Patent Publication Number: US-2023158802-A1

Title: Information processing apparatus, method of controlling information processing apparatus and storage medium

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Field 
     The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a method of controlling the information processing apparatus and a storage medium. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     It is known that there have been centralized management servers that monitor image forming apparatuses (print apparatuses) installed in customer&#39;s places through a network, and a management server PC installed in each customer&#39;s place. These management servers acquire the remaining (residual) amount of toner from the image forming apparatus to be monitored. There is a service that instructs to deliver a new toner bottle for the image forming apparatus when detecting that the residual amount of toner reaches a certain threshold. The image forming apparatus has a function of calculating an estimated value of the residual amount of toner every time an image is formed since the toner bottle is mounted, and displaying the calculated value as a current value of the residual amount of toner on a panel or the like, or transmitting the current value of the residual amount of toner to a management server. According to the services like the above, new toner bottles are automatically delivered to users of the image forming apparatus before needed to replace old bottles. Therefore, the above services allow the users to save some trouble of monitoring the residual amount of toner bottle of the image forming apparatus to order a new toner bottle (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-194906). 
     However, in the case of a system where a management server PC installed in a customer&#39;s place acquires a residual amount of toner from an image forming apparatus and instructs to deliver a replacement bottle, the management server PC may not be in operation for a period of time due to a powered-off state, etc. Even if the residual amount of toner of the monitored image forming apparatus reaches a threshold for delivery, the management server PC cannot detect that fact during such a period. During periods when such a management server PC is not running, the user may replace an old toner bottle with a new toner bottle. In this case, even if the management server PC is booted again and the residual amount of toner is known to the image forming apparatus, the residual amount of toner no longer reaches the delivery threshold, and there is a possibility that the delivery of the replacement bottle is missed or omitted. Although a toner bottle is described here as an example, this is a common problem in the management of a printing apparatus using a cartridge containing a recording agent such as toner and ink. 
     The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism capable of preventing omission of delivering a cartridge containing recording agent such as a toner bottle and an ink cartridge. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an information processing apparatus executes software that obtains and manages information of a printing device, and the information processing apparatus comprises: a requesting unit configured to request a delivery of a cartridge for exchange based on residual amount of recording agent in a cartridge containing the recording agent installed in the printing device, the residual amount being included in first information obtained from the printing device by using the software; and a control unit configured to perform, when initially obtaining a residual amount of recording agent from the printing device after booting the software or the information processing apparatus, controlling to output a message for checking whether the requesting is necessary if the requesting has not been performed in response to detecting a cartridge having an increased residual amount compared to a previously obtained residual amount of recording agent. 
     According to the present disclosure, delivery oversight (omission) of cartridges for recording agent such as toner bottles and ink cartridges can be prevented. 
     Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    shows an example of the overall configuration of the management system according to the present embodiment. 
         FIG.  2    shows an exemplary hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. 
         FIG.  3    shows an exemplary hardware configuration of the management server PC. 
         FIG.  4    shows an exemplary software module configuration of the image forming apparatus. 
         FIG.  5    shows an exemplary software module configuration of the management server PC. 
         FIG.  6 A  shows an example of communication data of the device information received by the management server PC from the image forming apparatus. 
         FIG.  6 B  shows an example of communication data of the device information received by the management server PC from the image forming apparatus. 
         FIG.  7    is a flowchart showing the process of obtaining the residual amount of toner performed by the management server PC. 
         FIG.  8    is a flowchart showing the process of delivering a toner bottle executed by the management server PC. 
         FIG.  9    is a flowchart showing the process of delivering a toner bottle executed by the management server PC. 
         FIG.  10 A  shows an example of the management table managed by the management server PC. 
         FIG.  10 B  shows an example of the management table managed by the management server PC. 
         FIG.  11    shows an example of the confirmation message displayed by the management server PC. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     The embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The following embodiment does not limit the present invention recited in claims, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiment are essential for achieving the objective of the invention. 
     First Embodiment 
       FIG.  1    shows an example of the overall configuration of the management system according to the present embodiment. 
     The symbol  107  represents an intranet environment in which an image forming apparatus  102 , a proxy server  103 , a firewall  104 , a PC  105 , and a management server PC  106  are interconnected via a local area network (LAN)  101 . 
     The LAN  101  represents a local area network under a customer environment. In the management system according to the present embodiment, one or more image forming apparatuses  102  (in the example of  FIG.  1   , an image forming apparatus  102   a  and an image forming apparatus  102   b ) are installed as monitored print apparatus under the same customer environment. 
     The proxy server  103  relays the intranet and an internet  108 . 
     The firewall  104  is installed to enhance the security of the intranet. 
     The PC  105  is a personal computer used by a general user in business. 
     The management server PC  106  is an information processing apparatus that unitarily manages the operation states of one or more image forming apparatuses  102  installed in a customer environment, collects operation information, and arranges maintenance in the event of failure of the image forming apparatus. The management server PC  106  also manages the inventory status of the expendable supplies of the image forming apparatus  102  at the customer, and automatically arranges the delivery of new expendables to the customer when necessary. 
     The delivery system  109  is, for example, a delivery system constructed by a sales company. The delivery system  109  instructs delivery of consumables such as toner bottles, ink bottles, cartridges, and other consumables including recording agents, and consumables such as parts that wear every time they are used, to the customer based on various information notified from the management server PC  106  by mail or the like. In the present embodiment, a toner bottle will be described as an example of a cartridge containing a recording agent which is a consumable item (a supply item) to be delivered, but the same applies to ink cartridges and other cartridges. 
     The delivery system  109  is in fact interconnected with multiple intranet environments  107  via the Internet  108 . 
       FIG.  2    illustrates the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus  102 . 
     The image forming apparatus  102  includes a CPU  201 , a ROM  202 , a RAM  203 , a storage device  204 , a network interface  205 , an internal bus  206 , a device controller  207 , a printing unit  208 , an input/output interface  209 , and an input/output device  210 . 
     The CPU  201  executes a program stored in the ROM  202  or the like and comprehensively controls each device via the internal bus  206 . The RAM  203  functions as a memory and a work area of the CPU  201 , and stores event information generated in the image forming apparatus  102 , various counter information, information on consumption levels of expendables, various logs, and the like. 
     The CPU  201  executes a program together with the ROM  202  and the RAM  203 , and records image data in a recording medium such as the storage device  204 . The storage device  204  functions as an external storage device and can store image data or the like, and can also store the event information, various counter information, information on the consumption level of expendables, and various logs in place of the RAM  203 . 
     The network interface  205  exchanges data in one or two directions with external network devices or personal computers via the LAN  101 . 
     The device controller  207  controls the printing unit  208  according to a print request or the like. 
     The input/output device  210  receives an input (scanning, pressing a button, etc.) from a user and notifies each processing unit of the reception of input via the input/output interface  209 . 
       FIG.  3    is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the management server PC  106 . 
     The management server PC  106  includes a CPU  301  for executing programs (including programs for implementing the processes of  FIGS.  7  to  9   , which will be described later) stored in a ROM  303  or a storage device  304  and the like, and comprehensively controls each device via an internal bus  306 . 
     A RAM  302 , the ROM  303 , the storage device  304 , a network interface  305 , and an input/output interface  307  are connected to the internal bus  306 . 
     An input/output device  308  is an operation unit such as a keyboard, a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, etc., and can be connected to the management server PC  106  through the input/output interface  307 . 
     The management server PC  106  is connected to the LAN  101  through the network interface  305  and can communicate with the image forming apparatus  102  and the PC  105 . The operation information of the image forming apparatus can be collected through the above communications. The management server PC  106  is connected to the internet  108  via the network interface  305 , the proxy server  103 , and the firewall  104 , and can communicate with the delivery system  109 . The above communications allow automatic arrangements for delivery of new expendables to customers. 
     The CPU  301  executes a program together with the RAM  302 , the ROM  303 , and the storage device  304 . The CPU  301  performs processing for recording image data on a recording medium such as the storage device  304 . 
     The storage device  304  functions as an external storage device, and can store programs and operation information of image forming apparatuses  102 , and store system information and processing information in place of the RAM  302 . 
       FIG.  4    is a diagram describing an example of the module configuration of the software of the image forming apparatus  102 . The components shown in  FIG.  4    are implemented and realized by the CPU  201  of the image forming apparatus  102  loading and executing a program stored in the ROM  202  or the like into the RAM  203  as required. 
     The image forming apparatus  102  has a software configuration including a transmission/reception unit  401 , a storage unit  402 , an image forming unit  403 , a status management unit  404 , an operation unit  405 , a display unit  406 , an event management unit  407 , a bottle detection unit  408 , an estimating unit  409 , and a device interface  410 . 
     The transmission/reception unit  401  acquires information about the image forming apparatus  102  (hereinafter referred to as “device information”), event information generated by the image forming apparatus  102 , various counter information, and consumption level information of expendables from the storage device  204 . Furthermore, the transmission/reception unit  401  edits various information into a format for transmission to the management server PC  106  in response to requests of acquiring various information from the management server PC  106 , and then transmits the edited information to the management server PC  106 . 
     The device information includes identification information (serial number) of the image forming apparatus, network information (IP address), operation information, and the like, and any of the information is used for notification or the like as necessary. The transmission of event information to the management server PC  106  is started after a communication test with the management server PC  106  is performed in a series of installation work at a customer site. The transmission/reception unit  401  also has a function to receive instructions and configuration data sent from the management server PC  106 . The transmission/reception is performed using a communication protocol such as HTTP/HTTPS or SNMP. 
     The storage unit  402  performs storage control such as storing and reading out information in/from the ROM  202 , the RAM  203 , and the storage device  204 . The storage unit  402  stores management information necessary for managing the image forming apparatus. Specifically, for example, device configuration information such as firmware information and an identification number of the image forming apparatus, information of various counters, information on consumption level of expendables, operation history of the image forming apparatus  102 , and history information indicating various abnormal states (log data) are also stored. In addition, the device information and information related to the management server PC  106  (hereinafter referred to as “server information”) are stored. The server information includes information used for communications, such as address information of the management server PC  106  that manages the image forming apparatus  102 . 
     The image forming unit  403  has a function for generating and outputting print data to be passed to the printing unit  208 . 
     The status management unit  404  controls printing of the image forming apparatus  102 , manages abnormal conditions, and manages counter information and notification information. As the counter information, for example, a value obtained via a sensor by counting the number of sheets printed by an image forming apparatus or the like, and information on consumption level indicating a degree of consumption of expendables or the residual amount of content in expendables such as toner bottles are stored and managed in the storage unit  402 . 
     The operation unit  405  is an interface that allows a user to issue operation instructions including a print instruction for the image forming apparatus  102 . 
     The display unit  406  displays to users a user interface (UI) screen such as the status information of the image forming apparatus, information on the consumption rate of various expendables (including the information of residual amounts of toners in the installed toner bottles), and setting information. 
     The event management unit  407  receives events generated by the image forming apparatus  102  and manages event information. The event information managed by the event management unit  407  includes an event of print job issued by a user of the image forming apparatus, errors (sometimes called failures), and status information of the image forming apparatus. Examples of events handled by the event management unit  407  include a highly urgent error such as a hard disk error or a warning level error such as a paper jam or a low toner level. In addition, events indicating replacement of the toner bottle and firmware updates are similarly notified to the event management unit  407  via the device interface  410 . 
     The bottle detection unit  408  detects through a sensor that the toner bottle has been replaced and notifies the event management unit  407  through the device interface  410 . Furthermore, if it is detected that the bottle has been replaced with a new one, the replacement is notified to the estimating unit  409 , and a current value of the residual amount of toner corresponding to the replaced color that is managed by the estimating unit  409  is updated to 100%. 
     The estimating unit  409  has a function of estimating the consumption level of toner bottles, calculates an estimated value of the residual amount of toner every time an image is formed after the toner bottle is replaced with a new toner bottle, and notifies the status management unit  404  of a result of the calculation. The status management unit  404  manages the result as the current value of the residual amount of toner of each color, and stores in the storage unit  402 . 
       FIG.  5    is a diagram describing the module configuration of the software of the management server PC  106 . The components shown in  FIG.  5    are implemented and realized by the CPU  301  of the management server PC  106  loading programs stored in the ROM  303 , the storage device  304 , and the like into the RAM  302  and executing the programs as necessary. 
     The management server PC  106  has a communication unit  501 , a storage unit  502 , a display unit  503 , a notification management unit  504 , a device information management unit  505 , a residual toner amount management unit  506 , and a delivery management unit  507  as configurations of a monitoring agent which is software. 
     The communication unit  501  has a function of communicating with the image forming apparatus  102 . The communication unit  501  receives status information of the image forming apparatus  102 , information on the consumption rate of various expendables (including information of the residual amount of toner), setting information (for example, residual amount of toner and counter information), and event information generated by the image forming apparatus  102 . 
     The storage unit  502  performs control of storing information for the RAM  302 , the ROM  303 , and the storage device  304 . The objective of the storage control in the present embodiment includes device information to be monitored, information of sales companies, customer information, information of the delivery system, and the like. 
     The display unit  503  displays the device information (for example, the status information of image forming apparatuses, configuration information, etc.) stored in the storage unit  502 . 
     The notification management unit  504  specifies notification contents and notification destinations, and generates notification information. The notification contents include, for example, a notification of maintenance request to a system for arranging a service person to maintain the image forming apparatus  102  (not shown), and a notification of a request to the delivery system  109  for delivery of toner bottles. 
     The device information management unit  505  manages the device information of the image forming apparatus  102  to be monitored. The information to be managed by the device information management unit  505  includes identification information of the image forming apparatus, status information such as abnormality, and administrator information of the image forming apparatus. 
     The residual toner amount management unit  506  periodically acquires the residual amount of toner from the image forming apparatus  102  via the communication unit  501 , and manages the acquired information in the storage unit  502  using a management table for the residual toner amount as shown in  FIG.  10 B . 
       FIG.  10 B  is an example of the management table for the residual toner amount managed by the residual toner amount management unit  506 . This table is employed to manage the types of toner bottles used in image forming apparatus  102 , the residual amount of toner periodically acquired from image forming apparatus  102 , the latest counter values at the time when the residual amount of toner is acquired, and the difference from the counter values obtained in the previous time. 
     If the delivery management unit  507  detects that the residual amount of toner acquired from the image forming apparatus has reached a threshold for delivery, the delivery management unit  507  instructs the delivery system  109  to deliver a toner bottle via the notification management unit  504 . Specifically, the notification management unit  504  generates a notification for a request of delivering a toner bottle and transmits the notification to the delivery system  109  via the communication unit  501  to give the delivery instructions. The delivery management unit  507  manages states of the delivery instructions of toner bottles being used in the image forming apparatus  102  by using a delivery management table as shown in  FIG.  10 A . 
       FIG.  10 A  is an example of the delivery management table managed by the delivery management unit  507 . 
     This table is used to manage information about whether bottles for replacement have been delivered for the respective colors of toner bottles being used in the image forming apparatus  102 . The delivery management table is provided for each print apparatus to be monitored. In the example of  FIG.  1   , a delivery management table for the image forming apparatus  102   a  and a delivery management table for the image forming apparatus  102   b  are provided. 
     A delivery-completed flag of the bottle (color) shown in  FIG.  10 A  is changed to “ON (1)” when the delivery management unit  507  instructs the delivery system  109  to deliver toner bottles. If the residual toner amount management unit  506  detects that the toner bottle installed in the image forming apparatus  102  has been replaced with a new toner bottle, the delivery-completed flag is changed to “OFF (0)”. Specifically, when the residual toner amount management unit  506  obtains the residual amount of toner from the image forming apparatus  102 , the delivery-completed flag is changed to “OFF (0)” if the obtained information includes information indicating that the toner bottle has been replaced with a new one. 
       FIG.  6 A  is a diagram showing an example of communication data of device information received by the management server PC  106  from the image forming apparatus  102 . Here, the information on the residual amount of toner will be described as an example of the device information related to the present embodiment. 
     The communication data shown in  FIG.  6 A  schematically represents the structure of the event information, and is transmitted from the image forming apparatus  102  to the management server PC  106  via a communication protocol such as HTTPS communications in a format described in XML, format, for example. 
     As shown in  FIG.  6 A , the information included in the information on the residual amount of toner composed of device identification information  601  and toner information  604  in general terms. 
     The device identification information  601  according to the present embodiment is information for identifying the image forming apparatuses, and includes information such as a serial number  602  and a product name  603  of the image forming apparatus  102 . The toner information  604  is information on the toner bottles used in the image forming apparatus  102 , and includes a residual toner amount  605 , a toner bottle type  606 , a counter value  607 , and bottle exchange information  608 . 
     In a field of the residual toner amount  605 , the information on the residual amount of toner of each color in toner bottles being used by the image forming apparatus  102  is stored. 
     In a field of the toner bottle type  606 , information on the types of toner bottles being used by the image forming apparatus  102  is stored. 
     In a field of the counter value  607 , the latest total counter value counted by image forming apparatus  102  is stored. 
     In a field of the bottle exchange information  608 , information on the exchange of the toner bottles installed in the image forming apparatus  102  is stored. 
       FIG.  7    is a flowchart showing an example of the processing executed by the residual toner amount management unit  506  of the management server PC  106  for acquiring the residual amount of toner. The processes shown in  FIG.  7    and the flowcharts of  FIG.  8    and  FIG.  9   , which will be described later, are implemented by the CPU  301  of the management server PC  106  loading programs stored in the ROM  303 , the storage device  304 , and the like into the RAM  302  and executing the programs as necessary. The processing in the present flowchart is periodically (for example, once a day) performed by the residual toner amount management unit  506 . The processing is also performed when the management server PC  106  is booted. 
     First, in step S 701 , the residual toner amount management unit  506  acquires the information on the residual amount of toner and the latest counter value of the currently used toner bottle from the image forming apparatus  102  to be monitored. Then, the management table for residual amount of toner shown in  FIG.  10 B  is updated with the acquired information on the residual amount of toner and the latest counter value. 
     Next, in step S 702 , the residual toner amount management unit  506  determines whether the acquired information in step S 701  (specifically, the bottle exchange information  608  shown in  FIG.  6 A ) includes information indicating that the toner bottle has been replaced with a new one. If it is determined that the above acquired information includes information indicating the replacement with a new toner bottle (Yes in step S 702 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  advances the processing to step S 704 . 
     In step S 704 , the residual toner amount management unit  506  changes the delivery-completed flag of the bottle in the delivery management table of  FIG.  10 A  to “OFF (0)”, and advances the processing to step S 705 . 
     On the other hand, if it is determined in step S 702  that the above acquired information does not include information indicating that the toner bottle has been replaced with a new toner bottle (Yes in step S 702 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  advances the processing to step S 703 . 
     In step S 703 , the residual toner amount management unit  506  executes a process for instructing toner bottle delivery (described later in detail), and advances the processing to step S 705 . 
     In step S 705 , the residual toner amount management unit  506  determines whether the information on the residual amount of all toner bottles (colors) obtained from the image forming apparatus  102  has been checked. If there is a toner bottle (color) that has not yet been checked (No in step S 705 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  returns the processing to step S 702  and executes the processing for the next toner bottle (color). 
     On the other hand, if it is determined that toner bottles for all colors have been checked (Yes in step S 705 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  advances the processing to step S 706 . 
     In step S 706 , the residual toner amount management unit  506  determines whether the process of delivering toner bottles has been completed for all the monitored devices acquired in step S 701 . If there is a monitored device for which the process of delivering toner bottles has not been completed yet (No in step S 706 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  returns the processing to step S 701  to continue the processing for the next monitored device. 
     On the other hand, if it is determined that the processing for delivering toner bottles has been completed for all monitored devices (No in step S 706 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  terminates the processing of this flowchart. 
     Referring now to  FIGS.  8  and  9   , the details of the process of step S 703  for delivering toner bottles will be described.  FIG.  8    shows the processing for delivering toner bottles in the case of periodically (for example, once a day) executing the processing for acquiring the information on the residual amount of toner.  FIG.  9    shows the processing for delivering toner bottles in the case of executing the processing for acquiring the information on the residual amount of toner when the management server PC  106  is booted. 
       FIG.  8    is a flowchart describing the details of the processing for delivering toner bottles in case that the residual toner amount management unit  506  of the management server PC  106  periodically (for example, once a day) executes the processing for acquiring the information on the residual amount of toner. 
     First, in step S 801 , the residual toner amount management unit  506  determines whether the delivery-completed flag of the bottle (color) shown in the delivery management table of  FIG.  10 A  indicates “OFF (0)”. If the delivery-completed flag indicates “ON (1)” (No in step S 801 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  determines that the instruction for delivering bottles for replacement has been completed (a mail instructing the delivery has been sent), and ends the process of this flowchart. 
     On the other hand, if the delivery-completed flag indicates “OFF (0)” (Yes in step S 801 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  determines that the delivery of bottles for replacement has not been instructed, and advances the process to step S 802 . 
     In step S 802 , the residual toner amount management unit  506  refers to the residual amount stored in the toner management table of  FIG.  10 B  that has been updated in step S 701  of  FIG.  7   , and determines whether the residual amount of toner obtained in the present time is equal to or less than the threshold for delivery. If the residual amount of toner acquired in the present time is larger than the threshold for delivery (No in step S 802 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  terminates the processing of this flowchart. 
     On the other hand, if the residual amount of toner acquired in the present time is equal to or less than the threshold for delivery (Yes in step S 802 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  advances the processing to step S 803 . 
     In step S 803 , the delivery management unit  507  instructs the delivery system  109  to deliver a toner bottle for replacement. Specifically, the notification management unit  504  generates a notification of requesting delivery of toner bottles, and transmits the notification to the delivery system  109  via the communication unit  501  to give a delivery instruction. 
     Next, in step S 804 , the residual toner amount management unit  506  changes the delivery-completed flag of the bottle shown in the delivery management table of  FIG.  10 A  to “ON (1)”, and ends the process of this flowchart. 
       FIG.  9    is a flowchart describing the details of the processing of delivering toner bottles in the case that the residual toner amount management unit  506  of the management server PC  106  executes the processing of acquiring the residual amount of toner when the management server PC  106  or the monitoring agent is booted. 
     First, in step S 901 , the residual toner amount management unit  506  determines whether the delivery-completed flag of the bottle (color) shown in the delivery management table of  FIG.  10 A  indicates “OFF (0)”. If the delivery-completed flag does not indicate “OFF (0)” (No in step S 901 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  determines that the instruction to deliver bottles for replacement has been completed (a mail instructing the delivery has been sent), and ends the process of this flowchart. 
     On the other hand, if the delivery-completed flag indicates “OFF (0)” (Yes in step S 901 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  determines that the instruction to deliver bottles for replacement bottle has not been given, and advances the processing to step S 902 . 
     In step S 902 , the residual toner amount management unit  506  refers to the residual amount stored in the toner management table of  FIG.  10 B  that has been updated in step S 701  of  FIG.  7   , and determines whether the residual amount of toner obtained in the present time is equal to or less than the threshold for delivery. If it is determined that the residual amount of toner acquired in the present time is equal to or less than the threshold for delivery (Yes in step S 902 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  advances the processing to step S 907 . 
     In step S 907 , the delivery management unit  507  instructs the delivery system  109  to deliver a toner bottle for replacement. Specifically, the notification management unit  504  generates a notification for requesting delivery of a toner bottle, and transmits the notification to the delivery system  109  via the communication unit  501  to give a delivery instruction. 
     Next, in step S 908 , the residual toner amount management unit  506  changes the delivery-completed flag of the bottle shown in the delivery management table of  FIG.  10 A  to “ON (1)”, and ends the process of this flowchart. 
     On the other hand, if it is determined in step S 902  that the acquired residual amount of toner is larger than the threshold for delivery (No in step S 902 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  advances the processing to step S 903 . 
     In step S 903 , the residual toner amount management unit  506  determines whether the residual amount of toner obtained in the present time increases compared to the residual amount of the bottle obtained in the last time. Specifically, the residual toner amount management unit  506  refers to the management table for residual toner amount shown in  FIG.  10 B , and determines whether the residual toner amount of the bottle updated in the present time increases compared to the residual toner amount of the bottle updated in the last time. 
     If the residual toner amount obtained in the present time increases compared to the residual toner amount of the bottle obtained in the last time (Yes in step S 903 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  advances the processing to step S 905 . 
     In step S 905 , the residual toner amount management unit  506  displays a message for confirmation (that is, a message to a user for confirming if delivering a toner bottle for replacement is necessary) as shown in  FIG.  11    on the display unit  503  of the management server PC  106 . At this time, the residual toner amount management unit  506  also changes a delivery confirmation flag shown in the management table for the residual toner amount of  FIG.  10 B  to “ON (1)”. 
     Next, in step S 906 , the residual toner amount management unit  506  receives a user operation and determines whether an option such as “the delivery needed (Yes  1102 )” has been selected by the user. If the user selects “the delivery needed (Yes  1102 )” (Yes in step S 906 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  advances the processing to step S 907 , and instructs the delivery system  109  to deliver a toner bottle for replacement. The description for step S 908  will be omitted. 
     If the user selects “no delivery is needed (No  1103 )” (No in step S 906 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  terminates the processing of this flowchart. 
     If it is determined in step S 903  that the residual toner amount has not increased compared to the residual toner amount of the bottle obtained in the previous time (No in step S 903 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  advances the processing to step S 904 . 
     In step S 904 , the residual toner amount management unit  506  determines whether there is a difference in the counter value by a certain quantity or more from the previously obtained counter value. Specifically, the residual toner amount management unit  506  refers to the management table for the residual toner amount shown in  FIG.  10 B , and determines whether there is a difference (increased by more than a certain quantity) between the latest counter value updated in the present time and the previously updated counter value. 
     If the difference in the counter values exceeds a certain value (Yes in step S 904 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  advances the processing to step S 905 , and displays the message for confirmation described above. At this time, the delivery confirmation flag shown in the management table for the residual toner amount of  FIG.  10 B  is also changed to “ON (1)”. The descriptions after step S 906  will be omitted. 
     On the other hand, if the difference between the currently acquired counter value and the previously acquired counter value does not exceed the certain value (No in step S 904 ), the residual toner amount management unit  506  terminates the processing of this flowchart. 
     As described above, the management server PC  106  according to the present embodiment gives an instruction to deliver a toner bottle for exchange if detecting that the residual amount of toner bottles that is periodically acquired from the image forming apparatus  102  to be monitored has reached a certain threshold. Further, after the management server PC  106  being booted, the management server PC  106  obtains initial information on the residual toner amount from image forming apparatuses, and compares the initial information on the residual toner amount with the previously obtained information on the residual toner amount to determine whether there is an image forming apparatus having the increased residual toner amount compared to the previously obtained information on the residual toner amount. The management server PC  106  displays a message for confirming the delivery for allowing a user to select whether the delivery of toner bottles for replacement is requested if there is such an image forming apparatus. Then, an instruction for the delivery is given to the delivery system in response to the user requesting the delivery. It is possible that the residual toner amount of the image forming apparatus  102  to be monitored reaches a threshold for delivery and the toner is replaced with a new one while the management server PC  106  is turned off or the monitoring agent is not running. In such a case, there has been a risk that the necessary delivery of toner bottles is omitted. According to the present embodiment, however, the oversight of the necessary delivery of toner bottles for replacement can be prevented even in such a case. 
     Second Embodiment 
     In the first embodiment, the delivery management table shown in  FIG.  10 A  is managed by the management server PC  106 . However, the delivery management table may be managed by the image forming apparatus  102 , which is a device to be monitored. If employing the above configuration, the delivery-completed flag of the delivery management table managed by the image forming apparatus  102  is changed to “ON (1)” from the management server PC  106  side at step S 804  of  FIG.  8    or step S 908  of  FIG.  9   . Further, in step S 704  of  FIG.  7   , the delivery-completed flag of the delivery management table managed by the image forming apparatus  102  is changed and set to “OFF (0)” from the management server PC  106  side. For example, the management server PC  106  requests the image forming apparatus  102  to change the delivery-completed flag of the delivery management table to “ON (1)”. In response to the above request, the image forming apparatus  102  changes the delivery-completed flag of the delivery management table to “ON (1)”. 
       FIG.  6 B  is a diagram showing an example of communication data of device information received by the management server PC  106  from the image forming apparatus  102  according to the second embodiment. Here, the information on the residual toner amount will be described as an example of the device information related to the present embodiment. 
     The communication data of  FIG.  6 B  includes information of a delivery-completed flag  609 , which allows the management server PC  106  to receive the information of the delivery-completed flag managed by the image forming apparatus  102  together with the residual toner amount in step S 701  of  FIG.  7   . The residual toner amount management unit  506  of the management server PC  106  uses the information of the delivery-completed flag  609  received from the image forming apparatus  102  to determine whether the delivery-completed flag indicates “OFF” in step S 801  of  FIG.  8    or step S 901  of  FIG.  9   . The above configuration can provide the same technical effect as that of the first embodiment. 
     As described above, according to the management system of each embodiment, the oversight (omission) of the delivery of cartridges for recording agent such as toner bottles and ink cartridges can be prevented. 
     The structure and contents of the various data described above are not limited to the above descriptions, and the various data may have various structures and contents depending on the use and purpose. 
     Although some embodiments have been described above, the present invention may be implemented as, for example, a system, apparatus, method, program, storage medium, or the like. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system comprising multiple apparatuses, or may be applied to a device comprising a single apparatus. 
     In addition, all of the configurations formed by combining the above embodiments are also included in the scope of the present invention. 
     OTHER EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computer executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a ‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or that includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computer executable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). The computer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read out and execute the computer executable instructions. The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or the storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like. 
     While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions. 
     This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-188348, filed Nov. 19, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.