Patent Publication Number: US-2019179575-A1

Title: Maintenance data providing system, server, and information processing method

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-236759, filed on Dec. 11, 2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD 
     Embodiments described herein relate generally to a maintenance data providing system, a server, and an information processing method. 
     BACKGROUND 
     It has been already conceivable to make it possible to browse various kinds of maintenance data relating to the maintenance of a device required to be maintained such as a printer using an information terminal by downloading the maintenance data from the device to a server and accessing the server with the information terminal. 
     However, such a technology is difficult to be realized unless the environment in which the device can communicate with the server is prepared. For example, in the case of a printer, in many cases, the printer is not directly connected to a communication network, and in such a case, maintenance data cannot be uploaded to the server. 
     For these reasons, it is desired to make it possible to browse the maintenance data of the device which is not in the environment in which the device can communicate with the server using the information terminal. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a maintenance data providing system according to an embodiment, and circuit configurations of main portions of a printer and a server constituting the maintenance data providing system; 
         FIG. 2  is a flowchart depicting procedures of an information processing executed by a processor of the printer in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart depicting procedures of an information processing executed by a processor of the server in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In accordance with an embodiment, a maintenance data providing system, which comprises a device and a server, provides a web page indicating maintenance data relating to maintenance of the device to an information terminal having a function of requesting provision of a web page identified by identification data via a communication network and outputting the web page provided via the communication network in response to the request. The device includes an acquisition module configured to acquire predetermined maintenance data relating to the device; a request generation module configured to generate request information including the maintenance data acquired by the acquisition module and requesting the server to provide a web page relating to the maintenance data; and a request output module configured to output the request information generated by the request generation module as identification data in such a manner that it can be read using an information terminal. The server includes a page generation module configured to generate a web page indicating the maintenance data included in the request information designated as the identification data in response to a request from the information terminal via the communication network, and a providing module configured to provide the web page generated by the page generation module to the information terminal via the communication network as a response to the request. 
     Hereinafter, an embodiment is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present embodiment, a device required to be maintained is a printer. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a maintenance data providing system  100  according to the present embodiment, and circuit configurations of main portions of a printer  1  and a server  2  constituting the maintenance data providing system  100 . 
     The maintenance data providing system  100  includes the printer  1  and the server  2 . Then, in the maintenance data providing system  100 , a smartphone  200  can be used to confirm maintenance data relating to the maintenance of the printer  1 . 
     The printer  1  includes a processor  11 , a main memory  12 , a control panel  13 , an interface  14 , a print engine  15 , and a transmission line  16 . 
     In the printer  1 , the processor  11  and the main memory  12  are connected to each other via the transmission path  16  to constitute a computer for executing an information processing for controlling the printer  1 . The printer  1  further includes an auxiliary storage unit connected to the transmission line  16 , and the computer may further include the auxiliary storage unit as an auxiliary storage portion thereof. The auxiliary storage unit may be, for example, an EEPROM (electric erasable programmable read-only memory), an HDD (hard disc drive), an SSD (solid state drive), or other well-known various storage devices. 
     The processor  11  acts as a central portion of the computer. The processor  11  controls each section to realize various functions of the printer  1  by executing an information processing program such as an operating system and an application program. 
     The main memory  12  acts as a main storage portion of the computer. The main memory  12  includes a nonvolatile memory area and a volatile memory area. The main memory  12  stores the operating system and the application program in the nonvolatile memory area. The main memory  12  may store data necessary for the processor  11  to execute a processing to control each section in the nonvolatile or volatile memory area in some cases. The main memory  12  uses the volatile memory area as a work area where data is appropriately rewritten by the processor  11 . 
     The control panel  13  inputs an operation performed by a user and performs a display to provide various kinds of information to the user. The control panel  13  may appropriately include various operation devices and display devices such as a touch panel, a keyboard, a key switch, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) lamp, a liquid crystal display panel, and the like. 
     An information terminal such as a POS (point-of-sale) terminal is connected to the interface  14 . The interface  14  performs a processing for establishing data communication with a connected information terminal. 
     The print engine  15  prints an image indicated by the image data on a print medium such as a paper. As the print engine  15 , a device of a well-known system such as an electrophotographic system, a thermal transfer system, a thermal system, an impact dot system, or the like may be appropriately used. 
     The transmission path  16  includes an address bus, a data bus, a control signal line, and the like, and transmits data and a control signal transmitted and received between the connected sections. 
     The server  2  includes a processor  21 , a main memory  22 , an auxiliary storage unit  23 , a communication interface  24 , and a transmission line  25 . 
     In the server  2 , the processor  21 , the main memory  22 , and the auxiliary storage unit  23  are connected to each other via the transmission line  25  to constitute a computer that performs an information processing for controlling the server  2 . 
     The processor  21  acts as a central portion of the computer. The processor  21  controls each section to realize various functions of the server  2  by executing an information processing program such as an operating system and an application program. 
     The main memory  22  acts as a main storage portion of the computer. The main memory  22  includes a nonvolatile memory area and a volatile memory area. The main memory  22  stores the operating system and the application program in the nonvolatile memory area. The main memory  22  may store data necessary for the processor  21  to execute a processing to control each section in the nonvolatile or volatile memory area in some cases. The main memory  22  uses the volatile memory area as a work area where data is appropriately rewritten by the processor  21 . 
     The auxiliary storage unit  23  acts as an auxiliary storage portion of the computer. The auxiliary storage unit  23  may be, for example, an EEPROM, an HDD, an SSD, or other well-known storage devices. The auxiliary storage unit  23  stores data used by the processor  21  to perform various processing and data generated in the processing by the processor  21 . The auxiliary storage unit  23  may also store the application program. 
     The communication interface  24  performs data communication via a communication network  300 . The communication interface  24  may be, for example, a well-known device for performing a known processing for establishing data communication via the Internet. The communication interface  24  acts as a communication device that performs data communication via the communication network  300 . 
     The transmission line  25  includes an address bus, a data bus and a control signal line, and transmits data and control signals transmitted and received between the connected sections. 
     Next, the operation of the maintenance data providing system  100  configured as described above is described. 
     A worker who performs maintenance of the printer  1  or an administrator of the printer  1  instructs display by performing a predetermined operation on the control panel  13  of the printer  1  when he/she wants to confirm the maintenance data relating to the printer  1 . In response to this, the processor  11  executes the following information processing by executing the application program stored in the main memory  12 . 
       FIG. 2  is a flowchart depicting procedures of the information processing executed by the processor  11 . 
     In Act  1 , the processor  11  collects predetermined maintenance data as maintenance data relating to the maintenance of the printer  1 . For example, the maintenance data may be arbitrarily determined by a designer or an administrator of the printer  1 . The maintenance data is various kinds of setting information such as a printing density, information indicating an operation state such as the number of printed sheets, and the like. Thus, the processor  11  executes the application program to execute the information processing, and in this way, the computer having the processor  11  as the central portion functions as an acquisition module for acquiring the maintenance data. 
     In Act  2 , the processor  11  generates a URL (Uniform Resource Locator). This URL accesses the server  2  to request the server  2  to provide a browsing screen for browsing the maintenance data. As an example, the URL may be “http://www.XXXXXXXX.com/smartmaintenance/shows?sid=7598631 &amp;fw=1.52&amp;rlong=75864”. Here, “XXXXXXXX.com” is a domain name for identifying the server  2  on the communication network  300 . The “smartmaintenance/shows?” is a command for requesting the server  2  to provide a web page indicating maintenance data following “shows?”. The “sid=7598631&amp;fw=1.52&amp;rlong=75864” indicates the collected maintenance data as a character string arranged in a predetermined format. “&amp;” indicates a partition of maintenance data, and “sid”, “fw” and “rlong” indicate the type of the maintenance data. The numerical value after “=” is the collected maintenance data. Thus, the URL is an example of the request information for requesting the server  2  to provide a web page identified by the character string “sid=7598631&amp;fw=1.52&amp;rlong=75864”. The character string “sid=7598631&amp;fw=1.52&amp;rlong=75864” corresponds to the identification data for identifying the web page. Thus, the processor  11  executes the application program to execute the information processing, and in this way, the computer having the processor  11  as the central portion functions as a request generation module for generating the request information. 
     In Act  3 , the processor  11  generates a code symbol in which the URL generated in Act  2  is shown in conformity to a predetermined standard. Although the standard of the code symbol may be any standard, it is assumed that a QR Code® is used. 
     In Act  4 , the processor  11  controls the print engine  15  to print a maintenance sheet  400  on which a code symbol CS 1  generated in Act  3  is displayed in an optically readable manner. However, the maintenance sheet  400  shown in  FIG. 1  is merely an example. The form of the maintenance sheet may be any form determined, for example, by a designer or the like of the printer  1 . In this manner, the processor  11  outputs the URL as the request information by printing the code symbol CS 1  indicating the URL generated in Act  2 . Thus, the processor  11  executes the application program to execute the information processing, and in this way, the computer having the processor  11  as the central portion functions as a request output module in cooperation with the print engine  15 . 
     Then, if the printing of the maintenance sheet  400  is completed, the processor  11  terminates the information processing shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     The operator or the administrator starts an application of a code reader corresponding to the format of the code symbol CS 1  included in the maintenance sheet  400  using the smartphone  200  to read the code symbol CS 1 . The smartphone  200  analyzes the image data obtained by photographing the code symbol CS 1  with the camera to acquire the data indicated by the code symbol CS 1 . In  FIG. 1 , a state in which the code symbol CS 1  is photographed by the camera of the smartphone  200  is shown. On a display  201  of the smartphone  200 , an image IM 1  obtained by photographing the code symbol CS 1  is displayed. The application of the code reader may be general-purpose application. Many of the general-purpose code readers instruct web access according to the URL to a web browser automatically or by receiving a connection instruction from the operator when the code symbol indicating the URL is received. Specifically, a command and maintenance data accessed from the smartphone  200  via the communication network  300  to the server  2  and contained in the URL are provided to the server  2 . 
     If the server  2  receives an access via the communication network  300  in this way, the processor  21  executes an information processing as described below by executing the application program stored in the main memory  22  or the auxiliary storage unit  23 . 
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart depicting an information processing executed by the processor  21 . 
     In Act  11 , the processor  21  determines whether or not the provision of the maintenance screen is requested in the access. Then, if a command for requesting the provision of the maintenance screen is not notified, the processor  21  determines No, and shifts to another processing. If it is assumed that the server  2  has only a function of providing the maintenance screen, the processor  21  may terminates the processing in  FIG. 3  in response to determination of No in Act  11 . On the other hand, if the access from the smartphone  200  is received as described above, the processor  21  determines Yes in Act  11  and proceeds to the processing in Act  12 . 
     In Act  12 , the processor  21  generates a maintenance screen indicating the content of the maintenance data as a web page. For example, the processor  21  generates the web page by adding information indicated by the maintenance data to a form of a predetermined web page. The processor  21  may appropriately include data different from the maintenance data, such as guidance for determining a timing at which the maintenance is required to be performed, in the web page. Thus, the processor  21  executes the application program to execute the information processing, and in this way, the computer having the processor  21  as the central portion functions as a page generation module. 
     In Act  13 , the processor  21  transmits page data indicating the web page generated in Act  12  as a response to the above access to the smartphone  200  from the communication interface  24  via the communication network  300 . If the transmission is terminated, the processor  21  terminates the information processing shown in  FIG. 3 . As a result, the web page is provided to the smartphone  200 . Thus, the processor  21  executes the application program to execute the information processing, and in this way, the computer having the processor  21  as the central portion functions as a providing module in cooperation with the print engine  15 . The computer having the processor  11  as the central portion functions as a providing control module. 
     If the page data is received, the smartphone  200  displays the web page indicating the content of the maintenance data on a display device with the general-purpose web browser. 
     As described above, according to the maintenance data providing system  100 , the maintenance data is notified from the printer  1  to the server  2  via the smartphone  200 . Therefore, the printer  1  does not need to upload the maintenance data to the server  2 , and the environment in which the printer  1  and the server  2  can directly communicate with each other becomes unnecessary. 
     According to the maintenance data providing system  100 , the smartphone  200  can display the web page indicating the content of the maintenance data using the general-purpose code reader and the general-purpose web browser. In other words, it is conceivable to generate a maintenance screen on the smartphone  200  based on the maintenance data included in the code symbol CS 1 . In this case, it is necessary for the smartphone  200  to have that function. However, that function is not a standard function of the smartphone  200 . However, in the maintenance data providing system  100 , many smartphones only use the standard function. 
     According to the maintenance data providing system  100 , the URL is used as the request information given from the printer  1  to the smartphone  200 . Therefore, it is possible for most of the various web browsers on the smartphone  200  to process the request for providing the maintenance screen. 
     By using the maintenance data as in the above example, a person who has knowledge about the form of the maintenance data and the maintenance of the printer  1  to some extent can understand the content of the maintenance data from the character string of the maintenance data. 
     The present embodiment can be modified as follows. 
     The request information may be data in a form different from that of the URL. 
     The maintenance data does not need to be the character string but may be coded data. 
     The smartphone  200  may acquire the request information by wireless communication such as NFC (Near Field Communication), infrared communication, or the like. 
     Instead of the printer  1 , any device requiring maintenance may be applied as the device. 
     As the information terminal, in place of the smartphone  200 , any other devices such as a tablet terminal or a portable personal computer may also be applied. 
     All or a part of the functions realized by the processor  11  or the processor  21  executing the information processing may be realized by hardware such as a logic circuit or the like for executing the information processing not based on a program. Each of the above-described functions may also be realized by combining software control with hardware such as the above logic circuit. 
     While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the invention.