Equipment management system, equipment management device, and equipment

• US 9,503,608 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2015
• Issued: 11/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Kurokawa, Kaname
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, II, Jerome
• Application Number:
  US14/817,381
• Publication Number:
  US 20160044205A1
• Time in Patent Office: 476 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00344 with a management, maintenance, service or repair apparatus monitoring H04N1/00002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00957 Compiling jobs, e.g. for batch processing H04N1/3208 takes precedence; program code compilation G06F8/41
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32106 separate from the image data, e.g. in a different computer file
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32539 Detecting or indicating the status of the output devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3255 Hybrid jobs, i.e. performing different parts of the same job on different devices, e.g. colour and B/W pages on different devices

Abstract

There are included: a processing-result-information-acquiring-unit that acquires, from each equipment, processing result information associating communication device identification information for identifying a communication device being installed corresponding to the equipment and processing request information regarding a processing request; a layout-information-acquiring-unit that acquires layout information associating, with each piece of the communication device identification information, area information indicating an area where the communication device indicated by the communication device identification information is installed; a proposal-information-acquiring-unit that acquires proposal information associating, for each type of area, a proposal condition and a proposed content; a determining-unit that determines, for each area, whether the proposal condition is satisfied or not, based on a plurality of pieces of the processing result information, the layout information, and the proposal information; and an output-control-unit that causes, when the proposal condition is satisfied, an output unit to output a proposed content associated with the proposal condition.

Claims

1. An equipment management system, comprising:

a plurality of equipments;

a plurality of first communication devices correspondingly and respectively installed for the equipments; and

an equipment management device that manages the plurality of equipments,

wherein each of the plurality of first communication devices includes a memory that stores communication device identification information for identifying the first communication device, wherein each of the plurality of equipments includes

first processing circuitry that

acquires the communication device identification information from the first communication device that is correspondingly installed,

receives a processing request,

performs processing based on the processing request, and

generates processing result information associating the communication device identification information acquired and processing request information regarding the processing request, and

wherein the equipment management device includes second processing circuitry that

acquires the processing result information from each of the plurality of equipments,

acquires layout information associating, with each piece of the communication device identification information, area information indicating an area where the first communication device indicated by the communication device identification information is installed,

acquires proposal information associating, for each type of area, a proposal condition and a proposed content,

determines, for each area, whether the proposal condition is satisfied or not, based on the plurality of pieces of processing result information, the layout information, and the proposal information, and

causes, when the proposal condition is satisfied in at least one area, a display to output, as a proposed content for the area, a proposal that is based on the proposed content associated with the proposal condition.

2. The equipment management system according to claim 1, wherein

the first processing circuitry performs one or more times of processing based on the processing request,

the processing request information includes processing times information indicating a number of processing times of processing requested by the processing request,

at least one proposal condition indicates a lower limit of a number of times of processing per unit period, and

the second processing circuitry further calculates, for each area, a total number of processing times of processing performed in the area, based on the plurality of pieces of processing result information and the layout information,

wherein the second processing circuitry determines, for an area of a type that is associated with the proposal condition indicating a lower limit of the number of times, whether or not the total number of times in the area satisfies the lower limit of the number of times.

3. The equipment management system according to claim 2, wherein,

when the proposal condition indicates the lower limit of the number of times, a proposed content associated with the proposal condition is reduction of equipments.

4. The equipment management system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a plurality of information processing apparatuses; and

a plurality of second communication devices correspondingly and respectively installed for the information processing apparatuses,

wherein each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses includes

third processing circuitry that

acquires the communication device identification information from the second communication device that is correspondingly installed, and

issues the processing request including the communication device identification information acquired to at least one of the plurality of equipments,

wherein the processing request information includes the communication device identification information of the second communication device that is installed corresponding to the information processing apparatus,

wherein at least one proposal condition indicates an upper limit of the number of times of processing per unit period,

wherein the second processing circuitry calculates, for each area, a total number of processing times of processing that is based on a processing request issued from the area, based on the plurality of pieces of processing result information and the layout information, and

wherein the second processing circuitry determines, for an area of a type that is associated with the proposal condition indicating the upper limit of the number of times, whether or not the total number of times in the area satisfies the upper limit of the number of times.

5. The equipment management system according to claim 4, wherein,

when the proposal condition indicates the upper limit of the number of times, a proposed content associated with the proposal condition is additional installation of the equipment.

6. The equipment management system according to claim 4, further comprising at least two communication devices installed corresponding to a predetermined traffic line, wherein

the layout information further associates coordinate information indicating coordinates of an area indicated by the area information,

at least one proposal condition indicates coordinates indicated by the coordinate information associated with the communication device identification information of each of the at least two communication devices installed corresponding to the traffic line, and

the second processing circuitry determines, for an area of a type that is associated with the proposal condition indicating the two or more coordinates, whether or not processing performed in the area was performed in a mode where a straight line connecting the two or more coordinates and a straight line connecting coordinates indicated by the coordinate information associated with each of pieces of the communication device identification information included in the processing result information intersect with each other.

7. The equipment management system according to claim 6, wherein,

when the proposal condition indicates the two or more coordinates, a proposed content associated with the proposal condition is a warning.

8. The equipment management system according to claim 1, wherein,

the processing request information includes processing type information indicating a processing type of processing requested by the processing request,

the proposal information further associates the processing type, and

the second processing circuitry determines whether or not the proposal condition is satisfied, for each set of the area and the processing type.

9. The equipment management system according to claim 1, wherein the area has a hierarchical structure.

10. An equipment management device that manages a plurality of equipments, the device comprising:

processing circuitry that

acquires, from each of the plurality of equipments, processing result information associating communication device identification information for identifying a communication device that is installed corresponding to the equipment and processing request information regarding a processing request;

acquires layout information associating, with each piece of the communication device identification information, area information indicating an area where the communication device indicated by the communication device identification information is installed;

acquires proposal information associating, for each type of area, a proposal condition and a proposed content;

determines, for each area, whether or not the proposal condition is satisfied, based on the plurality of pieces of processing result information, the layout information, and the proposal information; and

causes, when the proposal condition is satisfied in at least one area, an output unit to output, as a proposed content for the area, a proposal that is based on the proposed content associated with the proposal condition.