Maintenance system and maintenance method for image processing apparatus

• US 8,643,865 B2
• Filed: 03/01/2011
• Issued: 02/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Katou, Hiroyo, Kamisuwa, Yoshikatsu
• Primary Examiner(s): Guillermety, Fred
• Application Number:
  US13/037,563
• Publication Number:
  US 20110216358A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,071 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.14, 358/1.15, 399/9, 399/10, 399/11, 399/24, 399/25, 399/26
• US Class Current: 358/1.14
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5079 for maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/55 Self-diagnostics; Malfunction or lifetime display
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/553 Monitoring or warning means for exhaustion or lifetime end of consumables, e.g. indication of insufficient copy sheet quantity for a job
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/12 Digital output to print unit , e.g. line printer, chain printer
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00344 with a management, maintenance, service or repair apparatus monitoring H04N1/00002

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a management apparatus includes an acquisition unit, a determination unit, a storage unit, a selection unit, and an output unit. The acquisition unit acquires any one of simple data or detailed data including the simple data from a plurality of image processing apparatuses. If the detailed data is acquired, the determination unit determines maintenance data to be applied to the image processing apparatus which is an output source of the detailed data. The storage unit stores the maintenance data in association with related data included in the detailed data. If the acquisition unit acquires the simple data, the selection unit selects the maintenance data associated with the related data similar to the acquired simple data. The output unit outputs the maintenance data as the data for update with respect to the image processing apparatus which is an output source of the simple data.

Claims

1. A management apparatus comprising:

a first acquisition unit configured to acquire detailed data including simple data from an image processing apparatus through a communication line;

a determination unit configured to determine maintenance data to be applied to the image processing apparatus which is an output source of the detailed data, if the detailed data is acquired by the first acquisition unit;

a storage unit configured to store the maintenance data determined by the determination unit in association with related data included in the detailed data;

a second acquisition unit configured to acquire the simple data which is part of the detailed data in an image processing apparatus which is unable to transmit the detailed data; and

a selection unit configured to select the maintenance data associated with the related data similar to the acquired simple data as maintenance data to be applied to the image processing apparatus which is the output source of the simple data, if the simple data is acquired from the second acquisition unit.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the determination unit determines a threshold for determining the life of consumables in the image processing apparatus.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the image processing apparatus includes an image formation unit, and

the determination unit determines the threshold for determining the life of the consumables in the image processing apparatus.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the image formation unit includes a photoconductor as an image carrier, and

the determination unit determines a threshold for determining the life of the photoconductor in the image formation unit.

5. The apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the determination unit determines a threshold for determining the life of a transporting mechanism of a medium on which the image is formed in the image formation unit.

6. The apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the simple data is data showing the number of images formed by the image formation unit.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a table configured to store the maintenance data for each type of equipment classifying the image processing apparatuses by using information included in the simple data,

wherein the selection unit identifies the type of equipment from the simple data acquired by the second acquisition unit and determines the maintenance data corresponding to the identified type of equipment from the table.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7,

wherein the determination unit calculates the maintenance data for each corresponding type of equipment by using the detailed data collected for each type of equipment, and updates the table by using the calculated maintenance data.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8,

wherein the determination unit calculates the maintenance data for each corresponding type of equipment by using the detailed data collected from a single image processing apparatus which is a piece of representative piece of equipment for each type of equipment, and updates the table by using the calculated maintenance data.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the determination unit selects the representative piece of equipment in each type of equipment by using the detailed data acquired from each image processing apparatus.

11. A maintenance system comprises a first image processing apparatus, a second image processing apparatus and a management apparatus,

the first image processing apparatus comprising:

a transmission unit configured to transmit detailed data including the simple data showing the usage state of the first image processing apparatus to the management apparatus via a network, and

the second image processing apparatus comprising;

an output unit configured to output the simple data in the second image processing apparatus,

the management apparatus comprising;

a first acquisition unit configured to acquire detailed data including the simple data the first image processing apparatus through a communication line,

a determination unit configured to determine maintenance data to be applied to an image processing apparatus which is an output source of the detailed data, if the detailed data is acquired by the first acquisition unit;

a storage unit configured to store the maintenance data determined by the determination unit in association with related data included in the detailed data;

a second acquisition unit configured to acquire the simple data output by the second image processing apparatus; and

a selection unit configured to select the maintenance data associated with the related data similar to the acquired simple data as maintenance data to be applied to the image processing apparatus which is the output source of the simple data, if the simple data is acquired from the second acquisition unit.

12. The system according to claim 11,

each of the image processing apparatuses further comprising:

consumables which are to be subjected to the maintenance according to the maintenance data, and

wherein the determination unit of the management apparatus determines a threshold for determining the life of the consumables in the image processing apparatus.

13. The system according to claim 11,

the management apparatus comprising:

a table configured to store the maintenance data for each type of equipment classifying each of the image processing apparatus by using information included in the simple data, and

wherein the selection unit of the management apparatus identifies the type of equipment from the simple data acquired by the second acquisition unit and determines the maintenance data corresponding to the identified type of equipment from the table.

14. The system according to claim 13,

wherein the determination unit of the management apparatus calculates the maintenance data for each corresponding type of equipment by using the detailed data collected for each type of equipment, and updates the table by using the calculated maintenance data.

15. The system according to claim 14,

wherein the determination unit of the management apparatus calculates the maintenance data for each type of equipment by using the detailed data collected from a single image processing apparatus which is a piece of representative piece of equipment for each type of equipment, and updates the table by using the calculated maintenance data.

16. A maintenance method of an image processing apparatus comprising:

acquiring detailed data including the simple data from an image processing apparatus through a communication line;

determining maintenance data to be applied to an image processing apparatus which is an output source of the detailed data, if the detailed data is acquired;

storing the determined maintenance data in a memory in association with related data included in the corresponding detailed data;

acquiring the simple data which is part of the detailed data in an image processing apparatus which is unable to transmit the detailed data; and

selecting the maintenance data associated with the related data similar to the acquired simple data from the memory as maintenance data to be applied to the image processing apparatus which is the output source of the simple data, if the simple data is acquired.

17. The method according to claim 16,

wherein the determining determines the threshold for determining the life of consumables in the image processing apparatus as the maintenance data.

18. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

storing the maintenance data for each type of equipment classifying the image processing apparatuses by using the information included in the simple data in a table,

wherein the selecting identifies the type of equipment from the acquired simple data and determines the maintenance data corresponding to the identified type of equipment from the table.

19. The method according to claim 18,

wherein the determining calculates the maintenance data for each corresponding type of equipment by using the detailed data collected for each type of equipment, and updates the table by using the calculated maintenance data.

20. The method according to claim 18,

wherein the determining calculates the maintenance data for each type of equipment by using the detailed data collected from a single image processing apparatus which is a piece of representative piece of equipment for each type of equipment, and updates the table by using the calculated maintenance data.