Management program, management device, management method, management system, execution program, image forming apparatus, and execution method

Abstract

To provide a new method about task management of a device.SOLUTION: A management program makes a control part of a management device execute transmission processing, determination processing, retransmission processing and notification processing. The transmission processing transmits a first task processing command to instruct the a plurality of devices to execute task processing. The determination processing determines whether the task processing by the plurality of devices is completed. The retransmission processing transmits a second task processing command to an uncompleted device in which the task processing has not been completed. The notification processing notifies a user and / or a manager of the uncompleted device that the task processing is executed in the uncompleted device by the second task processing command.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to techniques for managing multiple devices. [Background technology]

[0002] As described in Patent Document 1, there is known a technology in which a management server is connected to multiple image forming devices via a network such as the Internet, and the management server centrally manages the operating status of each image forming device. According to Patent Document 1, the management server can automatically update the firmware of each image forming device via the network, and can accept or reject consent to firmware updates. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-16393 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the technique of Patent Document 1 does not fully disclose how to handle the situation when a problem occurs in the automatic update of firmware in an image forming apparatus. One aspect of the present disclosure provides a new method for device task management. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure is a management program executable by a control unit in a management device including a communication unit and a control unit, the management program causing the control unit to execute a transmission process, a determination process, a retransmission process, and a notification process. The transmission process transmits a first task processing command via the communication unit to a plurality of devices instructing them to execute task processing. The determination process determines whether task processing has been completed in the plurality of devices based on information acquired via the communication unit. The retransmission process transmits a second task processing command via the communication unit to an incomplete device, which is a device determined to have incompleted task processing in the determination process, instructing it to execute task processing. The notification process notifies a user and / or administrator of the incomplete device that task processing will be executed in the incomplete device using the second task processing command.

[0006] According to the above configuration, the user and / or administrator of the incomplete device is notified, which prevents the automatic execution of task processing on the incomplete device by sending the second task processing command from being hindered, thereby more reliably executing task processing on the incomplete device.

[0007] Another aspect of the present disclosure is an apparatus corresponding to a computer that operates according to the program, or a method implemented by the program. According to such an aspect, task processing can be more reliably executed on the incomplete device.

[0008] One aspect of the present disclosure is an execution program executable by a control unit in an image forming apparatus including a communication unit and a control unit, the execution program causing the control unit to perform a reception process and a notification process. The reception process receives a task processing command instructing execution of task processing via the communication unit. The notification process notifies a user and / or administrator of the image forming apparatus that the task processing will be executed by the image forming apparatus when the reception process receives a task processing command instructing execution of the same task processing two or more times.

[0009] According to the above configuration, since the notification process is performed for the user and / or administrator of the image forming device, it is possible to prevent the automatic execution of task processing in the image forming device from being hindered by the retransmission of the task processing command, thereby enabling the task processing to be executed more reliably in the image forming device.

[0010] Another aspect of the present disclosure is an apparatus corresponding to a computer that operates according to the program, or a method implemented by the program. According to such an aspect, task processing can be more reliably executed by the image forming apparatus. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] Fig. 1A is a block diagram of a management system according to the first embodiment, and Fig. 1B is an explanatory diagram of automatic firmware update for each image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] Fig. 2A is a block diagram of a management device according to the first embodiment, and Fig. 2B is a block diagram of an administrator terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] Fig. 3A is a block diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment, and Fig. 3B is a block diagram of the control terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a management DB according to the first embodiment; [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart of an automatic update process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart of an automatic re-execution process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] Fig. 7A is a block diagram of a management system according to the second embodiment, and Fig. 7B is an explanatory diagram of automatic firmware update for each image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. [Figure 8] Fig. 8A is a block diagram of a management device according to the second embodiment, and Fig. 8B is a block diagram of a cloud server according to the second embodiment. [Figure 9]Fig. 9A is a block diagram of a management system according to the third embodiment, and Fig. 9B is an explanatory diagram of automatic firmware update for each image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart of an update process according to the fourth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described. [1. First embodiment] [(1) Management System] The management system 1 of the first embodiment includes a management device 2, an administrator terminal 3, and a plurality of devices (see FIG. 1A). Note that the plurality of devices is, for example, a plurality of image forming devices 5, but is not limited thereto and may be one or more types of electronic devices other than the image forming devices 5, or may be multiple types of electronic devices including the image forming devices 5.

[0013] In the management system 1, the management device 2 causes each of the multiple image forming devices 5 to execute a predetermined task process. Note that the task process may be, for example, a process (hereinafter, referred to as an update process) in which the image forming device 5 acquires update data from the provision server 4 and updates its own firmware (hereinafter, also referred to as F / W) based on the update data. In other words, the management system 1 provides a service for automatically updating the firmware of each image forming device 5. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and the task process may also be, for example, a process for maintaining the image forming device 5 or a process for diagnosing a malfunction of the image forming device 5.

[0014] The management device 2, the administrator terminal 3, and the plurality of image forming devices 5 are connected to a wide area network 7 such as the Internet. The administrator terminal 3 communicates with the management device 2 via the wide area network 7 and controls the management device 2 (see FIG. 1B). The administrator terminal 3 is used by the administrator. Note that the administrator terminal 3 may be capable of communicating with the image forming device 5 via the wide area network 7.

[0015] The management device 2 is configured as a server on the cloud, is provided with a management DB 22C (described later), and communicates with each image forming device 5 via a wide area network 7. More specifically, the services provided by the management system 1 may be realized by AWS (registered trademark, Amazon Web Service), and the management device 2 may be a server in AWS.

[0016] [(2) Management device] The management device 2 includes a control unit 20, a communication unit 21, and a storage unit 22 (see FIG. 2A). The control unit 20 includes a CPU 20A and a memory 20B. The CPU 20A executes processing in accordance with a program loaded into the memory 20B. The memory 20B may include, for example, a semiconductor memory such as a ROM, a RAM, an NVRAM, or a flash memory.

[0017] The communication unit 21 is a component for accessing the wide area network 7, and communicates with devices such as the image forming device 5 and the administrator terminal 3 via the wide area network 7. The storage unit 22 has a configuration as an example of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The storage unit 22 is a part for storing programs executed by the CPU 20A and various data, and may be configured as a storage such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive).

[0018] The storage unit 22 stores programs installed in the management device 2. As an example, the storage unit 22 stores an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) 22A, a management program 22B that runs on the OS 22A, and a management DB 22C. Details of the management program 22B and the management DB 22C will be described later.

[0019] The management device 2 also functions as a web server that provides a management site, which is a website accessible from the administrator terminal 3, and data (not shown) for forming the management site is stored in the storage unit 22. The management device 2 receives various instructions from the administrator via the management site, and provides the contents of the management DB 22C to the administrator.

[0020] The storage unit 22 also stores registration information 22D, which is information relating to the user and / or manager of each image forming device 5. The registration information 22D includes, for example, the name and contact information of the user and / or manager of each image forming device 5. Note that the contact information may be, for example, an email address or contact information on an SNS.

[0021] [(3) Administrator terminal] The administrator terminal 3 is a terminal for controlling the management device 2, and may be configured as, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a laptop computer, or a desktop personal computer (PC) (see FIG. 2B). The administrator terminal 3 includes a control unit 30, a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, a display unit 33, and an input unit 34.

[0022] The control unit 30, the communication unit 31, and the storage unit 32 have the same configurations as the control unit 20, the communication unit 21, and the storage unit 22 of the management device 2, respectively. The storage unit 32 stores programs installed in the administrator terminal 3. As an example, the storage unit 32 stores an OS 32A and a browser 32B that runs on the OS 32A. The administrator terminal 3 can access an administration site provided on the management device 2 using the browser 32B.

[0023] The display unit 33 is a part that displays various images, and may be, for example, a liquid crystal display. The input unit 34 includes one or more input devices for receiving input operations from the user. Specifically, the input unit 34 may include, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, and / or a touch panel.

[0024] [(4) Image forming device] The image forming device 5 is configured as a multifunction device equipped with a scanning function, a printing function, a copying function, and a fax function (see FIG. 3A). The scanning function is a function for reading an image of an original document and generating image data. The printing function is a function for printing an image on paper based on print data received from the control terminal 6 (described later). The copying function is a function for printing an image read by the scanning function on paper by the printing function. The fax function is a function for transmitting image data of an image read by the scanning function via a communication line, and for printing image data received via a communication line by the printing function.

[0025] Of course, the image forming device 5 is not limited to this, and may have a function as a label printer that prints a label image on a tape-like print medium, for example. The image forming device 5 may also have some of the functions described above, or may be configured as, for example, a portable mobile printer or scanner.

[0026] The image forming apparatus 5 includes a control unit 50, a communication unit 51, a display unit 52, an input unit 53, a printing unit 54, and a reading unit 55. The control unit 50 includes a CPU 50A and a memory 50B. The memory 50B may include semiconductor memory such as ROM, RAM, NVRAM, or flash memory. Firmware 50C for implementing various functions of the image forming apparatus 5, as well as data, are stored in non-volatile memory such as ROM or flash memory in the memory 50B. The CPU 50A performs overall control of the image forming apparatus 5 by executing processes in accordance with the firmware 50C stored in the memory 50B.

[0027] The communication unit 51 is a component for accessing the wide area network 7 and communicating with the control terminal 6. The communication unit 51 may communicate with devices such as the image forming device 5, the administrator terminal 3, and the control terminal 6 via the wide area network 7. Alternatively, for example, the communication unit 51 may communicate with devices such as the control terminal 6 via a local area network. Alternatively, for example, the communication unit 51 may communicate directly with devices such as the control terminal 6 in accordance with standards such as USB (Universal Serial Bus) and Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0028] The display unit 52 displays various information to the user. The input unit 53 accepts various input operations from the user. The printing unit 54 has, for example, an inkjet or electrophotographic printing mechanism, and prints an image on paper.

[0029] The reading unit 55 includes an image sensor, reads an image of a document, and generates image data of the read image. (5) Control terminal The control terminal 6 is a terminal for controlling the image forming apparatus 5, and may be configured as, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a notebook computer, or as a desktop PC (see FIG. 3B). The control terminal 6 includes a control unit 60, a communication unit 61, a storage unit 62, a display unit 63, and an input unit 64.

[0030] The control unit 60, the storage unit 62, the display unit 63, and the input unit 64 have the same configurations as the control unit 30, the storage unit 32, the display unit 33, and the input unit 34 of the administrator terminal 3, respectively. The communication unit 61 is a component for communicating with the image forming apparatus 5. The communication unit 61 may be a component for accessing the wide area network 7, and may communicate with an apparatus such as the image forming apparatus 5 via the wide area network 7. Alternatively, for example, the communication unit 61 may communicate with an apparatus such as the image forming apparatus 5 via a local area network. Alternatively, for example, the communication unit 61 may communicate directly with an apparatus such as the image forming apparatus 5 in accordance with a standard such as USB or Bluetooth.

[0031] The storage unit 62 stores programs installed in the control terminal 6. As an example, the storage unit 62 stores an OS 62A, and an application 62B and a driver 62C that run on the OS 62A.

[0032] The driver 62C is a program for communicating with the image forming apparatus 5 via the communication unit 61 and for controlling the image forming apparatus 5. Application 62B is a program for utilizing the functions of image forming apparatus 5. Specifically, application 62B may have, for example, a function for generating an image to be printed and printing it on image forming apparatus 5, or a function for printing images such as photographs and various files on image forming apparatus 5. Furthermore, for example, application 62B may have a function for causing image forming apparatus 5 to perform a scan and for obtaining image data generated by the scan from image forming apparatus 5.

[0033] (6) Automatic firmware updates The process of automatically updating firmware 50C in multiple image forming devices 5 in management device 2 is realized by CPU 20A of control unit 20 operating in accordance with management program 22B (see FIG. 2A). Hereinafter, the subject of this process in management device 2 may be referred to as management program 22B.

[0034] As described above, the administrator terminal 3 can access the management site of the management device 2 via the browser 32B. Then, the administrator operating the administrator terminal 3 can send an update instruction to the management program 22B via the management site to instruct the management program 22B to automatically update the firmware 50C in the multiple image forming devices 5 (see FIG. 1B). Then, upon receiving the update instruction, the management program 22B sends an update command to the multiple image forming devices 5 to instruct them to execute an update process for the firmware 50C.

[0035] The automatic update of the firmware 50C may be performed for all of the image forming devices 5 included in the management system 1, or may be performed for, for example, some of the image forming devices 5 specified via the administrator terminal 3. In other words, the management program 22B sends an update command to all or some of the image forming devices 5 in the management system 1.

[0036] Then, the image forming apparatus 5 that has received the update command receives update data from the provision server 4 via the wide area network 7, and updates all or part of the firmware 50C with the update data.

[0037] Furthermore, after sending the update command for firmware 50C, management program 22B determines the status of each image forming device 5 based on the response from each image forming device 5 and stores the status in management DB 22C. Then, management program 22B updates the content of the management site according to the content of management DB 22C. Therefore, by accessing the management site with browser 32B of administrator terminal 3, the administrator can check the status of each image forming device 5 stored in management DB 22C and understand the execution status of the update process for firmware 50C.

[0038] Furthermore, as will be described in detail later, the management program 22B sends update commands multiple times to an image forming apparatus 5 that has failed in the update process of the firmware 50C. That is, first and second update commands are provided as update commands. The first and second update commands may be configured with the same data, or may be configured with different data. That is, the first and second update commands may be the same command, or may be different commands.

[0039] That is, first, the management program 22B sends a first update command to a plurality of image forming devices 5 in accordance with an update instruction from the administrator terminal 3. Thereafter, the management program 22B automatically re-executes the update process by sending a second update command to an image forming device 5 for which the update process of firmware 50C performed due to the first update command has failed and the update process is incomplete (hereinafter, referred to as an incomplete device). The management program 22B also determines the status of the image forming device 5 based on the responses from the image forming device 5 to the first and second update commands, and saves the status in the management DB 22C.

[0040] [(7) Management DB] The management DB 22C shows records corresponding to the multiple image forming devices 5 to which update commands are sent, and each record has the status of the corresponding image forming device 5. Furthermore, each row in Fig. 4 corresponds to a record, and each record has the following status: "Automatic re-execution", "Re-execution time", "Execution result", "Execution date and time", "Model name", "Identification information", "Last update date", "Current version", and "Latest version".

[0041] "Automatic re-execution" indicates whether the image forming apparatus 5 is a target for automatic re-execution, in other words, whether it is a target for sending the second update command. "Automatic re-execution" indicates "YES" if the image forming apparatus 5 is a target for automatic re-execution, and indicates "NO" if it is not.

[0042] The "re-execution time" indicates the time when the image forming apparatus 5 executes the update process based on the second update command. The "execution result" indicates whether the last update process executed on the image forming device 5 was successful. If the update process was successful, the "execution result" indicates "success." On the other hand, if the update process failed, the "execution result" indicates the cause of the error. Specifically, the cause of the error may be, for example, "file error," "internal error," "offline," "connection error," "cancelled," "busy," etc.

[0043] It should be noted that a "file error" means that the update process could not be executed because the update data provided by the provision server 4 was inappropriate. Furthermore, "internal error" means that the update process could not be executed due to an abnormality in the image forming apparatus 5.

[0044] Also, "offline" means that the update process could not be performed because communication between the management device 2 and the image forming device 5 was not possible, for example, because the image forming device 5 was not connected to the wide area network 7.

[0045] Furthermore, a "connection error" means that an abnormality occurred in the communication between the image forming device 5 and the management device 2, or in the communication between the image forming device 5 and the provision server 4, and therefore the update process could not be executed.

[0046] Also, "cancellation" means that the update process was canceled by a direct operation by the user on the input unit 53 or by a command sent to the image forming device 5 from the control terminal 6 operated by the user or administrator (in other words, an indirect operation on the image forming device 5).

[0047] Furthermore, "busy" means that the update process could not be executed due to a heavy load of processes other than the update process in the image forming device 5. Note that the other processes may be processes executed by the above-mentioned direct or indirect user operation.

[0048] If the cause of the error is unknown, the "Execution result" may indicate "Unknown." The "execution date and time" indicates the date and time when the image forming apparatus 5 executes the update process based on the first update command.

[0049] The “model name” indicates the model name of the image forming apparatus 5 . The "identification information" refers to information unique to the image forming apparatus 5 (for example, a serial number).

[0050] "Last updated date" indicates the date and time when the record was last updated. The "current version" refers to the version of the firmware 50C currently stored in the memory 50B of the image forming apparatus 5.

[0051] The "latest version" refers to the latest version of firmware 50C that can be acquired by image forming apparatus 5. By executing the update process, firmware 50C of image forming apparatus 5 is updated to the latest version.

[0052] [(8) Automatic Update Processing] The automatic update process for automatically updating firmware 50C of multiple image forming devices 5 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 5. The automatic update process is started when management program 22B receives an update instruction from administrator terminal 3. Each step of the automatic update process is executed by management program 22B.

[0053] In S100, the management program 22B transmits a first update command to the multiple image forming devices 5, and then proceeds to S105. At this time, the current date and time is stored in the "execution date and time" corresponding to each record in the management DB 22C. Thereafter, every time the status of any record in the management DB 22C is updated, the date and time of the update is stored in the "last update date" of that record.

[0054] Then, the image forming device 5 that receives the first update command executes the update process. Specifically, the control unit 50 of the image forming device 5 acquires the update data from the provision server 4 via the communication unit 51, and updates the firmware 50C based on the update data. In other words, the execution timing of the update process of each image forming device 5 based on the first update command is uniformly determined.

[0055] In S105, the management program 22B receives a response from each image forming device 5 to the first update command or to the second update command sent in the automatic re-execution process described below. In the following S110, the management program 22B determines the status of the image forming device 5 based on the response from the image forming device 5, and in S115, the status is saved in the record corresponding to the image forming device 5 in the management DB 22C.

[0056] Specifically, for example, the "model name," "identification information," and "current version" of the image forming device 5 that sent the response may be determined based on information included in the response to the first update command. Then, according to the determination result, the "model name," "identification information," and "current version" of the record corresponding to the image forming device 5 may be updated.

[0057] Furthermore, for example, based on the responses to the first and second commands, the success or failure of the update process may be determined as the "execution result" of the image forming device 5 that sent the response, and the "execution result" of the corresponding record may be updated based on the determination result.

[0058] That is, for example, "success" and "NO" are stored in the "execution result" and "automatic re-execution" of the record corresponding to the image forming device 5 for which the update process was successful. Furthermore, the "latest version" of the record may be updated based on the version information of the latest firmware 50C included in the response from the image forming device 5.

[0059] Furthermore, if the update process fails, the cause of the error may be determined to be, for example, a "file error," an "internal error," a "connection error," "cancelled," or "busy," based on the response from the image forming device 5. The determined cause of the error may then be saved in the "execution result" field of the record corresponding to the image forming device 5 that sent the response.

[0060] Furthermore, if a response is received but the cause of the error cannot be determined, "unknown" may be stored in the "execution result" field of the record corresponding to the image forming apparatus 5 that sent the response. It is also possible that there is no response from the image forming device 5 even after a certain period of time has passed since the first and second commands were sent. In such a case, the management program 22B may determine that the image forming device 5 has failed the update process, determine the cause of the error as "offline," and save "offline" in the "execution result" of the record corresponding to the image forming device 5.

[0061] Furthermore, the management program 22B determines the specific error cause from among the error causes indicated in the "Execution result" of the record of the management DB 22C corresponding to each image forming apparatus 5 for which the update process failed (in other words, the incomplete device).The management program 22B then stores "YES" in the "Automatic retry" of the record corresponding to the incomplete device for which the specific error cause occurred.On the other hand, "NO" is stored in the "Automatic retry" of the record of the incomplete device for which an error cause other than the specific error cause occurred and for the incomplete device for which the "Execution result" is "Unknown".

[0062] The specific error cause may be, for example, an error cause based on a direct or indirect user operation on the incomplete device, such as "cancel" or "busy." Of course, this is not a limitation, and various error causes can be considered to be specific error causes. In this embodiment, as an example, an error cause related to poor communication with the incomplete device, such as "offline" or "connection error," is considered to be a specific error cause.

[0063] In addition, the re-execution date and time, which is the date and time when the update process based on the second update command is executed, is set individually for each incomplete device, and the re-execution date and time is saved in the "re-execution time" field of the record corresponding to the incomplete device in management DB22C.

[0064] Specifically, the management program 22B may set the re-execution date and time based on, for example, the "execution date and time" of the incomplete device, the cause of the error, etc. In other words, for example, the time that is a predetermined time away from the time indicated by the "execution date and time" of the record corresponding to the incomplete device may be set as the re-execution date and time.

[0065] Furthermore, for incomplete devices where the error cause is "cancelled" or "busy," the re-execution date and time may be set to a time different from the date and time indicated by the "execution date and time," or may be set to a nighttime re-execution date and time.

[0066] Furthermore, for example, the "retry time" of a record corresponding to an incomplete device whose error cause is "offline" or "connection error" may be set to "after communication recovery," indicating that the second update command will be sent after the communication failure is resolved.

[0067] In S120, the management program 22B assigns the automatic re-execution process (S125) of Fig. 6 to incomplete devices for which "automatic re-execution" in the records of the management DB 22C is "YES". On the other hand, the first manual execution process (S130) is assigned to incomplete devices for which "automatic re-execution" is "NO". Then, the automatic re-execution process or the first manual execution process assigned to each incomplete device is executed.

[0068] The automatic re-execution process of S125 will be described in detail later. In the first manual execution process of S130, the management program 22B determines the contact information of the user and / or administrator of the incomplete device to which this process is assigned based on the registration information 22D, and sends a manual execution message to the contact information. As a result, the manual execution message is sent to a terminal such as the control terminal 6 corresponding to the incomplete device.

[0069] The manual execution message is intended to, for example, notify a user and / or administrator of the failure of the automatic update of firmware 50C in the incomplete device and to cause the incomplete device to execute the update process of firmware 50C. Specifically, the manual execution message may suggest, instruct, or urge the user and / or administrator to, for example, perform work to execute the update process in the incomplete device.

[0070] In S135, which is performed after all processes assigned to each incomplete device have been executed, the management program 22B determines whether to end the automatic update of the firmware 50C. Specifically, for example, if "automatic re-execution" is "NO" in the records corresponding to all image forming devices 5 in the management DB 22C, the management program 22B may end the automatic update. If the automatic update is to be ended (S135: YES), the management program 22B ends this process; if not (S135: NO), the management program 22B proceeds to S105.

[0071] As described above, in this embodiment, as an example, an error cause based on poor communication with an incomplete device, such as "offline" or "connection error," is considered to be a specific error cause. However, the error cause may be an error cause other than the specific error cause. In this case, the first manual execution process of S130 is assigned to an incomplete device whose update process failed due to such an error cause.

[0072] [(9) Automatic re-execution process] The automatic re-execution process assigned to each incomplete device that failed in the update process due to a specific error will be explained using the flowchart in Fig. 6. Each step of the automatic re-execution process is executed by the management program 22B. In addition, the incomplete device in the explanation of this process means the incomplete device to which this process is assigned.

[0073] In S200, the management program 22B determines whether the "retry time" of the record in the management DB 22C corresponding to the incomplete device indicates "after communication is restored," in other words, whether the specific error cause is due to poor communication. If a positive determination is obtained (S200: YES), the management program 22B proceeds to S205, and if a negative determination is obtained (S200: NO), the management program 22B proceeds to S210.

[0074] In S205, the management program 22B determines whether the communication failure of the incomplete device has been resolved. Specifically, for example, the management program 22B may send a command to the incomplete device and determine whether the communication failure has been resolved based on the response to the command. If a positive determination is obtained (S205: YES), the management program 22B proceeds to S210, and if a negative determination is obtained (S200: NO), the management program 22B proceeds again to S205 and waits for the communication failure to be resolved. Note that if the communication failure is not resolved even after a certain period of time has passed, the management program 22B may proceed to S230.

[0075] In S210, the management program 22B determines whether the number of times the second update command has been sent to the incomplete device (hereinafter, the number of retransmissions) is less than a predetermined upper limit. If a positive determination is obtained (S210: YES), the management program 22B proceeds to S215, and if a negative determination is obtained (S210: NO), the management program 22B proceeds to S230.

[0076] In S215, the management program 22B sends a second update command to the incomplete device so that the update process is executed at the "re-execution time" of the record in the management DB 22C corresponding to the incomplete device.

[0077] Specifically, for example, additional information specifying the execution date and time of the update process may be attached to the second update command. In this case, the management program 22B may attach the re-execution date and time indicated in the "re-execution time" of the record corresponding to the incomplete device to the second update command as additional information. Then, the incomplete device that receives the second update command may execute the update process at the re-execution date and time indicated in the additional information.

[0078] In addition, for example, the management program 22B may send a second update command to the incomplete device at the re-execution date and time indicated by the "re-execution time" of the record corresponding to the incomplete device. Furthermore, if the "re-execution time" of the record indicates "after communication is restored," the management program 22B may immediately send the second update command to the incomplete device after proceeding to S215. Then, the incomplete device that receives the second update command may immediately execute the update process.

[0079] In the next S220, the management program 22B executes a notification process to notify the user and / or administrator of the corresponding incomplete device of a retry message, and then proceeds to S225. Note that the retry message may include, for example, information that the update process of the firmware 50C will be executed in the incomplete device, the execution date and time of the update process, an instruction to refrain from using the incomplete device while the update process is being executed, and the like.

[0080] Specifically, for example, in the notification process, the management program 22B sends a notification command to the incomplete device, and the incomplete device that receives the notification command may follow the instructions indicated by the notification command and notify the retry message by image via the display unit 52. Of course, the incomplete device may notify the retry message by voice via a speaker (not shown), for example, or may notify the retry message by printing the retry message on a print medium by the printing unit 54.

[0081] Furthermore, for example, the incomplete device may communicate with the control terminal 6 according to the instructions indicated by the notification command, and cause the control terminal 6 to notify the retry message by image or sound. More specifically, for example, the retry message may be notified by the application 62B or driver 62C of the control terminal 6, or the browser of the control terminal 6 may access the incomplete device, and the retry message may be notified by the browser.

[0082] Furthermore, in the notification process, for example, the management program 22B may obtain the contact information of the user and / or administrator of the incomplete device based on the registration information 22D and send a retry message to the contact information. As a result, the retry message is sent to a terminal such as the control terminal 6 corresponding to the incomplete device, and the retry message is notified to the user and / or administrator via the terminal.

[0083] In S225, the management program 22B sends a restriction command to the corresponding incomplete device to instruct it to restrict the execution of processes other than the update process, and then ends this process. For example, an incomplete device that receives the restriction command may refrain from executing a process based on the above-mentioned direct or indirect operation performed by a user while the update process based on the second update command is being executed, or may execute only processes that have a low processing load and do not interfere with the update process. Furthermore, for example, if a direct or indirect operation is performed while the update process is being executed, the incomplete device may suspend the process based on the operation and execute the process after the update process is completed.

[0084] On the other hand, in S230, which is performed if the number of times the second update command has been sent to the corresponding incomplete device in S210 is equal to or greater than the upper limit, the management program 22B executes the second manual execution process and terminates this process. Note that the second manual execution process is the same process as the first manual execution process (S130) of the automatic update process.

[0085] [2. Second Embodiment] [(1) Management System] The management system 1 of the second embodiment includes a management device 8, a cloud server 9, and a plurality of image forming devices 5 similar to those of the first embodiment (see FIG. 7A). Similar to the first embodiment, the management system 1 of the second embodiment provides a service for automatically updating firmware 50C of each image forming device 5.

[0086] However, the management system 1 of the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a cloud server 9 is provided instead of the administrator terminal 3, and a management DB 92A similar to that of the first embodiment is provided in the cloud server 9 (see FIG. 7B). Also, like the management device 2 of the first embodiment, the management device 8 of the second embodiment executes processing to cause a plurality of image forming devices 5 to execute update processing of firmware 50C, but some of the configuration is different.

[0087] That is, the management device 8, cloud server 9, and multiple image forming devices 5 are connected to a wide area network 7. The cloud server 9 is configured as a server on the cloud, and communicates with the management device 8 and each image forming device 5 via the wide area network 7. The management device 8 is used by an administrator, and communicates with the image forming devices 5 via the cloud server 9.

[0088] More specifically, the services provided by the management system 1 of the second embodiment may be realized by, for example, AZURE (registered trademark), and the cloud server 9 may be a server in AZURE.

[0089] [(2) Management device] The management device 8 may be configured as, for example, a notebook computer or a desktop PC (see FIG. 8A). The management device 8 includes a control unit 80, a communication unit 81, a storage unit 82, a display unit 83, and an input unit 84. These components have the same configurations as the control unit 30, the communication unit 31, the storage unit 32, the display unit 33, and the input unit 34 of the administrator terminal 3 of the first embodiment, respectively.

[0090] The storage unit 82 has a configuration as an example of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and stores programs installed in the management device 8. As an example, the storage unit 82 stores an OS 82A and a management program 82B that runs on the OS 82A. The storage unit 82 also stores registration information 82C similar to that of the first embodiment.

[0091] [(3) Cloud Server] The cloud server 9 includes a control unit 90, a communication unit 91, and a storage unit 92 (see FIG. 8B). These units have the same configurations as the control unit 20, the communication unit 21, and the storage unit 22 of the management device 2 of the first embodiment, respectively. The storage unit 92 stores a management DB 92A similar to that of the first embodiment.

[0092] (4) Automatic firmware updates In the second embodiment, the CPU 80A of the control unit 80 of the management device 8 operates in accordance with the management program 82B, thereby executing the same automatic update process and automatic re-execution process as in the first embodiment (FIG. 8A). This results in automatic updating of firmware 50C in multiple image forming devices 5. Hereinafter, the subject of this processing in the management device 8 may be referred to as the management program 82B. Below, differences between the configuration for automatic firmware update in the second embodiment and the first embodiment will be described.

[0093] In the second embodiment, the management program 82B receives an update instruction from an administrator via the input unit 84 of the management device 8 to instruct automatic updating of the firmware 50C in the multiple image forming devices 5 (see FIG. 7B). Upon receiving the update instruction, the management program 82B starts the automatic update process.

[0094] In addition, in the automatic update process and automatic execution process of the second embodiment, the management program 82B communicates with each image forming device 5 via the cloud server 9, and also accesses the cloud server 9 to update and refer to the management DB 92A provided on the cloud server 9.

[0095] In the second embodiment, update data for the firmware 50C is provided from the provision server 4 to the management device 8. Then, the image forming device 5 that has received the update command receives the update data from the management device 8 via the wide area network 7, and updates the firmware 50C with the update data.

[0096] Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the administrator can refer to the management DB 92A by, for example, accessing the cloud server 9 via the management device 8. This allows the administrator to check the status of each image forming device 5 and understand the execution status of the update process for the firmware 50C.

[0097] 3. Third Embodiment [(1) Management System] The management system 1 of the third embodiment includes a management device 8 and a plurality of image forming devices 5 similar to those of the first embodiment (see FIG. 9A). Similar to the first and second embodiments, the management system 1 of the third embodiment provides a service for automatically updating firmware 50C of each image forming device 5.

[0098] However, the management system 1 of the third embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in that it does not include an administrator terminal 3 and a cloud server 9. Furthermore, the management device 8 of the third embodiment has the same configuration as the second embodiment, but differs from the second embodiment in that a management DB 82D similar to that of the first and second embodiments is stored in the storage unit 82 (see FIG. 9B).

[0099] In the third embodiment, the management device 8 and the plurality of image forming devices 5 are connected to a wide area network 7, and the management device 8 communicates with each of the image forming devices 5 via the wide area network 7.

[0100] [(2) Automatic firmware updates] In the third embodiment, the CPU 80A of the control unit 80 of the management device 8 operates in accordance with the management program 82B in the same manner as in the second embodiment, thereby executing the same automatic update process and automatic re-execution process as in the second embodiment (FIG. 9A). Hereinafter, the subject of this processing in the management device 8 may be referred to as the management program 82B. Below, differences between the configuration related to automatic firmware updates in the third embodiment and the first and second embodiments will be described.

[0101] In the automatic update process and automatic execution process of the third embodiment, the management program 82B communicates with each image forming device 5 without going through the cloud server 9, and updates and references the management DB 82D provided in the management device 8.

[0102] Furthermore, the administrator can access the management DB 82D by operating the management device 8, check the status of each image forming device 5, and grasp the execution status of the update process of the firmware 50C.

[0103] [4. Fourth Embodiment] [(1) Overview] The image forming device 5 of the fourth embodiment has the same configuration as the image forming device 5 of the first to third embodiments (see FIG. 3A). A plurality of image forming devices 5 are connected to a wide area network 7, and each image forming device 5 is capable of communicating with the management device 2 of the first embodiment via the wide area network 7. Furthermore, each image forming device 5 is capable of communicating with the control terminal 6 of the first embodiment.

[0104] The management device 2 is configured to cause each image forming device 5 to execute task processing similar to that in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, as an example of task processing, an update process for updating firmware 50C of the image forming device 5 is executed.

[0105] In response to an operation from an administrator, the management device 2 transmits a first update command to each image forming device 5 to instruct the image forming device 5 to execute an update process for the firmware 50C, and the image forming device 5 that receives the first update command executes the update process. In the update process, the firmware 50C is updated based on update data acquired from an external device.

[0106] Furthermore, the image forming device 5 that received the first update command transmits a response to the management device 2, notifying it of whether the update process was successful or not, or the cause of the error if the update process failed. Then, the management device 2 that received the response determines whether the update process based on the first update command was successful in each image forming device 5, and transmits a second update command to the image forming device 5 where the update process failed, instructing it to execute the update process.

[0107] The image forming device 5 that receives the second update command executes the update process and transmits a similar response to the management device 2. Then, based on the responses from each image forming device 5, the management device 2 determines whether the update process based on the second update command was successful in each image forming device 5, and transmits the second update command again to any image forming device 5 where the update process failed. In other words, the management device 2 transmits the second update command to the image forming device 5 until the update process is successful or the number of times the second update command has been transmitted reaches the upper limit.

[0108] In this embodiment, the management device 2 does not execute the processes corresponding to S220 and S225 in the automatic re-execution process. In other words, the management device 2 does not send a notification command to the image forming device 5 where the update process has failed.

[0109] Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 5 may be configured as a device other than the image forming apparatus 5. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 5 may execute the update process using the first and second update commands transmitted from the management apparatus 8 of the second or third embodiment, instead of the management apparatus 2 of the first embodiment.

[0110] [(2) Update process] Next, the update process executed by the image forming apparatus 5 upon receiving the first or second update command will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 10. This process is executed by the CPU 50A of the control unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 5 operating in accordance with the update process execution program included in the firmware 50C. Hereinafter, the entity that executes this process may be referred to as the execution program.

[0111] In S300, the execution program receives the first or second update command from the management device 2 via the communication unit 51, and proceeds to S305. In S305, the execution program determines whether or not the first update command has been received, and if a positive determination is obtained (S305: YES), the program proceeds to S320, and if a negative determination is obtained (S305: NO), the program proceeds to S310.

[0112] In S310, the execution program determines whether or not the second update command has been received, and if a positive determination is obtained (S310: YES), the program proceeds to S315, and if a negative determination is obtained (S310: NO), the program terminates this processing.

[0113] The first and second update commands may be configured with the same data or different data. That is, the first and second update commands may be the same command or different commands. If the first and second update commands are different commands, in S305 and S310, it may be determined whether the first or second update command has been received based on the data included in the command.

[0114] On the other hand, if the first and second update commands are the same command, in S305 and S310, it may be determined whether the first or second update command has been received, for example, based on history information of commands previously received from the management device 2. For example, when the first or second update command is received, if there is no history of receiving the first or second update command within a predetermined period, the received command may be regarded as the first update command, and if there is such history, the command may be regarded as the second update command.

[0115] In S315, the execution program executes notification processing to notify the user and / or administrator of the image forming apparatus 5 of a retry message similar to S220 of the automatic retry processing in the first embodiment, and then proceeds to S320.

[0116] Specifically, for example, in the notification process, the retry message may be notified by an image via the display unit 52 of the image forming device 5, by sound via a speaker not shown, or by printing the retry message on a print medium by the printing unit 54.

[0117] Furthermore, for example, in the notification process, the execution program may communicate with the control terminal 6 and cause the control terminal 6 to notify the retry message by image or sound. More specifically, for example, the retry message may be notified by the application 62B or driver 62C of the control terminal 6, or the image forming apparatus 5 may be accessed by the browser of the control terminal 6 and the retry message may be notified via the browser.

[0118] Furthermore, for example, if the contact information of the user and / or administrator is stored in the memory 50B of the image forming apparatus 5, the execution program may send a retry message to the contact information in the notification process. As a result, the retry message is sent to a terminal such as the control terminal 6 corresponding to the image forming apparatus 5, and the retry message is notified to the user and / or administrator via the terminal.

[0119] In S320, the execution program communicates with an external device via the wide area network 7 to obtain update data. Note that the external device may be, for example, the provision server 4 in the first embodiment, or a device similar to the management device 8 in the second or third embodiment. Then, in S325, the firmware 50C is updated based on the update data.

[0120] In S330, the execution program sends a response indicating the execution result of the update process to the management device 2. Specifically, the response notifies the management device 2 of the execution result that the update process was successful. If the update process fails, the response notifies the management device 2 of the cause of the error described above. The execution program then terminates this process.

[0121] [5. Effects] (1) According to the first to fourth embodiments, when the image forming apparatus 5 performs an update process of the firmware 50C based on the second update command, a notification process is performed for the user and / or the administrator. This prevents the automatic execution of the update process due to the transmission of the second update command from being interrupted. This allows the image forming apparatus 5 to more reliably execute the update process.

[0122] (2) Furthermore, according to the first to third embodiments, a second update command is sent to an incomplete device for which the update process has failed due to a specific error, and the update process is automatically re-executed. Meanwhile, a first manual execution process is executed for other incomplete devices, and a manual execution message is sent to the terminal corresponding to the incomplete device, so that the update process for the incomplete device can be manually executed. Therefore, the update process can be executed more reliably for the incomplete device.

[0123] (3) The specific error cause is based on the operation on the incomplete device. Therefore, the update process can be automatically re-executed more reliably on the incomplete device where the task process was not executed due to the operation by the user or administrator.

[0124] (4) In the first to third embodiments, the cause of the error related to the communication failure of the incomplete device is determined to be a specific error cause, and after the communication failure is resolved, a second update command is sent to the incomplete device. Therefore, the update process can be automatically re-executed more reliably on the incomplete device where the update process failed due to the communication failure.

[0125] (5) On the other hand, it is also possible to determine that the cause of the error related to the communication failure is a cause other than the specific error cause. In this case, the first manual execution process is executed for the incomplete device whose update process failed due to the communication failure, so that the update process can be executed more reliably for the incomplete device.

[0126] (6) Furthermore, the first manual execution process is executed for an incomplete device for which the cause of the error is unknown, so that the update process can be executed more reliably for the incomplete device. (7) When the number of transmissions of the second update command reaches the upper limit, the second manual execution process is executed for the incomplete device to which the second update command was transmitted. Therefore, even if it is difficult or impossible to automatically re-execute the update process, the update process can be executed for the incomplete device.

[0127] (8) In addition, in the notification process performed when the second update command is transmitted, a notification command is transmitted to the incomplete device to which the second update command is transmitted, and a re-execution message indicating that the update process will be executed is notified in the incomplete device. This makes it possible to appropriately urge the user and / or administrator of the incomplete device not to interfere with the update process.

[0128] (9) Furthermore, in the notification process, an incomplete device that receives a notification command communicates with the control terminal 6 in accordance with the command and outputs a retry message at the control terminal 6. This makes it possible to appropriately prompt the user and / or administrator of the incomplete device so as not to interfere with the update process.

[0129] (10) In addition, in the notification process, a retry message is sent to the contact information of the user and / or administrator of the incomplete device. This allows the retry message to be notified via a terminal such as the control terminal 6 corresponding to the incomplete device. This makes it possible to appropriately urge the user and / or administrator of the incomplete device to proceed with the update process without interfering with the update process.

[0130] (11) When the second update command is sent, a restriction command is sent to the incomplete device to which the second update command is sent, instructing the device to restrict the execution of processes other than the update process. This can prevent the incomplete device from executing other processes while the update process is being executed. This can prevent the re-execution of the update process using the second update command from being hindered.

[0131] (12) Furthermore, the first update command is sent to each image forming device 5 at a uniformly determined timing, but the timing for re-executing the update process based on the second update command is determined individually for each incomplete device depending on the cause of the error, etc. Therefore, at the stage of sending the first update command, it is possible to cause each image forming device 5 to execute the update process while reducing the workload. On the other hand, when the update process is to be re-executed, an appropriate timing for re-execution is determined depending on each incomplete device, so that the update process can be more reliably executed successfully.

[0132] 6. Other Embodiments (1) In the first to third embodiments, after transmitting the first update command, the management device 2, 8 may further transmit the first update command at least once to an incomplete device for which the update process has failed. That is, the management device 2, 8 may repeatedly transmit the first update command up to a predetermined upper limit of two or more times until the update process on the incomplete device is successful. Then, if the update process is not successful even after the number of times the first update command has been transmitted reaches the upper limit, the management device 2, 8 may transmit a second update command to the incomplete device in the same manner as in the above embodiments.

[0133] Similarly, in the fourth embodiment, after transmitting the first update command, the management devices 2 and 8 may further transmit the first update command at least once to the image forming device 5 for which the update process has failed. Then, if the update process is not successful even after the number of times the first update command has been transmitted reaches the upper limit, the management devices 2 and 8 may transmit a second update command to the image forming device 5 for which the update process has failed. Then, when the image forming device 5 receives the second update command after receiving the first update command two or more times, it may execute a notification process.

[0134] (2) Multiple functions of one component in the above embodiments may be realized by multiple components, or one function of one component may be realized by multiple components. Also, multiple functions of multiple components may be realized by one component, or one function realized by multiple components may be realized by one component. Also, part of the configuration of the above embodiments may be omitted. Also, at least part of the configuration of the above embodiments may be added to or substituted for the configuration of another of the above embodiments.

[0135] (3) In addition to the management devices 2 and 8 described above, the present disclosure can also be realized in various forms, such as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a semiconductor memory, a hard disk drive, a USB memory, a CD, or a DVD, on which the management program 22B and 82B is stored, or a method (in other words, a management method) corresponding to the automatic update process and automatic re-execution process realized by the management program 22B and 82B.

[0136] In addition to the image forming device 5 described above, the present disclosure can also be realized in various forms, such as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk drive, in which the execution program in firmware 50C is stored, or a method corresponding to the update process realized by the execution program (in other words, an execution method).

[0137] [7. Correspondence of Wording] In the first to fourth embodiments, the display unit 52 of the image forming apparatus 5 corresponds to an example of a notification unit.

[0138] In the first to third embodiments, the first and second update commands correspond to examples of the first and second task processing commands, respectively. Furthermore, S100 of the automatic update processing corresponds to an example of the transmission processing, and S110 to S120 correspond to an example of the determination processing. Furthermore, S215 of the automatic re-execution processing corresponds to an example of the re-transmission processing, and S225 corresponds to an example of the restriction processing.

[0139] In the fourth embodiment, the first and second update commands correspond to an example of an update command, and S300 of the update process corresponds to an example of a reception process. [8. Technical Ideas Disclosed in This Specification] [Item 1] The Communications Department and A control unit; A management program executable by the control unit in a management device comprising: The control unit a transmission process of transmitting a first task processing command to a plurality of devices via the communication unit, the first task processing command instructing the devices to execute task processing; a determination process for determining whether the task processing in the plurality of devices has been completed based on the information acquired via the communication unit; a retransmission process of transmitting, via the communication unit, a second task processing command to an incomplete device that is determined to have not completed the task processing in the determination process among the plurality of devices, the second task processing command instructing the device to execute the task processing; a notification process of notifying a user and / or an administrator of the incomplete device that the task processing will be executed in the incomplete device in response to the second task processing command; A management program that runs the

[0140] [Item 2] The management program according to item 1, In the determination process, based on the information acquired via the communication unit, a cause of an error that caused the task process to be incomplete in the incomplete device is further determined; In the retransmission process, if a specific error cause that is a predetermined error cause is determined in the determination process, the second task processing command is transmitted to the incomplete device for which the determination process was performed; When a determination result different from the specific error cause is obtained in the determination process, the control unit is further made to execute a first manual execution process of transmitting a manual execution message to a terminal corresponding to the incomplete device for causing the incomplete device for which the determination process was performed to execute the task process. Management program.

[0141] [Item 3] Item 2, the management program, The specific error cause is based on the operation on the incomplete device. Management program.

[0142] [Item 4] The management program according to item 2 or 3, In the determination process, the error cause related to a communication failure of the incomplete device is determined to be the error cause other than the specific error cause; In the first manual execution process, if the error cause related to the communication failure is determined in the determination process, the manual execution message is sent to a terminal corresponding to the incomplete device for which the determination process was performed. Management program.

[0143] [Item 5] The management program according to any one of items 2 to 4, In the determination process, the error cause related to a communication failure of the incomplete device is determined as the specific error cause; In the retransmission process, when communication with the incomplete device for which the cause of the error related to the communication failure was determined in the determination process is restored, the second task processing command is transmitted to the incomplete device. Management program.

[0144] [Item 6] The management program according to any one of items 2 to 5, In the first manual execution process, if the cause of the error cannot be determined in the determination process, the manual execution message is sent to a terminal corresponding to the incomplete device for which the determination process was performed. Management program.

[0145] [Item 7] The management program according to any one of items 1 to 6, the determining process further determines whether the task processing based on the second task processing command has been completed; In the retransmission process, the second task processing command is transmitted to the incomplete device until the number of times the second task processing command has been transmitted reaches an upper limit number; and causing the control unit to further execute a second manual execution process of transmitting a manual execution message to the terminal corresponding to the incomplete device for causing the incomplete device to execute the task processing, the terminal having transmitted the second task processing command the maximum number of times. Management program.

[0146] [Item 8] The management program according to any one of items 1 to 7, In the notification process, a notification command is transmitted to the incomplete device via the communication unit, instructing a notification unit provided in the incomplete device to notify that the task processing will be executed by the incomplete device. Management program.

[0147] [Item 9] The management program according to any one of items 1 to 8, In the notification process, a notification command is transmitted to the incomplete device via the communication unit, instructing the terminal controlling the incomplete device to notify that the task processing will be executed by the incomplete device. Management program.

[0148] [Item 10] The management program according to any one of items 1 to 9, In the notification process, a re-execution message is transmitted to a terminal corresponding to the incomplete device via the communication unit, the re-execution message notifying that the task processing will be executed by the incomplete device. Management program.

[0149] [Item 11] The management program according to any one of items 1 to 10, and causing the control unit to further execute a restriction process of transmitting, via the communication unit, a restriction command to the incomplete device, when the task process based on the second task process command is executed, the restriction command instructing the incomplete device to restrict other processes. Management program.

[0150] [Item 12] Item 12. The management program according to any one of items 1 to 11, In the transmission process, the first task processing command is transmitted to the plurality of devices, thereby causing the plurality of devices to execute the task processing at timings set corresponding to the plurality of devices; In the retransmission process, the second task processing command is transmitted to the incomplete device, causing the incomplete device to execute the task processing at a timing individually determined for the incomplete device. Management program.

[0151] [Item 13] The Communications Department and A control unit; A management device comprising: The control unit a transmission process of transmitting a first task processing command to a plurality of devices via the communication unit, the first task processing command instructing the devices to execute task processing; a determination process for determining whether the task processing in the plurality of devices has been completed based on the information acquired via the communication unit; a retransmission process of transmitting, via the communication unit, a second task processing command to an incomplete device that is determined to have not completed the task processing in the determination process among the plurality of devices, the second task processing command instructing the device to execute the task processing; a notification process of notifying a user and / or an administrator of the incomplete device that the task processing will be executed in the incomplete device in response to the second task processing command; a management device configured to execute the

[0152] [Item 14] A management method executable by a management device having a communication unit, transmitting a first task processing command to instruct a plurality of devices to execute task processing via the communication unit; determining whether the task processing in the plurality of devices has been completed based on the information acquired via the communication unit; transmitting, via the communication unit, a second task processing command to an incomplete device, which is a device determined to have not completed the task processing, among the plurality of devices; and notifying a user and / or an administrator of the incomplete device that the task processing will be executed in the incomplete device in response to the second task processing command; A management method comprising:

[0153] [Item 15] A management system having a management device including a communication unit and a control unit, and a plurality of devices, The control unit a transmission process of transmitting a first task processing command to a plurality of devices via the communication unit, the first task processing command instructing the devices to execute task processing; a determination process for determining whether the task processing in the plurality of devices has been completed based on the information acquired via the communication unit; a retransmission process of transmitting, via the communication unit, a second task processing command to an incomplete device that is determined to have not completed the task processing in the determination process among the plurality of devices, the second task processing command instructing the device to execute the task processing; a notification process of notifying a user and / or an administrator of the incomplete device that the task processing will be executed in the incomplete device in response to the second task processing command; 1. A management system configured to:

[0154] [Item 16] The Communications Department and A control unit; An execution program executable by the control unit in an image forming apparatus comprising: The control unit a receiving process of receiving a task processing command that instructs execution of task processing via the communication unit; a notification process for notifying a user and / or an administrator of the image forming apparatus that the task processing will be executed by the image forming apparatus when the task processing command instructing execution of the same task processing is received two or more times by the receiving process; An executable program that executes the

[0155] [Item 17] The Communications Department and A control unit; An image forming apparatus comprising: The control unit a receiving process of receiving a task processing command that instructs execution of task processing via the communication unit; a notification process for notifying a user and / or an administrator of the image forming apparatus that the task processing will be executed by the image forming apparatus when the task processing command instructing execution of the same task processing is received two or more times by the receiving process; An image forming apparatus configured to perform the steps of:

[0156] [Item 18] An execution method that can be executed by an image forming apparatus having a communication unit, receiving a task processing command instructing execution of task processing via the communication unit; notifying a user and / or an administrator of the image forming apparatus that the task processing will be executed in the image forming apparatus when the task processing command instructing execution of the same task processing is received two or more times; An execution method comprising: [Explanation of symbols]

[0157] 1...management system, 2...management device, 20...control unit, 22...memory unit, 22B...management program, 22C...management DB, 22D...registration information, 3...administrator terminal, 32B...browser, 4...providing server, 5...image forming device, 50...control unit, 50B...memory, 50C...firmware, 52...display unit, 6...control terminal, 62B...application, 63C...driver, 7...wide area network, 8...management device, 80...control unit, 82...memory unit, 82B...management program, 82D...management DB, 9...cloud server, 92A...management DB.

Claims

1. The Communications Department and A control unit; A management program executable by the control unit in a management device comprising: The control unit a transmission process of transmitting a first task processing command to a plurality of devices via the communication unit, the first task processing command instructing the devices to execute task processing; a determination process for determining whether the task processing in the plurality of devices has been completed based on the information acquired via the communication unit; a retransmission process of transmitting, via the communication unit, a second task processing command to an incomplete device that is determined to have the task processing incomplete in the determination process among the plurality of devices, the second task processing command instructing the device to execute the task processing; a notification process of notifying a user and / or an administrator of the incomplete device that the task processing will be executed in the incomplete device in response to the second task processing command; A management program that runs the

2. 2. The management program according to claim 1, In the determination process, based on the information acquired via the communication unit, a cause of an error that caused the task process to be incomplete in the incomplete device is further determined; In the retransmission process, if a specific error cause that is a predetermined error cause is determined in the determination process, the second task processing command is transmitted to the incomplete device for which the determination process has been performed; When a determination result different from the specific error cause is obtained in the determination process, the control unit is further made to execute a first manual execution process of transmitting a manual execution message to a terminal corresponding to the incomplete device for which the determination process was performed, in order to cause the incomplete device to perform the task process. Management program.

3. 3. The management program according to claim 2, The specific error cause is based on the operation on the incomplete device. Management program.

4. 3. The management program according to claim 2, In the determination process, the error cause related to a communication failure of the incomplete device is determined to be the error cause other than the specific error cause; In the first manual execution process, if the error cause related to the communication failure is determined in the determination process, the manual execution message is sent to a terminal corresponding to the incomplete device for which the determination process was performed. Management program.

5. 3. The management program according to claim 2, In the determination process, the error cause related to a communication failure of the incomplete device is determined as the specific error cause; In the retransmission process, when communication with the incomplete device for which the cause of the error related to the communication failure was determined in the determination process is restored, the second task processing command is transmitted to the incomplete device. Management program.

6. 3. The management program according to claim 2, In the first manual execution process, if the cause of the error cannot be determined in the determination process, the manual execution message is sent to a terminal corresponding to the incomplete device for which the determination process was performed. Management program.

7. 7. The management program according to claim 1, the determining process further determines whether the task processing based on the second task processing command has been completed; In the retransmission process, the second task processing command is transmitted to the incomplete device until the number of times the second task processing command has been transmitted reaches an upper limit number of times; and causing the control unit to further execute a second manual execution process of transmitting a manual execution message to a terminal corresponding to the incomplete device for causing the incomplete device to execute the task processing, the terminal having transmitted the second task processing command the upper limit number of times. Management program.

8. 7. The management program according to claim 1, In the notification process, a notification command is transmitted to the incomplete device via the communication unit, instructing a notification unit provided in the incomplete device to notify that the task processing will be executed by the incomplete device. Management program.

9. 7. The management program according to claim 1, In the notification process, a notification command is transmitted to the incomplete device via the communication unit, instructing the terminal controlling the incomplete device to notify that the task processing will be executed by the incomplete device. Management program.

10. 7. The management program according to claim 1, In the notification process, a re-execution message is transmitted to a terminal corresponding to the incomplete device via the communication unit, the re-execution message notifying that the task processing will be executed on the incomplete device. Management program.

11. 7. The management program according to claim 1, The control unit further executes a restriction process of transmitting a restriction command to the incomplete device via the communication unit, the restriction command instructing the incomplete device to restrict other processes when the task process based on the second task process command is executed. Management program.

12. 7. The management program according to claim 1, the transmission process transmits the first task processing command to the plurality of devices, causing the plurality of devices to execute the task processing at timings set corresponding to the plurality of devices; In the retransmission process, the second task processing command is transmitted to the incomplete device, causing the incomplete device to execute the task processing at a timing individually determined for the incomplete device. Management program.

13. The Communications Department and A control unit; A management device comprising: The control unit a transmission process of transmitting a first task processing command to a plurality of devices via the communication unit, the first task processing command instructing the devices to execute task processing; a determination process for determining whether the task processing in the plurality of devices has been completed based on the information acquired via the communication unit; a retransmission process of transmitting, via the communication unit, a second task processing command to an incomplete device that is determined to have the task processing incomplete in the determination process among the plurality of devices, the second task processing command instructing the device to execute the task processing; a notification process of notifying a user and / or an administrator of the incomplete device that the task processing will be executed in the incomplete device in response to the second task processing command; a management device configured to execute the

14. A management method executable by a management device having a communication unit, transmitting a first task processing command to a plurality of devices via the communication unit, the first task processing command instructing the devices to execute task processing; determining whether the task processing in the plurality of devices has been completed based on the information acquired via the communication unit; transmitting, via the communication unit, a second task processing command to an incomplete device, which is a device determined to have not completed the task processing, among the plurality of devices; and notifying a user and / or an administrator of the incomplete device that the task processing will be executed in the incomplete device in response to the second task processing command; A management method comprising:

15. A management system having a management device including a communication unit and a control unit, and a plurality of devices, The control unit a transmission process of transmitting a first task processing command to a plurality of devices via the communication unit, the first task processing command instructing the devices to execute task processing; a determination process for determining whether the task processing in the plurality of devices has been completed based on the information acquired via the communication unit; a retransmission process of transmitting, via the communication unit, a second task processing command to an incomplete device that is determined to have the task processing incomplete in the determination process among the plurality of devices, the second task processing command instructing the device to execute the task processing; a notification process of notifying a user and / or an administrator of the incomplete device that the task processing will be executed in the incomplete device in response to the second task processing command; 1. A management system configured to:

16. The Communications Department and A control unit; An execution program executable by the control unit in an image forming apparatus comprising: The control unit a receiving process of receiving a task processing command that instructs execution of task processing via the communication unit; a notification process for notifying a user and / or an administrator of the image forming apparatus that the task processing will be executed by the image forming apparatus when the task processing command instructing execution of the same task processing is received two or more times by the receiving process; An executable program that executes the

17. The Communications Department and A control unit; An image forming apparatus comprising: The control unit a receiving process of receiving a task processing command that instructs execution of task processing via the communication unit; a notification process for notifying a user and / or an administrator of the image forming apparatus that the task processing will be executed by the image forming apparatus when the task processing command instructing execution of the same task processing is received two or more times by the receiving process; An image forming apparatus configured to perform the steps of:

18. An execution method that can be executed by an image forming apparatus having a communication unit, receiving a task processing command instructing execution of task processing via the communication unit; notifying a user and / or an administrator of the image forming apparatus that the task processing will be executed in the image forming apparatus when the task processing command instructing execution of the same task processing is received two or more times; An execution method comprising:

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