Method and apparatus for status notification

• US 8,171,090 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2008
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Muto, Shin
• Primary Examiner(s): SERRAO, RANODHI N
• Application Number:
  US12/202,054
• Publication Number:
  US 20090006571A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,341 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/224, 710/15
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail

Abstract

Transmission data is generated depending on the status change of a device according to a message indicating the status information about the device and the destination information about the message and is transmitted by electronic mail, and the user who manages the device can be notified of the status of the device at an appropriate timing by a data transfer process apparatus, a device, a network system, a data transfer method, and a storage medium.

Claims

1. A data transfer processing apparatus which controls data transfer between a client and a device and can be connected to different kinds of devices respectively, the data transfer processing apparatus comprising:

a status information acquiring unit configured to acquire status information concerning a status of the device connected to the data transfer processing apparatus, from the connected device;

a determination unit configured to determine, based on the status information acquired by the status information acquiring unit, whether or not to notify the client of the status of the connected device;

a message acquiring unit configured to acquire, if it is determined by the determination unit to notify the client of the status of the connected device, a message corresponding to the status information acquired by the status information acquiring unit from the connected device, a content of the message depending on a kind of the connected device;

a transmission data creating unit configured to create transmission data based on the message acquired by the message acquiring unit and transmission destination information indicating the client; and

an electronic mail transmitting unit configured to transmit, as an electronic mail, the transmission data created by the transmission data creating unit to the client,

wherein the message acquiring unit transmits to the device a status code including a value corresponding to the status of the device, and acquires the message corresponding to the status code,

the data transfer processing apparatus further comprising;

a non-transitory computer-readable memory constructed to store computer-executable process steps; and

a process constructed to function as at least one of the units by executing the computer-executable process steps stored in the memory.

2. A data transfer processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronic mail transmitting unit transmits the electronic mail to the client via a mail server connected on communication media.

3. A data transfer processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a message storing unit configured to store the message corresponding to the status information of the device,

wherein, in a case where the message is not acquired by the message acquiring unit, the transmission data creating unit transmits the transmission data by using as a substitute message the message stored in the message storing unit.

4. A data transfer processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission destination holding unit configured to hold the transmission destination information,

wherein the transmission data creating unit creates the transmission data based on the transmission destination information held in the transmission destination holding unit.

5. A data transfer processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission data creating unit creates the transmission data indicating at least one of a name for specifying the device, address information for specifying the device, a product name of the device, total number of pages subjected to printing by the device, an installation location of the device, and a contact address of a manager of the device.

6. A data transfer method which is executed in a data transfer processing apparatus which controls data transfer between a client and a device and can be connected to different kinds of devices respectively, the data transfer method comprising:

a status information acquiring step of acquiring status information concerning a status of the device connected to the data transfer processing apparatus, from the connected device;

a determination step of determining, based on the status information acquired by the status information acquiring step, whether or not to notify the client of the status of the connected device;

a message acquiring step of acquiring, if it is determined by the determination step to notify the client of the status of the connected device, a message corresponding to the status information acquired in the status information acquiring step from the connected device, a content of the message depending on a kind of the connected device;

a transmission data creating step of creating transmission data based on the message acquired in the message acquiring step and transmission destination information indicating the client; and

an electronic mail transmitting step of transmitting, as an electronic mail, the transmission data created in the transmission data creating step to the client,

wherein the message acquiring step transmits to the device a status code including a value corresponding to the status of the device, and acquires the message corresponding to the status code.

7. A data transfer method according to claim 6, wherein, in the electronic mail transmitting step, the electronic mail is transmitted to the client via a mail server connected on communication media.

8. A data transfer method according to claim 6, wherein,

the data transfer processing apparatus comprises a message storing unit configured to store the message corresponding to the status information of the device, and

when the message is not acquired in the message acquiring step, in the transmission data creating step, the transmission data is transmitted to the transmission destination by using as a substitute message the message stored in the message storing unit.

9. A data transfer method according to claim 6, wherein, in the transmission data creating step, the transmission data is created based on transmission destination information held in the data transfer processing apparatus.

10. A data transfer method according to claim 6, wherein, in the transmission data creating step, the transmission data is created indicating at least one of a name for specifying the device, address information for specifying the device, a product name of the device, total number of pages subjected to printing by the device, an installation location of the device, and a contact address of a manager of the device.