Patent Publication Number: US-7725880-B2

Title: Method and system of remote diagnostic, control and information collection using a dynamic linked library

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/440,693, filed Nov. 16, 1999, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. The present application is related to Ser. No. 09/440,692, filed on even date herewith, entitled “Method and System to Monitor the Application Usage and Send Back the Information Using Connection and Connectionless Mode”; Ser. No. 09/440,647, filed on even date herewith, entitled “Method and System to Monitor the Application Usage and Send Back the Information Using Connection and Connectionless Mode”; Ser. No. 09/440,646, filed on even date herewith, entitled “Method and System to Monitor the Application Usage and Send Back the Information Using Connection and Connectionless Mode”; Ser. No. 09/440,645, filed on even date herewith, entitled “Application Unit Monitoring and Reporting System and Method With Usage Data Logged Into a Map Structure”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/408,443, filed Sep. 29, 1999, entitled “Method and System for Remote Diagnostic, Control, and Information Collection Based on various Communication Modes for Sending Messages to a Resource Manger”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/407,769, filed Sep. 29, 1999, entitled “Method and System for Remote Diagnostic, Control and Information Collection Based on various Communication Modes for Sending Messages to Users”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/393,677, filed Sep. 10, 1999, entitled “Application Unit Monitoring and Reporting System and Method”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/311,148, filed May 13, 1999, entitled “Application Unit Monitoring and Reporting System and Method”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/192,583, filed Nov. 17, 1998, entitled “Method and System for Communicating With a Device Attached to a Computer Using Electronic Mail Messages”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/883,492, filed Jun. 26, 1997, entitled “Method and System for Diagnosis and Control of Machines Using Connectionless Modes Having Delivery Monitoring and an Alternate Communication Mode”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/820,633, filed Mar. 19, 1997, entitled “Method and System to Diagnose a Business Office Device Based on Operating Parameters Set by a User,” now U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,216; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/733,134, filed Oct. 16, 1996, entitled “Method and System for Diagnosis and Control of Machines Using Connectionless Modes of Communication”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/624,228, filed Mar. 29, 1996, entitled “Method and System for Controlling and Communicating with Machines Using Multiple Communication Formats,” now U.S. Pat. No. 5,818,603; U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 08/738,659 and 08/738,461, filed Oct. 30, 1996, both of which are entitled “Method and System for Diagnosis and Control of Machines Using Connection and Connectionless Modes of Communication,” which are divisions of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/463,002, filed Jun. 5, 1995, entitled “Method and System for Diagnosis and Control of Machines Using Connection and Connectionless Modes of Communication”, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,110; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/852,413, filed May 7, 1987, entitled “Method and System for Controlling and Communicating with Business Office Devices,” now U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,678, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/698,068, filed Aug. 15, 1996, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Controlling and Communicating With Business Office Devices”, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,120, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/562,192, filed Nov. 22, 1995, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/473,780, filed Jun. 6, 1995, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Controlling and Communicating With Business Office Devices”, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,289, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/426,679, filed Apr. 24, 1995, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Controlling and Communicating With Business Office Devices,” now U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,554, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/282,168, filed Jul. 28, 1994, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Controlling and Communicating With Business Office Devices”, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,779, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/902,462, filed Jun. 19, 1992, now abandoned, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/549,278, filed Jul. 6, 1990, now abandoned, the disclosure of each is incorporated herein by reference. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention generally relates to a method and system that can monitor and communicate a user&#39;s usage of interfaces of plural target applications of an application unit by using at least one Dynamic Linked Library (DLL) shared between the plural target applications. 
   2. Discussion of the Background 
   With the rise of computer usage, software development has clearly become a significant business. In evaluating software, it may be beneficial to monitor exactly how a user utilizes a software application. As an example, it may be helpful for a software developer to know which commands a user uses most often and how long those commands take to execute. Such an analysis is often referred to as “profiling.” (Analogous analysis was performed on instructions in instruction sets to develop reduced instruction set computing (RISC) instructions.) 
   Further, in designing devices with which a human interacts, it may be desirable to monitor how the user interacts with such a device. As an example, it may be desirable to monitor how a user utilizes a control panel of an image forming device such as a photocopier, facsimile machine, printer, scanner, an appliance such as a microwave oven, VCR, digital camera, cellular phone, palm top computer, etc. 
   Further, users are increasingly utilizing the Internet. There is significant interest in how users use the Internet, particularly with respect to how users may use certain web pages. Monitoring a user&#39;s usage of the Internet may also become significant. 
   It may also be desirable to determine how a user is utilizing a certain application unit (e.g., a computer running a software application, a device with an interface to be operated by a user, or a web page). The user&#39;s usage of the application unit must be monitored and effectively communicated to a remote party. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   One object of the present invention is to provide a novel and effective system for monitoring a user&#39;s usage of an interface of a target application of an application unit. 
   A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel system for communicating data obtained by monitoring a user&#39;s usage of an interface of a target application of an application unit to a remote party. 
   A further object of the present invention is to efficiently communicate the monitored usage information to a transmission unit. 
   The present invention achieves these and other objects by monitoring the usage of a user interface of a target application of an application unit. Monitoring examples include (1) monitoring a software program being executed on a computer or workstation under control of a user, (2) monitoring usage of a control panel of an image forming apparatus (e.g., a copying machine, printer, facsimile, or scanner), an appliance (e.g., a microwave oven, VCR, digital camera, cellular phone, or palm top computer), and (3) monitoring any other device or system that has a user interface. The data obtained by monitoring a user&#39;s usage of a target application of an application unit can, as a further feature in the present invention, be collected, logged and communicated to a desired location by Internet e-mail. The use of e-mail communication reduces the costs associated with communicating such data. The data can be communicated to the desired location at several instances. Such instances include each time a user exits a target application of an application unit, or after a predetermined number of times that a user has utilized and exited the target application of the application unit. If the configuration allows and if necessary, the direct connection between the monitored application and the monitoring system can be established in addition to the e-mail communication. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     A more complete appreciation of the present invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  illustrates three networked business office machines connected to a network of computers and databases through the Internet; 
       FIG. 2  illustrates the components of a digital image forming apparatus; 
       FIG. 3  illustrates the electronic components of the digital image forming apparatus illustrated in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 4  illustrates details of the multi-port communication interface illustrated in  FIG. 3 ; 
       FIG. 5  illustrates an alternative system configuration in which business office devices are either connected directly to the network or connected to a computer which is connected to the network; 
       FIG. 6A  illustrates in block diagram format the flow of information to and from an application unit using electronic mail; 
       FIG. 6B  illustrates an alternative way of communicating using electronic mail in which the computer which is connected to the application unit also serves as a message transfer agent; 
       FIG. 6C  illustrates an alternative way of communicating using electronic mail in which an application unit includes a message transfer agent for exchanging electronic mail; 
       FIG. 7  illustrates an alternative manner of sending messages across the Internet; 
       FIG. 8  illustrates an exemplary computer which may be connected to the device and used to communicate electronic mail messages; 
       FIG. 9  shows in block diagram format connections between a monitoring and logging subsystem, a communications subsystem and a target application of an application unit in the present invention; 
       FIG. 10  shows a first example of an application unit to which the present invention can be applied; 
       FIG. 11  shows a second example of an application unit to which the present invention can be applied; 
       FIG. 12  shows the general architecture of the system; 
       FIG. 13  shows an overall view of objects executed in the present invention; 
       FIG. 14  shows information in an abstract class transferred between a monitoring package and a sending package in the present invention; 
       FIGS. 15A and 15B  show multiple target applications interacting with a dynamic link library (DLL) to communicate with a monitoring package (implemented as either a separate process or within the DLL itself); 
       FIG. 16  shows a setApplicationID operation executed in the present invention; 
       FIG. 17  shows a startMonitoring operation executed in the present invention; 
       FIG. 18  shows a commandUse operation executed in the present invention; 
       FIG. 19  shows a stopMonitoring operation executed in the present invention; 
       FIG. 20  shows the operation of packaging the usage data of the target application and passing it to the sending package in the present invention; 
       FIG. 21  shows the operation of sending the usage data of the target application in the sending package in the present invention; 
       FIG. 22  shows a first map structure which can be utilized to store data in the present invention; 
       FIG. 23  shows specific examples of data which can be stored in the first map structure of  FIG. 22  in the present invention; 
       FIG. 24  shows a second map structure which can be utilized to store data in the present invention; and 
       FIG. 25  shows specific examples of data which can be stored in the second map structure of  FIG. 24  in the present invention. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views,  FIG. 1  illustrates (1) various machines and (2) computers for monitoring, diagnosing and controlling the operation of the machines. In  FIG. 1 , there is a first network  16 , such as a Local Area Network (LAN) connected to computer workstations  17 ,  18 ,  20  and  22 . The workstations can be any type of computers including IBM Personal Computer compatible devices, Unix-based computers, or Apple Macintoshes. Also connected to the network  16  are (1) a digital image forming apparatus  24 , (2) a facsimile machine  28 , and (3) a printer  32 . As would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, two or more of the components of the digital image forming apparatus  24  and the facsimile machine  28  can be combined into a unified “image forming apparatus.” The devices  24 ,  28  and  32  and the workstations  17 ,  18 ,  20  and  22  are referred to as machines or monitored devices and other types of devices may be used as the machines or monitored devices, including any of the devices discussed below. Also, a facsimile server (not illustrated) may be connected to the network  16  and have a telephone, ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), cable or wireless connection. In addition to the digital image forming apparatus  24 , facsimile machine  28 , and printer  32  being connected to the network  16 , these devices may also include conventional telephone and/or ISDN and/or cable and/or wireless connections  26 ,  30  and  34 , respectively. As is explained below, the business office machines or business devices  24 ,  28  and  32  communicate with a remote monitoring, diagnosis and control station, also referred to as a monitoring device, through the Internet via the network  16  or by a direct telephone, ISDN, wireless, or cable connection. 
   In  FIG. 1 , a wide area network (WAN) (e.g., the Internet or its successor) is generally designated by  10 . The WAN  10  can either be a private WAN or a public WAN. The WAN  10  includes a plurality of interconnected computers and routers designated by  12 A- 12 I. The manner of communicating over a WAN is known through RFC documents obtained by HTTP://www.ietf.org/rfc.html. TCP/IP related communication is described for example in the book “TCP/IP Illustrated,” Vol. 1, The Protocols, by Stevens, from Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1994, which is incorporated herein by reference. Volumes 1-3 of “Internetworking with TCP/IP” by Comer and Stevens are also incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
   In  FIG. 1 , a firewall  14  is connected between the WAN  10  and the network  16 . A firewall is a device that allows only authorized computers on one side of the firewall to access a network or other computers on the other side of the firewall. Firewalls are known and commercially available devices and/or software and, for example, include SunScreen from Sun Microsystems Inc. Similarly, a firewall  50  is connected between the WAN  10  and a network  52 . Also, a firewall  40  is connected between the WAN  10  and a workstation  42 . 
   The network  52  is a conventional network and includes a plurality of workstations  56 ,  62 ,  68  and  74 . These workstations may be in different departments (e.g., marketing, manufacturing, design engineering and customer service departments) within a single company. In addition to the workstations connected via the network  52 , there is a workstation  42  which is not directly connected to the network  52 . Information in a database stored in a disk  46  may be shared using proper encryption and protocols over the WAN  10  to the workstations connected directly to the network  52 . Also, the workstation  42  includes a direct connection to a telephone line and/or ISDN and/or cable and/or wireless network  44  and the database in disk  46  may be accessed through the telephone line, ISDN, cable or wirelessly. The cable used by this invention may be implemented using a cable which typically is used to carry television programming, a cable which provides for high speed communication of digital data typically used with computers or the like, or any other desired type of cable. 
   Information of the business office machines  24 ,  28  and  32  may be stored in one or more of the databases stored in the disks  46 ,  54 ,  58 ,  64 ,  70  and  76 . Known databases include (1) SQL databases by Microsoft, Oracle and Sybase (2) other relational databases, and (3) non-relational databases (including object oriented databases). Each of the customer service, marketing, manufacturing, and engineering departments may have their own database or may share one or more databases. Each of the disks used to store databases is a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk or optical disk. Alternatively, the databases may be stored in any storage device including solid state and/or semiconductor memory devices. As an example, disk  64  contains the marketing database, disk  58  contains the manufacturing database, disk  70  contains the engineering database and disk  76  contains the customer service database. Alternatively, the disks  54  and  46  store one or more of the databases. 
   In addition to the workstations  56 ,  62 ,  68 ,  74  and  42  being connected to the WAN, these workstations may also include a connection to a telephone line, ISDN, cable, or wireless network which provides a secure connection to the machine being monitored, diagnosed and/or controlled and is used during communication. Additionally, if one communication medium is not operating properly, one of the others can be automatically used for communication. 
   A feature of the present invention is the use of a “store-and-forward” mode of communication (e.g., Internet e-mail) or transmission between a machine and a computer for diagnosing and controlling the machine. Alternatively, the e-mail which is transmitted may be implemented using a mode of communication that makes direct, end-to-end connections. 
     FIG. 2  illustrates the mechanical layout of the digital image forming apparatus  24  illustrated in  FIG. 1 . In  FIG. 2 ,  101  is a fan for the scanner,  102  is a polygonal mirror used with a laser printer, and  103  designates an F lens used to collimate light from a laser (not illustrated). Reference numeral  104  designates a sensor for detecting light from the scanner.  105  is a lens for focusing light from the scanner onto the sensor  104 , and  106  is a quenching lamp used to erase images on the photoconductive drum  132 . There is a charging corona unit  107  and a developing roller  108 . Reference numeral  109  designates a lamp used to illustrate a document to be scanned and  110 ,  111  and  112  designate mirrors used to reflect light onto the sensor  104 . There is a drum mirror  113  used to reflect light to the photoconductive drum  132  originating from the polygon mirror  102 . Reference numeral  114  designates a fan used to cool the charging area of the digital image forming apparatus, and  115  is a first paper feed roller used for feeding paper from the first paper cassette  117 , and  116  is a manual feed table. Similarly,  118  is a second paper feed roller for the second cassette  119 . Reference numeral  120  designates a relay roller,  121  is a registration roller.  122  is an image density sensor and  123  is a transfer/separation corona unit. Reference numeral  124  is a cleaning unit,  125  is a vacuum fan,  126  illustrates a transport belt,  127  is a pressure roller, and  128  is an exit roller. Reference numeral  129  is a hot roller used to fix toner onto the paper,  130  is an exhaust fan and  131  is the main motor used to drive the digital copier. 
     FIG. 3  illustrates a block diagram of the electronic components illustrated in  FIG. 2 . The CPU  160  is a microprocessor and acts as the system controller. Random access memory (RAM)  162  stores dynamically changing information including operating parameters of the digital copier. A non-volatile memory (e.g., a read only memory (ROM)  164 ) stores the program code used to run the digital copier and also information describing the copier (static-state data) such as the model number, serial number of the copier, and default parameters. 
   There is a multi-port communication interface  166  which allows the digital copier to communicate with external devices. Reference number  168  represents a telephone, ISDN, or cable line and  170  represents a network. Further information of the multi-port communication interface is described with respect to  FIG. 4 . An interface controller  172  is used to connect an operation panel  174  to a system bus  186 . The operation panel  174  includes standard input and output devices found on a digital copier including a copy button, keys to control the operation of the copier such as number of copies, reducement/enlargement, darkness/lightness, etc. Additionally, a liquid crystal display may be included within the operation panel  174  to display parameters and messages of the digital copier to a user. 
   A storage interface  176  connects storage devices to the system bus  186 . The storage devices include a flash memory  178  which can be substituted by a conventional EEPROM and a disk  182 . The disk  182  includes a hard disk, optical disk, and/or a floppy disk drive. There is a connection  180  connected to the storage interface  176  which allows for additional memory devices to be connected to the digital copier. The flash memory  178  is used to store semi-static state data which describes parameters of the digital copier which infrequently change over the life of the copier. Such parameters include the options and configuration of the digital copier. An option interface  184  allows additional hardware such as an external interface to be connected to the digital copier. A clock/timer  187  is utilized to keep track of both the time and date and also to measure elapsed time. 
   On the left side of  FIG. 3 , the various sections making up the digital copier are illustrated. Reference numeral  202  designates a sorter and contains sensors and actuators used to sort the output of the digital copier. There is a duplexer  200  which allows a duplex operation to be performed by the digital copier and includes conventional sensors and actuators. The digital copier includes a large capacity tray unit  198  which allows paper trays holding a large number of sheets to be used with the digital copier. The large capacity tray unit  198  includes conventional sensors and actuators. 
   A paper feed controller  196  is used to control the operation of feeding paper into and through the digital copier. A scanner  194  is used to scan images into the digital copier and includes conventional scanning elements such as a light, mirror, etc. Additionally, scanner sensors are used such as a home position sensor to determine that the scanner is in the home position, and a lamp thermistor is used to ensure proper operation of the scanning lamp. There is a printer/imager  192  which prints the output of the digital copier and includes a conventional laser printing mechanism, a toner sensor, and an image density sensor. The fuser  190  is used to fuse the toner onto the page using a high temperature roller and includes an exit sensor, a thermistor to assure that the fuser  190  is not overheating, and an oil sensor. Additionally, there is an optional unit interface  188  used to connect to optional elements of the digital copier such as an automatic document feeder, a different type of sorter/collator, or other elements which can be added to the digital copier. 
     FIG. 4  illustrates details of the multi-port communication interface  166 . The digital copier may communicate to external devices through a Centronics interface  220  which receives or transmits information to be printed, a cable modem unit  221  which has a high speed connection over cable, a SCSI interface  222 , a conventional telephone interface  224  which connects to a telephone line  168 A, an ISDN interface  226  which connects to an ISDN line  168 B, an RS-232 interface  228 , and a LAN interface  230  which connects to a LAN  170 . Other interfaces (not shown) include, but are not limited to, Firewire and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) (original DSL, concentric DSL, and asymmetric DSL). FireWire (IEEE 1394) is described in Wickelgren, I., “The Facts About “FireWire”, IEEE Spectrum, April 1997, Vol. 34, Number 4, pp. 19-25, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Preferably, communication utilizes a “reliable” protocol with error detection and retransmission. Examples of such a protocol include Reliable Datagram Protocol (RDP) and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). A single device which connects to both a Local Area Network and a telephone line is commercially available from Megahertz and is known as the Ethernet-Modem. 
   The CPU or other microprocessor or circuitry executes a monitoring process to monitor the state of each of the sensors of the digital copier, and a sequencing process is used to execute the instructions of the code used to control and operate the digital copier. Additionally, there is a central system control process executed to control the overall operation of the digital copier and a communication process used to assure reliable communication to external devices connected to the digital copier. The system control process monitors and controls data storage in a static state memory such as the ROM  164  of  FIG. 3 , a semi-static memory such as the flash memory  178  or disk  182 , or the dynamic state data which is stored in a volatile or non-volatile memory such as the RAM  162  or the flash memory  178  or disk  182 . Additionally, the static state data may be stored in a device other than the ROM  164  such as a non-volatile memory including either of the flash memory  178  or disk  182 . 
   The above details have been described with respect to a digital copier but the present invention is equally applicable to other business office machines or devices such as an analog copier, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a printer, a facsimile server, or other business office machines, or appliances with which a user interface (e.g., a microwave oven, VCR, digital camera, cellular phone, palm top computer). Additionally, the present invention includes other types of devices which operate using store-and-forward or direction connection-based communication. Such devices include metering systems (including gas, water, or electricity metering systems), vending machines, or any other mechanical device (e.g., automobiles) that need to be monitored during operation or remote diagnosis. In addition to monitoring special purpose machines and computers, the invention can be used to monitor, control, and diagnose a general purpose computer which would be the monitored and/or controlled device. 
     FIG. 5  illustrates an alternative system diagram of the invention in which different devices and subsystems are connected to the WAN  10 . However, there is no requirement to have each of these devices or subsystems as part of the invention. Each component or subsystem illustrated in  FIG. 5  is individually part of the invention. Further, the elements illustrated in  FIG. 1  may be connected to the WAN  10  which is illustrated in  FIG. 5 . In  FIG. 5 , there is illustrated a firewall  250  connected to an intranet  252 . The service machine  254  connected to the intranet  252  includes therein or has connected thereto data  256  which may be stored in a database format. The data  256  includes history, performance, malfunction, and any other information including statistical information of the operation or failure or set-up and components or optional equipment of devices which are being monitored. The service machine  254  may be implemented as the device or computer which requests the monitored devices to transmit data or which requests that remote control and/or diagnostic tests be performed on the monitored devices. The service machine  254  may be implemented as any type of device and is preferably implemented using a computerized device such as a general purpose computer. 
   Another sub-system of  FIG. 5  includes a firewall  258 , an intranet  260 , and a printer  262  connected thereto. In this sub-system, the functions of sending and receiving electronic mail messages by the printer  262  (and similarly by a copier  286 ) are performed by circuitry, a microprocessor, or any other type of hardware contained within or mounted to the printer  262  (i.e., without using a separate general purpose computer). 
   An alternate type of sub-system includes the use of an Internet service provider  264  which may be any type of Internet service provider (ISP), including known commercial companies such as America Online, Netcom, CompuServe, Niftyserve, the Internet service provider Erols. In this sub-system, a computer  266  is connected to the ISP  264  through a modem, for example, such as a telephone line modem, a cable modem, modems which use any type of wires such as modems used over an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) line, ASDL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), modems which use frame relay communication, any digital or analog modem, wireless modems such as a radio frequency modem, a fiber optic modem, or a device which uses infrared light waves. Further, a business office device  268  is connected to the computer  266 . As an alternative to the business office device  268  (and any other device illustrated in  FIG. 5 ), a different type of machine may be monitored or controlled such as a digital copier, any type of appliance, security system, or utility meter such as an electrical, water, or gas utility meter, or any other device discussed herein. 
   Also illustrated in  FIG. 5  is a firewall  270  connected to a network  274 . The network  274  may be implemented as any type of computer network, (e.g., an Ethernet or token-ring network). Networking software which may be used to control the network includes any desired networking software including software commercially available from Novell or Microsoft. The network  274  may be implemented as an Intranet, if desired. A computer  272  connected to the network  274  may be used to obtain information from a business office device  278  and generate reports such as reports showing problems which occurred in various machines connected to the network and a monthly usage report of the devices connected to the network  274 . In this embodiment, a computer  276  is connected between the business office device  278  and the network  274 . This computer receives e-mail communications from the network and forwards the appropriate commands or data, or any other information, to the business office device  278 . Communication between the business office device  278  and the computer  276  may be accomplished using wire-based or wireless methods including, but not limited to radio frequency connections, electrical connections and light connections (e.g., an infrared connection, or a fiber optics connection). Similarly, each of the various networks and intranets illustrated in  FIG. 5  may be established using any desired manner including through the establishment of wireless networks such as radio frequency networks. The wireless communication described herein may be established using spread spectrum techniques including techniques which use a spreading code and frequency hopping techniques such as the frequency hopping wireless technique which is disclosed in the Bluetooth Specification (available at the world wide web site www.bluetooth.com), which is incorporated herein by reference. 
   Another sub-system illustrated in  FIG. 5  includes a firewall  280 , an intranet  284 , a computer  282  connected thereto, and a copier  286 . The computer  282  may be used to generate reports and request diagnostic or control procedures. These diagnostic and control procedures may be performed with respect to the copier  286  or any of the other devices illustrated in or used with  FIG. 5 . While  FIG. 5  illustrates a plurality of firewalls, the firewalls are preferable but optional equipment and therefore the invention may be operated without the use of firewalls, if desired. 
     FIG. 6A  illustrates an application unit  300  connected to a typical e-mail exchange system which includes components  302 ,  304 ,  306 ,  308 ,  310 ,  312 ,  314 ,  316 , and  318  which may be implemented in a conventional manner and are taken from FIG. 28.1 of Stevens, above. A computer  302  interfaces with any of the application units  300  described herein. While  FIG. 6A  illustrates that the application unit  300  is the sender, the sending and receiving functions may be reversed in  FIG. 6A . Furthermore, if desired, the user may not be needed to interface with the application unit  300  at all. The computer interface  302  then interacts with a mail agent  304 . Popular mail agents for Unix include MH, Berkeley Mail, Elm, and Mush. Mail agents for the Windows family of operating systems include Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Outlook Express. At the request of the computer interface  302 , the mail agent  304  creates e-mail messages to be sent and, if desired, places these messages to be sent in a queue  306 . The mail to be sent is forwarded to a Message Transfer Agent (MTA)  308 . A common MTA for Unix systems is Sendmail. Typically, the message transfer agents  308  and  312  exchange communications using a TCP (Transfer Control Protocol) connection or a TCP/IP (Internet Protocol) connection. Notably, the communication between the message transfer agents  308  and  312  may occur over any size network (e.g., WAN or LAN). Further, the message transfer agents  308  and  312  may utilize any communication protocol. In the present invention, steps  302  and  304  reside in the library to monitor the application unit&#39;s usage. 
   From the message transfer agents  312 , e-mail messages are stored in user mailboxes  314  which are transferred to the mail agent  316  and ultimately transmitted to the user at a terminal  318  which functions as a receiving terminal. 
   This “store-and-forward” process avoids the sending mail agent  304  from having to wait until establishment of the direct connection with the mail. Because of network delays, the communication could take a substantial amount of time during which the application would be unresponsive. Such an unresponsiveness is generally unacceptable to users of the application unit. By using e-mail as the store-and-forward process, retransmission attempts after failures occur automatically for a fixed period of time (e.g., three days). In an alternate embodiment, the application controlling the user interface can avoid waiting by passing communicating requests to one or more separate threads. Those threads can then control communication with the receiving terminal  318  while the application begins responding to the user interface again. In yet another embodiment in which a user wishes to have communication completed before continuing, direct communication with the receiving terminal is used. Such directed communication can utilize any protocol not blocked by a firewall between the sending and receiving terminals. Examples of such protocols include SMTP, HTTP, gopher, FTP, and NNTP. 
   Public WANs, such as the Internet, is not considered to be secure. Therefore, messages transmitted over the public WANs (and multi-company private WANs) should be encrypted to keep the messages confidential. Encryption mechanisms are known and commercially available which may be used with the present invention. For example, a C library function, crypto, is available from Sun Microsystems for use with the Unix operating system. Other encryption and decryption software packages are known and commercially available and may also be used with this invention. One such package is PGP Virtual Private Network (VPN) available from Network Associates. Other VPN software is available from Microsoft Corporation. 
   As an alternative to the general structure of  FIG. 6A , a single computer may be used which functions as the computer interface  302 , the mail agent  304 , the mail queue  306  and the message transfer agent  308 . As illustrated in  FIG. 6B , the application unit  300  is connected to a computer  301  which includes the message transfer agent  308 . 
   A further alternative structure is shown in  FIG. 6C  in which the message transfer agent  308  is formed as part of the application unit  300 . Further, the message transfer agent  308  is connected to the message transfer agent  312  by a TCP connection  310 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 6C , the application unit  300  is directly connected to the TCP connection  310  and has an e-mail capability. One use of the embodiment of  FIG. 6C  includes using a facsimile machine with an e-mail capability (defined in RFC 2305 (a simple mode of facsimile using Internet mail)) as the application unit  300 . 
     FIG. 7  illustrates an alternative implementation of transferring mail and is based on FIG. 28.3 of Stevens.  FIG. 7  illustrates an electronic mail system having a relay system at each end. The arrangement of  FIG. 7  allows one system at an organization to act as a mail hub. In  FIG. 7 , there are four MTAs connected between the two mail agents  304  and  316 . These MTAs include local MTA  322 , relay MTA  328 , relay MTA  332 , and local MTA  340 . The most common protocol used for mail messages is SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) which may be used with this invention, although any desired mail protocol may be utilized. In  FIG. 7 ,  320  designates a sending host which includes the computer interface  302 , the mail agent  304 , and the local MTA  322 . The application unit  300  is connected to, or alternatively included within, the sending host  320 . As another case, the application unit  300  and host  320  can be in one machine where the host capability is built into the application unit  300 . Other local MTAs include local MTA  324  and  326 . Mail to be transmitted and received may be queued in a queue of mail  330  of the relay MTA  328 . The messages are transferred across the TCP connection  310 , which may be, for example, the Internet, or may be any other type of network or connection. 
   The transmitted messages are received by the relay MTA  332  and if desired, stored in a queue of mail  334 . The mail is then forwarded to the local MTA  340  of a receiving host  342 . The mail may be placed in one or more of the user mailboxes  314  and subsequently forwarded to the mail agent  316  and finally forwarded to the user at a terminal  318 . If desired, the mail may be directly forwarded to the terminal without user interaction. Other local MTAs at the receiving side include MTA  338  and local MTA  336  which may have their own mailboxes, mail agents, and terminals. 
   The various computers utilized by the present invention, including the computers  266  and  276  of  FIG. 5 , may be implemented as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . Further, any other computer utilized by this invention may be implemented in a similar manner to the computer illustrated in  FIG. 8 , if desired, including the service machine  254 , computer  272 , and computer  282  of  FIG. 5 . However, not every element illustrated in  FIG. 8  is required in each of those computers. In  FIG. 8 , the computer  360  includes a CPU  362  which may be implemented as any type of processor including commercially available microprocessors from companies such as Intel, AMD, Motorola, Hitachi and NEC. There is a working memory such as a RAM  364 , and a wireless interface  366  which communicates with a wireless device  368 . The communication between the interface  366  and device  368  may use any wireless medium (e.g., radio waves or light waves). The radio waves may be implemented using a spread spectrum technique such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDA) communication or using a frequency hopping technique such as that disclosed in the Bluetooth specification. 
   There is a ROM  370  and a flash memory  371 , although any other type of non-volatile memory may be utilized in addition to or in place of the flash memory  371  such as an EPROM, or an EEPROM, for example. An input controller  372  has connected thereto a keyboard  374  and a mouse  376 . There is a serial interface  378  connected to a serial device  380 . Additionally, a parallel interface  382  is connected to a parallel device  384 , a universal serial bus interface  386  is connected to a universal serial bus device  388 , and also there is an IEEE 1394 device  400 , commonly referred to as a fire wire device, connected to an IEEE 1394 interface  398 . The various elements of the computer  360  are connected by a system bus  390 . A disk controller  396  is connected to a floppy disk drive  394  and a hard disk drive  392 . A communication controller  406  allows the computer  360  to communicate with other computers (e.g., by sending e-mail messages) over a telephone line  402  or a network  404 . An I/O (Input/Output) controller  408  is connected to a printer  410  and a hard disk  412 , for example using a SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) bus. There is also a display controller  416  connected to a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube)  414 , although any other type of display may be used including a liquid crystal display, a light emitting diode display, a plasma display, etc. 
   One feature in the present invention is to monitor how a user uses a target application of an application unit. The term application unit in this instance refers to a system which a user interacts with and controls. A “target application” refers to a user controlled system that controls the application unit. For example, an application unit may typically be a computer and a target application may then be a software program, e.g. a word processor, running on the computer which a user operates, for example by moving a pointer on a computer screen and “clicking” on certain command icons to cause the software program to perform certain functions. In this sense, an application unit in the present invention can refer to any of workstations  17 ,  18 ,  20 ,  22 ,  56 ,  62 ,  68 ,  74 ,  42  shown in  FIG. 1  running a software program, the computer  301  shown in  FIG. 6B  running a software program, etc. An application unit can also refer to an image forming device such as any of the digital image forming apparatus  24 , facsimile machine  28 , and printer  32  in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . In this instance, each of these device application units includes a user interface, such as operation panel  174  (see  FIG. 3 ), which a user interacts with and utilizes to control the device application unit. The present invention can monitor a user selecting controls on such an operation panel. As a further example, the application unit could also be an appliance, such as a microwave oven, with an operation panel. An application unit can also refer to any other device, including software, with which a user interacts, and in this case the target application may refer to only one feature of the software which the user interacts with. 
   One feature of the present invention is to monitor the user&#39;s usage of such a target application of an application unit, and to effectively communicate data of the monitored usage. This data will typically be transmitted by e-mail by the computer interface  302  of  FIG. 6A , or the computer of  FIG. 6B  or the application unit  300  of  FIG. 6C . This data of a user&#39;s usage of a target application of an application unit can then be utilized in many ways, for example in improving software development, in monitoring usage of a device (e.g., an image forming device), discovering user difficulties with appliances and software, and finding most frequently used features of application units. 
     FIG. 9  shows various elements of the present invention. More particularly,  FIG. 9  shows an application unit  300  including a target application  505  which includes a user interface  510 . This user interface  510  is an interface for a user to control the application unit  500  (via the target application  505 ). As discussed above, in one common instance, the target application  505  may be a software program running on one of the workstations  17 ,  18 ,  20 ,  22  shown for example in  FIG. 1  of the present specification. In this instance, the user interface  510  may be a display on a monitor of one of these workstations. One embodiment of such a target application is shown in further detail in  FIG. 10  which shows a monitor  600  of one of the workstations  17 ,  18 ,  20 , and  22 . In that embodiment of a target application, a plurality of function keys  605  are displayed on the monitor  600  and the user accesses those function keys by, for example, changing the positioning of a pointer with a mouse and “clicking” on one of such function keys. As a further example, if monitor  600  is a touch pad, the user controls the software application unit by touching one of the function keys  605 . In those instances, the present invention monitors each time a user “clicks” on or touches one of the function keys  605 , and logs the usage data for subsequent communication. 
   As a further example, and as noted above, the application unit  300  may be an image forming device such as the digital image forming apparatus  26 , facsimile machine  28 , or printer  32  also shown in  FIG. 1 . In this instance, the user interface  510  may take the form of an operation panel (e.g. operation panel  174  in  FIG. 3 ) with a plurality of keys and/or a touch screen which a user operates to control the image forming device. One illustrative embodiment of such a user interface  510  used with a digital image forming apparatus  26 , facsimile machine  28 , or printer  32  is shown in  FIG. 11 . In that embodiment, the present invention monitors each time a user presses one of the control buttons on the operation panel and logs the usage data of such a user usage for subsequent communication. 
   As shown in  FIG. 11 , such an operation panel  700  may include a touch screen  705  on which various commands may appear which an operator can select by touching different portions of the touch screen  705 . The operation panel  700  may also include a 10-key pad  710  and various other control buttons  715 . In the case of an image forming device, the control buttons  715  may be commands for selecting a paper size, changing a magnification, changing a darkness of a desired image, etc. 
   When the application unit  300  in  FIG. 9  is an image forming device and the user interface  510  corresponds to the operation panel  700  as shown in  FIG. 11 , the present invention can monitor the commands (shown in  FIG. 11 ) that a user selects. The operation panel  700  shown in  FIG. 11  may, with modifications, also be an operation panel for a user-controlled appliance such as a microwave oven, VCR, digital camera, cellular phone, palm top computer, etc. 
     FIGS. 10 and 11  show examples of the application unit  300  and user interface  510  of  FIG. 9  to which the present invention can be applied. As would be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, the present invention is directed to various types of application units including various types of user interfaces. The present invention is applicable to any device to be monitored which includes a user interface. 
   Returning to  FIG. 9 , the present invention further includes a monitoring and logging block  515  and a sending block  520 . The monitoring and logging block  515  monitors the user&#39;s usage of the user interface  510  and records or logs data of such monitored usage. At a designated time, the logged data of the user&#39;s usage of the user interface  510  is then sent to the sending block  520 , which then communicates such monitored usage data to a designated party. The monitoring and logging block  515  can be implemented in the device including the application unit  300  or in another system control element. The sending block can also be implemented in the device including the application unit in  FIG. 6C , or can also be implemented in the computer  301  in  FIG. 6B  to which the application unit is attached. The present invention can also take the form of computer control codes recorded on a computer readable medium. 
     FIG. 12  shows the general architecture of the system that consists of the Monitoring Package  1200  and the Sending Package  1600 . The Monitoring Package  1200  provides four interface functions, startMonitoring, commandUse, stopMonitoring, and setApplicationID, to the target application  505  in order to monitor its usage. The Monitoring Package  1200  is responsible for monitoring and logging the usage of the target application  505  and then passing the information about the usage of the target application  505  to the Sending Package  1600 . The Monitoring Package  1200  incorporates the use of four components, Interface/Manager  1100 , UsageLog  1105 , Data  1110 , and Data Packaging/Send Interface  1115 , to perform the above stated tasks. The Interface/Manager  1100  provides the functions that allow the target application  505  to interface with the Monitoring Package  1200 . The Interface/Manager  1100  also manages the usage data of the target application  505  within the Monitoring Package  1200 . The UsageLog  1105  logs and maintains the usage data of the target application  505 . The UsageLog  1105  contains a Command Vector  1106  and Time Vector  1107  to log and maintain information about the use of the commands of the target application  505 . The Data  1110  contains the usage data of the target application  505 . The Data Packaging/Send Interface  1115  packages the usage data of the target application  505  and interfaces with the Sending Package  1600  so that it may pass the packaged usage data of the target application  505  to the Sending Package  1600 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 12 , the Sending Package  1600  provides the interface function sendUsageData to the Monitoring Package  1200  in order to send the usage data of the target application  505 . The Sending Package  1600  is responsible for sending the usage data of the target application  505  by e-mail to a desired party. The Sending Package  1600  includes the four components, Interface/Manager  1120 , Data Type/Structure Converter  1125 , Encoder/Encryption  1130 , and E-mail Send  1135 . The Interface/Manager  1120  provides the function that allows the Monitoring Package  1200  to interface with the Sending Package  1600 . The Interface/Manager  1120  also manages the usage data of the target application  505  within the Sending Package  1600 . The Data Type/Structure Converter  1125  changes the usage data of the target application  505 . As an example, if the usage data corresponds to the sequence of commands used in the target application  505 , the Data Type/Structure Converter  1125  can change the usage data to correspond to the frequency of use of the commands of the target application  505 . The Encoder/Encryption  1130  encodes and encrypts the usage data of the target application  505  into a message body so that it may be sent by e-mail. The E-mail Send  1135  sends the usage data of the target application  505 . Also shown in  FIG. 12  is the System object  1375  that will allow the Monitoring Package  1200  and the Sending Package  1600  to access and set system information. 
     FIG. 13  shows an overall system view of portions of the application unit  300 .  FIG. 13  (as well as subsequent figures) describes the system and its operations in an object oriented format utilizing the unified modeling language such as is described in “The Unified Modeling Language User Guide” by Booch et al., published by Addison-Wesley, 1999. 
   In  FIG. 13  the dashed-block contains objects responsible for the monitoring functions, and thus collectively indicates the Monitoring Package  1200 . A CMonitorseqApp object  1300  provides the interface functions so that the target application  505  can use the monitoring functions. A CMonitoringIF object  1305  performs monitoring functions of the target application  505 . A CUsageLogger object  1310  includes functions for logging monitored data obtained by the CMonitoringIF object  1305 . A CClock object  1315  includes functions that allow the Monitoring Package  1200  to obtain time information. A CUserIDDialog object  1320  provides the dialog box for the user to enter in the user ID. The CUsageLogger object  1310  interacts with a System object  1375  to access and set system information. The CUsageLogger object  1310  also interacts with a CUsageData object  1325  which is a storage for the logged data. 
   As shown in  FIG. 13 , the CMonitoringIF object  1305  interacts with a CUsageDataSendManager object  1330 . The CUsageDataSend Manager object  1330  controls transmitting monitored data of a user&#39;s usage of a target application  505  as monitored by the CMonitoringIF object  1305 . This CUsageDataSendManager object  1330  interacts with (1) a CAbsDataPackager object  1335  (which packages the usage data to be transmitted) and (2) a CAbsUsageInformation object  1345  (which contains the usage data to be transmitted). The CAbsDataPackager object  1335  corresponds to an abstract class which provides the interface functions to package the usage data of the target application  505 . The class that is derived from the abstract class CAbsDataPackager  1335  is CExitDataPackager object  1340  which provides the method for packaging the usage data of the target application  505 . The CExitDataPackager object  1340  packages the usage data for a single session of a target application  505 . When the CUsageDataSendManager object  1330  interacts with CAbsDataPackager object  1335  to package the usage data of a target application  505 , it is actually using the packaging method provided by the CExitDataPackager object  1340 . The CExitDataPackager object  1335  packages the usage data of the target application  505  into a COneSessionUsageInformation object  1350 . The COneSessionUsageeInformation object  1350  contains the usage data for one session of the target application  505 . The CAbsUsageInformation object  1345  corresponds to an abstract class which provides the interface to access the usage data of the target application  505 . The class that is derived from the abstract class CAbsUsageInformation  1345  is COneSessionUsageInformation object  1350  which provides the method for accessing the usage data of the target application  505 . The CUsageDataSendManager object  1330  also interacts with the Sending Package  1600  to send the usage data of the target application  505  by e-mail to a desired party. The Sending Package  1600  interacts with the CAbsUsageInformation object  1345 . When the Sending Package  1600  interacts with CAbsUsageInformation object  1345  to access the usage data of the target application  505 , it is actually using the accessing method provided by the COneSessionUsageInformation object  1350 . 
     FIG. 14  shows an overall operation executed in the system of  FIG. 13  between the Monitoring Package  1200  and Sending Package  1600 . More particularly, the Monitoring Package  1200  calls a function sendUsageData to the Sending Package  1600  and provides CAbsUsageInformation to the Sending Package  1600 . The CAbsUsageInformation is usage information from the monitored target application  505 . This operation instructs the Sending Package  1600  to send the CAbsUsageInformation provided from the Monitoring Package  1200 . The Sending Package  1600  sends a confirmation signal YES to the Monitoring Package  1200  to indicate that it was successful in sending the usage data of the target application  505 . 
   In an alternate embodiment of the present invention illustrated in  FIGS. 15A and 15B , rather than running a single target application  505 , the application unit  300  runs plural target applications  505 A and  505 B. Those target applications  505 A and  505 B may either be multiple instances of the same application or copies of plural different applications. One such example of an application unit  300  with plural target applications is a single computer with plural touch screens controlled by different applications. Touch screen-based applications are now being utilized in department stores to provide customers with information (e.g., gifts registered as part of a bridal registry or a baby registry). 
   It is unnecessary, however, to reproduce in each application the code that interacts with the monitoring block  515 . Instead, as shown in  FIG. 15A , target application  505 A and target application  505 B can share code and data in the form of a dynamic linked library. (Additional details about dynamic linked libraries (DLLs) can be found in Chapter 11 of Mastering Windows NT Programming, by Myers and Hamer, 1993, incorporated herein by reference.) As illustrated, the target application  505 B invokes any of the functions exported by the DLL in the shared code region of the memory space. For example, as discussed in more detail below, the target applications can execute any of the following functions: setApplicationID, startMonitoring, commandUse, stopMonitoring. By utilizing a separate process to implement the monitoring block  515 , the system of the present invention can operate independently to perform periodic tasks or tasks occurring at specific times or under specific conditions. One such independent operation is transmitting the monitored usage information to the receiver  318  at specified intervals (as is discussed in greater detail below in relation to trigger conditions). 
   In the alternate embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 15B , the monitoring and logging block  515  is no longer implemented as a separate process. Instead, the monitoring and logging block is included in the shared code region of the dynamic linked library. As in the embodiment of  FIG. 15A , the target applications still invoke functions exported by the DLL to track the operations performed on the interface by using the setApplicationID, startMonitoring, commandUse, and stopMonitoring functions. 
   The operations performed by the various objects noted in  FIGS. 13 and 14  are now discussed in further detail in  FIGS. 16-21 . In  FIGS. 16-21  the various functions are preceded by a numeral and a colon. It should be noted that this nomenclature is not always indicative of the order of the various operations as various operations can be performed in parallel and at different times. 
     FIG. 16  shows a setApplicationID function executed in the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 16 , when the target application starts up, the target application  505  passes a char* as a parameter as it calls the setApplicationID function of the CMonitorseqApp object  1300 . The char* represents the identity of the application in which its usage is being monitored. In turn, the CMonitorseqApp object  1300  passes the same char* as a parameter as it calls the setApplicationID function of the CMonitoringIF object  1305 . The CMonitoringIF object  1305  will inform the Monitoring Package  1200  to log the application ID. The CMonitoringIF object  1305  passes a string as a parameter as it calls the logApplicationID function of the CUsageLogger object  1310 . The string represents the identity of the application in which its usage is being monitored. The CUsageLogger object  1310  passes the same string as a parameter as it calls the setApplicationID function of the System object  1375  to set the application ID within the system. Then the CUsageLogger object  1310  passes two strings as parameters as it calls the addSessionData function of the CUsageData object  1325  to store information about the application ID. One string represents the type of information passed in and the other string represents the value of the type of information. In this instance, the first string indicates that the type of information is the application ID and the second string is the value of the application ID. 
     FIG. 17  shows a startMonitoring function executed in the present invention. After the target application  505  executes the setApplicationID function as shown in  FIG. 16 , the target application  505  calls the startMonitoring function of the CMonitorseqApp object  1300 . In turn, the CMonitorseqApp object  1300  calls the startMonitoring function of the CMonitoringIF object  1305 . This operation indicates that the logging of data corresponding to a user&#39;s usage of a user interface  510  of the target application  505  is to begin. The CMonitoringIF object  1305  then calls a logStartData function of the CUsageLogger object  1310 . 
   The CUsageLogger object  1310  then calls a getUserID function of the System object  1375  and the System object  1375  returns a string to the CUsageLogger object  1310 . The string returned by the System object  1375  represents the user ID. The CUsageLogger object  1310  passes two strings as parameters as it calls the addSessionData function of the CUsageData object  1325  to store information about the user ID. In this instance, the first string indicates that the type of information is the user ID and the second string is the value of the user ID. 
   The CUsageLogger object  1310  then calls getCumulativeSession function of the System object  1375  and the System object  1375  returns an int to the CUsageLogger object  1310 . In this operation the CUsageLogger object  1310  obtains the number of times that the users have used the target application  505  to be monitored from the System object  1375 . The CUsageLogger object  1310  updates the number of times that the users have used the target application  505  to be monitored and passes this number as a parameter as it calls the setCumulativeSession function of System object  1375  to set this number within the system. The CUsageLogger object  1310  also passes a string and an int as parameters as it calls the addSessionData function of the CUsageData object  1325  to store information about the cumulative use of the target application  505 . In this instance, the string indicates that the type of information is the number of times that the users have used the target application  505  to be monitored and the int is the value of this number. 
   The CUsageLogger object  1310  then calls the startClock function of the CClock object  1315 . This operation sets the start time of the target application  505  to be monitored in the CClock object  1315 . The CUsageLogger object  1310  then calls the getStartTime function of the CClock object  1315  and the CClock object  1315  returns a string to the CUsageLogger object  1310 . The string returned by the CClock object  1315  represents the start time of the target application  505  to be monitored. The CUsageLogger object  1310  passes two strings as parameters as it calls the addSessionData function of the CUsageData object  1325  to store information about the start time of the target application  505 . In this instance, the first string indicates that the type of information is the start time of the target application  505  and the second string is the value of the start time. 
     FIG. 18  shows a commandUse function that is called when the user uses the user interface  510  of the target application  505 .  FIG. 18  shows an example of the actual monitoring and logging operations executed in the present invention when a user “clicks” on a command in a software-based target application or presses a button on an operation panel of an appliance, image forming device, etc. 
   In  FIG. 18 , when a user selects a particular command from the user interface  510  of the target application  505  being monitored, the target application  505  passes a char* as a parameter as it calls the commandUse function of the CMonitorseqApp object  1300 . The char* represents the name of the command on the user interface  510  selected by the user. In turn, the CMonitorseqApp object  1300  passes the same char* as a parameter as it calls the commandUse function of the CMonitoringIF object  1305 . The CMonitoringIF object  1305  will inform the Monitoring Package  1200  to log the command on the user interface  510  selected by the user. 
   The CMonitoringIF object  1305  then passes a string as a parameter as it calls the logCommandUse function of the CUsageLogger object  1310 . The string represents the name of the command on the user interface  510  selected by the user. The CUsageLogger object  1310  calls the getTimeElapsed function of CClock object  1315  and the CClock object  1315  returns an int to the CUsageLogger object  1310 . In this operation the CClock object  1315  returns an int that represents the time elapsed since the start of the target application  505  to the time that the user selects the command on the user interface  510 . The int represents the time elapsed in tenths of a second. The CUsageLogger object  1310  passes a string and an int as parameters as it calls the updateCommandUsage function of the CUsageData object  1325  to store information about the command usage of the target application  505 . In this instance, the string represents the name of the command on the user interface  510  selected by the user and the int is the time elapsed since the start of the target application  505  to the time that the user selects the command on the user interface  510 . 
     FIG. 19  shows a stopMonitoring function executed in the present invention for stopping the monitoring of the user&#39;s usage of the user interface  510  of the target application  505 . Monitoring of the user&#39;s usage of the user interface  510  can be stopped when the user exits the target application  505 . For example, when the target application  505  is software running on a workstation, the monitoring can be stopped when the user exits a program being executed. When the target application  505  is an operation panel of an appliance, an image forming device, etc., the monitoring can be stopped when a particular icon/button, such as a start button of a copier, is pressed. The monitoring can also be stopped after a predetermined period of time, after a predetermined period of time during which the user does not use the target application, etc. Similar conditions for stopping monitoring of a user&#39;s usage of the user interface  510  can be executed when the target application  505  is an image forming device such as a copy machine, facsimile machine, printer, scanner or an appliance such as a microwave oven, VCR, digital camera, cellular phone, palm top computer, etc. Again, illustrative circumstances in which the monitoring can be stopped are: when the user inputs an exit command, after a predetermined time, after a predetermined time of non-usage. 
   In  FIG. 19 , when the user is exiting from the target application  505 , the target application  505  calls the stopMonitoring function of the CMonitorseqApp object  1300 . In turn, the CMonitorseqApp object  1300  calls the stopMonitoring function of the CMonitoringIF object  1305 . This operation indicates that the logging of data corresponding to a user&#39;s usage of a user interface  510  of the target application  505  is to stop. The CMonitoringIF object  1305  then calls a logStopData function of the CUsageLogger object  1310 . 
   The CUsageLogger object  1310  then calls the getTimeElapsed function of CClock object  1315  and the CClock object  1315  returns an int to the CUsageLogger object  1310 . In this operation the CClock object  1315  returns an int that represents the time elapsed since the start of the target application  505  to the time that the user exits the target application. The int represents the time elapsed in tenths of a second. The CUsageLogger object  1310  passes a string and an int as parameters as it calls the addSessionData function of the CUsageData object  1325  to store information about the duration of use of the target application  505 . In this instance, the string indicates that the type of information is the duration of use of the target application  505  and the int is the value of this duration. 
   After the CUsageLogger object  1310  logs the duration of the target application  505 , the CMonitoringIF object  1305  calls the getUsageData function of CUsageLogger object  1310  and the CUsageLogger object  1310  returns the CUsageData to the CMonitoringIF object  1305 . The CUsageData contains data which includes all the stored monitoring data of the current session of the target application  505 . The data includes the application ID, user ID, cumulative usage, start time, duration and command usage. The CMonitoringIF object  1305  then passes the CUsageData as a parameter as it calls the sendUsageDataAtTrigger function of the CUsageDataSendManager object  1330  to send the usage data of the target application  505 . 
     FIG. 20  shows the operation of packaging the usage data of the target application  505  and passing it to the Sending Package  1600  when the user exits the target application  505 . This operation occurs when the target application  505  calls the stopMonitoring function of the Monitoring Package  1200 . The operations in  FIG. 20  are continuations of the operations of  FIG. 19 . The sendUsageDataAtTrigger function of the CUsageDataSendManager object  1330 , as of step  7 , in  FIG. 19  corresponds to the sendUsageDataAtTrigger function of the CUsageDataSendManager object  1330 , as of step  1 , in  FIG. 20 . 
   After the sendUsageDataAtTrigger function of the CUsageDataSendManager object  1330  is called in  FIG. 20 , the CUsageDataSendManager object  1330  calls its own createDataPackager function and returns a CAbsDataPackager. The CAbsDataPackager is an object that the CUsageDataSendManager object  1330  will use to package the usage data of the target application  505  before it passes the usage data to the Sending Package  1600 . Within the CUsageDataSendManager object  1330  call to its own createDataPackager function, it calls the CExitDataPackager function of the CExitDataPackager object  1340  to create the CExitDataPackager object  1340 . The CExitDataPackager object  1340  packages the usage data of the target application  505  for the condition when the usage data of the target application  505  is to be sent every time the user exits the target application  505 . Then the CExitDataPackager object  1340  calls the COneSessionUsageInformation function of the COneSessionUsageInformation object  1350  to create the COneSessionUsageInformation object  1350 . The COneSessionUsageInformation object  1350  stores the usage data for a single session of the target application  505 . Even though the createDataPackager function returns the abstract class CAbsDataPackager  1335  to the CUsageDataSendManager object  1330 , it is actually the derived class CExitDataPackager  1340  of the abstract class CAbsDataPackager  1335  that is being returned to the CUsageDataSendManager object  1330 . The CUsageDataSendManager object  1330  is not aware that it will be using the CExitDataPackager object  1340  to package the usage data of the target application  505 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 20 , the CUsageDataSendManager object  1330  then passes the CUsageData as a parameter as it calls the packageUsageData function of the CExitDataPackager object  1340 . The CExitDataPackager object  1340  returns a confirmation signal YES to the CUsageDataSendManager object  1330  to indicate that it was successful in packaging the usage data of the target application  505 . This operation packages the usage data of the target application  505  into an object that will be passed to the Sending Package  1600 . The CExitDataPackager object  1340  calls the getSessionDataMap function of the CUsageData object  1325  and the CUsageData object  1325  returns a map to the CExitDataPackager object  1340 . The map contains usage data about the current session of the target application  505 . The usage data includes the application ID, the user ID, the cumulative use, the start time, and the duration. The CExitDataPackager object  1340  then passes this map as a parameter as it calls the setSessionInformation function of the COneSessionUsageInformation object  1350 . The CExitDataPackager object  1340  calls the getCommandDataMap function of the CUsageData object  1325  and the CUsageData object  1325  returns a map to the CExitDataPackager object  1340 . The map contains usage data about the command used in the current session of the target application  505 . The CExitDataPackager object  1340  then passes this map as a parameter as it calls the setSessionUsageData function of the COneSessionUsageInformation object  1350 . With both maps set in the COneSessionUsageInformation object  1350 , the usage data is packaged into an object that can be passed to the Sending Package  1600 . 
   The CUsageDataSendManager object  1330  calls its own is DataReadyToSend function and returns YES to indicate that the usage data is ready to be passed to the Sending Package  1600 . The CUsageDataSendManager object  1330  calls the getPackagedUsageData function of the CExitDataPackager object  1340  and the CExitDataPackager object  1340  returns a CAbsUsageInformation to the CUsageDataSendManager object  1330 . Even though the getPackagedUsageData function of the CExitDataPackager object  1340  returns the abstract class CAbsUsageInformation  1345  to the CUsageDataSendManager object  1330 , it is actually the derived class COneSessionUsageInformation  1350  of the abstract class  1330 . The CUsageDataSendManager object  1330  is not aware that it has the COneSessionUsageInformation object  1350  which contains the usage data to be passed to the Sending Package  1600 . The CUsageDataSendManager object  1330  then passes the CAbsUsageInformation as a parameter as it calls the sendUsageData function of the Sending Package  1600 . The Sending Package  1600  returns a confirmation signal YES to inform the CUsageDataSendManager object  1330  that the usage data was successfully sent to the desired party. Even though the abstract class CAbsUsageInformation  1345  was passed to the Sending Package  1600 , it is not aware that it was actually the COneSessionUsageInformation object  1350  that was passed to it. 
     FIG. 21  shows the operation of sending the usage data of the target application in the Sending Package  1600 . This operation occurs when the target application  505  calls the stopMonitoring function of the Monitoring Package  1200 . The operations in  FIG. 21  are a continuation of the operations of  FIG. 20 . The sendUsageData function of the Sending Package  1600 , as of step  12 , in  FIG. 20  corresponds to the sendUsageData function of the CScndTriggerIF object  1605 , as of step  1 , in  FIG. 21 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 21 , the CSendTriggerIF object  1605  calls its own setRecipients function. Within its own setRecipients function, the CSendTriggerIF object  1605  passes a string as a parameter as it calls the setRecipients function of CSendMailIF object  1620 . The string represents the e-mail address to which the Sending Package  1600  will send the usage data of the target application  505 . This operation sets the e-mail addresses in CSendMailIF object  1620  so that it will know where to send the usage data of the target application  505 . 
   The CSendTriggerIF object  1605  then passes the CAbsUsageInformation as a parameter as it calls the modifyUsageData function of CConvertInputIF object  1610 . The CAbsUsageInformation contains the usage data of the target application  505 . The CConvertInputIF object  1610  returns the CAbsUsageInformation to the CSendTriggerIF object  1605 . This operation converts the usage data of the target application  505  stored in CAbsUsageInformation. Thus, the usage data in the CAbsUsageInformation passed into the modifyUsageData function of CConvertInputIF object  1610  may differ from the usage data in CAbsUsageInformation returned by this function. For example, the usage data in CAbsUsageInformation passed into the modifyUsageData function may contain information about the sequence of the commands used in the target application  505 . This operation may convert the usage data in CAbsUsageInformation so that when it is returned by the modifyUsageData function, it contains information about the frequency of use of the commands used in the target application  505 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 21 , the CSendTriggerIF object  1605  passes the CAbsUsageInformation as a parameter as it calls the encodeMailBody function of CEncodeIF object  1615 . CAbsUsageInformation contains the usage data of the target application  505 . The CEncodeIF object  1615  returns a string to the CSendTriggerIF object  1605 . The string represents the mail body containing the usage data of the target application  505  that is to be e-mailed to a desired party. This operation encodes and encrypts the usage data in CAbsUsageInformation into the string. Then the CSendTriggerIF object  1605  passes the string as a parameter as it calls the sendDataViaEmail function of CSendMailIF object  1620 . The string represents the mail body containing the usage data of the target application  505 . The CSendMailIF object  1620  returns a confirmation signal YES to the CSendTriggerIF object  1605  indicating that it was successful in sending the usage data of the target application  505 . This operation sends usage data of the target application  505  by e-mail to the desired party. 
   As noted above with reference to  FIG. 14 , in the present invention the Monitoring Package  1200  sends the CAbsUsageInformation as a parameter to a sendUsageData function of the Sending Package  1600 . That CAbsUsageInformation can vary significantly. More particularly, the information sent from the Monitoring Package  1200  to the Sending Package  1600  depends on the different trigger information and different information as to the number of sessions of the target application  505  to be executed prior to sending information from the Sending Package  1600 . As a result, there are variations in the size of the data and the structure of the data to be sent by the Sending Package  1600 . As an example, in one feature of the present invention, the monitored data generated from the Monitoring Package  1200  can be sent by the Sending Package  1600  after each usage of a monitored target application  505 . As another option, the monitored data can be sent by the Sending Package  1600  after a certain number of sessions (e.g., five sessions) of the monitored target application  505  have been executed. In those two different instances, the amount of data and the structure of the data to be sent by the Sending Package  1600  will vary significantly. 
   In one embodiment of the present invention, different algorithms are provided within the Sending Package  1600  for each different type of data. However, that embodiment results in the Sending Package  1600  becoming very complicated in requiring algorithms to address all the different forms of the data provided from the Monitoring Package  1200 . A further drawback with the Sending Package  1600  addressing the different forms of the data is that the algorithms in the Sending Package  1600  would have to be updated every time a change was made in the monitoring operation of the Monitoring Package  1200 . 
   In an alternate embodiment, the Sending Package  1600  is designed to be independent of the differences in data output from the Monitoring Package  1200 . That is, the present invention may further utilize an approach which avoids requiring complicated algorithms which would require significant updating in the Sending Package  1600  to address all the different data sizes and structures output from the Monitoring Package  1200 . More particularly, the present invention may further utilize a system which defines an abstract class to interface between the Monitoring Package  1200  and the Sending Package  1600 . This operation in the present invention allows the Sending Package  1600  to be isolated from the details of the CAbsUsageInformation sent from the Monitoring Package  1200 . That is, with this approach, the Sending Package  1600  treats all of the CAbsUsageInformation sent from the Monitoring Package  1200  the same and does not have to determine how the data is represented and how much data is included in the CAbsUsageInformation (e.g., how many sessions of data are included therein, the data structure, etc.) Even more particularly, as shown in  FIG. 14 , the CAbsUsageInformation is passed from the Monitoring Package  1200  to the Sending Package  1600  as an abstract class. 
   Specific details of utilizing an abstract class for the CAbsUsageInformation passed from the Monitoring Package  1200  to the Sending Package  1600  is disclosed in further detail in Applicants&#39; copending U.S. application, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
   Further, an abstract class can be utilized to package the CAbsUsageInformation and to encode the CAbsUsageInformation prior to the CAbsUsageInformation being passed from the Monitoring Package  1200  to the Sending Package  1600 . Also, an abstract class can be utilized to validate and encode the CAbsUsageInformation prior to the Sending Package  1600  sending the usage data. More specific details of encoding and packaging the CAbsUsageInformation passed from the Monitoring Package  1200  to the Sending Package  1600  and the encoding and validating of the CAbsUsageInformation within the Sending Package are disclosed in Applicants&#39; copending U.S. patent applications. The entire contents of each of those applications is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
   As noted above, in the present invention, usage of a target application  505  is monitored and logged in the Monitoring Package  1200  and is then sent by “store-and-forward” or direct communication by the Sending Package  1600 . 
   A further feature of the present invention is an efficient manner of logging or storing the usage data by the Monitoring Package  1200  of a current session of the target application  505 . 
   Even more particularly,  FIG. 22  shows a map structure  1800  which can be utilized to store usage data of plural target applications  505 , and particularly in a situation in which a target application  505  is a target software application. In that instance, the maps  1800  shown in  FIG. 22  can store data as to how a user is utilizing either of the software applications as the target application  505 . Utilization of the maps  1800  is performed in the CUsageData object  1325  shown in  FIGS. 13 ,  16 ,  17 ,  18 ,  19  and  20  above. That is, the CUsageData object  1325  can include functions of storing data in and retrieving data from a map  1800  such as shown in  FIG. 22 . 
   The maps  1800  shown in  FIG. 22  store information about the type of usage data, i.e. a key, in a key portion  1810 , and its corresponding value in a data value portion  1820 . The type of usage data, i.e. the key, is mapped to its corresponding value to allow easy storage and access of the usage data, which in the example noted above is data indicating a user&#39;s usage of a target software application. The maps  1800  store specific information about the usage of each of the target applications but also allow new usage data to be logged thereto. As a result, a benefit of utilizing such a map structure in the present invention is that the map  1800  allows a Monitoring Package  1200  to be extended to log new types of usage data about the target application  505 . 
   Typically, the usage data is stored in the maps  1800  as strings. The usage data of a target application  505  may not be collected as strings, but can be converted into strings before being stored in the map  1800 . By storing all usage data in the maps  1800  as strings, the storage and access of the usage data from the maps  1800  can be simplified. 
   The maps  1800  of  FIG. 22  may be implemented utilizing a template, map, etc. of the standard template library (STL), the map class CMap of the Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC) library, or a dictionary in the Perl programing language, as examples. The maps  1800  allow one value to be associated, or mapped, to another value, and includes the key portion  1810  and the data value portion  1820  such that each key is associated with a value. Several functions can be used to store and access the keys and values in the map  1800 . The keys and values may be of any type, including integers or strings, although as noted above it may be preferable to store all the usage data in the keys and values as strings to simplify storage in and accessing of the usage data from the map  1800 . In that instance, the map  1800  is used to map a string to a string. 
   The maps  1800  are used in the Monitoring Package  1200  to log usage data from plural sessions of one or more target applications  505 . The usage data may be logged into the map  1800  and may include several data fields directed to a user&#39;s usage of a target application  505 , e.g., a target software application, including a user ID, an application ID, the cumulative number of sessions of the target application, a start time of the target application, a duration of the target application, etc. 
   In one embodiment in which multiple instances of a target application cannot be run simultaneously, these data fields can be stored into the system registry as a kind of global variable. However, if multiple instances of an application can be run simultaneously, the data needs to be stored such that each application can read and write the data without interfering with the operation of the other applications. Such data independence also guarantees that one application finishing does not overwrite the usage and frequency information stored by another application that is still running or that previously finished. 
   Examples of the maps  1800  shown in  FIG. 22  are shown in  FIG. 23  as maps  1900  with specific data stored therein for each of two target applications. The maps  1900  are examples of maps used to log usage data from two sessions, which, in this example, are target software applications. The key portions  1910  of the maps  1900  represent strings, and the data value portions  1920  of the maps  1900  also represent strings. Each key is a string representing a type of usage data of the target software application. Each key describes what its corresponding data value represents. In the maps  1900  shown in  FIG. 23 , the key “UserID” represents the name of the user utilizing the target software application and the key “StartTime” represents the time that the target software application was started. Each data value in the maps  1900  is a string representing the actual usage data. The other examples of the keys shown in the maps  1900  in  FIG. 23  are the keys “ApplicationID” indicating the name of the target software application for which usage is being monitored, and “CummulativeUse” indicating the number of times that the specific target software application has been utilized. 
   In the specific example of maps  1900  shown in  FIG. 23 , the value mapped to the key “UserID” for the target application indicates the name of the user of the target software application, and the data value corresponding to the key “StartTime” indicates the time that the user started utilizing the target software application. Further, the value “MB” corresponding to the key “ApplicationID” indicates that the usage of the target application with the software name MB is being monitored. Similarly, the data value  45  corresponding to the key “CummulativeUse” indicates that the target software application MB has been used 45 times. For the second target application, different values are stored for each of the keys. 
   The maps  1900  in  FIG. 23  only show four types of usage data, but clearly the maps  1900  can be used to contain additional data with respect to monitoring usage of the target software application. Further, by expanding the data logged in the map  1900 , the Monitoring Package  1200  can be extended to log new usage data directed to the target software application. 
     FIG. 24  shows a second map structure which can be utilized by the CUsageData object  1325  to store usage data of a target application  505 , again particularly when those target applications are software applications. In the maps  2000  shown in  FIG. 24 , the keys in the key portion  2010  are strings, and the data values in the data value portion  2020  are vectors. The term vector, in this sense, is directed to an array of any type. The vectors may be implemented using the template, vector, of the standard template library (STL), as one example. In the maps  2000  shown in  FIG. 24 , each of vectors  2030 - 2060  are arrays of strings. Thus, the maps  2000  are used to map keys (in string form) to vector data values in which the vectors contain strings. 
   Such maps  2000  can be utilized in a Monitoring Package  1200  to log usage data directed to the selecting of commands of each target software application. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 24 , four entries, i.e., four keys and their corresponding four values, are utilized in the maps  2000  to log usage data about the target software applications. One vector is utilized for the names of the commands used, and the second vector is utilized for the information associated with the commands. The keys for those two vectors are strings indicating the type of information contained in the vector. 
     FIG. 25  shows a specific example of maps  2100  corresponding to the maps  2000  of  FIG. 24  but with specific examples of keys and data values inserted therein. The example shown in  FIGS. 24 and 25  is again directed to an example in which two software-based target applications  505  monitor a user&#39;s usage of the user interfaces corresponding to those applications. 
   In the maps  2100  of  FIG. 25 , the key is a string representing the type of information contained in the corresponding vectors. The data value is the vectors  2130 - 2160  containing strings that represent information about the commands used in the target software applications. 
   In the example shown in  FIG. 25 , one characteristic monitored in both applications is the “CommandNameTiming.” This is tracked using the first key and corresponds to vector data  2130  containing the names of the commands for which usage was monitored. In this example, those commands (for application MB) are “PenChoice”, “EraseFormat”, “FileNew,” etc. As also shown in  FIG. 25 , in the maps  2100 , the key “Timing” is included and the corresponding vector data  2140  contains a time elapsed since the start of the target software application in which the commands listed in vector  2130  were used. Thus, for the application “MB,” the two keys “CommandNameTiming” and “Timing” and their corresponding vectors  2130  and  2140  provide a log of a timing from a start of a target software application until a specific command was utilized by a user. That is, the vector data corresponding to the key “CommandNameTiming” corresponds to the vector data for the key “Timing” so that the command name “PenChoice” is associated with  34 , the command name “EraserFormat” is associated with  65 , the command name “FileNew” is associated with  124 , and so forth. 
   Thus, in the maps  2100  shown in  FIG. 25  the vector data  2130  and  2140  indicate the timing from the start of a target software application until certain commands are used. The time was measured in tenths of a second. In the specific example shown in  FIG. 25  for the application “MB,” the vector data  2130  and  2140  indicate that the command “PenChoice” was selected 3.4 seconds after the start of a target software application, the command “EraserFormat” was selected 6.5 seconds after the start of the target software application, and the command “FileNew” was selected 12.4 seconds after the start of the target software application. Similar timing and frequency information is stored for the application “Diagnosis.” 
   The vectors  2130 - 2160  may contain large amounts of data about the command usage of the target software applications. By utilizing such a vector structure any new commands can be easily added to the vectors  2130 - 2160 . Thus, the Monitoring Package  1200  may log new commands of the target software application without any modifications. Moreover, entries may be added to the map  2100  about other information of the commands, i.e., additional vectors may be added. 
   In the example shown in  FIG. 25 , keys “CommandNameFreq” and “Frequency” are also shown and the corresponding vectors  2150  and  2160  store information about the number of times certain commands are used in the target software applications. More particularly, as noted above the first two keys in the maps  1200  are used to log usage data about the use of commands in the target software applications. The first two keys “CommandNameTiming” and “Timing” log usage data of the number of tenths of a second from the starting of a target software application until a certain command is selected. In the map  2100  shown in  FIG. 25 , the keys “CommandNameFreq” and “Frequency” indicate the number of times a certain command is selected. The data values, i.e., the vectors  2150  and  2160 , corresponding to the respective keys “CommandNameFreq” and “Frequency” for the application “MB,” indicate in the example of  FIG. 25  that the command “EditCut” was used 10 times, the command “EditPaste” was used 10 times, and the command “EraserFormat” was used 4 times. 
   In the figures noted above, strings are used for the keys and the data values in the maps  1800  and  1900  in  FIGS. 22 and 23 , respectively. In  FIGS. 24 and 25 , strings are used for the keys of the maps  2000 ,  2100  and for the values within the vectors. The strings may be arrays of characters and may be implemented using the string template of the standard template library (STL) or the string class, CString, of the Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC) library. 
   Further, the usage data collected is not used for calculation purposes but for reporting purposes. Therefore, all the usage data collected, whether it is strings, integers, or other types of data, may be stored in the maps as strings. If the usage data collected includes data types other than strings, then the data type may be converted to strings before being placed into the maps or vectors noted above. Keeping all the values of strings allows for simple encoding and encrypting of the usage data before it is sent by the Sending Package  1600  by e-mail. 
   With the above-discussed operations, the present invention provides a control operation for monitoring a user&#39;s usage of user interfaces which are part of plural different target applications or plural instances of the same application. Further, such an operation of the present invention allows data of the monitored usage to be stored and to be transmitted, at appropriately selected times, by a “store-and-forward” protocol (e.g., Internet mail) or by a direct connection. Internet mail is a convenient source of such a transmission because such a transmission of monitored usage data will typically not be time sensitive information. Further, utilizing an Internet mail system to communicate such data can significantly reduce costs of the transmission. Further, since the logged usage data may be sent by Internet mail in the present invention, the logged usage data can be automatically sent to a further computer system which may be programmed to analyze the usage data transmitted by Internet mail. Such an operation is possible because the present invention can greatly increase the efficiency of monitoring and analyzing such usage data. 
   In its preferred implementation, the present invention utilizes computers having separate housings than the device to which they are attached. This allows the invention to be inexpensively implemented for installations which already have an existing computer for performing the desired processing, thus the new hardware costs may be reduced. Such an arrangement may also permit implementation of the invention without hardware changes to the device. However, if desired, the present invention may be implemented by including the appropriate processing and data storage capabilities in the device which is being monitored and/or controlled in addition to or as an alternative to a separate computer connected to the device. 
   This application relates to and builds on various concepts which have been disclosed in the cross-referenced patents and patent applications which have been incorporated into this application by reference. This patent application is intended to include not only the inventions disclosed in the related applications, but also the combinations of various features and functions of the individual embodiments which have been disclosed in this and each of the related applications. Thus, a feature disclosed in one of the related applications or patents may be readily applied a concept disclosed in this invention, and also, the concepts disclosed in one or more of the other applications may be applied concepts or features disclosed in other(s) of the applications. Further, an e-mail message may be used for only sending, with communication in the other direction being performed using a different mode of communication, such as one of the other communication modes disclosed herein, or a communication mode disclosed in the related patents and patent applications. 
   This invention may be conveniently implemented using a conventional general purpose digital computer or microprocessor programmed according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be apparent to those skilled in the computer art. Appropriate software coding can readily be prepared by skilled programmers based on the teachings of the present disclosure, as will be apparent to those skilled in the software art. The invention may also be implemented by the preparation of application specific integrated circuits or by interconnecting an appropriate network of conventional component circuits, as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. 
   The present invention includes a computer program product which is a storage medium including instructions which can be used to program a computer to perform a process of the invention. The storage medium can include, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical discs, CD-ROMS, and magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMS, EEPROMS, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions. 
   Stored on any one or on a combination of computer readable media, the present invention includes software for controlling both the hardware of a computer and for enabling the computer to interact with a human user. Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers, operating systems, development tools, and user applications. Such computer readable media further includes the computer program product of the present invention for monitoring a user&#39;s interactions with a user interface. The computer code devices of the present invention can be any interpreted or executable code mechanism, including but not limited to scripts, interpreters, dynamic link libraries, Java classes, and complete executable programs. 
   Obviously, numerous additional modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.