Information provision system, and control method for information provision system

Abstract

To enable a maintenance implementing person to clearly understand on which part the procedure should be performed.SOLUTION: An information provision system providing information relating to a procedure for a printer 102 includes a repair process display unit 319 configured to provide information including one or more corresponding locations in the printer 102 for which it has been estimated that the procedure is recommended, and procedure contents for the procedures with respect to the one or more corresponding locations. Therein the repair process display unit 319 performs the provision of information such that a unit part for which the procedure is recommended, and a sub part for which the procedure included in the unit part is recommended are both displayed independently as the corresponding locations.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information providing system and a control method for an information providing system. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, systems have been developed to manage the information and status of devices such as printers (hereinafter referred to as devices). In such systems, when a device malfunctions, a server receives a malfunction notification from the device, allowing management of the malfunction situation (when, in which device, and what error occurred). A mechanism has also been proposed that suggests possible parts for repairing the malfunction. Maintenance work on a device in an error state often involves some kind of action, such as replacing, cleaning, or adjusting a part, to resolve the error. Regarding the target for the action, a device is typically composed of the smallest unit of parts (sub-parts) recommended for the action and a unit that is a collection of those sub-parts. Patent Document 1 (JP-A-2005-102626) discloses an image forming apparatus that, when displaying information about parts on the device's display, changes the unit of parts (unit / part) displayed depending on the information of the person replacing the part (user / maintenance worker). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-221058 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in Patent Document 1, the display unit for parts is determined depending on the person performing the replacement. Therefore, when parts are displayed only by unit, even if the majority of the work is done on a specific sub-part within the unit, that part is not identified. On the other hand, when parts are displayed by sub-part, all parts are displayed by sub-part regardless of the number of parts actually being treated. As a result, the number of parts displayed can become enormous, and the replacement person is not informed which parts are more likely to require treatment from a statistical perspective among the huge number of parts. Therefore, it is necessary to enable maintenance personnel to recognize parts that need treatment without being aware of whether they are unit parts or sub-parts.

[0005] The present invention aims to enable a maintenance person to clearly identify the part to be treated. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the information providing system of the present invention is an information providing system that provides information regarding treatment for an image forming device, and has a providing means for providing information including one or more corresponding locations in the image forming device that are estimated to require treatment and the treatment content for each of the one or more corresponding locations, and the providing means provides information so that both the unit part for which treatment is recommended and the sub-parts included in the unit part for which treatment is recommended are displayed independently as the corresponding locations. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to enable a maintenance person to clearly identify a component to be treated. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of a system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a software configuration. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing a repair location estimation flow. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart showing a repair location estimation flow. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a recommended action screen when there is no recommended sub-part; [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a recommended action screen when there is a recommended sub-part; [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing detailed information of recommended sub-components. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing detailed information of a unit part to which a recommended sub-part belongs. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a recommended action screen when there is no recommended sub-part in the second embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a recommended action screen when there is a recommended sub-part in the second embodiment. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing a process flow of a display unit change process in the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Example 1 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information provision system. The information provision system (repair location notification system) collects device operation information, including error information, from an image forming apparatus via a network and provides information on recommended repair locations (locations to be addressed) and procedures to an engineer or other person in charge of repair. The information provision system includes a repair location notification server 101 that provides a repair location notification service, a printer 102 that is a device for which errors are detected, and a PC 103 that is a terminal that receives information from the repair location notification service. These are connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other via a network 100. For example, the network 100 includes the Internet 104, and the repair location notification server 101 communicates with the printer 102 and the PC 103 via the Internet 104. Note that the network 100 may be configured to transmit and receive data, and any communication method is acceptable. For example, the network 100 may be configured using a LAN, a WAN, a cellular network such as LTE or 5G, a wireless network, a telephone line, a dedicated digital line, or a combination of these.

[0010] The repair location notification server 101 provides a repair location notification service that provides a PC 103 used by an engineer with error information indicating an error that has occurred in the printer 102 and data for outputting information on recommended repair locations and actions to resolve the error. The repair location notification server 101 first receives error information indicating an error that has occurred in the printer 102 from the printer 102 and estimates information on one or more repair parts to resolve the error. The repair location notification server 101 also manages the track record of actions taken in the market for similar errors in the past as market performance and determines the priority of repair parts to be addressed based on market performance. Note that while this embodiment describes an example in which an error response is estimated based on market performance, this is not limiting. For example, an error response may be estimated using AI. The AI ​​collects information on the work performed by a service technician and the parts replaced, and uses a trained model that has undergone machine learning based on the information to estimate the response. The repair location notification server 101 then provides the error information, repair part information, information on actions to resolve the error, and the like to a PC 103 used by a customer engineer or the like who is responsible for repairing the printer 102. Furthermore, the repair location notification server 101 collects feedback information from customer engineers who have taken measures to resolve errors.

[0011] The repair location notification server 101 is located, for example, on the Internet 104. The repair location notification server 101 uses cloud computing technology on the Internet. The repair location notification server 101 may be realized by one or more information processing devices, a virtual machine (cloud service) using resources provided by a data center including information processing devices, or a combination of these. The information providing system can also be implemented as a web-based application and can be used via a web browser on the PC 103. The repair location notification server 101 may also be implemented as a data collection server that collects data such as error information from the printer 102, and a repair location notification server that estimates repair locations based on the data collected by the data collection server and presents recommended measures. The repair location notification server 101 may also be configured as an on-premises system using a physical server.

[0012] Printer 102 is an example of an image forming device managed by the information providing system. There may be multiple printers 102 managed by the information providing system. The image forming device is not limited to a printer, but may be any device that has a printing function, a copying function, a scanning function, a data network transmission function, or a fax function, such as an MFP with printing, faxing, copying, and scanning functions, a scanner device, or a 3D printer. When printer 102 detects an error occurring in itself or an attached optional device, it transmits error information including equipment information (device information) to repair location notification server 101.

[0013] A personal computer (PC) 103 is an example of an information processing device. A predetermined OS is installed on the PC 103. A browser 331, which will be described later, is also installed on the PC 103. The PC 103 displays a screen provided by the repair location notification server 101 via the browser 331. For example, the PC 103 transmits a request to acquire error information (alert information) for the printer 102 to the repair location notification server 101 via the browser 331. The PC 103 then receives the error information, etc. from the repair location notification server 101 as a response and displays it on a graphical user interface (GUI). The PC 103 is used, for example, by a company that dispatches customer engineers (service personnel) who are contracted to maintain the printer 102. The engineers can perform remote control operations on the printer 102 via a screen provided by the repair location notification server 101 and displayed on the browser 331 of the PC 103. The PC 103 may be any terminal that can display a screen provided by the repair location notification server 101 via the network 100, and may be a tablet, smartphone, or the like.

[0014] 2(A) is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of repair location notification server 101. Note that PC 103 also has the same hardware configuration as repair location notification server 101. Repair location notification server 101 has CPU 201, ROM 202, RAM 203, HDD 204, input device 205, output device 206, and communication I / F 207. Each hardware component is connected to a system bus.

[0015] The CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201 controls the entire repair location notification server 101. The CPU 201 reads out control programs stored in the ROM 202 or HDD 204 and executes various control processes. The ROM 202 (Read Only Memory) is a memory dedicated to reading data, and stores basic control programs of the information processing device, such as the BIOS (Basic Input Output System). The RAM (Random Access Memory) 203 is a memory from which data can be read and written. The RAM 203 functions, for example, as a work area for the CPU 201. The HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 204 stores various data and programs. Note that in this embodiment, an example will be described in which the repair location notification server 101 includes the HDD 204 as a storage device, but this is not limiting and the server may include other storage devices, such as an SSD or a disk drive for loading external media.

[0016] The input device 205 accepts operations from the user. For example, a keyboard or a pointing device is connected to the input device 205. The output device 206 displays information to the user. For example, a display such as an LCD screen is connected to the output device 206. The communication I / F 207 is an interface for connecting to the network 100. The repair location notification server 101 communicates with external devices such as the printer 102 and PC 103 via the communication I / F 207 and the network 100.

[0017] After the repair location notification server 101 is started, the CPU 201 executes the BIOS and loads the OS from the HDD 204 to the RAM 203 in an executable state. The CPU 201 loads various software modules (described later) from the HDD 204 to the RAM 203 as needed in accordance with the operation of the OS. The various software modules are executed and run by the CPU 201 in cooperation with the above-mentioned devices. The communication I / F 207 is connected to the network 100 and is controlled by the CPU 201 in accordance with the operation of the OS to achieve communication.

[0018] 2(B) is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the printer 102. The printer 102 has a CPU 231, ROM 232, RAM 233, network controller 234, DKC 235, raster controller 237, print engine 238, operation unit 239, storage device 240, and device I / F. Of these, the parts excluding the print engine 238 are sometimes called a controller that manages the control system of the printer. Each hardware component is connected to a system bus.

[0019] The CPU 231 controls the entire printer 102 and comprehensively controls access to various devices connected to the system bus. The CPU 231 reads control programs stored in a ROM 232 or control programs and resource data (resource information) stored in an external memory 236 connected via a disk controller (DKC 235), and executes various control processes.

[0020] The ROM 232 stores programs executed by the CPU 231. The RAM 233 functions as the main memory, work area, etc. of the CPU 231. The RAM 233 is configured so that the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). The storage device 240 is a storage means that functions as a large-capacity memory. The storage device 240 stores image data, various programs, and various setting information.

[0021] The network controller 234 is a communication controller, such as a network interface card (NIC). The CPU 231 exchanges data with external devices on the network 100 via the network controller 234. The DKC 235 controls access to storage devices such as an external memory 236. The external memory 236 stores programs and resource data.

[0022] The operation unit 239 displays a screen and accepts user operation instructions via the screen. The operation unit 239 is, for example, a touch panel. The touch panel displays settings such as the operation mode of the printer 102 and the operating status of the printer 102. By associating input coordinates on the touch panel with display coordinates, a GUI can be configured that makes it appear as if the user can directly operate the screen displayed on the touch panel. The operation unit 239 may also be provided with buttons for performing operations such as setting the operation mode of the printer 102 and specifying content data to be printed.

[0023] Raster controller 237 is a controller that converts print data written in, for example, PDL language into image data. Print engine 238 uses known printing technology to form an image on a recording medium (e.g., paper) based on image data input from raster controller 237. The printing method performed by print engine 238 can be, for example, electrophotography (laser beam method), inkjet method, dye sublimation (thermal transfer) method, or the like, and is not limited to this method. Device I / F 241 is a connection I / F with an external device that can be connected via USB or the like.

[0024] FIG. 3 shows the software configuration of the information provision system. This software configuration is realized by the CPU executing programs stored in the memory of each device. Note that the table schema and data described below are merely examples, and the table schema and various data formats are not limited to these. The repair location notification server 101 has an operation information receiving unit 311, an error determination unit 312, an error history management unit 313, and a priority determination unit 314. Furthermore, the repair location notification server 101 has a market performance management unit 315, an aggregation filter unit 316, a correct answer master management unit 317, an estimation result management unit 318, a repair procedure display unit 319, and a feedback management unit 320.

[0025] The operation information receiving unit 311 receives operation information from the printer 102. The information received by the operation information receiving unit 311 includes information indicating the operation status of the printer 102, such as information identifying the device, error information (event information) based on the occurrence of an error, the number of pages printed by the printer 102, and the remaining amount of consumables. The information identifying the device included in the operation information includes, for example, a device ID that uniquely identifies the device and a model number that indicates the model of the device. The error information is, for example, an error code for identifying the type of error. The error code is a unique character string code assigned to each type of error. If the operation information includes error information, the operation information receiving unit 311 transmits the operation information to the error determination unit 312.

[0026] The error determination unit 312 performs error determination to estimate the cause of the error corresponding to the error information. Upon receiving error information from the operation information receiving unit 311, the error determination unit 312 obtains, from the error history management unit 313, an error history indicating past errors that occurred in the printer that sent the error information. Based on the received error information, the error determination unit 312 then estimates one or more components causing the error, i.e., one or more repair parts required to resolve the error. The error determination unit 312 treats the repair parts identified to resolve the error and their likelihood of failure as the error determination result. The error determination unit 312 outputs the error information and the estimated one or more repair parts required to resolve the error, on a unit component basis, to the priority determination unit 314. The error determination unit 312 also stores the error information received from the printer 102 as error history in the error history management unit 313. The error determination unit 312 performs error determination using, for example, a rule-based estimation engine. While the example in which the error determination unit 312 performs estimation using a rule base has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the error determination unit 312 may estimate repair parts using machine learning, including deep learning.

[0027] Repair parts are classified into "unit parts" and "sub-parts." A "unit part" is a main part that makes up the printer 102. A "sub-part" is a more detailed unit of part that makes up a unit part. In other words, a unit part is a group of sub-parts, and a unit part has a relationship of containing sub-parts. Note that a "sub-part" may be further composed of several parts. Also, there may be a sub-part that is shared by multiple unit parts. When the error determination unit 312 outputs the determination result to the priority determination unit 314, the repair parts are output in units of "unit parts."

[0028] The error determination unit 312 outputs a list of repair parts as a determination result. Table 1 shows an example of the determination result output by the error determination unit 312. [Table 1] The determination result includes a part number for each unit part that uniquely identifies the repair part that is presumed to be the cause of the error that occurred in the printer 102. In the example of Table 1, three unit parts, Unit 1, Unit 2, and Unit 3, are listed as the faulty parts. The error determination unit 312 may also estimate the degree of failure probability of the presumed faulty part and add information on the degree of failure probability of the presumed faulty part to the repair part list and output it. The failure probability is indicated, for example, by high or low. Note that if the error determination unit 312 is unable to identify the error based on the received error information (error code) and is therefore unable to identify the repair part, the determination result is "repair part cannot be identified."

[0029] The error history management unit 313 saves and manages the error information received from the printer 102 as an error history. Table 2 is an example of the error history managed by the error history management unit 313. [Table 2] The error history includes an error ID that uniquely identifies the error, a device ID that uniquely identifies the printer in which the error occurred, a model number that indicates the model, an error code that indicates the type of error that occurred, a counter value that indicates the number of prints when the error occurred, and the date and time the error occurred.

[0030] The priority determination unit 314 estimates the priority of the procedure for the action (maintenance response) to be performed to resolve the error occurring in the printer 102. Specifically, when the priority determination unit 314 receives the determination result from the error determination unit 312, it obtains from the market performance management unit 315 market performance data that matches the model number and error code of the error information included in the determination result. The priority determination unit 314 ranks the repair procedures based on the market performance data. The priority determination unit 314 stores the ranked repair procedures as estimation results in the estimation result management unit 318. The estimation results of repair parts estimated by the priority determination unit 314 will be described later using Table 4.

[0031] The market performance management unit 315 holds and manages two types of tally results for all actions taken to resolve errors that have occurred in the past. One is a tally on the number of replaced parts (market replacement results), which tally the number of part replacements for each model number, error code, and part number. The other is a tally on actions taken, which tally the actions taken for each model number and error code. The market performance management unit 315 collects performance information, including actions taken for each model number, error code, and part number, from customer engineers who have taken actions to resolve errors, tally the number of actions taken for each part and action, and holds and manages the tally results.

[0032] Table 3 is an example of market replacement results, which is a compilation of the number of replaced parts in the market results managed by the market performance management unit 315. The compilation of treatments will be described later in Tables 5 and 6. [Table 3] The market performance for the number of replaced parts includes the model number indicating the model, the error code indicating the type of error that occurred, the part number of the part replaced due to the error, and the number of replacements indicating the actual number of parts replaced. Note that for the part number, "Unit" indicates a unit part, and "Sub" indicates a sub-part. Furthermore, Sub1 indicates a sub-part within Unit1, and Sub2 indicates a sub-part within Unit1.

[0033] The priority determination unit 314 determines the priority of repair parts based on the counted number of replacement parts and the determination result of the error determination unit 312. The priority determination unit 314 sets the priority by ranking repair parts that are likely to resolve errors, for example, in descending order of the number of market-record treatments that match the part numbers of repair parts included in the determination result. Table 4 is an example of the estimation result of repair parts estimated by the priority determination unit 314. [Table 4] The estimation result includes the device ID, error code, part number of the repair part corresponding to the error, the part replacement count per part as part replacement history, the failure cause probability, and a priority indicating the order of parts to be repaired. An example of a method for calculating the priority of repair parts will be described later. Note that instead of or in addition to the part replacement count per part as part replacement history, the estimation result may include a replacement record rate calculated from the part replacement count per part. Furthermore, although this embodiment does not narrow down the parts based on the determination result of the error determination unit 312, it is also possible to narrow down the parts and treat only prioritized parts or parts with a higher than a predetermined failure cause probability as the estimation result. An example of a method for calculating the priority will be described in the repair part estimation process of Figures 4 and 5.

[0034] Table 5 shows an example of market treatment results, which are a compilation of treatments of market results managed by the market performance management unit 315. [Table 5] The market performance of the treatment includes the model number indicating the model, the error code indicating the type of error that occurred, and the treatment taken for the error. Furthermore, if the treatment taken was a replacement, the market performance of the treatment includes the part number indicating the replaced part.

[0035] The priority determination unit 314 determines the priority of the measures to resolve the error based on the determination result of the error determination unit 312 (Table 2) and the actual field treatment results (Table 5). Table 6 is an example of the estimated results of the measures determined by the priority determination unit 314. Table 6 shows the priority of the process for an error with the model number Model-001 and the error code E001-001. [Table 6] The estimated result of the treatment includes the device ID, the error code, the treatment to resolve the error, and the priority of each treatment. Treatment to resolve the error includes, for example, replacing the part, adjusting the setting value or updating the firmware, cleaning, etc. The priority determination unit 314 manages the combination of the estimation of the repair target part that is estimated to be the cause of the error and the estimation of the treatment for the repair part as a single estimation result.

[0036] The correct answer master management unit 317 manages a correct answer master that defines the theoretically correct combinations of parts and treatments. The aggregation filter unit 316, for example, excludes combinations that are not defined as theoretically correct from the combinations of repair parts and treatments obtained from the aggregation results of the treatment market performance (Table 5) and the treatment estimation results (Table 6) in accordance with the definitions of the correct answer master management unit 317.

[0037] The estimation result management unit 318 manages the combination of the priority (Table 4) and the treatment (Table 6) of the part to be repaired determined by the priority determination unit 314. Table 7 is an example of the estimation results managed by the estimation result management unit 318. [Table 7] The estimation results managed by the estimation result management unit 318 include the priority of the part, device ID, error code, part number, the number of part replacements indicating the replacement record, the probability of the cause of failure, and the priority of each treatment (replacement, cleaning, adjustment). Note that no value is defined for the priority and priority of each treatment column that are left blank.

[0038] The repair procedure display unit 319 provides information for displaying a recommended action screen (repair procedure display screen) on the PC 103 viewed by the customer engineer via the browser 331. Specifically, when the repair procedure display unit 319 receives a repair procedure acquisition request including a device ID and an error ID from the browser 331 of the PC 103, the repair procedure display unit 319 acquires an error history in which the device ID and error ID match from the error history management unit 313. The repair procedure display unit 319 acquires an estimation result in which the device ID and error code match from the estimation result management unit 318. The repair procedure display unit 319 then generates a repair procedure display screen based on the acquired error history and estimation result, and returns it to the browser 331 of the PC 103. Furthermore, after the customer engineer has performed the action (maintenance response), the repair procedure display unit 319 may generate a feedback information input screen for inputting the execution result (feedback) and provide it to the browser 331.

[0039] The printer 102 has an operation information transmission unit 321, a job execution unit 322, and a control unit 323. The operation information transmission unit 321 transmits operation information of the printer 102, including error information that has occurred in the printer 102 and that has been collected by the control unit 323, to the repair point notification server 101. The job execution unit 322 executes jobs submitted to the printer 102. For example, when a print job is submitted, the job execution unit 322 executes printing processing based on the print job. The control unit 323 collects the operation status of the printer 102 and transmits the collected information as operation information to the repair point notification server 101 via the operation information transmission unit 321. For example, the control unit 323 detects an error that has occurred in the printer 102, collects the error information, and transmits the error information to the repair point notification server 101 via the operation information transmission unit 321.

[0040] The PC 103 has a browser 331. The PC 103 transmits a request to acquire repair part information for the printer 102 to the repair part notification server 101 via the browser 331, receives the repair part information from the repair part notification server 101 in response, and displays it on a GUI. That is, the PC 103 displays a screen provided by the information providing system via the browser 331, which is a web browser.

[0041] Next, a process for estimating a measure to resolve an error in the printer 102 (recommended measure estimation process) will be described. The results of the recommended measure estimation process are stored in the estimation result management unit 318 and, when a display request is received from the PC 103, are provided to a customer engineer or the like via the browser 331. FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts showing the recommended measure estimation process. In the recommended measure estimation process, the estimation results shown in Table 7 are finally calculated and stored in the estimation result management unit 318. The process executed by the printer 102 in the recommended measure estimation process is realized by the CPU 231 of the printer 102 reading out programs and resource data stored in memory (ROM 232, external memory 236, etc.) and executing the programs. The process executed by the repair point notification server 101 in the measure estimation process is realized by the CPU 201 of the repair point notification server 101 reading out programs and resource data stored in memory (ROM 202, HDD 204, etc.) and executing the programs.

[0042] In S401, the control unit 323 of the printer 102 detects whether an error has occurred in the printer 102. If the control unit 323 detects an error, it performs the process of S402. On the other hand, if no error is detected, the control unit 323 repeats the process of S401. In S402, the operation information transmission unit 321 of the printer 102 transmits operation information including error information corresponding to the error detected by the control unit 323 to the repair location notification server 101. Note that, hereinafter, operation information including error information will also be simply referred to as error information. The error information transmitted by the operation information transmission unit 321 includes, for example, an error ID that uniquely identifies the error, a device ID and model number that are device information, an error code that indicates the error, a counter value that indicates the number of prints when the error occurred, and the date and time the error occurred. In other words, the operation information transmission unit 321 of the printer 102 transmits information that the error history management unit 313 of the repair location notification server 101 manages as error history to the repair location notification server 101. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the counter value is included in the error information, but for example, the counter value may be transmitted as counter information separate from the error information to repair point notification server 101. When the counter information is transmitted separately from the error information, repair point notification server 101 associates the error information with the counter information.

[0043] Receipt of error information from printer 102 triggers the start of processing of a service (repair location notification service) provided by an information providing system including repair location notification server 101. In S403, operation information receiving unit 311 of repair location notification server 101 receives the error information from printer 102. In S404, error determination unit 312 registers the error information received from printer 102 in error history management unit 313 as error history.

[0044] In S405, the error determination unit 312 obtains the error history previously received from the printer 102 that was the sender of the error information received in S403 from the error history (Table 2) managed by the error history management unit 313. Specifically, the error determination unit 312 obtains the error history that matches the device ID included in the error information received from the printer 102 from the error history managed by the error history management unit 313. For example, if the device ID included in the error information is "DEV001", the error determination unit 312 obtains the records in the first and third rows from the error history shown in Table 2.

[0045] In S406, the error determination unit 312 estimates the faulty part that caused the error, i.e., the part that needs to be repaired to resolve the error. The error determination unit 312 estimates the part that needs to be repaired to resolve the error based on a rule base using the error information received from the printer 102 and the error history acquired from the error history management unit 313, and outputs a list of part numbers for the parts that need to be repaired. The error determination unit 312 estimates the faulty part on a unit component basis and outputs the estimation results (e.g., Table 1). In this embodiment, the error determination unit 312 describes a method using a rule base based on the received error information and the history of errors that have occurred in the device in the past, but the method for identifying the part that needs to be repaired is not limited to this. For example, estimation may be performed using supervised machine learning, including deep learning.

[0046] When the estimated results of repair parts are output in S406, the repair part notification server 101 performs the processes from S407 to S410 and S411 in parallel. In S407, the priority determination unit 314 acquires the replacement rate in the market performance data for the repair parts estimated in S406 as the market replacement record. The replacement rate is calculated for each unit part, as in the repair part list. The priority determination unit 314 acquires the number of replaced parts whose model number and error code match those in the error information from the market replacement record data (Table 3) managed by the market performance management unit 315. For example, assume that the model number included in the error information is "Model-001" and the error code is "E001-0001." In this case, the priority determination unit 314 acquires all the records in Table 3 as the market replacement record. The priority determination unit 314 acquires the number of replaced parts without distinguishing between unit parts and sub-parts. Then, for sub-components that belong to a certain unit component, the priority determination unit 314 rounds the replacement number to that unit component and calculates the replacement rate for each unit component.

[0047] In S408, the priority determination unit 314 determines whether there is a recommended sub-component whose replacement is recommended. Using the number of replacements acquired in S407, the priority determination unit 314 determines that a recommended sub-component exists if the ratio of the number of replacements of a specific sub-component to the number of replacements of all unit components (including sub-components within the unit component) exceeds a predetermined ratio. First, the priority determination unit 314 determines the number of replacements of a specific sub-component among the number of replacements of a unit component (including the number of replacements of sub-components). Then, the priority determination unit 314 determines that the specific sub-component is a recommended sub-component if (the number of replacements of the specific sub-component) / (the total number of replacements of the unit component to which the specific sub-component belongs and the sub-components belonging to that unit component) exceeds 90%. The determination in S408 is performed for all unit components for which the number of replacements has been acquired.

[0048] Taking Table 3 as an example, "Unit1," "Unit2," and "Unit3" are unit components. "Sub1-1," "Sub1-2," and "Sub1-3" are subcomponents belonging to "Unit1," and "Sub2-1," "Sub2-2," and "Sub2-3" are subcomponents belonging to "Unit2." In this case, the number of replacements for "Unit1," including the subcomponents belonging to "Unit1," is 229, and there is no subcomponent belonging to "Unit1" whose number of replacements exceeds 90% of the 229. On the other hand, the number of replacements for "Unit2," including the subcomponents belonging to "Unit2," is 380, and the number of replacements for "Sub2-2" is 349, which is 91.8% of the 380. Therefore, in the example of Table 3, "Sub2-2" is determined to be a recommended subcomponent. Since there is no subcomponent belonging to "Unit3," the priority determination unit 314 does not determine whether it is a recommended subcomponent.

[0049] If it is determined in S408 that there is a recommended sub-part for which replacement is recommended, the priority determination unit 314 performs the process of S409. On the other hand, if it is determined in S408 that there is no recommended sub-part for which replacement is recommended, the priority determination unit 314 performs the process of S410. Note that in this embodiment, the threshold for determining recommended sub-parts is set to 90%, but this is not limiting, and the threshold may be determined taking into consideration the component configuration, the characteristics of each component, the usage environment, etc.

[0050] In S409, the priority determination unit 314 excludes the recommended sub-parts from the unit parts and recalculates the part replacement rate. In S407, the part replacement rate was calculated for each unit part, and sub-parts belonging to the unit parts were included in the unit parts to calculate the part replacement rate. In contrast, in S409, the recommended sub-parts identified in S408 are separated from the unit parts to calculate the part replacement rate. More specifically, the priority determination unit 314 recalculates the replacement record rate of the unit parts to which the recommended sub-parts belonged, excluding the actual replacement count of the recommended sub-parts. Furthermore, for sub-parts determined to be recommended sub-parts, the priority determination unit 314 calculates the replacement record rate for each sub-part on its own.

[0051] In the example of Table 4, "Unit1" does not have any sub-components determined to be recommended sub-components, so the replacement record percentage is calculated as the total value of the unit component itself and its sub-components. "Unit3" does not have any sub-components, so the replacement record percentage is calculated as the total value of the unit component itself and its sub-components. On the other hand, for "Unit2," in which "Sub2-2," a sub-component within the unit component, is determined to be a recommended sub-component, the replacement record percentage is calculated based on the number of replacement records excluding the number of replacement records for "Sub2-2," which is determined to be a recommended sub-component. Furthermore, for "Sub2-2," which is determined to be a recommended sub-component, the replacement record percentage is calculated based on the number of replacement records for the sub-component alone. Note that if there are multiple components determined to be recommended sub-components for each of multiple unit components in S408, the replacement record percentage is recalculated for all of them.

[0052] In S410, the priority determination unit 314 defines the priority of the repair part. The priority determination unit 314 determines the priority of the repair part based on the determination result in S408 and the result of the recalculation in S409. The priority of the repair part is determined in descending order of the replacement rate in the market. Therefore, if there are no parts determined to be recommended sub-parts in S408, a priority is defined only for the unit parts. On the other hand, if there are parts determined to be recommended sub-parts, a priority is defined for the recommended sub-parts in addition to the unit parts.

[0053] In S411, the priority determination unit 314 defines the priority of the estimated treatment based on the treatment record in the market. The priority determination unit 314 acquires the treatment record that matches the model number and error code of the error information from the treatment record managed by the market record management unit 315. The priority determination unit 314 then calculates the percentage of each treatment (replacement, cleaning, and adjustment) for the acquired treatment record, and ranks them according to the priority. For example, a treatment that differs by less than 5% from the treatment with the highest percentage is ranked A, a treatment that differs by 5% to 20% from the treatment with the highest percentage is ranked B, and a treatment that differs by 20% or more is ranked C. For example, assume that the model number included in the error information is "Model-001" and the error code is "E001-0001." In this case, the priority determination unit 314 acquires the records from the first to fifth rows of Table 5 as the treatment record in the market. Then, based on the acquired treatment record in the market, the priority determination unit 314 ranks the estimated results of the treatment according to the priority.

[0054] For some parts, cleaning or adjustment is not an option, and only replacement is possible. Therefore, in steps S412 and S413, combinations of actions that cannot be performed on each part are eliminated. In step S412, the aggregation filter unit 316 verifies the validity of the combination of repair parts and actions to determine whether there are any invalid combinations. The correct answer master managed by the correct answer master management unit 317 defines theoretically correct combinations of actions for each device model, error code, and part. The combinations of repair parts and actions identified in the repair part estimation process are verified according to the definitions in the correct answer master management unit 317, and theoretically incorrect combinations of repair parts and actions are identified. For example, for some parts, one of the actions "replacement," "cleaning," or "adjustment" may not exist. Actions that cannot exist are theoretically incorrect actions. The aggregation filter unit 316 determines that combinations that do not exist in the definitions in the correct answer master management unit 317 are theoretically incorrect repair parts. If a combination of repair parts and actions is theoretically incorrect, The processing of S413 is performed. On the other hand, the aggregation filter unit 316 determines that the combination that exists in the definition of the correct answer master management unit 317 is a theoretically correct repair part. If it is a theoretically correct combination of repair part and treatment, the processing of S414 is performed.

[0055] In S413, the aggregation filter unit 316 filters out (deletes) any combinations of repair parts and treatments that are theoretically incorrect. The state in which the processes in S412 and S413 are completed for all parts in the list of repair parts is the estimated result, which combines the repair part priorities (Table 4) and treatments (Table 6) shown in Table 7. In S414, the priority determination unit 314 registers the estimated result in the estimated result management unit 318. The estimated result includes the part priority, device ID, error code, part number, the number of parts replaced indicating the replacement history, the probability of the cause of failure, and the priority of each treatment (replacement, cleaning, adjustment). As a result, when an error occurs in the printer 102, the repair point notification server 101 can estimate the recommended repair parts (unit parts and sub-parts) and treatments for those parts based on the number of replacements performed to resolve the error.

[0056] When the repair procedure display unit 319 receives a request from the browser 331 of the PC 103 to display the estimated action to resolve the error, it provides information based on the estimation results (Table 7) registered in the estimation result management unit 318 and displays a recommended action screen. At this time, the information provided by the repair procedure display unit 319 to the PC 103 includes one or more locations on the printer 102 for which an action is estimated to be recommended, and the action content for each of the one or more locations. The recommended action screen displays repair parts and actions to resolve the error, one by one. FIGS. 6 to 9 are examples of recommended action screens displayed on the browser 331. Of these, FIG. 6 illustrates a UI when there are no recommended sub-parts (when it is determined in S408 of the repair location estimation processing flow that there are no recommended sub-parts). Meanwhile, FIGS. 7 to 9 illustrate UIs when there are recommended sub-parts (when it is determined in S408 of the repair location estimation processing flow that there are recommended sub-parts).

[0057] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a recommended action screen when there are no recommended sub-parts. The recommended action screen 500 displays the estimated results and repair procedures managed by the repair location notification server 101 for the error specified from the browser 331. The recommended action screen 500 includes collapse 502, part name 501, replacement record rate 503, and action rank 504. The part name 501 displays the name and part number of the part corresponding to the estimated location for which action is recommended. In FIG. 6, where there are no recommended sub-parts, the part name 501 displays the name and part number of the unit part. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the part names displayed for part name 501 are "power supply unit," "relay circuit board," and "main controller circuit board." The parts are displayed in descending order of replacement record rate.

[0058] The replacement record rate 503 displays the replacement record rate of the unit part. The replacement record rate indicates the probability of the cause of failure based on market performance. If there are no recommended sub-parts, the replacement record rate of the unit part displays the replacement record rate that is the sum of the replacement records of all sub-parts belonging to the unit part. Note that if the replacement record rate is below a predetermined rate, "low probability" may be displayed instead of a numerical value indicating the rate.

[0059] The action rank 504 displays the priority of the recommended action. The action rank 504 displays the priority of "replacement," "cleaning," and "adjustment" based on the action rank of the recommended action estimation result managed by the estimation result management unit 318, using icons such as "A," "B," "C," and "-." The "-" icon indicates that the action does not exist for the component. That is, actions excluded by the filtering process of S413 are displayed with a "-." In the example of the power supply unit shown in FIG. 6, A is assigned to replacement, C to cleaning, and B to adjustment. The background color of each icon indicating the action rank may be different depending on whether the action is defined as correct or incorrect. For example, if the action is defined as correct, a color such as "A" for replacement is used to catch the user's eye. On the other hand, if the action is defined as incorrect, a color such as "C" for cleaning is not used to make it less noticeable.

[0060] Collapse 502 is a button for expanding detailed information about the repair part. When the user selects and expands collapse 502, detailed information about the unit part is displayed. The detailed information includes, for example, part information, replacement part details, and common parts. Part information includes counter value 505, last replacement date 506, and total number of replacements 507. Counter value 505 is the current counter information for the unit part. Last replacement date 506 is the date the part was last replaced. Number of replacements 507 is the total number of replacements for the entire unit part, that is, the total number of replacements for the unit part itself and its sub-parts. Replacement part details 508 displays sub-parts that belong only to the unit part displayed in part name 501. In the example shown in FIG. 6, replacement part details 508 displays "Relay bundle" and "AC power supply 1 bundle." Common parts 509 displays sub-parts that belong to other unit parts of the displayed unit part. The replacement part breakdown 508 and common parts 509 display the part name, part number, and number of replacements of the sub-parts. Recommended measures may also be displayed in the replacement part breakdown 508 and common parts 509. The user can check the replacement history of sub-parts within the unit parts by checking the detailed information.

[0061] 7 to 9 show examples of recommended action screens when a recommended sub-component is present. When a sub-component is present, the repair procedure display unit 319 provides information to the PC 103 so that both the unit component and the sub-component are simultaneously and independently displayed as the corresponding location. The recommended action screen 600 displays the estimated results and repair procedures managed by the repair location notification server 101 for the error specified through the browser 331. The recommended action screen 600 includes a collapse 602, a component name 601, a replacement rate 603, and an action rank 604. The component name 601 displays the name and component number of the component for which the recommended action is estimated. In FIGS. 7 to 9, which show recommended sub-components, the component name 601 displays the name and component number of the unit component or sub-component. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the "relay bundle" is a sub-component, and the "power supply unit," "relay circuit board," and "main controller circuit board" are unit components. The "relay bundle" is a sub-component of the "power supply unit." In this way, when there are recommended sub-parts, the recommended sub-parts are displayed separately from the unit parts on the recommended action screen 600. Parts including recommended sub-parts and unit parts are displayed in descending order of replacement rate.

[0062] The part name 601 displays the part name and part number. In Fig. 7, which shows recommended sub-parts, the part name 601 displays the part name and part number of the unit part as well as the part name and part number of the sub-part. In the example shown in Fig. 7, the part name 601 displays the sub-part "relay bundle" as the part name, and the part name 609 displays the unit part "power supply unit" as the part name, both of which are displayed independently.

[0063] The replacement record percentage 603 displays the replacement record percentage of the sub-component. The replacement record percentage 610 displays the replacement record percentage of the unit component. The replacement record percentage indicates the probability of the cause of failure based on market performance. If there is a recommended sub-component, the percentage that is accounted for by only the number of replacement records of the sub-component is displayed. The replacement record percentage of a unit component that has a recommended sub-component displays the replacement record percentage after subtracting the number of replacement records of the recommended sub-component from the number of replacement records of the unit component. For example, the replacement record percentage 610 displays the replacement record percentage after subtracting the number of replacement records of the "relay bundle wire," which is an independent recommended sub-component, from the number of replacement records of the "electrode unit" and its sub-components. The replacement record percentage of a unit component that does not have a recommended sub-component displays the replacement record percentage that is the sum of the number of replacement records of all sub-components that belong to the unit component.

[0064] The action rank 604 displays the priority of the recommended action. The recommended action 1007 displays the priority of "replace," "clean," or "adjust" using icons such as "A," "B," "C," and "-" based on the action rank of the recommended action estimation result managed by the estimation result management unit 318. The "-" icon indicates that this action does not exist for the part. In other words, "-" is displayed for actions that were excluded by the filtering process in S413. The collapse 602 and collapse 613 are buttons for expanding detailed information about the repair part.

[0065] In Figure 6, the "electrode" has the highest replacement history rate of all unit components, at 76.87%, and is displayed at the top. If the "relay bundle" with a replacement history rate of 70.02% is a recommended subcomponent, the "electrode" is an independent unit component, with a replacement history rate of 6.85%. It is displayed below the main controller circuit board with a replacement history rate of 7.81%. Furthermore, the "relay bundle" with a replacement history rate of 70.02% is displayed at the top of all components. In this way, if a subcomponent accounts for the majority of the replacement history for a unit component, that subcomponent is displayed on the recommended action screen along with the unit component. This allows the user to recognize that a component should be replaced, especially a component with a high replacement history rate and displayed at the top of the screen, without having to consider whether it is a unit component or a subcomponent. Furthermore, the number of replacements for a unit component is lowered by subtracting the number of replacements for subcomponents treated as recommended subcomponents, thereby reducing the likelihood of the user recognizing the unit component as a replacement.

[0066] The treatment information for each part is displayed as defined in the correct answer master for that part. Therefore, for the unit part "electrode part," replacement and adjustment are displayed in a background color defined as correct treatments. On the other hand, for the sub-part "relay wire bundle," only replacement is displayed in a background color defined as correct treatment, and adjustment is displayed in a background color defined as incorrect treatment. In this way, by displaying sub-parts independently, it is possible to clearly show the user the possible and impossible treatments for sub-parts.

[0067] FIG. 8 shows detailed information about a recommended sub-component. When the Co-Plus 602 is selected in the state shown in FIG. 7, detailed information about the sub-component "Relay Wire Bundle" shown in FIG. 8 is expanded. The detailed information about the sub-component shows the component information of the sub-component. The component information about the sub-component includes, for example, a counter value 605, a last replacement date 606, and a total number of replacements 607. The counter value 605 is the current counter information for the sub-component. The last replacement date 606 is the date the corresponding component was last replaced. The number of replacements 607 is the number of replacements of the sub-component. The detailed information about the sub-component may also include a breakdown of the replaced components. The breakdown of the replaced components includes the component name, component number, and replacement history of the sub-component, so that the component number can be confirmed. If the component displayed in the component name 601 is a unit component, the breakdown of replaced components 608 also displays the sub-components and common components belonging to that unit component. However, if the component displayed in the component name 601 is a sub-component, these are not displayed. The detailed information about a sub-component may also include information about the unit to which the sub-component belongs, allowing the user to confirm which unit the sub-component belongs to.

[0068] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing detailed information about a unit part to which a recommended sub-part belongs. When the co-placement 613 is selected in the state shown in FIG. 7, detailed information about the unit part "power supply unit" shown in FIG. 9 is expanded. The detailed information about the unit part includes the part information of the unit part, a breakdown of replacement parts, and common parts. The part information includes a counter value, the last replacement date, and a total number of replacements 611. The number of replacements 611 displays the number of replacements of the entire unit part minus the number of replacements of recommended sub-parts. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the total number of replacements 611 displays the number of replacements of the "electrode part" and its sub-parts minus the number of replacements of the "relay cable bundle" that is independent as a recommended sub-part. The replacement part breakdown 612 displays sub-parts that belong only to the unit part displayed in the part name 609, excluding recommended sub-parts. In other words, the replacement part breakdown 612 does not display sub-parts that are independently displayed as recommended sub-parts. In the example shown in FIG. 9, replacement part breakdown 612 displays "AC power supply 1 bundle" and does not display "relay bundle." Common parts 509 displays sub-parts that belong to other unit parts of the displayed unit part. Replacement part breakdown and common parts display the part name, part number, and number of replacements of the sub-parts. By checking the detailed information, the user can check the replacement history of sub-parts other than recommended sub-parts within the unit part. In this embodiment, sub-parts displayed independently as recommended sub-parts are not listed in the replacement part breakdown of the detailed information of the unit part, but they may be listed. This allows the user to know the configuration of the unit part.

[0069] While the present embodiment has been described assuming that an error has already occurred, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is possible to periodically collect operation information about the printer 102, predict signs of an event such as a failure, and perform maintenance before the event occurs. Therefore, the measures taken for the printer 102 may include measures to address an event predicted from the operation information, in addition to measures to address an error. Upon acquiring a device ID from the PC 103, the repair location notification server 101 provides an estimated result of a recommended measure to address an event predicted for the printer 102 corresponding to the device ID. When displaying the parts (relevant parts) to be subjected to the maintenance measures, it is possible to simultaneously display both recommended sub-parts and unit parts, as in the present embodiment.

[0070] As described above, according to this embodiment, if a sub-component accounts for the majority of the replacement records for a unit component, both the sub-component and the unit component can be displayed on the recommended repair screen. This allows the user to recognize that the displayed component should be repaired without being aware of whether it is a unit component or a sub-component. In particular, for sub-components with a high replacement record, displaying them as sub-components rather than as unit components with a low replacement record makes it easier for the user to determine which component to prepare for replacement based on past experience. Furthermore, displaying sub-components can eliminate from the options actions that would be impossible if only sub-components were selected. By recognizing repairs on sub-components as the first option, the user can repair a sub-component that is a part of a unit component rather than a unit component that contains multiple sub-components, thereby reducing replacement costs and environmental impact. Displaying sub-components that are likely to require repair in addition to unit components based on market performance allows the maintenance technician to clearly identify the components that require repair.

[0071] Example 2 In the first embodiment, when a specific sub-part accounts for the majority of unit part replacement records, the sub-part is defined as a recommended sub-part and displayed independently on the recommended action screen. However, depending on the user, there may be cases where the user wants repair parts suggested for each unit part, due to differences in the amount of knowledge about part information or because the user wants to ensure repairs by replacing unit parts rather than sub-parts. There may also be cases where the user wants repair parts suggested for each unit part, because repairs can be performed by replacing unit parts, which is a simpler task and can reduce work time. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the display of recommended sub-parts in the first embodiment is made an optional function.

[0072] An example of a recommended action screen in which the function for displaying recommended sub-components is optional will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11 . FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a recommended action screen in the second embodiment when there are no recommended sub-components. The recommended action screen 700 includes a display unit selection area 705 and a recommended action display area 704. The display unit selection area 705 displays a display update button 701, a check box 702, and a check box 703. The display update button 701 is a button for updating the display of the recommended action display area 704. The check box 702 is a check box selected when limiting the display to unit components only. The check box 703 is a check box selected when displaying recommended sub-components along with the unit components. For example, when a user selects the check box 702 while the recommended sub-components are displayed independently and presses the display update button 701, the display of the recommended action display area 704 is updated to display only unit components. The display content of the recommended action display area 704, in which only unit components are displayed, is the same as that of the recommended action screen illustrated in FIG. 6 .

[0073] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a recommended action screen when there are no recommended sub-components in the second embodiment. The recommended action screen 800 includes a display unit selection area 805 and a recommended action display area 804. The display unit selection area 805 displays a display update button 801, a check box 802, and a check box 803. The display update button 801, the check box 802, and the check box 803 in FIG. 11 are the same as the display update button 701, the check box 702, and the check box 703 in FIG. 10, respectively. When the recommended sub-components are not displayed independently, selecting the check box 803 and pressing the display update button 701 updates the display in the recommended action display area 804 to include the recommended sub-components. The display content of the recommended action display area 804, which displays the recommended sub-components and unit components, is the same as that of the recommended action screen shown in FIG. 7.

[0074] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the display unit change process in the second embodiment. The following describes differences from the recommended action estimation process in the first embodiment. The process executed by the repair location notification server 101 in the display unit change process is realized by the CPU 201 of the repair location notification server 101 reading out programs and resource data stored in memory (ROM 202, HDD 204, etc.) and executing the programs. In the case of the display unit change process, in order to execute processing for errors for which the repair location estimation process (FIGS. 4 and 5) described in the first embodiment has been completed, the estimation of repair parts performed in S406 of FIG. 4 is performed, and the data (results of the estimation of repair parts) is also stored. This process starts when it is detected that the user has pressed the display update button on the recommended action screen displayed on the PC 103 via the browser 331.

[0075] In S901, the repair procedure display unit 319 detects an instruction to change the display unit. Specifically, the repair procedure display unit 319 detects a display unit change event triggered by pressing the display update button on the recommended action screen. In S902, the priority determination unit 314 acquires information on the faulty part estimated in S406. In S903, the priority determination unit 314 acquires part replacement history. The processing of S903 is the same as the processing of S407.

[0076] In S904, the priority determination unit 314 determines whether to display recommended sub-components. The priority determination unit 314 acquires the change in the display unit detected in S901 and determines whether to display recommended sub-components. If the check box for displaying only unit components is selected when the display update button is pressed, it determines that recommended sub-components will not be displayed, and the process of S907 is performed. On the other hand, if the check box for displaying recommended sub-components along with unit components is selected when the display update button is pressed, it determines that recommended sub-components will be displayed, and the process of S905 is performed. Steps S905 to S911 are the same as steps S407 to S414 in the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0077] In this embodiment, the function of switching the display of whether or not a recommended sub-part is included is added to the recommended action screen, but it may be added to a management screen that can be operated only by a specific administrator, so that only the administrator can operate it.In addition, the recommended action screen may display information indicating the accuracy of the estimated information (for example, the number of stars).

[0078] As described above, according to this embodiment, by displaying sub-parts that are likely to require repair in addition to unit parts based on market performance, the maintenance person can clearly identify the parts that require repair. Furthermore, if the user does not want to display the recommended repair screen that includes recommended sub-parts, the user can switch to a display that only includes unit parts.

[0079] Example 3 In Examples 1 and 2, recommended sub-parts were determined based on the number of replacement records. However, if the determination of whether a sub-part is recommended relies solely on the number of replacement records, the findings of the device manufacturer cannot be reflected. For example, a part may be subject to heavy loads and require regular maintenance, and the device manufacturer may want to treat it as a recommended sub-part. However, due to its component structure, the part may be classified as a sub-part included in a unit component in the treatment estimation process. For such parts, even if the device manufacturer understands the need for maintenance, the system may not be able to determine it as a recommended sub-part depending on market performance. Therefore, in Example 3, parts recommended by the device manufacturer or the like can be reflected in the estimation of parts for which treatment is recommended in the recommended treatment estimation process.

[0080] In this embodiment, recommended sub-components are defined in advance in the correct answer master. Table 8 shows an example of recommended sub-components defined in the master. For example, recommended sub-components are defined in advance in the correct answer master managed by the correct answer master management unit 317. [Table 8] The master includes the model number, error code, part number, remedial action, and recommended sub-part. The part number indicates the part number of the part that is a candidate for repair for the combination of the model number and error code. As for the part number, "Unit" indicates a unit part, and "Sub" indicates a sub-part. Possible remedial actions for the part are entered as "1," while actions that are not possible for the part are left blank. The recommended sub-part is a field for defining recommended sub-parts, and sub-parts that should be displayed as recommended sub-parts are entered as "1." In other words, parts corresponding to records in the fourth and sixth columns with a recommended sub-part value of "1" are parts recommended by device manufacturers, etc. Other records with a blank recommended sub-part value are the correct master used in Examples 1 and 2, which defines the theoretically correct combination of parts and remedial actions. Sub-parts predefined as "1" in the correct master are treated as recommended sub-parts when calculating estimation results from market performance.

[0081] When the market performance is Table 3 and the correct answer master including the definition of the recommended sub-component is Table 8, if the recommended action estimation process is performed to estimate the parts for which action to resolve the error is recommended and the action content, the estimation result shown in Table 9 is managed by the estimation result management unit 318. Table 9 shows the estimation result in the third embodiment. [Table 9] The items displayed in Table 9 are the same as those in Table 7. When an estimation is performed based on market performance and Table 8, which defines "Sub1-3" and "Sub2-1" as recommended sub-components, "Sub1-3" and "Sub2-1" are each determined to be recommended sub-components, and their replacement performance rates are calculated and their priorities are ranked individually. In addition, "Sub2-2," a sub-component with a high performance record, is also determined to be a recommended sub-component, and their replacement performance rate is calculated and their priorities are ranked individually.

[0082] When a sub-component ("Sub2-1") belonging to "Unit2" has a sub-component defined as a recommended sub-component in the master, the determination of recommended sub-components based on the number of replacement records is performed excluding the records of the parts defined as recommended sub-components in the master. For example, in the case of "Unit2" and its sub-components, the number of replacement records for "Sub2-2" is 349, which is the total of 359 (7 replacement records for "Unit2" + 3 replacement records for "Sub2-2"), or 349 / 359 = 97.2%. Therefore, this sub-component "Sub2-2" can be determined to be a recommended sub-component. The UI display of the recommended action screen based on the estimation results is the same as that shown in Figures 7 to 9.

[0083] As described above, according to this embodiment, recommended sub-components can be defined in advance, which allows a device manufacturer or the like to treat a component as a recommended sub-component for processing as a recommended sub-component in the estimation process.

[0084] The disclosure of this embodiment includes the following system configuration. (Configuration 1) An information providing system for providing information regarding a treatment for an image forming apparatus, a providing means for providing information including one or more corresponding portions estimated to require treatment in the image forming apparatus and treatment details for each of the one or more corresponding portions; The information providing system is characterized in that the providing means provides information so that both the unit part for which treatment is recommended and the sub-part included in the unit part for which treatment is recommended are displayed independently as the corresponding location. (Configuration 2) The information provision system according to configuration 1, characterized in that the sub-components for which a recommended action is displayed independently of the unit component are determined based on the ratio of the number of actual processing results for the sub-component to the number of actual processing results for the unit component and all sub-components contained in the unit component. (Configuration 3) The image forming apparatus further includes an estimation unit that estimates a recommended portion and treatment for the image forming apparatus based on information acquired from the image forming apparatus and past treatment results, The information providing system according to configuration 1 or 2, wherein the estimation means estimates that a specific sub-component included in a unit part is a sub-component for which treatment is recommended when the number of treatment results for the specific sub-component included in the unit part exceeds a predetermined ratio of the total number of treatment results for the unit part and the number of treatment results for all sub-components included in the unit part. (Configuration 4) The information providing system according to configuration 3, wherein when making an estimation for a unit part including a sub-part for which treatment is recommended, the estimation means makes the estimation by excluding the performance record of treatment for the sub-part for which treatment is recommended from the performance record of treatment for the unit part. (Configuration 5) The providing means provides the information including a replacement record rate corresponding to the corresponding part, An information provision system described in any one of configurations 1 to 4, characterized in that when the corresponding areas for which treatment is recommended based on the provided information are displayed, they are displayed in order of the highest rate of replacement history. (Configuration 6) The information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the providing means accepts a selection of whether the corresponding locations are limited to unit parts only or to both unit parts and sub-parts, and provides information including the corresponding locations according to the selection and the treatment content for each of the corresponding locations. (Configuration 7) 7. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the sub-component for which a treatment is recommended and displayed independently from the unit component is a sub-component that has been defined in advance. (Configuration 8) An information provision system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the action taken against the image forming device is a action to resolve an error that has occurred in the image forming device, or a action to respond to an event that is predicted from operation information of the image forming device.

[0085] (Other embodiments) The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program.The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

[0086] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

Claims

1. An information providing system for providing information regarding a treatment for an image forming apparatus, a providing means for providing information including one or more corresponding portions estimated to require treatment in the image forming apparatus and treatment details for each of the one or more corresponding portions; The information providing system is characterized in that the providing means provides information so that both the unit part for which treatment is recommended and the sub-part included in the unit part for which treatment is recommended are displayed independently as the corresponding location.

2. The information provision system according to claim 1, characterized in that the sub-components for which a recommended action is displayed independently of the unit component are determined based on the ratio of the number of actual processing results for the sub-component to the number of actual processing results for the unit component and all sub-components contained in the unit component.

3. The image forming apparatus further includes an estimation unit that estimates a recommended portion and treatment for the image forming apparatus based on information acquired from the image forming apparatus and past treatment results, 2. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the estimation means estimates that a specific sub-component included in a unit component is a sub-component for which treatment is recommended when the number of treatments performed on the specific sub-component included in the unit component exceeds a predetermined ratio of the total number of treatments performed on the unit component and the total number of treatments performed on all sub-components included in the unit component.

4. The information provision system according to claim 3, characterized in that when the estimation means makes an estimation for a unit part including a sub-part for which treatment is recommended, the estimation means makes the estimation by excluding the performance of treatment for the sub-part for which treatment is recommended from the performance of treatment for the unit part.

5. The providing means provides the information including a replacement record rate corresponding to the corresponding part, The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein when the corresponding parts for which treatment is recommended based on the provided information are displayed, they are displayed in descending order of the percentage of replacement records.

6. The information providing system according to claim 1, characterized in that the providing means accepts a selection of whether the corresponding locations are limited to unit parts only or to both unit parts and sub-parts, and provides information including the corresponding locations according to the selection and the treatment details for each of the corresponding locations.

7. 2. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the sub-component for which a treatment is recommended and which is displayed independently from the unit component is a predefined sub-component.

8. The information providing system according to claim 1, characterized in that the action taken for the image forming device is a action to resolve an error that has occurred in the image forming device, or a action to respond to an event that is predicted from operation information of the image forming device.

9. 1. A control method for an information providing system that provides information about a procedure for an image forming apparatus, comprising: a providing step of providing information including one or more corresponding parts estimated to require treatment in the image forming apparatus and treatment details for each of the one or more corresponding parts; A control method for an information provision system, characterized in that in the provision step, information is provided so that both a unit part for which treatment is recommended and a sub-part included in the unit part for which treatment is recommended are displayed independently as the corresponding location.

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