Patent ID: 8027051

Claim:
A printing apparatus remote monitoring system, comprising: a center system configured to remotely monitor at least two printing apparatuses; and at least two monitoring mediation apparatuses each configured to mediate communications between the at least two printing apparatuses and the center system; wherein said center system includes a bug countermeasure policy storage device configured to store software bug information created in the at least two printing apparatuses linking with a bug countermeasure policy, said software bug information including type information of the at least two printing apparatuses, version information of firmware implemented in the at least two printing apparatuses, and abnormal information occurring during running of a firmware in the at least two printing apparatuses, said bug countermeasure policy including policy to update to the firmware having taken bug countermeasure and collect a debug log, said software bug information and said bug countermeasure policy being updated from a terminal provided at the center system, wherein, when a responsible printing apparatus of the at least two printing apparatuses detects an abnormality, a corresponding monitoring mediation apparatus of said at least two monitoring mediation apparatuses obtains type information and firmware version information of the responsible printing apparatus from the responsible printing apparatus or an inputting apparatus, said corresponding monitoring mediation apparatus notifying the center system of the type information and the firmware version information while requesting the center system for software bug information and bug countermeasure policy corresponding to the responsible printing apparatus, wherein said center system extracts software bug information and bug countermeasure policy in accordance with the type information and the firmware version information of the responsible printing apparatus upon receiving the type information and the firmware version information from the corresponding monitoring mediation apparatus, and wherein said corresponding monitoring mediation apparatus includes a mediation storing device, said corresponding monitoring mediation apparatus receiving the software bug information and the bug countermeasure policy from the center system and storing linkage between the software bug information and the bug countermeasure policy in the mediation storing device.