Equipment control apparatus

• US 5,359,391 A
• Filed: 08/27/1993
• Issued: 10/25/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Ozaki, Hiroshi, Nakamura, Shinichi, Kaneko, Satoshi, Kuroyanagi, Satoshi, Adachi, Hideki, Miyata, Masanori, Takizawa, Mitsuharu, Ohki, Naoyuki, Kaneko, Tokuharu, Tahara, Hisatsugu, Fukada, Taisei
• Primary Examiner(s): Grimley, A. T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Brase, Sandra L.
• Application Number:
  US08/112,318
• Time in Patent Office: 424 Days
• Field of Search: 355/200, 355/203, 355/204, 355/205, 355/206, 355/207, 355/208, 355/209, 358/296, 358/300, 371/16.4, 371/29.1
• US Class Current: 399/8
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5079 for maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/55 Self-diagnostics; Malfunction or lifetime display
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 21/1652 Electrical connection means
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00109 Remote control of apparatus, e.g. by a host
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2221/16 Mechanical means for facilitating the maintenance of the apparatus, e.g. modular arrangements and complete machine concepts
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2221/1675 jam treatment
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2221/1696 for auxiliary devices, e.g. add-on modules
• 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 11/2294 by remote test
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/30 Monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/007 with remote control systems remote control in general G08C

Abstract

An equipment controlling apparatus is composed of a counter for counting the operational number of the equipment, memories for storing data indicating the state of the equipment, a communication device for communicating on the stored data with a centralized control apparatus, which controls the communicated data intensively, and a controlling device for causing the stored data to be transmitted to the centralized control apparatus when the counter has counted a predetermined value.

Claims

1. An apparatus for controlling communication between equipment and a centralized control apparatus located at a position apart from said equipment, said apparatus comprising:

storage means for storing data indicative of a state of the equipment;

communication means for communicating said data with said centralized control apparatus; and

controlling means for initiating communication of the stored data to said centralized control apparatus in response to a request for transmission of said data received from one of said equipment and said centralized control apparatus,

wherein said controlling means initiates communication of the stored data to said centralized control apparatus after an operation of said equipment is terminated, when the request for the transmission of said data is received during the operation of said equipment.

2. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said controlling means allows said data to be transmitted after a passage of a predetermined period of time since the termination of the operation of said equipment.

3. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

said equipment is a recording apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium, said equipment being capable of causing said data to be transmitted after the passage of a predetermined period of time since the termination of the recording operation.

4. An apparatus for controlling communication between equipment and a centralized control apparatus located at a position apart from said equipment, said apparatus comprising:

storage means for storing data indicative of a state of the equipment;

communication means for communicating said data with said centralized control apparatus;

detecting means for detecting a frequency of abnormality occurrences in said equipment; and

controlling means for initiating communication of the stored data to said centralized control apparatus at time intervals of a predetermined period,

wherein said controlling means modifies the time intervals for initiating communication of said data in accordance with detection results of said detecting means.

5. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

said controlling means shortens said time intervals when abnormality often occurs.

6. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

said equipment is a recording apparatus for io recording an image on a recording medium.

7. An equipment controlling apparatus comprising:

storage means for storing common data indicating a state of an equipment, which are common to different kinds of equipment from said equipment, and specific data indicating the state of the equipment, which are not common and cannot be used by the different kinds of equipment from said equipment;

communication means for communicating with a centralized control apparatus which controls said common data and said specific data intensively; and

controlling means for discriminating said common data and said specific data and causing them to be transmitted to said centralized control apparatus.

8. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

said storage means has addresses for storing said common data and said specific data separately, and

the addresses for storing said common data are a common area for each equipment stored in said storage means irrespective of kinds of the equipment.

9. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

said controlling means causes relative address from head of data to be transmitted.

10. An equipment controlling apparatus comprising:

storage means for storing data indicating a state of an equipment;

communication means for communicating with a first and second centralized control apparatuses for controlling said data intensively; and

controlling means for executing controls so that when no communication is possible with said first centralized control apparatus, communication is performed with said second centralized control apparatus.

11. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

said controlling means attempts communicating with said second centralized control apparatus when communication with said first centralized control apparatus is not possible even after its communication has been attempted for a predetermined times.

12. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

when no communication with said first centralized control apparatus is possible even after its communication has been attempted for a predetermined times, said controlling means does not communicate with said first centralized control apparatus thereafter.

13. An equipment controlling apparatus for controlling communication between an image formation apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium and external apparatus located at a position apart from said equipment controlling apparatus and said image formation apparatus, said controlling apparatus comprising:

storage means for storing data indicative of a state of the image formation apparatus;

communication means for communicating with the external apparatus; and

transmission instruction means for instructing transmission of the stored data to said external apparatus,

wherein said data comprise a date and time of a defective feeding of the recording medium, a total counting value of image formations at the time of the defective feeding, and a kind of the defective feeding.

14. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said transmission instruction means issues its instruction when an abnormality occurs in said image formation apparatus.

15. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said transmission instruction means issues its instruction at a predetermined time.

16. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said transmission instruction means issues its instruction after a predetermined number of image recordings are performed by said image formation apparatus.

17. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said transmission instruction means issues its instruction when trouble occurs in said image formation apparatus with respect to said recording medium.

18. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said transmission instruction means issues its instruction when expendables consumed by said image formation apparatus are exhausted.

19. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said transmission instruction means issues its instruction when a counter value equals a predetermined value.

20. An equipment controlling apparatus for controlling communication between an image formation apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium and an external apparatus located at a position apart from said equipment controlling apparatus and said image formation apparatus, said equipment controlling apparatus comprising:

storage means for storing data indicative of a state of the image formation apparatus;

communication means for communicating with the external apparatus; and

transmission instruction means for instructing transmission of the stored data to said external apparatus,

wherein said data comprise a date and time of abnormal control of image formation, a total counting value of image formations at the time of the abnormal control, and a kind of the abnormal control.

21. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said transmission instruction means issues its instruction when an abnormality occurs in said image formation apparatus.

22. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said transmission instruction means issues its instruction at a predetermined time.

23. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said transmission instruction means issues its instruction after a predetermined number of image recordings are performed by said image formation apparatus.

24. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said transmission instruction means issues its instruction when an abnormality occurs in said image formation apparatus with respect to said recording medium.

25. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said transmission instruction means issues its instruction when expendables consumed by said image formation apparatus are exhausted.

26. An equipment controlling apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said transmission instruction means issues its instruction when a counter value equals a predetermined value.

27. An equipment controlling apparatus for controlling communication between an image forming apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium and an external apparatus located at a position apart from said equipment controlling apparatus and said image formation apparatus, said controlling apparatus comprising:

storage means for storing data indicative of a state of the image formation apparatus;

communication means for communicating with the external apparatus; and

transmission instruction means for instructing transmission of the stored data to said external apparatus when a counter value equals a predetermined value,

wherein said data comprise a date and time of transmission, a kind of transmission, and a result of the transmission of the stored data to said external apparatus by the communication means.

28. An apparatus for controlling communication between equipment and a centralized control apparatus located at a position apart from the equipment, said apparatus comprising:

communication means for communicating data indicative of a state of the equipment with the centralized control apparatus; and

controlling means for initiating communication of the data by said communication means to said centralized control apparatus, said controlling means initiating communication of the data in accordance with a predetermined condition corresponding to a type of the data.

29. An apparatus for controlling communication between equipment and a centralized control apparatus located at a position apart from the equipment, said apparatus comprising:

communication means for communicating data indicative of a state of the equipment with the centralized control apparatus; and

controlling means for initiating communication of the data by said communication means to the centralized control apparatus in response to a request for transmission of the data received from one of the equipment and the centralized control apparatus, said controlling means initiating communication of the data to the centralized control apparatus if an operation of the equipment is not started during a predetermined time period after the request for the transmission of the data is received.

30. An apparatus for controlling communication between equipment and a centralized control apparatus located at a position apart from the equipment, said apparatus comprising:

communication means for communicating data indicative of a state of the equipment with said centralized control apparatus;

detecting means for detecting a frequency of abnormality occurrences in said equipment; and

controlling means for initiating communication of the data by said communication means to the centralized control apparatus, said controlling means initiating communication of the data in accordance with detection results of said detecting means.

31. An apparatus for controlling communication between equipment and a centralized control apparatus located at a position apart from the equipment, said apparatus comprising:

communication means for communicating data indicative of a state of the equipment with the centralized control apparatus;

detecting means for detecting a frequency of abnormality occurrences in said equipment; and

controlling means for initiating communication of the data by said communication means to the centralized control apparatus in accordance with a predetermined condition, said controlling means modifying the predetermined condition in accordance with detection results of said detecting means.

32. An apparatus for controlling communication between equipment and a centralized control apparatus located at a position apart from the equipment, said apparatus comprising:

communication means for communicating data indicative of a state of the equipment with the centralized control apparatus;

controlling means for initiating communication of the data by said communication means to the centralized control apparatus a predetermined number of times, said controlling means controlling said communication means so that, when communication is unsuccessful during the predetermined number of times of initiation, communication is again intiated the predetermined number of times.

33. An apparatus for controlling communication between an image formation apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium and a centralized control apparatus located at a position apart from the image formation apparatus, said apparatus comprising:

communication means for communicating data indicative of a state of the image processing apparatus with the centralized control apparatus; and

controlling means for initiating communication of the data by said communication means to the centralized control apparatus,

wherein the data comprise a total count value of image formation operations at the time of a control abnormality in the image formation apparatus in combination with a type of the control abnormality.