Patent Publication Number: US-2020301632-A1

Title: Management system

Description:
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE 
     This application is based upon, and claims the benefit of priority from, corresponding Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-054255 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Mar. 22, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present disclosure relates to a management system for managing an electronic apparatus. 
     Description of Related Art 
     Conventionally, as a management system for managing an electronic apparatus, there has been known a management system which requests an order for consumables in an image forming apparatus. 
     SUMMARY 
     A management system of the present disclosure includes a server configured to transmit information collected from an electronic device, in which the server transmits a request for ordering a consumable based on the information regarding the consumable in the electronic device, the server subjects the request to a queuing when the request is failed, and the server subjects the request to a dequeuing to execute the request when a dequeue condition for subjecting the request to the dequeuing is satisfied. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus shown in  FIG. 1  in the case of a multifunction peripheral (MFP); 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram showing a part of an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 1  when the processing of schedules S 1 , S 2 , S 3  and S 4  is successfully executed; 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram showing an example of an operation subsequent to the operation shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 1  when an error occurs during the execution of the processing of the schedules S 1 , S 2 , S 3  and S 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 1  when queuing a schedule in a server in a management system; 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 1  when dequeuing a schedule from a server in the management system; 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 1  when requesting an order for toner; 
         FIG. 9  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 1  when queuing a toner order request in a server in the management system; 
         FIG. 10  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 1  when dequeuing a toner order request from a server in the management system; 
         FIG. 11  is a flowchart of the operation of the management system shown in  FIG. 1  when transmitting a toner order request by electronic mail; 
         FIG. 12  is a block diagram of a system according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 13  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 12  when storing execution error history of a schedule by a server in a management system in error history information; 
         FIG. 14  is a diagram showing an example of the error history information shown in  FIG. 12 ; 
         FIG. 15  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 12  when queuing a schedule in a server in the management system; 
         FIG. 16  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 12  when dequeuing a schedule from a server in the management system; 
         FIG. 17  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 12  when dequeuing a toner order request from a server in the management system; 
         FIG. 18  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 12  when a server in the management system executes a schedule after confirming the error history information; 
         FIG. 19  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 12 , which is different from the example shown in  FIG. 18 , when a server in the management system executes a schedule after confirming the error history information; 
         FIG. 20  is a block diagram of a system according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 21  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 20  when storing an execution result of a schedule by a server in a management system in execution result information; 
         FIG. 22  is a diagram showing an example of the execution result information shown in  FIG. 20 ; 
         FIG. 23  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 20  when queuing a schedule in a server in the management system; 
         FIG. 24  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 20  when dequeuing a schedule from a server in the management system; 
         FIG. 25  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 20  when dequeuing a toner order request from a server in the management system; 
         FIG. 26  is a block diagram of a system according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 27  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 26  when storing aggregate data of schedule execution results by a server in a management system in aggregate data information; 
         FIG. 28  is a diagram showing an example of the aggregate data information shown in  FIG. 26 ; 
         FIG. 29  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 26  when queuing a schedule in a server in the management system; 
         FIG. 30  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 26  when dequeuing a schedule from a server in the management system; 
         FIG. 31  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system shown in  FIG. 26  when dequeuing a toner order request from a server in the management system; and 
         FIG. 32  is a block diagram of a system according to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. 
     First Embodiment 
     First, the configuration of a system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system  10  according to the present embodiment. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the system  10  includes an image forming apparatus  20  as an electronic apparatus. The image forming apparatus  20  is configured by, for example, a multifunction peripheral (MFP), a printer dedicated machine, a copying dedicated machine, and the like. In addition to the image forming apparatus  20 , the system  10  may include at least one image forming apparatus similar to the image forming apparatus  20 . The image forming apparatus in the system  10  is held by the owner of the image forming apparatus itself, not by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus itself. 
     The system  10  includes a management system  30  for managing the image forming apparatus in the system  10 . The management system  30  may be configured by a single computer or a plurality of computers. The management system  30  may also be a system that operates on a cloud. The management system  30  is operated by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus. A user can access the management system  30  via a web browser, obtain the status and history information of an arbitrary image forming apparatus from the management system  30 , and perform maintenance of the arbitrary image forming apparatus via the management system  30 . In addition, the management system  30  can notify a specific notification destination when a problem occurs in the image forming apparatus or when the remaining amount of consumables in the image forming apparatus becomes equal to or smaller than a specific amount. Here, the consumables in the image forming apparatus include, for example, a toner, a recording media, a staple, and the like used in a printer. 
     The system  10  includes a management system side connection mediation system  40  which functions as a hub for connecting the management system  30  to the other system. The management system side connection mediation system  40  may be configured by a single computer or a plurality of computers. The management system side connection mediation system  40  may also be a system that operates on a cloud. The management system side connection mediation system  40  is operated by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus. 
     The system  10  includes a seller system  51  operated by a seller such as a sales company and a dealer of the image forming apparatus. The seller system  51  may be configured by a single computer or a plurality of computers. The seller system  51  may also be a system that operates on a cloud. The system  10  includes a plurality of seller systems each similar to the seller system  51 , such as a seller system  52 , a seller system  53 , and a seller system  54 . The seller system is operated for each seller. For example, the seller system can acquire counter information indicating the number of sheets printed by the printer of the image forming apparatus from the management system  30 , generate an invoice for the invoice amount based on the counter information, and transmit the invoice to the owner of the image forming apparatus. Further, the seller system can acquire, for example, a request for ordering a consumable in the image forming apparatus from the management system  30 . 
     The system  10  includes a seller system side connection mediation system  60  which functions as a hub for connecting the seller system to the other system. The seller system side connection mediation system  60  may be configured by a single computer or a plurality of computers. The seller system side connection mediation system  60  may also be a system that operates on a cloud. 
     The image forming apparatus and the management system  30  in the system  10  can communicate with each other via a network such as the Internet. 
     The management system  30  and the management system side connection mediation system  40  can communicate with each other via a network such as a local area network (LAN) or the Internet or directly via a wired or wireless connection without use of the network. 
     The management system side connection mediation system  40  and the seller system side connection mediation system  60  can communicate with each other via a network such as the Internet. 
     The seller system side connection mediation system  60  and the seller system can communicate with each other via a network such as the Internet. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of the image forming apparatus  20  in the case of the MFP. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the image forming apparatus  20  includes an operation unit  21  that is an input device such as a button for inputting various operations, a display unit  22  that is a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) for displaying various information, a printer  23  that is a printing device for printing an image on a recording medium such as paper, and a scanner  24  that is a reading device for reading an image from a document. The image forming apparatus  20  further includes a facsimile communication unit  25  that is a facsimile device for performing facsimile communication with an external facsimile apparatus not shown via a communication line such as a public telephone line, and a communication unit  26  that is a communication device for communicating with an external device via a network such as a LAN or the Internet, or directly via a wired or wireless connection without use of a network. The image forming apparatus  20  further includes a storage unit  27  that is a non-volatile storage device such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk drive (HDD) for storing various types of information, and a control unit  28  that controls the entire image forming apparatus  20 . 
     The control unit  28  includes, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM) storing a program and various data, and a random access memory (RAM), that is a memory as a volatile storage device used as a work area for the CPU in the control unit  28 . The CPU in the control unit  28  executes a program stored in the storage unit  27  or the ROM in the control unit  28 . 
     The control unit  28  executes a program stored in the storage unit  27  or the ROM in the control unit  28  to transmit to the management system  30  various types of information of the image forming apparatus  20  such as counter information indicating the number of sheets printed by the printer  23  and toner information as information relating to the toner including the remaining amount of toner in the printer  23 , at specific timing. Note that the timing at which the control unit  28  transmits the various types of information of the image forming apparatus  20  to the management system  30  is a timing that is more frequent than the timing at which the schedule described later is executed. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the management system  30  includes a plurality of servers such as a server  31 , a server  32 , a server  33 , and a server  34 . Each of the servers in the management system  30  executes a schedule for transmitting the information collected from the image forming apparatus in the system  10  to the seller system at a specific timing. 
     The schedule includes a plurality of schedules such as schedule S 1 , schedule S 2 , schedule S 3 , and schedule S 4 . 
     Each schedule is set to transmit information collected from any image forming apparatus to any seller system at any timing. For example, the schedule S 1  is a schedule for transmitting counter information of an image forming apparatus A, an image forming apparatus B, and an image forming apparatus C to the seller system  51  at a specific timing. The schedule S 2  is a schedule for transmitting counter information of an image forming apparatus D to the seller system  52  at a specific timing. The schedule S 3  is a schedule for transmitting counter information of an image forming apparatus E to the seller system  53  at a specific timing. The schedule S 4  is a schedule for transmitting counter information of an image forming apparatus F and an image forming apparatus G to the seller system  54  at a specific timing. 
     Various timings may be set as the timing at which each schedule is executed. For example, the timing at which each schedule is executed may be a daily timing such as 17:00 every day. The timing may also be a weekly timing such as a specific day of the week. The timing may also be a monthly timing such as a specific day of every month, for example, the 20th of every month, and a specific day of a specific week of every month, for example, the third Wednesday of every month. 
     Each schedule is assigned to a predetermined server. For example, the schedule S 1  is executed by the server  31 , the schedule S 2  is executed by the server  32 , the schedule S 3  is executed by the server  33 , and the schedule S 4  is executed by the server  34 . 
     The server  31  includes a queue  31   a  for holding a schedule. Similarly, each server in the management system  30  includes a queue. For example, the server  32 , the server  33 , and the server  34  include a queue  32   a , a queue  33   a , and a queue  34   a , respectively. 
     The management system  30  includes a database  35 , which stores collection information  35   a  indicating various information collected from the image forming apparatus, schedule information  35   b  for managing a schedule by the server in the management system  30 , and order request threshold information  35   c  that indicates a threshold value of the remaining amount of toner for requesting a toner order for each toner type. 
     Each time information such as the counter information and toner information is transmitted from the image forming apparatus, the management system  30  accumulates the information such as the counter information and the toner information transmitted from the image forming apparatus in the collection information  35   a.    
     The server in the management system  30  writes the state of the schedule to be processed by the server itself in the schedule information  35   b . For example, when the schedule is being executed, the server in the management system  30  writes the status of the schedule being executed as “executing” in the schedule information  35   b , and when the execution of the schedule is completed, the server in the management system  30  writes the state of the schedule being executed as “execution completed” in the schedule information  35   b.    
     The management system side connection mediation system  40  includes a queue  40   a  for holding processes to be executed by the management system side connection mediation system  40 . The management system side connection mediation system  40  communicates with the management system  30  by a representational state transfer (REST), and communicates with the seller system side connection mediation system  60  by a simple object access protocol (SOAP). Each of an application program interface (API) for transmitting the counter information from the management system  30  to the management system side connection mediation system  40 , and an API for transmitting the counter information from the management system side connection mediation system  40  to the seller system side connection mediation system  60  is configured with a specification that needs to be called for each image forming apparatus that is the target of the counter information. Further, as the number of the counter information simultaneously transmitted from the management system side connection mediation system  40  to the seller system side connection mediation system  60  increases, the possibility of processing errors in the seller system side connection mediation system  60  or the seller system increases. Therefore, the processing of transmitting the counter information from the management system side connection mediation system  40  to the seller system side connection mediation system  60  is based on a specification that limits the maximum number of parallel processes to two. 
     Next, the operation of the system  10  will be described. 
     First, the operation of the system  10  in the case where the processing of the schedule for transmitting the counter information collected from the image forming apparatus in the system  10  to the seller system at a specific timing is successfully executed will be described. Hereinafter, the case where the execution of the schedules S 1 , S 2 , S 3 , and S 4  is started at the same time will be described as an example. 
       FIG. 3  is a diagram showing a part of an example of the operation of the system  10  in the case where the processing of the schedules S 1 , S 2 , S 3 , and S 4  is successfully executed. 
     First, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the servers  31 ,  32 ,  33 , and  34  in the management system  30  execute transmission processes for the counter information of the image forming apparatus according to the schedules S 1 , S 2 , S 3 , and S 4  stored in the schedule information  35   b  (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7). That is, the servers  31 ,  32 ,  33 , and  34  obtain the counter information of the corresponding image forming apparatus from the collection information  35   a , set the seller system as the final destination according to the schedules S 1 , S 2 , S 3 , and S 4 , and transmit the acquired counter information to the management system side connection mediation system  40 . Note that the order in which the management system  30  transmits the counter information of the image forming apparatus is not particularly determined, and the counter information is transmitted almost in parallel. 
     When the management system side connection mediation system  40  receives the counter information of the image forming apparatus from the management system  30 , the management system side connection mediation system  40  executes the transmission process for the two pieces of counter information from among the counter information transmitted earlier from the management system  30 , based on the fact that the maximum number of parallel processes is two as described above (8 and 9). That is, the management system side connection mediation system  40  transmits the target counter information to the seller system side connection mediation system  60 . 
     The management system side connection mediation system  40  temporarily stores, in the queue  40   a , the transmission processes for the counter information other than the two pieces of counter information transmitted earlier from the management system  30  (10). 
     When the seller system side connection mediation system  60  receives the counter information of the image forming apparatus from the management system side connection mediation system  40 , the seller system side connection mediation system  60  executes the transmission process for the counter information transmitted from the management system side connection mediation system  40  (11 and 12). That is, the seller system side connection mediation system  60  transmits the target counter information to the seller system which is set as the final destination of the counter information. 
     Note that when the seller system successfully receives the counter information transmitted from the seller system side connection mediation system  60 , the seller system returns a response indicating that the counter information has been successfully received to the server that has executed the target transmission process among the servers in the management system  30 . The response returned from the seller system is received by the destination server in the management system  30  via the seller system side connection mediation system  60  and the management system side connection mediation system  40  in that order. 
       FIG. 4  is a diagram showing an example of an operation subsequent to the operation shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     In the case where the transmission process for the counter information is stored in the queue  40   a , regarding any one of the transmission processes that had been executed, when the management system side connection mediation system  40  receives the response from the seller system indicating that the counter information has been successfully received, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the management system side connection mediation system  40  extracts the leading transmission process from the queue  40   a  among the transmission processes stored in the queue  40   a  (13), and executes the leading transmission process (14). 
     When the seller system side connection mediation system  60  receives the counter information of the image forming apparatus from the management system side connection mediation system  40 , the seller system side connection mediation system  60  executes the transmission process for the counter information transmitted from the management system side connection mediation system  40  (15). 
     Next, the operation of the system  10  in the case where an error occurs during the execution of the schedule processing for transmitting the counter information collected from the image forming apparatus in the system  10  to the seller system at a specific timing will be described. Hereinafter, the case where the execution of the schedules S 1 , S 2 , S 3 , and S 4  is started at the same time will be described as an example. 
       FIG. 5  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  10  in the case where an error occurs during the execution of the processing of the schedules S 1 , S 2 , S 3 , and S 4 . 
     First, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the servers  31 ,  32 ,  33 , and  34  in the management system  30  execute the transmission processes for the counter information of the image forming apparatus according to the schedules S 1 , S 2 , S 3 , and S 4  stored in the schedule information  35   b  (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7). 
     When the management system side connection mediation system  40  receives the counter information of the image forming apparatus from the management system  30 , the management system side connection mediation system  40  executes the transmission process for the two pieces of counter information transmitted earlier among the counter information transmitted from the management system  30  (8 and 9). 
     The management system side connection mediation system  40  temporarily stores in the queue  40   a  the transmission processes for the counter information other than the two pieces of counter information transmitted earlier from among the counter information received from the management system  30  (10). 
     When the seller system side connection mediation system  60  receives the counter information of the image forming apparatus from the management system side connection mediation system  40 , the seller system side connection mediation system  60  executes the transmission process for the counter information transmitted from the management system side connection mediation system  40  (11 and 12). 
     Here, an error occurs in the seller system  51  due to various causes such as an error due to a sudden load of processes in the seller system  51 , based on the counter information of the image forming apparatus A and the counter information of the image forming apparatus B being simultaneously transmitted from the seller system side connection mediation system  60 . Here, when such an error occurs, it might be possible that the seller system  51  cannot return the response indicating that the counter information has been successfully received to the server executed the target transmission process among the servers in the management system  30 . In addition, it might be possible that the seller system  51  returns a response indicating that the counter information could not be successfully received due to the occurrence of an error to the server executed the target transmission process among the servers in the management system  30 . 
     In the case where the transmission process for the counter information is stored in the queue  40   a , regarding any one of the transmission processes that has been executed, when the management system side connection mediation system  40  receives a response from the seller system indicating that the counter information could not be successfully received due to the occurrence of a processing error in the seller system side connection mediation system  60  or the seller system, the management system side connection mediation system  40  extracts the leading transmission process from the queue  40   a  among the transmission processes stored in the queue  40   a , and executes the leading transmission process. Note that the timing at which the seller system returns the response indicating that the counter information could not be successfully received due to the occurrence of the processing error in the seller system side connection mediation system  60  or the seller system is later than the timing at which the seller system returns the response indicating that the counter information has been successfully received. Therefore, when the response indicating that the counter information could not be successfully received due to the occurrence of the processing error in the seller system side connection mediation system  60  or the seller system is returned from the seller system, the execution of the next transmission process by the management system side connection mediation system  40  is delayed as compared with a case where the response indicating that the counter information has been successfully received is returned from the seller system. 
     When the transmission process for the counter information is stored in the queue  40   a , regarding any transmission process that has been executed, it might be possible that the management system side connection mediation system  40  does not receive the response indicating that the counter information has been successfully received or the response indicating that the counter information could not be successfully received due to the occurrence of the processing error in the seller system side connection mediation system  60  or the seller system. At this time, the management system side connection mediation system  40  does not execute the transmission process stored in the queue  40   a  until the elapsed time exceeds a specific time after the management system side connection mediation system  40  itself executes the transmission process. Therefore, when the response indicating that the counter information has been successfully received, or the response indicating that the counter information could not be successfully received due to the occurrence of the processing error in the seller system side connection mediation system  60  or the seller system has not returned from the seller system, the execution of the next transmission process by the management system side connection mediation system  40  is delayed, compared with the case where the response indicating that the counter information has been successfully received is returned from the seller system. 
     In the example shown in  FIG. 5 , occurring the error during the execution of the processing of schedule S 1  provides an influence such that the delay occurs not only in the schedule S 1  but also in the schedules S 2  to S 4 . That is, in the system  10 , when the error occurs during the execution of the processing of the schedules S 1 , S 2 , S 3 , and S 4 , there is the influence such that the delay occurs not only in the schedule in which the error has occurred but also in the schedules in which the error has not occurred. In addition, when the number of image forming apparatuses to be scheduled is not a few but a large number such as several thousand, for example, the influence of the delay of the schedule becomes very large. 
     Next, the operation of the system  10  when queuing a schedule in a server in the management system  30  will be described. 
       FIG. 6  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  10  when queuing a schedule in the server in the management system  30 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the server in the management system  30  confirms whether the number of schedules being executed is equal to or less than a specific number by using the schedule information  35   b , before executing the transmission processes for the counter information of the image forming apparatus, according to the target schedule stored in the schedule information  35   b  (1). 
     When the server in the management system  30  confirms that the number of schedules being executed is not equal to or less than the specific number, the server queues the target schedule (2). On the other hand, when the server in the management system  30  confirms that the number of schedules being executed is equal to or less than the specific number, the server executes the transmission processes for the counter information of the image forming apparatus according to the target schedule. 
     Next, the operation of the system  10  when dequeuing a schedule from a server in the management system  30  will be described. 
       FIG. 7  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  10  when dequeuing a schedule from a server in the management system  30 . 
     When a schedule is stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own, the server in the management system  30  confirms whether the number of schedules being executed is equal to or less than a specific number, by using the schedule information  35   b , as shown in  FIG. 7  (1). 
     When the server in the management system  30  confirms that the number of schedules being executed is equal to or less than the specific number, the server dequeues the leading schedule stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own (2), and executes the transmission process for the counter information of the image forming apparatus in accordance with the schedule (3, 4, and 5). 
     Next, the operation of the system  10  when requesting an order for toner will be described. 
       FIG. 8  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  10  when requesting an order for toner. 
     Every time the remaining amount of toner in the image forming apparatus managed by the server itself is newly accumulated in the collection information  35   a , as shown in  FIG. 8 , the server in the management system  30  confirms whether the remaining amount of toner is lower than a threshold indicated in the order request threshold information  35   c  (1). 
     When the server in the management system  30  confirms that the remaining amount of toner accumulated in the collection information  35   a  becomes lower than the threshold indicated in the order request threshold information  35   c , the server in the management system  30  sets a request for ordering toner (hereinafter referred to as a “toner order request”) in the seller system that manages the image forming apparatus having the toner with respect to the toner whose remaining amount becomes lower than the threshold, and transmits it to the management system side connection mediation system  40  (2). 
     When the management system side connection mediation system  40  receives the toner order request from the management system  30 , the management system side connection mediation system  40  transmits the toner order request to the seller system side connection mediation system  60  (3). 
     When the seller system side connection mediation system  60  receives the toner order request from the management system side connection mediation system  40 , the seller system side connection mediation system  60  transmits the toner order request transmitted from the management system side connection mediation system  40  to the seller system set in the toner order request (4). 
     Note that when the seller system successfully receives the toner order request transmitted from the seller system side connection mediation system  60 , the seller system returns a response indicating that the toner order request has been successfully received to the server that is the transmission source of the target toner order request among the servers in the management system  30 . The response returned from the seller system is received by the destination server in the management system  30  via the seller system side connection mediation system  60  and the management system side connection mediation system  40  in that order. 
     Here, as described above, such an error occurs in the seller system due to various causes. When an error occurs, the seller system may not be able to return the response indicating that the toner order request has been successfully received to the server of the transmission source of the target toner order request among the servers in the management system  30 . Also, the seller system may return a response indicating that the toner order request could not be successfully received due to the occurrence of an error to the server which is the transmission source of the target toner order request among the servers in the management system  30 . 
     Next, an operation of the system  10  when queuing a toner order request in the server in the management system  30  will be described. 
       FIG. 9  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  10  when queuing a toner order request in the server in the management system  30 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , when the management system side connection mediation system  40  detects one of the following errors (i) and (ii) (1), the management system side connection mediation system  40  returns the detected error to the server which is the transmission source of the target toner request among the servers in the management system  30  (2); 
     (i) regarding the executed toner order request, an error indicating that a response indicating that the toner order request could not be successfully received due to occurrence of a processing error in the seller system side connection mediation system  60  or the seller system has been returned from the seller system; and 
     (ii) regarding the executed toner order request, an error indicating that the seller system has not returned a response indicating that the toner order request has been successfully received, or indicating that the seller system has not returned a response indicating that the toner order request could not be successfully received due to occurrence of a processing error in the seller system side connection mediation system  60  or the seller system, despite the fact that the elapsed time since the management system side connection mediation system  40  itself has executed the toner order request exceeds a specific time. 
     When the server in the management system  30  receives an error of the toner order request from the management system side connection mediation system  40 , the server in the management system  30  queues the toner order request (3). 
     Next, the operation of the system  10  when dequeuing a toner order request from the server in the management system  30  will be described. 
       FIG. 10  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  10  when dequeuing a toner order request from the server in the management system  30 . 
     When a toner order request is stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own, the server in the management system  30  confirms whether the number of schedules being executed is equal to or less than a specific number by using the schedule information  35   b  (1) as shown in  FIG. 10 . 
     When the server in the management system  30  confirms that the number of schedules being executed is equal to or less than the specific number, the server in the management system  30  dequeues the leading toner order request stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own (2), and transmits the toner order request to the management system side connection mediation system  40  (3). 
     Next, the operation of the management system  30  when transmitting a toner order request by electronic mail will be described. 
       FIG. 11  is a flowchart of the operation of the management system shown in  FIG. 1  when transmitting a toner order request by electronic mail. 
     The server in the management system  30  executes the operation shown in  FIG. 11  when transmitting the toner order request to the management system side connection mediation system  40 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , the server determines whether a response to the target toner order request has been returned from the management system side connection mediation system  40  until the server determines that a response to the target toner order request has been returned from the management system side connection mediation system  40  (S 71 ). 
     When the server determines in S 71  that a response to the target toner order request has been returned from the management system side connection mediation system  40 , the server determines whether the response to the target toner order request is a response indicating that the target toner order request has been successfully received (S 72 ). 
     When the server determines in S 72  that the response to the target toner order request is the response indicating that the target toner order request has been successfully received, the server transmits an electronic mail indicating the target toner order request to a predetermined destination such as a seller managing the seller system to which the target toner order request is transmitted (S 73 ), and then ends the operation shown in  FIG. 11 . 
     When the server determines in S  72  that the response to the target toner order request is not the response indicating that the target toner order request has been successfully received, that is, an error of the target toner order request, the server transmits an electronic mail indicating the target toner order request and the content of the error of the target toner order request to a predetermined destination such as a seller managing the seller system to which the target toner order request is transmitted (S 74 ), and then ends the operation shown in  FIG. 11 . 
     Note that when the server executes the processing of S 73  or S 74 , the server may change the X-priority of the header in the electronic mail to transmit the electronic mail with, for example, “priority: high”. 
     As described above, when the toner order request has been failed, the management system  30  temporarily queues the toner order request. Further, when the dequeue condition is satisfied, the management system  30  dequeues the toner order request and executes the toner order request. Therefore, the management system  30  can improve the possibility that the toner order request is executed at an appropriate timing. 
     Since the condition based on the number of the schedules being executed is the dequeue condition, the management system  30  can dequeue and execute the schedule when the number of the schedules being executed is small. Therefore, the management system  30  can suppress the occurrence of a situation in which a toner order request is failed because the number of schedules executed in parallel is large. 
     The management system  30  can transmit an electronic mail with appropriate content in accordance with the state of the transmission destination of the toner order request (S 73  and S 74 ). The management system  30  transmits the electronic mail indicating the toner order request and the content of the error of the toner order request (S 74 ). Therefore, even when a toner order request to the seller system has been failed, the management system  30  allows the seller to appropriately execute toner ordering, and the seller to appropriately execute trouble handling in the seller system, based on the content of the electronic mail. Note that the management system  30  may set the priority of the electronic mail transmitted in S 74  higher than the priority of the electronic mail transmitted in S 73 . 
     The system  10  may employ the operation described in a second embodiment, a third embodiment, or a fourth embodiment instead of the operation described in the present embodiment, as the operation when queuing a schedule to the server. 
     The system  10  may employ the operation described in a second embodiment, a third embodiment, or a fourth embodiment instead of the operation described in the present embodiment, as the operation when dequeuing a schedule from the server. 
     Second Embodiment 
     First, the configuration of a system according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. 
       FIG. 12  is a block diagram of a system  110  according to the present embodiment. 
     As shown in  FIG. 12 , the configuration of the system  110  is the same as that of the system  10  according to the first embodiment (refer to  FIG. 1 ) in which a management system  130  is provided instead of the management system  30  (refer to  FIG. 1 ). 
     The configuration of the management system  130  is the same as the configuration in which the management system  30  includes a database  135  instead of the database  35  (refer to  FIG. 1 ). 
     The configuration of the database  135  is the same as the configuration in which the database  35  includes error history information  135   a  indicating an execution error history of a schedule by the server in the management system  130 . 
     Next, the operation of the system  110  will be described. 
     The operation of the system  110  is the same as the operation of the system  110 , except for the points described below. 
     First, the operation of the system  110  when the execution error history of a schedule by the server in the management system  130  is stored in the error history information  135   a  will be described. 
       FIG. 13  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  110  when the execution error history of a schedule by the server in the management system  130  is stored in the error history information  135   a.    
     As shown in  FIG. 13 , when the management system side connection mediation system  40  detects one of the following errors (i) and (ii) (1), the management system side connection mediation system  40  returns the detected error to the server that executed the target transmission process among the servers in the management system  130  (2): 
     (i) regarding the executed transmission process, an error that the seller system has returned a response indicating that the counter information could not be successfully received due to the occurrence of a processing error in the seller system side connection mediation system  60  or the seller system; and 
     (ii) regarding the executed transmission process, an error that the seller system has not returned a response indicating that the counter information was successfully received, or that the seller system has not returned a response indicating that the counter information could not be successfully received due to the occurrence of a processing error in the seller system side connection mediation system  60  or the seller system even though the time elapsed since the management system side connection mediation system  40  itself executed the transmission process exceeds a specific time. 
     When the server in the management system  130  receives an error from the management system side connection mediation system  40 , the server in the management system  130  stores the returned error in the error history information  135   a  (3). 
       FIG. 14  is a diagram showing an example of the error history information  135   a.    
     The error history information  135   a  shown in  FIG. 14  shows the memory date and time of error, the identification information of the schedule of the error target, the identification information of the seller system to which the counter information is transmitted in the schedule of the error target, the identification information of the target image forming apparatus of the counter information in the schedule of the error target, and the type of the error, for each error. Here, in the type of the error, “Timeout” indicates, regarding the executed transmission process, an error that the seller system has not returned a response indicating that the counter information was successfully received, or a response indicating that the counter information could not be successfully received due to a processing error in the seller system side connection mediation system  60  or the seller system, even though the time elapsed since the management system side connection mediation system  40  itself executed the transmission process exceeds the specific time. Further, “Internal Server Error” indicates, regarding the executed transmission process, an error that the seller system has returned the response indicating that the counter information could not be successfully received due to the occurrence of the processing error in the seller system side connection mediation system  60  or the seller system. 
     Next, the operation of the system  110  when queuing a schedule in the server in the management system  130  will be described. 
       FIG. 15  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  110  when queuing a schedule in the server in the management system  130 . 
     When the server in the management system  130  stores the error in the error history information  135   a  as shown in  FIG. 13 , the server confirms, based on the error history information  135   a , whether the error history satisfies a specific condition regarding the seller system to which the counter information is transmitted in the schedule of the error target, as shown in  FIG. 15  (1). Here, the specific condition means that the occurrence situation of an error in a specific period satisfies a specific situation. The specific period is, for example, a period from the current time to a specific time before such as 30 minutes before. In addition, the specific situation is set by each type of error such as a situation in which “Timeout” error has occurred twice or more in succession. 
     When the server in the management system  130  confirms that the error history satisfies the specific condition with respect to the seller system to which the counter information is transmitted in the schedule of the error target, the server queues the schedule (2), and then ends the processing of the schedule. 
     Next, the operation of the system  110  when dequeuing a schedule from the server in the management system  130  will be described. 
       FIG. 16  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  110  when dequeuing a schedule from the server in the management system  130 . 
     When a schedule is stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own, as shown in  FIG. 16 , the server in the management system  130  confirms whether the error history satisfies the specific condition by using the error history information  135   a  with respect to the seller system to which the counter information is transmitted in the schedule stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own (1). Here, the specific condition is a condition that no error occurs within a specific period. Note that the specific period is, for example, a period from the current time to a specific time before such as 30 minutes before. 
     When the server in the management system  130  confirms that the error history satisfies the specific condition regarding the seller system to which the counter information is transmitted in the schedule stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own, the server in the management system  130  dequeues the schedule (2), and executes the transmission processes for the counter information of the image forming apparatus according to the schedule (3, 4, and 5). 
     Next, an operation of the system  110  when dequeuing a toner order request from the server in the management system  130  will be described. 
       FIG. 17  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  110  when dequeuing a toner order request from the server in the management system  130 . 
     When a toner order request is stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own, the server in the management system  130  confirms whether the error history satisfies a specific condition by using the error history information  135   a  with respect to the seller system of the transmission destination of the toner order request stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own, as shown in  FIG. 17  (1). Here, the specific condition is a condition that no error occurs within a specific period. Note that the specific period is, for example, a period from the current time to a specific time before such as 30 minutes before. 
     When the server in the management system  130  confirms that the error history satisfies the specific condition with respect to the seller system of the transmission destination of the toner order request stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own, the server in the management system  130  dequeues the toner order request (2), and transmits the toner order request to the management system side connection mediation system  40  (3). 
     As explained above, the condition based on the past error in the transmission of information to the transmission destination of the counter information in the schedule is the dequeue condition. Therefore, the management system  130  can dequeue and execute the toner order request when there is a high possibility that an error in transmission of the counter information to the transmission destination is low. Therefore, the management system  130  can suppress the occurrence of a situation in which a toner order request is failed by transmitting the toner order request to a destination where an error occurs. 
     It should be noted that  FIG. 16  shows a case where a schedule is dequeued from the server in the management system  130 . However, the server in the management system  130  may also confirm the error history information  135   a  before executing the schedule, instead of when dequeuing the schedule from the queue of the server&#39;s own. 
       FIG. 18  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  110  when the server in the management system  130  executes the schedule after confirming the error history information  135   a.    
     When executing the schedule, the server in the management system  130  confirms whether the error history satisfies a specific condition with respect to the seller system to which the counter information is transmitted in the schedule as shown in  FIG. 18  (1). Here, the specific condition is a condition that no error occurs within a specific period. Note that the specific period is, for example, a period from the current time to a specific time before such as 30 minutes before. 
     When the server in the management system  130  confirms that the error history satisfies the specific condition regarding the seller system to which the counter information is transmitted in the schedule to be executed, the server executes the transmission processes for the counter information of the image forming apparatus in accordance with the schedule (2, 3 and 4). On the other hand, when the server in the management system  130  confirms that the error history does not satisfy the specific condition regarding the seller system to which the counter information is transmitted in the schedule to be executed, the server in the management system  130  queues the schedule. 
     Further, when the server in the management system  130  executes the schedule after confirming the error history information  135   a , as shown in  FIG. 19 , the server may confirm that the error history satisfies the specific condition with respect to the seller system to which the counter information is transmitted in the schedule to be executed (1), and then execute firstly only the transmission processes for the counter information of any one of the image forming apparatuses in the schedule in executing the schedule (2). 
     Further, in the case where the server in the management system  130  confirms that the transmission processes of the counter information in the schedule has been successfully executed based on the response returned from the seller system (3), when a transmission process that has not been executed in the schedule remains, the server executes the transmission process of the counter information of all the remaining image forming apparatuses in the schedule in parallel (4 and 5). On the other hand, when an error is detected in the transmission process for the counter information in the schedule, the server in the management system  130  queues the schedule. Since the management system  130  executes firstly only the transmission processes for the counter information of any one of the image forming apparatuses in the schedule, even if an error occurs, the influence of the error can be minimized. 
       FIG. 17  shows a case where a toner order request is dequeued from the server in the management system  130 . However, the server in the management system  130  may confirm the error history information  135   a  before executing the toner order request, as same as the schedule, without being limited to the case when dequeuing the toner order request from the queue of the server&#39;s own. 
     The system  110  may employ the operation described in the first embodiment, a third embodiment or a fourth embodiment instead of the operation described in the present embodiment as the operation when queuing a schedule in the server. 
     The system  110  may employ the operation described in the first embodiment, a third embodiment or a fourth embodiment instead of the operation described in the present embodiment as the operation when dequeuing a schedule from the server. 
     Third Embodiment 
     First, the configuration of a system according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. 
       FIG. 20  is a block diagram of a system  210  according to the present embodiment. 
     As shown in  FIG. 20 , the configuration of the system  210  is the same as that of the system  110  (refer to  FIG. 12 ) according to the second embodiment, in which a management system  230  is provided instead of the management system  130  (refer to  FIG. 12 ). 
     The configuration of the management system  230  is the same as the configuration in which the management system  130  includes a database  235  instead of the database  135  (refer to  FIG. 12 ). 
     The configuration of the database  235  is the same as the configuration in which the database  135  includes execution result information  235   a  indicating the execution result of a schedule by the server in the management system  230  instead of the error history information  135   a  (refer to  FIG. 12 ). 
     Next, the operation of the system  210  will be described. 
     The operation of the system  210  is the same as the operation of the system  110 , except for the points described below. 
     First, the operation of the system  210  when the execution result of a schedule by the server in the management system  230  is stored in the execution result information  235   a  will be described. 
       FIG. 21  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  210  when the execution result of a schedule by the server in the management system  230  is stored in the execution result information  235   a.    
     As shown in  FIG. 21 , the management system side connection mediation system  40  returns the execution result of the transmission processes to the server that executed the target transmission processes among the servers in the management system  230  regarding the executed transmission processes (1). Here, the execution result may be a response indicating that the counter information from the seller system has been successfully received, or may be an error as shown in  FIG. 13 . 
     When the server in the management system  230  receives the execution result from the management system side connection mediation system  40 , the server stores the returned execution result in the execution result information  235   a  (2). 
       FIG. 22  is a diagram showing an example of the execution result information  235   a.    
     The execution result information  235   a  shown in  FIG. 22  indicates the memory date and time of the execution result, identification information of the target schedule of the execution result, identification information of the seller system to which the counter information is transmitted in the target schedule of the execution result, identification information of the image forming apparatus that is the target of the counter information in the target schedule of the execution result, the type of the execution result, and the response time of the transmission processes in the target schedule of the execution result, for each transmission process. In the type of the execution result, “Successful” indicates that the response indicating that the counter information has been successfully received has been returned from the seller system regarding the executed transmission process. Furthermore, the response time is the time until the server in the management system  230  receives the execution result from the management system side connection mediation system  40  after the server in the management system  230  transmits the counter information of the target image forming apparatus to the management system side connection mediation system  40 , regarding the transmission process. 
     Next, the operation of the system  210  when queuing a schedule in the server in the management system  230  will be described. 
       FIG. 23  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  210  when queuing a schedule in the server in the management system  230 . 
     When the server in the management system  230  stores an execution result in the execution result information  235   a  as shown in  FIG. 21 , the server confirms whether the execution result satisfies a specific condition based on the execution result information  235   a , regarding the seller system to which the counter information is transmitted in the target schedule of the execution result, as shown in  FIG. 23  (1). Here, the specific condition is to satisfy any of a first condition that an error occurrence condition within a specific period satisfies a specific situation, and a second condition that the response time when the transmission process for the counter information is successful takes a specific time such as 30 seconds or more, within the specific period, as explained in the second embodiment. Here, the specific period is, for example, a period from the current time to a specific time before such as 30 minutes before. The second condition may be a condition that the response time when the transmission process of the counter information is successful takes the specific time or more even once within the specific period. The second condition may further be a condition that the average response time within the specific period when the transmission process of the counter information is successful takes the specific time or more. The second condition may further include a condition that a specific number (for example, 50) or more of image forming apparatuses that have not successfully transmitted the counter information in the target schedule remain. 
     When the server in the management system  230  confirms that the execution result satisfies the specific condition with respect to the seller system to which the counter information is transmitted in the target schedule of the execution result, the server in the management system  230  queues the schedule (2), and then ends the processing of the schedule. 
     Next, the operation of the system  210  when dequeuing a schedule from the server in the management system  230  will be described. 
       FIG. 24  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  210  when dequeuing a schedule from the server in the management system  230 . 
     When a schedule is stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own, the server in the management system  230  confirms whether the execution result satisfies a specific condition based on the execution result information  235   a , regarding the seller system to which the counter information is transmitted in the schedule stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own, as shown in  FIG. 24  (1). Here, the specific condition is to satisfy both a first condition that no error has occurred within a specific period and a second condition that the response time when the transmission process for the counter information is successful does not take more than a specific time such as 30 seconds within the specific period. Note that the specific period is, for example, a period from the current time to a specific time before, such as 30 minutes before. The second condition may be a condition that the response time when the transmission process for the counter information is successful does not take more than the specific time within the specific period even once. Furthermore, the second condition may be a condition that the average response time within the specific period when the transmission process for the counter information is successful does not take more than the specific time. 
     When the server in the management system  230  confirms that the execution result satisfies the specific condition regarding the seller system to which the counter information is transmitted in the schedule stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own, the server dequeues the schedule (2), and executes the transmission processes for the counter information of the image forming apparatus according to the schedule (3, 4 and 5). 
     Next, the operation of the system  210  when dequeuing a toner order request from the server in the management system  230  will be described. 
       FIG. 25  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  210  when dequeuing a toner order request from the server in the management system  230 . 
     When a toner order request is stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own, as shown in  FIG. 25 , the server in the management system  230  confirms whether the execution result satisfies a specific condition by using the execution result information  235   a  (1), with respect to the seller system of the transmission destination of the toner order request stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own. Here, the specific condition is to satisfy both a first condition that no error has occurred within a specific period and a second condition that the response time when the transmission process for the counter information is successful does not take more than a specific time such as 30 seconds within the specific period. Note that the specific period is, for example, a period from the current time to a specific time before, such as 30 minutes before. The second condition may be a condition that the response time when the transmission process for the counter information is successful does not take more than the specific time within the specific period even once. Furthermore, the second condition may be a condition that the average response time within the specific period when the transmission process for the counter information is successful does not take more than the specific time. 
     When the server in the management system  230  confirms that the execution result satisfies the specific condition with respect to the seller system of the transmission destination of the toner order request stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own, the server in the management system  230  dequeues the toner order request (2), and transmits the toner order request to the management system side connection mediation system  40  (3). 
     As explained above, the condition based on the past response time of the transmission of the counter information to the transmission destination of the counter information in the schedule is the dequeue condition. Therefore, the management system  230  can dequeue and execute the toner order request when it is likely that the response time is short. Therefore, the management system  230  can suppress the occurrence of a situation in which a toner order request is failed by transmitting the toner order request to the transmission destination which requires a long response time. 
     Note that  FIG. 24  shows a case where a schedule is dequeued from the server in the management system  230 . However, the server in the management system  230  may confirm the execution result information  235   a  before executing the schedule, without being limited to the case when dequeuing the schedule from the queue of the server&#39;s own. 
     Further, when the server in the management system  230  confirms the execution result information  235   a  and then executes the schedule, as in the operation shown in  FIG. 19 , the server may execute firstly only the transmission process for the counter information of any one of the image forming apparatuses in the schedule. 
       FIG. 25  shows a case where a toner order request is dequeued from the server in the management system  230 . However, the server in the management system  230  may confirm the execution result information  235   a  before executing the toner order request, as same as the schedule, without being limited to the case when dequeuing the toner order request from the queue of the server&#39;s own. 
     The system  210  may employ the operation described in the first embodiment, the second embodiment, or a fourth embodiment in place of the operation described in the present embodiment as the operation when queuing a schedule in the server. 
     The system  210  may employ the operation described in the first embodiment, the second embodiment, or a fourth embodiment in place of the operation described in the present embodiment as the operation when dequeuing a schedule from the server. 
     Fourth Embodiment 
     First, the configuration of a system according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. 
       FIG. 26  is a block diagram of a system  310  according to the present embodiment. 
     As shown in  FIG. 26 , the configuration of the system  310  is the same as that of the system  210  (refer to  FIG. 20 ) according to the third embodiment, in which a management system  330  is provided instead of the management system  230  (refer to  FIG. 20 ). 
     The configuration of the management system  330  is the same as the configuration in which the management system  230  includes a batch server  331  that executes batch processing, and a database  335  instead of the database  235  (see  FIG. 20 ). 
     The configuration of the database  335  is the same as the configuration in which the database  235  includes aggregate data information  335   a  indicating aggregate data of an execution result. 
     Next, the operation of the system  310  will be described. 
     The operation of the system  310  is the same as the operation of the system  210 , except for the points described below. 
     First, the operation of the system  310  in the case where the aggregate data of the execution result of a schedule by the server in the management system  330  is stored in the aggregate data information  335   a  will be described. 
       FIG. 27  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  310  in the case where the aggregate data of the execution result of a schedule by the server in the management system  330  is stored in the aggregate data information  335   a.    
     The batch server  331  acquires the execution result information  235   a  from the database  335 , periodically, for example, once every hour as shown in  FIG. 27 . 
     When the batch server  331  acquires the execution result information  235   a  from the database  335 , the batch server  331  generates aggregate data based on the execution result information  235   a  (2). Here, the batch server  331  generates the aggregate data related to an execution result which includes the memory date and time in a specific aggregate period, for example, one hour after the previous aggregate period, among the execution results shown in the execution result information  235   a.    
     When the batch server  331  generates the aggregate data, the batch server  331  stores the generated aggregate data in the aggregate data information  335   a  (3). 
       FIG. 28  is a diagram showing an example of the aggregate data information  335   a.    
     The aggregate data information  335   a  shown in  FIG. 28  indicates an aggregate period of the execution result, identification information of the seller system to which the counter information is transmitted in the target schedule of the execution result, a ratio of “Internal Server Error” in the aggregate period, a ratio of “Timeout” in the aggregate period, and an average response time in the aggregate period. 
     Next, the operation of the system  310  when queuing a schedule in the server in the management system  330  will be described. 
       FIG. 29  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  310  when queuing a schedule in the server in the management system  330 . 
     The server in the management system  330  confirms whether the current time period is a time period suitable for executing the schedule by using the aggregate data information  335   a , according to the target schedule stored in the schedule information  35   b , as shown in  FIG. 27 , before executing the transmission process for the counter information of the image forming apparatus (1). Here, the time period suitable for executing the schedule is a time period in which the ratio of “Internal Server Error”, the ratio of “Timeout” in the aggregate period, and the average response time in the aggregate period is respectively equal to or less than the respective specific threshold value. For example, the server in the management system  330  determines that the current time period is the time period suitable for executing the schedule when the time period one week ago corresponding to the current time period is the time period suitable for executing the schedule. 
     When the server in the management system  330  confirms that the current time period is not the time period suitable for executing the schedule, the server queues the target schedule (2). On the other hand, when the server in the management system  330  confirms that the current time period is the time period suitable for executing the schedule, the server executes the transmission process for the counter information of the image forming apparatus according to the target schedule. 
     Next, the operation of the system  310  when dequeuing a schedule from the server in the management system  330  will be described. 
       FIG. 30  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  310  when dequeuing a schedule from the server in the management system  330 . 
     When a schedule is stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own, the server in the management system  330  confirms whether the current time period is the time period suitable for executing the schedule by the aggregate data information  335   a , as shown in  FIG. 30  (1). 
     When the server in the management system  330  confirms that the current time period is the time period suitable for executing the schedule, the server dequeues the leading schedule stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own (2), and executes the transmission process for the counter information of the image forming apparatus in accordance with the schedule (3, 4 and 5). 
     Note that, when queuing the schedule, the server in the management system  330  may confirm the time period suitable for executing the schedule by the aggregate data information  335   a , set visibility timeout in the schedule so that the schedule is visualized in the confirmed time period, and queue the visibility timeout. The queued schedule is not visible until the timeout time of the visibility timeout. Therefore, when the schedule in the queue becomes visible, the server in the management system  330  may dequeue the schedule, and execute the transmission processes for the counter information of the image forming apparatus according to the schedule. By doing so, when the schedule is stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own, the server in the management system  330  does not need to continue to confirm whether the current time period is the time period suitable for executing the schedule. 
     Next, the operation of the system  310  when dequeuing a toner order request from the server in the management system  330  will be described. 
       FIG. 31  is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the system  310  when dequeuing a toner order request from the server in the management system  330 . 
     When a toner order request is stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own, as shown in  FIG. 31 , the server in the management system  330  confirms whether the current time period is a time period suitable for executing the toner order request by using the aggregate data information  335   a  (1). Here, the time period suitable for executing the toner order request is a time period in which the ratio of “Internal Server Error”, the ratio of “Timeout” in the aggregate period, and the average response time in the aggregate period is respectively equal to or less than the respective specific threshold value. For example, the server in the management system  330  determines that the current time period is the time period suitable for executing the toner order request when the time period one week ago corresponding to the current time period is the time period suitable for executing the toner order request. 
     When the server in the management system  330  confirms that the current time period is the time period suitable for executing the toner order request, the server in the management system  330  dequeues the leading toner order request stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own (2), and transmits the toner order request to the management side agent  40  (3). 
     Note that when the server in the management system  330  queues the toner order request, the server in the management system  330  may confirm the time period suitable for executing the toner order request by using the aggregate data information  335   a , set the visibility timeout in the toner order request so that the toner order request is visualized in the confirmed time period, and queue it. The queued toner order request is not visible until the timeout time of the visibility timeout. Therefore, when the server in the management system  330  can recognize the queued toner order request, the server in the management system  330  may dequeue the toner order request, and transmit the toner order request to the management side agent  40 . By doing so, when the toner order request is stored in the queue of the server&#39;s own, the server in the management system  330  does not need to continue to confirm whether the current time period is the time period suitable for executing the toner order request. 
     As described above, the condition based on the aggregate data for each time period of the past execution result of the transmission of the counter information to the transmission destination of the counter information in the schedule is the dequeue condition. Therefore, the management system  330  can dequeue the toner order request at a time period that is likely to be suitable for executing the toner order request, and execute the toner order request. Therefore, the management system  330  can suppress the occurrence of a situation in which a toner order request is failed by executing the toner order request during a time period that is not suitable for executing the toner order request. 
     The system  310  may employ the operation described in the first embodiment, the second embodiment, or the third embodiment, instead of the operation described in the present embodiment, as the operation when queuing a schedule in the server. 
     The system  310  may employ the operation described in the first embodiment, the second embodiment, or the third embodiment instead of the operation described in the present embodiment, as the operation when dequeuing a schedule from the server. 
     The management system  330  includes the batch server  331  according to the present embodiment. However, the management system  330  does not necessarily need to include the batch server  331  and may cause any server such as the server  31  to perform the function of the batch server  331 . 
     Fifth Embodiment 
     First, the configuration of a system according to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. 
       FIG. 32  is a block diagram of a system  410  according to the present embodiment. 
     As shown in  FIG. 32 , the configuration of the system  410  is the same as that of the system  10  according to the first embodiment (refer to  FIG. 1 ) in which a management system  430  is provided in place of the management system  30  (refer to  FIG. 1 ). 
     The configuration of the management system  430  is the same as the configuration in which each of the servers in the management system  30  includes no queue, and the management system  30  includes a queue  431  common to the servers. 
     Next, the operation of the system  410  will be described. 
     The operation of the system  410  is the same as the operation of the system  10 , except for the points described below. 
     When the server in the management system  430  queues a schedule or a toner order request, the server stores the schedule or the toner order request in the queue  431  common to all servers, not the queue of the server&#39;s own. 
     Further, when the server in the management system  430  extracts a schedule or a toner order request from the queue  431 , the server can extract an arbitrary schedule or an arbitrary toner order request from the queue  431 . For example, the servers  32 ,  33  and  34  can extract the schedule S 1  that is not originally targeted from the queue  431 , and then execute the transmission process for the counter information of the image forming apparatus according to the schedule S 1 . 
     As described above, the queue  431  is shared by the plurality of servers. Therefore, even if a problem such as a server that has been stored the schedule or the toner order request in the queue  431  goes down occurs, the management system  430  can dequeue the schedule or the toner order request to be originally executed by the server in which the problem has occurred, from the queue  431  by a server in which the problem has not occurred, and then execute the schedule or the toner order request. Accordingly, if a problem such as any server down occurs, the management system  430  can reduce a possibility that the schedule or the toner order request to be executed by the server where the problem has occurred is not be executed. 
     The management system  430  is obtained by applying the queue  431  common to the servers to the management system  30  according to the first embodiment. The queue  431  common to the servers can be also applied to the management system  130  according to the second embodiment, the management system  230  according to the third embodiment, and the management system  330  according to the fourth embodiment. 
     Although the electronic apparatus of the present disclosure is the image forming apparatus in each of the embodiments described above, the electronic apparatus of the present disclosure may be an electronic apparatus other than the image forming apparatus such as a personal computer (PC).