JP2024100648A - Management system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

To solve the problem that the provision of a guidance about component replacement for the restoration of a failed device cannot be said to be sufficient for appropriate information provision in consideration of costs required for preparation or the like, and further improvement is required.SOLUTION: A management system has: means for specifying component information of one or more components to be treated to resolve an error occurring in an image processing apparatus; and means for providing the specified component information by using market results. The component information is provided for the one or more components in an order of priority according to the market results, and the information is further provided in a form in which treatment with a possibility of resolving the error and unnecessary treatment can be discriminated for each component.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for determining repair locations to resolve errors or malfunctions that occur in image processing devices such as printers.

Previously, there were systems that managed device information and operation information for image processing devices (hereafter referred to as devices) such as printers, multifunction devices, and scanners. Operation information managed included errors, alarms, counter information, and log information.

In such a system, the server receives notification of a malfunction that has occurred in the device from the device, and the circumstances under which the malfunction occurred (when, in which device, what error occurred) can be managed. In recent years, mechanisms have also been proposed for diagnosing malfunctions by analyzing the details of the malfunction. In Patent Document 1, the image forming device obtains diagnostic information including the malfunctioning part corresponding to the error that has occurred within the device and the corresponding countermeasure, and further obtains priority information for replacing the malfunctioning part from the management device. The image forming device then displays replacement guidance for the malfunctioning part according to the image forming device.

JP 2020-199704 A

When a part needs replacing on a faulty device, a worker who repairs and maintains the device must identify the parts that can be replaced, make arrangements in advance, and dispatch to the device's installation location. In this case, if there are multiple parts that can be replaced, they must all be brought with them, which increases ordering costs and procurement time. In addition, there are cases where the device can be restored from the fault by other measures without replacement work, in which case the preparation work before dispatch may be wasted. Therefore, it is believed that there is room for improvement in the replacement guidance described in Patent Document 1.

The system of the present invention aims to provide a mechanism for understanding the procedure for recovering from a device failure, including the possibility of procedures other than part replacement, information on the target parts, and the priority of the procedure.

A management system comprising: an identification means for identifying part information of one or more parts that should be treated to eliminate an error occurring in an image processing device based on error information on multiple errors that have occurred in the image processing device and error information on an error occurring in the image processing device; and a provision means for providing the part information identified by the identification means using market performance that manages the number of times a treatment has been performed to eliminate an error in the past in association with the part that was the subject of the treatment and the error, and the part information is provided for the one or more parts in order of priority according to the market performance, and further, the information is provided in a format that allows for identification of treatments that may eliminate an error for each part from unnecessary treatments.

The present invention provides a mechanism for understanding the procedure for recovering from a device failure, including the possibility of procedures other than part replacement, information on the target parts, and the priority of the procedure.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a configuration of a network system. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of an apparatus included in an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a software module provided in an apparatus included in an embodiment. 1 is a flowchart for explaining an estimation process according to the first embodiment; 1 is an example of a repair procedure display screen. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of software modules of a repair location notification server according to a second embodiment. 13 is a flowchart for explaining a filter process by a repair location notification server according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a software module of a repair location notification server according to a third embodiment. 13 is a flowchart for explaining a repair part ranking process according to a third embodiment; 13 is an example of an alert information display screen according to the third embodiment. 13 is an example of a repair procedure display screen according to the third embodiment. 13 is a flowchart for explaining a repair part ranking process according to a fourth embodiment; 13 is a flowchart for explaining a process for prioritizing repair parts according to a fifth embodiment;

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<System Configuration>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a network system including a repair location notification server 101 and an image processing device such as a printer.

The network system is configured so that a repair location notification server 101, a printer 102, and a PC (Personal Computer) 103 can communicate via a network 100.

The network 100 is, for example, a so-called communications network realized by a LAN such as the Internet, a WAN, a telephone line, etc., and is capable of transmitting and receiving data.

The repair location notification server 101 receives error information from the printer 102 indicating a malfunction or error that has occurred in the printer 102. It then estimates information on one or more parts required to resolve the error. Furthermore, the repair location notification server 101 manages the track record of past repairs performed in the market for similar errors as market track record, and uses a storage service to manage information for determining the priority of parts to be repaired based on this market track record.

The functions of the repair location notification server 101 described below may be realized by a single server or a single virtual server, or may be realized as a system consisting of multiple servers or multiple virtual servers. Alternatively, a system consisting of multiple virtual servers may be executed on a single server. In this case, the repair location notification server 101 is included as one server function within a system constructed on the Internet. A management system including this repair location notification server 101 may be designed on a cloud infrastructure based on cloud computing technology. In that case, at least a portion of the hardware provided in the computer in FIG. 2 described below will be used as the hardware resources provided to the virtual server related to the cloud computing technology.

The printer 102 is an example of an image processing device, and the repair location notification server 101 can also manage image processing devices such as multifunction devices and scanners in a similar manner. Although not shown, the repair location notification server 101 can also manage a plurality of image processing devices, just like the printer 102. An image forming device has a hardware configuration for providing functions such as printing, faxing, copying, and scanning. The printer 102 also has a sensor that detects the occurrence of errors or malfunctions in the printer 102. The information detected by the sensor is sent from the printer 102 to the repair location notification server 101 as error information including device information.

The repair location notification server 101 can also manage image processing devices such as multifunction peripherals and scanners. Although not shown, the repair location notification server 101 can also manage multiple image processing devices, similar to the printer 102.

The PC 103 is an example of an information processing device, and has a specific OS (not shown) installed. The PC 103 also has a browser 331 (web browser) (described later) installed. The browser 331 sends requests for the printer 102 to the repair location notification server 101, receives part information from the repair location notification server 101, and displays the contents as a GUI (Graphical User Interface).

<Hardware Configuration>
FIG. 2A is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the information processing device that constitutes the repair location notification server 102 and the PC 103 in FIG.

In the figure, 201 is a CPU that directly or indirectly controls each device (ROM, RAM, etc., described below) connected by an internal bus and executes a program for realizing the present invention. 202 is a ROM in which the BIOS is stored. 203 is a RAM (direct storage device) that is used as a work area for the CPU 201 and is used as temporary storage for loading software modules for realizing the present invention. 204 is an indirect storage device such as an HDD (hard disk drive) or SSD (solid state drive) in which the OS, which is the basic software, and software modules are stored. 205 is an input device such as a keyboard or pointing device (not shown). 206 is an output device to which a display is connected. 207 is an I/F for connecting to the network 100.

After booting up these pieces of hardware, the BIOS is executed by the CPU 201, and the OS is loaded from the HDD 204 to the RAM 203 in an executable manner. The CPU 201 loads various software modules, described below, from the HDD 204 to the RAM 203 as needed in an executable manner in accordance with the operation of the OS. The various software modules are executed and operated by the CPU 201 in cooperation with the above-mentioned devices. In addition, the I/F 207 is connected to the Internet 100 or the local network 101, and is controlled by the CPU 201 in accordance with the operation of the OS, realizing communication by the above-mentioned communication means.

Figure 2(b) is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of an image processing device such as the printer 102. The portion excluding the print engine 238 is sometimes called a controller that manages the printer's control system. Each hardware component is connected to a system bus 230.

The CPU 231 controls the entire device and centrally controls access to various devices connected to the system bus 230. This control is based on the control program stored in the ROM 232 or the control program and resource data (resource information) stored in the external memory 236 connected via the disk controller (DKC 235). The RAM 233 functions as the main memory and work area of the CPU 231, and is configured so that the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). The storage device 240 is an external storage means that functions as a large-capacity memory. The operation panel (operation unit) 239 displays a screen and accepts user operation instructions via the screen. In addition, buttons and a display unit such as a liquid crystal panel are also arranged for performing operations such as setting the operation mode of the printer 103, displaying the operation status of the printer 103, and specifying content data to be printed. The network controller 234 is, for example, a network interface card (NIC), and exchanges data with external devices via the network controller 234. The raster controller 237 is, for example, a controller that converts print data described in a PDL language into image data. The print engine 238 uses known printing technology to form an image on a sheet based on image data input from the raster controller 237. Suitable implementations include print engines using an electrophotographic method (laser beam method), an inkjet method, or a dye sublimation method (thermal transfer method). The device I/F 241 is a connection I/F with an external device that can be connected via USB or the like. The printer 102 also includes multiple sensors (not shown) that detect errors and malfunctions.

<Software configuration>
An example of a modular configuration of software included in a network system will be described with reference to Fig. 3. The modular configuration shown in Fig. 3 is realized by a CPU executing a program stored in the memory of each device. Each processing step included in the flowchart described below is executed based on this program. Note that the table schema and data described below are merely examples, and the table schema and the format of various data are not limited to these.

The repair location notification server 101 is composed of an operation information receiving unit 311, an error determination unit 312, an error history management unit 313, a priority determination unit 314, a market performance management unit 315, an estimation result management unit 316, and a repair procedure display unit 317.

The operation information receiving unit 311 receives operation information from the printer 102. The operation information received by the operation information receiving unit 311 includes error information indicating a malfunction or error, counter information, log information, and the like. In addition to the contents of an error code, the operation information also includes device information indicating the identification information of the printer 102 that is the sender of the information.

The error determination unit 312 receives error information from the operation information receiving unit 311. The error determination unit 312 analyzes the contents of the received error information and obtains from the error history management unit 313 an error history, which is information about errors that have occurred in the printer in which the error occurred. The error determination unit 312 further identifies one or more pieces of part information that may be able to resolve the error indicated by the received error information. The error determination unit 312 then transmits the received error information and the identified part information as a determination result to the priority determination unit 314, which will be described later. At this time, if the error determination unit 312 is unable to identify the part information, it transmits information indicating that the part information could not be identified as a determination result to the priority determination unit 314 together with the received error information. An example of an instance where part information cannot be identified is a case where a specific error code that cannot be identified is transmitted as error information. The error history management unit 313 also stores the error information received by the error determination unit 312 as an error history, linking it to the identification information (device ID) of the printer 102.

The error history management unit 313 accumulates and manages the error information received from the printer 102 as an error history. Table A shows an example of part of the error history managed by the error history management unit 313.

In the error history, one record is prepared for each piece of error information. Each record records an error ID that uniquely identifies the error, identification information (device ID) that uniquely identifies the printer in which the error occurred, a model number that indicates the type of printer, and an error code that is the type of error that occurred. Each record also manages a counter value that indicates the total number of prints made by the image processing device when the error occurred. This counter information is also included in the error information. Furthermore, each record also manages the date and time the error occurred, which is included in the error information.

When the priority determination unit 314 receives the determination result from the error determination unit 312, it obtains from the market performance management unit 315 market performance data whose model number and error code included in the error information match. The priority determination unit 314 ranks the market performance data whose part numbers match the part information included in the determination result in order of the number of part replacements, as "part information with a high possibility of eliminating the error". The estimation result management unit 316 then saves the repair procedure indicating the ranked part information as an estimation result.

The market performance management unit 315 manages all replacement work performed by service personnel to resolve errors that occurred in image processing devices that were sold and used in the past, based on the error codes. Table B is an example of part of the market performance managed by the market performance management unit 315, which tallies the number of part replacements for each model number, error code, and part number, and stores and manages this information in association with each other.

The market performance consists of a model number indicating the model type, an error code indicating the type of error that occurred, a part number indicating the part that was replaced to resolve the error, and the number of replacements indicating the number of parts that were replaced. The market performance management unit 315 also manages the number of all procedures other than replacement that were performed by a service technician to resolve errors for error codes that occurred in image processing devices that were sold and used in the past. Note that procedure information indicating that the market performance is 0 may be used to identify procedures that are not necessary to resolve errors.

The estimation result management unit 316 saves and manages the repair procedures estimated by the priority determination unit 314 based on the part information and market performance as estimation results. Table C shows some examples of the estimation results managed by the estimation result management unit 316.

The estimation result consists of the device ID, the error ID, the part number of the part information for the error, and a priority indicating the order of the part to be repaired. In this embodiment, the repair priority is determined to be higher in ascending order of priority number. An example of the method of calculating the priority will be described later in the explanation of the part information estimation process in Figure 4.

When the repair procedure display unit 317 receives a request to obtain a repair procedure including a device ID and an error ID from the browser 331 of the PC 103, it obtains an error history whose device ID and error ID match from the error history management unit 313. The repair procedure display unit 317 also obtains an estimation result whose device ID and error ID match from the estimation result management unit 316, generates a repair procedure display screen, and returns it to the browser 331. The repair procedure display screen is provided as data described in HTML or the like.

The printer 102 consists of an operation information transmission unit 321, a job execution unit 322, and a control unit 323.

The operation information transmission unit 321 transmits operation information, such as error information that has occurred in the printer 102 and that is collected by the control unit 323 (described below), to the repair location notification server 101 using the network controller 234.

The job execution unit 322 executes jobs submitted to the printer 102. For example, when a print job is submitted, the job execution unit 322 executes printing processing based on the print job.

The control unit 323 collects error information about errors detected within the printer 102, and controls the transmission of the error information to the repair location notification server 101 via the operation information transmission unit 321.

<Parts information estimation process>
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the part information estimation process.

In S401, the control unit 323 of the printer 102 determines whether an error has occurred in the printer 102. If an error has occurred, in S402, the operation information control unit 321 of the printer 102 sends error information as operation information to the repair location notification server 101.

In S403, the operation information receiving unit 311 of the repair location notification server 101 receives the error information from the printer 102. The transmitted error information includes the error ID corresponding to the error that occurred, the device ID, the model number, the error code, the counter value, and the date and time the error occurred.

In this embodiment, an example is described in which the counter value is included in the error information, but for example, a method may be used in which the counter value is received from the printer 102 as counter information and as operation information separate from the error information, and linked to the error information within the repair point notification server 101. In S404, the error history management unit 313 accumulates the received error information as error history.

In S405, the error determination unit 312 obtains an error history that matches the device ID included in the error information received in S403 from the previously accumulated error history. For example, if the device ID included in the error information is "DEV0000001", the records in the first and third rows of Table A can be obtained.

In S406, the error determination unit 312 uses the error information received from the printer 102 and the error history obtained from the error history management unit 313 to identify a combination of target parts (part numbers) that may be able to resolve the error and the corresponding actions, based on a predetermined rule base. This rule-based determination may identify one or more combinations. A list of the identified one or more combinations is then created, and this is used as the determination result of the part information.

In addition, in S406, the error determination unit 312 may not be able to identify part information that may be able to resolve the error and that should be dealt with. For example, this may be the case when the error is one for which rules are not managed on a rule-based basis. In this case, the error determination unit 312 sets a list of empty part numbers, indicating that it was unable to identify part information, as the part information determination result.

In this embodiment, the error determination unit 312 describes a method using a rule base based on the received error information and the history of errors that have occurred in the device in the past, but the method for identifying part information is not limited to this. For example, part information may be identified by an estimation process using a trained model created by supervised machine learning including deep learning.

In S407, the priority determination unit 314 obtains from the market performance management unit 315 market exchange performance that matches the model number and error code of the error information received in S403. For example, if the model number and error code included in the error information are "Model-001" and "E001-0001", respectively, the records in the first to fifth rows of Table B can be obtained.

In S408, the priority determination unit 314 checks whether the error determination unit 312 was able to identify the part information in S406. This process proceeds to S410 if the determination result indicates that the part information could not be identified, and proceeds to S409 if the determination result indicates that the part information was able to be identified.

In S409, the priority determination unit 314 obtains the number of replacements with matching part numbers from the market performance obtained in S407 for each part number included in the part information. Next, the priority determination unit 314 associates a priority with each part number as an estimated result, taking it as "(number of replacements in the part information/total number of replacements for all parts replaced due to errors) x 100".

In other words, when an error code occurs on a certain model, the priority of each part is calculated based on their ratio so that the total priority of all replaced parts is 100%.

In this embodiment, the priority is calculated based on the number of replacements of part information out of the total number of replacements of all part information to be processed, but the method of calculating the priority is not limited to the method in this embodiment and any method may be used. For example, if the list of part numbers is [Part1-111, Part2-222, Part3-333, Part4-444] and the market performance acquired in S407 is the first to fifth rows of Table B, the total number of replacements of all replaced parts will be 1000, which is the sum of the number of replacements in the market performance.

In this case, the priority of part number "Part1-111" is "(510/1000) x 100 = 51.0". Similarly, the priorities of the other part numbers "Part2-222", "Part3-333", and "Part4-444" are "22.8", "9.2", and "2.0", respectively.

In S410, the priority determination unit 314 calculates priorities for all market performance records acquired in S407 in the same manner as in S409 described above. For example, assume that the market performance acquired in S407 is the first to fifth rows of Table B. In this case, the priority is calculated for the five part numbers "Part1-111", "Part2-222", "Part3-333", "Part4-444", and "Part5-555" included in the market performance, and the priority is associated with the part number as an estimated result.

In S411, the estimation result management unit 316 stores the part number and priority estimated in S409 or S410 as the estimation result together with the device ID and error ID contained in the currently received error information.

For example, the estimated results for the part number and priority calculated in the example of S409 are shown in the first to fourth rows of Table C.

<GUI for parts information display screen>
5 is an example of a repair procedure display screen displayed on the browser 331 based on data provided from the repair location notification server 101. The repair procedure display unit 317 of the repair location notification server 101, which has accepted a request to acquire a repair procedure including a device ID and an error ID from the browser 331 of the PC 103, provides information by responding with data for the repair procedure display screen.

The management system of the present invention is a system that provides information on the repair procedures for resolving each error that has occurred in a format such as the repair procedure display screen 500, and the repair procedure display screen 500 includes the repair procedures for the error specified from the browser 331.

The repair procedure display screen 500 displays the error history and estimation results managed by the repair location notification server 101.

Device ID 501 displays the device ID of the error history that matches the error ID specified in the acquisition request and the error history managed by the error history management unit 313.

Error code 502 displays the error code of the error history managed by the error history management unit 313 whose error ID matches the error ID specified in the acquisition request.

The occurrence date and time 503 displays the occurrence date and time of the error history whose error ID matches the error ID specified in the acquisition request among the error history managed by the error history management unit 313.

The part information 504 displays the estimation results that match the error ID of the acquisition request, among the estimation results managed by the estimation result management unit 316. The repair procedure display unit 317 displays the part information 504 included in the target estimation result in a list, with the most significant estimation result priority 506 displayed from the top. In addition, for each piece of part information, the treatment content (replacement, cleaning, adjustment) that may resolve the error is also displayed. In this case, unnecessary treatment content is displayed as "-" to reduce unnecessary work.

In this embodiment, the estimation results are simply displayed in order of priority, but for example, if there are multiple estimation results, an icon or message may be added to the repair procedure display screen 500 to indicate that the part is a "part that needs to be treated" for the estimation result whose priority exceeds a certain threshold.

The part number 505 displays the part number of the estimation result managed by the estimation result management unit 316. As a result, the part information for resolving an error that has occurred in the printer can be displayed in order of the likelihood of resolving the error.

In this embodiment, the part information to be dealt with is identified (S406) and the priority is calculated (S409 or S410) when error information is received from the printer 102, but this is not limited to the above. For example, a method may be used in which only part information is identified when error information is received, and the priority is calculated when a repair procedure acquisition request is received from the browser 331.

In addition, in this embodiment, a method for determining the display order by part using the number of part replacements has been described, but the market performance management unit 315 may also store the number of procedures other than part replacement, such as cleaning and adjustment, and display the estimated results ranked by procedure unit of replacement, cleaning, and adjustment based on the priority of the part and procedure.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, if the error determination unit 312 is unable to identify part information in S408, in S410, the priority is calculated in the same manner as in S409 for all records of market performance whose model number and error code match.

Since market performance records the parts replaced to eliminate errors and the number of parts replaced, regardless of whether they were the cause of the error, it is possible that information on cases in which parts that were mistakenly replaced in the past that were unrelated to errors may also be recorded. If there is more such information than expected, the wrong parts may be displayed as estimated results in part information 504.

Let us take as an example a case where the market performance in the market performance management unit 315 is Table B. Even if the fifth row of Table B is a part that cannot be the cause of the error code "E001-0001" for model number "Model-001", the part number "Part5-555" will be displayed in part information 504.

In this embodiment, an example will be described in which a correct estimation result is displayed in the part information 504 even when a part replacement unrelated to the error is included in the market performance. Note that a description of the same parts as in embodiment 1 will be omitted.

Using FIG. 6, an example of the modular configuration of software included in the repair location notification server 101 of this embodiment will be described in addition to the first embodiment.

The correct answer master management unit 318 stores and manages the model number, error code, and (one or more) part numbers that may be the cause of the error as correct answer masters for error codes that occur in the printer 102. This is a master table that manages combinations that are definitively identified based on the device specifications.

Table D shows some examples of correct answer masters managed by the correct answer master management unit 318.

The correct answer master consists of a model number that indicates the model type, an error code that indicates the type of error that occurred, and a part number that indicates information about the part that may be the cause of the error code.

The aggregation filter unit 319 compares the correct master managed by the correct master management unit 318 with the market performance stored in the market performance management unit 315 to filter out market performance that is not related to the error, i.e., that indicates a part replacement that is not the cause of the error.

Figure 7 is a flowchart explaining the filtering process performed by the aggregation filter unit 319 of the repair location notification server 101.

In S701, the aggregation filter unit 319 acquires a record indicating one market performance from the market performance management unit 315. In S702, the aggregation filter unit 319 determines whether a record with a matching model number, error code, and part number of the market performance acquired in S701 exists in the correct answer master managed by the correct answer master management unit 318. If it is determined that the record exists, the process proceeds to S704, and if it is not determined that the record exists, the process proceeds to S703.

In S703, the aggregation filter unit 319 deletes the market performance acquired in S701 from the market performance management unit 315. This deletes market performance that indicates a part replacement that is not related to the error, i.e., that is not the cause of the error.

In S704, if the aggregation filter unit 319 has processed all market performances managed by the market performance management unit 315, it ends the processing, and if there is unprocessed market performance, it executes the process of obtaining the next market performance in S701.

As a result, it is possible to filter out market performance data stored in the market performance management unit 315 that indicates part replacements that are not the cause of errors.

For example, if the market performance is Table B and the correct master is Table D, the market performance for model number "Model-001", error code "E001-0001", and part number "Part5-555" in the fifth row of Table B are deleted because there is no matching correct master in Table D. S702 and S703 delete the market performance for parts unrelated to the error, so the wrong part will no longer be displayed as an estimated result in part information 504.

The timing of the market performance filtering process described in this embodiment can be arbitrary. For example, it may be performed periodically, or it may be performed each time new market performance is registered in the market performance management unit 315.

(Embodiment 3)
In the first embodiment, the priority was calculated based on the number of replacements in the market performance of the part corresponding to the part information identified in S409 and S410. On the other hand, if a specific part in a certain error has exceeded its corresponding lifespan to a certain extent, it is possible that a failure occurs due to the wear of the part. The lifespan here may be a nominal value (nominal lifespan) that is considered to be a possibility of failure due to wear when the part is used under specified conditions. When providing an estimated result of the repair location, it may be important to be able to further grasp how much each part has been used relative to its lifespan.

In this example, we will explain a priority calculation method that takes into account the specific conditions of the target device, such as the degree of wear of parts. Note that we will omit explanations of parts that are the same as those in the first embodiment.

Using FIG. 8, an example of the modular configuration of software included in the repair location notification server 101 of this embodiment will be described in addition to the first embodiment.

The remaining life management unit 320 stores and manages the remaining lifespan of the components that make up the printer 102 together with the device ID and component number as remaining lifespan information. Table E shows an example of part of the remaining lifespan information managed by the remaining lifespan management unit 320.

The remaining life information consists of the device ID, part number, and remaining life days, which is the predicted number of days until the part reaches the end of its life.

The remaining life management unit 320 periodically receives the counter values of each part and the life value, which is the ratio of usage to the nominal life of the part, from the printer 102 via the operation information receiving unit 311, and predicts and calculates the remaining life from the increments of the counter values and life value, and creates remaining life information.

Figure 9 is a flowchart for explaining the ranking process in the estimation process of this embodiment. Specifically, it is a flowchart for explaining the ranking process of S409 and S410 in the first embodiment.

In S901, the priority determination unit 314 obtains remaining life information that matches the device ID of the error information received in S403 from the remaining life management unit 320. For example, if the device ID included in the error information is "DEV0000001", the four records from the first to fourth rows of Table E can be obtained.

In S902, the priority determination unit 314 obtains the market performance to be ranked from the market performance obtained in S407. If the error determination unit 312 determines in S408 that the part information was identified, only the market performances with a matching part number in the part information are to be ranked, and if the part information could not be identified, all market performances are to be ranked.

In S903, the priority determination unit 314 adds the total number of replacements of all replaced parts to the number of replacements of market results obtained in S902 that are used beyond the part lifespan. In this embodiment, whether a part is used beyond its lifespan is determined based on whether the remaining lifespan days are less than 0. For example, if the part number is "Part1-111", the remaining lifespan days are "200", and it is determined that the part is being used within its lifespan, and if it is "Part3-333", the remaining lifespan days are "-10", and it is determined that the part is being used beyond its lifespan. For example, if all market results to be prioritized are from the first to fifth rows of Table B, the total number of replacements of all replaced parts is 1000, which is the sum of the number of replacements of the market results. In this case, the number of replacements of part number "Part3-333", which is used beyond its lifespan, is set to 1092.

S904 is similar to S410, so the explanation will be omitted.

In this embodiment, in S903, the determination as to whether the part is being used beyond its lifespan is made based on the remaining lifespan days calculated from the counter value, but the remaining lifespan of the part may also be calculated and determined based on sensor information, such as the voltage value of the part.

In addition, in this embodiment, in S903, the total number of replacements of all parts that were replaced when a part was used beyond its lifespan is added up, but the number of replacements may be increased until the priority becomes the highest, for example.

In this embodiment, the estimation result management unit 316 stores and manages the device ID, error ID, part number, and remaining life days acquired in S901 as estimation results. Table F shows some examples of estimation results in this embodiment managed by the estimation result management unit 316.

<Alert information display screen GUI>
10 is an example of an alert information display screen in this embodiment that is displayed on the browser 331 based on data provided from the repair location notification server 101. The repair procedure display unit 317 of the repair location notification server 101 that has accepted a request to acquire alert information including a device ID from the browser 331 of the PC 103 realizes information provision by responding with data for the alert information display screen.

The alert information display screen 1000 displays error history and remaining life information managed by the repair location notification server 101.

Device ID 1001 displays the device ID of the error history managed by the error history management unit 313 that matches the device ID specified in the acquisition request.

Error history 1002 displays error history whose device ID matches the device ID specified in the acquisition request among the error histories managed by the error history management unit 313. When error history 1002 is selected, the screen transitions to the repair procedure display screen 1100 described below.

The consumable parts 1003 display part information for which the device ID specified in the acquisition request matches the device ID in the remaining life information managed by the remaining life management unit 320, and furthermore, the remaining life days are below a specific threshold. In this embodiment, the icon display indicating the urgency is switched depending on whether the remaining life days are less than 0. For example, if the remaining life days are less than 0, a red light icon is displayed, and if they are below a specific threshold, a yellow light icon is displayed.

<GUI for repair procedure display screen>
11 shows an example of a repair procedure display screen in this embodiment that is displayed on the browser 331 based on data provided from the repair location notification server 101. The repair procedure display unit 317 of the repair location notification server 101 that has received a request for acquiring a repair procedure including a device ID and an error ID from the browser 331 of the PC 103 provides information by responding with data for the repair procedure display screen.

The repair procedure display screen 1100 in Figure 11 displays the error history and estimation results managed by the repair location notification server 101.

In FIG. 11, unlike the screen described above with reference to FIG. 5, message 1101 is displayed in particular. Message 1101 is a message that is displayed when there is an estimation result managed by the estimation result management unit 316 that has a matching error ID for the acquisition request and has a record with a remaining lifespan of less than 0 days.

Furthermore, part information 1102 displays the estimation results that match the error ID of the acquisition request, among the estimation results managed by the estimation result management unit 316. The repair procedure display unit 317 displays the part information 504 included in the target estimation result in a list, from the top to the bottom, in descending order of the priority 506 of the estimation result. Furthermore, if the remaining life days for each piece of part information are less than 0, the display mode for the corresponding record is made distinguishable from others so that this fact can be grasped. For example, the part information is displayed in a different display color or with highlighting. The life end display 1103 displays a specified mark for part information whose remaining life days are less than 0, among the estimation results managed by the estimation result management unit 316.

As a result, part information can be displayed in order of likelihood of resolving errors, taking into account the printer-specific part usage.

(Embodiment 4)
In the third embodiment, a method was shown in which the number of replacements in the market performance of parts that are being used beyond their life span is increased in S903 to calculate the priority. Some errors may not be related to the part life span. For example, there are cases where error B does not occur even if part A is used beyond its life span. Simply increasing the number of replacements based on the number of remaining life span days and raising the priority may result in parts that are not the cause of errors being presented to the user with a high priority.

In this embodiment, we will explain a priority calculation method that takes into account which error caused the replacement of a part that has been used beyond its lifespan. Note that we will omit explanations of parts that are the same as in embodiment 3.

Table G is an example of a portion of the market performance managed by the market performance management unit 315 in this embodiment.

Market performance consists of the model number indicating the type of device, the error code indicating the type of error that occurred, the part number indicating the part that was replaced to correct the error, the number of replacements indicating the number of parts replaced, and the number of replacements when an error was resolved by replacing a part that had exceeded its lifespan.

For example, in Table G, the column "Part1-111" shows the number of replacements when part number "Part1-111" was replaced after being used beyond its lifespan.

Figure 12 is a flowchart for explaining the ranking process in the estimation process of this embodiment.

S1201, S1202, and S1205 are similar to S901, S902, and S904, respectively, and therefore will not be described.

In S1203, the priority determination unit 314 checks whether there is a part in the market performance that is being used beyond its lifespan, that is, a part number that matches a part number with a remaining lifespan of less than 0, based on the remaining lifespan information acquired in S901 and the market performance acquired in S902. If the market performance acquired in S902 is the first to fifth rows of Table G, the remaining lifespan days for part number "Part3-333" in remaining lifespan information Table E is "-10", and the record in the third row of Table G matches the condition. If this process finds that the market performance contains a part that has been used beyond its lifespan, proceed to S1204; if not, proceed to S1205.

In S1204, the priority determination unit 314 ranks the faulty parts as determined by the number of replacements in the market performance in the column corresponding to the part number that has been used beyond its lifespan. For example, the remaining life information acquired in S901 is the first to fourth rows of Table E, and the market performance acquired in S902 is the first to fifth rows of Table G. At this time, of the five part numbers included in the market performance, "Part1-111", "Part2-222", "Part3-333", "Part4-444", and "Part5-555", the remaining life information with a remaining lifespan of less than 0 days is "Part3-333". Therefore, the number of replacements used to calculate the priority of the faulty parts is column "Part3-333". The number of replacements for the five part numbers "Part1-111", "Part2-222", "Part3-333", "Part4-444", and "Part5-555" included in the market performance are "13", "2", "80", "5", and "0", respectively. The total number of replacements for all parts replaced at this time is "100", and the priority of part number "Part1-111" is "(13/100) x 100 = 13.0". Similarly, the priorities of the other part numbers "Part2-222", "Part3-333", and "Part4-444" are "2.0", "80.0", and "5.0", respectively.

This makes it possible to present a priority order for repair parts, taking into account which errors caused parts that had been used beyond their lifespan to be replaced.

(Embodiment 5)
In the fourth embodiment, the market performance management unit 315 manages the number of replacements when a part that has been used beyond its lifespan is replaced to eliminate an error, and the number of replacements is used to rank faulty parts. In this case, it is necessary to store the number of replacements when the part has been used beyond its lifespan for each part number in the market performance, and the estimation process takes time due to the increase in the data size of the market performance. In this embodiment, a priority calculation method is described that uses the number of replacements when the part has been used beyond its lifespan in addition to the number of replacements in the market performance. Note that the description of the same parts as in the fourth embodiment is omitted.

Table H is an example of some of the market performance managed by the market performance management unit 315 in this embodiment.

The market performance consists of the model number, which indicates the model type, the error code, which is the type of error that occurred, the part number, which is the part that was replaced to correct the error, the number of replacements, which is the number of parts replaced, and the number of replacements due to reaching the end of their life, which is the number of parts replaced.

Figure 13 is a flowchart for explaining the ranking process in the estimation process of this embodiment.

S1301, S1302, S1303, and S1305 are similar to S1201, S1202, S1203, and S1205, respectively, and therefore will not be described.

If S1303 finds that there are parts in the market that have been used beyond their lifespan, proceed to S1304; if not, proceed to S1305.

In S1304, the priority determination unit 314 adds the number of replacements that have reached their end of life to the number of replacements when the number of replacements that have reached their end of life in the market performance that matches the part number that has been used beyond its end of life is 50% or more of the number of replacements. For example, the remaining life information acquired in S1301 is shown as the first to fourth rows of Table E, and the market performance acquired in S1302 is shown as the first to fifth rows of Table H. In this case, in S1303, the part number "Part3-333" whose remaining life days are less than 0 is identified. In S1304, the number of replacements and the number of replacements that have reached their end of life in the market performance in the third row that matches the part number "Part3-333" are "228" and "194", respectively, and the number of replacements that have reached their end of life exceeds 50% of the number of replacements, so the number of replacements is set to 228 + 194 = 422.

This allows us to present a priority order for repair parts that takes into account the replacement rate of parts that have been used beyond their lifespan.

In this embodiment, the number of replacements that have reached the end of their life is added to the number of replacements when the number of replacements that have reached the end of their life exceeds 50% of the total number of replacements, but other criteria may be used, such as when the number of replacements that have reached the end of their life exceeds a certain number.

Other Examples
The present invention also includes an apparatus or system configured by appropriately combining the above-described embodiments, and a method thereof.

The present invention is a device or system that executes one or more pieces of software (programs) that realize the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments. The present invention also includes a method for realizing the above-mentioned embodiments executed by the device or system. The program is supplied to the system or device via a network or various storage media, and is read into one or more memories and executed by one or more computers (CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device. In other words, the present invention also includes the program itself, or various storage media that store the program and can be read by a computer. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments.

101 Repair location notification server 102 Printer

Claims (6)

1. A management system comprising:
an identification means for identifying part information of one or more parts to be treated in order to eliminate an error occurring in the image processing device, based on error information regarding a plurality of errors occurring in the image processing device and error information regarding an error occurring in the image processing device;
providing means for providing information on the part identified by the identifying means, using market performance information that is managed by associating the number of times an action has been taken to resolve an error in the past with the part that was the subject of the action and the error;
said part information is provided for said one or more parts in order of priority according to said market performance, and further, the information is provided in a format that enables identification of measures that may eliminate errors for each part and measures that are not required. The management system according to claim 1, characterized in that the part information is provided for the one or more parts in order of priority corresponding to the ratio based on the market performance. The management system according to claim 1, characterized in that the providing means provides part information in response to a request for repair procedures for an error specified from a web browser. The management system according to claim 1, further comprising a means for filtering the market performance based on a correct answer master that manages errors and part numbers that may cause the errors. The management system according to claim 1, characterized in that the providing means, when providing the part information, provides information that allows parts that have been used beyond their part lifespan to be distinguished from other parts. 1. A method in a management system, comprising:
an identifying step of identifying part information of one or more parts to be treated in order to eliminate the error occurring in the image processing device, based on error information regarding a plurality of errors occurring in the image processing device and error information regarding the error occurring in the image processing device;
providing a step of providing information on the part identified by the identifying means, using market performance information that is managed by associating the number of times a treatment has been performed in the past to eliminate an error with the part that was the subject of the treatment and the error;
The method is characterized in that the part information is provided for the one or more parts in an order of priority according to the market performance, and further, the information is provided in a format that enables identification of actions that may eliminate an error for each part and actions that are not required.

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