Recovery of interrupted communication for remote management of devices

• US 20040158632A1
• Filed: 01/09/2004
• Published: 08/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Sasaki, Katuhiko
• Application Number:
  US10/754,234
• Publication Number:
  US 20040158632A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2829 involving user profiles according to which the execution of a home appliance functionality is automatically triggered
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/065 related to network devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity

Abstract

The devices including image forming devices are remotely managed by a management apparatus through communication. The communication is often interrupted during the remote management of the devices. One exemplary cause for the interrupted communication is an intentional temporary power supply deactivation of the managed devices by the user in the attempt to reset the devices in trouble or malfunction. The interrupted communication is promptly and accurately recovered subsequent to the activation of the power supply based upon a predetermined monitoring device such as a communication in-progress flag.

Claims

1. A method of communicating, comprising the steps of:

detecting one of a predetermined set of events at a first device;

setting a communication in-progress flag to a in-progress status prior to reporting to a second device;

transmitting a report on the detected event from the first device to the second device; and

determining whether or not said transmitting step has been interrupted based upon the communication in-progress flag.

2. The method of communicating according to claim 1 further comprising additional steps of:

receiving a transmission result on reception of the report at the second device;

determining whether or not the transmission is successful based upon the transmission result to generate a successful transmission result in case that the report has been successfully received at the second device; and

resetting the communication in-progress flag to a not-in-progress status in case of the successful transmission result.

3. The method of communicating according to claim 1 further comprising additional steps of:

receiving a transmission result on reception of the report at the second device;

determining whether or not the transmission is failed based upon the transmission result to generate a failed transmission result in case that the report has not been successfully received at the second device; and

repeating said transmitting step of transmitting the report in case of the failed transmission result until a predetermined number of retrials has reached.

4. The method of communicating according to claim 3 wherein the failed transmission result is sent to the first device after the repeated retrials have ended.

5. The method of communicating according to claim 4 wherein an e-mail transmission complete flag is set to true after the failed transmission result is sent, the e-mail transmission complete flag being indicative of prohibiting further transmission of the failed transmission result to the first device.

6. The method of communicating according to claim 5 wherein after the e-mail transmission complete flag has been set to true, in case of detecting one of the predetermined set of the events, the e-mail transmission complete flag being set to untrue to indicate that further transmission of the failed transmission result to the first device is allowed again.

7. The method of communicating according to claim 5 further comprising the additional steps of:

starting a timer to measure a predetermined amount of time after the predetermined number of the retrials has reached; and

repeating said transmitting step of transmitting the report to the second device in case of the failed transmission result after the predetermined amount of time has elapsed.

8. The method of communicating according to claim 5 further comprising the additional steps of:

checking the communication in-progress flag upon activating a main power supply at the first device;

determining that the report has not been successfully received at the second device if the communication in-progress flag has been set to the in-progress status; and

repeating said transmitting step of transmitting the report to the second device.

9. The method of communicating according to claim 1 further comprising additional steps of:

identifying a type of the detected event at the first device;

adding the identified type to the report to the second device; and

setting the in-progress status in a corresponding one of the communication in-progress flags indicative of the identified type.

10. The method of communicating according to claim 9 further comprising additional steps of:

receiving a transmission result on reception of the report at the second device;

determining whether or not the transmission is successful based upon the transmission result to generate a successful transmission result in case that the report has been successfully received at the second device; and

resetting the not in-progress status the corresponding one of the communication in-progress flag indicative of the identified type.

11. The method of communicating according to claim 9 further comprising additional steps of:

receiving a transmission result on reception of the report at the second device;

determining whether or not the transmission is failed based upon the transmission result to generate a failed transmission result in case that the report has not been successfully received at the second device; and

repeating said transmitting step of transmitting the report in case of the failed transmission result until a predetermined number of retrials has reached.

12. The method of communicating according to claim 11 wherein the failed transmission result to the second device is sent after the repeated retrials have ended.

13. The method of communicating according to claim 12 wherein an e-mail transmission complete flag is set to true after the failed transmission result is sent, the e-mail transmission complete flag being indicative of prohibiting further transmission of the failed transmission result to the second device.

14. The method of communicating according to claim 13 wherein after the e-mail transmission complete flag has been set to true, in case of detecting one of the predetermined set of the events, the e-mail transmission complete flag being set to untrue to indicate that further transmission of the failed transmission result to the second device is allowed again.

15. The method of communicating according to claim 1 wherein the report is converted into a structured language before said transmitting step.

16. The method of communicating according to claim 1 wherein said transmitting step is interrupted by a main power supply deactivation of the first device.

17. The method of communicating according to claim 1 wherein the first device is an image forming device while the second device is a management device.

18. A communication device, comprising:

an event detecting unit for detecting one of a predetermined set of events at a first device;

a communication in-progress flag setting unit for setting a communication in-progress flag to a in-progress status prior to transmitting to a second device, the communication in-progress flag indicative of the transmission being in an in-progress status in case of interruption during the transmission; and

an event information transmission unit connected to said event detection unit for transmitting a report on the detected event from the first device to the second device.

19. The communication device according to claim 18 further comprising:

a transmission result determination unit for receiving a transmission result on reception of the report at the second device and determining whether or not a transmission is successful based upon the transmission result to generate a successful transmission result in case that the report has been successfully received at the second device; and

a communication in-progress flag resetting unit connected to said transmission result determination unit for resetting the communication in-progress flag to a not-in-progress status in case of the successful transmission result.

20. The communication device according to claim 19 wherein said transmission result determination unit receives the transmission result on reception of the report at the second device and determines whether or not the transmission is failed based upon the transmission result to generate a failed transmission result in case that the report has not been successfully received at the second device, said event information transmission unit repeating to transmit the report in case of the failed transmission result until a predetermined number of retrials has reached.

21. The communication device according to claim 20 further comprising a transmission failure reporting unit connected to said transmission result determination unit for transmitting the failed transmission result to the first device after the repeated retrials have ended.

22. The communication device according to claim 21 further comprising an e-mail transmission complete flag setting unit connected to said transmission failure reporting unit for setting an e-mail transmission complete flag to true after the failed transmission result is sent, the e-mail transmission complete flag being indicative of prohibiting further transmission of the failed transmission result to the first device.

23. The communication device according to claim 22 wherein after the e-mail transmission complete flag has been set to true, in case that said event detecting unit detects one of the predetermined set of the events, claim 23 further comprising an e-mail transmission complete flag resetting unit for resetting the e-mail transmission complete flag to untrue to indicate that further transmission of the failed transmission result to the first device is allowed again.

24. The communication device according to claim 22 further comprising a timer connected to said transmission failure reporting unit for starting to measure a predetermined amount of time after the predetermined number of the retrials has reached, said event information transmission unit repeating to transmit the report to the second device in case of the failed transmission result after the predetermined amount of time has elapsed.

25. The communication device according to claim 22 wherein said transmission result determination unit checking the communication in-progress flag upon activating a main power supply at the first device and determining whether or not the report has not been successfully received at the second device if the communication in-progress flag has been set to the in-progress status, said event information transmission unit repeating to transmit the report to the second device.

26. The communication device according to claim 18 further comprising an event identifying unit connected to said event detecting unit and said event information transmission unit for identifying a type of the detected event at the first device, said event information transmission unit adding the identified type to the report to the second device, said communication in-progress flag setting unit setting the in-progress status in a corresponding one of the communication in-progress flag indicative of the identified type.

27. The communication device according to claim 26 further comprising a transmission result determination unit receiving a transmission result on reception of the report at the second device and determining whether or not the transmission is successful based upon the transmission result to generate a successful transmission result in case that the report has been successfully received at the second device, claim 26 further comprising a communication in-progress flag resetting unit resetting the not in-progress status in the corresponding one of the communication in-progress flags indicative of the identified type.

28. The communication device according to claim 27 wherein said transmission result determination unit receives the transmission result on reception of the report at the second device and determines whether or not the transmission is failed based upon the transmission result to generate a failed transmission result in case that the report has not been successfully received at the second device, said event information transmission unit repeating to transmit the report in case of the failed transmission result until a predetermined number of retrials has reached.

29. The communication device according to claim 28 further comprising a transmission failure reporting unit connected to said transmission result determination unit for transmitting the failed transmission result to the second device after the repeated retrials have ended.

30. The communication device according to claim 29 further comprising an e-mail transmission complete flag setting unit connected to said transmission failure reporting unit for setting an e-mail transmission complete flag to true after the failed transmission result is sent, the e-mail transmission complete flag being indicative of prohibiting further transmission of the failed transmission result to the second device.

31. The communication device according to claim 30 wherein after the e-mail transmission complete flag has been set to true, in case that said detecting unit detects one of the predetermined set of the events, claim 30 further comprising an e-mail transmission complete flag resetting unit for resetting the e-mail transmission complete flag to untrue to indicate that further transmission of the failed transmission result to the second device is allowed again.

32. The communication device according to claim 18 wherein the report is converted into a structured language before said transmitting step.

33. The communication device according to claim 18 wherein said event information transmission unit is interrupted by a main power supply deactivation of the first device.

34. The communication device according to claim 18 wherein the first device is an image forming device while the second device is a management device.

35. A remote management system for remotely managing a plurality of communication devices via network, comprising:

each of the communication devices further comprising;

a managed communication unit for communicating with the management device;

an event detecting unit for detecting one of a predetermined set of events at a first device;

an event information transmission unit connected to said event detection unit and said managed communication unit for transmitting a report on the detected event to the management device via said managed communication unit, said event information transmission unit adding its own identity information to the report; and

a communication in-progress flag setting unit connected to said event information transmission unit for setting a communication in-progress flag to a in-progress status before said event information transmission unit transmits the report, the communication-in-progress flag indicative of the transmission being in an in-progress status in case of interruption during the transmission;

the management device further comprising;

a management communication unit for communicating with the communication devices; and

a transmission result transmission unit for receiving via said management communication unit the report from one of the communication devices, in case that the reception is successful said transmission result transmission unit transmitting via said management communication unit a transmission result to one of the communication devices that has sent the report based upon the own identity in the report.

36. The remote management system according to claim 35 wherein each of the communication devices further comprising:

a transmission result determination unit for receiving a transmission result on reception of the report at the management device and determining whether or not a transmission is successful based upon the transmission result to generate a successful transmission result in case that the report has been successfully received at the management device; and

a communication in-progress flag resetting unit connected to said transmission result determination unit for resetting the communication in-progress flag to a not-in-progress status in case of the successful transmission result.

37. The remote management system according to claim 36 wherein said transmission result determination unit receives the transmission result on reception of the report at the management device and determines whether or not the transmission is failed based upon the transmission result to generate a failed transmission result in case that the report has not been successfully received at the management device, said event information transmission unit repeating to transmit the report in case of the failed transmission result until a predetermined number of retrials has reached.

38. The remote management system according to claim 37 wherein each of the communication devices further comprises a transmission failure reporting unit connected to said transmission result determination unit for transmitting the failed transmission result to the management device after the repeated retrials have ended.

39. The remote management system according to claim 38 wherein each of the communication devices further comprises an e-mail transmission complete flag setting unit connected to said transmission failure reporting unit for setting an e-mail transmission complete flag to true after the failed transmission result is sent, the e-mail transmission complete flag being indicative of prohibiting further transmission of the failed transmission result to the first device.

40. The remote management system according to claim 39 wherein after the e-mail transmission complete flag has been set to true, in case that said event detecting unit detects one of the predetermined set of the events, claim 40 further comprising an e-mail transmission complete flag resetting unit for resetting the e-mail transmission complete flag to untrue to indicate that further transmission of the failed transmission result to the communication device is allowed again.

41. The remote management system according to claim 37 wherein each of the communication devices further comprises a timer connected to said transmission failure reporting unit for starting to measure a predetermined amount of time after the predetermined number of the retrials has reached, said event information transmission unit repeating to transmit the report to the management device in case of the failed transmission result after the predetermined amount of time has elapsed.

42. The remote management system according to claim 41 wherein said transmission result determination unit checking the communication in-progress flag upon activating a main power supply at the communication device and determining whether or not the report has not been successfully received at the second device if the communication in-progress flag has been set to the in-progress status, said event information transmission unit repeating to transmit the report to the management device.

43. The remote management system according to claim 35 wherein each of the communication devices further comprises an event identifying unit connected to said event detecting unit and said event information transmission unit for identifying a type of the detected event at the communication device, said event information transmission unit adding the identified type to the report to the management device, said communication in-progress flag setting unit setting the in-progress status in a corresponding one of the communication in-progress flags indicative of the identified type.

44. The remote management system according to claim 43 wherein each of the communication devices further comprises a transmission result determination unit receiving a transmission result on reception of the report at the management device and determining whether or not the transmission is successful based upon the transmission result to generate a successful transmission result in case that the report has been successfully received at the management device, each of the communication devices also further comprising a communication in-progress flag resetting unit for resetting the not in-progress status in the corresponding one of the communication in-progress flags indicative of the identified type.

45. The remote management system according to claim 44 wherein said transmission result determination unit receives the transmission result on reception of the report at the management device and determines whether or not the transmission is failed based upon the transmission result to generate a failed transmission result in case that the report has not been successfully received at the management device, said event information transmission unit repeating to transmit the report in case of the failed transmission result until a predetermined number of retrials has reached.

46. The remote management system according to claim 45 wherein each of the communication devices further comprises a transmission failure reporting unit connected to said transmission result determination unit for transmitting the failed transmission result to the management device after the repeated retrials have ended.

47. The remote management system according to claim 46 wherein each of the communication devices further comprises an e-mail transmission complete flag setting unit connected to said transmission failure reporting unit for setting an e-mail transmission complete flag to true after the failed transmission result is sent, the e-mail transmission complete flag being indicative of prohibiting further transmission of the failed transmission result to the management device.

48. The remote management system according to claim 47 wherein after the e-mail transmission complete flag has been set to true, in case that said detecting unit detects one of the predetermined set of the events, claim 47 further comprising an e-mail transmission complete flag resetting unit for resetting the e-mail transmission complete flag to untrue to indicate that further transmission of the failed transmission result to the management device is allowed again.

49. A medium containing computer executable instructions for communicating, the instructions comprising the tasks of:

detecting one of a predetermined set of events at a first device;

setting a communication in-progress flag to a in-progress status prior to reporting to a second device;

transmitting a report on the detected event from the first device to the second device; and

determining whether or not said transmitting step has been interrupted based upon the communication in-progress flag.

50. The medium containing computer executable instructions according to claim 49 further comprising additional tasks of:

receiving a transmission result on reception of the report at the second device;

determining whether or not the transmission is successful based upon the transmission result to generate a successful transmission result in case that the report has been successfully received at the second device; and

resetting the communication in-progress flag to a not-in-progress status in case of the successful transmission result.

51. The medium containing computer executable instructions according to claim 49 further comprising additional tasks of:

receiving a transmission result on reception of the report at the second device;

determining whether or not the transmission is failed based upon the transmission result to generate a failed transmission result in case that the report has not been successfully received at the second device; and

repeating said transmitting step of transmitting the report in case of the failed transmission result until a predetermined number of retrials has reached.

52. The medium containing computer executable instructions according to claim 51 wherein the failed transmission result is sent to the first device after the repeated retrials have ended.

53. The medium containing computer executable instructions according to claim 52 wherein an e-mail transmission complete flag is set to true after the failed transmission result is sent, the e-mail transmission complete flag being indicative of prohibiting further transmission of the failed transmission result to the first device.

54. The medium containing computer executable instructions according to claim 53 wherein after the e-mail transmission complete flag has been set to true, in case of detecting one of the predetermined set of the events, the e-mail transmission complete flag being set to untrue to indicate that further transmission of the failed transmission result to the first device is allowed again.

55. The medium containing computer executable instructions according to claim 53 further comprising the additional tasks of:

starting a timer to measure a predetermined amount of time after the predetermined number of the retrials has reached; and

repeating said transmitting step of transmitting the report to the second device in case of the failed transmission result after the predetermined amount of time has elapsed.

56. The medium containing computer executable instructions according to claim 53 further comprising the additional tasks of:

checking the communication in-progress flag upon activating a main power supply at the first device;

determining that the report has not been successfully received at the second device if the communication in-progress flag has been set to the in-progress status; and

repeating said transmitting step of transmitting the report to the second device.

57. The medium containing computer executable instructions according to claim 49 further comprising additional tasks of:

identifying a type of the detected event at the first device;

adding the identified type to the report to the second device; and

setting the in-progress status in a corresponding one of the communication in-progress flags indicative of the identified type.

58. The medium containing computer executable instructions according to claim 57 further comprising additional tasks of:

receiving a transmission result on reception of the report at the second device;

determining whether or not the transmission is successful based upon the transmission result to generate a successful transmission result in case that the report has been successfully received at the second device; and

resetting the not in-progress status the corresponding one of the communication in-progress flag indicative of the identified type.

59. The medium containing computer executable instructions according to claim 57 further comprising additional tasks of:

receiving a transmission result on reception of the report at the second device;

determining whether or not the transmission is failed based upon the transmission result to generate a failed transmission result in case that the report has not been successfully received at the second device; and

repeating said transmitting step of transmitting the report in case of the failed transmission result until a predetermined number of retrials has reached.

60. The medium containing computer executable instructions according to claim 59 wherein the failed transmission result to the second device is sent after the repeated retrials have ended.

61. The medium containing computer executable instructions according to claim 60 wherein an e-mail transmission complete flag is set to true after the failed transmission result is sent, the e-mail transmission complete flag being indicative of prohibiting further transmission of the failed transmission result to the first device.

62. The medium containing computer executable instructions according to claim 61 wherein after the e-mail transmission complete flag has been set to true, in case of detecting one of the predetermined set of the events, the e-mail transmission complete flag being set to untrue to indicate that further transmission of the failed transmission result to the second device is allowed again.

63. The medium containing computer executable instructions according to claim 49 wherein the report is converted into a structured language before said transmitting step.

64. The medium containing computer executable instructions according to claim 49 wherein said transmitting step is interrupted by a main power supply deactivation of the first device.

65. The medium containing computer executable instructions according to claim 49 wherein the first device is an image forming device while the second device is a management device.