Image forming apparatus, control method for image forming apparatus, and log management system

Abstract

The processing and communication load becomes heavy when the same event occurs many times in a short period of time. [Solution] An image forming apparatus that can communicate with a server and comprises memory and a processor, wherein the processor is capable of at least one of printing processing for printing on a medium and scanning processing for reading a medium, and when detecting the occurrence of an event and generating packets to send to the server, the number of packets to generate or the interval at which packets are sent is changed based on the occurrence of the event.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a control method for an image forming apparatus, and a log management system.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as shown in Patent Document 1, a system is known that includes a server, receives and analyzes events transmitted from an event source.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the above-described system, when a large number of the same events occur at short intervals, the load on the processing and communication of the server and the event source is large. In particular, when the event source is an image forming apparatus, printing etc. may be performed in parallel, so the load further increases.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] An image forming apparatus capable of communicating with a server and including a memory and a processor, wherein the processor is capable of at least one of printing processing for printing on a medium and scanning processing for reading a medium, and when detecting the occurrence of an event and generating and transmitting a packet to the server, changes the number of packets generated or the interval at which the packets are transmitted based on the occurrence of the event.

[0006] A control method for an image forming apparatus capable of communicating with a server, wherein when detecting the occurrence of an event, generating packets, and sending them to the server, the method changes at least one of the number of packets to generate and the interval at which the packets are transmitted based on the occurrence of the event.

[0007] A log management system comprising at least an image forming apparatus and a server capable of communicating with the image forming apparatus, wherein the image forming apparatus detects the occurrence of an event, generates a packet, and sends it to the server, and based on the occurrence of the event, changes at least one of the number of packets to generate and the interval at which the packets are sent, and the server can receive the packets from the image forming apparatus and manage them as a log. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] A schematic diagram showing the configuration of the log management system. [Figure 2] A flowchart illustrating the control method for an image forming apparatus. [Figure 3] A schematic diagram showing the structure of a packet. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] 1. Log Management System Configuration As shown in Figure 1, the log management system 1 comprises at least a server 10 and an image forming apparatus 20. The log management system 1 may also include a terminal device 30 that can cause the image forming apparatus 20 to print and can display the results of log analysis by the server 10, as described later. The image forming apparatus 20 and terminal device 30 are located in a designated premises 2, such as a company, factory, or store. Users use the image forming apparatus 20 and terminal device 30 within the premises 2 to perform tasks such as printing. The server 10 is located in a data center, for example.

[0010] The devices described above can communicate with each other via the Internet, which is a Wide Area Network (WAN) 40. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 20 and the terminal device 30 may be connected to a local area network (LAN) (not shown), which is a communication network within a limited area such as a premises 2, and configured to communicate with each other. In this case, the image forming apparatus 20 and the terminal device 30 can communicate with the WAN 40 via the LAN. The LAN also includes functions such as a router and a firewall (registered trademark).

[0011] The image forming apparatus 20 is comprised of a second control unit 21, a second communication unit 22, and a second storage unit 23. The second control unit 21 comprehensively controls each part of the image forming apparatus 20. The second control unit 21 consists of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) for managing input / output, logic circuits such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) and PLD (Programmable Logic Device), and timers. A control unit like the second control unit 21 is also called a processor. In addition, the CPU of the second control unit 21 is sometimes specifically referred to as the processor.

[0012] The second storage unit 23 is composed of memory such as flash ROM (Read Only Memory) and HDD (Hard Disk Drive), which are rewritable non-volatile memories, and RAM (Random Access Memory), which are volatile memories. The non-volatile memory of the second storage unit 23 may also include an SSD (Solid State Drive). The CPU of the second control unit 21 reads a program such as firmware stored in the non-volatile memory of the second storage unit 23 and executes it using the volatile memory of the second storage unit 23 as a working area.

[0013] The second communication unit 22 is configured to include a circuit capable of communication wirelessly or via a wired connection. The second communication unit 22 has an antenna in the case of wireless communication and a connector in the case of wired communication. The second communication unit 22 can communicate via the WAN 40. Note that the image forming apparatus 20 transmits and receives data with the communication partner via the second communication unit 22. However, for the sake of brevity, the transmission and reception by the second communication unit 22 will be omitted in the following explanation. The same applies to the first communication unit 12 of the first management server 10, the second communication unit 22 of the image forming apparatus 20, the first communication unit 12 of the server 10, and the third communication unit 32 of the terminal device 30, which will be described later.

[0014] The image forming apparatus 20 includes at least a printing unit 25. The printing unit 25 is composed of a head, transport rollers (neither of which are shown in the figure), and the like. Examples of printing media include plain paper, synthetic paper, photographic paper, and film. The printing unit 25 can transport the medium using transport rollers, print with the head, and produce a predetermined printed product. The print head is, for example, an inkjet type, capable of ejecting multiple inks such as CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) to print on the medium. Alternatively, the print head may be a thermal type, electrophotographic type, or other type. Alternatively, the printing unit 25 may have a mechanism that uses toner for printing using an electrophotographic method. The image forming apparatus 20 also has various sensors (not shown) that perform tasks such as media detection, ink level detection, detection of opening and closing of the cover covering the printing unit 25, and error detection.

[0015] The image forming apparatus 20 may also include an image acquisition unit 26. The image acquisition unit 26 has a scanner (not shown) and can acquire an image of the original document, which is the medium. The image forming apparatus 20, under the control of the second control unit 21, can perform media processing such as printing, scanning, copying, and faxing using media processing units such as the printing unit 25 and the image acquisition unit 26. Such an image forming apparatus 20 is also called a multifunction device.

[0016] The image forming apparatus 20 includes a second input / output unit 24. The second input / output unit 24 is a user interface for the user. The second input / output unit 24 is, for example, a touch panel display. The second input / output unit 24 includes a display panel that is an output unit for displaying various information, and a detection panel that is an input unit. The detection panel is configured to be overlaid on the display panel. The detection panel can detect operations such as a user's finger by methods such as a capacitance method, a resistive film method, an optical method, etc. In addition, in the second input / output unit 24, the input unit may be a keyboard, a mouse, buttons, etc., and the output unit may be a stand-type liquid crystal display, etc.

[0017] The terminal device 30 is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a computer, etc. The terminal device 30 is configured to include a third control unit 31, a third communication unit 32, a third storage unit 33, and a third input / output unit 34. The third control unit 31, or the CPU included in the third control unit 31, is also referred to as a processor. Since these configurations of the terminal device 30 are substantially the same as those of the image forming apparatus 20, the description is omitted. The terminal device 30 can transmit print data to the image forming apparatus 20 to cause printing. Also, the terminal device 30 can acquire an image of a document from the image forming apparatus 20.

[0018] The server 10 is configured to include a first control unit 11, a first communication unit 12, and a first storage unit 13. The first control unit 11, or the CPU included in the first control unit 11, is also referred to as a processor. Since these configurations of the server 10 are substantially the same as those of the image forming apparatus 20, the description is omitted. Note that the server 10 may be provided with an input / output unit having a configuration similar to that of the second input / output unit 24 of the image forming apparatus 20.

[0019] Server 10 can communicate using protocols such as those defined in Syslog (System Logging Protocol). Server 10 is a so-called Syslog server or a SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) server. For example, a Syslog server can collect, store, and manage logs, which are historical information. The Syslog server can use the collected logs as material to demonstrate the legitimacy of operations during troubleshooting and audits.

[0020] For example, a SIEM server can manage logs, collect activity within those logs, automatically detect and visualize potential threats in real time, and notify terminal devices 30. The SIEM server can correlate and analyze the stored logs in real time, enabling rapid analysis and response when security-related incidents occur. The server 10 transmits the results of this management, analysis, and response to the terminal device 30, which can then display them via the third input / output unit 34, allowing the user to see them.

[0021] As shown in Figure 3 below, the image forming apparatus 20 sends information about the event that occurred to the server 10 using packets that conform to the protocol defined in Syslog. Hereafter, the information about the event that occurred will be referred to as event information. Event information includes at least the event name or ID (Identity) as described below. The server 10 receives this information from the image forming apparatus 20, stores it as a log in the first storage unit 13 in chronological order, and can manage it for other purposes.

[0022] As described later, when an event occurs, the image forming apparatus 20 generates a packet containing event information and sends it to the server 10. Incidentally, in the image forming apparatus 20, the same event may occur repeatedly at short intervals. For example, an event may occur when the sensor of the image forming apparatus 20 detects an error in the printing unit 25. Depending on the predetermined operation of the printing unit 25, the sensor of the image forming apparatus 20 may detect an error multiple times, and the same error event may occur repeatedly at short intervals.

[0023] In this case, the image forming apparatus 20 generates many identical event information packets, each as a separate packet, and sends them to the server 10 in succession at short intervals. Identical event information refers to event information in which at least one of the event name and ID described below is the same. As a result, the image forming apparatus 20 and the server 10 may experience increased processing and communication loads. Furthermore, the shorter the interval between sending and receiving the same event information, the more pronounced the increase in load will be for the image forming apparatus 20 and the server 10.

[0024] In particular, the image forming apparatus 20 may perform processes such as printing, scanning, copying, and faxing in parallel with transmitting packets using the printing unit 25 and the image acquisition unit 26, which makes it more susceptible to increased load. Furthermore, in the analysis of logs on server 10, the same event information may overlap, potentially reducing the efficiency of management and other processing.

[0025] 2. Control method for image forming apparatus Each of the processes described below is executed by the first control unit 11 of the server 10, the second control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 20, and the third control unit 31 of the terminal device 30, respectively. For the sake of brevity, the execution of these processes by the control units will be omitted from the explanation. Furthermore, in the following, it is assumed that various types of information are stored in the non-volatile memory of each storage unit so that they are retained even when the power is turned off.

[0026] Events occurring in the image forming apparatus 20 include, for example, completion and failure of media processing such as printing, scanning, and copying; changes in settings such as printing conditions and network settings; occurrence and recovery from errors; online status; offline status; and detection by various sensors. Specifically, in the case of media processing in the image forming apparatus 20, events of security importance are also included, such as events related to printing at specific times, such as in the middle of the night, and events related to printing more than a predetermined number of pages. Here, these are also the names of events. The image forming apparatus 20 can detect the occurrence of these events using the second control unit 21 and various sensors. Settings can be changed based on input from the user to the second input / output unit 24 of the image forming apparatus 20, or based on instructions from the terminal device 30 via a setting tool or the like.

[0027] The second storage unit 23 of the image forming apparatus 20 stores the names of events to be sent to the server 10, as well as messages corresponding to these events. The image forming apparatus 20 does not need to send all events to the server 10. In the following, the name of an event will also be simply referred to as "the event." An event may be stored together with its identification information. In the following, the identification information of an event will be referred to as the ID. When the image forming apparatus 20 identifies an event, it may also use the ID in addition to the name of the event.

[0028] As shown in Figure 2, the image forming apparatus 20 starts processing and detects the occurrence of one of the above-mentioned events (S101). Hereinafter, the most recent event detected by the image forming apparatus 20 will be referred to as the latest event. The image forming apparatus 20 refers to the second storage unit 23 and checks whether the latest event is eligible for transmission to the server 10.

[0029] When the image forming apparatus 20 determines that the latest event is to be sent to the server 10, the timer in the second control unit 21 acquires the time at which the occurrence of the latest event was detected. The image forming apparatus 20 stores the latest event in the second storage unit 23 along with the time it was acquired (S102). The image forming apparatus 20 can store the latest event in association with the time it occurred. Hereinafter, the time stored together with the event will be referred to as the timestamp.

[0030] Furthermore, the second storage unit 23 of the image forming apparatus 20 can also store a flag indicating whether an event has been sent to the server 10 or not. The latest event is initially stored with the "not sent" flag. Furthermore, if it is sufficient to retain events, etc., only when the image forming apparatus 20 is powered on, the events, etc., may be stored in volatile memory instead of the non-volatile memory of the second storage unit 23 of the image forming apparatus 20.

[0031] The second storage unit 23 of the image forming apparatus 20 stores a predetermined number or more past events prior to the most recent event, along with their timestamps. In other words, the second storage unit 23 stores past events as history information along with their timestamps. A flag indicating whether the past event has been sent to the server 10 or not is also stored for each past event. Hereafter, past events that indicate they have not been sent will simply be referred to as past events. The image forming apparatus 20 reads a predetermined number of past events from the second storage unit 23 in order of the newest timestamp and compares them with the latest event (S103).

[0032] For example, the predetermined number of items is n, where n is a natural number greater than or equal to 2. n is stored in the second storage unit 23 of the image forming apparatus 20. n may be a fixed value, or it may be set based on input from the user to the second input / output unit 24 of the image forming apparatus 20, or based on instructions from the terminal device 30. The image forming apparatus 20 reads n from the second storage unit 23 and processes it as follows: The image forming apparatus 20 determines, based on the comparison, whether the latest event and the n past events read from the second storage unit 23 are the same event (S104). The same event means that at least one of the names and IDs of both events is the same.

[0033] If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that the latest event and n past events are the same event (S104: YES), it then determines whether they occurred at short intervals (S105). In this case, the same event has occurred (n+1 times) in total, including the most recent event and n past events.

[0034] When determining whether the intervals are short, the image forming apparatus 20 reads out the timestamps corresponding to n past events from the second storage unit 23. Hereafter, the timestamp corresponding to the most recent event will be referred to as the latest timestamp, and the timestamps corresponding to past events will be referred to as past timestamps. The image forming apparatus 20 compares the latest timestamp with n past timestamps. The image forming apparatus 20 determines, based on the latest timestamp, whether the n past timestamps are within a predetermined interval and whether the interval is short (S105).

[0035] For example, the predetermined interval is t seconds, and t seconds is stored in the second storage unit 23. t seconds may be a fixed value, or it may be set based on input from the user to the second input / output unit 24 of the image forming apparatus 20, or based on instructions from the terminal device 30. The image forming apparatus 20 reads t seconds from the second storage unit 23 and processes it as follows. Note that t seconds may be set to different values ​​depending on the type of event. For example, events related to the completion or failure of jobs such as printing, scanning, and copying take time to process physically, so t seconds may be set to a relatively long value. On the other hand, events related to setting changes can be set to a relatively short value because settings can be changed in bulk using a tool. In other words, the predetermined interval for events related to media processing such as printing can be made longer than the predetermined interval for events related to setting changes, etc.

[0036] If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that the n past timestamps are within t seconds of the latest timestamp and are therefore short intervals (S105: YES), it generates a packet that combines the latest event and the n past events (S106). The image forming apparatus 20 can determine that a large number of identical events, totaling (n+1) occurrences, have occurred consecutively within a short period of time, specifically within t seconds prior to the occurrence of the most recent event. The image forming apparatus 20 can then generate a single packet that includes the most recent event and n past events, which are all identical events. The packet consists of at least the same event name or ID and the number of such events.

[0037] As described above, packets are structured according to the protocol specified in Syslog. Packets may also include a PRI section and a HEADER section as part of a fixed format. As shown in Figure 3, for example, a packet is configured to include an event name, a count, and a message. These are placed in a part of the packet called the Message section. The Message section can consist of arbitrary information, including alphanumeric characters and symbols. The event name may also be an ID. The Message section can be of variable length, and the message can also be of variable length. For example, the message may include a description, notes, etc., corresponding to the event name. The information included in the Message field of the bucket may also be the event information mentioned above.

[0038] Since the latest event and n past events share the same event name or ID, only one event name or ID is needed in the packet. Therefore, it's unnecessary to send the event name or ID multiple times, as would be the case when sending individual packets. The total number of events contained in a single packet is (n+1), including the latest event and n past events.

[0039] In Example A shown in Figure 3, the message contained in the packet consists of (n+1) messages corresponding to the latest event and n past events. For example, if an event involves making multiple setting changes at once, such as print conditions or network settings, it is preferable to send (n+1) different messages so that both the server 10 and the user can understand the content of each setting change.

[0040] In Example B, the message contained in the packet consists of (n+1) timestamps corresponding to the latest event and n past events. For example, if an event is the occurrence of an error, recovery from an error, online status, offline status, or a change in the status of various sensors, it is preferable to include the timestamp for each event in the transmission so that the server 10 and the user can understand the frequency of these occurrences. Furthermore, for example, the message contained in the packet may consist of both (n+1) messages from Example A and (n+1) timestamps from Example B.

[0041] Furthermore, for example, a message containing (n+1) items in Example A may instead consist of one or more messages common to the most recent event and n past events. Furthermore, for example, the timestamp containing (n+1) events in Example B may instead consist of the latest timestamp, the oldest timestamp, or both of the timestamps for the (n+1) events.

[0042] The image forming apparatus 20 sends the packet, which has been generated as described above, to the server 10 (S107). In this way, the image forming apparatus 20 can include the latest event and n past events, which are the same event, and send them as a single packet. As a result, even if the same event occurs repeatedly in a short period of time, the image forming apparatus 20 does not need to generate a large number of individual packets for each event, and therefore does not need to send a large number of packets to the server 10 in succession. Furthermore, if communication is interrupted due to a malfunction of the WAN 40 or the like, the image forming apparatus 20 can temporarily store the generated packets in the second storage unit 23, and when communication via the WAN 40 resumes, it can read the stored packets from the second storage unit 23 and transmit them.

[0043] Ideally, if the same event occurs repeatedly in a short period of time, the image forming apparatus 20 would generate and transmit a separate bucket based on the occurrence of each event. According to this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 20 can change at least one of the number of packets to generate and the interval at which packets are transmitted, based on the occurrence of the latest event which is identical to n past events. Specifically, when the latest event occurs, the image forming apparatus 20 can generate and transmit a single packet containing n past events that are identical to the latest event. The image forming apparatus 20 can change the number of packets it generates from (n+1) to 1. In addition, as the number of packets to be transmitted decreases, the image forming apparatus 20 can change the interval between packet transmissions to be longer.

[0044] In this way, the image forming apparatus 20 and the server 10, which would normally receive (n+1) packets, only need to send and receive one packet, thus reducing the load on processing and communication. The image forming apparatus 20 may perform printing or other operations in parallel with generating packets and sending them to the server 10. Even in this case, the process of combining them into a single packet as described above suppresses an increase in the load on the image forming apparatus 20. Furthermore, in log management by the server 10, the overlapping of identical event information is suppressed, thereby preventing a decrease in processing efficiency. The image forming apparatus 20 rewrites the flags in the second storage unit 23 to "sent to server 10" for the most recently transmitted event and n past events.

[0045] Furthermore, after the server 10 receives the latest event and n past events as a single packet, it can store each event individually as a log in the first storage unit 13. In other words, the server 10 can obtain the latest event information and n past event information from a single packet and store these individually as logs. Server 10 can individually store, manage, and analyze logs related to the latest event and n past events.

[0046] Returning to the determination of identical events (S104), the explanation continues. If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that the latest event and n past events are not the same event (S104: NO), it generates a packet related to the latest event (S109). This packet consists of at least the name of the latest event and its message. The image forming apparatus 20 sends this packet relating to the generated latest event to the server 10 (S107). The image forming apparatus 20 rewrites the flag in the second storage unit 23 to "sent to server 10" for the latest transmitted event.

[0047] In this case, if there are n identical past events that are different from the latest event, the image forming apparatus 20 may separately generate a single packet containing the n identical past events, as described above in the generation of a combined packet (S106), and send it to the server 10. The image forming apparatus 20 can change at least one of the number of packets to generate and the interval at which packets are transmitted, based on the occurrence of the latest event which is different from n past events.

[0048] The image forming apparatus 20 does not need to individually send n packets related to n past events to the server 10, thereby reducing processing load. The image forming apparatus 20 can easily generate packets and send them to the server 10 in parallel with printing, etc. In this case, it is preferable that the image forming apparatus 20 sends a packet containing n identical past events before the packet related to the most recent event, in order of earliest timestamp. The image forming apparatus 20 rewrites the flag in the second storage unit 23 to "sent to server 10" for the n past events that have been transmitted.

[0049] Returning to the short interval determination (S105), the explanation continues. If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that n past timestamps are longer than t seconds relative to the latest timestamp (S105: NO), it generates a packet related to the latest event (S109). This packet consists of at least the name of the latest event and its message. The image forming apparatus 20 sends the packet relating to the generated latest event to the server 10 (S107). The image forming apparatus 20 rewrites the flag in the second storage unit 23 to "sent to server 10" for the latest transmitted event.

[0050] In addition, if there are n past events identical to the latest event, the image forming apparatus 20 may separately generate a single packet containing the n identical past events, as described above (S106), and send it to the server 10. Alternatively, the image forming apparatus 20 may combine n past events identical to the most recent event into a single packet and send it to the server 10. The image forming apparatus 20 can send (n+1) identical events together. The image forming apparatus 20 can change at least one of the number of packets to generate and the interval at which packets are transmitted, based on the occurrence of the latest event which is identical to n past events.

[0051] The image forming apparatus 20 does not need to individually send n or (n+1) packets to the server 10, thereby reducing the processing load. The image forming apparatus 20 can easily generate packets and send them to the server 10 in parallel with printing or other operations. The image forming apparatus 20 rewrites the flag in the second storage unit 23 to "sent to server 10" for past events that have been transmitted.

[0052] When the image forming apparatus 20 attempts to compare the latest event with n past events (S103), there may be cases where the second storage unit 23 has fewer than n past events stored, which is less than a predetermined number. In this case, the image forming apparatus 20 can process the data as follows. In other words, if there are fewer than n past events, and the latest event and these fewer than n past events are the same event and occur at short intervals, the image forming apparatus 20 does not generate or transmit a packet. However, as described above, the image forming apparatus 20 continues to store the latest event, along with its timestamp, as historical information in the second storage unit 23. The image forming apparatus 20 waits until there are n or more such past events.

[0053] Thus, even if the same event occurs consecutively at short intervals, the image forming apparatus 20 does not generate packets for each event and does not send them to the server 10 if there are fewer than n past events. In other words, for the latest event, if there are fewer than n past events of the same event within t seconds, the image forming apparatus 20 does not generate packets and does not send them to the server 10. The image forming apparatus 20 does not need to send a large number of packets to the server 10 at short intervals, thereby reducing the processing load and other factors. Furthermore, the latest event is stored in the second storage unit 23 along with the unsent flag, and when the next latest event occurs, it can be counted as a past event and processed.

[0054] On the other hand, if the number of past events is less than n, and the latest event and these past events are not the same event, or if they are the same event but not at a short interval, the image forming apparatus 20 can perform the same processing as described above when it is determined that the latest event and the n past events are not the same event (S104: NO).

[0055] In other words, the image forming apparatus 20 may generate a packet relating to the latest event and send it to the server 10 (S107). Alternatively, it may generate a packet containing fewer than n identical past events and send it to the server 10. The image forming apparatus 20 can change at least one of the number of packets to generate and the interval at which packets are transmitted, based on the occurrence of the latest event which is not identical to any of the n past events.

[0056] Alternatively, if the latest event and less than n past events are the same event and are not spaced too far apart, the image forming apparatus 20 may generate and transmit these events as a single packet. The image forming apparatus 20 can change at least one of the number of packets to generate and the interval at which packets are transmitted, based on the occurrence of the latest event which is identical to less than n past events.

[0057] Thus, the image forming apparatus 20 can be modified to reduce the number of packets and to lengthen the transmission interval. The image forming apparatus 20 does not need to individually send multiple packets (at least less than n packets) to the server 10, thereby reducing the processing load. The image forming apparatus 20 can easily generate packets and send them to the server 10 in parallel with printing or other operations. The image forming apparatus 20 rewrites the flags in the second storage unit 23 to "sent to server 10" for the latest and past events that have been transmitted.

[0058] As described above, the log management system 1 comprises at least an image forming apparatus 20 and a server 10. The image forming apparatus 20 can communicate with the server 10 via a second communication unit 22 and includes a memory in a second storage unit 23 and a second control unit 21 which is a processor. The processor is capable of performing at least one of the following processes: printing, which involves printing onto a medium using a head in a printing unit 25, and scanning, which involves reading the medium using a scanner in an image acquisition unit 26. The processor of the image forming apparatus 20 detects the occurrence of an event, generates a packet, and sends it to the server 10. At this time, the processor can change at least one of the number of packets to generate and the interval at which packets are sent, based on the occurrence of the event. Server 10 can receive packets from the image forming apparatus 20, store them as logs in the first storage unit 13, and perform management and other operations.

[0059] As a result, even if the same event occurs repeatedly in a short period of time, the image forming apparatus 20 does not need to generate a large number of individual packets for each event, and therefore does not need to send a large number of packets to the server 10 in succession. For example, the image forming apparatus 20 and the server 10 would normally send and receive (n+1) packets, which would be the sum of the latest event and n past events. However, with this setup, only one packet is needed, reducing the load on processing and communication. The image forming apparatus 20 may perform printing or other operations in parallel with generating packets and sending them to the server 10. Even in this case, the process of combining the packets into a single packet as described above suppresses an increase in the load on the image forming apparatus 20.

[0060] Although embodiments have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments and may be modified, substituted, deleted, etc., as long as it does not depart from the spirit of this invention. As described above, the second storage unit 23 of the image forming apparatus 20 stored a flag indicating whether an event had been sent to the server 10 or not. The second storage unit 23 of the image forming apparatus 20 may also use a memory address to identify whether an event has been sent or not. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 1...Log management system, 10...Server, 11...First control unit, 12...First communication unit, 13...First storage unit, 20...Image forming apparatus, 21...Second control unit, 22...Second communication unit, 23...Second storage unit, 24...Second input / output unit, 25...Printing unit, 26...Image acquisition unit, 30...Terminal device, 40...WAN.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus that can communicate with a server and comprises memory and a processor, The aforementioned processor, It is capable of at least one of the following processes: printing, which prints onto a medium, and scanning, which reads from a medium. When detecting the occurrence of an event, generating a packet, and sending it to the server, An image forming apparatus that changes the number of packets to generate or the interval at which packets are transmitted based on the occurrence of the aforementioned event.

2. The aforementioned processor, The memory stores the latest event and a predetermined number of past events. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, which compares the latest event with a predetermined number of past events, and if the same event occurs consecutively within a predetermined interval, sends a packet containing the latest event and the predetermined number of past events to the server.

3. The aforementioned processor, The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, with respect to the latest event, if the number of past events of the same event within the predetermined interval is less than the predetermined number, the packet is not generated and is not transmitted to the server.

4. The aforementioned processor, The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined interval of events relating to at least one of the printing process and the scanning process is longer than the predetermined interval of events relating to setting changes.

5. The aforementioned processor, The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the packets generated in batches include at least the event name or identification information and the number of identical events.

6. The aforementioned processor, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, which detects at least one of the events related to the printing process at a specific time and the events related to the printing process for a predetermined number of pages or more.

7. A control method for an image forming apparatus capable of communicating with a server, When detecting the occurrence of an event, generating a packet, and sending it to the server, A control method for an image forming apparatus, which changes at least one of the number of packets to generate and the interval at which to transmit the packets, based on the occurrence of the aforementioned event.

8. A log management system comprising at least an image forming apparatus and a server capable of communicating with the image forming apparatus, The image forming apparatus is When detecting the occurrence of an event, generating a packet, and sending it to the server, Based on the occurrence of the aforementioned event, at least one of the number of packets to generate and the interval at which the packets are transmitted is changed. The aforementioned server, A log management system capable of receiving the packets from the image forming apparatus and managing them as logs.

Images