 120 of the trap information as the trap message, in addition to the trap message about the abnormality of the SNMP client unit 10a, even when receiving the error information of the connected office device 10a to provide.

As described above, the error information provided in this way can be converted to a level that explains the type of the error, and the local manager or user can identify the type of error and respond to the error. However, It is not enough for local administrators to effectively respond to anomalies or errors in office equipment.

For example, even if the multifunction device receives error information indicating that the remaining amount of toner is insufficient to replace the consumable item, it is not possible to clearly grasp whether it is necessary to replace consumables due to an increase in actual usage amount or the abnormality of the sensor that manages the consumable condition. Accordingly, the local manager having received the notification message has the toner to be replaced, and visits the installation location of the office equipment. However, as a result, it is determined that the amount of the toner to be replaced is small because the weight of the toner, the counter of the toner cartridge, Etc. In this case, it can be guessed that the sensor is abnormal. If the sensor to be replaced is not carried, it is necessary to revisit the sensor.

Therefore, it is desirable for a local manager to set up confirmation items for office equipment against specific errors and integrate the information to diagnose the actual abnormality in advance.

5 is a block diagram of a diagnostic unit of the device management unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. When the diagnostic unit 123 receives the error information of the device from the client unit, (Using the error information of the plurality of office equipments and the table which matches the error group), collects the history information of the corresponding office equipment using the diagnostic scenario pre-configured according to the error group, Requests a series of information confirmation to the client terminal, collects the results, and generates status information to be provided to the local administrator terminal, and provides the generated history and the collected results or the diagnosis results to the user manager. To this end, a diagnosis management module 123a integrally providing the functions as described above, a device identification module 123a for identifying the device that receives the abnormal information in cooperation with the diagnosis management module 123a, Module 123b and a list of information of the office equipment to be collected and information to be confirmed through the client unit according to the diagnostic scenario corresponding to the error group information provided by the diagnostic management module 123a to the diagnosis management module 123a A diagnostic analysis module 123c for diagnosing an abnormal situation through the collected history and collected information confirmed through the client and providing the diagnosis result to the diagnosis management module 123a, The type and the client unit are provided with diagnostic scenarios in which information to be confirmed is defined, And a query management module 123d for updating the query management module 123d.

The history information, the collection result, or the diagnosis result collected by the diagnosis unit 123 is provided to the user management unit as status information, and the user management unit provides the information to the local administrator terminal as a notification message. The collected information or the diagnosis result may be transmitted to the user terminal as needed.

The error information of the device described above may be an error code provided by the device, and the device identification module 123b may provide error group information using an error group information table corresponding to the error code of the device. For example, a toner shortage error code provided by a multifunctional apparatus of a manufacturer A, a toner shortage error code provided by a copying machine of a manufacturer B, or a toner shortage error code provided by a printer of a manufacturer C may all be classified into a toner shortage error group. However, it is needless to say that the error group can be set differently when the information to be verified, the history, and the type of the device are different.

With respect to the toner shortage error code, the diagnostic analysis module 123c acquires the diagnostic scenario corresponding to the toner shortage error code from the query management module 123d, and proceeds to collect the information according to the scenario through the diagnostic management module 123a can do. That is, rather than merely analyzing such anomaly through the current state or the type of the apparatus, it collects the history information that the local manager checks in case of occurrence of the abnormality in practice, collects information on the states of the apparatuses . For example, in the case of a toner shortage, it may actually be a shortage of the toner amount, but there may be various related abnormalities such as a toner cartridge failure and an error of the toner amount measuring sensor. Therefore, Printing length) information from the history information managed by the information management unit or the device information management unit. Further, related information such as the current count information, the toner cartridge type information, the cartridge error information, and the sensor-related self-diagnosis information can be requested and collected from the office equipment. The information gathered through these histories and confirms whether the actual amount of toner has been used insufficiently, whether there is a toner shortage even when the amount of usage is low, whether the toner cartridge is a reproduction cartridge, an error relating to the cartridge, You can check or guess. In addition, the diagnosis result may be calculated by applying the criteria for such estimation or judgment. Of course, these scenarios and methods of judgment may vary depending on the error code.

As a result, in case of such an error, not only the content according to the simple error code is provided to the local administrator but all the contents to be checked according to the occurrence of the error are all examined and provided as a notification message. It is possible to confirm the same information as that which has been reviewed, so that it is possible to predict the cause of the specific error and take measures accordingly. For example, if it is possible by a simple measure, the user can be contacted to guide a simple action method to respond to an error, and if repair or replacement of a part / consumable item is required, the user can prepare it in advance and respond to an error through one visit.

FIG. 6 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an abnormality diagnosis process of the office equipment rental system according to the embodiment of the present invention. When an error occurs in the office equipment 10 as shown in FIG. 6, the SNMP client unit 10a recognizes the error, And reports the error to the device management unit 120 via the network.

The device management unit 120 identifies an error occurrence according to the error report, identifies an error group suitable for the error, identifies a diagnostic scenario corresponding to the error group, and collects necessary history information. In order to check other information related to the occurrence of abnormality through the office equipment 10, the inquiry contents are provided to the SNMP client unit 10a as an error information inquiry, and the SNMP client unit 10a provides the inquiry contents to the office equipment 10 ), And collecting the response information provided by the plurality of users according to the number of the query.

When the response to the query content according to the scenario is collected, the diagnostic information is calculated by using the collected information on the history information and the query contents, and the status information including the calculated diagnosis result as the content of the error To the user management unit 110.

The user management unit 110 provides the diagnosis result or collected history or response information included in the status information to the local administrator terminal as a notification message, and notifies the user terminal if necessary.

As described above, in the office equipment rental system according to the embodiment of the present invention, the security of the user information is improved by separating the device management unit and the user management unit, and the comprehensive information So as to reduce the management cost and reduce the inconvenience of the user.

In addition to this configuration, the embodiment of the present invention also includes contents for solving the lack of manager identification security, which is a problem inherent in SNMP.

In the currently used SNMP versions 1 and 2, the SNMP client identifies the SNMP manager connected thereto through a community string included in the connection information. If the community string is known through a simple hack, It is possible to view or modify the configuration file of the SNMP client by accessing it as if it is an SNMP manager and change the contents of the information provided by the SNMP client through administrator authority. This makes it possible to steal security information such as the document contents and delivery information of the connected office equipment or to modify the counter information of the office equipment.

Therefore, in addition to this community string, it further provides means for identifying and authenticating an actual SNMP manager, i.e., a device manager.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of a security enhanced configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the SNMP client unit 10a receives authentication code information from a user and internally holds the authentication code information. The user management unit 110 receives the authentication code information from the user terminal 20 and transmits the authentication code to the security enhancing unit 125 of the device management unit 120 as security enhancing information for authentication of the corresponding office equipment (2).

When the SNMP manager unit 121 accesses the client unit configured in the office equipment linked to the authentication code, the security enhancing unit 125 of the device management unit 120 converts the access information using the security enhancement information (authentication code) And supplies the converted information to the SNMP manager unit 121. The SNMP manager unit 121 attempts to access the SNMP client unit 10a with the converted information and the connection information including the manager information (community string) (3).

 When the manager information (community string) is authenticated, the SNMP client unit 10a confirms the information converted (encrypted) through the authentication code included in the access information through an internally stored authentication code, The access information is authenticated and a response based on the content of the inquiry is provided only when the authentication is successful (4).

The information (for example, usage information) according to the response thus provided is encrypted with the authentication code through the security enforcement unit and provided to the user management unit 110 (step 5). The user management unit 110 decrypts the encrypted response content And then encrypts the notification with the authentication code and provides it to the user terminal 20 (6).

Here, encryption and decryption in the process of providing the usage amount information to the user management unit 110 in the device management unit 120 may be omitted, and the encrypted notification may be decrypted by the user who receives the encrypted notification, Can be provided. Of course, encryption and decryption of such a notice may also be omitted.

On the other hand, the connection information converted through the authentication code may be limited not only to a method of confirming whether information obtained through decoding is predetermined information, but also to be aware of continuous connection status information using history.

For example, the security enhancer 125 finally verifies the information provided by the corresponding client from the history, encrypts an appointed part of the information using the authentication code, and provides the encrypted information in the access information, The client may decrypt the access information with the stored authentication code and confirm that it is consistent with a part of the information previously sent by the client so as to confirm whether or not the client is an authenticated manager who has been communicating continuously.

The SNMP client unit 10a may be directly connected to the SNMP client unit 10a and may be a kind of two-channel system using the authentication code provided to the user management unit 110 through the user terminal 20, It is possible to reduce the security risk of identifying SNMP manager inherent in SNMP through the authentication method and to utilize the history information in authentication to further enhance security, thereby reducing the anxiety of the user by connecting the office equipment to the network .

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. .

10: Office equipment 10a: SNMP client unit
20: user terminal 100: office equipment rental system
110: user management unit 111: member information collection unit
112: device information matching management unit 113:
114: notification management unit 120:
121: SNMP manager section 122: Information management section
123: Diagnosis unit 124: Device information management unit
125: security enhancer 150: local administrator terminal

Claims (2)

A client unit coupled to the office equipment and capable of confirming office equipment information including information on a usage amount of the office equipment, a consumable status of the equipment, and an abnormality of the equipment, and transmitting the confirmed information online;
A device management unit for accessing the client unit and requesting and receiving information on the office equipment to generate status information including usage information for the corresponding office equipment, replacement of the consumables or abnormality, and management of history information;
The user terminal collects user information, contracted office equipment, installation place, and information related to the notification, generates usage information corresponding to the office equipment and generates a notification to be provided to the user, And a user management unit for providing a notification message including status information to the local administrator terminal upon receiving the status information of the office administrator terminal.
Comprising the steps of: receiving a piece of office equipment information including a usage amount of the office equipment, a consumable status of the equipment, and an abnormality of the equipment from the client unit coupled to the office equipment;
Generating status information including usage information for a corresponding office device, replacement of a consumable item, and abnormality by using the office device information received from the client unit and managing the status information by history;
The device management unit transmitting the generated status information to the user management unit;
The user management unit collecting user information, contracted office equipment, installation place, and notice related information from the user terminal;
The user management unit requests the usage management information corresponding to the office device to the device management unit to generate a notification to be provided to the user;
And when the user management unit receives the status information of the office equipment from the equipment management unit, providing a notification message including status information to the area manager terminal.

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