Communication control apparatus for monitoring a condition of an image forming apparatus and inhibiting transmission of data when a power supply means is turned off

• US 5,420,667 A
• Filed: 12/17/1993
• Issued: 05/30/1995
• 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): Pendegrass, Joan H.
• Application Number:
  US08/168,133
• Time in Patent Office: 529 Days
• Field of Search: 355/200, 355/202, 355/204, 340/679, 364/138, 371/16.4, 371/66, 379/100, 379/106, 395/113
• US Class Current: 399/8
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5004 Power supply control, e.g. power-saving mode, automatic power turn-off
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5075 Remote control machines, e.g. by a host

Abstract

A machine monitoring apparatus includes an input device for receiving data from a machine, the data being indicative of a condition of the machine, a storage device for storing the received data, a communication device for communicating between the storage device and an external apparatus installed at a position separate from the machine, and a control device for inhibiting the communication device from transmitting the data stored in the storage device when a power supply for supplying the machine with electric power is turned off while the data is being received by the input device.

Claims

1. An apparatus for monitoring an image forming apparatus, said monitoring apparatus comprising:

input means for receiving data from the image forming apparatus, the data being indicative of a condition of the image forming apparatus;

storage means for storing the received data;

communication means for communicating between said storage means and an external apparatus installed at a position separate from the image forming apparatus; and

control means for inhibiting said communication means from transmitting the data stored in said storage means when a power supply for supplying the image forming apparatus with electric power is turned off while the data is being received by said input means.

2. An apparatus for monitoring an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data is data relating to an abnormality of the image forming apparatus.

3. An apparatus for monitoring an image forming apparatus, said monitoring apparatus comprising:

input means for receiving data from an image forming apparatus, the data being indicative of a condition of the image forming apparatus;

detecting means for detecting whether the image forming apparatus is being supplied with electric power;

storage means for storing the received data;

communication means for communicating between said storage means and an external apparatus installed at a position separate from the image forming apparatus; and

control means for inhibiting said communication means from transmitting the data stored in said storage means when said detecting means detects that a power supply for supplying the image forming apparatus with electric power is turned off while the data is being received by said input means.

4. An apparatus for monitoring an image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the data is data relating to an abnormality of the image forming apparatus.

5. A method of monitoring an image forming apparatus comprising the steps of:

receiving data from the image forming apparatus, the data being indicative of a condition of the image forming apparatus;

storing the received data;

transmitting the stored data to an external apparatus installed at a position separate from the image forming apparatus; and

inhibiting transmission of the stored data when a power supply for supplying the image forming apparatus with electric power is turned off while the data is being received from the image forming apparatus.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the data is data relating to an abnormality of the image forming apparatus.

7. A method of monitoring an image forming apparatus comprising the steps of:

receiving data from the image forming apparatus, the data being indicative of a condition of the image forming apparatus;

storing the received data;

transmitting the stored data to an external apparatus installed at a position separate from the image forming apparatus;

detecting whether the image forming apparatus is being supplied with electric power; and

inhibiting transmission of the stored data when said detecting step detects that a power supply for supplying the image forming apparatus with electric power is turned off while the data is being received from the image forming apparatus.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the data is data relating to an abnormality of the image forming apparatus.