阅读说明：本技术 图像形成装置 (Image forming apparatus with a toner supply device ) 是由 小原生也 于 2020-03-05 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种图像形成装置。该图像形成装置包括通信装置和通知发送部。所述通信装置能够与规定的服务器进行数据通信。当生成通知的发送请求时,所述通知发送部使用所述通信装置将通知发送到所述服务器。另外,所述通知发送部(a)当生成所述发送请求时,基于从上次通知发送开始的经过时间,判断是否发送该发送请求的通知,(b1)在判断为发送该发送请求的通知的情况下,使用所述通信装置立即发送该发送请求的通知,(b2)在判断为不发送该发送请求的通知的情况下,不发送该发送请求的通知。(An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes a communication device and a notification transmission unit. The communication device is capable of data communication with a predetermined server. When a transmission request of a notification is generated, the notification transmission section transmits the notification to the server using the communication device. Further, the notification transmission unit (a) determines whether or not to transmit the notification of the transmission request based on an elapsed time from the transmission of the previous notification when the transmission request is generated, (b1) immediately transmits the notification of the transmission request using the communication device when it is determined that the notification of the transmission request is transmitted, and (b2) does not transmit the notification of the transmission request when it is determined that the notification of the transmission request is not transmitted.)

1. An image forming apparatus, characterized by comprising:

a communication device capable of performing data communication with a predetermined server; and

a notification transmission unit that transmits a notification to the server using the communication device when a transmission request of the notification is generated,

the notification transmission unit (a) determines whether to transmit the notification of the transmission request based on an elapsed time from the transmission of the previous notification when the transmission request is generated, (b1) immediately transmits the notification of the transmission request using the communication device when it is determined that the notification of the transmission request is transmitted, and (b2) does not transmit the notification of the transmission request when it is determined that the notification of the transmission request is not transmitted.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification transmission unit (a) determines a notification type of the notification of the transmission request when the transmission request is generated, (b) determines a reference time corresponding to the determined notification type, (c) determines whether an elapsed time from a previous notification transmission of the notification type exceeds the reference time, (d1) immediately transmits the notification of the transmission request using the communication device when it is determined that the elapsed time exceeds the reference time, and (d2) does not transmit the notification of the transmission request when it is determined that the elapsed time does not exceed the reference time.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification transmission unit stores the notification in a nonvolatile storage device when the transmission of the notification fails, and transmits the notification stored in the nonvolatile storage device when a predetermined user operation is received or a transmission request from the server is received.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the notification transmission unit determines whether or not to save the notification in the nonvolatile storage device based on a notification type of the notification when the transmission of the notification has failed, saves the notification in the nonvolatile storage device when the notification is determined to be saved in the nonvolatile storage device, and does not save the notification in the nonvolatile storage device when the notification is determined not to be saved in the nonvolatile storage device.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification transmission unit transmits the notification of the transmission request immediately regardless of an elapsed time since the transmission of the previous notification, when the transmission timing of the notification is designated.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

Background

In a certain system, the image forming apparatus transmits various notifications to the monitoring apparatus. The monitoring device acquires a notification from the image forming apparatus according to a priority corresponding to the notification content.

In another system, the image forming apparatus notifies the management apparatus when a jam occurs continuously a prescribed number of times during printing of one page, and prohibits the jam notification if the time of the jam state reaches a prescribed value.

However, in the above system, since the notification is repeatedly transmitted and received until the time of the jam state reaches the predetermined value, the number of communication packets required for the notified communication increases.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an image forming apparatus that reduces communication packets required for communication of notification.

An image forming apparatus of the present invention includes: a communication device capable of performing data communication with a predetermined server; and a notification transmission unit that transmits a notification to the server using the communication device when a transmission request for the notification is generated. The notification transmission unit (a) determines whether or not to transmit the notification of the transmission request based on an elapsed time from the transmission of the previous notification when the transmission request is generated, (b1) immediately transmits the notification of the transmission request using the communication device when it is determined that the notification of the transmission request is transmitted, and (b2) does not transmit the notification of the transmission request when it is determined that the notification of the transmission request is not transmitted.

According to the present invention, an image forming apparatus that reduces communication packets required for notified communication can be obtained.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be further apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system including an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the image forming apparatus 1 shown in fig. 1 and 2.

Description of the reference numerals

1 image forming apparatus

3 device management server

14 communication device

21 notification transmitting part

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system including an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the system shown in fig. 1, an image forming apparatus 1 is connected to a network 2. The device management server 3 is connected to the network 2. The image forming apparatus 1 is a copying machine, a complex machine, or the like. The Network 2 is, for example, a Wide Area Network (WAN) such as the internet.

The device management server 3 is a server that collects status information of the image forming apparatus 1 and remotely manages and maintains the image forming apparatus 1. The image forming apparatus 1 transmits the status information of the image forming apparatus 1 to the device management server 3 as a notification.

The types of status information to be notified include the device configuration (presence or absence of optional devices, etc.) of the image forming apparatus 1, status change events (error information, etc.), count values of printing, etc., log information, and the like. The type of the state information may be managed by a plurality of hierarchical classifications (large classification, medium classification, small classification, and the like). For example, (a) a request to transmit a notification is generated when the image forming apparatus 1 is started up, (b) a request to transmit a notification is generated when a state change event occurs, and (c) a request to transmit a notification is generated at a predetermined timing with a frequency (for example, 1 time per day) set by a user, for example, with respect to a count value and log information.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 in fig. 1. As shown in fig. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a printing apparatus 11, an image reading apparatus 12, a storage apparatus 13, a communication apparatus 14, an operation panel 15, and a controller 16.

The printing apparatus 11 prints a document image on a printing paper by a predetermined printing method such as an electrophotographic method. The image reading device 12 optically reads an original image, and generates image data of the read image. The storage device 13 is a device capable of storing various data and programs. As the storage device 13, a nonvolatile large-capacity storage medium such as a nonvolatile memory or a hard disk drive is used.

The communication device 14 is, for example, a network interface connected to the network 2, and is a circuit capable of performing data communication with another device (the device management server 3 or the like) connected to the network 2.

The operation panel 15 is disposed on the surface of the housing of the image forming apparatus 1, and includes a display device 15a for displaying various information to the user and an input device 15b for detecting a user operation. As the display device 15a, for example, a liquid crystal display is used. As the input device 15b, a key switch, a touch panel, or the like is used.

The controller 16 includes a computer, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and the like, and operates as various processing units by executing software processing and/or hardware processing using the computer and the ASIC. The computer includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like, and operates as various Processing units by loading a program from the ROM, the storage device 13, or the like into the RAM and executing the program by the CPU.

In the present embodiment, the controller 16 operates as the notification transmission unit 21.

If a request for transmission of a notification is generated in the image forming apparatus 1, the notification transmission unit 21 transmits the notification to the device management server 3 using the communication device 14.

Specifically, the notification transmission unit 21(a) stores in advance, as a log, the transmission timing (date, time, and the like) notified when the notification is transmitted (when the transmission is successful), (b) determines, if such a transmission request is generated, the elapsed time from the last notification transmission to the current time based on the log, and determines whether or not to transmit the notification of the transmission request based on the elapsed time, (c1) immediately transmits the notification of the transmission request using the communication device when it is determined that the notification of the transmission request is transmitted, and (c2) does not transmit the notification of the transmission request when it is determined that the notification of the transmission request is not transmitted.

This suppresses continuous transmission of the notification.

In the present embodiment, (a) if a transmission request is generated, the notification transmission unit 21 specifies the notification type of the notification of the transmission request (that is, the type of the state information), (b) specifies the reference time corresponding to the specified notification type, (c) determines whether or not the elapsed time from the transmission of the previous notification of the notification type exceeds the reference time, (d1) if it is determined that the elapsed time exceeds the reference time, the notification of the transmission request is immediately transmitted using the communication device 14, and (d2) if it is determined that the elapsed time does not exceed the reference time, the notification of the transmission request is not transmitted.

That is, the reference time is set individually for a plurality of notification types, and whether or not to transmit the notification is determined based on the reference time corresponding to the notification type in which the notification of the transmission request is generated.

In the present embodiment, when the transmission of the above-described notification fails due to a network communication failure, a load state of the device management server 3, or the like, the notification transmission unit 21 stores the notification (that is, transmission data) in the nonvolatile storage device 13, and when a predetermined user operation is received or a transmission request from the device management server 3 is received, transmits the notification stored in the nonvolatile storage device 13. Here, when the notification is stored in the storage device 13, the notification transmission unit 21 causes the display device 15a of the operation panel 15 to display information indicating that the notification is stored in the storage device 13, and if a predetermined user operation is detected in the input device 15b, immediately reads the notification from the storage device 13 and transmits the notification to the device management server 3 using the communication device 14.

Specifically, for example, the notification transmission unit 21 notifies the device management server 3 of the fact that a notification is stored (for example, XML (extensible markup Language) data in which the type of the notification is described in a short length is transmitted at the timing when the transmission request of the stored notification is generated), and if the device management server 3 receives such a notification, the image forming apparatus 1 (the notification transmission unit 21) automatically transmits the transmission request of the notification stored in the nonvolatile storage device 13 at a predetermined timing (for example, at the time of light load). Further, the device management server 3 may cause the image forming apparatus 1 (notification transmission unit 21) to transmit a transmission request of the notification stored in the storage device 13 in response to an instruction from the user of the image forming apparatus 1 or the operator of the device management server 3.

In the case where the notification transmission has failed as described above, the notification transmission unit 21 may determine whether or not to store the notification in the nonvolatile storage device 13 based on the notification type of the notification, store the notification in the nonvolatile storage device 13 when determining that the notification is to be stored in the nonvolatile storage device 13, and not store the notification in the nonvolatile storage device 13 when determining that the notification is not to be stored in the nonvolatile storage device 13. Note that the notification not stored in the storage device 13 may be immediately discarded.

When the transmission timing of the notification is designated, the notification transmission unit 21 may immediately transmit the notification of the transmission request regardless of the elapsed time from the transmission of the previous notification.

Note that, in the case where the value at the time of the last notification is the same as the value to be notified this time with respect to the determined notification type such as the count value, the notification transmission unit 21 may not transmit the notification regardless of the elapsed time. In this case, for example, when the predetermined function of image forming apparatus 1 is not used and the count value is not changed from the previous notification, or when the same state change event as the previous notification occurs, these notifications are not transmitted.

Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the image forming apparatus 1 shown in fig. 1 and 2.

The notification transmission unit 21 monitors whether or not the transmission request of the notification is generated (step S1), and if the transmission request of the notification is generated, determines whether or not the above-described transmission condition (whether or not the elapsed time from the transmission of the previous notification to the current time exceeds a predetermined value, etc.) is satisfied (step S2).

When determining that the above-described transmission condition is satisfied, the notification transmission unit 21 transmits the notification to the device management server 3 using the communication device 14 (step S3).

At this time, the notification transmission unit 21 determines whether or not the transmission of the notification has failed (step S4), and if it is determined that the transmission of the notification has failed, determines whether or not the notification is stored in the storage device 13 based on the type of the notification (step S5).

When determining that the notification is to be stored in the storage device 13, the notification transmission unit 21 stores the notification in the storage device 13 (step S6). Then, the process returns to step S1, and the notification transmission unit 21 continues the monitoring. On the other hand, if it is determined that the notification is not to be stored in the storage device 13, the notification transmission unit 21 returns to step S1 without storing the notification in the storage device 13, and continues the monitoring.

When the notification of the successful transmission is made in step S3, the notification transmission unit 21 skips the processing in steps S4 to S6, returns to step S1, and continues the monitoring.

When it is determined in step S2 that the transmission condition is not satisfied, the notification transmission unit 21 does not transmit the notification to the device management server 3, and returns to step S1 to continue the monitoring.

As described above, according to the above embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 includes the communication device 14 and the notification transmission unit 21. The communication device 14 can perform data communication with a predetermined device management server 3. If a transmission request of the notification is generated, the notification transmission section 21 transmits the notification to the device management server 3 using the communication means 14. Then, (a) if such a transmission request is generated, the notification transmission unit 21 determines whether or not to transmit the notification of the transmission request based on the elapsed time from the transmission of the previous notification, (b1) if it is determined that the notification of the transmission request is transmitted, the notification transmission unit 21 immediately transmits the notification of the transmission request using the communication device 14, and (b2) if it is determined that the notification of the transmission request is not transmitted, the notification transmission unit 21 does not transmit the notification of the transmission request.

This prevents the notification from being repeatedly transmitted and received until the time of the jam state reaches the predetermined value. Therefore, redundant notification such as continuous notification or the like is suppressed from being transmitted in a short period of time, and communication packets required for communication to be notified can be reduced. Further, communication costs required for management and maintenance of the image forming apparatus 1 are reduced.

Further, various changes and modifications can be made to the above-described embodiment by those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and without diminishing its intended advantages. That is, such changes and modifications are included in the scope of the claims of the present application.