JP2020060884A - Information processing apparatus, information processing program, and information processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing program, and an information processing system which can focus on a partial trend instead of an overall trend of collected information to identify a problem and suggest a product coping with the identified problem.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus 10 comprises: a collection unit 12 which collects information showing how a customer utilizes a function; an estimation unit 14 which estimates a problem of the user, by using information generated in a limited period out of the information collected by the collection unit 12; and a notification unit 15 which notifies of a product which remedies the problem estimated by the estimation unit 14.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing program, and an information processing system.

  Patent Document 1 stores a plurality of risk items, attribute categories of the risk items and industry categories related to the stimulating components in advance, a database that stores customer information, and a display unit that displays various information. Input means for inputting customer information such as customer identification information such as customer name and business type information of the customer, and when customer information is input from the input means, it relates to the business type classification from the database based on the business type information. Disclosed is a risk improvement recommendation system characterized by comprising an attribute control and a risk item, and arithmetic and control means for clearly displaying a risk environment to a customer by displaying the risk category as a risk map on the display means. .

  In Patent Document 2, in a diagnostic server and a client constituting a network system, the installation environment and the deterioration life of the equipment for diagnosing an installation environment and a deterioration state of a device including parts based on input information from the client to the diagnosis server are described. A diagnostic device, wherein the diagnostic server comprises an inquiry means for making an inquiry to the client, an evaluation point calculation means for calculating an evaluation point including an environmental evaluation point and a pollution degree evaluation point from an inquiry result by the inquiry means, Classification judgment means for judging environmental classification or pollution classification from the evaluated points, a diagnostic database for accumulating information necessary for various calculations, prescription preparation means for outputting diagnostic results and countermeasures, and diagnosis based on the diagnostic results An installation ring comprising a database correction means for correcting the diagnostic database for improving accuracy. And diagnosing apparatus for equipment deterioration lifespan is disclosed.

  In Patent Document 3, materials related to the first case of the business are input, and based on the input material, the first progress status of the progress stage of the first case is analyzed, and the first progress The material registration unit that calculates the degree of similarity between the situation and the second progress status of the second case of the work, and the first case and the search condition are input, and the first progress status and the second progress status are input. Disclosed is an information search device, comprising: a search processing unit that searches for the second case from the case of the business that satisfies the search condition with reference to the degree of similarity with the progress status. There is.

JP 2006-119770 A JP 2002-341931 A JP, 2017-10262, A

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a method of analyzing a device usage tendency using information such as a log in which a device usage situation is recorded.

  However, when analyzing the usage tendency of a device, statistical information processing such as averaging is performed on all information stored in the storage device of the device. It showed the usage tendency of the device for the entire period stored in the storage device.

  Therefore, even if the information that leads to the extraction of an issue is included in a specific time period with a limited period of the entire period, the information that leads to the extraction of the issue is buried in the device usage tendency during the entire period. Sometimes, I couldn't find a task. As a result, we will miss the opportunity to propose products that will improve the problems customers face.

  The present invention is an information processing apparatus, an information processing program, and an information processing program that can identify a problem by focusing on a partial tendency of the collected information, rather than the entire tendency, and propose a product corresponding to the specified problem. The purpose is to provide a processing system.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention of the information processing apparatus according to claim 1 has a collecting unit that collects information indicating the usage status of a function by a customer, and a limited period of time among the information collected by the collecting unit. An estimation unit that estimates the problem of the customer by using the information generated in (1), and a notification unit that notifies the product that improves the problem estimated by the estimation unit.

  The invention according to claim 2 is provided with a registration unit that registers a period during which the customer is not in business hours, and the estimation unit uses the period after business hours registered by the registration unit as the limited period. To estimate the problem.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the information processing apparatus is an image forming apparatus that forms an image, and the estimating unit includes information indicating that an image is being formed during a period outside the business hours. If not, it is presumed that overtime is performed during the period other than the work hours, and the notification unit enables work from a place different from the work place without going to work. Notify merchandise.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the information processing apparatus is an image forming apparatus that forms an image, and the estimation unit includes information indicating that an image is being formed during a period outside the business hours. In this case, the leakage of confidential information is estimated as a problem, and the notification unit notifies the commercial material that specifies the person who is forming the image during the period outside the business hours.

  In the invention according to claim 5, the information processing device is a device that receives a request from an external device connected through a communication line to perform processing, and the limited period is a specific month or week of a year. , Or a period set on a daily basis, and the estimation unit estimates the reduction of the communication volume as an issue when the information indicating that the communication volume of the limited period is equal to or more than a predetermined value is included. Then, the notifying unit notifies the commercial material for reducing the communication amount in the limited period.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the collection unit collects information indicating a usage status of a function from an information processing device installed in a specific place among other information processing devices connected through a communication line, The estimation unit estimates the problem of the customer by using the information included in the limited period of time among the information collected from the information processing devices installed in the specific place.

  The invention of the information processing program according to claim 7 causes a computer to function as each unit of the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

  The invention of the information processing system according to claim 8 collects information indicating the usage status of the function from a plurality of information processing apparatuses that record information indicating the usage status of the function by the customer and at least one information processing apparatus. Collecting unit, an estimating unit that estimates the customer's problem using information generated during a limited period of the information collected by the collecting unit, and a commercial material that improves the problem estimated by the estimating unit And a management device having a notification unit for notifying a device designated in advance.

  According to the invention described in claims 1, 7, and 8, it is possible to identify a problem by paying attention to a partial tendency of the collected information rather than the whole tendency thereof, and propose a product corresponding to the specified problem. Has the effect of.

  According to the invention as set forth in claim 2, there is an effect that it is possible to propose a commercial material for improving the problem occurring during the non-business hours.

  According to the invention as set forth in claim 3, there is an effect that it is possible to propose a commercial product that leads to a reduction in overtime hours of an employee.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, there is an effect that it is possible to propose a commercial material for suppressing information leakage of confidential matters.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, there is an effect that it is possible to propose a commercial material for reducing the communication amount in a limited period.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, there is an effect that it is possible to propose a commercial material for improving the problem that occurs in a specific place.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the information processing system in 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main part of an electric system in the image forming apparatus. It is a flow chart which shows an example of a flow of information processing in a 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a task table. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen which notifies a commercial item. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the information processing system in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of functional composition of an image forming device in a 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of a management apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of a principal part structure of the electric system in a management apparatus. It is a flow chart which shows an example of a flow of information processing in a 2nd embodiment.

  Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that components and processes having the same function are denoted by the same reference symbols throughout the drawings, and redundant description will be omitted.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of an information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 100 includes an information processing device 10 and a user device 20. The information processing device 10 and the user device 20 are connected by the communication line 2. Although there is no limitation on the installation location of the information processing system 100, an example will be described in which the information processing system 100 is installed in the workplace of an organization that performs some business such as government offices, companies, and schools.

  The information processing device 10 may be any electronic device that performs some processing on input data and instructions and has a history function of recording events that occur during operation. The information processing device 10 is not limited to a specific type of electronic device. Therefore, the information processing device 10 is, for example, an information device such as a computer and a smartphone, a communication device such as a router and a firewall, a home electric device such as a television and an air conditioner, or an office device such as a copier, a printer, and a scanner device. It may be any type of electronic device. Hereinafter, as an example, an image forming apparatus having a plurality of image forming functions such as a print function, a facsimile function, a scan function, and a copy function will be described as an example of the information processing apparatus 10. As described above, since the image forming apparatus is an example of the information processing apparatus 10, the image forming apparatus is also denoted by the same reference numeral as the information processing apparatus 10 to be referred to as “image forming apparatus 10”.

  The number of image forming apparatuses 10 included in the information processing system 100 is not limited, and a plurality of image forming apparatuses 10 may be included. However, for convenience of description, one image forming apparatus 10 will be focused on and the following description will be given. I do. When the information processing system 100 includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses 10, each image forming apparatus 10 executes information processing described below.

  The user device 20 is a computer operated by a user of the image forming apparatus 10 (hereinafter, referred to as “user”), and data to be an image forming target for the image forming apparatus 10 through the communication line 2 and the formation of the image. While transmitting various instructions such as a start instruction, the image data and the like formed by the image forming apparatus 10 are received.

  There is no limit to the number of user devices 20 included in the information processing system 100. For example, when the user devices 20 are assigned to each user, as many user devices 20 as the number of users are connected to the communication line 2.

  The user may operate the image forming apparatus 10 not only from the user device 20 but also from the operation unit 52 installed in the housing of the image forming apparatus 10. Therefore, the information processing system 100 does not necessarily need the communication line 2 and the user device 20, and may include the image forming device 10.

  The communication line 2 that connects the image forming apparatus 10 and the user device 20 may be a wired line or a wireless line, and may be a private line or a public line that shares a line with an unspecified number of devices. It may be.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a functional configuration example in the image forming apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a print function unit 11A, a facsimile function unit 11B, a scan function unit 11C, and a copy function unit 11D that are directly involved in image formation. Since the print function unit 11A, the facsimile function unit 11B, the scan function unit 11C, and the copy function unit 11D are function units related to image formation, each function unit may be collectively referred to as an “image forming function unit”. .

  The image forming apparatus 10 also includes functional units such as a collection unit 12, a storage device 13, an estimation unit 14, and a notification unit 15, and a communication unit 51, an input unit 52A, and a display unit 52B.

  The print function unit 11A is a function unit that executes a print function of forming the content of data to be an image formation target on a recording medium such as paper.

  The facsimile function unit 11B is a function unit that executes a facsimile function of transmitting and receiving document data via a facsimile line (not shown).

  The scan function unit 11C is a function unit that optically reads the content described in the document and executes a scan function of converting the content into document data.

  The copy function unit 11D, in cooperation with the print function unit 11A, forms the document data of the document read by the scan function unit 11C as an image on a recording medium and executes a copy function of generating a duplicate of the read document. Is.

  The image forming function units of the print function unit 11A, the facsimile function unit 11B, the scan function unit 11C, and the copy function unit 11D generate history information in which execution contents are recorded.

  The collection unit 12 collects history information generated by the execution of the image forming function unit, that is, information indicating the usage status of each function. The information indicating the usage status of the function includes, for example, the type of the used function and the usage time. Hereinafter, the information indicating the usage status of the function will be referred to as “usage information”. The information included in the usage information is not limited to the type of function used and the usage time. For example, in the case of the print function, the number of recording media on which images are formed, in the case of the facsimile function, the FAX number of the transmission / reception destination and the number of documents transmitted and received, and in the case of the scan function and the copy function, the number of read originals, etc. The usage information includes information used for analyzing the usage degree and usage method of the image forming apparatus 10.

  Further, since the image forming apparatus 10 may form images on both sides of a recording medium or read both sides of a document, if the print function is used, the number of sides on which the images are formed on the recording medium, and if the facsimile function is used, The number of sides of the transmitted / received document, and the number of sides of the read document may be included in the usage information as long as the function is a scan function and a copy function.

  The collection unit 12 refers to the usage time of the function included in the usage information, and stores the collected usage information in the storage device 13 for each function in chronological order. Therefore, the collecting unit 12 does not need to collect the usage information from the image forming function unit in real time. Even if the collecting unit 12 collects the usage information from the image forming function unit at a predetermined interval such as every 5 minutes, the collected usage information is not collected. The functions can be stored in the storage device 13 in chronological order.

  When the usage information does not include the usage time of the function, the collection unit 12 monitors the generation of the usage information by the image forming function unit, and when the usage information is generated by the image forming function unit, Collect usage information without delay. Then, the collection unit 12 records the time when the usage information is collected as the usage time of the function, and includes the recorded usage time in the usage information, so that the collected usage information is chronologically arranged for each function in the storage device 13. Remember.

  In the functional configuration example of the image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 2, the collecting unit 12 stores the usage information in the storage device 13 included in the image forming apparatus 10, but the storage device (not shown) connected through the communication line 2 The usage information may be stored in.

  The storage device 13 is a device that stores the usage information collected by the collection unit 12. For example, a semiconductor memory or a hard disk is used in which the stored usage information is maintained without being erased even when power supply is cut off. .

  The estimating unit 14 estimates the problem of the customer in which the information processing system 100 is installed by using the use information generated for a limited period of time among the use information collected by the collecting unit 12, and improves the estimated problem. Acquire information on products to be used.

  The “limited period” is a period in which each piece of usage information stored in the storage device 13 is included, that is, of the usage information stored in chronological order, the oldest usage information and the newest usage information. A period set to be shorter than a period in which each usage time is the start and end (hereinafter, referred to as "entire period"). In other words, a specific period of the entire period is called a “limited period”.

  Even if the limited period is preset in the factory when the image forming apparatus 10 is shipped, for example, the user or a sales person of the image forming apparatus 10 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “sales person”) inputs the user apparatus 20 or the input. It may be set from the unit 52A as required.

  Therefore, the communication unit 51 is connected to the communication line 2 and includes a transfer protocol for transmitting / receiving data to / from each device such as the user device 20 connected to the communication line 2. The input unit 52A is an input device that receives an instruction from the user, and for example, a button, a touch panel, or the like is used. The communication unit 51 and the input unit 52A that register the limited period in the image forming apparatus 10 are an example of the registration unit according to the present embodiment.

  The limited period may be set as a period that repeats periodically, such as every day from 22:00 to 23:00, every Saturday, and the first day of every month, and also from November 1, 2018 to November 4, 2018. A specific time period of the year, such as up to a day, may be set in months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, or seconds.

  The usage information generated in the limited period is the usage information included in the limited period of time included in the usage information, and is also referred to as “use information included in the limited period”.

  The notification unit 15 generates information that informs the customer of the customer's problem estimated by the estimation unit 14 using the usage information for a limited period and the product for improving the problem, and notifies the customer through the display unit 52B. .

  The display unit 52B is a display device that displays information processed by the image forming apparatus 10 as an image, and for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display is used.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main part of an electric system in the image forming apparatus 10. The image forming apparatus 10 is configured using a computer 40, for example.

  The computer 40 is used as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 41 that functions as each unit of the image forming apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 2, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 42 that stores an information processing program, and a temporary work area of the CPU 41. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 43, a non-volatile memory 44, and an input / output interface (I / O) 45 are provided. The CPU 41, the ROM 42, the RAM 43, the non-volatile memory 44, and the I / O 45 are connected to each other via the bus 46.

  The non-volatile memory 44 is an example of the storage device 13 that retains the stored information even when the power supplied to the non-volatile memory 44 is cut off.

  A communication unit 51, an operation unit 52, a print unit 53, a scan unit 54, and a facsimile unit 55 are connected to the I / O 45, for example.

  The operation unit 52 is a unit that provides the user with an interface with the image forming apparatus 10, and includes an input unit 52A and a display unit 52B.

  The print unit 53 is a unit that forms data to be an image forming target on a recording medium according to an instruction from the CPU 41. The image forming method in the print unit 53 may be any method, for example, an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method. The print unit 53 is used when the print function, the copy function, and the facsimile function are executed.

  The scan unit 54 is a unit that optically reads the content of a document placed on a platen glass (not shown) and converts the content of the document into image data according to an instruction from the CPU 41. The scan unit 54 is used along with the execution of the scan function.

  The facsimile unit 55 is a unit that transmits / receives document data to / from another device having a facsimile function via a facsimile line (not shown). Further, the CPU 41 causes the print unit 53 to form the document data received from the facsimile line as an image on a recording medium, and stores the received document data in the storage device 13.

  The copy function is realized by the CPU 41 causing the print unit 53 to form the image data obtained by the scan unit 54 on a recording medium.

  The units connected to the I / O 45 are not limited to the units illustrated in FIG. For example, a voice recognition unit or the like that recognizes the voice of the user may be connected to the I / O 45. In this case, the CPU 41 may execute the function instructed by the voice of the user.

  Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of information processing executed by the CPU 41 when, for example, a task estimation execution instruction is received from the user.

  An information processing program that defines information processing is stored in advance in the ROM 42 of the image forming apparatus 10, for example. The CPU 41 of the image forming apparatus 10 reads an information processing program stored in the ROM 42 and executes information processing.

  In addition, it is assumed that the non-volatile memory 44 of the image forming apparatus 10 prestores usage information for each function in chronological order.

  In step S10, the CPU 41 extracts the usage information included in the limited period (hereinafter referred to as “limited usage information”) from the usage information of the entire period stored in the nonvolatile memory 44. As an example, when the non-business hours of the customer's organization are registered in the non-volatile memory 44 as a limited period, the CPU 41 stores the usage information included in the non-business hours of the customer's organization in the non-volatile memory. It will be extracted from 44.

  The “period outside business hours” is a period set for each customer as a period during which it is preferable not to stay in the workplace and perform business unless there are special circumstances, such as deadlines. The period after business hours is set to be different for each customer, but it is assumed that the period after 22:00 and less than 5 o'clock is set as the period after business hours.

  In the case of the information processing apparatus 10 having a plurality of functions such as the image forming apparatus 10, the user or the sales person may specify at least one function for which usage information is desired to be extracted. In this case, the CPU 41 will extract from the nonvolatile memory 44 only the usage information included in the limited period for the designated function.

  In step S20, the CPU 41 acquires the partial usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10 by the customer using the limited usage information extracted in step S10, and estimates the problem of the customer from the acquired partial usage tendency. The "partial usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10" is the usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10 obtained from the usage information within a limited range, not all the collected usage information. For example, the usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10 specialized for a limited period of the entire period is an example of a partial usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10.

  Therefore, the partial usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10 has a tendency different from the usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10 represented by using the usage information over the entire period, that is, the entire usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10. May be shown.

  Specifically, for example, the average number of image forming surfaces per hour in the print function of the image forming apparatus 10 is one of the index values indicating the large amount of work of the customer, but the average image forming in the entire period is performed. If the number of pages is less than or equal to the number of image forming pages specified as the amount of work that exceeds the processing capacity of the customer, the current amount of work is not enough to overwhelm the employees who perform the work. Will be estimated.

  However, when there is usage information indicating that the print function is being used during a period other than business hours, the average number of image forming surfaces over the entire period is defined as the amount of work that exceeds the processing capacity of the customer. Even if the number of jobs is less than the number of jobs, another problem will be obtained in that overtime may be performed outside the working hours. That is, by limiting the analysis period of the usage information to a limited period, a problem that cannot be obtained from the result of statistically processing each usage information included in the entire period may be detected.

  A partial usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10 and a task estimated from the usage tendency are associated with each other and stored in advance in the non-volatile memory 44 as a task table 22.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the assignment table 22. In the task table 22 shown in FIG. 5, in addition to the partial usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10 and the task, products for improving the task are associated in advance, as will be described later.

  When the partial usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10 obtained from the limited usage information extracted in step S10 exists in the task table 22, the CPU 41 acquires the task associated with the usage tendency as the customer's task.

  For example, in the example of the task table 22 shown in FIG. 5, as a partial usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10, when the print function is used during the period other than the business hours, “improvement of business efficiency” is the task of the customer. To be acquired. Further, as a partial usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10, when the print function is used in the midnight period, “coping with information leakage” is acquired as the customer's task. The midnight zone refers to the period when nobody is normally engaged in business, and even during non-business hours, for example, after 0:00 when it is difficult to return home by train or bus, and less than 5 o'clock. Is set at midnight. There is no limit to the setting of the midnight period, and for example, if the industry operates at night, the period corresponding to the midnight period is set during the daytime without being caught by the name of "midnight period". Sometimes.

  In the middle of the night, the work tends to be done by one person as compared with other hours, so that it is easy for a malicious person to steal confidential customer information. Therefore, dealing with information leakage is taken up as a customer issue.

  The method of estimating the task in the CPU 41 is not limited to the method using the task table 22. For example, the task may be estimated using artificial intelligence. Specifically, the limited use information is input, and the limited use information extracted in step S10 is input to a pre-learned neural network that outputs the subject, whereby the customer's task is estimated.

  In step S30, the CPU 41 refers to the assignment table 22 and acquires the information on the product associated with the assignment of the customer estimated in step S20. The product associated with the customer's problem in the problem table 22 is a product for improving the problem. In the example of the task table 22 in FIG. 5, the product A is associated with the problem of “work efficiency”, and the product B is associated with the problem of “coping with information leakage”. ing.

  The merchandise A is a merchandise for improving the efficiency of work by constructing an environment in which the work can be performed at a place different from the work place, such as the user's home, even if the user does not go to work. The commercial product B is a commercial product that suppresses information leakage of confidential matters by constructing an environment for identifying a user who has used the image forming apparatus 10, for example.

  In step S40, the CPU 41 controls the display unit 52B to display the merchandise that improves the customer's problem acquired in step S30 on the display unit 52B, thereby notifying the customer of useful merchandise.

  When displaying the recommended product on the display unit 52B, not only the product name is displayed but, for example, the usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10 or the partial usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10 during a limited period. The estimated customer issues may be displayed together.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 52B. The screen 24 shown in FIG. 6 is an example of a screen for notifying the customer of the material for the problem estimated using the usage information of the print function in the image forming apparatus 10 included in the period other than the business hours.

  The screen 24 is divided into, for example, an area 26A and an area 26B, and in order to inform the customer of the usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10 for a limited period, the usage degree of the image forming apparatus 10 is displayed in the area 26A. In the example of the screen 24 shown in FIG. 6, as the usage degree of the image forming apparatus 10, the number of faces of the image formed on the recording medium during the period other than the working hours is displayed as a graph every hour. The degree of use of the forming apparatus 10 does not necessarily have to be graphed and may be displayed as a numerical value.

  In the area 26B, a problem that is estimated from the usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10 in a limited period and a description of products for improving the problem are displayed. It should be noted that the problem and the method for explaining the product for improving the problem in the area 26B are merely examples. For example, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of a Web page in which detailed information of the product is described is displayed and the URL is pressed. In this case, the display unit 52B may display a Web page in which detailed information of commercial products is described. Further, as a matter of course, the commercial material may be described in the area 26B using an expression method other than characters such as an image or an icon.

  With the above, the information processing shown in FIG. 4 ends.

  In the above description, an example is described in which the period that is periodically repeated outside the business hours is set to a limited period. However, as already described, a specific period of one year may be set to a limited period.

  Specifically, for a customer, such as a university or a government office, who announces the results of an entrance examination or a national examination on a Web page, access tends to be concentrated on the Web server that provides the Web page during the announcement period of the test result. There is.

  However, if the Web server is not accessed during the period other than the test result announcement period for the test result announcement period, the average communication volume of the Web server during the entire period is such that it is difficult to connect to the Web server. May not reach. Therefore, even if the amount of communication is such that it is difficult to connect to the Web server during the announcement period of the test results, the overall tendency regarding the use of the Web server obtained from the respective usage information included in the entire period indicates that In some cases, the reduction in communication volume may not be detected as an issue.

  Since the Web server constructed by the computer is also an example of the information processing apparatus 10, if the announcement period of the test result is set to a limited period and the information processing according to the present embodiment is executed by the Web server, for example, the test result can be obtained. If the amount of communication during the announcement period is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold as the amount of communication that makes it difficult to connect to the Web server, the usage tendency that the access is concentrated is obtained, and thus reduction of the communication amount is estimated as an issue. Will be.

  In this case, in the problem table 22, the item “concentration of access” as a partial usage tendency of the Web server has the problem “reduction of communication amount” and “commodity C” for reducing the communication amount. It is assumed that it is associated with the commercial material.

  Therefore, the Web server notifies the customer of the merchandise C that reduces the amount of communication during the test result announcement period.

  In addition, in step S40 of FIG. 4, the CPU 41 uses the communication line 2 instead of displaying the merchandise for improving the customer's problem on the display device of the information processing device 10 such as the image forming device 10 or the Web server, and the sales person in charge. It may be displayed on a smartphone or tablet terminal used by. In this case, the sales person visits the customer to explain the problem and the product for improving the problem to the customer.

  As described above, according to the information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, among the collected usage information, the usage information included in the limited period is used to grasp the partial usage tendency of the information processing apparatus 10, The customer's problem is estimated from the usage tendency, and information on products for improving the problem is notified.

<Second Embodiment>
The information processing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment analyzes the partial usage tendency of the information processing apparatus 10 by using the usage information included in the limited period. However, the partial usage tendency of the information processing device 10 is also represented by a method other than the method of using the usage information for a limited period.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, in addition to limiting the period of the usage information to be collected, the information processing apparatus 10A that obtains the usage information from a plurality of information processing apparatuses 10A is limited, and only a part of the information processing apparatus 10A is limited. The information processing system 100A that grasps the usage tendency will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the information processing system 100A according to the present embodiment. The configuration of the information processing system 100A illustrated in FIG. 7 is different from the configuration of the information processing system 100 according to the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 in that the information processing devices 10A-1 to 10A-N (N is 2 This is a point in which N information processing devices 10A (the above integers) and the management device 30 are added. Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to distinguish between the information processing apparatuses 10A-1 to 10A-N, the information processing apparatuses 10A-1 to 10A-N will be collectively referred to as "information processing apparatus 10A".

  Each of the information processing apparatuses 10A is distributed and installed in, for example, an organizational department or building of a customer. In the present embodiment as well, the image forming apparatus will be described as an example of the information processing apparatus 10A, and therefore, the same reference numeral as that of the information processing apparatus 10A is used to represent the image forming apparatus 10A.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the image forming apparatus 10A. The functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 10A shown in FIG. 8 is different from the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 in that the estimation unit 14 is replaced by the control unit 19. The other functional configurations are the same as those of the image forming apparatus 10.

  The control unit 19 acquires, from the storage device 13, the usage information included in the period instructed by the management device 30 from the usage information of the image forming function unit collected by the collection unit 12, and via the communication unit 51, The acquired usage information is transmitted to the management device 30. In addition, the control unit 19 delivers the information of the merchandise for improving the customer's problem received from the management device 30 via the communication unit 51 to the notification unit 15 and causes the display unit 52B to display the information.

  That is, the image forming apparatus 10A, like the image forming apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment, estimates the customer's problem using the usage information included in the period limited by the device itself, and improves the customer's problem. Of the product corresponding to the customer's problem estimated by the management apparatus 30 using the usage information transmitted by the image forming apparatus 10A, and displayed on the display unit 52B. To do.

  The management apparatus 30 selects the image forming apparatus 10A that is the collection destination of the usage information and acquires the usage information from the image forming apparatus 10A. Then, the management device 30 estimates the customer's problem using the collected usage information, and transmits information on products that improve the customer's problem to the image forming apparatus 10A that has collected the usage information.

  That is, the management device 30 estimates, on behalf of the image forming apparatus 10A, the customer's problem from the usage information, and notifies the customer of information on a product for improving the customer's problem.

  There is no limitation on the installation location of the management device 30, and the management device 30 may be installed at the customer's workplace where the image forming apparatus 10A is installed or at the sales representative's workplace. Here, as an example, the management device 30 will be described as being installed in the workplace of the sales person.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the management device 30. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the management device 30 includes the functional units of the collection unit 32, the storage device 33, the estimation unit 34, and the notification unit 35, and the communication unit 36, the input unit 37, and the display unit 38. Including.

  The collection unit 32 collects usage information from at least one image forming apparatus 10A. When at least one function of the usage information collection target and each item of the image forming apparatus 10A of the collection destination are specified through the communication unit 36 or the input unit 37, the collection unit 32 outputs the specified usage information. It is collected from the image forming apparatus 10A and stored in the storage device 33.

  It should be noted that the usage information obtained by designating at least one function of the usage information collection target and each item of the image forming apparatus 10A of the collection destination is referred to as "specific usage information".

  The storage device 33, like the storage device 13 shown in FIG. 2, is a device that stores the specific usage information collected by the collection unit 32.

  The estimation unit 34 estimates the problem of the customer in which the image forming apparatus 10A is installed, using the usage information included in the limited usage period, for example, from the collected specific usage information. The estimation method of the customer's task using the specific use information in the estimation unit 34 is not particularly limited as in the estimation method in the estimation unit 14 illustrated in FIG. 2, and is a method using the task table 22. Alternatively, a method using artificial intelligence may be used.

  Further, the estimation unit 34, like the estimation unit 14 shown in FIG. 2, refers to, for example, the assignment table 22, and acquires information on products for improving the estimated assignment.

  The estimation unit 34 is connected to the input unit 37, and starts estimation of a task when the execution instruction of the task estimation is received from the sales staff member via the input unit 37.

  The notification unit 35 generates the customer's problem estimated by the estimation unit 34 and information (specifically, the screen 24 as shown in FIG. 6) for notifying the customer of the product for improving the problem, and communicates the information. The unit 36 transmits the usage information to the image forming apparatus 10A that has collected the usage information.

  The notification unit 35 may display the screen 24 on the display unit 38 of the management device 30, or the screen may be displayed on another device different from the image forming device 10A that has collected the usage information via the communication unit 36. You may make it display 24.

  The communication unit 36, the input unit 37, and the display unit 38 are units having the same functions as the communication unit 51, the input unit 52A, and the display unit 52B shown in FIG. 2, respectively.

  The communication unit 36 is connected to the communication line 2 and includes a transfer protocol for transmitting / receiving data to / from each device such as the image forming apparatus 10A and the user device 20 connected to the communication line 2.

  The input unit 37 is an input device that receives an instruction from a sales representative or the like, and for example, a button, a touch panel, a mouse, a keyboard, or the like is used.

  The display unit 38 is a display device that displays information processed by the management device 30 as an image.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main part of an electric system in the management device 30. The management device 30 is configured using a computer 60, for example.

  The computer 60 includes a CPU 61 that functions as each unit of the management device 30 illustrated in FIG. 9, a ROM 62 that stores an information processing program, a RAM 63 used as a temporary work area of the CPU 61, a nonvolatile memory 64, and an I / O 65. . The CPU 61, the ROM 62, the RAM 63, the non-volatile memory 64, and the I / O 65 are connected to each other via the bus 66.

  Further, although the communication unit 36, the input unit 37, and the display unit 38 are connected to the I / O 65, the units connected to the I / O 65 are not limited to the units illustrated in FIG. 10.

  The main configuration of the electric system in the image forming apparatus 10A is the same as the main configuration example of the electric system in the image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG.

  Next, the operation of the management device 30 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of information processing executed by the CPU 61 when, for example, an instruction to execute task estimation is received from the user.

  The information processing shown in FIG. 11 is different from the information processing according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4 in that step S5 is added and step S40 is replaced with step S40A. This is the same as the information processing according to the first embodiment.

  An information processing program that defines information processing is stored in advance in the ROM 62 of the management device 30, for example. The CPU 61 of the management device 30 reads the information processing program stored in the ROM 62 and executes information processing.

  In step S5, the CPU 61 controls the communication unit 36 so that, among the image forming apparatuses 10A included in the information processing system 100A, the image forming apparatus 10A installed at a specific place (hereinafter, “specific image forming apparatus”). 10A ") to collect usage information.

"Specific location" means, for example, a regional unit such as Tokyo and Niigata, a branch or head office unit of a customer's company such as Yokohama Branch, and a department unit such as Accounting Department and General Affairs Department. It is the place where it was done.

  The specific location may be set in advance at the factory when the image forming apparatus 10A is shipped, or may be set by a sales representative or the like as necessary.

  The CPU 61 stores the collected specific usage information in the non-volatile memory 64, which is an example of the storage device 33.

  As described above, in step S10, the CPU 61 extracts the limited use information included in the limited period from the specific use information of the entire period stored in the nonvolatile memory 64. Therefore, in steps S20 and S30, the partial usage tendency of the image forming apparatus 10 installed in a specific place is grasped from the limited usage information extracted in step S10, and the problem of the customer is estimated from the usage tendency. At the same time, information on products for improving the problem is acquired from the problem table 22.

  For example, when the usage information is acquired from all the image forming apparatuses 10A included in the information processing system 100A, the average number of prints in each image forming apparatus 10A is less than the specified number of sheets determined to be paperless. Even if there is, for example, if the average number of printed sheets in the image forming apparatus 10A installed in the accounting section is equal to or more than the specified number, a problem that the accounting section is not paperless is detected. That is, by limiting the image forming apparatus 10A that collects the usage information, a problem that cannot be obtained from the overall tendency regarding the use of the image forming apparatus 10A may be detected.

  Furthermore, by extracting the limited use information generated during the limited period from the specific use information of the image forming apparatus 10A installed at a specific place, the print function can be used by the accounting unit during a period other than the working hours. Since the usage tendency such as that is being grasped is grasped, a problem such as a problem in the balance between the amount of work and the number of people in the accounting department may be detected.

  In step S40A, the CPU 61 generates the screen 24 as shown in FIG. 6 including the information on the commercial item for improving the estimated problem. The CPU 61 transmits the generated data forming the screen 24 to the device designated in advance by the sales person, for example, through the communication unit 36. As a result, the product that improves the customer's problem is notified from the device designated in advance.

  The pre-designated device includes, for example, the image forming device 10A installed in a specific place designated as a collection target of the usage information, the management device 30, and a smartphone or a tablet terminal used by a salesperson, A device that is meaningful to announce the existence is specified. Therefore, for example, a smartphone or the like used by a specific person such as a manager of a company in which the image forming apparatus 10A is installed may be designated as a notification destination of a product.

  With the above, the information processing shown in FIG. 11 ends.

  In the description of the information processing shown in FIG. 11, the management apparatus 30 collects the usage information of the entire period from the specific image forming apparatus 10A, and extracts the usage information of the limited period from the collected usage information. However, the specific image forming apparatus 10A may be notified in advance of the period of the usage information to be collected, and the usage information included in the specified period, that is, the limited period may be collected from the specific image forming apparatus 10A. In this case, the communication amount of the usage information received by the management device 30 is reduced as compared with the case where the usage information for the entire period is collected from the specific image forming apparatus 10A.

  The management apparatus 30 may select all the image forming apparatuses 10A included in the information processing system 100A as the collection destinations of the usage information. In this case, the management device 30 acquires usage information from all the image forming apparatuses 10A included in the information processing system 100A, and estimates the customer's problem using the usage information for a limited period.

  Further, the management device 30 does not necessarily need to limit the generation time of the usage information used for estimating the customer's task. The management device 30 may estimate the customer's problem using the usage information for the entire period collected from the specific image forming apparatus 10A. In this way, from all the image forming apparatuses 10A included in the information processing system 100A, the image forming apparatuses 10A that are smaller than the total number of the image forming apparatuses 10A installed are selected, the usage information is collected, and the image formation by the customer is performed. The form in which the usage tendency of the device 10A is grasped is also an example of the form in which the partial use tendency of the information processing device 10A is grasped.

  Furthermore, if the image forming apparatus 10A has a plurality of functions, the usage information for the designated function is collected from at least one image forming apparatus 10A included in the information processing system 100A, and the customer's image forming apparatus 10A is collected. The mode of grasping the usage tendency is also an example of the mode of grasping a partial usage tendency of the information processing apparatus 10A.

  Further, it is not necessary to independently install the management device 30 in the information processing system 100A. For example, any one of the image forming devices 10A is set as the master device, and the management device 30 is set in the image forming device 10A set as the master device. You may make it have the function of. Specifically, the image forming apparatus 10A set as the parent machine collects the usage information of the image forming apparatus 10A installed in a specific place, and collects the respective usage information, or the limited usage information among the collected usage information. The customer's task may be estimated from the partial usage tendency of the information processing apparatus 10A represented by the usage information included in the period, and the product for improving the task may be notified.

  Although the present invention has been described using the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the embodiments. Various modifications and improvements can be added to the embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention, and the embodiments to which the modifications or improvements are added are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. For example, the order of processing may be changed without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, as an example, a description has been given of a mode in which information processing is realized by software, but a process equivalent to the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 11 is implemented in, for example, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively, it may be processed by hardware. In this case, the processing speed can be increased as compared with the case where the information processing is realized by software.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the mode in which the information processing program is installed in the ROM has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The information processing program according to the present invention can be provided in a form recorded in a computer-readable storage medium. For example, the information processing program according to the present invention may be provided in a form recorded on an optical disc such as a CD (Compact Disc) -ROM or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) -ROM. Further, the information processing program according to the present invention may be provided in a form recorded in a semiconductor memory such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory and a flash memory. Furthermore, the information processing device 10 and the management device 30 may acquire the information processing program according to the present invention through the communication line 2 from an external device (not shown) connected to the communication line 2.

2 Communication line 10 (10A) Information processing device (image forming device, specific image forming device)
11A Print function unit 11B Facsimile function unit 11C Scan function unit 11D Copy function unit 12 (32) Collection unit 13 (33) Storage device 14 (34) Estimation unit 15 (35) Notification unit 19 Control unit 20 User device 22 Problem table 24 Screen 30 Management device 36 (51) Communication unit 37 (52A) Input unit 38 (52B) Display unit 40 (60) Computer 41 (61) CPU
42 (62) ROM
43 (63) RAM
44 (64) Non-volatile memory 52 Operation unit 53 Print unit 54 Scan unit 55 Facsimile unit 100 (100A) Information processing system

Claims (8)

A collection unit that collects information indicating the usage status of functions by customers,
Of the information collected by the collection unit, an estimation unit that estimates the problem of the customer using information generated in a limited period,
A notification unit for notifying a product for improving the problem estimated by the estimation unit,
An information processing apparatus including. A registration unit for registering a period during which the customer is not in business hours,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the estimation unit estimates the task of the customer by setting the period outside the business hours registered by the registration unit as the limited period. The information processing apparatus is an image forming apparatus that forms an image,
When the estimation unit includes information indicating that an image is being formed during the non-business hours, the estimation unit estimates that overtime is performed during the non-business hours as an issue,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the notification unit notifies a product that enables work from a place different from the work place without going to work. The information processing apparatus is an image forming apparatus that forms an image,
When the estimation unit includes information indicating that an image is being formed during the period other than the business hours, the estimation unit estimates that information leakage of confidential matter has occurred, and
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the notification unit notifies a product that specifies a person who is forming an image during a period outside the business hours. The information processing device is a device that receives a request from an external device connected through a communication line and performs processing.
The limited period is a period set in a specific month, week, or day unit of a year,
The estimation unit estimates the reduction of the communication amount as a problem when the information indicating that the communication amount is equal to or more than a predetermined value is included in the limited period,
The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the notification unit notifies a product that reduces a communication amount during the limited period. The collection unit collects information indicating a usage status of a function from an information processing device installed in a specific place among other information processing devices connected through a communication line,
The said estimation part estimates the subject of the said customer using the information contained in the said limited period among the information collected from the information processing apparatus installed in the said specific place. The information processing apparatus according to any one of 1.   An information processing program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the information processing apparatus according to claim 1. A plurality of information processing devices that record information indicating the usage status of functions by customers,
A collecting unit that collects information indicating the usage status of the function from at least one information processing apparatus, and among the information collected by the collecting unit, information generated during a limited period is used to solve the problem of the customer. An estimating unit that estimates, and a management device that includes a notifying unit that notifies a device that is designated in advance, a product that improves the problem estimated by the estimating unit,
Information processing system having.