Information processing apparatus

• US 10,642,450 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2016
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Inventors: Takahashi, Masao
• Primary Examiner(s): Xiao, Di
• Application Number:
  US15/355,669
• Publication Number:
  US 20170147169A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,264 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00029 Diagnosis, i.e. identifying a problem by comparison with a normal state
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00344 with a management, maintenance, service or repair apparatus monitoring H04N1/00002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00411 the display also being used for user input, e.g. touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32101 Display, printing, storage or transmission of additional information, e.g. ID code, date and time or title
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3202 of communication or activity log or report

Abstract

An information processing apparatus includes: a user interface unit including a display unit and an input unit; and a processor outputting, by an operation of a user, a diagnostic/recovery menu in which a processing detail of each of a plurality of diagnostic/recovery processing is associated with importance of the processing detail on the display unit as well as determining a range and a type of information to be acquired for a trouble analysis on the basis of diagnostic/recovery processing selected by the user on the diagnostic/recovery menu and storing the determined information into a storage unit along with the importance.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a user interface unit including a display unit and an input unit; and

a processor

outputting, by an operation of a user, a diagnostic/recovery menu on the display unit, in which a processing detail of each of a plurality of diagnostic/recovery processing is associated with an importance based on a processing time estimate,

determining a time range to acquire a type of history information, and acquiring the type of history information for the time range,

wherein the time range and the type of history information are to be utilized in a trouble analysis,

wherein the time range and the type of history information are based on at least one of;

(i) an importance of the processing detail for a diagnostic/recovery processing, the diagnostic/recovery processing having been selected by the user on the diagnostic/recovery menu, (ii) a degree of trouble experienced by the user, and (iii) a frequency at which the trouble has been experienced, and

wherein one type of history information includes operation history information, and

storing the determined information into a storage unit along with the importance.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor updates trouble count information that counts the occurrence of a trouble and transmits information to an external management system when importance specified by the diagnostic/recovery processing is determined higher than a threshold on the basis of the importance, the diagnostic/recovery processing being selected by the user on the diagnostic/recovery menu.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor determines an integrated value of processing time from the number of times the diagnostic/recovery processing is executed when importance specified by the diagnostic/recovery processing selected by the user on the diagnostic/recovery menu is determined lower than a threshold on the basis of the importance, and, when the integrated value of the processing time is longer than a threshold, updates trouble count information that counts the occurrence of a trouble and transmits information to an external management system.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor compares a level of importance selected by the user this time with importance of previous diagnostic/recovery processing when the importance specified by the diagnostic/recovery processing selected by the user on the diagnostic/recovery menu is determined lower than a threshold on the basis of the importance, and, when the importance is higher than the previous time, updates trouble count information that counts the occurrence of a trouble and transmits information to an external management system.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor compares, after the diagnostic/recovery processing is executed successively, a level of importance selected by the user this time with importance of previous diagnostic/recovery processing on the basis of the importance specified by the diagnostic/recovery processing selected by the user on the diagnostic/recovery menu, and, when the importance is higher than the previous time, increases the range and type of the information to be acquired for the trouble analysis.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor determines an operation of the input unit to execute specific diagnostic/recovery processing upon determining that the diagnostic/recovery menu cannot be output on the display unit due to a problem with the user interface unit.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor allows for selection of diagnostic/recovery processing that executes initialization and restoration after the initialization on the diagnostic/recovery menu.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor determines priority of information that is kept stored on the basis of time of storage and importance of the information stored in the storage unit and used for the trouble analysis, and deletes the information in order from one with the lowest priority.

9. An information processing method comprising:

a control step of outputting, by an operation of a user, a diagnostic/recovery menu on a display unit of a user interface in which a processing detail of each of a plurality of diagnostic/recovery processing is associated with an importance based on a processing time estimate,

determining a time range to acquire a type of history information, and acquiring the type of history information for the time range,

wherein the time range and the type of history information are to be utilized in a trouble analysis,

wherein the time range and the type of history information are based on at least one of;

(i) importance of the processing detail for a diagnostic/recovery processing, the diagnostic/recovery processing having been selected by the user on the diagnostic/recovery menu, iii) a degree of trouble experienced by the user, and (iii) a frequency at which the trouble has been experienced, and

wherein one type of history information includes operation history information, and

storing the determined information into a storage unit along with the importance.

10. The information processing method according to claim 9, wherein

the control step updates trouble count information that counts the occurrence of a trouble and transmits information to an external management system when importance specified by the diagnostic/recovery processing is determined higher than a threshold on the basis of the importance, the diagnostic/recovery processing being selected by the user on the diagnostic/recovery menu.

11. The information processing method according to claim 9, wherein

the control step determines an integrated value of processing time from the number of times the diagnostic/recovery processing is executed when importance specified by the diagnostic/recovery processing selected by the user on the diagnostic/recovery menu is determined lower than a threshold on the basis of the importance, and, when the integrated value of the processing time is longer than a threshold, updates trouble count information that counts the occurrence of a trouble and transmits information to an external management system.

12. The information processing method according to claim 9, wherein

the control step compares a level of importance selected by the user this time with importance of previous diagnostic/recovery processing when the importance specified by the diagnostic/recovery processing selected by the user on the diagnostic/recovery menu is determined lower than a threshold on the basis of the importance, and, when the importance is higher than the previous time, updates trouble count information that counts the occurrence of a trouble and transmits information to an external management system.

13. The information processing method according to claim 9, wherein

the control step compares, after the diagnostic/recovery processing is executed successively, a level of importance selected by the user this time with importance of previous diagnostic/recovery processing on the basis of the importance specified by the diagnostic/recovery processing selected by the user on the diagnostic/recovery menu, and, when the importance is higher than the previous time, increases the range and type of the information to be acquired for the trouble analysis.

14. The information processing method according to claim 9, wherein

the control step determines an operation of an input unit of the user interface unit to execute specific diagnostic/recovery processing upon determining that the diagnostic/recovery menu cannot be output on the display unit due to a problem with the user interface unit.

15. A non-transitory recording medium storing a computer readable program that causes a computer to execute:

a control step of outputting, by an operation of a user, a diagnostic/recovery menu on a display unit of a user interface in which a processing detail of each of a plurality of diagnostic/recovery processing is associated with an importance based on a processing time estimate, determining a time range to acquire a type of history information, and acquiring the type of history information for the range,

wherein the time range and the type of history information are to be utilized in a trouble analysis for a diagnostic/recovery processing,

wherein the time range and the type of history information are based on at least one of;

(i) an importance of the processing detail for a diagnostic/recovery processing, the diagnostic/recovery processing having been selected by the user on the diagnostic/recovery menu, (ii) a degree of trouble experienced by the user, and (iii) a frequency at which the trouble has been experienced, and

wherein one type of history information includes operation history information, and

storing the determined information into a storage unit along with the importance.

16. The non-transitory recording medium storing a computer readable program according to claim 15, wherein

the control step updates trouble count information that counts the occurrence of a trouble and transmits information to an external management system when importance specified by the diagnostic/recovery processing is determined higher than a threshold on the basis of the importance, the diagnostic/recovery processing being selected by the user on the diagnostic/recovery menu.

17. The non-transitory recording medium storing a computer readable program according to claim 15, wherein

the control step determines an integrated value of processing time from the number of times the diagnostic/recovery processing is executed when importance specified by the diagnostic/recovery processing selected by the user on the diagnostic/recovery menu is determined lower than a threshold on the basis of the importance, and, when the integrated value of the processing time is longer than a threshold, updates trouble count information that counts the occurrence of a trouble and transmits information to an external management system.

18. The non-transitory recording medium storing a computer readable program according to claim 15, wherein

the control step compares a level of importance selected by the user this time with importance of previous diagnostic/recovery processing when the importance specified by the diagnostic/recovery processing selected by the user on the diagnostic/recovery menu is determined lower than a threshold on the basis of the importance, and, when the importance is higher than the previous time, updates trouble count information that counts the occurrence of a trouble and transmits information to an external management system.

19. The non-transitory recording medium storing a computer readable program according to claim 15, wherein

the control step compares, after the diagnostic/recovery processing is executed successively, a level of importance selected by the user this time with importance of previous diagnostic/recovery processing on the basis of the importance specified by the diagnostic/recovery processing selected by the user on the diagnostic/recovery menu, and, when the importance is higher than the previous time, increases the range and type of the information to be acquired for the trouble analysis.

20. The non-transitory recording medium storing a computer readable program according to claim 15, wherein

the control step determines an operation of an input unit of the user interface unit to execute specific diagnostic/recovery processing upon determining that the diagnostic/recovery menu cannot be output on the display unit due to a problem with the user interface unit.