JP2005078191A - Maintenance management system for printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the maintenance management system of a printer for preventing the repeated dispatch of, especially, a service man, and for increasing the reliability of status information to be transmitted. <P>SOLUTION: This maintenance management system of the printer is configured to transmit the status information of the printer 1, for example, consumable article information or periodic replacement article information or the like to a maintenance management center by mail, and to dispatch the service man of maintenance as necessary, and to stop the transmission of the status information during the maintenance operation of the service man to the maintenance management center. Also, this system is configured to automatically acquire the status of a maintenance object after maintenance, and to efficiently perform the maintenance operation, and to automatically transmit the status information after the maintenance operation to the maintenance management center, and to reduce the load of the service man. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a maintenance management system for a printing apparatus, and more particularly to a maintenance management system for a printing apparatus that transmits status information of a printing apparatus to a maintenance management center using a network and performs maintenance management such as maintenance work.

Today, many printing apparatuses are used, and the operation status of the apparatus and status information such as trouble information are collected via a network such as the Internet. Patent Document 1 is a system that notifies the use content of consumables, error information, etc. to the host system as mail data, analyzes the information, notifies the customer, for example, or dispatches a service person to perform maintenance. .
JP 2002-73799 A

  However, the failure information of the printing device is notified to the aggregation center by e-mail. For example, when a service person is dispatched, the maintenance e-mail works even when the service person is performing maintenance service at the customer's site, and notification of device abnormality To do. For this reason, an abnormality notification is sent to the customer again, and a new service person may be dispatched.

  The maintenance information performed by the service person is also important information for monitoring the printing apparatus. However, the service person now registers with the center after returning to work. However, it is a problem in terms of immediacy and accuracy.

  According to the present invention, in the maintenance management system for a printing apparatus in which the printing apparatus and the maintenance management center are connected via a network, the printing apparatus stores the status information of itself and the storage means. This can be achieved by providing a maintenance management system for a printing apparatus having transmission means for transmitting the status information to the maintenance management center and stop means for stopping transmission of the status information by the transmission means during maintenance work.

Here, the status information of the printing apparatus includes, for example, consumable information, regular replacement information, defect information, and the like, and these status information is sent to the maintenance management center via the network.
The stop means is a means for stopping the transmission of the status information by the transmission means during maintenance of the printing apparatus by the service person. The determination that the maintenance is underway is made, for example, on a screen displayed on the printing apparatus by the service person. This can be done by instructing a button or by operating a dedicated key.

By configuring in this way, status information during maintenance is not transmitted to the maintenance management center, for example, avoiding redundant dispatch of service personnel and ensuring reliability of the status information transmitted to the maintenance management center. be able to.
Further, according to the present invention, in the maintenance management system for a printing apparatus in which an information processing apparatus that controls the printing apparatus and a maintenance management center are connected via a network, the printing apparatus stores its own status information. And a communication means for communicating with the information processing apparatus, wherein the information processing apparatus reads the status information stored in the storage means and transmits it to the maintenance management center, and the transmission during maintenance work. This can be achieved by providing a printing apparatus maintenance management system having stop means for stopping transmission of the status information by the means.

  The present invention is an invention in which an information processing apparatus connected to a printing apparatus, such as a printer server or a personal computer, communicates with the maintenance management center and transmits status information of the printing apparatus to the maintenance management center. Status information such as periodic replacement information and defect information is once read by the information processing apparatus and sent to the maintenance management center by the information processing apparatus.

  Also in the case of the present invention, the stop means is for the serviceman to stop the transmission of the status information by the transmission means during the maintenance of the printing apparatus. With this configuration, the status information during the maintenance is sent to the maintenance management center. For example, it is possible to avoid the redundant dispatch of servicemen and to ensure the reliability of the status information transmitted to the maintenance management center without being transmitted.

In the above invention, the status information transmitted to the maintenance management center is attached to a mail.
Here, when the printing apparatus directly transmits the status information, transfer information attached to the mail is created in the printing apparatus, and when the information processing apparatus transmits the status information, the transfer information attached to the mail in the information processing apparatus. Create

In the above invention, the state information in the printing apparatus is acquired by comparing the state before the maintenance work with the state after the maintenance work.
With this configuration, it is possible to automatically know a target object such as a toner set or a drum set, which has been a maintenance target, without reducing the work efficiency of the service person.

In the above invention, status information after completion of the maintenance work is automatically transmitted from the printing apparatus or the information processing apparatus to the maintenance management center.
With this configuration, after the maintenance work of the service person is completed, the status information of the printing apparatus is automatically transmitted to the maintenance management center and recorded in the maintenance management center, thereby reducing the burden on the service person. it can.

According to the present invention, the status information during maintenance is not transmitted to the maintenance management center, and it is possible to prevent erroneous dispatch of service personnel.
In addition, the reliability of the status information transmitted to the maintenance management center is increased, and the maintenance management of the printing apparatus connected to the network can be reliably performed.

Moreover, the state after the maintenance of the maintenance object can be automatically acquired, and the maintenance work can be performed efficiently.
Furthermore, since the status information after maintenance is automatically transmitted by e-mail and recorded in the maintenance management center, the burden on the service person can be reduced.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of this example. As shown in the figure, this system is a system via a network such as the Internet, and a customer printer device 1 is connected to a personal computer PC. The personal computer PC is connected to a network center (via a mail server 3 and the Internet 4). (Hereinafter simply indicated as a net center) 5. Further, the personal computer PC transmits mail using the maintenance mail software 2.

The printer device 1 is connected to a personal computer PC using a LAN (local area network) or a Centronics interface. In the description of this example, the case where the personal computer PC is connected using a LAN will be described.
2 shows a part of the configuration of the printer apparatus 1. FIG. 2A shows the configuration of the printer I / F controller built in the printer apparatus 1. FIG. 2B shows the configuration of the LAN board. . In FIG. 1A, a printer I / F controller 7 manages information stored in a nonvolatile memory 8 and a printer MIB (Management Information Base) 9. Here, in the nonvolatile memory 8 and the printer MIB 9, serviceman ID information, service start flag information, model name of the printer apparatus 1, the number of printed sheets, a total counter value (a counter value of the cumulative number of printed sheets), Information such as a toner counter value (YMCK value in the case of color) and a drum counter value are stored.

The printer I / F controller 7 and the printer I / F 11 of the LAN board 10 are connected by a communication line, and the information is transmitted from the printer I / F controller 7 to the printer I / F 11.
The LAN board 10 shown in FIG. 4B includes a printer I / F 11, a printer MIB 12, a LAN MIB 13, a FTPD (file transfer protocol daemon) 14, an SNPD (Simple Network Management Protocol daemon) 15, An LPD (Line PRinter daemon) 16, Telnetd (telnet) 17, HTTPD (Hypertext Transfer Protocol daemon) 18, and a packet driver 19 are included. Here, FTPD 14 and SNMP 15 are protocols for transferring network management information held by the device to the personal computer PC, and LPD 16 is a protocol for causing a printer connected to another computer on the network to perform print processing. Telnetd 17 is a protocol for connecting to a remote computer, and HTTPD 18 is a protocol for transferring an HTML file or an image file. The packet driver 19 is a driver for transmitting data to the network.

  On the other hand, FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a personal computer PC, which includes SNMP 20, Telnet 21, LPR (Line PRinter daemon protocol) 22, POP (3) (post office protocol version 3) 23, TCP (transmission control protocol) 24, IP ( Internet protocol (25), PPP (point to point protocol) 26, WIN SNMP (WIN Simple Network Management Protocol) 27, UDP (User Datagram Protocol) 28, and the like. Here, POP (3) 23 is a protocol used when mail addressed to itself delivered via the Internet is downloaded from the mail server 3, and TCP 24, IP 25, and UDP 28 are Internet standard protocols, and are divided into packets. The PPP 26 is a protocol for connecting networks or a network and a personal computer PC using a communication line.

  First, the basic operation of this system is as follows. The personal computer PC accesses the printer apparatus 1 and acquires information of the printer apparatus 1 (a shown in FIG. 1 described above). For example, the personal computer PC acquires error information and consumable information from the printer MIB 9 of the printer apparatus 1, converts the information into mail using the maintenance mail software 2, and connects to the mail server 3 (shown in FIG. 1). b).

  Next, the mail is sent to the mail server 3 with the destination specified, and sent from the mail server 3 to the network center 5 via the Internet 4 (c and d shown in FIG. 1). Note that the Internet connection processing unit 30 periodically collects printer information by the SNMP 29 via the LAN board 10. At this time, the SNMP manager core 29 performs trapping and polling processing.

In the above system, when a serviceman is operating the printer device for maintenance, the information on the printer device is notified to the upper center unless the printer device is turned off. The mechanism for determining that the serviceman is operating is as follows.
First, the service person performs the following operation. FIG. 4A shows a display example of the operation panel, and a mode for inputting an ID is provided. The service person always enters his / her ID number when starting the service, and starts the maintenance work. By this operation, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5A, the in-service flag is turned on (step (hereinafter referred to as S) 1).

  On the other hand, after the flag is set, the service person performs the maintenance work, and when the maintenance work is completed, the display shown in FIG. 4B is performed. In this state, the service person designates YES. By this operation, the in-service flag in the flowchart shown in FIG. 5B is turned off (S2), and the end of the maintenance work by the service person can be known.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5C, the printer information is not output as MIB information during the above (during maintenance work by the service person) (YES in S3). For this reason, the trap content acquisition (S4), head data creation (S5), and mail transmission procedure (S6) that are normally performed are not performed during this time.

  With the above processing, the status of the printer device 1 is displayed on the operation panel and the status of the printer device 1 is monitored, but only the status information of the printer device 1 is not transmitted to the network center 5. Accordingly, status information of the printer device 1 such as a jam that occurs during maintenance is not transferred to the network center 5.

  As described above, according to this example, in the mechanism for transmitting information on the printer device or the like to the network center 5 by e-mail, the printer status is suppressed while the service person is performing maintenance, and the unnecessary printer status is analyzed. This can be avoided, and a more accurate status of the printer apparatus can be acquired.

In the above description, the personal computer PC is connected to the Internet 4 via the mail server 3. However, the printer 1 is directly connected to the mail server 3 and communicates without using the personal computer PC. Moyo. In this case, the printer device 1 has functions such as a mail transmission function of the personal computer PC.
(Embodiment 2)
Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described.

  This example describes an example in which a maintenance operation log is automatically left after maintenance is started, and the maintenance work of a service person includes the following work. For example, replacement work of consumables such as a toner set and a drum set, replacement work of periodic replacement parts such as a conveyor belt and a fixing device, replacement work of a substrate of a printer I / F controller 7 and a substrate of an engine controller, and replacement of a farm Work exists. This will be specifically described below.

  First, the service person goes to the customer based on the maintenance mail and operates the operation panel as described above to designate the service start. Then, the state of the printer apparatus 1 is confirmed, for example, parts are replaced, and the printer apparatus is turned on and off repeatedly to perform maintenance. Specifically, a series of operations shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 7 are performed.

First, the following work is performed regarding the replacement of the toner set and drum set. That is, when an old drum set or toner set is replaced, the service person closes a cover or the like and puts the printer device into an operating state. In addition, the printer apparatus is turned on and off.
The printer I / F controller 7 records the counter values of the toner counter and drum counter of the printer device in the nonvolatile raw memory 8 when the service person starts the service (ST1 shown in FIG. 6).

  Therefore, the counter value is read at the timing when the printer device cover is closed and the printer device is ready for operation or when the printer device is turned on (ST1-1 in the figure), and the counter value is the first value. If it is smaller (eg, 0) (YES in ST1-2), it is determined that the toner set or drum set has been replaced.

That is, by comparing the values of toner counters and drum counters provided for each color (for example, provided for each of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K)) It can be determined whether the color toner set or drum set has been replaced, and the service history is written in the nonvolatile raw memory 8 together with the serviceman ID and time information (ST1-3, ST1-4). An example of service history in this case is shown below.
Date Time Maintenance operation Serviceman ID (entered)
2003/3/20, 10:20:30, Y toner set replacement, ServiceID
2003/3/20, 10:20:30, K toner set replacement, ServiceID
2003/3/20, 10:23:45, Y drum set exchange, ServiceID
2003/3/20, 10:23:45, M drum set exchange, ServiceID
2003/3/20, 10:20:45, K drum set exchange, ServiceID

Next, as for the replacement of the periodic replacement parts, the service person similarly turns on / off the power of the printer device when the old conveyor belt or the fixing device is replaced. In this case, each maintenance counter value of the printer device is recorded in the nonvolatile raw memory 8 when the service start is set (ST2 shown in FIG. 6).

Therefore, the counter is read at the timing when the printer power is turned on (ST2-1), and when the counter value becomes 0, it is determined that the periodic replacement parts have been replaced (ST2-2 is YES), and the current The date and time are acquired, and the maintenance history is written in the nonvolatile memory 8 (ST2-3, ST2-4). An example of service history in this case is shown below.
Date Time Maintenance operation Serviceman ID (entered)
2003/3/20, 11:20:30, Belt exchange, ServiceID
2003/3/20, 11:20:30, Fixer replacement, ServiceID

Further, regarding the replacement of the board, the service person replaces the board such as the controller board and the engine controller board, and turns the printer apparatus 1 on and off. All the above-mentioned boards are described with their unique serial numbers at the time of production, and these serial numbers are recorded in the nonvolatile memory 8 (ST3 shown in FIG. 6) when the service person starts the service.

Therefore, when the board is replaced and the printer apparatus 1 is turned on, the current manufacturing number is read (ST3-1). If it is different from the held value, it can be determined that the board has been replaced (ST3-2). The current date and time are acquired, and the maintenance history is written in the nonvolatile memory 8 (ST3-3, ST3-4). An example of service history is shown below.
Date Time Maintenance operation Serviceman ID (entered)
2003/3/20, 11:25:40, Engine board replacement, ServiceID
2003/3/20, 11:25:40, Printer I / F board replacement, ServiceID

Further, regarding replacement of the firmware, the service person downloads the firmware software from the personal computer PC, resets the printer device, or turns the printer device on and off. At this time, the printer I / F controller 7 records the versions of the engine controller and the printer I / F controller in the non-volatile memory 8 at the time when the serviceman starts the maintenance (ST4 shown in FIG. 6).

Accordingly, the current version number is read at the timing when the printer 1 is turned on (ST4-1), and if the version numbers are different, it is recognized that the replacement has been made (ST4-2). The date and time are acquired, and the maintenance history is written in the nonvolatile memory 8 (ST4-3, ST4-4). An example of service history is shown below.
Date Time Maintenance operation Serviceman ID (entered)
2003/3/20, 11:50:10, Engine farm replacement, ServiceID
2003/3/20, 11:55:30, Printer I / F firmware replacement, ServiceID

As described above, according to this example, it is possible to determine a state change and automatically leave a maintenance history. In other words, the contents that the service person performed the maintenance work in the nonvolatile memory at the start of the service and the current value at the timing when the printer device is in operation at the end of the maintenance work (or during the maintenance work) If there is a change, the date and time information, the determination of the maintenance work, and the service ID are automatically left as a log, so that the contents of the maintenance work are automatically generated accurately.
(Embodiment 3)
Next, Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described.

  In this example, a configuration in which a maintenance history is sent to the network center 5 using a maintenance mail will be described. According to the process of this example, after the maintenance process is completed by a conventional service person, the work that has been returned to the office and registered the maintenance content can be registered in the network center 5 more quickly and accurately. This will be specifically described below.

As described above, the service man performs a service start key operation at the start of maintenance work, and the printer I / F controller 7 acquires a change in the state of the printer device and leaves the maintenance history in the nonvolatile memory 8. At the end of the maintenance work, a key operation for service termination is performed.
At this time, an SNMP trap is added to the maintenance mail and notified to the maintenance mail. The maintenance mail receives this trap and recognizes the end of the maintenance work. The maintenance mail obtains the serial number of the printer 1 using this recognition as a trigger (step (shown as STP) 1 shown in FIG. 8) 1 and reads the maintenance history recorded in the nonvolatile memory 8 (STP2). The history information (character data) is handled as the body of the mail, and mail data is created (STP3). Then, the mail is transmitted to the network center 5 (STP4).

The network center 5 determines the target printer device from the data included in the mail, stores it as a maintenance history of the printer device, and uses it when analyzing the printer status.
By performing the processing as described above, the printer device information can be transmitted to the network center 5 by e-mail, and the execution history of the maintenance work at the customer can be grasped quickly and accurately. In addition, it reduces the burden on service personnel.

It is a system configuration diagram of the present invention. A part of the configuration of the printer device is shown, (a) shows the configuration of the printer I / F controller built in the printer device, and (b) shows the configuration of the LAN board connected to the printer device. It is a figure which shows the structure of a personal computer. It is an example of a display of an operation panel, (a) is a display example at the time of a serviceman's service start, (b) is a figure which shows a display example at the time of a serviceman's service end. (A)-(c) is a flowchart explaining the processing operation of Embodiment 1. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating processing of the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating processing of the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating processing according to the third embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer apparatus 2 Maintenance mail software 3 Mail server 4 Internet 5 Network center 7 Printer I / F controller 8 Non-volatile memory 9 Printer MIB
10 LAN board 11 Printer I / F
12 Printer MIB12
13 LANMIB,
14 FTPD
15 SNMP
16 LPD
17 Telnet 18 HTTP
19 Packet driver 20 SNMP
21 Telnet
22 LPR
23 POP
24 TCP
25 IP
26 PPP

Claims (5)

In a maintenance management system for a printing device in which the printing device and the maintenance management center are connected via a network,
The printing apparatus stores storage means for storing its own state information, transmission means for transmitting the state information stored in the storage means to the maintenance management center, and stops transmission of the state information by the transmission means during maintenance work. A maintenance management system for a printing apparatus. In a printing apparatus maintenance management system in which an information processing apparatus for controlling a printing apparatus and a maintenance management center are connected via a network,
The printing apparatus has storage means for storing its own status information, and communication means with the information processing apparatus,
The information processing apparatus includes a transmission unit that reads the status information stored in the storage unit and transmits the status information to the maintenance management center, and a stop unit that stops transmission of the status information by the transmission unit during maintenance work. A maintenance management system for a printing apparatus.   3. The maintenance management system for a printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the status information transmitted to the maintenance management center is attached to an email.   4. The maintenance management system for a printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the state information in the printing apparatus is obtained by comparing a state before the maintenance work with a state after the maintenance work. 5. The maintenance management of a printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the status information after the maintenance work is automatically transmitted from the printing apparatus or the information processing apparatus to the maintenance management center. system.

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