JPH11194918A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] An image processing apparatus capable of promptly notifying a user of a failure occurrence and fairly sharing the failure processing work when a physical failure that requires human operation for recovery occurs. I will provide a. SOLUTION: The addresses of a plurality of users are stored as user lists in a mass storage device 111 of a controller 100 of the image processing apparatus. When a failure occurs, the CPU
106, using a program stored in the program ROM 103, randomly selects one address from a user list stored in the mass storage device 111, and sends a failure recovery request electronically to the user ID. The mail is transmitted via the network I / F 105. An e-mail notifying the occurrence of a failure and the name of the user who has notified the failure recovery request is transmitted to other users except the user who has made the recovery request via the network I / F 105.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus applied to a printer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus is applied to a printer or the like, and is often used by being connected to a network environment. When performing output with such a printer, if a failure that requires human action to recover, such as a paper feed jam failure, recovery work is usually performed by a nearby person. Many.

[0003]

However, in the conventional processing, a printer failure recovery work is concentrated on a specific person such as a user who is near a printer on a daily basis in an office or the like rather than a user of the image forming apparatus. As a result, it is not only unfair, but also has the problem of hindering the work of the person.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of promptly notifying when a failure has occurred and fairly sharing the trouble handling work.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a storage means for storing addresses of a plurality of users as a user list, and a user list stored in the user list stored by the storage means. From 1 randomly
A first selection unit for selecting one of the addresses, a first detection unit for detecting the occurrence of a physical failure including a paper jam, and the first detection unit detects the occurrence of the failure by the first detection unit. And a failure recovery request notifying unit for notifying the user address selected by the first selection unit of the failure recovery request.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage means for storing addresses of a plurality of users as a user list, and in the user list stored by the storage means, a frequency of selection is set as a condition for selection. Setting means for setting individually each time, second selecting means for selecting one address from a user list stored by the storage means in accordance with a selection frequency set by the setting means, and paper feeding jam. First detecting means for detecting the occurrence of a physical failure, and, when the occurrence of the failure is detected by the first detecting means, a failure recovery request to the address of the user selected by the second selecting means. And a failure recovery request notifying means for notifying.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the address of the user notified of the failure recovery request by the failure recovery request notifying means is removed.
The system further comprises a notifying unit for notifying the user name in the user list stored in the storage unit, the user name notified of the failure recovery request by the failure recovery request notifying unit.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a measuring means for measuring a lapse of time from the time when the failure recovery request is notified by the failure recovery request notifying means, A second detecting means for detecting, and a failure recovery request notification means for notifying the failure recovery request by the failure recovery request notifying means when the elapse of a predetermined time is measured by the measuring means without completion of failure recovery being detected by the second detecting means. Reselecting means for selecting one address again according to the first or second selecting means from the user list stored by the storing means except for the user address obtained, and arbitrarily setting the fixed time. A time setting unit, and a failure recovery re-request notification unit for notifying a failure recovery request to an address of the user selected by the re-selection unit. Characterized in that it.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the elapse of a predetermined time is measured by the measuring means without detecting the completion of failure recovery by the second detecting means, the measurement is performed. An automatic setting unit is provided for automatically setting a setting for increasing a selection frequency individually set as a condition for selection for a user who has been notified of a failure recovery request at the time of measurement start by the unit.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1
FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a controller included in the image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an operation diagram illustrating an operation example of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a controller included in the image forming apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the controller 100 includes the following devices. 101
Is a RAM, 102 is a FontROM, 103 is a program ROM, 104 is an engine I / F, 105 is a network I / F, 106 is a CPU, 107 is NVRAM, 1
08 is a panel, and 111 is a mass storage device.

The controller performs basic processing of the image forming apparatus. The RAM is a memory used for a work memory of the CPU, an input buffer for input data, digitizing an image, and the like. FontROM is a read-only memory in which font patterns and the like are recorded.

The program ROM is a read-only memory in which a control program of the controller is stored.
The engine I / F is an interface for taking in the status of the engine and communicating print data. The network I / F is an interface for exchanging with a host via a network.

The CPU controls the entire controller. N
The VRAM is a non-volatile storage device that stores the contents of mode instructions and the like. The panel is a device for notifying the status of the printer and setting the mode. The large-capacity storage device is a large-scale storage device such as a hard disk drive that stores user information and print data.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an operation example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 2, a printer 200 to which the image forming apparatus of the present invention is applied and terminal devices (201 to 203) used by users 1 to 3 are connected via a network. FIG. 2 shows an example of a printer, but may be another device to which the image forming apparatus is applied.

An operation example of the image forming apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. The user of the image forming apparatus (here, the user of the printer to which the image forming apparatus is applied) is stored in the mass storage device 111, and a user list is created. If a failure that requires human action to recover such as a paper jam occurs on the printer engine, select a user from the user list and set the program to send a failure recovery request e-mail to that user ID. Are stored in the program ROM 103. The text of the e-mail may be set in advance, such as “paper jam has occurred in the printer. Please remove the jammed paper”, and stored in the mass storage device 111 or the like.

In consideration of a user who rarely uses a printer, the frequency at which a user receives a restoration request may be set in a program for each user and stored in the program ROM 103, and the sharing of the restoration request may be adjusted.

Further, a time limit for the user to complete the recovery work after receiving the recovery request is set, and when the time has elapsed, another user is selected and an e-mail for a failure recovery request is sent to the person. And set the program RO
It is good to memorize it in M103.

Further, a program is set so as to transmit an e-mail notifying the printer failure and to whom the restoration request was made to a user other than the user selected for the restoration request. The text of the e-mail is also set in advance, such as "A paper jam has occurred in the printer. Please do not print until the problem is recovered. I asked xxx for the recovery process." Storage device 1
It is good to memorize it in 11 etc.

An image forming apparatus applied to the printer shown in FIG. 2 has a controller having a configuration as shown in FIG. If a failure that requires human operation for recovery occurs on the printer engine of this apparatus (S301), the CPU
106 detects a failure and starts processing. CPU106
Takes into account the frequency of receiving a failure recovery request from the program stored in the program ROM 103 (S302), and selects a failure recovery request from the user list stored in the mass storage device 111. A person to be selected is randomly selected (S303), and a failure recovery request e-mail stored in advance is transmitted to the user ID via the network I / F 105 (S30).
4). For example, when the user 1 is selected, the message “The paper jam has occurred in the printer.
Remove the jammed paper. Is transmitted (FIG. 2).

After transmitting the failure recovery request e-mail to the selected user, the CPU 106
By using the program 3, a user other than the user selected as the failure recovery requester in the user list stored in the mass storage device 111 is notified of the occurrence of the failure and to which user the failure recovery request was made. The e-mail is transmitted via the network I / F 105 (S305). For example, when user 1 is selected, user 2 and user 3
An e-mail is sent to the terminals 202 and 203 used by the user, "A paper jam has occurred in the printer. Please do not print until the failure is recovered. We have requested xxx for recovery processing." (FIG. 2) ).

The CPU 106 starts measuring a preset time from the time when the failure recovery request e-mail is transmitted to the selected user, and determines whether or not the failure recovery has been performed within that time ( S307).

If the recovery is completed within a preset time after transmitting the failure recovery request e-mail, the process ends (S307 / NO, S306 / YES).

If recovery is not performed within a preset time after issuing a failure recovery request (S307 / YE)
S), the CPU 106 adjusts the failure recovery request frequency value in the user list so that the frequency of being selected as a failure recovery person when a failure occurs is increased for the currently selected user (S308).

If recovery is not performed within a preset time after issuing the failure recovery request, step S302
The process returns to step S30, except that the user who issued the recovery request is newly selected from the user list, and a new person who has recovered from the failure is selected.
Steps 2 and below are performed and repeated until the failure is corrected.

[0026]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, when a physical failure that requires human operation for recovery occurs in the image forming apparatus, a user is randomly selected from the users. As a result, the user is allowed to perform the failure recovery work fairly. Therefore,
It is no longer necessary to burden only a specific person near the image forming apparatus with the failure recovery work.

Also, by setting the frequency at which the user selects recovery work as a condition for the selection of the user, a person who is in a higher position, a person who is far from the seat, a person who hardly uses the image forming apparatus, and the like can be used. Since the user who performs the recovery work can be selected in consideration of the above, the recovery work can be substantially fairly shared.

Further, since the user is notified of the occurrence of a failure and the user name selected for the recovery work, the other users can also grasp the situation. Accordingly, other users can avoid delaying the recovery work by, for example, holding down a print request.

When the user selected for the failure recovery work does not recover within a certain period of time, another user is requested to perform the recovery work, so that the recovery work can be prevented from being delayed.

If the user selected for the failure recovery work does not recover within a certain period of time, the selection frequency of the user as a condition for the recovery work is automatically increased. The degree of selection for restoration work will increase after the next time. Therefore, a penalty is given to the user who has been selected but does not perform the recovery work, and the fairness of the sharing of the recovery work can be maintained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a controller of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation diagram showing an operation example of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 controller 101 RAM 102 FontROM 103 program ROM 104 engine I / F 105 network I / F 106 NVRAM 107 panel 108 mass storage device 200 printer 201 user 1 terminal 202 user 2 terminal 203 user 3 terminal

Claims (5)

[Claims] A storage unit configured to store addresses of a plurality of users as a user list; and a user list stored in the storage unit.
A first selection unit for randomly selecting one address, a first detection unit for detecting the occurrence of a physical failure including a paper jam, and a case where the occurrence of the failure is detected by the first detection unit And a failure recovery request notification unit that notifies a failure recovery request to an address of the user selected by the first selection unit. 2. A storage unit for storing addresses of a plurality of users as a user list, and in the user list stored by the storage unit, a selection frequency is individually set as a condition for selection for each user. Setting means, from the user list stored by the storage means,
A second selection unit that selects one address according to the selection frequency set by the setting unit; a first detection unit that detects the occurrence of a physical failure including a paper feed jam; and the first detection unit An image forming apparatus comprising: a failure recovery request notifying unit that notifies a failure recovery request to an address of a user selected by the second selection unit when the occurrence of a failure is detected. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the address of the user in the user list stored by the storage unit is replaced by the failure recovery request notification unit excluding the address of the user notified of the failure recovery request by the failure recovery request notification unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit configured to notify a user name notified of the restoration request. 4. A measuring means for measuring a lapse of time from a point in time when a failure recovery request is notified by the failure recovery request notification means, a second detecting means for detecting completion of failure recovery, and a second detecting means. When the elapse of a predetermined time is measured by the measuring unit without detecting the completion of the failure recovery, the user stored in the storage unit excluding the address of the user notified of the failure recovery request by the failure recovery request notification unit. Reselecting means for selecting one address again from the list in accordance with the first or second selecting means, time setting means for arbitrarily setting the fixed time, and a user address selected by the reselecting means 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a failure recovery re-request notification unit for notifying a failure recovery request to the image forming apparatus. . 5. A failure recovery request is notified at the time of measurement start by said measuring means, when the elapse of a certain time is measured by said measuring means without completion of failure recovery being detected by said second detecting means. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising an automatic setting unit that automatically sets a user to increase the selection frequency individually set as a condition for selection.