Information processing apparatus and information processing method for acquiring image forming apparatus status to display composite image indicating device image parts and error image parts

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11070685-B2
Application number	US-201916597879-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 10, 2019
Priority date	Oct 10, 2019
Publication date	Jul 20, 2021
Grant date	Jul 20, 2021

Abstract

An apparatus includes a device image processor configured to receive the plurality of device image definitions and the plurality of device offset information definitions from the device image module, read, from the device configuration definition, a plurality of device image parts defined by the plurality of received device image definitions, respectively, receive, from the device image module, the device error definition and the error offset information definition, read, from the device configuration definition, an error image part defined by the received device error definition, arrange the plurality of read device image parts on a plurality of offset positions defined by the plurality of received device offset information definitions, respectively, and arrange the read error image part on an offset position defined by the received error offset information definition, to thereby generate a composite image, and cause the software executing module to display the composite image on the display device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An information processing apparatus, comprising:
a communication interface configured to communicate with an image forming apparatus;
a display device;
a storage device that stores device configuration definitions including a plurality of device image parts indicating the image forming apparatus and one or more devices physically attachable to the image forming apparatus, respectively,
a plurality of device image definitions defining the plurality of device image parts with respect to a plurality of device identifiers identifying the image forming apparatus and the one or more devices, respectively,
a plurality of device offset information definitions defining offset amounts with respect to the plurality of device identifiers, respectively, the offset amounts indicating relative positions of the plurality of device image parts, respectively,
one or more error image parts,
device error definitions defining, respectively, the one or more error image parts with respect to one or more error identifiers identifying one or more error types, respectively, and
a plurality of error offset information definitions defining relative positions of the one or more error image parts with respect to the plurality of device image parts, respectively, with respect to the one or more error identifiers and the plurality of device identifiers, respectively; and
a processor configured to operate as
a device image processor carried out by a software executing module, the software executing module being configured to execute a software program for driving and/or managing the image forming apparatus on an OS (Operation System),
a device status processor carried out by the software executing module,
an analyzer module configured to communicate with the device status processor, and
a device image module configured to communicate with the device image processor,
the device status processor being configured to
receive, from the image forming apparatus, a plurality of device identifiers identifying the image forming apparatus and one or more devices actually attached to the image forming apparatus, respectively, and status information being information of a status of the image forming apparatus, and
send the plurality of device identifiers and the status information to the analyzer module,
the analyzer module being configured to
receive the plurality of device identifiers and the status information from the device status processor,
analyze the status information to thereby determine an error predicted to occur in one of the image forming apparatus and the one or more devices, and
send, to the device status processor, an error identifier and an error device identifier, the error identifier identifying the determined error, the error device identifier being a device identifier identifying one of the image forming apparatus and the one or more devices, in which an error is predicted to occur,
the device status processor being configured to
receive the error identifier and the error device identifier from the analyzer module, and
supply the plurality of device identifiers, the error identifier, and the error device identifier to the device image processor,
the device image processor being configured to
obtain the plurality of device identifiers, the error identifier, and the error device identifier from the device status processor, and
send the plurality of obtained device identifiers, the error identifier, and the error device identifier to the device image module,
the device image module being configured to
receive the plurality of device identifiers, the error identifier, and the error device identifier from the device image processor,
read, from the device configuration definition, a plurality of device image definitions defined with respect to the plurality of received device identifiers, respectively,
read, from the device configuration definition, a plurality of device offset information definitions defined with respect to the plurality of received device identifiers, respectively,
send, to the device image processor, the plurality of read device image definitions and the plurality of read device offset information definitions,
read, from the device configuration definition, a device error definition defined with respect to the received error identifier,
read, from the device configuration definition, an error offset information definition defined with respect to the received error identifier and the received error device identifier, and
send, to the device image processor, the read device error definition and the read error offset information definition,
the device image processor being configured to
receive the plurality of device image definitions and the plurality of device offset information definitions from the device image module,
read, from the device configuration definition, a plurality of device image parts defined by the plurality of received device image definitions, respectively,
receive, from the device image module, the device error definition and the error offset information definition,
read, from the device configuration definition, an error image part defined by the received device error definition,
arrange the plurality of read device image parts on a plurality of offset positions defined by the plurality of received device offset information definitions, respectively, and further arrange the read error image part on an offset position defined by the received error offset information definition, to thereby generate a composite image, and
cause the software executing module to display the composite image on the display device;
wherein the analyzer module is configured to analyze the status information to thereby determine a time at which the error is predicted to occur, and supply time information to the device status processor, the time information being information indicating the determined time, the device status processor is configured to receive the time information from the analyzer module, and supply the time information to the device image processor, and the device image processor is configured to obtain the time information from the device status processor, and generate the composite image including the time information;
wherein the device image processor is configured to determine whether or not a difference between the time at which the error is predicted to occur and a current time is equal to or larger than a first threshold on a basis of the time information, and generate one composite image in a case where it is determined that the difference is egual to or larger than the first threshold, and generate another composite image different from the one composite image in a case where it is determined that the difference is smaller than the first threshold.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the analyzer module is configured to
analyze the status information to thereby determine that a cause of the error, which is predicted to occur in one of the image forming apparatus and the one or more devices, is solved, and
send, to the device status processor, error solved information indicating that a cause of the error is solved,

the device status processor is configured to
receive the error solved information from the analyzer module, and
supply the error solved information to the device image processor, and

the device image processor is configured to
obtain the error solved information from the device status processor, then
delete or change the error image part of the composite image to thereby update the composite image, and
cause the software executing module to display the updated composite image on the display device.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the analyzer module is configured to
a

Assignees

• Kyocera Document Solutions Inc

Inventors

• Nagano Daisaku
• Manabe Hiroshi

Classifications

• G03G15/553

  Monitoring or warning means for exhaustion or lifetime end of consumables, e.g. indication of insufficient copy sheet quantity for a job · CPC title

• H04N1/00058

  using a separate apparatus · CPC title

• H04N1/0097 Primary

  Storage of instructions or parameters, e.g. customised instructions or different parameters for different user IDs · CPC title

• G03G2215/00548

  Jam, error detection, e.g. double feeding · CPC title

• G03G15/0863

  provided with identifying means or means for storing process- or use parameters, e.g. an electronic memory · CPC title