Centralized control system for terminal device
First Claim
1. A centralized control system for a plurality of terminal devices comprising:
- information collection means provided in each of said terminal devices for collecting information of device status including at least one of functional information concerning the function of each terminal device and information showing abnormality of each terminal device and its contents;
terminal communication means connected to each information collecting means for monitoring collected functional and abnormality information and transmitting it as the need arises; and
remote control means for receiving said information from said each terminal communication means, selectively displaying the received information on a display unit and performing control processing at each terminal device,said remote control means including display control means for displaying information relative to said abnormality information of a terminal device on a part or all of a plurality of display screens of said display unit which displays the control processing immediately when said abnormality information is received irrespective of the type of control processing being carried out for the terminal device for which the abnormality is displayed.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A centralized control system comprising interface circuits which are provided in respective terminal devices requiring field service such as copying machines or automatic vending machines and collect functional information concerning functions of the terminal devices and abnormality information showing their abnormality; communication units which are provided at every one or plural interfaces circuits and transmit collected information as the need arises; and remote control device which receives transmitted information and selectively displays it on a display unit to execute a plurality of control processing at every terminal device. Abnormality information is announced whenever it occurs or at a predetermined time according to a degree of abnormality, and information concerning the abnormality information announced is displayed on a part or full of the whole display picture screen concerning all the control processing. Further, a record of the abnormality information is stored and displayed and also information on a function along with usage quantity information of consumable goods are displayed in lists, thus notice of abnormality when it occurs and search for its cause are accurately conducted. Still further the system accurately predicts a date for replacement or supply of the consumable goods on the basis of usage quantity information, thus reducing using-up of the consumable goods.
301 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A centralized control system for a plurality of terminal devices comprising:
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information collection means provided in each of said terminal devices for collecting information of device status including at least one of functional information concerning the function of each terminal device and information showing abnormality of each terminal device and its contents; terminal communication means connected to each information collecting means for monitoring collected functional and abnormality information and transmitting it as the need arises; and remote control means for receiving said information from said each terminal communication means, selectively displaying the received information on a display unit and performing control processing at each terminal device, said remote control means including display control means for displaying information relative to said abnormality information of a terminal device on a part or all of a plurality of display screens of said display unit which displays the control processing immediately when said abnormality information is received irrespective of the type of control processing being carried out for the terminal device for which the abnormality is displayed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A centralized control system for a plurality of terminal devices comprising:
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information collecting means provided in each of said terminal devices for collecting information on device status including at least one of functional information concerning the function of each terminal device and information showing abnormality of each terminal device and its contents; terminal communication means connected to each information collecting means for monitoring collected information and transmitting it as the need arises; and remote control means for receiving said information from said each terminal communication means, selectively displaying the received information on a display unit and performing a plurality of control processing at each terminal device, said remote control means including storage means for storing the contents of the abnormality of said abnormality information and information relative to the time of reception of said abnormality information for each terminal device, and display control means for displaying from said storage means the stored contents relative to said abnormality information in the time order received from every terminal device on said display unit. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
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10. A centralized control system for a plurality of terminal devices comprising:
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information collecting means provided in each of said terminal devices for collecting information on device status including functional information concerning a plurality of the functions of each terminal device and information showing abnormality of the terminal device and its contents; terminal communication means connected to said information collecting means for monitoring collected information and transmitting it as the need arises; remote control means for receiving said information from said each terminal communication means, selectively displaying the received information on a display unit and performing a plurality of control processings at each terminal device, said remote control means further comprising means for storing information relative to the plurality of functions at each terminal device and display control means for simultaneously displaying on the display unit the stored functional information relating to the plurality of functions of a terminal device. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A centralized control system for a plurality of terminal devices comprising:
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information collecting means provided in each of said terminal devices for collecting information on device status including at least one of functional information concerning at least one of the functions of each terminal device and information showing abnormality of the device and its contents; terminal communication means connected to said information collecting means for monitoring collected information and transmitting it as the need arises; and remote control means for receiving said information from said each terminal communication means, selectively displaying the received information on a display unit and performing a plurality of control processings at each terminal device; said remote control means further comprising means for storing said functional information and information relative to the time of its reception from each terminal device and display control means for displaying on said display unit all of the stored information relative to said at least one function of a terminal device including the time of its reception.
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13. A centralized control system for a plurality of terminal devices comprising:
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information collecting means provided in each of said terminal devices for collecting information on device status including at least one of functional information concerning the function of each terminal device and information showing abnormality of the device and its contents; terminal communication means connected to said information collecting means for monitoring collected information and transmitting it as the need arises; and remote control means for receiving said of information from said each terminal communication means, selectively displaying the received information on a display unit and performing a plurality of control processings at each terminal device; said remote control means further comprising means for calculating usage quantity information concerning quantity of consumable goods used in each terminal device on the basis of said functional information, storage means for storing the calculated usage quantity information and displaying on said display unit the calculated usage quantity information in the order of higher to lower usage ratio. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification