Image forming system, image forming apparatus, server device, client device, and program

Abstract

To make appropriate at least one of the details of measures for maintenance and a notification destination of the details of measures.SOLUTION: A server device acquires state information indicating an operating state of an image forming apparatus, analyzes the state information, determines the details of measures applied to the image forming apparatus and a notification destination of the details of measures based on a result of the analysis, and transmits the details of measures to the notification destination. The server device analyzes the notification destination and the details of measures as a measures history, and maintains or changes the details of measures or the notification destination according to a result of the analysis.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming system, an image forming apparatus, a server apparatus, a client apparatus, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Image forming devices are made up of many consumable parts, and therefore require preventive or emergency maintenance at appropriate times. Patent Document 1 proposes that an analysis program installed on a server analyzes the operation history of a printer, notifies a dealer of the analysis results, and feeds back to the analysis program the maintenance content that was actually performed after the notification. A dealer is a company that is responsible for maintaining image forming devices or a company that sells image forming devices.

[0003] Patent Document 2 proposes changing corrective maintenance information or preventive maintenance information according to worker information (user, dealer, serviceman, etc.) specified by a maintenance terminal and fault information indicating the fault that has occurred. Corrective maintenance information indicates corrective maintenance work for recovering from a fault that has occurred in the device to be maintained. Preventive maintenance information indicates preventive maintenance work for preventing a fault from occurring in the device to be maintained. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-071657 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6566913 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Incidentally, when the need for maintenance is high, a dealer dispatches a serviceman (maintenance personnel) to a maintenance location to perform maintenance work on an image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a service dispatch). If the amount of notified information and the number of image forming apparatuses managed by a dealer increases, the dealer's service costs increase and maintenance work is delayed. There are maintenance works that should be performed by a maintenance personnel and those that can be performed by the image forming apparatus itself. Therefore, if the notification destination for maintenance work can be optimized, the dealer's service costs will be reduced and the delay in maintenance work will also be reduced. On the other hand, there are cases where failures are not sufficiently reduced even if a certain notification destination is notified of a failure countermeasure. In such a case, the notification destination may be changed. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to optimize at least one of the contents of the maintenance countermeasure and the notification destination within the countermeasure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention relates to, for example, An image forming system having a server device, an image forming device, and a client device, The server device includes: acquiring status information indicating an operating status of the image forming apparatus; performing a first analysis on the status information; determining a countermeasure to be applied to the image forming apparatus based on at least a result of the first analysis, and determining a notification destination of the countermeasure to be the image forming apparatus or the client apparatus; A first control means configured as described above, The image forming apparatus or the client apparatus determined as the notification destination, Receive the countermeasures, Apply the above measures The second control means is configured as follows: The first control means storing the countermeasure content and the notification destination as a countermeasure history; performing a second analysis on the action history; maintaining or changing at least one of the countermeasure content and the notification destination of the countermeasure content according to the analysis result of the first analysis and the analysis result of the second analysis; The present invention provides an image forming system configured to: Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, at least one of the contents of the maintenance-related measures and the notification destination within the measures is optimized. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the function of a control unit. [Figure 6] 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining an operation history and a position analysis rule. [Figure 7] 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining a countermeasure history and a method for determining countermeasure contents and notification destinations. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a maintenance message. [Figure 9] 4 is a flowchart showing a printer control method. [Figure 10] 11 is a flowchart showing a control method of the server device. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing a control method executed in a client device. [Figure 12] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus. [Figure 13] FIG. [Figure 14] 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining operation histories and status analysis rules; [Figure 15] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a countermeasure history and a countermeasure rule. [Figure 16] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a maintenance message. [Figure 17] 4 is a flowchart showing a printer control method. [Figure 18] 11 is a flowchart showing a control method of the server device. [Figure 19] 11 is a flowchart showing a control method of a client device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although the embodiments describe a number of features, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the features may be combined in any manner. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0010] <Example 1> [Image forming equipment] As shown in Fig. 1, the printer 100 is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. However, the electrophotographic method is merely an example, and other recording methods such as an inkjet recording method and a thermal transfer method may be adopted. The printer 100 outputs a color image by overlapping four color toners, namely, yellow "Y", magenta "M", cyan "C", and black "K". In Fig. 1, the letters YMCK are added to the end of the reference numbers, but when matters common to the four colors are explained, the letters YMCK are omitted from the reference numbers.

[0011] The process cartridge 5 has a toner container 6 that contains toner. The process cartridge 5 also has a photosensitive drum 1 that is an image carrier. The process cartridge 5 also has a charging roller 2, a developing roller 3, a cleaning blade 4, and a waste toner container 7.

[0012] The photosensitive drum 1 rotates in the direction of the arrow. A predetermined negative voltage (charging voltage) is applied to the charging roller 2, which charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 to a predetermined negative potential. A laser unit 8 is disposed below the process cartridge 5. The laser unit 8 is an exposure device or optical scanning device that irradiates the photosensitive drum 1 with light based on an image signal to form an electrostatic latent image. The developing roller 3 adheres toner supplied from a toner container 6 to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image. A predetermined negative voltage (developing voltage) is applied to the developing roller 3.

[0013] The intermediate transfer unit is composed of an intermediate transfer body 11, a drive roller 12, a tension roller 13, and an opposing roller 15. The intermediate transfer body 11 is, for example, an endless belt. The drive roller 12 is a roller that rotates the intermediate transfer body 11. The tension roller 13 and the opposing roller 15 are rollers that rotate following the intermediate transfer body 11.

[0014] A primary transfer roller 10 is disposed inside the intermediate transfer body 11, facing the photosensitive drum 1. A transfer voltage is applied to the primary transfer roller 10. As the photosensitive drum 1 rotates, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 is transported to the primary transfer nip. The primary transfer nip is a position where the photosensitive drum 1 and the primary transfer roller 10 face each other. The primary transfer roller 10 transfers the toner image from the photosensitive drum 1 to the intermediate transfer body 11. As a result, the YMCK toner images are superimposed on the intermediate transfer body 11 to form a full-color image. The cleaning blade 4 is a cleaning member that cleans the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 and stores it in the waste toner container 7. The feeding unit 20 is composed of a feeding cassette 21, a feeding roller 22, a transport roller 23, a separation roller 24, and the like. The feeding cassette 21 stores a plurality of sheets S. The feeding roller 22 feeds the sheet S from the feeding cassette 21 to the conveying path. The conveying roller 23 conveys the sheet S further downstream on the conveying path. The separation roller 24 separates one sheet S from the multiple sheets S.

[0015] The registration roller pair 25 is disposed further downstream of the feeding section 20 in the conveying path. The registration roller pair 25 corrects skew of the sheet S conveyed from the feeding section 20 and conveys the sheet further downstream. A sheet sensor 27a is disposed downstream of the registration roller pair 25. The sheet sensor 27a detects the arrival of the leading edge of the sheet S and the timing when the trailing edge of the sheet S passes by.

[0016] A secondary transfer roller 14 is provided further downstream of the pair of registration rollers 25. The secondary transfer roller 14 is disposed to face an opposing roller 15, and forms a secondary transfer nip in cooperation with the intermediate transfer body 11. The secondary transfer roller 14 transfers a toner image from the intermediate transfer body 11 to the sheet S. To promote the transfer of the toner image, a positive voltage (secondary transfer voltage) is applied to the secondary transfer roller 14.

[0017] A fixing device 30 is disposed downstream of the secondary transfer nip. The fixing device 30 has a fixing film 31 and a pressure roller 32, and applies heat and pressure to the sheet S and the toner image, thereby fixing the toner image onto the sheet S. A pair of discharge rollers 33 is provided downstream of the fixing device 30. The pair of discharge rollers 33 discharges the sheet S to the outside of the image forming apparatus.

[0018] The detection result of the sheet sensor 27a is used to determine whether the sheet S has arrived early or late. An early arrival means that the sheet S arrives at the sheet sensor 27a earlier than the scheduled timing. A late arrival means that the sheet S arrives at the sheet sensor 27a later than the scheduled timing. These phenomena may be called a conveyance error. If the sheet sensor 27a cannot detect the sheet S even after the feeding roller 22 retries feeding, it is determined that a jam of the sheet S has occurred.

[0019] [Feeding section] 2A to 2C show the feeding operation of the feeding section 20. As shown in FIG. 2A, the uppermost sheet S1 among the multiple sheets S accommodated in the feeding cassette 21 is fed by the feeding roller 22. The multiple sheets S1 in the feeding cassette 21 are positioned by the trailing end regulating plate 26. The trailing end regulating plate 26 is configured to be movable in both the conveying direction and the opposite direction. The user appropriately changes the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 according to the size of the sheet S. The cassette sensor 27b is a sensor that detects the opening and closing of the feeding cassette 21. Here, "open" means that the feeding cassette 21 is pulled out from the printer 100. Here, "closed" means that the feeding cassette 21 is inserted into the printer 100. The user pulls out the feeding cassette 21 to refill the sheets S, change the size of the sheets S, or change the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26.

[0020] When the rear end regulating plate 26 is installed so that the rear end of the sheet S comes into contact with the rear end of the sheet S, the leading end of the sheet S1 is located at the transport start position Ps. When the feeding operation starts, the feed roller 22 and the transport roller 23 each rotate. The sheet S1 moves to the right (the transport direction) due to friction between the feed roller 22 and the sheet S1. The part sensor 27c is optional, and is a sensor that detects whether the feed roller 22 has been replaced. For example, the part sensor 27c may detect that the feed roller 22 that has been used for a long period of time has been replaced with a new feed roller 22.

[0021] Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2B, the sheet S1 reaches the separation nip Pn formed by the conveying roller 23 and the separation roller 24. A frictional force also acts between the sheet S1 and the sheet S2 located below the sheet S. As a result, the sheet S2 may also move in the conveying direction. When two or more sheets S are sent to the separation nip Pn by the feed roller 22, the separation nip Pn separates one sheet S from the two or more sheets S and conveys it downstream. A torque limiter (not shown) is connected to the separation roller 24. A predetermined torque is applied to the separation roller 24. As a result, the sheet S2 is given a resistance force from the separation roller 24 in the opposite direction to the conveying direction of the sheet S1. This torque is set so that when there is one sheet S in the separation nip Pn, the separation roller 24 rotates following the conveying roller 23, and when two or more sheets S enter the separation nip Pn, the separation roller 24 stops. Therefore, the separation nip Pn can separate and transport the sheets S one by one.

[0022] Thereafter, as the feeding roller 22 and the conveying roller 23 continue to rotate, the sheet S1 passes through the pair of registration rollers 25, as shown in Fig. 2C. As a result, the leading edge of the sheet S1 reaches a position (detection position Pr) where it is detected by the sheet sensor 27a. The time elapsed from the start of this feeding operation to the time when the sheet S1 reaches the sheet sensor 27a is the feeding time.

[0023] 3A and 3B show a plurality of feeding times when the feeding operation is repeatedly performed. In particular, FIG. 3A shows the feeding time when 20 feeding operations are performed in a state where the leading edge of the sheet S is abutted against the conveyance start position of Ps and the trailing edge of the sheet S is in contact with the trailing edge regulating plate 26. FIG. 3B shows the feeding time when 20 feeding operations are performed in a state where the leading edge of the sheet S is abutted against the conveyance start position of Ps and the trailing edge of the sheet S is about 5 mm away from the trailing edge regulating plate 26. As shown in FIG. 3A, when the trailing edge regulating plate 26 is installed in an appropriate position, the variation in the feeding time is small. As shown in FIG. 3B, when the trailing edge regulating plate 26 is installed in an inappropriate position, the variation in the feeding time is large. The printer 100 may detect the occurrence of a jam due to an inappropriate installation position of the trailing edge regulating plate 26.

[0024] [Hardware] 4 is a diagram showing the hardware configurations of the printer 100, server device 400, and client device 450 included in the image forming system 480. The server device 400 is capable of communicating with one or more printers 100 and one or more client devices 450 via a network such as the Internet. The server device 400 is a computer (information processing device) responsible for maintaining and managing the one or more printers 100. The client device 450 is a computer capable of communicating with the server device 400 via the network and can be operated, for example, by a maintenance person at a dealer.

[0025] The printer 100 has a video controller 411, an operation unit 412, and a printer engine 413. The video controller 411 includes a communication circuit that receives image data from a host computer or an image scanner, and an image processing circuit that converts the image data to generate an image signal for the printer engine 413. The video controller 411 can communicate with the server device 400 via the communication circuit. The operation unit 412 includes a display device that displays information to the user, and an input device that accepts input of instructions from the user. The input device may be realized by a touch panel sensor that detects the touch of the user. Therefore, the operation unit 412 may be called an operation panel. The input device may also include a power switch, an operation button, and the like. The video controller 411 transmits an image signal and a print instruction to the printer engine 413.

[0026] The printer engine 413 includes an engine control unit 416, a system bus 414, and an IO port 415. The engine control unit 416 includes a CPU 80, a storage device 81, and a timer 82. CPU is an abbreviation for central processing unit. The storage device 81 includes a read-only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM). The ROM area of ​​the storage device 81 stores programs and various data. The RAM area is used as a working area. The timer 82 may include a real-time clock (RTC), a counter circuit that counts clock signals, and the like. The CPU 80 uses the timer 82 to obtain the date and time and to measure the length of time from one timing to another.

[0027] The CPU 80 executes a program to realize various functions. The CPU 80 receives detection results of the sheet sensor 27a, the cassette sensor 27b, and the component sensor 27c via the system bus 414 and the IO port 415, and supplies drive signals to the motor 90 and the solenoid 91. A drive circuit that generates a drive current for the motor 90 may be provided between the IO port 415 and the motor 90. A drive circuit that generates a drive current for the solenoid 91 may be provided between the IO port 415 and the solenoid 91. The motor 90 drives various rotating bodies such as the conveying roller 23 and the pair of registration rollers 25. Although one motor 90 is shown here, multiple motors may be implemented. The solenoid 91 rotates the feed roller 22 once, causing the feed roller 22 to feed the sheet S.

[0028] The server device 400 has a server control unit 401. The server control unit 401 is a control board including a CPU 85, a storage device 86, a communication circuit 402, and a timer 403. The CPU 85 executes a program stored in the storage device 86 and reads and writes various data. The CPU 85 includes a CPU core and a GPU core. GPU is an abbreviation for graphics processing unit. The storage device 86 includes a RAM, a ROM, a hard disk drive (HDD), and a solid state drive (SSD). The CPU 85 may realize a virtual environment according to a program, and the server may be implemented by this virtual environment. The server control unit 401 can exchange information with the engine control unit 416 via a video controller 411. The server control unit 401 exchanges information with a monitoring tool 460 realized by a client device 450 through a network such as the Internet. The communication circuit 402 includes a circuit for communicating with the printer 100 and the client device 450. The timer 403 may include a real-time clock (RTC), a counter circuit, and the like.

[0029] The client device 450 is a computer having a CPU 87, a storage device 88, an operation unit 89, and a communication circuit 452. The client device 450 may be any of a personal computer (PC), a smartphone, and a tablet terminal. The CPU 87 is a processor that functions as a monitoring tool 460 by executing a program stored in the storage device 88. The storage device 88 may include a RAM, a ROM, a HDD, and an SSD. The operation unit 89 includes a display device (liquid crystal display) and an input device (keyboard, mouse, touch detection sensor, etc.). The communication circuit 452 includes a circuit for communicating with the server device 400. The monitoring tool 460 receives information from the server control unit 401 and displays the received information on the operation unit 89. The monitoring tool 460 may be realized by a PC or a server computer, or may be implemented in a virtual environment such as a virtual machine. The monitoring tool 460 may refer to the program itself executed by the CPU 87, may refer to an instance of the program, or may refer to the client device 450 itself.

[0030] [Function Description] 5 shows the functions of the engine control unit 416, the video controller 411, the server control unit 401, and the monitoring tool 460. The function of the engine control unit 416 is realized by the CPU 80 executing a program stored in the storage device 81. The function of the video controller 411 is realized by the processor in the video controller 411 executing a program stored in the ROM in the video controller 411. The function of the server control unit 401 is realized by the CPU 85 executing a program stored in the storage device 86. The function of the monitoring tool 460 is realized by the CPU 87 executing a program in the storage device 88.

[0031] The engine control unit 416 executes feeding control, measurement of feeding time, collection of operation history, and reflection of countermeasures (maintenance contents). The server control unit 401 executes analysis of the operating state of the feeding unit 20, analysis of jam occurrence rate, determination of countermeasures, selection of notification destination, and transmission of the countermeasures. The monitoring tool 460 executes display of the countermeasures.

[0032] The feed control unit 501 is responsible for controlling the feed of the feed unit 20. When the printer engine 413 receives a print instruction, the feed control unit 501 instructs the drive control unit 502 to perform a feed operation. The drive control unit 502 rotates the conveying roller 23 and the separation roller 24 by driving the motor 90. Furthermore, the feed control unit 501 causes the drive control unit 502 to drive the solenoid 91 at the timing of starting feeding. This causes the feed roller 22 to rotate once, and the sheets S pushed up in the feed cassette 21 are separated and fed one by one. Thereafter, the sheets S are conveyed to the sheet sensor 27a. The detection unit 504 detects the leading edge of the sheet S based on an input signal from the sheet sensor 27a, and notifies the feed control unit 501 and the measurement unit 503 that the leading edge of the sheet S has been detected. If the detection unit 504 cannot detect the leading edge of the sheet S within a predetermined time after starting the feeding operation, the feeding control unit 501 determines that a jam has occurred, and instructs the drive control unit 502 to stop the feeding operation.

[0033] The detection unit 504 determines whether the feeding cassette 21 has been opened or closed based on the detection result of the cassette sensor 27b, and writes the determination result in the storage device 81 or passes it to the collection unit 505. The detection unit 504 determines whether a part (e.g., the feeding roller 22) has been replaced based on the detection result of the part sensor 27c, and writes the determination result in the storage device 81 or passes it to the collection unit 505. These determination results may be linked to date and time data indicating the date and time obtained from the timer 82.

[0034] The measurement unit 503 measures the feeding time. The measurement unit 503 measures the elapsed time from the timing when the feeding control unit 501 instructs the feeding operation to the timing when the leading edge of the sheet S reaches the sheet sensor 27a using the timer 82. Each time the measurement unit 503 feeds one sheet S, it adds date and time data indicating the date and time when the measurement was performed (hereinafter referred to as the feeding date and time) to the elapsed time, and stores it in the storage device 81. If a jam occurs, a negative value (e.g., -1) indicating that measurement is impossible is stored as the feeding time.

[0035] The collection unit 505 collects the operation history of the printer 100. For example, the collection unit 505 reads out the feeding date and time and the feeding time stored in the storage device 81 by the measurement unit 503, and transmits them to the communication processing unit 511 of the video controller 411. The communication processing unit 511 notifies the server control unit 401 of the feeding date and time, the feeding time, and the identification information of the printer 100 (e.g., model number, manufacturing serial number). The server control unit 401 stores the received feeding date and time, type code, feeding time, and identification information in the storage device 86.

[0036] FIG. 6A shows an example of the operation history 531 stored in the storage device 86. The operation history 531 is stored in association with the identification information of the printer 100. In this example, one record includes date and time data, a type code, and a feeding time. Here, the type code is a code indicating the type of information included in the record. A type code of "0" indicates that the measurement result included in the record is the feeding time. A type code of "1" indicates that the feeding cassette 21 was opened and closed at the date and time indicated by the date and time data. In other words, the date and time data indicates the date and time when the feeding cassette 21 was opened and closed (opening and closing date and time). The date and time data may indicate the date and time when the feeding cassette 21 was opened, or may indicate the date and time when the feeding cassette 21 was closed. Alternatively, the date and time data may indicate both the date and time when the feeding cassette 21 was opened and the date and time when the feeding cassette 21 was closed. As described above, when a jam occurs, -1, which indicates that measurement is not possible, is stored as the feeding time.

[0037] The engine control unit 416 further includes a countermeasure receiving unit 506 and a countermeasure reflecting unit 507. In this embodiment, the server device 400 may change the operation of the feeding control unit 501 based on the analysis result of the operating state and jam occurrence rate of the feeding unit 20. The countermeasure receiving unit 506 receives the countermeasure content from the countermeasure transmitting unit 524 of the server control unit 401.

[0038] The countermeasure content is, for example, displaying on the operation unit 412 a message urging the user to change the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26. The countermeasure reflection unit 507 displays the countermeasure content received by the countermeasure receiving unit 506 on the operation unit 412.

[0039] The countermeasure content may be an instruction to enable / disable a feed retry. The instruction to enable / disable a feed retry may be expressed as a command to the engine control unit 416, for example. The countermeasure reflection unit 507 sets the countermeasure content received by the countermeasure receiving unit 506 in the feed control unit 501.

[0040] If the received command is a command to disable the feeding retry, the feeding control unit 501 determines that a jam has occurred when the sheet S is not detected within a predetermined time after the feeding operation is started. Also, the feeding control unit 501 instructs the drive control unit 502 to stop feeding.

[0041] On the other hand, if the received command is a command to enable a feeding retry, the feeding control unit 501 instructs the drive control unit 502 to perform a feeding retry when the sheet S is not detected within a predetermined time from the start of the feeding operation. Furthermore, the feeding control unit 501 determines that a jam has occurred when the sheet S is not detected within a predetermined time from the start of the feeding retry. Furthermore, the feeding control unit 501 instructs the drive control unit 502 to stop feeding. Enabling the feeding retry reduces the occurrence rate of jams, but may delay the detection of a jam or reduce throughput. Therefore, the feeding retry may be enabled only when measures are required.

[0042] The CPU 80 of the server control unit 401 executes the program 530 stored in the storage device 86 to realize various functions. The state analysis rule 535 stored in the storage device 86 will be described in Example 2. The server control unit 401 has a first analysis unit 521 for analyzing the operating state of the feeding unit 20. The first analysis unit 521 divides the operation history 531 into a plurality of groups and obtains the variance V of the feeding time in each group. The first analysis unit 521 groups a plurality of records, for example, based on a record indicating that the feeding cassette 21 has been opened and closed. For example, a plurality of records acquired before the date and time when the feeding cassette 21 was opened and closed are classified into one group. A plurality of records acquired after the date and time when the feeding cassette 21 was opened and closed are classified into another group. In addition, a plurality of records acquired after the date and time when the feeding cassette 21 was opened and closed and before the date and time when the feeding cassette 21 was next opened and closed are classified into one group. However, a record with a feeding time of "-1" is excluded from the group. The first analysis unit 521 calculates the variance V of the feeding time for each group. For example, the variance Vi indicates the variance of the i-th group. However, if the number of records included in a group is less than the threshold X, the variance of that group is not calculated and is set as "unknown" or "not calculated."

[0043] The first analysis unit 521 may determine whether the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 is appropriate based on the magnitude of the variance Vi. As shown in FIG. 3(A), if the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 is appropriate, the variance Vi is small. As shown in FIG. 3(B), if the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 is inappropriate, the variance Vi is large. Therefore, the first analysis unit 521 can estimate the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 by comparing the variance Vi with the threshold value Vth.

[0044] Furthermore, the first analysis unit 521 further obtains the difference Di between the variances Vi and Vi+1 of two adjacent groups. The difference Di indicates the amount of change in the feeding state before and after the feeding cassette 21 is opened and closed. In other words, the difference Di indicates whether the feeding state has changed due to a change in the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 performed by the user when the feeding cassette 21 is opened and closed. For example, the opening and closing of the feeding cassette 21 is detected after a user or a maintenance person is instructed to change the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 as a countermeasure. The first analysis unit 521 can determine whether the feeding state has improved based on the difference Di between the two groups divided based on the opening and closing date and time.

[0045] FIG. 6B shows the position analysis rule 533 stored in the storage device 86. The first analysis unit 521 can analyze the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 by using the difference Di and the position analysis rule 533. When the difference Di is not calculated, the first analysis unit 521 determines the analysis result as "unknown". When the difference Di exceeds the lower threshold (e.g., -50) and is less than the upper threshold (e.g., +50), the first analysis unit 521 determines the analysis result as "no change". When the difference Di is equal to or greater than the upper threshold (e.g., +50), the first analysis unit 521 determines the analysis result as "inappropriate installation position". In other words, when the variance Vi+1 after the feeding cassette 21 is opened and closed is much larger than the variance Vi before the feeding cassette 21 is opened and closed, there is a high possibility that the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 has been changed to an inappropriate position. If the difference Di is equal to or smaller than the lower limit threshold (e.g., −50), the first analysis unit 521 determines the analysis result as “improvement.” If the variance Vi+1 after the feed cassette 21 is opened and closed is much smaller than the variance Vi before the feed cassette 21 is opened and closed, it is highly likely that the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 has been corrected to an appropriate position.

[0046] The server control unit 401 further includes a second analysis unit 522. The second analysis unit 522 analyzes the countermeasure history 532 stored in the storage device 86. FIG. 7A shows an example of the countermeasure history 532. The countermeasure history 532 includes the countermeasure content determined by the countermeasure decision unit 523, the notification destination of the countermeasure content, and the date and time when the countermeasure content was transmitted. The second analysis unit 522 refers to the countermeasure history 532, analyzes the number of times the same countermeasure content was notified to the same notification destination (number of notifications), and outputs the analysis result (number of notifications) to the countermeasure decision unit 523. Note that the first analysis unit 521 or the second analysis unit 522 may clear the countermeasure history 532 when the analysis result of the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 is determined to be "improved."

[0047] The countermeasure determination unit 523 determines the countermeasure content and the notification destination of the countermeasure content based on a combination of the analysis result of the first analysis unit 521 and the analysis result of the second analysis unit 522. The countermeasure determination unit 523 refers to the countermeasure rules 534 stored in the storage device 86, for example, to determine the countermeasure content and the notification destination of the countermeasure content.

[0048] FIG. 7B shows an example of the countermeasure rule 534. The countermeasure content in this embodiment is to display a message on the display of the operation unit 412 of the printer 100 or the display of the operation unit 89 of the monitoring tool 460. For this reason, a display command is sent to the notification destination. When the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 is estimated to be inappropriate with the opening and closing of the feeding cassette 21, the basic policy is to send a command to display a predetermined message. The predetermined message includes a message to prompt the user of the printer 100 to correct the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26. Even if a message is displayed on the operation unit 412 of the printer 100, the user may not be able to correctly correct the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26. In this case, even if the server device 400 repeatedly sends the message, it is highly likely that the problem will not be improved. If the problem is not improved even if the number of notifications to the user exceeds a threshold number of times, the countermeasure decision unit 523 changes the notification destination. For example, the countermeasure decision unit 523 changes the notification destination from the printer 100 to the monitoring tool 460 of the dealer who manages the printer 100. Generally, the problem of the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 is a problem that the user of the printer 100 can easily solve by himself. Therefore, basically, the dealer is not notified. This has the effect of reducing unnecessary service costs. If the situation where the user cannot correct the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 continues, the server device 400 notifies the dealer. The dealer who receives the notification can go to the user's place, check the status of the printer 100, and teach the user how to correct the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26. Alternatively, the dealer can contact the user by phone or email and teach the user how to correct the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26. This reduces the occurrence of jams that are disadvantageous to the user.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 7(B), according to countermeasure rule 534, in the case where the analysis result of the feeding time is unknown and the analysis result is “no change” and the number of notifications N is 0, the countermeasure content is “none” and the notification destination is also determined to be “none”.

[0050] In the case where the analysis result is "inappropriate" and the number of notifications N is 0, the countermeasure is "instruct to correct the installation position of the restriction plate" and the notification destination is determined to be "printer." In the case where the analysis result is "no change" and the number of notifications N is 1 or more and less than 3, the countermeasure is "instruct to correct the installation position of the restriction plate" and the notification destination is determined to be "printer." In other words, in this example, the upper limit of the number of notifications to the printer 100 is 3. This upper limit is merely an example.

[0051] If the analysis result is "no change" and the number of notifications N is 3 or more, the countermeasure is "instruct to correct the installation position of the restriction plate" and the notification destination is determined to be the "monitoring tool." Since the number of notifications to the printer 100 has exceeded the upper limit, the notification destination is changed.

[0052] In the case where the analysis result is "improvement", the countermeasure content is "none" and the notification destination is also determined to be "none." If the analysis result is "improvement", the number of notifications is not taken into consideration.

[0053] 8A shows an example of a message displayed on the printer 100. The message may include a message that the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 is inappropriate, and a method for correcting the installation position.

[0054] 8(B) shows an example of a message displayed on the monitoring tool 460. The message may include the customer name, the customer address, the printer name, and a message indicating that the installation position of the trailing edge regulating plate 26 is inappropriate. A maintenance person at the dealer can respond to this message by visiting the customer's address or contacting the customer.

[0055] 5, when the notification destination is a "printer", a countermeasure transmission unit 524 of the server control unit 401 transmits the countermeasure content to a countermeasure reception unit 506 of the engine control unit 416 via a communication processing unit 511 of the video controller 411. The countermeasure reception unit 506 passes the received countermeasure content to a countermeasure reflection unit 507. The countermeasure reflection unit 507 sets the feed control unit 501 and displays a maintenance message on the operation unit 412 in accordance with the countermeasure content.

[0056] When the notification destination is a "monitoring tool", the countermeasure transmission unit 524 transmits the countermeasure content to the countermeasure reception unit 561 of the monitoring tool 460. In this embodiment, the countermeasure content may be transmitted as a command to the notification destination. The monitoring tool 460 has a countermeasure reception unit 561, a countermeasure reflection unit 562, and a display processing unit 563. The countermeasure reception unit 561 receives the countermeasure content transmitted from the countermeasure transmission unit 524 of the server control unit 401. The countermeasure content is to display instructions to the dealer, such as "correct the installation position of the rear end restriction plate 26", on the monitoring tool 460. The countermeasure reception unit 561 passes the countermeasure content to the countermeasure reflection unit 562. The countermeasure reflection unit 562 displays "correct the installation position of the rear end restriction plate 26" on the operation unit 89 through the display processing unit 563.

[0057] [flowchart] 9 is a flowchart showing a series of processes executed by the printer 100. The start of the process is triggered when the printer engine 413 receives a print instruction.

[0058] In S901, the CPU 80 (detection unit 504) determines whether the cassette sensor 27b detects the opening and closing of the feeding cassette 21 based on the detection result of the cassette sensor 27b. If the opening and closing of the feeding cassette 21 is not detected, the CPU 80 skips S902 and proceeds to S903. If the opening and closing of the feeding cassette 21 is detected, the CPU 80 proceeds to S902.

[0059] In S902, the CPU 80 (detection unit 504 or collection unit 505) saves the opening / closing date and time and the type code when the opening / closing of the feeding cassette 21 is detected in the storage device 81. In the storage device 81, a record including the opening / closing date and time and the type code is recorded in the operation history 531.

[0060] In S903, the CPU 80 (feed control unit 501) starts feeding the sheet S. The feed control unit 501 rotates the motor 90 via the drive control unit 502 and drives the solenoid 91. This starts feeding the sheet S. The feed control unit 501 also instructs the measurement unit 503 to start measuring the elapsed time (feeding time). The measurement unit 503 measures the elapsed time using the timer 82.

[0061] In S904, the CPU 80 (feeding control unit 501) judges whether a jam of the sheet S has occurred based on the elapsed time and the detection result of the sheet sensor 27a. For example, if the sheet sensor 27a detects the leading edge of the sheet S before the elapsed time reaches the threshold time, the feeding control unit 501 judges that a jam has not occurred. In this case, the CPU 80 advances the process to S905. On the other hand, if the sheet sensor 27a cannot detect the leading edge of the sheet S even when the elapsed time reaches the threshold time, the feeding control unit 501 judges that a jam has occurred. In this case, the CPU 80 advances the process to S920. In S920, the CPU 80 (feeding control unit 501) executes jam processing. For example, the feeding control unit 501 stops the motor 90, substitutes the current time for the feeding date and time, substitutes 0 for the feeding type, and substitutes -1 for the feeding time, creates a record of the operation history 531, and transmits the record to the server device 400.

[0062] In S905, the CPU 80 (measurement unit 503) measures the feeding time. The measurement unit 503 determines the elapsed time from the timing when the feeding operation is started to the timing when the leading edge of the sheet S is detected by the sheet sensor 27a as the feeding time.

[0063] In S906, the CPU 80 (measurement unit 503) stores in the storage device 81 the feeding date and time, the type code (=0), and the feeding time.

[0064] In S907, the CPU 80 (collection unit 505) reads the feeding date and time, the type code, and the feeding time from the storage device 81, creates an operation history 531, and notifies the server device 400. The operation history 531 may be provided with identification information of the printer 100.

[0065] In S908, the CPU 80 (countermeasure receiving unit 506) determines whether or not countermeasure contents have been received from the server device 400. If countermeasure contents have not been received, the CPU 80 advances the process to S910. If countermeasure contents have been received, the CPU 80 advances the process to S909.

[0066] In S909, the CPU 80 (countermeasure reflection unit 507) displays the countermeasure content on the operation unit 412.

[0067] In S910, the CPU 80 (feed control unit 501) determines whether or not the next page that needs to be printed remains based on the print instruction. If the next page does not remain, the CPU 80 ends the print job. If the next page remains, the CPU 80 advances the process to S901.

[0068] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a series of processes executed in the server device 400.

[0069] In S1001 , the CPU 85 (first analysis unit 521 ) stores the operation history 531 in the storage device 86 .

[0070] In S1002, the CPU 85 (first analysis unit 521) analyzes the state of the trailing end regulating plate 26 (the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26) based on the operation history 531 collected from the printer 100. For example, the first analysis unit 521 finds a record with a type code set to "1" based on the operation history 531, and groups a plurality of records with the found record as a boundary. For example, an i-th group and an i+1-th group are formed. Furthermore, the first analysis unit 521 calculates the variances Vi and Vi+1, and further calculates the difference Di, and classifies the state of the trailing end regulating plate 26 based on the difference Di. At this time, the position analysis rule 533 is referenced, and the state (analysis result) of the trailing end regulating plate 26 is determined from the difference Di.

[0071] In S1003, the CPU 85 (second analysis unit 522) analyzes the notification count N based on the countermeasure history 532. The second analysis unit 522 refers to the countermeasure history 532 and counts the number of times the same countermeasure content has been notified to the same notification destination (notification count N).

[0072] In S1004, the CPU 85 (countermeasure decision unit 523) refers to the countermeasure rule 534 based on the analysis results of the first analysis unit 521 and the analysis results of the second analysis unit 522, and determines whether the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 has been improved. In other words, the countermeasure decision unit 523 determines whether notification is unnecessary. If the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 has been improved or the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 was appropriate to begin with, the CPU 85 proceeds to S1010. In S1010, the CPU 85 (second analysis unit 522) resets (clears) the countermeasure history 532 and the number of notifications N. If the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 has not been improved or the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 was inappropriate to begin with, the CPU 85 proceeds to S1005.

[0073] In S1005, the CPU 85 (countermeasure decision unit 523) refers to the countermeasure rules 534 based on the analysis results of the first analysis unit 521 and the analysis results of the second analysis unit 522, and determines the contents of the countermeasure and the notification destination. The countermeasure decision unit 523 may refer to the countermeasure rules 534 (judgment table) stored in the storage device 86 as shown in Fig. 7(B) and determine the contents of the countermeasure and the notification destination.

[0074] In S1006, the CPU 85 (countermeasure transmission unit 524) determines whether the notification destination is the printer 100. If the notification destination is the printer 100, the CPU 85 advances the process to S1007. If the notification destination is the monitoring tool 460 (client device 450), the CPU 85 advances the process to S1020.

[0075] In S1007, the CPU 85 (countermeasure transmission unit 524) transmits the countermeasure content to the printer 100. The network address of the printer 100 may be acquired from the operation history 531. The countermeasure content may be transmitted, for example, as a command to "display an instruction to open and close the feeding cassette" or a command to "display an instruction to confirm the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate."

[0076] In S1020, the CPU 85 (countermeasure transmission unit 524) transmits the countermeasure content to the monitoring tool 460 (client device 450). The countermeasure content may be transmitted, for example, as a command to "display an instruction to open and close the feeding cassette" or a command to "display an instruction to check the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate." The network address of the monitoring tool 460 (client device 450) is stored in advance in the storage device 86. The network address of the monitoring tool 460 (client device 450) may be associated with the identification information of the printer 100. Thus, the CPU 85 may identify the network address of the monitoring tool 460 (client device 450) based on the identification information of the printer 100.

[0077] In S1008, the CPU 85 (countermeasure transmission unit 524) updates the countermeasure history 532. The countermeasure transmission unit 524 creates a record including the countermeasure content, notification destination, and transmission date and time of the countermeasure content determined in S1005, and adds it to the countermeasure history 532.

[0078] FIG. 11 shows a series of processes executed by the monitoring tool 460 (client device 450).

[0079] In S1101, the CPU 87 (countermeasure receiving section 561) determines whether or not countermeasure contents have been received from the server device 400. When the countermeasure contents have been received, the CPU 87 advances the process to S1102.

[0080] In S1102, the CPU 85 (countermeasure reflection unit 562) displays the countermeasure content on the operation unit 89 for the monitoring tool 460 (client device 450).

[0081] According to this embodiment, the content of the countermeasure and the notification destination are determined according to the feeding state (operation history 531) of the printer 100 and the number of times the message is notified. This will reduce the service costs of the dealer. Note that the embodiment is not limited to this embodiment. In this embodiment, one feeding unit 20 is exemplified, but multiple feeding units 20 may exist.

[0082] In this embodiment, the countermeasure content and the notification destination are determined based on the analysis result of the operation history 531 of the feeding unit 20 and the analysis result of the countermeasure history (e.g., the number of notifications). However, this is also just one example. The analysis target may be the fixing device 30 or the intermediate transfer body 11. For example, a sheet sensor may be arranged downstream of the fixing device 30, and the feeding time may be acquired based on the detection result. The server device 400 may determine the countermeasure content and the notification destination based on the feeding time and the number of notifications for the fixing device 30. Similarly, a sheet sensor may be arranged downstream of the secondary transfer roller 14, and the feeding time may be acquired based on the detection result. The server device 400 may determine the countermeasure content and the notification destination based on the feeding time and the number of notifications for the intermediate transfer body 11. In this way, the fixing device 30 and the secondary transfer roller 14 are also examples of parts involved in the transport of the sheet S, and the description of the feeding roller 22 in the first and second embodiments can be replaced with the description of the fixing device 30 and the secondary transfer roller 14.

[0083] Furthermore, the countermeasure contents and notification destination are not limited to those in this embodiment. The "printer user" may be selected as the notification destination. When the CPU 80 of the printer 100 receives the countermeasure contents addressed to the user, the CPU 80 may display the countermeasure contents on the display device of the user's host computer (for example, a printer driver setting screen or a pop-up screen).

[0084] <Example 2> In this embodiment, the countermeasure decision unit 523 decides the contents of the countermeasure and the notification destination based on the analysis result of the feeding state by the first analysis unit 521 and the analysis result on the replacement of parts (e.g., the feeding roller 22) by the second analysis unit 522. The same reference symbols are given to the matters already explained in the first embodiment, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

[0085] 12 shows another example of the printer 100. The printer 100 has three feeding units 20a, 20b, and 20c. A user selects one of the three feeding units 20a, 20b, and 20c through an operation unit 412. The configurations of the feeding units 20a, 20b, and 20c are as described in the first embodiment. Note that when matters common to the feeding units 20a, 20b, and 20c are described, the feeding units 20a, 20b, and 20c may be simply referred to as the feeding unit 20.

[0086] 13(A) and 13(B) show a number of feeding times when the feeding operation is repeatedly performed. Specifically, FIG. 13(A) shows the feeding times from the 1st sheet to the 2,000th sheet when the feeding operation is performed for 400,000 sheets. FIG. 13(B) shows the feeding times from the 398,001st sheet to the 400,000th sheet. When the feeding operation is repeated, a sudden delay in the sheet S occurs, and the variation in the feeding time increases. When the feeding operation is repeated, the feeding roller 22 gradually wears. As a result, the frictional force acting between the feeding roller 22 and the sheet S decreases at a portion of the circumferential surface of the feeding roller 22 that is highly worn. This causes the variation in the feeding time.

[0087] Furthermore, the variation in the feeding time is reduced when the worn feed roller 22 is replaced with a new feed roller 22. Therefore, if the records of the worn feed roller 22 and the records of the new feed roller 22 are distinguished in the operation history 531, the accuracy of determining the feeding state based on the feeding time will improve, and the accuracy of determining the countermeasure content and the notification destination will also improve.

[0088] FIG. 14A shows the operation history 531 of the second embodiment collected by the engine control unit 416. "2" is added as the type code. The date and time data of the record in which the type code is set to "2" indicates the date and time when the part sensor 27c detected that a part (e.g., the feed roller 22) was replaced. If the part sensor 27c is a sensor that detects that the feed roller 22 has been replaced with a new one, the date and time data of the record in which the type code is set to "2" indicates the date and time when the part sensor 27c detected that the feed roller 22 has been replaced with a new one. Therefore, when the server control unit 401 finds a record in which the type code is set to "2" in the operation history 531, it recognizes that the feed roller 22 has been replaced.

[0089] The first analysis unit 521 analyzes the state (feeding state) of the feed roller 22 by excluding records indicating the occurrence of jamming from the operation history 531. For example, the first analysis unit 521 obtains the variance V for the N feed times received from the collection unit 505. Here, among the multiple feed times, −1 is a unique value indicating the occurrence of jamming, and is not used in the calculation of the variance V. The N feed times are the feed times for the most recent N sheets S excluding the jammed sheet S. For example, N=1000. If the number of collected feed times is less than 1000, the first analysis unit 521 does not calculate the variance V and sets the variance V as uncalculated. Furthermore, the first analysis unit 521 may classify the current performance or wear state of the feed unit 20 based on the variance V.

[0090] FIG. 14B shows an example of the state analysis rule 535. If the number of samples of the feeding time is small, the first analysis unit 521 judges the variance V to be "uncalculated". If the variance V is uncalculated, the first analysis unit 521 judges the analysis result to be "unknown". If the variance V is less than the first threshold (e.g., 240), the first analysis unit 521 judges the analysis result to be "good". If the variance V is equal to or greater than the first threshold (e.g., 240) and less than the second threshold (e.g., 280), the first analysis unit 521 judges the analysis result to be "normal". If the variance V is equal to or greater than the second threshold, the first analysis unit 521 judges the analysis result to be "not good". The analysis result being "not good" means that the life of the feeding roller 22 is short or has already expired. In other words, this is a feeding state in which replacement of the feeding roller 22 is recommended.

[0091] 15(A) shows an example of countermeasure history 532 analyzed by second analysis unit 522. Here, "instruct roller replacement" and "instruct feeding unit change" are shown as countermeasure contents. "Instruct roller replacement" means instructing a dealer to replace feeding roller 22. "Instruct feeding unit change" means instructing a dealer to change the feeding port from the feeding unit 20 currently being used among feeding units 20a, 20b, and 20c to another feeding unit 20. Second analysis unit 522 analyzes countermeasure history 532 and calculates the number of times the same countermeasure contents have been sent to the same notification destination (number of notifications N).

[0092] FIG. 15B shows the countermeasure rule 534 in the second embodiment. When the analysis result of the first analysis unit 521 is "unknown", "good" or "average", the countermeasure decision unit 523 decides on the countermeasure content to be "none" regardless of the notification count N, and also decides on the notification destination to be "none". When the analysis result of the first analysis unit 521 is "not good" and the notification count N is less than a threshold value (e.g. 3), the countermeasure decision unit 523 decides on the countermeasure content to be "instruct to replace rollers" and decides on the notification destination to be "monitoring tool". When the analysis result of the first analysis unit 521 is "not good" and the notification count N is equal to or greater than a threshold value (e.g. 3), the countermeasure decision unit 523 decides on the countermeasure content to be "instruct to change the feeding unit" and decides on the notification destination to be "monitoring tool".

[0093] In this way, when the condition of the feed roller 22 is not good, a command is sent to the dealer's monitoring tool 460 to display a message instructing to replace the feed roller 22. Fig. 16(A) shows an example of a maintenance message. As shown in Fig. 16(A), a message instructing to replace the feed roller 22 with a new one is included.

[0094] If the feed roller 22 is not replaced with a new one even after the server device 400 has repeatedly sent the message, the instruction to the dealer may be inappropriate. Also, some dealers may desire a measure that requires less service cost. In such a case, instead of replacing the feed roller 22 with a new one, a maintenance message may be sent instructing the dealer to use a feed unit 20 different from the feed unit 20 that is usually used. FIG. 16(B) shows an example of a maintenance message. As shown in FIG. 16(B), a message instructing the dealer to change (switch) the feed cassette 21 is included. The maintenance message may also include a message such as "The feed roller is in a bad condition, so it is recommended to change the feed port."

[0095] [flowchart] Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing a method executed in the printer 100. Comparing Fig. 17 with Fig. 9, steps S901 and S902 are replaced with steps S1701 and S1702. Therefore, in the following, steps S1701 and S1702 will be described in detail.

[0096] In S1701, the CPU 80 (detection unit 504) determines whether a predetermined part (e.g., feed roller 22) has been replaced based on the detection result of the part sensor 27c. The detection unit 504 determines, for example, whether the feed roller 22 has been replaced with a new part based on the detection result of the part sensor 27c. If the predetermined part has been replaced, the CPU 80 proceeds to S1702. If the predetermined part has not been replaced, the CPU 80 skips S1702 and proceeds to S903.

[0097] In S1702, the CPU 80 (detection unit 504, collection unit 505) saves the replacement date and time and the type code (=2) in the storage device 81. For example, the collection unit 505 obtains the replacement date and time from the timer 82, creates a record including the replacement date and time and the type code, and writes it as the operation history 531 in the storage device 81. The operation history 531 is transmitted to the server device 400 in S907.

[0098] FIG. 18 is a flow chart illustrating a method executed in the server device 400.

[0099] In S 1801 , the CPU 85 stores the operation history 531 received from the printer 100 in the storage device 86 .

[0100] In S1802, the CPU 85 (first analysis unit 521) analyzes the state of the part based on the operation history 531. For example, the first analysis unit 521 obtains the variance V of the feeding time in the operation history 531, and obtains the analysis result corresponding to the variance V from the state analysis rule 535.

[0101] In S1803, the CPU 85 (second analysis unit 522) refers to the countermeasure history 532 and analyzes the notification count N. That is, the number of times the same countermeasure content has been sent to the same notification destination is found.

[0102] In S1804, the CPU 85 (countermeasure decision unit 523) determines whether a part has been replaced based on the operation history 531. The countermeasure decision unit 523 determines whether the feed roller 22 has been replaced with a new one based on the type code in the operation history 531. If a part has been replaced, the CPU 85 proceeds to S1820. In S1820, the CPU 85 resets (clears) the operation history 531, the countermeasure history 532, and the number of notifications N. If a part has not been replaced, the CPU 85 proceeds to S1805.

[0103] In S1805, the CPU 85 (countermeasure decision unit 523) determines the countermeasure content and the notification destination based on the analysis result of the first analysis unit 521 and the analysis result of the second analysis unit 522. The countermeasure decision unit 523 refers to the countermeasure rule 534 and determines the combination of the countermeasure content and the notification destination corresponding to the combination of the analysis result of the feeding state and the notification count N.

[0104] In S1806, the CPU 85 (countermeasure transmission unit 524) determines whether or not there is a countermeasure content. If there is a countermeasure content, the CPU 85 proceeds to S1807. If the countermeasure content is "none", the CPU 85 skips S1807 and proceeds to S1808.

[0105] In S1807, the CPU 85 (countermeasure transmission unit 524) transmits the countermeasure content to the notification destination, the monitoring tool 460. The method of transmitting the countermeasure content is as described in S1020.

[0106] In S1808, the CPU 85 (countermeasure transmission unit 524) updates the countermeasure history 532. The countermeasure transmission unit 524 creates a record including the countermeasure content, notification destination, and transmission date and time of the countermeasure content determined in S1005, and adds it to the countermeasure history 532.

[0107] 19 is a flow chart showing a method executed in the client device (monitoring tool 460). The CPU 87 executes the following method in accordance with a program stored in the storage device 88.

[0108] In S1901, the CPU 87 determines whether or not countermeasures have been received from the server device 400. In S1902, the CPU 87 determines whether or not the countermeasures are part replacement. For example, if a command for displaying a message instructing replacement of the feed roller 22 has been received, the CPU 87 proceeds to S1903. In S1903, the CPU 87 displays a message indicating that replacement of the feed roller 22 is necessary on the operation unit 89. For example, if a command for displaying a message instructing replacement of the feed unit 20 has been received, the CPU 87 proceeds to S1910. In S1910, the CPU 87 displays a message indicating that replacement of the feed unit 20 is necessary on the operation unit 89.

[0109] According to this embodiment, the countermeasure content and the notification destination are determined based on the state of the parts and the number of times the countermeasure content is notified. In particular, even if the same countermeasure content is repeatedly notified to the dealer a predetermined number of times or more, the state of the parts may not change. In this case, the countermeasure content for the dealer is changed. For example, even if a message urging the dealer to replace the feed roller 22 with a new one is repeatedly sent, the feed roller 22 may not be replaced with a new one. In this case, the countermeasure content may be set to change the feed unit 20. In this way, the countermeasure content may be re-determined depending on the execution status of the countermeasure content at the dealer. This will allow the countermeasure content that can be executed by the dealer to be executed appropriately. As a result, the user will be provided with the advantage of reduced occurrence of jams.

[0110] In this embodiment, the feeding time of the feed roller 22 is taken into consideration as the condition of the part, but this is merely an example. For example, the number of times jams occur may be taken into consideration as the condition of the part. That is, the first analysis unit 521 may classify the analysis result into one of "good", "average", and "poor" according to the number of times jams occur reported as the operation history 531. Alternatively, the first analysis unit 521 may classify the analysis result into one of "good", "average", and "poor" according to a combination of the number of times jams occur reported as the operation history 531 and the variance V of the feeding time.

[0111] In the second embodiment, the content of the countermeasure is notified only to the monitoring tool 460, but this is merely an example. The printer 100 may also be notified of the same content of the countermeasure.

[0112] The printer 100 may have a first feeding mode in which a retry is performed for feeding the sheet S, and a second feeding mode in which a retry is not performed for feeding the sheet S. In this case, instead of changing the feeding port, a change from the second feeding mode to the first feeding mode may be determined as the countermeasure.

[0113] The printer 100 may have a feeding mode in which, if feeding of the sheet S fails, the printer 100 retries feeding the sheet S, and, if the number of failed retries reaches a threshold number, stops retrying the feeding of the sheet S. In this case, the countermeasure when the notification number N becomes 3 or more may be to increase the threshold number.

[0114] <Technical ideas derived from examples> [Item 1] An image forming system having a server device, an image forming device, and a client device, The server device includes: Acquire status information (e.g., operation history 531) indicating the operating status of the image forming apparatus; performing a first analysis on the status information; determining a countermeasure to be applied to the image forming apparatus based on at least a result of the first analysis, and determining a notification destination of the countermeasure to be the image forming apparatus or the client apparatus; A first control means (e.g., CPU 85) configured as described above, The image forming apparatus or the client apparatus determined as the notification destination, Receive the countermeasures, Apply the above measures The second control means (e.g., CPU 80, video controller 411, operation unit 412) is configured as follows: The first control means further storing the countermeasure content and the notification destination as a countermeasure history; performing a second analysis on the action history; maintaining or changing at least one of the countermeasure content and the notification destination of the countermeasure content according to the analysis result of the first analysis and the analysis result of the second analysis; The image forming system is configured as follows.

[0115] As shown in Fig. 4, in this embodiment, an image forming system including a printer 100 and the like is provided. According to this embodiment, at least one of the countermeasure content and the notification destination of the countermeasure content is maintained or changed depending on the analysis result of the notification count of the countermeasure content. This allows at least one of the countermeasure content related to maintenance and the notification destination in the countermeasure to be appropriated.

[0116] [Item 2] The first control means a first analysis unit (e.g., a first analysis unit 521) that analyzes an operating status of the image forming apparatus based on the status information acquired from the image forming apparatus; a determination unit (e.g., a countermeasure determination unit 523) that determines a first countermeasure content to be applied to the image forming apparatus based on an analysis result of the first analysis and an analysis result of the second analysis, and determines a notification destination of the first countermeasure content; A storage unit (e.g., a countermeasure transmission unit 524) that stores the first countermeasure content and a notification destination to which the first countermeasure content is notified as the countermeasure history; A second analysis means (e.g., a second analysis unit 522) that executes the second analysis to analyze the number of notifications of the first countermeasure content to the notification destination based on the countermeasure history; having the determining means changes a notification destination of the first countermeasure content based on the number of notifications of the first countermeasure content. Item 2. The imaging system according to item 1.

[0117] By storing the countermeasure history in this manner, the number of notifications of the same countermeasure content to the same notification destination may be managed, which will enable accurate analysis of the number of notifications.

[0118] [Item 3] The determining means is When the number of notifications of the first countermeasure content is less than a threshold value (e.g., threshold value=3), the notification destination of the first countermeasure content is determined to be the image forming apparatus; when the number of notifications of the first countermeasure content becomes equal to or greater than the threshold value, a notification destination of the first countermeasure content is changed from the image forming apparatus to the client apparatus; 3. The image forming system according to item 2, configured as follows:

[0119] In this way, when the number of notifications is small, the printer 100 may be selected as the notification destination. When the number of notifications is large, the dealer's monitoring tool 460 may be selected as the notification destination. This will allow the dealer to improve problems that cannot be improved by the user.

[0120] [Item 4] The first control means performing the first analysis on the status information acquired after the notification of the first countermeasure content is started, and determining that the operating status (e.g., variation in feeding time) of the image forming apparatus has improved based on an analysis result of the first analysis; When the operating condition is improved, resetting the number of notifications and stopping the notification of the first countermeasure content; If the operating condition has not improved, continue to notify the content of the first countermeasure. 4. The image forming system according to item 2 or 3,

[0121] In this way, if the operating condition improves, the notification may be stopped immediately.

[0122] [Item 5] The image forming apparatus includes: A storage unit (e.g., a feeding cassette 21) for storing sheets; A feeding means (e.g., a feeding roller 22) for feeding the sheet; and an image forming unit (e.g., a photosensitive drum 1) for forming an image on the sheet fed by the feeding unit, having The second control unit of the image forming apparatus A monitoring unit (e.g., a sheet sensor 27a, a CPU 80) that monitors the operating state of the image forming apparatus and acquires the state information indicating the operating state; A communication means for communicating with the server device, which transmits the status information to the server device and receives the countermeasure content transmitted from the server device (e.g., a video controller 411); An output means (e.g., an operation unit 412) for outputting the countermeasure content; 5. The image forming system according to any one of items 1 to 4, comprising:

[0123] [Item 6] The storage means has a regulating means (e.g., a rear end regulating plate 26) that regulates the position of the sheet stored in the storage means, The monitoring means is configured to obtain status information (e.g., feeding time) that is useful for estimating whether the installation position of the regulating means is appropriate; The countermeasures include correcting the installation position of the restriction means. Item 6. An image forming system according to item 5.

[0124] This would make it possible to estimate that the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 is inappropriate based on the feeding time. As a result, a message indicating that the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 should be corrected would be displayed on the printer 100 or the monitoring tool 460.

[0125] [Item 7] The image forming system according to item 6, wherein the status information includes history information (e.g., a record of operation history 531) of the measurement result of the transport time (e.g., the feeding time) required for the sheet to be transported along the transport path.

[0126] In this manner, the feeding time may be reported from the printer 100 to the server device 400 .

[0127] [Item 8] The image forming apparatus includes: Further, a detection means (e.g., a cassette sensor 27b) for detecting insertion and removal of the storage means is provided, the monitoring means creates the status information, the status information including the measurement result, measurement time information indicating the time when the measurement result was acquired, and detection time information indicating the time when the detection means detected the insertion / removal of the receiving means; The image forming system described in item 7, wherein the first control means is configured to calculate, based on the detection time information, a first statistical value (e.g., variance Vi) for the group of measurement results obtained before the time when the insertion or removal of the accommodating means was detected, and a second statistical value (e.g., variance Vi+1) for the group of measurement results obtained after the time when the insertion or removal of the accommodating means was detected, and further calculate a difference between the first statistical value and the second statistical value (e.g., difference Di:), estimate whether the installation location of the regulating means is appropriate based on the difference, and determine the countermeasure content and the notification destination if it is estimated that the installation location of the regulating means is inappropriate.

[0128] When the feed cassette 21 is inserted or removed, the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 may have been corrected. Therefore, by dividing the operation history 531 based on the date and time when the feed cassette 21 was inserted or removed, it may be possible to accurately estimate whether the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 is appropriate.

[0129] [Item 9] The image forming system according to item 8, wherein the first control means is configured to stop notifying the countermeasure content when the installation location of the regulation means is estimated to be appropriate after the installation location of the regulation means is estimated to be inappropriate.

[0130] In this way, when it is estimated that the installation position of the trailing end regulating plate 26 has been appropriated, the notification of the countermeasure content may be stopped.

[0131] [Item 10] the state information includes a plurality of records, each record including date and time data, a type code, and a measurement time; When the type code of a first record among the plurality of records is a first code (e.g., 0), the date and time data of the first record is measurement time information indicating the time when the measurement result was acquired, and the measurement time is the measurement result, When the type code of a second record among the plurality of records is a second code (e.g., 1), the date and time data of the second record is detection time information indicating the time when the insertion or removal of the receiving means was detected, and the measurement time is optional information or is not included. 10. The imaging system according to item 8 or 9.

[0132] By adopting a type code with a very small amount of information in this way, it will be possible to distinguish between records including feeding times and records including insertion / removal dates and times, which will enable the simplification of the operation history 531.

[0133] [Item 11] 11. The image forming system according to any one of items 1 to 10, wherein the client device is an information processing device of a company in charge of maintenance of the image forming device or a company that sold the image forming device.

[0134] In this manner, the dealer's client device 450 (monitoring tool 460) may be selected as the notification destination, so that problems that cannot be resolved by the user will be appropriately resolved by the dealer.

[0135] [Item 12] The first control means A first analysis means for analyzing the status information; a determination unit that determines a first measure to be applied to the image forming apparatus based on at least a result of the first analysis, and determines a notification destination of the first measure; a storage means for storing the first countermeasure content and a notification destination to which the first countermeasure content is notified as a countermeasure history; a second analysis means for executing the second analysis, which analyzes the number of notifications of the first countermeasure content to the notification destination based on the countermeasure history; having the determining means changes the content of the measure to be notified to the notification destination from the first content of the measure to a second content of the measure, based on the number of notifications of the first content of the measure; 2. The image forming system according to item 1, configured as follows:

[0136] As described in the second embodiment, the countermeasure content notified to the notification destination may be changed from the first countermeasure content (e.g., replacement of the feeding roller 22) to the second countermeasure content (e.g., change of the feeding unit, enablement of feeding retry) based on the number of notifications of the first countermeasure content. This allows the countermeasure content to be changed depending on the implementation status of the countermeasure content at the notification destination. For example, when the notification destination is a dealer, the countermeasure content can be changed depending on the implementation status of the dealer's countermeasure content.

[0137] [Item 13] The determining means is If the number of notifications of the first countermeasure content is less than a threshold value (e.g., 3), the first countermeasure content is maintained; when the number of notifications of the first countermeasure content becomes equal to or greater than the threshold value, the countermeasure content notified to the notification destination is changed from the first countermeasure content to the second countermeasure content; Item 13. The image forming system according to item 12, configured as follows.

[0138] [Item 14] The first control means executing the first analysis on the status information acquired after the notification of the first countermeasure content is started, and determining that a part of the image forming apparatus has been replaced based on an analysis result of the first analysis; When the part is replaced, resetting the number of notifications and stopping the notification of the first countermeasure content; If the part has not been replaced, continue notifying the content of the first countermeasure. Item 14. The image forming system according to item 13, configured as follows.

[0139] In this way, when a part is replaced, the notification count is reset and the notification of the countermeasures is stopped. On the other hand, when a part is replaced, the notification of the countermeasures continues. This makes it possible to control the notification of the countermeasures depending on whether a part has been replaced.

[0140] [Item 15] 15. The image forming system according to any one of items 12 to 14, wherein the decision means is configured to change the countermeasure content while maintaining the notification destination in accordance with the analysis results obtained by the second analysis means.

[0141] As described in the second embodiment, the content of the countermeasure may be changed while the notification destination is maintained in the monitoring tool 460. This allows appropriate countermeasure content to be sent to the appropriate notification destination according to the number of notifications.

[0142] [Item 16] 16. The image forming system according to any one of items 12 to 15, wherein the notification destination is a client device of a company in charge of maintenance of the image forming apparatus or a company that sold the image forming apparatus.

[0143] As described in the second embodiment, the replacement of parts is generally performed by a dealer, so that the printer 100 will be well maintained.

[0144] [Item 17] 17. The image forming system according to any one of items 12 to 16, wherein the first countermeasure content includes an instruction to replace a part involved in sheet transport.

[0145] As described in the second embodiment, for example, replacement of the feed roller 22 may be instructed. This will result in the worn feed roller 22 being replaced with a new feed roller 22.

[0146] [Item 18] The image forming apparatus has a plurality of feeding units (e.g., feeding units 20a, 20b, and 20c) each capable of feeding a sheet, 18. The image forming system according to any one of items 12 to 17, wherein the second countermeasure includes changing a feeding means for the sheet.

[0147] In this way, a change in the feed port may be instructed, which will improve the feeding state without changing the feed roller 22.

[0148] [Item 19] the image forming apparatus has a first feeding mode in which a retry of feeding a sheet is executed, and a second feeding mode in which a retry of feeding the sheet is not executed, 18. The image forming system according to any one of items 12 to 17, wherein the second countermeasure includes changing from the second feeding mode to the first feeding mode.

[0149] In this way, by making it possible to switch between enabling and disabling the retry, it will be possible to temporarily reduce the number of times jams occur before the worn-out feed roller 22 is replaced.

[0150] [Item 20] the image forming apparatus has a feeding mode in which, when feeding of a sheet fails, a retry of feeding the sheet is performed, and when the number of retry failures reaches a threshold number, the retry of the sheet is stopped; 20. The image forming system according to any one of items 12 to 19, wherein the second countermeasure includes increasing the threshold number of times.

[0151] In this way, the CPU 80 may have a feeding mode in which the number of failed retries is counted and compared with a threshold number. In this case, by increasing the threshold number as a countermeasure, it may be possible to temporarily reduce the number of jams that occur.

[0152] [Item 21] The image forming apparatus includes: A storage means for storing the sheet; A feeding means for feeding the sheet; an image forming means for forming an image on the sheet fed by the feeding means; A monitoring unit (e.g., a detection unit 504, a CPU 80) that monitors the operating state of the image forming apparatus and acquires the state information indicating the operating state; a communication means for communicating with the server device, the communication means being configured to transmit the status information to the server device and to receive the countermeasure content transmitted from the server device; An output means for outputting the countermeasure content; 21. The imaging system according to any one of items 12 to 20, comprising:

[0153] [Item 22] The image forming apparatus includes: The sheet conveying device further includes a detection unit (e.g., a part sensor 27c) for detecting whether a part involved in sheet conveyance has been replaced, the monitoring means creates the status information, the status information including a measurement result of a transport time required for the sheet to be transported along a transport path, measurement time information indicating a time when the measurement result was acquired, and detection information (e.g., a type code) indicating that the detection means has detected that the part has been replaced; 22. The image forming system according to item 21, wherein the first control means is configured to determine whether the part has been replaced based on the detection information, and to reset the number of notifications if the part has been replaced.

[0154] In this manner, the replacement of parts may be detected by the part sensor 27c, etc. This allows the replacement of parts to be detected accurately.

[0155] [Item 23] the image forming apparatus is configured to obtain status information indicating an operating status of the image forming apparatus and transmit the status information to the server apparatus; The server device includes: Further comprising a communication means (e.g., a communication circuit 402) for communicating with the image forming apparatus and the client apparatus; 23. The image forming system according to any one of items 1 to 22, wherein the first control means controls the communication means to receive the status information and to transmit the countermeasure content to the notification destination.

[0156] [Item 24] A communication means (e.g., a communication circuit 402) for communicating with the image forming apparatus and the client apparatus; A control means (e.g., a CPU 85) for controlling the communication means, The control means receiving status information indicating an operating status of the image forming apparatus by the communication means; performing a first analysis on the status information; determining a countermeasure to be applied to the image forming apparatus based on at least a result of the first analysis, and determining a notification destination of the countermeasure from the image forming apparatus or a client apparatus; The countermeasure content is transmitted to the notification destination by the communication means; storing the countermeasure content and the notification destination as a countermeasure history; performing a second analysis on the action history; maintaining or changing at least one of the countermeasure content and the notification destination of the countermeasure content according to the analysis result of the first analysis and the analysis result of the second analysis; The server device is configured as follows.

[0157] [Item 25] A program executed by a server device capable of communicating with an image forming apparatus and a client device, the server device comprising: receiving status information indicating an operating status of the image forming apparatus; performing a first analysis on the status information; determining a countermeasure to be applied to the image forming apparatus based on at least a result of the first analysis, and causing the image forming apparatus or a client apparatus to determine a notification destination of the countermeasure; The countermeasure content is transmitted to the notification destination, The countermeasure content and the notification destination are stored as a countermeasure history; performing a second analysis on the countermeasure history; A program (eg, program 530) that maintains or changes at least one of the countermeasure content and the notification destination of the countermeasure content according to the analysis result of the first analysis and the analysis result of the second analysis.

[0158] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0159] 100: image forming apparatus, 400: server apparatus, 450: client apparatus

Claims

1. An image forming system having a server device, an image forming device, and a client device, The server device includes: acquiring status information indicating an operating status of the image forming apparatus; performing a first analysis on the status information; determining a countermeasure to be applied to the image forming apparatus based on at least a result of the first analysis, and determining a notification destination of the countermeasure to be the image forming apparatus or the client apparatus; The first control means is configured as follows: The image forming apparatus or the client apparatus determined as the notification destination, Receive the countermeasures, Apply the above measures The second control means is configured as follows: The first control means further storing the countermeasure content and the notification destination as a countermeasure history; performing a second analysis on the action history; maintaining or changing at least one of the countermeasure content and the notification destination of the countermeasure content according to the analysis result of the first analysis and the analysis result of the second analysis; The image forming system is configured as follows.

2. The first control means a first analysis unit that analyzes an operational status of the image forming apparatus based on the status information acquired from the image forming apparatus; a determination unit that determines a first measure to be applied to the image forming apparatus based on an analysis result of the first analysis and an analysis result of the second analysis, and determines a notification destination of the first measure; a storage means for storing the first countermeasure content and a notification destination to which the first countermeasure content is notified as the countermeasure history; a second analysis means for executing the second analysis, which analyzes the number of notifications of the first countermeasure content to the notification destination based on the countermeasure history; having the determining means changes a notification destination of the first countermeasure content based on the number of notifications of the first countermeasure content. The image forming system according to claim 1 .

3. The determining means is When the number of notifications of the first countermeasure content is less than a threshold value, a notification destination of the first countermeasure content is determined to be the image forming apparatus; when the number of notifications of the first countermeasure content becomes equal to or greater than the threshold value, a notification destination of the first countermeasure content is changed from the image forming apparatus to the client apparatus; 3. The image forming system according to claim 2, wherein the image forming system is configured as follows.

4. The first control means executing the first analysis on the status information acquired after the notification of the first countermeasure content is started, and determining that the operational status of the image forming apparatus has improved based on an analysis result of the first analysis; When the operating condition is improved, resetting the number of notifications and stopping the notification of the first countermeasure content; If the operating condition has not improved, continue to notify the content of the first countermeasure.

3. The image forming system according to claim 2, wherein the image forming system is configured as follows.

5. The image forming apparatus includes: A storage means for storing the sheet; A feeding means for feeding the sheet; an image forming means for forming an image on the sheet fed by the feeding means, The second control unit of the image forming apparatus a monitoring unit that monitors the operation status of the image forming apparatus and acquires the status information indicating the operation status; a communication means for communicating with the server device, the communication means being configured to transmit the status information to the server device and to receive the countermeasure content transmitted from the server device; An output means for outputting the countermeasure content; The imaging system of claim 1 .

6. the storage means has a regulating means for regulating a position of the sheet stored in the storage means, The monitoring means is configured to obtain status information useful for estimating whether the installation position of the restriction means is appropriate; The countermeasures include correcting the installation position of the restriction means. The image forming system according to claim 5 .

7. 7. The image forming system according to claim 6, wherein the status information includes history information of a measurement result of a transport time required for the sheet to be transported along the transport path.

8. The image forming apparatus includes: Further, a detection means for detecting insertion / removal of the receiving means is provided, the monitoring means creates the status information, the status information including the measurement result, measurement time information indicating the time when the measurement result was acquired, and detection time information indicating the time when the detection means detected the insertion / removal of the receiving means; The image forming system of claim 7, wherein the first control means is configured to calculate, based on the detection time information, a first statistical value for the group of measurement results obtained before the time when the insertion or removal of the storage means was detected, and a second statistical value for the group of measurement results obtained after the time when the insertion or removal of the storage means was detected, and further to calculate a difference between the first statistical value and the second statistical value, estimate whether the installation location of the regulating means is appropriate based on the difference, and if it is estimated that the installation location of the regulating means is inappropriate, determine the countermeasure content and the notification destination.

9. The image forming system according to claim 8, wherein the first control means is configured to stop notifying the content of the countermeasures when the installation location of the regulating means is estimated to be appropriate after the installation location of the regulating means is estimated to be inappropriate.

10. the state information includes a plurality of records, each record including date and time data, a type code, and a measurement time; When the type code of a first record among the plurality of records is a first code, the date and time data of the first record is measurement time information indicating a time when the measurement result was acquired, and the measurement time is the measurement result, When the type code of a second record among the plurality of records is a second code, the date and time data of the second record is detection time information indicating a time when the insertion or removal of the receiving means was detected, and the measurement time is arbitrary information or is not included. The image forming system according to claim 8.

11. 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the client device is an information processing device of a company in charge of maintenance of the image forming device or a company that sold the image forming device.

12. The first control means A first analysis means for analyzing the status information; a determination unit that determines a first measure to be applied to the image forming apparatus based on at least a result of the first analysis, and determines a notification destination of the first measure; a storage means for storing the first countermeasure content and a notification destination to which the first countermeasure content is notified as the countermeasure history; a second analysis means for executing the second analysis, which analyzes the number of notifications of the first countermeasure content to the notification destination based on the countermeasure history; having the determining means changes the content of the measure to be notified to the notification destination from the first content of the measure to a second content of the measure, based on the number of notifications of the first content of the measure; 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the image forming system is configured as follows.

13. The determining means is When the number of notifications of the first countermeasure content is less than a threshold, the first countermeasure content is maintained; when the number of notifications of the first countermeasure content becomes equal to or greater than the threshold value, the countermeasure content notified to the notification destination is changed from the first countermeasure content to the second countermeasure content; 13. The image forming system according to claim 12, wherein the image forming system is configured as follows.

14. The first control means executing the first analysis on the status information acquired after the notification of the first countermeasure content is started, and determining that a part of the image forming apparatus has been replaced based on an analysis result of the first analysis; When the part is replaced, resetting the number of notifications and stopping the notification of the first countermeasure content; If the part has not been replaced, continue notifying the content of the first countermeasure.

14. The image forming system according to claim 13, wherein the image forming system is configured as follows.

15. The image forming system according to claim 12 , wherein the determining unit is configured to change the content of the countermeasure while maintaining the notification destination in accordance with the analysis result acquired by the second analyzing unit.

16. 16. The image forming system according to claim 15, wherein the notification destination is the client device of a company in charge of maintenance of the image forming apparatus or a company that sold the image forming apparatus.

17. The image forming system according to claim 12 , wherein the first countermeasure content includes an instruction to replace a part involved in sheet conveyance.

18. the image forming apparatus has a plurality of feeding units each capable of feeding a sheet, The image forming system according to claim 12 , wherein the second countermeasure includes changing a feeding means for the sheet.

19. the image forming apparatus has a first feeding mode in which a retry of feeding a sheet is executed, and a second feeding mode in which a retry of feeding the sheet is not executed, The image forming system according to claim 12 , wherein the second countermeasure includes changing from the second feeding mode to the first feeding mode.

20. the image forming apparatus has a feeding mode in which, when feeding of a sheet fails, a retry of feeding the sheet is performed, and when the number of retry failures reaches a threshold number, the retry of the sheet is stopped; The image forming system according to claim 12 , wherein the second countermeasure includes increasing the threshold number of times.

21. The image forming apparatus includes: A storage means for storing the sheet; A feeding means for feeding the sheet; an image forming means for forming an image on the sheet fed by the feeding means; a monitoring unit that monitors the operation status of the image forming apparatus and acquires the status information indicating the operation status; a communication means for communicating with the server device, the communication means being configured to transmit the status information to the server device and to receive the countermeasure content transmitted from the server device; An output means for outputting the countermeasure content; The imaging system of claim 12 .

22. The image forming apparatus includes: The sheet conveying device further includes a detection unit for detecting whether a part involved in conveying the sheet has been replaced, the monitoring means creates the status information, the status information including a measurement result of a transport time required for the sheet to be transported along a transport path, measurement time information indicating a time when the measurement result was obtained, and detection information indicating that the detection means has detected that the part has been replaced; 22. The image forming system according to claim 21, wherein the first control means is configured to determine whether the part has been replaced based on the detection information, and to reset the number of notifications when the part has been replaced.

23. the image forming apparatus is configured to obtain status information indicating an operating status of the image forming apparatus and transmit the status information to the server apparatus; The server device includes: a communication unit for communicating with the image forming apparatus and the client apparatus; 23. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the first control unit controls the communication unit to cause the communication unit to receive the status information and to transmit the countermeasure content to the notification destination.

24. A communication means for communicating with the image forming apparatus and the client apparatus; A control unit for controlling the communication unit, The control means receiving status information indicating an operating status of the image forming apparatus by the communication means; performing a first analysis on the status information; determining a countermeasure to be applied to the image forming apparatus based on at least a result of the first analysis, and determining a notification destination of the countermeasure from the image forming apparatus or a client apparatus; The countermeasure content is transmitted to the notification destination by the communication means; storing the countermeasure content and the notification destination as a countermeasure history; performing a second analysis on the action history; maintaining or changing at least one of the countermeasure content and the notification destination of the countermeasure content according to the analysis result of the first analysis and the analysis result of the second analysis; The server device is configured as follows.

25. A program executed by a server device capable of communicating with an image forming apparatus and a client device, the server device comprising: receiving status information indicating an operating status of the image forming apparatus; performing a first analysis on the status information; determining a countermeasure to be applied to the image forming apparatus based on at least a result of the first analysis, and causing the image forming apparatus or a client apparatus to determine a notification destination of the countermeasure; The countermeasure content is transmitted to the notification destination, The countermeasure content and the notification destination are stored as a countermeasure history; performing a second analysis on the countermeasure history; maintaining or changing at least one of the countermeasure content and the notification destination of the countermeasure content according to the analysis result of the first analysis and the analysis result of the second analysis; program.

Images