Device management apparatus, device management system, and device management method

• US 8,996,752 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2014
• Issued: 03/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Hyo, Kiyohiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsai, Henry
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shyu, Jing-Yih
• Application Number:
  US14/281,409
• Publication Number:
  US 20140258515A1
• Time in Patent Office: 316 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 710/15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3048 where the topology of the computing system or computing system component explicitly influences the monitoring activity, e.g. serial, hierarchical systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3068 where the reporting involves data format conversion
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00344 with a management, maintenance, service or repair apparatus monitoring H04N1/00002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00832 Recording use, e.g. counting number of pages copied
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

A device management apparatus connected to a plurality of devices via a network includes a collecting unit that receives usage data indicating a status of use of each of the devices from each of the devices and that stores the received usage data in a storage device, and a common data acquiring unit that acquires common data that is common to the devices from the usage data of each of the devices stored in the storage device.

Claims

1. A device management apparatus, comprising:

a network interface to connect to a plurality of devices via a network;

a processor configured to

receive usage data indicating a status of use of each of the devices from each of the devices;

obtain common data that is common to the devices from the usage data of each of the devices;

calculate provision data to be provided to a user using the common data, the provision data including at least a reduction effect indicating a reduction in use of resources by the devices; and

generate report data using the provision data.

2. The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the devices are of different types.

3. The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the obtaining of common data determines predetermined first data included in the status of use of a specific device among the devices as the common data and converts the predetermine first data of each of the devices other than the specific device into the first data to obtain the common data.

4. The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

one of said devices is an image forming apparatus having a printing function, and

the common data is number of output sheets printed by the image forming apparatus.

5. The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the common data is data of a sheet reduction effect.

6. The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reduction effect is based on use of one of the plurality of devices.

7. The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the report data includes a graph showing the reduction effect.

8. The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the report data includes a result showing the reduction effect.

9. The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reduction effect is related to a number of output sheets.

10. The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reduction effect is related to a CO₂ emission amount.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium including instructions for causing a computer to execute a method comprising:

receiving usage data indicating a status of use of each of a plurality of devices connected to a network;

obtaining common data that is common to the devices from the usage data of each of the devices;

calculating provision data to be provided to a user using the common data, the provision data including at least a reduction effect indicating a reduction in use of resources by the devices; and

generating report data using the provision data.