MONITORING DEVICE, IMAGE FORMING DEVICE, SYSTEM INCLUDING THESE DEVICES CONNECTED AND METHOD FOR MONITORING THE SAME

• US 20110194143A1
• Filed: 01/07/2011
• Published: 08/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Yamaguchi, Kotaro
• Granted Patent: US 8,446,626 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5079 for maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/55 Self-diagnostics; Malfunction or lifetime display
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00109 Remote control of apparatus, e.g. by a host
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0733 in a data processing system embedded in an image processing device, e.g. printer, facsimile, scanner
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0748 in a remote unit communicating with a single-box computer node experiencing an error/fault remote testing G06F11/2294
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0793 Remedial or corrective actions recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00344 with a management, maintenance, service or repair apparatus monitoring H04N1/00002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00832 Recording use, e.g. counting number of pages copied
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00915 Assigning priority to, or interrupting, a particular operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00923 Variably assigning priority H04N1/0092 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32625 Fault detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32662 remotely, e.g. to the transmitter from the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32673 Adjusting or controlling an operating mode, e.g. from paper reception to memory reception H04N1/32678 takes precedence; inhibiting an operation H04N1/00925
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3202 of communication or activity log or report
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3205 of identification information, e.g. name or ID code H04N2201/3209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3214 of a date
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3222 of processing required or performed, e.g. forwarding, urgent or confidential handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3223 of type information, e.g. reception or copy job
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3274 Storage or retrieval of prestored additional information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3278 : Transmission

Abstract

A monitoring device for an image forming device receives from the image forming device usage information indicating a history of manipulations by a user and reduction information indicating that the image forming device is operating in a reduction mode. When having received reduction information, the monitoring device determines the priority of maintenance work on a function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the reduction information, registers the determined priority in a management table in association, and outputs the registered reduction information and associated priority. When the received usage information indicates a manipulation with respect to a function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the received reduction information, the priority corresponding to the reduction information is determined to be relatively higher than when there is no manipulation with respect to the function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the received reduction information.

Claims

1. A monitoring device for monitoring an image forming device by being connected with the image forming device capable of operating in a reduction mode in which provision of a function is halted, the monitoring device comprising:

a receiver configured to receive from the image forming device usage information indicating a history of manipulations by a user and reduction information indicating that the image forming device is operating in a reduction mode;

a priority determination unit configured to, when having received the reduction information with the receiver, determine a priority of maintenance work on a function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the reduction information;

a registration unit configured to register in a management table the reduction information received by the receiver and the priority determined by the priority determination unit based on the reduction information in association with each other; and

an output unit configured to output the reduction information and the associated priority information registered in the management table by the registration unit,

wherein when the usage information received by the receiver indicates a manipulation with respect to a function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the received reduction information, the priority determination unit determines a priority corresponding to the reduction information so that the priority is relatively higher than in the case where there is no manipulation with respect to the function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the received reduction information.

2. The monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the usage information includes usage trace information including at least one of:

information about a manipulation with respect to a function the provision of which has been halted when the image forming device is operating in the reduction mode; and

information about a manipulation with respect to of an alternative function to the function the provision of which has been halted.

3. The monitoring device according to claim 2,

wherein the usage information includes usage status information periodically received by the receiver and indicating the number of times each function provided by the image forming device is performed.

4. The monitoring device according to claim 3,

wherein when the number of times a manipulation with respect to a function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the received reduction information is performed exceeds a threshold value, according to the usage state information received by the receiver, the priority determination unit determines a priority corresponding to the reduction information so that the priority is relatively higher than in the case where the number of times a manipulation with respect to the function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the received reduction information is performed is below the threshold value.

5. The monitoring device according to claim 1,

wherein the receiver further receives information about fault that is subjected to maintenance work from the image forming device, and

the output unit outputs, in addition to the reduction information, the received fault information.

6. The monitoring device according to claim 1,

wherein in the image forming device, provision of at least one of an automatic document feeding function, scanner function, facsimile function, and printer function can be halted in the reduction mode, and

wherein the priority determination unit determinates that the usage information indicates a manipulation with respect to a function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the received reduction information,

when the usage information indicates placement of a document onto an automatic document feeding mechanism of the image forming device, if the function the provision of which has been halted in the reduction mode is the automatic document feeding function,

when the usage information indicates placement of a document onto an automatic document feeding mechanism of the image forming device or opening and closing of a document pressing plate, if the function the provision of which has been halted in the reduction mode is the scanner function, and

when the usage information indicates reception of a job by the image forming device, if the function the provision of which has been halted in the reduction mode is the printer function.

7. An image forming device connected with the monitoring device according to claim 1 and capable of operating in a reduction mode in which provision of a function is halted, the image forming device comprising:

a unit configured to, when the image forming device operates in the reduction mode, transmit to the monitoring device reduction information indicating the operation in the reduction mode;

a detector configured to detect a manipulation by a user; and

a unit configured to transmit information about the manipulation detected by the detector to the monitoring device as usage information.

8. A system, wherein a plurality of image forming devices capable of halting provision of a function in a reduction mode are connected with a monitoring device that monitors the image forming devices, the system comprising:

a priority determination unit configured to, by using usage information indicating a history of manipulations by a user at an image forming device and reduction information indicating that the image forming device is operating in a reduction mode, determine a priority of maintenance work on a function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the reduction information;

a registration unit configured to register in a management table the reduction information and the priority determined by the priority determination unit based on the reduction information in association with each other; and

an output unit configured to output the reduction information and the associated priority information registered in the management table by the registration unit,

wherein when the usage information indicates a manipulation with respect to a function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the reduction information, the priority determination unit determines a priority corresponding to the reduction information so that the priority is relatively higher than in the case where there is no manipulation with respect to the function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the reduction information.

9. A method for monitoring an image forming device executed by a monitoring device connected with the image forming device capable of operating in a reduction mode in which provision of a function is halted, the method comprising:

a reception step of receiving from the image forming device usage information indicating a history of manipulations by a user and reduction information indicating that the image forming device is operating in a reduction mode;

a priority determination step of, when having received the reduction information at the reception step, determining a priority of maintenance work on a function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the reduction information;

a registration step of registering in a management table the reduction information received at the reception step and the priority determined based on the reduction information at the priority determination step in association with each other; and

an output step of outputting the reduction information and the associated priority information registered in the management table,

wherein at the priority determination step, when the usage information received in the reception step indicates a manipulation with respect to a function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the received reduction information, the priority corresponding to the reduction information is determined to be relatively higher than in the case where there is no manipulation with respect to the function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the received reduction information.

10. A method for monitoring a plurality of image forming devices executed by a computer included in a system in which the image forming devices capable of halting provision of a function in a reduction mode and a monitoring device for monitoring the image forming devices are connected with each other, the method comprising:

a priority determination step of, by using usage information indicating a history of manipulations by a user at the image forming device and reduction information indicating that the image forming device is operating in a reduction mode, determining a priority of maintenance work on a function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the reduction information;

a registration step of registering in a management table the reduction information and the priority determined based on the reduction information at the priority determination step in association with each other; and

an output step of outputting the reduction information and the associated priority information registered in the management table,

wherein at the priority determination step, when the usage information indicates a manipulation with respect to a function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the reduction information, the priority corresponding to the reduction information is determined to be relatively higher than in the case where there is no manipulation with respect to the function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the reduction information.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that can be connected with an image forming device capable of operating in a reduction mode in which provision of a function is halted and that stores a program for making a computer execute a method for monitoring the image forming device, the monitoring method comprising:

a reception step of receiving from the image forming device usage information indicating a history of manipulations by a user and reduction information indicating that the image forming device is operating in a reduction mode;

a priority determination step of, when having received the reduction information at the reception step, determining a priority of maintenance work on a function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the reduction information is determined;

a registration step of registering in a management table the reduction information received at the reception step and the priority determined based on the reduction information at the priority determination step in association with each other; and

an output step of outputting the reduction information and the associated priority information registered in the management table,

wherein at the priority determination step, when the usage information received at the reception step indicates a manipulation with respect to a function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the received reduction information, the priority corresponding to the reduction information is determined to be relatively higher than in the case where there is no manipulation with respect to the function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the received reduction information.

12. A monitoring device for monitoring an image forming device by being connected with the image forming device capable of operating in a reduction mode in which provision of a function is halted, the monitoring device comprising:

a receiving means for receiving from the image forming device usage information indicating a history of manipulations by a user and reduction information indicating that the image forming device is operating in a reduction mode;

a priority determination means for determining, when having received the reduction information with the receiver, a priority of maintenance work on a function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the reduction information;

a registration means for registering in a management table the reduction information received by the receiver and the priority determined by the priority determination means based on the reduction information in association with each other; and

an output means for outputting the reduction information and the associated priority information registered in the management table by the registration means,

wherein when the usage information received by the receiving means indicates a manipulation with respect to a function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the received reduction information, the priority determination means determines a priority corresponding to the reduction information so that the priority is relatively higher than in the case where there is no manipulation with respect to the function the provision of which has been halted indicated by the received reduction information.