Image forming apparatus for forming images in accordance with process steps received from an external device

• US 5,446,522 A
• Filed: 11/16/1994
• Issued: 08/29/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Ozaki, Hiroshi, Nakamura, Shinichi, Sato, Mitsuhiko, Kaneko, Satoshi, Kuroyanagi, Satoshi, Adachi, Hideki, Iseki, Yukimasa, Takizawa, Mitsuharu, Ohki, Naoyuki, Kaneko, Tokuharu, Tahara, Hisatsugu, Fukada, Taisei
• Primary Examiner(s): Grimley, A. T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Brase, Sandra L.
• Application Number:
  US08/342,017
• Time in Patent Office: 286 Days
• Field of Search: 355/200, 355/202, 355/204, 355/205, 355/206, 355/207, 355/208, 355/209, 355/203, 355/77, 395/500, 395/575, 371/15.1, 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

Abstract

A method of managing an image forming apparatus by a remote computer comprises the steps of detecting an abnormal state in the image forming apparatus, transferring an error code corresponding to the kind of the detected abnormal state to the computer, selecting a predetermined program according to the transferred error code by the computer, transferring the selected predetermined program to the image forming apparatus by the computer, and executing the transferred predetermined program by the image forming apparatus. The predetermined program is a diagnosing program to examine the causes of a failure in the image forming apparatus.

Claims

1. A method of managing an image forming apparatus by a remote computer, comprising the steps of:

detecting an abnormal state in said image forming apparatus;

transferring an error code corresponding to the kind of said detected abnormal state to said remote computer;

selecting by said remote computer a predetermined program different from a normal image forming program corresponding to the transferred error code;

transferring said selected predetermined program from said remote computer to the image forming apparatus;

storing the transferred program into a memory of said image forming apparatus; and

executing an operation different from a normal image forming sequence in accordance with the stored predetermined program in the memory of the image forming apparatus.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said selecting step includes the step of selecting a diagnostic program, as said predetermined program, to examine a cause of a failure of said image forming apparatus.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein said selecting step includes the step of selecting an execution program, as said predetermined program, for executing an image forming operation to be executed irrespective of the detected abnormal state.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of transferring includes the step of communicating between said image forming apparatus and said computer through a communication control apparatus.

5. An image forming apparatus comprising:

image forming means for forming an image onto a recording medium;

image formation control means for controlling an image forming sequence of said image forming means;

detecting means for detecting an abnormal state of said image forming apparatus;

communication means for controlling a communication between the image forming apparatus and a remote computer;

communication control means for causing said communication means to transmit a signal indicative of a type of the abnormal state detected by said detecting means to said remote computer and for causing said communication means to receive a predetermined program different from a normal image forming program transmitted by said remote computer in response to the signal indicative of the type of the abnormal state; and

first memory means for storing said predetermined program received by said communication control means,

wherein said image formation control means executes operations different from the image forming sequence on the basis of process steps in the predetermined program which has been stored into the first memory means.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said image formation control means determines whether the predetermined program which has been stored into the first memory means is executed.

7. An apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a second memory means for storing a predetermined program received from said remote computer, wherein the communication control means can execute said predetermined program stored in said second memory means in response to an instruction from said image formation control means.