Patent ID: 7061634
Filing Date: 2006-06-13
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
1. An image-forming apparatus supervising system supervising at least one image-forming apparatus which contains usage information and a central control apparatus connected via a communication line, said system configured to supervise said at least one image-forming apparatus via the communication line, said system comprising: a usage information transmitting device configured to receive and transmit said usage information from said at least one image-forming apparatus to the central control apparatus, said usage information being related to usage career information of the image forming apparatus; an apparatus list generating device configured to generate an apparatus list indicating the at least one image-forming apparatuses from which said usage information is to be obtained; a first obtaining operation executing device configured to execute a first obtaining operation for obtaining said usage information from said at least one image-forming apparatus; a confirming device configured to confirm which of the at least one image-forming apparatus maintains not-yet-obtained usage information after the first obtaining operation is executed by comparing the resulting of the first obtaining operation with the apparatus list; a not-yet-obtained list generating device configured to generate a not-yet-obtained list indicating which of the at least one image-forming apparatus maintains said not-yet-obtained usage information based upon the confirmation; and a second obtaining operation executing device configure to execute a second obtaining operation for obtaining said usage information from the at least one image-forming apparatus by accessing the at least one image-forming apparatus based on image forming apparatuses listed on the not-yet-obtained list, which is generated based upon the confirmation, wherein said confirming device includes a not-yet-obtained usage information second confirming device configured to compare, after execution of the second obtaining operation, the list of image-forming apparatuses which transmitted with the not-yet-obtained list and confirm which data communication and image-forming apparatuses have said not-yet-obtained usage information, said not-yet-obtained usage information list generating device including a not-yet-obtained information list regenerating device configured to regenerate the not-yet-obtaining information list indicating which data communication and image-forming apparatuses have said not-yet-obtained usage information, wherein said second obtaining operation executing device executes another second obtaining operation after a predetermined time has elapsed if, after execution of the second obtaining operation, at least one data communication or image-forming apparatus with said not-yet-obtained usage information is confirmed, wherein said central control apparatus includes a usage information obtaining-impossible-list generating device configured to generate a usage information obtaining-impossible-list indicating that at least one data communication or image-forming apparatus has said not-yet-obtained usage information even though a predetermined number times of the second obtaining operations have been executed by the second obtaining operation executing device, wherein the central control apparatus transmits obtaining-impossible-list to at least one of a sales person and a service person in charge of the image-forming apparatus having said not-yet-obtained usage information, and wherein said usage information obtaining impossible list is outputted per sales branch or service company, said sales or service branch being in charge of the image forming apparatus still having the usage information specified by the obtaining impossible list.