Method and apparatus for managing network devices

• US 7,600,018 B2
• Filed: 07/13/2007
• Issued: 10/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Maekawa, Yoshito, Igarashi, Toshiaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne; Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): Higa; Brendan Y
• Application Number:
  US11/777,632
• Publication Number:
  US 20080016210A1
• Time in Patent Office: 816 Days
• Field of Search: 709223-226, 709217-219, 358/1.15, 358/402
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/026 using e-messaging for transporting management information, e.g. email, instant messaging or chat
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0677 Localisation of faults

Abstract

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for managing network devices, which allow the user to intuitively recognize errors that have occurred in network devices. When an error monitoring module (701) detects any error that has occurred in a network device, a corresponding URL address acquisition module (702) acquires a URL address corresponding to an error category. An electrical generation component generates electrical message data for error information, which contains the acquired URL address, and sends it to an electrical sending module (706). Since the user can access error information provided by an HTTP server module (708) by clicking the URL address described on the received electrical message once, he or she can intuitively recognize the error contents by simple operations.

Claims

1. A server apparatus for managing at least one managed network printer connected to a network, comprising:

a storage component that stores a plurality of location information for providing information corresponding to each of a plurality of predetermined categories through a web browser executed on a user'"'"'s PC, wherein operational state information of the network printer is categorized by the predetermined categories according to whether the operational state information indicates that a user-recoverable-error has happened or a service call error has happened;

an obtaining component that obtains operational state information from the network printer;

a specifying component that specifies location information corresponding to a category of the obtained operational state information, wherein the location information is stored by the storage component; and

a sending control component that controls a process of sending an electrical message including the location information specified by the specifying component to a predetermined address, wherein the location information is embedded in the electrical message so as to be used by a link function of a mailer program executed by the user'"'"'s PC,

wherein;

i) said specifying component specifies first location information in said storage component for showing a service call of a company which sold the network printer, when the obtained operational state information indicates that the service call error has happened; and

wherein

ii) said specifying component specifies second location information in said storage component for providing information corresponding to a category of the obtained operational state information, when the obtained operational state information indicates that the user-recoverable-error has happened, wherein the second location information is used by the web browser of the user'"'"'s PC to launch a web application installed in the network printer, and the web application provides the information corresponding to a category of the obtained operational state information.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storage component stores a table, list, or database which describes correspondence between the plurality of location information, and the plurality of operational state information of the network printer.

3. A computer implemented method for managing at least one managed network printer connected to a network, comprising:

a processor of the computer performing the steps of;

storing a plurality of location information for providing information corresponding to each of a plurality of predetermined categories through a web browser executed on a user'"'"'s PC, wherein operational state information of the network printer is categorized by the predetermined categories according to whether the operational state information indicates that a user-recoverable-error has happened or a service call has happened;

obtaining operational state information from the network printer;

specifying location information corresponding to a category of the obtained operational state information, wherein the location information is stored in the storing step; and

controlling a process of sending an electrical message including the location information specified in the specifying step to a predetermined address, wherein the location information is embedded in the electrical message so as to be used by a link function of a mailer program executed by the user'"'"'s PC,

wherein said specifying step includes the steps of;

i) specifying first location information for showing a service call of a company which sold the network printer, when the obtained operational state information indicates that the service call error has happened; and

ii) specifying second location information for providing information corresponding to a category of the obtained operational state information, when the obtained operational state information indicates that the user-recoverable-error has happened, wherein the second location information is used by the web browser of the user'"'"'s PC to launch a web application installed in the network printer, and the web application provides the information corresponding to a category of the obtained operational state information.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the step of storing includes the step of storing a table, list, or database which describes correspondence between the plurality of location information, and the plurality of operational state information of the network printer.

5. A computer readable storage medium on which is stored a computer program for making a computer execute a method for managing at least one managed network printer connected to a network, the method comprising the steps of:

storing a plurality of location information for providing information corresponding to each of a plurality of predetermined categories through a web browser executed on a user'"'"'s PC, wherein operational state information of the network printer is categorized by the predetermined categories according to whether the operational state information indicates that a user-recoverable-error has happened or a service call error has happened;

obtaining operational state information from the network printer;

specifying location information corresponding to a category of the obtained operational state information, wherein the location information is stored in the storing step; and

controlling a process of sending an electrical message including the location information specified in the specifying step to a predetermined address, wherein the location information is embedded in the electrical message so as to be used by a link function of a mailer program executed by the user'"'"'s PC,

wherein said specifying step includes the steps of;

i) specifying first location information for showing a service call of a company which sold the network printer, when the obtained operational state information indicates that the service call error has happened; and

ii) specifying second location information for providing information corresponding to a category of the obtained operational state information, when the obtained operational state information indicates that the user-recoverable-error has happened, wherein the second location information is used by the web browser of the user'"'"'s PC to launch a web application installed in the network printer, and the web application provides the information corresponding to a category for the obtained operational state information.

6. A system for managing at least one managed network printer connected to a network, comprising:

a storage component that stores a plurality of location information for providing information corresponding to each of predetermined categories by a web browser executed on a user'"'"'s PC, wherein operational state information of the network printer is categorized by the predetermined categories according to whether the operational state information indicates that a user-recoverable-error has happened or a user-unrecoverable-error has happened;

a obtaining component that obtains operational state information from the network printer;

a specifying component that specifies location information corresponding to a category of the obtained operational state information wherein the location information is stored by the storage component; and

a notification component that notifies an electrical message which includes a link that is linkable to the location information specified by the specifying component to a predetermined address,

wherein;

i) said specifying component specifies first location information in said storage component for showing a service call of a company which sold the network printer, when the obtained operational state information indicates that the user-unrecoverable-error has happened; and

ii) said specifying component specifies second location information in said storage component for providing information corresponding to a category of the obtained operational state information, when the obtained operational state information indicates that the user-recoverable-error has happened, wherein the second location information is used by a web browser of the user'"'"'s PC to launch a web application installed in the network printer, and the web application provides the information corresponding to a category of the obtained operational state information.