System, method, and computer program product for collecting and sending various types of information to a monitor using e-mail

• US 7,490,146 B1
• Filed: 09/17/2001
• Issued: 02/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Motoyama, Tetsuro, Fong, Avery
• Primary Examiner(s): Burgess; Glenton B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): STRANGE, AARON N
• Application Number:
  US09/953,357
• Time in Patent Office: 2,703 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 709/224, 714/37
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0853 by actively collecting configuration information or by backing up configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0856 by backing up or archiving configuration information

Abstract

In a monitoring system for networked devices, a system, method, and computer program product for collecting and sending information related to monitored devices. When a first type of information is collected and not reported to a central monitoring workstation, the collected information, such as, for example, alarm conditions, is stored in a database connected to a remote monitoring workstation, and when information is to be sent to the central monitoring workstation, both the first type of information from the database and currently-collected first type of information as well as a second type of information is sent to the central monitoring workstation. Once the information is sent to the central monitoring workstation, the values in the database corresponding to the first type of information is reset and the next monitoring cycle begins.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring a business office image handling device comprising:

polling, over a local area network (LAN) at a first frequency, the business office image handling device by a remote monitoring computer using a network management protocol for a first information corresponding to the business office image handling device;

storing, by the remote monitoring computer, the first information collected by the remote monitoring computer at the first frequency in a digital repository located at the remote monitoring computer cumulatively following the polling at a first frequency step;

polling, over the LAN at a second frequency, different from the first frequency, the business office image handling device by the remote monitoring computer using a network management protocol for the first information and a second information corresponding to the business office image handling device;

sending, by the remote monitoring computer, the first information and the second information collected by the remote monitoring computer from the remote monitoring computer to a central computer through a wide area network using a transfer protocol following the polling at a second frequency step; and

resetting values in the digital repository corresponding to the first information by the remote monitoring computer following the sending step,

wherein;

the step of polling at the second frequency comprises storing the first information and the second information collected at the second frequency in a first map structure, and

the step of sending by the remote monitoring computer includes

querying, by the remote computer, the digital repository for the first information,

storing, by the remote computer, the first information retrieved from the querying step in a second map structure, and

formatting, by the remote computer, the first information and the second information collected by the remote monitoring computer at the second frequency and stored in the first map structure and the first information collected at the first frequency, retrieved in the querying step, and stored in the second map structure before the message is sent, into a common map structure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information comprises at least one of an alarm condition, a paper jam indicator, and a door open indicator of the business office image handling device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second information comprises at least one of a page life count, a system up time indicator, a cartridge toner level, a number of errors encountered, and a configuration change made to the business office image handling device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the business office image handling device comprises at least one of a printer, a facsimile device, a copier, a scanner, an appliance, a video cassette recorder, a digital camera, a cellular phone, and a personal data assistant.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the network management protocol comprises a simple network management protocol.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the transfer protocol comprises a store-and-forward protocol.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the transfer protocol comprises a simple mail transfer protocol.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the transfer protocol comprises a direct connection protocol.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the direct connection protocol comprises at least one of a file transfer protocol and a hyper text transfer protocol.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending the collected first information and the second information to the central monitoring computer as an attachment to a message;

the message comprises an Internet e-mail message; and

the attachment comprises a multipurpose Internet mail extensions attachment to the Internet e-mail message.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first information collected at the second frequency comprises at least a portion of the first information collected at the first frequency, and

the step of sending comprises sending a union of information contained in the first information collected at the first frequency and the first information and the second information collected at the second frequency.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the business office image handling device and the remote monitoring computer are connected to a first local network, and the central monitoring computer is connected to a second local network different from the first local network.

13. A computer-implemented system for monitoring a business office image handling device comprising:

a processor; and

a computer readable medium encoded with processor readable instructions that when executed by the processor implement

a first information polling mechanism, in a remote monitoring computer, configured to poll over a network the business office image handling device at a first frequency for a first information corresponding to the business office image handling device,

a database storage mechanism, disposed at the remote monitoring computer, configured to store the first information collected by the first information polling mechanism in a digital repository,

a first and second information polling mechanism configured to poll over the network the business office image handling device at a second frequency, different from the first frequency, for the first information and a second information corresponding to the business office image handling device,

a status reporting mechanism, disposed at the remote monitoring computer, configured to send the first information and the second information collected by the remote monitoring computer from the remote monitoring computer to a central computer through a wide area network using a transfer protocol following the polling at a second frequency step; and

a database reset mechanism configured to reset values in the digital repository corresponding to the first information after the status reporting mechanism sends the message to the central monitoring computer,

wherein;

the first and second polling mechanism is configured to store the first information and the second information collected at the second frequency in a first map structure,

the status reporting mechanism is configured to query the digital repository for the first information, store the first information retrieved from the query in a second map structure, and to format the first information and the second information collected by the remote monitoring computer at the second frequency and stored in the first map structure and the first information collected at the first frequency, retrieved in the query, and stored in the second map structure before the message is sent, into a common map structure.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the first information comprises at least one of an alarm condition, a paper jam indicator, and a door open indicator of the business office image handling device.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the second information comprises at least one of a page life count, a system up time indicator, a cartridge toner level, a number of errors encountered, and a configuration change made to the business office image handling device.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the business office image handling device comprises at least one of a printer, a facsimile device, a copier, a scanner, an appliance, a video cassette recorder, a digital camera, a cellular phone, and a personal data assistant.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the network management protocol comprises a simple network management protocol.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the transfer protocol comprises a store-and-forward protocol.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein the transfer protocol comprises a simple mail transfer protocol.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the transfer protocol comprises a direct connection protocol.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the direct connection protocol comprises at least one of a file transfer protocol and a hyper text transfer protocol.

22. The system of claim 13, wherein:

the status reporting mechanism is configured to send the collected first information and the second information to the central monitoring computer as an attachment to a message;

the message comprises an Internet e-mail message; and

the attachment comprises a multipurpose Internet mail extensions attachment to the Internet e-mail message.

23. The system of claim 13, wherein:

the first information collected at the second frequency comprises at least a portion of the first information collected at the first frequency, and

the status reporting mechanism is further configured to send a union of information contained in the first information collected at the first frequency and the first information and the second information collected at the second frequency.

24. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer storage medium; and

a computer program code mechanism embedded in the computer storage medium for causing a remote monitoring computer to monitor a business office image handling device including

a first computer code device configured to cause the remote monitoring computer to poll over a network the business office image handling device at a first frequency for a first information corresponding to the business office image handling device,

a second computer code device configured to cause the remote monitoring computer to store the first information collected by the first computer code device in a digital repository located at the remote monitoring computer,

a third computer code device configured to cause the remote monitoring computer to poll over the network the business office image handling device at a second frequency, different from the first frequency, for the first information and a second information corresponding to the business office image handling device,

a fourth computer code device configured to cause the remote monitoring computer to send the first information and the second information collected by the remote monitoring computer from the remote monitoring computer to a central computer through a wide area network using a transfer protocol following the polling at a second frequency step, and

a fifth computer code device configured to cause the remote monitoring computer to reset values in the digital repository corresponding to the first information after the fourth computer code device sends the message to the central monitoring computer,

wherein;

the third computer program code device is further configured to store the first information and the second information collected at the second frequency in a first map structure, and

the computer program code mechanism further includes

a sixth computer code device configured to cause the remote computer to query the digital repository for the first information and to store the first information in a second map structure, and

a seventh computer code device configured to format the first information and the second information collected by the third computer code device and stored in the first map structure and the first information collected by the first computer code device, retrieved by the query, and stored in the second map structure by the sixth computer code device before the fourth computer code device sends the message, into a common map structure.

25. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the first information comprises at least one of an alarm condition, a paper jam indicator, and a door open indicator of the business office image handling device.

26. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the second information comprises at least one of a page life count, a system up time indicator, a cartridge toner level, a number of errors encountered, and a configuration change made to the business office image handling device.

27. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the business office image handling device comprises at least one of a printer, a facsimile device, a copier, a scanner, an appliance, a video cassette recorder, a digital camera, a cellular phone, and a personal data assistant.

28. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the network management protocol comprises a simple network management protocol.

29. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the transfer protocol comprises a store-and-forward protocol.

30. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the transfer protocol comprises a simple mail transfer protocol.

31. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the transfer protocol comprises a direct connection protocol.

32. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the direct connection protocol comprises at least one of a file transfer protocol and a hyper text transfer protocol.

33. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein:

the fourth computer code device is configured to send the collected first information and the second information to the central monitoring computer as an attachment to a message;

the message comprises an Internet e-mail message; and

the attachment comprises a multipurpose Internet mail extensions attachment to the Internet e-mail message.

34. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein:

the first information collected at the second frequency comprises at least a portion of the first information collected at the first frequency, and

the fourth computer code device is further configured to send a union of information contained in the first information collected at the first frequency and the first information and the second information collected at the second frequency.