Maintenance system and method for performing apparatus management using network

• US 6,587,646 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2001
• Issued: 07/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Kikuchi, Kunihiro, Nomura, Hisao, Azakami, Shinsuke
• Primary Examiner(s): GRAINGER, QUANA MASHELL
• Application Number:
  US09/843,712
• Publication Number:
  US 20020001475A1
• Time in Patent Office: 792 Days
• Field of Search: 399/8, 399/9, 399/11, 399/79
• 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 2215/00109 Remote control of apparatus, e.g. by a host
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00079 remotely
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00344 with a management, maintenance, service or repair apparatus monitoring H04N1/00002

Abstract

A maintenance system for improving maintenance service includes a copying machine and a management server. When a copying machine uses a communication server to notify a management server of malfunction, the management server posts malfunction details and the names of components required for repair to an information terminal of a serviceperson. The copying machine is notified of an estimated time of arrival of the serviceperson, and the time is displayed on an operation panel.

Claims

1. A maintenance system for using a network to manage apparatuses linked thereto, comprising:

a receiver adapted to receive maintenance information required for maintaining each of the apparatuses;

a message-transfer unit adapted to transfer, to an information terminal of a serviceperson, a message created based on the maintenance information received by said receiver and which instructs the serviceperson to perform maintenance;

an input unit adapted to allow the serviceperson to input, when the transferred message is displayed by the information terminal, an estimated time of arrival at a location of one of the apparatuses requiring maintenance; and

a transfer unit adapted to transfer the estimated time of arrival to the apparatus requiring maintenance, which is inputted by the serviceperson in said input unit.

2. A maintenance system according to claim 1, further comprising display-control unit adapted to display the estimated time of arrival on a display unit of the apparatus requiring maintenance.

3. A maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein said message-transfer unit transfers the maintenance information together with the message.

4. A maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein:

said message-transfer unit transfers a plurality of estimated times of arrival, from which an estimated time of arrival is to be selected, together with the message; and

said transfer unit transfers one of the plurality of estimated times of arrival selected by the serviceperson.

7. A maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the maintenance information includes information necessary to calculate a maintenance charge for each of the apparatuses.

8. A maintenance system according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit adapted to determine whether the maintenance information is information required for the maintenance or information representing a malfunction, wherein said message-transfer unit transfers a message instructing the serviceperson to perform maintenance operations when said determination means unit determines that the maintenance information is information required for the maintenance, and transfers a message instructing the serviceperson to perform repair operations when said determination unit determines that the maintenance information is information representing a malfunction.

9. A maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein said message-transfer unit transfers the message by radio waves.

10. A maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein each of the apparatuses is one of a copying machine, a printer, and a multifunction apparatus.

5. A maintenance system for using a network to manage apparatuses linked thereto, comprising:

a receiver adapted to receive maintenance information required for maintaining each of the apparatuses;

a diagnosis unit adapted to perform a diagnosis for specifying each component required for the maintenance; and

a message-transfer unit adapted to transfer, to an information terminal of a serviceperson, a message created based on the maintenance information received by said receiver and which instructs the serviceperson to perform maintenance,

wherein said message-transfer unit transfers information on each specified component together with the message.

6. A maintenance system according to claim 5, wherein:

said diagnosis unit finds, based on the diagnosis, a quantity of components required for repair; and

said message-transfer unit transfers the quantity of components required together with the message.

11. A maintenance method of using a network to manage apparatuses linked thereto, comprising:

a receiving step of receiving maintenance information required for maintaining each of the apparatuses;

a message-transfer step of generating a maintenance-instruction message based on the received maintenance information and transferring the message to an information terminal of a serviceperson; and

a transfer step for, when the message is displayed by the information terminal, transferring, to one of the apparatuses requiring the maintenance, an estimated time of arrival of the serviceperson at a location of the apparatus requiring maintenance, which is input by the serviceperson using the information terminal.

12. A maintenance method according to claim 11, further comprising a display-control step of displaying the transferred estimated time of arrival on a display unit of the apparatus.

13. A maintenance method according to claim 11, wherein, in said message-transfer step, the maintenance information is transferred together with the message.

14. A maintenance method according to claim 11, wherein:

in said message-transfer step, a plurality of estimated times of arrival, from which an estimated time of arrival is to be selected is transferred together with the message; and

in said transfer step, an estimated time of arrival selected by the serviceperson is transferred.

17. A maintenance method according to claim 11, wherein the maintenance information includes information necessary to calculate a maintenance charge for each of the apparatuses.

18. A maintenance method according to claim 11, further comprising a determination step of determining whether the maintenance information is information required for the maintenance or information representing malfunction, wherein, in said message-transfer step, a message instructing the serviceperson to perform maintenance operations is transferred when it is determined that the maintenance information is information required for maintenance, and a message instructing the serviceperson to perform repair operations is transferred when it is determined that the maintenance information is information representing a malfunction.

19. A maintenance method according to claim 11, wherein, in said message-transfer step, the message is transferred by radio waves.

20. A maintenance method according to claim 11, wherein each of the apparatuses is one of a copying machine, a printer, and a multifunction apparatus.

15. A maintenance method of using a network to manage apparatuses linked thereto, comprising:

a receiving step of receiving maintenance information required for maintaining each of the apparatuses;

a diagnosis step of performing a diagnosis for specifying each component required for the maintenance; and

a message-transfer step of generating a maintenance-instruction message based on the received maintenance information and transferring the message to an information terminal of a serviceperson,

wherein, in said message-transfer step, information on each specified component is transferred together with the message.

16. A maintenance method according to claim 15, wherein:

a quantity of components required for repair is found based on the diagnosis; and

,

in said message-transfer step, the quantity of components required is transferred together with the message.

21. A computer-readable recording medium storing a control program for implementing a method of controlling a maintenance system that uses a network to manage apparatuses linked thereto, the control program controlling a computer in the maintenance system to execute a process, and the control program comprising:

code for a receiving step of receiving maintenance information required for maintaining each of the apparatuses;

code for a message-transfer step of generating a maintenance-instruction message based on the received maintenance information and transferring the message to an information terminal of a serviceperson; and

code for a transfer step of, when the message is displayed by the information terminal, transferring, to one of the apparatuses requiring the maintenance, an estimated time of arrival of the serviceperson at a location of the apparatus requiring maintenance, which is input by the serviceperson using the information terminal.

22. A control program product for controlling a maintenance system that uses a network to manage apparatuses linked thereto, said control program product controlling a computer in the maintenance system to execute a process, said control program product comprising:

code for a receiving step of receiving maintenance information required for maintaining each of the apparatuses;

code for a message-transfer step of generating a maintenance-instruction message based on the received maintenance information and transferring the message to an information terminal of a serviceperson; and

code for a transfer step of, when the message is displayed by the information terminal, transferring, to one of the apparatuses requiring the maintenance, an estimated time of arrival of the serviceperson at a location of the apparatus requiring maintenance, which is input by the serviceperson using the information terminal.