Customer support system

• US 6,564,227 B2
• Filed: 12/27/2000
• Issued: 05/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Sakakibara, Yutaka, Nishida, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Coby, Frantz
• Application Number:
  US09/749,083
• Publication Number:
  US 20010018691A1
• Time in Patent Office: 867 Days
• Field of Search: 707/104.1, 707/102, 707/10, 707/103.R
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0709 in a distributed system consisting of a plurality of standalone computer nodes, e.g. clusters, client-server systems
• 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: H04M 3/2227 Quality of service monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/30 for subscriber's lines , for the local loop
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A customer support system uses information concerning device located at customer and supports the customer. A customer support center collects customer information using a communication line, and stores or transferring the information. Customer information systems connected with the customer support center via a communication line, use the information of the customer support center, and support the customer. The customer support center comprises a collector for collecting and distributing usage information and quality information of the device, and a memory storing the usage information and quality information of the device as it is or after modifying it. The customer information systems use the usage information and quality information of the device collected by the customer support center, and support the customers.

Claims

1. A customer supporting system utilizing information concerning at least one apparatus placed at a customer and supporting the customer, comprising:

a customer supporting center collecting customer information using a communication line, and storing or transferring the information; and

at least one customer-information utilization system connected with said customer supporting center via a communication line, utilizing the information from said customer supporting center, and supporting the customer,

wherein said customer supporting center comprises a collection and delivery part collecting and distributing used-amount information and quality information of said at least one apparatus, the used-amount information indicating real customer usage of the apparatus and the quality information indicating a real state or condition of the apparatus, and an apparatus information storing part storing the used-amount information and quality information as it is or after modifying it; and

said customer-information utilization system utilizes the used-amount information and quality information collected by said customer supporting center, and supports the customer.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the quality information comprises alarm information indicating that the at least one device requires maintenance although no fault has occurred, and

the usage information comprises information indicating how many times the at least one device is used.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein:

the customer support center, when receiving the fault information, reports this matter to a customer information system in charge of maintenance and/or management of the device, and,

the customer support center obtains the quality information of the device which has the fault, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the fault information was received, and comprises a canceling component for canceling the fault information when it is determined from the quality information that the device operates normally.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the customer support center comprises a discarding program which discards the fault information or alarm information when it is determined from a condition of the device that the device is in a condition such that no fault or no bad condition or deficiency occurs, when the fault information or alarm information is received.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the customer support center, when receiving the fault information, regards it as non-fault information that is not necessary to deal with.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the customer support center comprises a prediction program for predicting a future fault or bad condition or deficiency using the non-fault information.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the customer support center comprises a prediction part for predicting a future fault or bad condition or deficiency using the non-fault information.

8. The system of claim 2, wherein the customer support center comprises a filter program for deleting from the fault information that information which is unnecessary to restore the device from a fault.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the customer support center comprises a prediction program for predicting a future fault or bad condition or deficiency using information which is deleted from the fault information by the filter program.

10. The system of claim 2, wherein the customer support center identifies alarm information as fault information when the alarm information is received from the same device successively.

11. The system of claim 2, wherein the customer support center comprises a transferring program which, when alarm information is received, transfers the alarm information to the customer information system in charge of maintenance and/or management of the device.

12. The system of claim 2, wherein the customer support center comprises a transferring program which modifies the alarm information and transfers the modified alarm information to the customer information system in charge of maintenance and/or management of the device.

13. The system of claim 2, wherein the customer information system in charge of maintenance and/or management of the device, when information as to how many times the device is used changes sharply, determines whether this value is abnormal.

14. The system of claim 2, wherein the customer support center comprises a discarding part which discards the fault information or alarm information when it is determined from a condition of the device that the device is in a condition such that no fault or no bad condition or deficiency occurs, when the fault information or alarm information is received.

15. The system of claim 2, wherein the customer support center comprises a filter part for deleting from the fault information that information which is unnecessary to restore the device from a fault.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the customer support center comprises a prediction part for predicting a future fault or bad condition or deficiency using information which is deleted from the fault information by the filter part.

17. The system of claim 2, wherein the customer support center comprises a transferring part which, when alarm information is received, transfers the alarm information to the customer information system in charge of maintenance and/or management of the device.

18. The system of claim 2, wherein the customer support center comprises a transferring part which modifies the alarm information and transfers the modified alarm information to the customer information system in charge of maintenance and/or management of the device.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the customer support center comprises an information acquisition setting program for specifying a target device or a time and obtaining information regarding use of the target device.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the customer support center comprises a supply instructing program using the usage information or expendable-supply used information for supplying expendables to the device, the supply instructing program reporting necessary information to the customer information system in charge of supply of expendables.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the quality information comprises supply instruction information indicating that a supply of expendables is needed,

a supply box is deployed at the customer at which the device is located, and

the supply box comprises a transmitting program which captures a custody state of expendables for each item of the expendables, and, when supply of the expendables is needed, transmits supply instruction information to the customer support center.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the customer support center comprises a storage program storing, for each device or for each customer, information received by the customer support center and information obtained after being modified by the customer support center.

23. The system of claim 2, wherein the customer information system in charge of maintenance and/or management of the device, when receiving the fault information from the customer support center, examines the state of the device located at the customer.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the customer information system in charge of maintenance and/or management of the device, after confirming based on the quality information of the device located at the customer that the device has a fault, provides instructions to repair the device.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein the customer information system in charge of maintenance and/or management of the device manages progress of the state from the reception of the fault information to the restoration from the fault.

26. The system of claim 1, wherein the customer information system in charge of maintenance and/or management of the device, when the customer information system in charge of supply of expendables generates expendable-supply ordering information, compares the state of the device located at the customer for which the ordering is made with the expendable-supply ordering information, and thus examines this information.

27. The system of claim 1, wherein the customer information system, receiving supply instructions from the customer support center, supplies expendables to the relevant device.

28. The system of claim 1, wherein the customer support center comprises an information acquisition setting part for specifying a target device or a time and obtaining information regarding use of the target device.

29. The system of claim 1, wherein the customer support center comprises a supply instructing part using the usage information or expendable-supply used information for supplying expendables to the device, the supply instructing part reporting necessary information to the customer information system in charge of supply of expendables.

30. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the quality information comprises supply instruction information indicating that a supply of expendables is needed,

a supply box is deployed at the customer at which the device is located, and

the supply box comprises a transmitting part which captures a custody state of expendables for each item of the expendables, and, when supply of the expendables is needed, transmits supply instruction information to the customer support center.

31. The system of claim 1, wherein the customer support center comprises a storage part storing, for each device or for each customer, information received by the customer support center and information obtained after being modified by the customer support center.

32. A customer supporting method used by at least one apparatus placed at a customer, a customer supporting center collecting, distributing and/or modifying information of said at least one apparatus using a communication line, and at least one customer-information utilization system connected with said customer supporting center via a communication line and supporting the customer utilizing the information collected and/or modified by said customer supporting center, comprising the steps of:

a) said customer supporting center collecting and distributing used-amount information and quality information of the apparatus, the used-amount information indicating real customer usage of the apparatus and the quality information indicating a real state or condition of the apparatus;

b) said customer supporting center storing part or all of the used-amount information and quality information; and

c) said customer-information utilization system utilizes the used-amount information and quality information for supporting the customer.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein:

the customer information system in charge of sales of the device obtains classified-by-function information and classified-by-size information of the sales device, and the usage information of the device for the specific customer, and

the customer information system provides information of the device suitable for the customer using the classified-by-function information, classified-by-size information of sales devices, usage information of the specific customer, and a condition indicated by the specific customer.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein when the information of the device is provided to the customer, the condition of the customer and a reason of providing the information are provided to the customer, simultaneously.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the customer information system is used at a house of the customer through a remote terminal via a communication line.

36. The method of claim 32, wherein, when receiving the fault information or alarm information from the customer support center, the customer information system in charge of maintenance and/or management of the device changes setting of the device located at the customer remotely so as to restore the device.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the customer information system in charge of maintenance and/or management of the device, when it is not possible to restore the device by changing setting of the device, arranges a person for restoring the device without delay.

38. The method of claim 32, wherein the customer information system in charge of maintenance and/or management of the device, receiving the usage information and quality information from the customer support center, inspects the device by processing the received information periodically.

39. The method of claim 32, wherein the customer information system in charge of maintenance and/or management of the device, receiving the usage information and quality information from the customer support center, performs quality control of the maintenance and/or management works.

40. The method of claim 32, wherein the customer information system in charge of maintenance and/or management of the device has a database of an artificial intelligence, and, based on knowledge data of the artificial intelligence and information obtained from the customer support center, determines whether the device of the customer has a fault.

41. The method of claim 32, wherein the customer information system in charge of supply of expendables, receiving the usage information from the customer support center, supplies and/or manages the expendables.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the customer information system for managing expendables obtains information of stock of the expendables prior to a holiday by a predetermined time.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein the customer information system for managing expendables obtains information of stock of the expendables, and, when the stock is less than a predetermined amount, orders the relevant expendables on behalf of the customer as if they have been ordered by the customer.

44. The method of claim 32, wherein the customer information system in charge of planning the device, receiving the usage information and quality information from the customer support center, captures the actual situation as to how the device is used, and performs planning of the next device.

45. The method of claim 32, wherein the customer information system in charge of design of the device, receiving the usage information and quality information from the customer support center, obtains the quality information for each generation, for each model, and/or for each device, and improves the quality of the device.

46. The method of claim 32, wherein the customer information system in charge of manufacturing of the device, receiving the usage information and quality information from the customer support center, captures the life of the device and durability of components, and makes quality control in a manufacturing department be congruent with the actual situation.

47. The method of claim 32, wherein part or all of the works performed by the at least one customer information system is performed by the customer support center.

48. A customer supporting center collecting, distributing and/or modifying information of at least one apparatus placed at a customer using a communication line, comprising:

a collection and delivery part collecting and distributing used-amount information and quality information of said at least one apparatus, the used-amount information indicating real customer usage of the apparatus and the quality information indicating a real state or condition of the apparatus; and

an apparatus information storage part stores the used-amount information and quality information as it is or after modifying it,

wherein said center providing the collected and/or modified information to at least one customer-information utilization system connected to said center via a communication line, and, thereby, information concerning said at least one apparatus is utilized for supporting the customer.

49. A customer-information utilization system connected via a communication line with at least one apparatus placed at a customer and a customer supporting center collecting, distributing and/or modifying information of said at least one apparatus using a communication line, and utilizing the information collected and/or modified by said customer supporting center for supporting the customer, comprising:

a storage part storing the information to be utilized for supporting the customer; and

a processing part supporting the customer by utilizing used-amount information and quality information of said at least one apparatus, the used-amount information indicating real customer usage of the apparatus and the quality information indicating a real state or condition of the apparatus,

wherein said system utilizes the information concerning said at least one apparatus for supporting the customer individually.

50. An apparatus placed at a customer in a customer supporting system comprising a customer supporting center collecting, distributing and and/or or modifying information of said apparatus using a communication line and at least one customer-information utilization system connected with said customer supporting center via a communication line and supporting the customer utilizing the information collected and/or modified by said customer supporting center, comprising:

an operation screen used for operating said apparatus; and

a state displaying button for displaying the state of said apparatus,

wherein when said button is pressed, said customer supporting center transmits information indicating the state of said apparatus, and the state of said apparatus is displayed on said operation screen and wherein said customer supporting center comprises a collection and delivery part collecting and distributing used-amount information and quality information of said apparatus, the used-amount information indicating real customer usage of the apparatus and the quality information indicating a real state or condition of the apparatus.

51. A customer support center collecting, distributing and/or modifying information of at least one device located at a customer using a communication line, comprising:

a collection and delivery part collecting and distributing usage information and quality information of the at least one device, and

a device information storage part stores the usage information and quality information as it is or after modifying it,

wherein the center providing the collected and/or modified information to at least one customer information system connected to the center via a communication line, and, thereby, information concerning the at least one device is used for supporting the customer.

52. A customer information system connected via a communication line with at least one device located at a customer and a customer support center collecting, distributing and/or modifying information of the at least one device using a communication line, and using the information collected and/or modified by the customer support center for supporting the customer, comprising:

a storage part storing the information to be used for supporting the customer, and

a processing part supporting the customer by using usage information and quality information of the at least one device,

wherein the system uses the information concerning the at least one device for supporting the customer individually.