Patent Publication Number: US-2023155973-A1

Title: Storage medium, system, setting method, and information processing apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a storage medium, a system, a setting method, and an information processing apparatus. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     A monitoring system capable of monitoring the statuses of a plurality of devices, such as an air conditioner, a television, and a refrigerator, by using a terminal, such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal, is disclosed in related art (see International Publication No. WO2020/017051). 
     In such monitoring system, a notification server obtains status information regarding the plurality of devices via a network. When the notification server obtains the status information regarding the devices, the notification server transmits, to a terminal, notifications about information in the status information regarding the devices and the consumed power of the devices. The user can find out the statuses of the devices remotely using a notification screen presented on the terminal. The monitoring system can set notification conditions, such as the time zone and the day of week the notifications are to be sent, for each of the plurality of devices. This allows the user to turn on or off the notification for each device by setting notification conditions for the device. 
     In the related art, to turn notifications on or off, the notification setting of each of the plurality of devices needs to be changed. 
     SUMMARY 
     Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer of an information processing apparatus to execute a control method. The control method includes registering a plurality of devices and registering devices in the plurality of devices in association with groups. The control method further includes changing settings of a plurality of notifications to be transmitted to a display of the information processing apparatus, the notifications based on information from a plurality of devices associated with a group, where the settings are changed in such a manner that for each of the devices in the group, the settings are changed all at once, without changing a setting of another notification to be transmitted to the display of the information processing apparatus, the other notification based on information from a device of the plurality of devices that is not in the group. 
     Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of example embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a diagram illustrating a system configuration according to one embodiment. 
         FIG.  2    is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of a terminal according to one embodiment. 
         FIG.  3    is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of a chat server according to one embodiment. 
         FIG.  4    is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of a device management server according to one embodiment. 
         FIG.  5    is a block diagram illustrating examples of the hardware configurations of a plurality of connected devices according to one embodiment. 
         FIGS.  6 A to  6 C  are diagrams illustrating device registration screens of the terminal according to one embodiment. 
         FIGS.  7 A and  7 B  are diagrams illustrating device-group registration screens of the terminal according to one embodiment. 
         FIG.  8    is a diagram illustrating a notification switching setting screen of the terminal according to one embodiment. 
         FIG.  9    is a diagram illustrating a notification screen of the terminal according to one embodiment. 
         FIG.  10    is a flowchart for a device registration process of the terminal according to one embodiment. 
         FIG.  11    is a flowchart for device group registration of the terminal according to one embodiment. 
         FIG.  12    is a flowchart for the notification process of an MFP according to one embodiment. 
         FIG.  13    is a flowchart for the notification process of a printer according to one embodiment. 
         FIG.  14    is a flowchart for the notification process of a washing machine according to one embodiment. 
         FIG.  15    is a flowchart for the notification process of the device management server according to one embodiment. 
         FIG.  16    is a flowchart for the notification process of the chat server according to one embodiment. 
         FIG.  17    is a flowchart for the notification display process of the terminal according to one embodiment. 
         FIG.  18    is a flowchart for a notification switching setting process of the terminal according to one embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail hereinbelow with reference to the drawings. It is to be understood that the following example embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention according to the claims and that not all of combinations of the features described in the embodiments are absolutely necessary for the solution of every embodiment of the present disclosure. 
       FIG.  1    is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the present disclosure. The system configuration of this embodiment is such that a terminal  200 , which is an example of an information processing apparatus, and a plurality of connected devices  500   a  to  500   e  are communicably connected to a device management server  400  and a chat server  300  via a network  100 . The network  100  of this embodiment may be either the Internet or a local area network (LAN). The network  100  may be wired or wireless. The terminal  200  is a user-owned electronic device, such as a personal computer (PC), a smartphone, or a tablet PC. The user monitors the statuses of a plurality of connected devices and gives instructions for control via the terminal  200 . The chat server  300  transmits various notifications about the statuses of the connected devices transmitted from the device management server  400  to the terminal  200 . The device management server  400  monitors and controls the operations of the plurality of connected devices via the network  100 . The device management server  400  also obtains the statuses of the connected devices and transmits a notification message containing the statuses of the devices to the chat server  300  to notify the user of the statuses. The chat server  300  and the device management server  400  may be constituted by one server. 
     Examples of the connected devices include various electrical products installed in offices or houses, such as multifunctional peripherals (MFPs), lights, air conditioners, refrigerators, electronic ovens, and televisions. These connected devices are communicably connected to the device management server  400  via the network  100 . The connected devices can receive control instructions and transmit status information from/to the device management server  400  by registering registered-unit information including information on the connected devices with the device management server  400 . In this embodiment, an MFP  1  ( 500   a ), an MFP  2  ( 500   b ), a printer ( 500   c ), a washing machine ( 500   d ), and a rice cooker ( 500   e ) are connected to the device management server  400  via the network  100 . In the following description, in the case where common processes are performed in the connected devices  500   a  to  500   e , the connected devices  500   a  to  500   e  are collectively described as a connected device  500 . 
       FIG.  2    is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal  200 . An operation unit  201  has a touch panel function capable of detecting a touch operation of the user and displays various screens that the operating system (OS) and a chat application provide. The user can input desired operator instructions to the terminal  200  by inputting touch operations to the operation unit  201 . The operator instructions may be input to the terminal  200  using hardware keys (not shown). A camera  202  captures an image according to an image capturing instruction of the user. The terminal  200  can transmit and receive data to and from various peripheral devices via a near field communication (NFC)  203 , or Bluetooth  204 . A communication unit  205  communicates with the chat server  300  connected via the network  100  to receive notifications and exchange messages. The communication unit  205  may perform wired communication using Ethernet® or wireless communication, such as Wi-Fi. A central processing unit (CPU)  206  reads control programs stored in a read-only memory (ROM)  207  and executes various processes for controlling the operation of the terminal  200 . The ROM  207  stores control programs. A random-access memory (RAM)  208  is used as a temporary storage area such as the main memory and a work memory of the CPU  206 . 
     A storage  209  stores various data, such as pictures and electronic documents. 
       FIG.  3    is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the chat server  300 . A communication unit  301  can transmit and receive data to and from the terminal  200  and the device management server  400  via the Internet  100 . A hard disk drive (HDD)  302  stores various data, such as user information, notification messages, and image data. The HDD  302  also stores a chat application  303  for executing a chat service and can execute exchange of messages between users and give notification to a specific user. The transmission of messages and notification can be performed by designating an ID that uniquely identifies the user or an identifier that uniquely identifies the terminal  200  as an address. The user can use the chat service by registering in advance user information including the user ID and the identifier of the terminal  200  with the chat server  300 . The registered user information may be shared with the device management server  400 . A CPU  304  reads control programs stored in a ROM  305  and executes various processes for controlling the operation of the chat server  300 . The ROM  305  stores control programs. A RAM  306  is used as a temporary storage area such as the main memory and a work memory of the CPU  304 . 
       FIG.  4    is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the device management server  400 . A communication unit  401  can transmit and receive data to and from the connected device  500  and the chat server  300  via the Internet  100 . The communication unit  401  obtains status information indicating the status of the connected device  500 . Examples of the status information include the operating status of the connected device  500 , setting information, error information, and the kind of event occurred. To register a device or obtain status information on the connected device  500 , user information including the user ID and the identifier of the terminal  200  need to be registered with the device management server  400  in advance. The registered user information may be shared with the chat server  300 . An HDD  402  stores various data, such as user information, registered-unit information on the connected device  500  registered by the user, connected-device-group information, connected-device notification settings, and status information obtained from the connected device  500 . A CPU  403  reads control programs stored in a ROM  404  and execute various processes for controlling the operation of the device management server  400 . The ROM  404  stores control programs. A RAM  405  is used as a temporary storage area such as the main memory and a work memory of the CPU  403 . 
       FIG.  5    is a diagram illustrating examples of the hardware configurations of connected devices, the MFP  1 ( 500   a ), the printer ( 500   c ), and the washing machine ( 500   d ). 
     The MFP  1 ( 500   a ) includes a CPU  501   a , a ROM  502   a , a RAM  503   a , a storage  504   a , an operation unit  505   a , a printing unit  506   a , a reading unit  507   a , and a communication unit  508   a . The CPU  501   a  controls the operation of the entire MFP  1 ( 500   a ). The CPU  501   a  reads control programs stored in the ROM  502   a  or the storage  504   a  into the RAM  503   a  to perform various control operations, such as read control and print control. The ROM  502   a  stores control programs that can be executed by the CPU  501   a . The RAM  503   a  is a main memory and is used as a temporary storage area for decompressing various control programs stored in a work area, the ROM  502   a , and the storage  504   a . The storage  504   a  stores image data, print data, various programs, and various items of setting information. In this embodiment, the storage  504   a  is a flash memory. Other examples include auxiliary storages, such as a solid state drive (SSD) and a hard disk drive (HDD). Another example is an embedded multimedia card (eMMC). The MFP  1  ( 500   a ) of this embodiment executes a sequence of processes, described later, that one CPU  501   a  executes using one memory (RAM  503   a ). This is however illustrative only. For example, a plurality of components, the CPU, the RAM, the ROM, and the storage, may be cooperated to execute the flowchart described later. Part of the processes may be executed using a hardware circuit, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA). Examples of the operation unit  505   a  include a display, such as a touch panel, and hard keys. The operation unit  505   a  displays information for the user and detects an input from the user. The printing unit  506   a  can print image data (print data) stored in the RAM  503   a  on recording paper fed from a paper cassette. The reading unit  507   a  reads an image on the document. The CPU  501   a  converts the image to image data, such as binary data. The image data generated from the image read by the reading unit  507   a  is transmitted to an external device or printed on recording paper. The communication unit  508   a  connects to the network  100 . The communication unit  508   a  transits status information on the device to the device management server  400 . Examples of the status information include the status of jobs, such as copying and FAX, notifications of the remaining amounts or shortage of toner and printing paper (recording materials), error information, such as a fault location, and the type of event occurred. The communication unit  508   a  transmits image data to an external device on the network  100  or receives print data from the terminal  200 . Examples or a method of transmission and reception via the network  100  include transmission and reception via email and file transmission using another protocol (for example, a file transfer protocol (FTP), server message block (SMB), and web-based distributed authoring and versioning (WEBDAV)). Another example is transmission and reception of image data and various setting data via the network  100  from the terminal  200  by hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) communication. 
     The printer ( 500   c ) includes a CPU  501   c , a ROM  502   c , a RAM  503   c , a storage  504   c , an operation unit  505   c , a printing unit  506   c , and a communication unit  507   c . The CPU  501   c  controls the operation of the entire printer ( 500   c ). The CPU  501   c  reads control programs stored in the ROM  502   c  or the storage  504   c  into the RAM  503   c  to perform various control operations, such as print control. The ROM  502   c  stores control programs that can be executed by the CPU  501   c . The RAM  503   c  is a main memory and is used as a temporary storage area for decompressing various control programs stored in a work area, the ROM  502   c , and the storage  504   c . The storage  504   c  stores image data, print data, various programs, and various items of setting information. In this embodiment, the storage  504   c  is a flash memory. Other examples include auxiliary storages, such as an SSD and an HDD. Another example is an eMMC. The printer ( 500   c ) of this embodiment executes a sequence of processes, described later, that one CPU  501   c  executes using one memory (RAM  503   c ). This is however illustrative only. For example, a plurality of components, the CPU, the RAM, the ROM, and the storage, may be cooperated to execute the flowchart described later. Part of the processes may be executed using a hardware circuit, such as an ASIC or an FPGA. Examples of the operation unit  505   c  include a display, such as a touch panel, and hard keys. The operation unit  505   c  displays information for the user and detects an input from the user. The printing unit  506   c  can print image data (print data) stored in the RAM  503   c  on recording paper fed from a paper cassette. The communication unit  507   c  connects to the network  100 . The communication unit  507   c  transits status information on the device to the device management server  400 . Examples of the status information include the status of a print job, notifications of the remaining amounts or shortage of toner and printing paper (recording materials), error information, such as a failure, and the type of event occurred. The communication unit  507   c  also receives print data from the terminal  200  on the network  100 . 
     The washing machine ( 500   d ) includes a CPU  501   d , a ROM  502   d , a RAM  503   d , an operation unit  504   d , a motor control unit  505   d , a water-level control unit  506   d , and a communication unit  507   d . The CPU  501   d  controls the operation of the entire washing machine ( 500   d ). The CPU  501   d  reads control programs stored in the ROM  502   d  into the RAM  503   d  to perform various control operations, such as motor control and water-level control. The ROM  502   d  stores control programs that can be executed by the CPU  501   d . The RAM  503   d  is a main memory and is used as a temporary storage area for decompressing various control programs stored in a work area and the ROM  502   d . Examples of the operation unit  504   d  include a display, such as a touch panel, and hard keys. The motor control unit  505   d  controls the rotational speed of the motor of the washing tub. The water-level control unit  506   d  controls the water level of the washing tub and controls the feeding and discharging of water. The communication unit  507   d  connects to the network  100 . The communication unit  507   d  connects to the network  100 . The communication unit  507   d  transits status information on the device to the device management server  400 . Examples of the status information include operating status, error information, such as a failure, and the type of event occurred. The communication unit  507   d  also receives control instructions from an external device on the network  100 . 
       FIGS.  6 A to  6 C  illustrate examples of screens, displayed on the operation unit  201  of the terminal  200 , for registering connected devices with the device management server  400 . 
     A screen  600   a  displays connected devices registered with the device management server  400 , in which any given names that the user gives to the connected devices and the categories of the connected devices are listed in a column  601  and a column  602 , respectively. Examples of the categories of the connected devices include a multifunctional device, a printer, a rice cooker, and a washing machine. The user registers user information with the device management server  400  in advance before registering the devices. When registering an additional device with the device management server  400 , the user selects an add device button  603  displayed on the screen  600   a.    
     A screen  600   b  is a screen displayed when the user selects the add device button  603 , in which devices that are not registered with the device management server  400  are listed. The screen  600   b  displays the categories and the product names of the devices. The devices listed may be devices that are recognized via the NFC  203  or the Bluetooth  204  provided in the terminal  200  or devices on the same network. The user selects a desired device to be registered with the device management server  400  from the devices displayed on the screen  600   b.    
     A screen  600   c  is a screen displayed when the user selects any one of the devices listed on the screen  600   b , in which the category of the device selected on the screen  600   b  and the product name “printer (PRINTER- 2000 B)” are displayed in a field  605 . 
     The screen  600   c  also displays a name field  606  for the selected device. The user enters any name in the name field  606 . By entering the name and selecting a register button  607 , registered-unit information is transmitted to the device management server  400 , and the registration is completed. Examples of the registered-unit information include, in addition to the name entered on the screen  600   c , the category, the product name, and the media access control (MAC) address of the device. The registered-unit information further includes identification information that is uniquely assigned to the device, such as a serial number, and information on the user who registered. 
       FIGS.  7 A and  7 B  are diagrams illustrating examples of screens for connected-device group registration displayed on the operation unit  201  of the terminal  200 . The group registration means that a user registers one or more connected devices together as one group on the device management server  400 . 
     A screen  700   a  is a screen that displays connected-device group information, in which connected devices registered with the device management server  400  are displayed. In this embodiment, the screen  700   a  displays a list of any names the user gives to the connected devices and a list of groups to which the connected devices belong in a column  701  and a column  702 , respectively. To register a new group with the device management server  400 , the user selects a new-group register button  703  displayed on the screen  700   a.    
     A screen  700   b  is a screen displayed when the user selects the new-group register button  703 . The screen  700   b  displays a group name field  704  in which the name of a group to be newly created, in which the user can enter any group name. A connected-device field  705  displays connected devices and check boxes  706  for selecting whether to include the connected devices in the new group. By the user checking the connected devices to be included the new group and thereafter selecting a register button  707 , the group information is transmitted to the device management server  400 , and the group registration is completed. Examples of the group information include the group name entered on the screen  700   b , the registered-unit information on the checked connected devices, and information on the user who created the group. In the example of the screen  700   b , three connected devices, “study room printer”, “home kitchen rice cooker”, and “home washing machine”, are included the group named “home electrical appliance”. In this embodiment, connected devices belong to one group. Alternatively, the connected devices may be included in a plurality of hierarchical groups. For example, “head office  1 F multifunctional device may be included in two groups, a “head office printer” group and a “head office  1 F printer” group, which is a subgroup of the “head office printer” group. 
       FIG.  8    is a diagram illustrating an example of a notification setting screen displayed on the operation unit  201  of the terminal  200 . The notification setting screen  800  allows switching of notification settings on whether to display various notifications of the status of the connected device  500  generated by the device management server  400  on the terminal  200 . The notification settings set on the notification setting screen  800  are transmitted to the device management server  400  for storage. 
     The notification setting screen  800  displays groups registered with the device management server  400  and connected devices that belong to the groups. The notification setting screen  800  also displays toggle switches for group notification switch setting on whether to display notifications including status information on all the connected devices that belong to the groups on the terminal  200 . The user can switch group notification settings all at once so as not to display notifications on all the connected devices included in the group by turning “OFF” the toggle switches for group notification switch settings. Likewise, the user can switch the group notification settings all at once so as to display notifications on all the connected devices included in the group by turning “ON” the toggle switches for group notification switch settings. For example, the notification setting screen  800  displays a “head office printer” group  801 , which is a group registered with the device management server  400 , a “head office  1 F multifunctional device”  802 , and a “head office  2 F multifunctional device”  803  that belong to the group. The user can turn “OFF” the respective notification settings  811  and  812  of the connected devices  802  and  803  that belong to the “head office printer” group  801  all at once by turning “OFF” a group notification switch setting  810  of the “head office printer” group  801 . Likewise, the notification setting screen  800  displays a “home electrical appliance” group  804  and all the connected devices that belong to the “home electrical appliance” group  804 , a “study room printer”  805 , a “home kitchen rice cooker”  806 , and a “home washing machine”  807 . The user can turn “ON” the respective notification settings  814 ,  815 , and  816  of the connected devices  805 ,  806 , and  807  that belong to the “home electrical appliance” group  804  all at once by turning “ON” a group notification switch setting  813  of the “home electrical appliance” group  804 . The connected devices that do not belong to any groups may be collectively displayed as “not grouped”  808 , as in the notification setting screen  800 . 
     A group notification switch setting  817  for the “not grouped”  808  is “OFF”, and a notification setting  818  for a “branch A printer”  809  that does not belong to any group is turned “OFF” in cooperation. Alternatively, a notification setting different from the group notification switch setting of the group to which the connected device belongs may be made by individually changing the notification settings of the connected devices. For example, even when the group notification switch setting  813  of the “home electrical appliance” group  804  is “ON”, only the notification setting  814  of the study room printer  805  may be turned “OFF”. If the connected devices belong to a plurality of hierarchical groups, subgroup notification switch settings and notification settings for all connected devices that belong to the subgroup may be switched all at once by switching the group notification switch setting for a higher group. The group notification switch settings of subgroups may be switched to notification settings different from a higher group notification switch setting. For example, the group notification switch setting of a higher group, the “head office printer” group, is turned “ON”, and in this state, the group notification switch setting of the subgroup, “head office  1 F printer” group, may be turned “OFF”, and the group notification switch setting of the “head office  2 F printer” may be turned “ON”. In this case, the notification settings of the connected devices that belong to the “head office  1 F printer” group are tuned “OFF” all at once, and the notification settings of the connected devices that belong to the “head office  2 F printer” group are tuned “ON” all at once. 
       FIG.  18    is a flowchart for a notification switching process that is started when the group notification switch setting  810  on the screen  800  in  FIG.  8    displayed on the operation unit  201  of the terminal  200  is selected. The individual operations (steps) in the flowchart are executed by the CPU  206  that reads control programs stored in the ROM  207  or the storage  209  into the RAM  208 . Here is an example in which the group notification switch setting  810  is selected. The process shown in the flowchart of  FIG.  18    is executed also when the group notification switch setting  813  or the group notification switch setting  817  is selected. 
     At S 1801 , the CPU  206  determines whether the group notification switch setting  810  has been changed to ON. When the group notification switch setting  810  is selected by the user, with the group notification switch setting  810  at OFF, the CPU  206  determines that the group notification switch setting  810  is changed to ON. If the CPU  206  determines that the group notification switch setting  810  has been changed to ON, the CPU  206  proceeds to S 1802 . If the CPU  206  determines that the group notification switch setting  810  has not been changed to ON, the CPU  206  proceeds to S 1810 . 
     At S 1802 , the CPU  206  stores a variable N in the RAM  208  and sets the variable N to 1. 
     At S 1803 , the CPU  206  changes the notification setting of the N-th device of the group of the group notification switch setting  810  to ON. If the original notification setting of the N-th device is OFF, the CPU  206  changes the setting to ON. If the original notification setting of the N-th device is ON, the CPU  206  keeps the setting. 
     At S 1804 , the CPU  206  determines whether there is another device in the group. 
     If the CPU  206  determines that there is another device in the group, the CPU  206  proceeds to S 1805 . If the CPU  206  determines that there is no another device in the group, the CPU  206  ends the process shown in the flowchart of  FIG.  18   . 
     If the process is advanced from S 1801  to S 1810 , the CPU  206  determines whether the group notification switch setting  810  has been changed to OFF. If the group notification switch setting  810  is selected by the user, with the group notification switch setting  810  at ON, the CPU  206  determines that the group notification switch setting  810  has been changed to OFF. If the CPU  206  determines that the group notification switch setting  810  has not been changed to OFF, the CPU  206  proceeds to S 1806 . In contrast, if the CPU  206  determines that the group notification switch setting  810  has not been changed to OFF, the CPU  206  proceeds to S 1801 . 
     At S 1806 , the CPU  206  stores the variable N in the RAM  208  and sets the variable N to 1. 
     At S 1807 , the CPU  206  changes the notification setting of the N-th device of the group of the group notification switch setting  810  to OFF. If the original notification setting of the N-th device is ON, the CPU  206  changes the setting to OFF. If the original notification setting of the N-th device is OFF, the CPU  206  keeps the setting. 
     At S 1808 , the CPU  206  determines whether there is another device in the group. 
     If the CPU  206  determines that there is another device in the group, the CPU  206  proceeds to S 1809 . If the CPU  206  determines that there is no another device in the group, the CPU  206  ends the process shown in the flowchart of  FIG.  18   . 
     The on/off notification settings of the individual connected devices, set on the screen  800 , are transmitted to the device management server  400  for storage. 
       FIG.  9    is a diagram illustrating an example of a notification screen displayed on the operation unit  201  of the terminal  200 . The notification screen  900  displays notifications of the statuses of connected devices transmitted from the chat server  300 . The notification screen  900  displays two notifications  901  and  905 . Each notification contains the icon and the name  902  of the connected device, notification date  903 , and a message  904  about the status of connected device, as shown in the notification  901 . The notification  901  shows that the terminal  200  has received a notification about the status of a connected device named “home washing machine” on “2021/10/5 10:21”. A notification that laundry with “home washing machine” finished at  10 : 21  is given to the user as a message. Likewise, the notification  905  shows that the terminal  200  has received a notification about the status of a connected device named “study room printer” on “2021/10/5 11:45”. A notification that printing of “study room printer” has been successfully completed is given to the user as a message. The notification screen  900  may be displayed on a chat application that is installed in the terminal  200  and that communicates with the chat server  300  to provide a chat service. Alternatively, the notification screen  900  may be displayed on a status area or a lock screen that is normally displayed on the operation unit  201 . 
       FIG.  10    is a flowchart for device registration started when the add device button  603  on the screen  600   a  displayed on the operation unit  201  of the terminal  200 . The individual operations (steps) in the flowchart are executed by the CPU  206  that reads control programs stored in the ROM  207  or the storage  209  into the RAM  208 . 
     At S 1001 , the CPU  206  searches for a device to be registered with the device management server  400  and obtains identification information for uniquely identifying the device. For a method of search, devices on the same network (LAN) may be detected according to an address resolution protocol (ARP) via the communication unit  205 . Alternatively, devices may be detected via a short-range communication, such as the NFC  203  or the Bluetooth  204 . Examples of the identification information include the media access control (MAC) address or the serial number of each device. 
     At S 1002 , the CPU  206  determines whether the identification information on the devices found by the search of S 1001  have been registered with the device management server  400  by inquiring the device management server  400 . If the result of the inquiry shows that the devices found at S 1001  include one or more device that are not registered with the device management server  400 , the process goes to S 1003 . In contrast, if there is no device that is not registered with the device management server  400 , the device registering process ends. 
     At S 1003 , the CPU  206  displays a list of devices that are determined not to be registered with the device management server  400  at S 1002  on the screen  600   b.    
     At S 1004 , the terminal  200  receives selection of any one of the devices displayed on the screen  600   b  by an operation on the operation unit  201 . 
     At S 1005 , the CPU  206  enters information necessary as registered-unit information, such as the name of the device selected at S 1004 , on the screen  600   c.    
     At S 1006 , the terminal  200  receives selection of the register button  607  displayed on the screen  600   c  via the operation unit  201 . 
     At S 1007 , the CPU  206  transmits the registered-unit information to the device management server  400  via the communication unit  205 . 
       FIG.  11    is a flowchart for group registration started when a new-group register button  703  on the screen  700   a  displayed on the operation unit  201  of the terminal  200 . The individual operations (steps) in the flowchart are executed by the CPU  206  that reads control programs stored in the ROM  207  or the storage  209  into the RAM  208 . 
     At S 1101 , the CPU  206  obtains registered-unit information registered with the device management server  400  and displays a list of the registered devices on the screen  700   b . At S 1101 , the device management server  400  transmits only the registered-unit information that the user who is executing this flowchart registers to the terminal  200 . The registered-unit information to be transmitted by the device management server  400  may be changed according to other conditions. 
     At S 1102 , the terminal  200  receives the entry of a group name into a group name field  604  on the screen  700   b  from the user and selects one or more connected devices to be grouped. 
     At S 1103 , the terminal  200  receives selection on the register button  607  displayed on the screen  700   c  from the user. 
     At S 1104 , the CPU  206  transmits group information to the device management server  400  via the communication unit  205 . 
       FIG.  12    is a flowchart for the process whereby the MFP  1  ( 500   a ) transmits status information to the device management server  400 . The individual operations (steps) in the flowchart are executed by the CPU  501   a  that reads control programs stored in the ROM  502   a  or the storage  504   a  into the RAM  503   a.    
     At S 1201 , the CPU  501   a  detects an event. Examples of the event include completion of copying, faxing, or another job executed by the MFP  1  ( 500   a ), the fact that the remaining amount of toner or printing paper has fallen below a predetermined threshold, and the occurrence of a failure. An instruction to transmit status information from the device management server  400  is also included in the event. 
     At S 1202 , the CPU  501   a  collects status information to be transmitted to the device management server  400 . The status information collected by the CPU  501   a  includes the operating status of the 1 MFP  1  ( 500   a ), setting information, error information, and event type. The information to be collected may be changed according to the event. For example, in the case of the event of job completion, the type and date of the completed job and the result of the job may be collected, and in the case of the event of a failure, information on the failure location and failure date may be collected. 
     At S 1203 , the CPU  501   a  controls the communication unit  508   a  so that the communication unit  508   a  transmits the collected status information to the device management server  400 . 
       FIG.  13    is a flowchart for the process whereby the printer ( 500   c ) transmits status information to the device management server  400 . The individual operations (steps) in the flowchart are executed by the CPU  501   c  that reads control programs stored in the ROM  502   c  or the storage  504   c  into the RAM  503   c.    
     At S 1301 , the CPU  501   c  detects an event. Examples of the event include completion of printing or another job executed by the printer ( 500   c ), the fact that the remaining amount of toner or printing paper has fallen below a predetermined threshold, and the occurrence of a failure. An instruction to transmit status information from the device management server  400  is also included in the event. 
     At S 1302 , the CPU  501   c  collects status information to be transmitted to the device management server  400 . The status information collected by the CPU  501   c  includes the operating status of the printer ( 500   c ), setting information, error information, and event type. The information to be collected may be changed according to the event. For example, in the case of the event of job completion, the type and date of the completed job and the result of the job may be collected, and in the case of the event of a failure, information on the failure location and failure date may be collected. 
     At S 1303 , the CPU  501   c  controls the communication unit  507   c  so that the communication unit  507   c  transmits the collected status information to the device management server  400 . 
       FIG.  14    is a flowchart for the process whereby the washing machine ( 500   d ) transmits status information to the device management server  400 . The individual operations (steps) in the flowchart are executed by the CPU  501   d  that reads control programs stored in the ROM  502   d  into the RAM  503   d.    
     At S 1401 , the CPU  501   d  detects an event. Examples of the event include completion of laundry, the fact that it is detected that operation cannot be continued because of inability of supply water or an open lid, and the occurrence of a failure. An instruction to transmit status information from the device management server  400  is also included in the event. 
     At S 1402 , the CPU  501   d  collects status information to be transmitted to the device management server  400 . The status information collected by the CPU  501   d  includes the operating status of the washing machine ( 500   d ), setting information, error information, and event type. The information to be collected may be changed according to the event. For example, in the case of the event of completion of laundry, the date of the completion of laundry may be collected, and in the case of the event of a failure, information on the failure location and failure date may be collected. 
     At S 1403 , the CPU  501   d  controls the communication unit  507   d  so that the communication unit  507   d  transmits the collected status information to the device management server  400 . 
       FIG.  15    is a flowchart for the process whereby the device management server  400  transmits status information obtained from the connected device  500  to the chat server  300 . The individual operations (steps) in the flowchart are executed by the CPU  403  that reads control programs stored in the ROM  404  or the HDD  402  into the RAM  405 . 
     At S 1501 , the CPU  403  stores the status information received by the communication unit  401  in the HDD  402 . 
     At S 1502 , the CPU  403  analyzes the status information received at S 1501  to determine whether the status of the connected device  500  is to be reported to the user. Examples of the status to be reported include that completion of the process executed by the connected device  500  and detection of a failure of the connected device  500  are included in the status information. Notification conditions to be used for the determination of whether to give a notification are stored in advance in the HDD  402  of the device management server  400 . Alternatively, the notification conditions may be set by the user for each connected device. For example, assuming that notification conditions for the MFP  1 ( 500   a ) include “completion of printing of a received fax document”, when the CPU  403  determines that status information includes an event type indicating completion of the printing of a received fax document, the CPU  403  determines that the status is to be reported to the user. If the CPU  403  determines to report the status as a result of analysis, the process goes to S 1503 . If not, the flowchart ends. 
     At S 1503 , the CPU  403  obtains the notification setting of the connected device  500  that is determined to be reported at S 1502 . If the setting is “ON”, the process goes to S 1504 . If the setting is “OFF”, the flowchart ends. Although, at S 1503 , the group notification switch setting determines where the process branches off, the notification setting of the connected device that is determined to be reported may be used for the branch. 
     At S 1504 , the CPU  403  creates a notification message. The notification message is created on the basis of the status information. The message may be created using a format determined for each event type, or a fixed message set by the user may be used. The notification message may include the name and the type of the connected device, an icon, and other information. 
     At S 1505 , the CPU  403  searches the registered-unit information stored in the HDD  402  for user information on the user who registers the connected device  500  that is determined to be reported at S 1502 . 
     At S 1506 , the CPU  403  transmits the user ID and the notification message created at S 1504  to the chat server  300  so that the notification message is sent to the user specified at S 1505 . 
       FIG.  16    is a flowchart for the process whereby the chat server  300  notifies the terminal  200  of the notification message sent from the device management server  300 . The individual operations (steps) in the flowchart are executed by the CPU  304  that reads control programs stored in the ROM  305  or the HDD  302  into the RAM  306 . 
     At S 1601 , the CPU  304  detects reception of the notification message and the destination, or the user ID, transmitted from the device management server  400  via the communication unit  301 . 
     At S 1602 , the CPU  304  stores the notification message received at S 1601  in the message history of the destination user. The notification message stored in the message history can be tracked back by the user. 
     At S 1603 , the CPU  304  notifies the destination user of the notification message received at S 1601 . In this embodiment, the notification is provided to the terminal  200  via a distribution server (not shown) that makes a push notification by transmitting the notification message and the identifier of the terminal  200  of the user to the distribution server. 
       FIG.  17    is a flowchart for the process whereby the terminal  200  displays the notification message transmitted from the chat server  300 . The individual operations (steps) in the flowchart are executed by the CPU  206  that reads control programs stored in the ROM  207  or the storage  209  into the RAM  208 . 
     At S 1701 , the CPU  206  detects the communication unit  205  having received the notification message transmitted from chat server  300 . 
     At S 1702 , the CPU  206  displays the notification message received at S 1701  on the notification screen  900 . 
     This embodiment shows an example in which the device management server  400  determines at S 1503  whether to generate a notification message at S 1504 . However, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the above example. For example, the device management server  400  may omit step S 1503  and necessarily perform the creation and the posting of the notification message from steps S 1504  to S 1506  to the chat server  300  and may operate as follows. The terminal  200  may access the chat server  300  to determine whether to display the notification message on the notification screen  900  according to a group notification switch setting or a connected-device notification setting. In this case, the chat server  300  dese not transmit the notification message to the distribution server and only adds the message to the history at S 1602 . The terminal  200  determines whether to display the notification message at the timing when the chat server  300  obtains the history of the message. 
     Alternatively, the device management server  400  may omit step S 1503  and necessarily perform the creation and the posting of the notification message from steps S 1504  to S 1506  to the chat server  300  and may operate as follows. The device management server  400  may determine whether to transmit the notification message and the identifier of the terminal  200  of the user to a distribution server (not shown) that makes a push notification on the basis of the notification setting of the connected device whose status information is transmitted. If the connected-device notification setting is enabled, the device management server  400  instructs the chat server  300  to transmit the notification message and the identifier of the terminal  200  of the user to the distribution server (not shown). This enables the terminal  200  to display the notification message on a lock screen or the like even without a notification display instruction from the user. If the connected-device notification setting is disabled, the device management server  400  instructs the chat server  300  not to transmit the notification message and the identifier of the terminal  200  of the user to the distribution server (not shown). In this case, the terminal  200  does not need to display the notification message on the lock screen or the like. 
     Thus, one or more connected devices can be registered with groups, and settings of notifications to the operation unit  201  of the terminal  200  based on information from the plurality of devices that belong to the plurality of groups can be changed all at once for each group. This eliminates, when the user wants to receive notifications from home electrical appliance, the need to enable the respective notification settings of the study room printer  805 , the home kitchen rice cooker  815 , and the home washing machine  816 . By selecting the group notification switch setting  813  instead, the settings of a plurality of connected devices registered with a home electrical appliance group can be changed all at once. 
     Thus, when leaving the office, the user can change the notification settings based on the information on the connected devices in the head office printer group to OFF all at once using the group notification switch setting  810 . When coming home, the user can turn on the notification settings based on the information on the connected devices in the home electrical appliance group all at once using the group notification switch setting  813 . 
     The enable/disable of the notification settings of the individual connected devices set on the screen  800  may be stored in the chat server  300 , and the chat server  300  may determine whether to post messages of the connected devices. If the notification setting of a certain connected device set on the screen  800  is enabled, the chat server  300  stores the enabled notification setting of the connected device. When a notification of the status information on the connected device is given, the chat server  300  posts a message based on the notification. In contrast, if the notification setting of a certain connected device set on the screen  800  is disabled, the chat server  300  stores the disabled notification setting of the connected device. When a notification of the status information on the connected device is given, the chat server  300  does not post a message based on the notification. This is an example of whether to perform posting. Alternatively, a push notification of a message to the terminal  200  may be performed. If the notification setting of a certain connected device set on the screen  800  is enabled, the chat server  300  stores the enabled notification setting of the connected device. When a notification of the status information of the connected device is given, the chat server  300  transmits the notification message and the identifier of the terminal  200  of the user to a distribution server (not shown) that makes a push notification. In other words, the chat server  300  makes the lock screen or the home screen of the terminal  200  automatically display the message even if no message display instruction is given by the user. In contrast, if the notification setting of a certain connected device set on the screen  800  is disabled, the chat server  300  stores the disabled notification setting of the connected device. When a notification of the status information of the connected device is given, the chat server  300  does not transmit the notification message and the identifier of the terminal  200  of the user to the distribution server (not shown) that makes a push notification. In other words, the chat server  300  makes the lock screen or the home screen of the terminal  200  not to automatically display the message. This facilitates setting of whether to post a message or make a push notification on the basis of a connected-device notification setting by the user via the screen  800 . 
     OTHER EMBODIMENTS 
     Various embodiment(s) of the present disclosure 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 example embodiments are described, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed example 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. 2021-186701, filed Nov. 16, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.