Printing equipment information acquisition method, system and equipment

Abstract

According to the printing equipment information collection method, system and equipment provided by the embodiment of the invention, a collector collects equipment information of printing equipment in real time and stores the equipment information in a local database; after a user starts any collector, the server sends an information transmission instruction to the corresponding collector, and the server is linked with each collector through a network; after the information transmission instruction is received, the collector sends the equipment information to the server; and the server generates an equipment management page based on the equipment information, and the equipment management page is used for managing each collector connected with the server and each printing equipment associated with each collector. In the embodiment of the invention, the collectors are separated from the server, different collectors are arranged in different areas, the equipment information is collected in real time, the server generates the equipment management page based on the equipment information, and unified management of the printing equipment is realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of image forming technology, and more specifically to a method, system, and device for acquiring information from a printing device. Background Technology

[0002] Modern printing equipment typically includes a data acquisition unit (TAU) that collects information such as print volume, consumables, and equipment status. During operation, the TAU acquires this information in real-time and uploads it to a server for management. However, current data acquisition technologies integrate the TAU and server into a single system, making it unsuitable for collecting data from multiple regions. This approach is best suited for single-service systems and fails to provide unified management of printing equipment across various locations. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of this, this application provides a method, system and device for collecting printing equipment information, so as to solve the problem of the difficulty in unified management of printing equipment in different regions in the prior art.

[0004] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a method for collecting information from a printing device, the method being applied to a collector and including:

[0005] The system receives information transmission instructions sent by a server, which is connected to the collector via a wireless network.

[0006] Obtain device information stored in a local database, the device information being used to characterize the status of the printing device associated with the collector;

[0007] The device information is sent to the server so that the server generates a device management page based on the device information. The device management page is used to manage each collector that has established a connection with the server and each printing device associated with each collector.

[0008] In an optional embodiment, before receiving the information transmission instruction sent by the server, the method further includes:

[0009] During the operation of the printing device, the device information of the printing device is collected in real time;

[0010] The device information is stored in the local database.

[0011] In an optional embodiment, before receiving the information transmission instruction sent by the server, the method further includes:

[0012] Send registration request information to the server;

[0013] In response to the registration response information sent by the server, a network connection is established with the server.

[0014] In an optional embodiment, sending the device information to the server includes:

[0015] The data transmission interface is invoked to periodically send the device information to the server at intervals of a first duration.

[0016] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a method for collecting printing device information, the method being applied to a server, including:

[0017] In response to the user's activation action, an information transmission command is sent to the corresponding collector;

[0018] Receive device information sent by the data collector;

[0019] The device management page is updated based on the device information so that the updated collector displays the status of the collector and the printing devices associated with the collector.

[0020] In one optional embodiment, the device management page includes the activity status of each collector, the activity status being determined by the frequency at which the corresponding collector sends the device information.

[0021] In an optional embodiment, the method further includes:

[0022] If any collector fails to send device information to the server for more than a preset time threshold, the active status of the current collector is set to inactive.

[0023] When it is detected that the time elapsed since the last time any collector sent device information has not exceeded the time threshold, the active status of the current collector is set to active.

[0024] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide a printing device information collection system, the system comprising:

[0025] The data collector is used to collect device information of printing equipment in real time and store the device information in a local database;

[0026] The server is used to send information transmission instructions to the collector in response to the user's activation operation. The server and each collector are connected via a network.

[0027] The collector is also used to send the device information to the server after receiving the information transmission instruction;

[0028] The server is also used to generate a device management page based on the device information. The device management page is used to manage each collector that has established a connection with the server and each printing device associated with each collector.

[0029] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide an electronic device, including a memory for storing computer program instructions and a processor for executing the program instructions, wherein when the computer program instructions are executed by the processor, the electronic device is triggered to execute the method described in any of the first aspects above.

[0030] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium including a stored program, wherein, when the program is executed, it controls the device where the computer-readable storage medium is located to perform the method described in any of the first aspects.

[0031] Using the solution provided in this application embodiment, the data collector collects device information of printing devices in real time and stores the device information in a local database. After a user activates any data collector, the server sends an information transmission instruction to the corresponding data collector, and the server and each data collector are linked via a network. Upon receiving the information transmission instruction, the data collector sends the device information to the server. The server generates a device management page based on the device information, whereby the device management page is used to manage each data collector connected to the server and each printing device associated with each data collector. In this application embodiment, the data collector and the server are separate, different data collectors are set up in different areas, collect device information in real time, and the server generates a device management page based on the device information to achieve unified management of printing devices. Attached Figure Description

[0032] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0033] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a printing device information collection method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0034] Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating another printing device information collection method provided in this application embodiment;

[0035] Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating a printing device information collection method provided in this application embodiment;

[0036] Figure 4A flowchart illustrating another printing device information collection method provided in this application embodiment;

[0037] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating another printing device information collection method provided in this application embodiment;

[0038] Figure 6 A schematic diagram illustrating another printing device information collection method provided in this application embodiment;

[0039] Figure 7 A schematic diagram illustrating another printing device information collection method provided in this application embodiment;

[0040] Figure 8 A schematic diagram illustrating another printing device information collection method provided in this application embodiment;

[0041] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0042] To better understand the technical solution of this application, the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0043] It should be understood that the described embodiments are merely some, not all, of the embodiments in this application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments in this application without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0044] The terminology used in the embodiments of this application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of this application. The singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” used in the embodiments of this application and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0045] It should be understood that the term "and / or" used in this article is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0046] Today, printing devices are becoming increasingly common, gradually becoming standard equipment in companies. To facilitate the management of printing devices, users can link them to data collectors to obtain the status of the printing devices, enabling unified monitoring and management. Currently, data collectors and servers are usually set up in the same system, which can only manage printing devices in a single office area. For companies with large office areas, many employees, and offices in different locations, existing methods are insufficient for achieving global management.

[0047] To address this issue, this application provides a method for collecting printing device information, which separates the collector from the server, enabling the server to manage printing devices in different areas in a unified manner.

[0048] Figure 1 This is an example schematic diagram illustrating a method for collecting printing device information provided in an embodiment of this application. The server establishes connections with multiple collectors via a network, and each collector can be associated with one or more printing devices. Figure 1 As shown, the server connects to collectors A, B, and C. Collector A is associated with printing devices A1, A2, and A3; collector B is associated with printing devices B1 and B2; and collector C is associated with printing device C1. The server connects to each collector via a wireless network, and the collectors connect to each printing device via either a wireless or wired network. Typically, a collector can be associated with all printing devices within the current local area network.

[0049] In an optional embodiment, the above-mentioned data collector can be implemented by a computer or a separate data collection device: (1) Printing devices in the same office area are usually connected to a computer, and the computer can issue job tasks to any printing device in the current office area. When installing the printing device, the user can configure the corresponding data collection module in the computer. The data collection module has an information collection server and can collect the device information of the printing device in real time during the operation of the printing device. (2) When installing the printing device, the user can also install a separate data collection device. The data collection device is equipped with multiple interfaces connected to the printing device to transmit device information, such as general purpose input / output (GPIO) interfaces, bus interfaces, etc.

[0050] In one optional embodiment, the device information acquired by the data collector may include: print volume counts for each color of the printing equipment, information on consumables such as toner / ink, replacement information for commonly used parts, and fault information that occurs during the use of the printing equipment. After the data collector uploads the above device information to the server, the server can monitor the status of the printing equipment in real time, enabling timely handling of faults and reasonable updates of parts and consumables.

[0051] Reference Figure 2 During the operation of the printing equipment, the data collector gathers equipment information in real time and stores it in a local database. After establishing a connection with the server, the server can control the data collector to upload or prevent the upload of equipment information. When the server allows the collection and upload of equipment information, it can send a corresponding information transmission command to the data collector. Upon receiving the information transmission command, the data collector retrieves the previously stored equipment information from the local database and sends it to the server. The data collector can periodically upload equipment information based on preset time intervals to maintain the stability of output transmission. After receiving the equipment information, the server stores it in a cloud database and generates an equipment management page based on the equipment information to realize the monitoring and management of each printing device.

[0052] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for collecting information from a printing device, provided in an embodiment of this application. This method can be applied to a data collector. Figure 2 As shown, the method may include:

[0053] Step 301: Receive the information transmission instruction sent by the server. The server connects to the collector via a wireless network.

[0054] Step 302: Obtain device information stored in the local database. The device information is used to characterize the status of the printing device associated with the collector.

[0055] Step 303: Send the device information to the server so that the server can generate a device management page based on the device information. The device management page is used to manage each collector that has established a connection with the server and each printing device associated with each collector.

[0056] When the data collector is used for the first time, it needs to register with the server to establish communication between the collector and the cloud server. Optionally, the collector can send a registration request to the server to initiate the registration process. Upon receiving this request, the server can send a registration response to the collector, thus establishing a network connection.

[0057] In one optional embodiment, users can register by accessing the server through software on their terminal devices. For example, users can access the data collector registration interface via WeChat official accounts, mini-programs, web pages, or mobile applications. After entering the registration interface, users can fill in relevant information about the current data collector, including merchant name, region, address, latitude and longitude coordinates, and staff information. After this information is filled in, the server will assign a globally unique data collector ID to the data collector. In addition, relevant information about the printing device will also be uploaded to the server, such as the printing device brand, model, and operating voltage. The server will also assign a globally unique printing device ID to each printing device.

[0058] After successful registration, the server will add the collector's relevant information to the device management page. Users can manage the collectors on the device management page and decide whether the collector should upload device information. If the user chooses to allow the collector to upload device information, the server can send an information transmission command to the corresponding collector. Upon receiving the information transmission command, the collector retrieves the device information from its local database and sends the device information to the server. If the user chooses not to allow the collector to upload device information, the collector will temporarily store the collected device information in its local database.

[0059] In one optional embodiment, during the process of uploading device information, the collector may call a data transmission interface to periodically send device information to the server at intervals of a first duration. Optionally, the data transmission interface may include a JAVA backend interface, and the first duration can be set by the user.

[0060] After the device information is uploaded to the server, the server can analyze, statistically analyze, and visualize the information, enabling real-time monitoring of the printing equipment. By separating the data collector from the server and placing the data collector near the printing equipment, unified management of printing equipment in different areas can be achieved.

[0061] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a printing device information collection method provided in an embodiment of this application. This method can be applied to a server. Figure 4 As shown, the method may include:

[0062] Step 401: In response to the user's activation operation, send an information transmission instruction to the corresponding collector.

[0063] Step 402: Receive device information sent by the data collector.

[0064] Step 403: Update the device management page based on the device information so that the updated collector displays the status of the collector and the printing devices associated with the collector.

[0065] In response to the registration of the data collector, the server adds the collector's relevant information on the device management page. Users can select "Enable" on the device management page to trigger the corresponding data collector to upload its device information. Specifically, in response to the user's enable operation, the server sends an information transmission instruction to the corresponding data collector, notifying it to upload its device information. After receiving the device information, the server updates the corresponding information for the data collector on the device management page to display the latest status of the data collector and the printing devices associated with it.

[0066] In one optional embodiment, the device management page includes the activity status of each collector, which is determined by the frequency with which the collector sends device information. When a collector has not sent new device information for an extended period, the server marks that collector as inactive. Specifically, the server monitors the time when each collector last sent device information in real time. When it detects that any collector has not sent device information to the server for more than a preset time threshold, the server sets the current collector's activity status to inactive. When it detects that the time since any collector last sent device information has not exceeded the time threshold, the server sets the current collector's activity status to active. The time threshold can be set by the user; for example, the user can set the time threshold to 48 hours. When a collector has not updated device information for more than 48 hours, the server can mark that collector as inactive on the device management page.

[0067] This application also discloses a printing device information acquisition system, including: a collector 510 and a server 520. The interaction between the modules of this system can be as follows: Figure 5 As shown, it specifically includes:

[0068] Step 501: Collector 51 sends registration request information to server 52.

[0069] The registration request information may include basic information about the collector and printing equipment. The server 52 adds this basic information to the corresponding row on the device management page.

[0070] Step 502: Server 52 sends registration response information to collector 51 to establish communication connection with collector 51.

[0071] Step 503: Collector 51 collects device information in real time.

[0072] The operation of collecting device information continues. Before step 501, after step 506, and between other steps, the collector 51 can perform the operation of collecting device information.

[0073] Step 504: Server 52 sends an information transmission instruction to collector 51.

[0074] Step 505: Collector 51 sends device information to server 52.

[0075] Step 506: Server 52 updates the device management page based on the device information.

[0076] In one optional embodiment, based on requirements, the system can be divided into public deployment and private deployment. In private deployment, the device management page contains only one customer's printing equipment and data acquisition device; in public deployment, the device management page can contain printing equipment and data acquisition devices for multiple customers. Typically, smaller print shops or companies can configure printing equipment through leasing to meet their daily printing needs. When the printing equipment supplier installs printing equipment for each customer, it configures corresponding data acquisition devices to facilitate real-time monitoring of the printing equipment's status. Specific equipment monitoring can be performed by service engineers, who analyze the information presented on the device management page and repair or update the corresponding printing equipment.

[0077] The server can display different device management pages for different users. The device management page on the vendor administrator's side can be as follows: Figure 6 As shown, the left-hand directory list may include Home, Device Management, Customer Management, Engineer Management, Data Collector Management, Report Management, System Log, and System Settings. The current page is the Data Collector Management page. Each data collector occupies one row, and each row contains the data collector serial number, data collector ID, data collector name, last data collection time, customer name, service engineer name, activity status, whether it is enabled, and operation options. The data collector serial number is only used on this page. The data collector ID is a unique number assigned to the data collector by the server during registration, used to identify the data collector. The data collector name is set by the user. The last data collection time displays the time when the data collector last collected device information. The number of printing devices displays the number of printing devices associated with the current data collector. The activity status is determined by the frequency with which the data collector uploads device information. If the data collector has not uploaded device information for a long time, the server will adjust its activity status to inactive. If the data collector uploads device information frequently, the server will adjust its activity status to active. Whether it is enabled determines whether the server allows the current data collector to upload device information; the enable button can be turned on or off by the supplier administrator. Clicking on details displays more information, such as data collector location, contact person's phone number, etc. Click "Edit" to modify the page information, and click "Delete" to remove the relevant information about the data collector.

[0078] The current device management page may contain multiple customers, each of whom may own one or more data collectors, and each data collector is associated with one or more printing devices. Typically, printing devices associated with the same data collector are located in the same area, while different data collectors may be located in different areas. The server and data collectors are connected via a network, and the device management page is generated based on the device information. Supplier administrators can monitor all printing devices through the device management page, analyze device information, and optimize various aspects of the printing devices. This current page is only the data collector management page; supplier administrators can also view the printing device management page, customer management page, and engineer management page by clicking on the left-hand directory list.

[0079] The device management page on the service engineer's side can be like Figure 7 As shown, the directory list on the left side of this page differs from that of the supplier administrator, containing only five items: Home, Device Management, Customer Management, Report Management, and Data Collector Management. An activation option has been added to the Data Collector Management page. Data collectors are initially inactive by default upon registration. Service engineers can click the activation option to activate the data collector and confirm that it has permission to upload device information. Afterward, once the service engineer clicks "Enable," the data collector can upload device information. The rest of the page is the same as the supplier administrator's page.

[0080] For larger companies, the system can be deployed privately, with the device management page only containing the company's own printing equipment, managed centrally by internal staff. The corresponding device management page can be viewed as follows: Figure 8 As shown, the left-hand directory list includes Home, Device Management, Report Management, System Logs, System Settings, and Collector Management. Since there are no other users, User Management is not included in the directory list; otherwise, it is similar to the public deployment method.

[0081] In this embodiment, the collector and server are separated, allowing users to manage printing devices in different regions in a unified manner and optimize the overall management process.

[0082] Corresponding to the above embodiments, this application also provides an electronic device. Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of this application. The electronic device 900 may include a processor 901, a memory 902, and a communication unit 903. These components communicate through one or more buses. Those skilled in the art will understand that the structure of the electronic device shown in the figure does not constitute a limitation on the embodiment of this application. It may be a bus topology or a star topology, and may include more or fewer components than shown, or combine certain components, or have different component arrangements.

[0083] The communication unit 903 is used to establish a communication channel, enabling the electronic device to communicate with other devices. It receives user data from other devices or sends user data to other devices.

[0084] The processor 901 serves as the control center of the electronic device, connecting various parts of the device via various interfaces and lines. It executes software programs, instructions, and / or modules stored in the memory 902, and calls data stored in the memory to perform various functions and / or process data. The processor may be composed of integrated circuits (ICs), such as a single packaged IC or multiple packaged ICs with the same or different functions connected together. For example, the processor 901 may consist only of a central processing unit (CPU). In this embodiment, the CPU may have a single processing core or include multiple processing cores.

[0085] The memory 902 is used to store the execution instructions of the processor 901. The memory 902 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, such as static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic storage, flash memory, magnetic disk or optical disk.

[0086] When the execution instructions in memory 902 are executed by processor 901, the electronic device 900 is able to perform some or all of the steps in the method embodiment.

[0087] In a specific implementation, this application also provides a computer storage medium, wherein the computer storage medium may store a program, and when the program is executed, it may include some or all of the steps of the various embodiments of the printing device information acquisition method provided in this application. The storage medium may be a magnetic disk, optical disk, read-only memory (ROM), or random access memory (RAM), etc.

[0088] In a specific implementation, this application also provides a computer program product, wherein the computer program product includes executable instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform some or all of the steps in the various embodiments of the printing device information acquisition method provided in this application.

[0089] This application also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores computer instructions, which cause the computer to execute the printing device information acquisition method provided in this application.

[0090] The aforementioned non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be any combination of one or more computer-readable media. A computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example,—but not limited to—an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media (a non-exhaustive list) include: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or flash memory, optical fiber, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage device, magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof. In this document, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium containing or storing a program that may be used by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0091] Computer-readable signal media may include data signals propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, carrying computer-readable program code. Such propagated data signals may take various forms, including—but not limited to—electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. Computer-readable signal media may also be any computer-readable medium other than computer-readable storage media, capable of transmitting, propagating, or transmitting programs for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0092] The program code contained on a computer-readable medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including—but not limited to—wireless, wire, optical fiber, RF, etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0093] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that the techniques in the embodiments of this application can be implemented using software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, or the parts that contribute to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product can be stored in a storage medium, such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc., and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of this application or some parts of the embodiments.

[0094] The same or similar parts between the various embodiments in this specification can be referred to mutually. In particular, the device embodiments and terminal embodiments are basically similar to the method embodiments, so the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the description in the method embodiments.

Claims

1. A method for collecting information from a printing device, characterized in that, The method is applied to the data collector and includes: The system receives information transmission instructions sent by a server, which is connected to the collector via a wireless network. Obtain device information stored in a local database, the device information being used to characterize the status of the printing device associated with the collector; The device information is sent to the server so that the server generates a device management page based on the device information. The device management page is used to manage each collector that has established a connection with the server and each printing device associated with each collector.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Before receiving the information transmission instruction sent by the server, the method further includes: During the operation of the printing device, the device information of the printing device is collected in real time; The device information is stored in the local database.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Before receiving the information transmission instruction sent by the server, the method further includes: Send registration request information to the server; In response to the registration response information sent by the server, a network connection is established with the server.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Sending the device information to the server includes: The data transmission interface is invoked to periodically send the device information to the server at intervals of a first duration.

5. A method for collecting information from a printing device, characterized in that, The method is applied to a server and includes: In response to the user's activation action, an information transmission command is sent to the corresponding collector; Receive device information sent by the data collector; The device management page is updated based on the device information so that the updated collector displays the status of the collector and the printing devices associated with the collector.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The device management page contains the activity status of each collector, and the activity status is determined by the frequency at which the corresponding collector sends the device information.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: If any collector fails to send device information to the server for more than a preset time threshold, the active status of the current collector is set to inactive. When it is detected that the time elapsed since the last time any collector sent device information has not exceeded the time threshold, the active status of the current collector is set to active.

8. A printing equipment information acquisition system, characterized in that, The system includes: The data collector is used to collect device information of printing equipment in real time and store the device information in a local database; The server is used to send information transmission instructions to the collector in response to the user's activation operation. The server and each collector are connected via a network. The collector is also used to send the device information to the server after receiving the information transmission instruction; The server is also used to generate a device management page based on the device information. The device management page is used to manage each collector that has established a connection with the server and each printing device associated with each collector.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that, The device includes a memory for storing computer program instructions and a processor for executing the program instructions, wherein when the computer program instructions are executed by the processor, the electronic device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium includes a stored program, wherein, when the program is executed, it controls the device on which the computer-readable storage medium is located to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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