Service management system, service management method, and program

Abstract

Even if the server has not registered the electronic device's information and communication between the server and the electronic device goes offline, the service to the electronic device will start smoothly. [Solution] A service management system 1 having a sales server 400, an integrated server 500, a printer 200, and a terminal device 300, wherein when the connection between the product registration server 100, which registers service subscription information of user MU related to the printer 200, and the printer 200 is offline, a provisional registration request including service subscription information is sent. Upon receiving the provisional registration request, the service subscription information is provisionally registered. In response to the provisional registration, a predetermined service for the printer 200 is started. When the connection between the product registration server 100 and the printer 200 changes from an offline state to an online state, the provisionally registered service subscription information is officially registered.

Description

[[Technical Field]]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a service management system, a service management method, and a program for managing a predetermined service for electronic devices. [[Background Art]]

[0002] Conventionally, as described in Patent Document 1, for example, a technique is known in which a printer, which is an example of an electronic device, registers printer information in a management server. The process of registering printer information is executed as a preparation process for starting a service related to a printer, which is an example of an electronic device. If communication between the printer and the management server becomes impossible after registration, the printer displays a QR code (registered trademark) for the terminal device to access the management server. The terminal device reads the QR code (registered trademark) output from the printer and transmits a service start request to the management server. Thereby, the service for the printer is started. [[Prior Art Documents]] [[Patent Documents]]

[0003] [[Patent Document 1]] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2021-162914 [[Summary of the Invention]] [[Problem to be Solved by the Invention]]

[0004] The disclosure of Patent Document 1 is a technique for coping with a case where communication between the management server and the printer becomes offline in a state where the management server has already registered the printer information. However, it does not assume a case where communication between the management server and the printer becomes offline in a state where the management server has not registered the printer information. Therefore, in such a case, the service cannot be started.

[0005] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a service management system, a service management method, and a program that enable smooth commencement of services to electronic devices even when communication between the server and the electronic device goes offline while the server has not registered information about the electronic device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this disclosure relates to the following technology: A service management system having a provisional registration server, an electronic device, and a terminal, comprising: a request unit that transmits a provisional registration request including the service subscription information when the connection between the registration server, which registers the service subscription information of a user relating to the electronic device, and the electronic device is offline; a provisional registration unit that provisionally registers the service subscription information in response to receiving the provisional registration request; a service start unit that starts a predetermined service for the electronic device in response to the provisional registration by the provisional registration unit; and a final registration unit that final registers the service subscription information provisionally registered by the provisional registration unit in response to the connection between the registration server and the electronic device changing from an offline state to an online state.

[0007] In the service management system of this disclosure, if the connection for communication between the electronic device and the registration server is offline, the request unit sends a provisional registration request containing service subscription information. Upon receiving the provisional registration request, the provisional registration unit performs provisional registration of the service subscription information. The service start unit starts executing a predetermined service for the electronic device in accordance with the provisional registration. When the connection between the electronic device and the registration server goes online, the final registration unit finalizes the provisionally registered service subscription information.

[0008] According to this disclosure, even if the registration server goes offline without registering the service subscription information of electronic devices, the provisional registration unit will provisionally register the service subscription information. Subsequently, when the server goes online, the final registration unit will complete the final registration, enabling the service to be started smoothly. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to this disclosure, even if the server has not registered the electronic device's information and communication between the server and the electronic device goes offline, services to the electronic device can be started smoothly. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the service management system according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] This diagram schematically shows an example of a registration list. [Figure 3] This diagram illustrates the flow of various information during the standard service registration process. [Figure 4] This diagram illustrates the flow of various information during the provisional registration process when subscribing to a service during a server downtime. [Figure 5] This sequence diagram illustrates an example of the processing flow performed by each device during the provisional registration process for service subscription while the product registration server is down. [Figure 6] This sequence diagram illustrates an example of the processing flow performed by each device during the provisional registration process for service subscription while the product registration server is down. [Figure 7] This sequence diagram illustrates an example of the processing flow performed by each device when it returns to online service after the product registration server has been restored. [Figure 8] This sequence diagram illustrates an example of the processing flow performed by each device during the final registration process after the product registration server has been restored. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Embodiments of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. This embodiment relates to a service management system that manages various printing-related services provided by multiple servers to a printer. As an example of an electronic device that receives various printing-related services, a printer that uses printing paper and ink cartridges to print will be described, but the electronic device is not limited to a printer.

[0012] <Overall configuration of the service management system> Figure 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of the service management system 1 according to the embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the service management system 1 includes a product registration server 100, a printer 200, a terminal device 300, a sales company server 400, and an integrated server 500. The product registration server 100, printer 200, terminal device 300, sales company server 400, and integrated server 500 can communicate with each other via the NT network. The sales company server 400 and integrated server 500 are examples of temporary registration servers. The printer 200 is an example of an electronic device. The terminal device 300 is an example of a terminal. The product registration server 100 is an example of a registration server.

[0013] <Product Registration Server> The product registration server 100 is a server installed and managed by, for example, the manufacturer of the printer 200. The product registration server 100 may consist of a single "server" or it may consist of multiple servers. The product registration server 100 manages multiple printers 200 that are subject to management. The product registration server 100 includes a control unit 110, a storage unit 115, a communication unit 140, etc. The control unit 110, the storage unit 115, and the communication unit 140, etc. are connected via a bus 105 to enable information transmission and reception.

[0014] The storage unit 115 is composed of, for example, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, HDD, etc. The storage unit 115 stores various programs 120 and various data 130. The various programs 120 include, for example, a program that executes the control contents of the product registration server 100 according to the sequence chart shown in Figures 7 and 8 below. The various data 130 include, for example, service subscription information consisting of user information and printer product information, which will be described later.

[0015] The control unit 110 is a device that performs data processing, and is, for example, a processor such as a CPU. The control unit 110 executes various programs stored in the storage unit 115. The control unit 110 performs various types of processing including data communication with the printer 200 and the terminal device 300 connected to the network NT. The communication unit 140 is connected to the network NT, and performs communication with the printer 200 and the terminal device 300.

[0016] <Printer> The printer 200 is, for example, an electronic device owned by a user, and is a target that receives various print-related services managed by the service management system 1. The printer 200 includes a control unit 210, a storage unit 215, a display unit 240, an operation unit 250, a communication unit 260, a printing unit 270, a cartridge holder 280, a reader / writer 290, and the like. The control unit 210, the storage unit 215, the display unit 240, the operation unit 250, the communication unit 260, and the printing unit 270 are connected via a bus 205 so as to be capable of transmitting and receiving information.

[0017] The storage unit 215 stores various programs 220 and various data 230. The various programs 220 include, for example, programs that execute control processing of the printer 200 according to flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 described later. The various data 230 include, for example, a cumulative number of used printed sheets that is counted up when printing by a print job is executed, image data to be printed, and the like.

[0018] The control unit 210 is a device that performs data processing, and is, for example, a processor such as a CPU. The control unit 210 executes various programs stored in the storage unit 215. The display unit 240 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and can display various information. The operation unit 250 is, for example, a keyboard, buttons, or the like, and receives input operations by a user. A user can input various instructions to the printer 200 by operating the operation unit 250. The communication unit 260 is connected to a network NT, and performs communication between the product registration server 100 and the terminal device 300. The printing unit 270 prints an image on printing paper by, for example, an inkjet method while conveying the printing paper by a conveyance mechanism (not shown).

[0019] The cartridge holder 280 accommodates an ink cartridge 285. The ink cartridge 285 includes ink cartridges of respective ink colors such as cyan ink, magenta ink, yellow ink, and black ink, for example. One cartridge holder 280 is configured to accommodate one ink cartridge 285. Therefore, four cartridge holders 280 are provided for each of the ink colors, and the four cartridge holders 280 accommodate four ink cartridges 285. The printing unit 270 performs printing while consuming the ink in the ink cartridge 285. A reader-writer 290 is provided in each of the cartridge holders 280.

[0020] <Terminal Device> The terminal device 300 is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by a user, and is connected to the network NT via wireless communication. Although not shown in the drawings, the terminal device 300 is a computer including a control unit, a storage unit, a communication unit for connecting to the network NT, and the like.

[0021] The storage unit stores various programs. The various programs include, for example, programs for executing control processing of the terminal device 300 according to sequence charts shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 described later. The control unit executes various programs stored in the storage unit.

[0022] The terminal device 300 displays various information and accepts various input operations from the user via a touch panel that integrates an LCD display and a touchpad. The user can input various instructions to the terminal device 300 by operating the touch panel. The terminal device 300 may be a smartphone, or for example, a tablet PC, notebook PC, or desktop PC.

[0023] <Sales company servers, integrated servers> The sales company server 400 and the integrated server 500 are servers installed and managed by, for example, the manufacturer of the printer 200. The hardware configurations of the sales company server 400 and the integrated server 500 are the same as those of the product registration server 100, but their roles within the service management system 1 are different. The sales company server 400 is a server specialized in processing, such as generating, notifying, and managing instructions and information related to product sales. The integrated server 500 is a server that centrally manages the processing of the entire system so that it can send and receive various kinds of information with multiple other servers and cooperate with those servers. In this embodiment, the sales company server 400 and the integrated server 500 also have a function to accept provisional registration of service subscription information, as described later.

[0024] <Service subscription procedures in the service management system> The service management system 1 of this embodiment can provide a variety of printing-related services to the printer 200 owned by the user. One example is an automatic consumables delivery service. This service delivers consumables such as printing paper and ink cartridges 285 consumed by the printer 200 to the user's home after the user completes the billing and purchase procedure. In addition, there is a pay-per-use printing service that assumes automatic delivery of consumables without charge, and bills the user retroactively based on the number of pages actually printed. Furthermore, there are prepaid printing services that allow printing up to a predetermined number of pages, or subscription printing services that allow unlimited printing up to a fixed number of pages contracted through regular billing.

[0025] In order for a user to receive these printing-related services, they must first complete a service subscription procedure as part of the contract process. Figure 2 schematically shows an example of the official registration list of service subscription information that is registered or updated through this service subscription procedure. This official registration list is the list data stored in the product registration server 100 as a result of the formal service subscription procedure. In the example in Figure 2, the name, address, telephone number, credit card number, and type of service subscribed to are registered for each serial number of the printer 200. Of these, the name, address, telephone number, and credit card number information are referred to as user information. The serial number information identifies the model number and individual printer 200 to which the printing-related services are applied, and is referred to as printer product information. The type of service subscribed information indicates what type of printing-related service the user MU has contracted for the printer 200. One or more types of services are always registered in this official registration list. Note that printing-related services are an example of the specified services.

[0026] The above service subscription information is essential for the provision of any printing-related service. When a user MU signs up for a contract, they must complete a service subscription procedure that includes entering the above user information and printer product information, as well as specifying the type of service they wish to subscribe to. When a user MU performs this service subscription procedure, they must first install a dedicated application on the terminal device 300, as shown in Figure 3. By running the dedicated application, the terminal device 300 accepts user operations and acquires information necessary for the service subscription procedure. First, the terminal device 300 connects to the printer 200 via a wireless communication line, such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark). Then, the terminal device 300 acquires the serial number stored in the printer 200 as printer product information. When a user MU initiates an operation to start subscribing to a specific printing-related service, the terminal device 300 accesses the product registration server 100 via a wide-area communication line such as the Internet, displays an information input screen for the service subscription procedure on the display, and accepts the input of the above various user information.

[0027] Subsequently, the terminal device 300 transmits printer product information and user information to complete the service subscription procedure. Access information such as the URL for the terminal device 300 to access the product registration server 100 may be downloaded to the terminal device 300 when the dedicated application is installed. Alternatively, the terminal device 300 may obtain access information stored in the printer 200 in advance, along with the serial number mentioned above. Furthermore, the user MU may specify the type of service to subscribe to by accessing a dedicated web page for that service type using the terminal device 300. Alternatively, the user MU may specify the service type on the dedicated application.

[0028] In this way, when a user MU performs the service subscription procedure via the terminal device 300, the product registration server 100 registers the user information, printer product information, and specified service type information together as service subscription information in the above-mentioned registration list. Subsequently, the product registration server 100 sends a registration completion notification back to the terminal device 300, and in response, the terminal device 300 sends a service start instruction to the printer 200. This activates the printer 200 so that it can start executing the service. After that, the printer 200 communicates with other servers besides the product registration server 100 to provide print-related services to the user MU.

[0029] <Service subscription procedures during server downtime> If any malfunction occurs in the product registration server 100, the server may go down. During this time, the product registration server 100 will be unable to communicate with other devices, and service subscription procedures will not be possible. As a result, even if the service execution server related to the execution of the service is functioning normally, it will not be possible to start providing print-related services. If such a state in which service subscription procedures cannot be performed continues for an extended period, it may result in users (MUs) losing the opportunity to subscribe to the service.

[0030] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, while the product registration server 100 is down, the sales company server 400 and the integration server 500 temporarily register service subscription information on behalf of the product registration server 100, enabling the start of print-related services. Specifically, the sales company server 400 acts as the point of contact to receive service subscription information from the terminal device 300. The sales company server 400 transmits the received service subscription information to the integration server 500 as temporary registration information. The sales company server 400 receives the service subscription information and registers it in the temporary registration list. Subsequently, the sales company server 400 sends a temporary registration completion notification to the terminal device 300. Upon receiving the temporary registration completion notification, the terminal device 300 sends a service start instruction to the printer 200.

[0031] This allows users MU to always subscribe to services regardless of whether the product registration server 100 is down or not. Therefore, the service execution server can immediately provide print-related services by referring to the service subscription information provisionally registered with the integration server 500. When the product registration server 100 recovers from being down, the integration server 500 sends the service subscription information from the provisional registration list to the product registration server 100. The product registration server 100 registers the received service subscription information in the final registration list.

[0032] In this embodiment, printing-related services performed during server downtime will be provided free of charge to provisionally registered users (MUs). This is to guarantee the quality of the service from the perspective of the service provider's business scheme.

[0033] <Control Procedure> Figures 5 to 8 show an example of the processing flow executed by each device in the service management system 1 when provisional registration is performed during the service subscription procedure while the product registration server 100 is down. In the following explanation, each device will be described as executing the processing performed by its control unit. Operations performed by the user MU and the administrator MM of the service management system 1 will also be illustrated and explained.

[0034] As shown in Figure 5, in step S10, the terminal device 300 displays a sales promotion screen on its display. The sales promotion screen displays a description of the printing-related services that the service management system 1 can provide, and a recommendation to subscribe to the service for a contract.

[0035] In step S15, user MU, having viewed the sales promotion screen, performs the service subscription procedure on terminal device 300. In step S20, terminal device 300 sends a request to printer 200 to confirm whether a connection is possible between printer 200 and product registration server 100. Upon receiving the confirmation request, printer 200 performs a connection check with product registration server 100 in step S25. Connection check means, for example, that terminal device 300 sends a Ping command to product registration server 100 and confirms whether a response has been received from product registration server 100. If, as a result of the connection check, product registration server 100 is down as shown in Figure 5, terminal device 300 determines that printer 200 is unable to communicate with product registration server 100. Then, in step S30, terminal device 300 sends an offline notification back to terminal device 300.

[0036] The integrated server 400 periodically performs a separate connection check to the product registration server 100 in step S905. If the integrated server 400 detects a server down state where it cannot communicate with the product registration server 100 as a result of the connection check, it notifies the administrator MM of the offline state in step S910. Upon receiving this offline notification, the administrator MM investigates the cause of the server down state of the product registration server 100 in step S915. The administrator MM then sends the results of the investigation and the predicted recovery schedule based on those results to the sales company server 400 via the integrated server 500 (steps S920, S925). Subsequently, the administrator MM engages in recovery work on the product registration server 100 from steps S930 to S935.

[0037] When terminal device 300 receives an offline notification from printer 200 in step S30, it starts the temporary registration process in step S35. In step S40, terminal device 300 sends printer product information and a request for temporary registration screen information for temporary registration of user information to sales company server 400. The request sent by terminal device 300 in step S40 is an example of a temporary registration request. Here, if the integrated server 500 has performed the connection check in step S905 before step S40, the sales company server 400 has already received the investigation and recovery information notification from the integrated server 500 by the time of step S40. Therefore, when the sales company server 400 returns the temporary registration screen information to terminal device 300 in step S45, it also notifies the investigation and recovery information.

[0038] In step S50, the terminal device 300 displays the received temporary registration screen and accepts user information input from user MU. If the investigation and recovery information received in step S45 does not yet show the cause of the server downtime and the expected recovery date, it is advisable to also display a message such as "The server is currently down. The cause and expected recovery date are currently under investigation. During this period, registration will be temporary. We will contact you for full registration as soon as the server is restored. No charges will be incurred during temporary registration." on the temporary registration screen. If the investigation and recovery information received in step S45 already shows the cause of the server downtime and the expected recovery date, it is advisable to display a message such as "The server is currently down due to ***. The expected recovery date is around MM / DD. During this period, registration will be temporary. We will contact you for full registration as soon as the server is restored. No charges will be incurred during temporary registration." on the temporary registration screen.

[0039] In step S55, user MU enters user information on the temporary registration screen of terminal device 300. In step S60, terminal device 300 sends the entered user information to the sales company server 400. In step S65, sales company server 400 generates temporary registration information using the printer product information received in step S40 and the user information received in step S60. In step S70, sales company server 400 sends the temporary registration information to the integrated server 500. In step S75, integrated server 500 registers the received temporary registration information in the temporary registration list and sends a notification to terminal device 300 via sales company server 400 that temporary registration is complete (steps S80, S85). Note that the temporary registration information registered in the temporary registration list only includes temporary registration information corresponding to the printer product information and user information received during the current server downtime.

[0040] In step S90, the terminal device 300 sends a service start instruction to the printer 200. In step S95, the printer 200 is activated to start the print-related services specified in the service start instruction. As a result, the printer 200 communicates with service execution servers (not shown) other than the product registration server 100 to provide print-related services to the user MU. In step S100, the printer 200 notifies the terminal device 300 that it has started the service. In step S105, the terminal device 300 notifies the user MU by displaying a screen indicating that the provisional registration process is complete.

[0041] From this point onward, as shown in the diagram, the integrated server 500 or a service execution server (not shown) refers to the provisional registration information provisionally registered with the integrated server 500 and executes the printer-related services of the printer 200 as a free, guaranteed service (step S110).

[0042] Then, in response to the administrator MM completing the recovery work in step S935, the product registration server 100 performs the process of returning to online in step S115. The product registration server 100 sends a notification of return to online to the integration server 500 in step S120. The integration server 500 sends the entire contents of the provisional registration list at that time to the product registration server 100 in step S125. Then, the integration server 500 notifies the terminal device 300 of the final registration request, including the final registration screen information, in step S130. Normally, the integration server 500 does not directly access the individual terminal device 300 of each user MU, but in the case of this final registration request, it refers to the email address of the user information that was already included in the provisional registration information and received, and notifies the user MU by email. Alternatively, the final registration request may be notified via the sales company server 400 as in steps S80 and S85 above. Note that this final registration request is an example of an operation request.

[0043] In step S135, the terminal device 300 displays the main registration screen and accepts user information input from user MU. Alternatively, in step S130, the terminal device 300 may also receive the provisionally registered user information along with the main registration request notification and accept a confirmation operation from user MU regarding the validity of the provisionally registered user information. In step S140, user MU enters user information on the main registration screen of the terminal device 300, and in step S145, the terminal device 300 sends a connection confirmation request to the printer 200 with respect to the product registration server 100. Upon receiving the connection confirmation request, the printer 200 performs a connection confirmation with the product registration server 100 in step S150. Once the printer 200 confirms that it is in a normal state and can communicate with the product registration server 100, it sends an online notification back to the terminal device 300 in step S155. Upon receiving the online notification, the terminal device 300 sends a connection instruction to the printer 200 in step S160, instructing it to establish a connection with the product registration server 100.

[0044] Upon receiving the connection instruction, the printer 200 displays a connection approval screen on the display unit 240 in step S165, requesting user MU to approve the connection between the printer 200 and the product registration server 100. In step S170, user MU inputs a connection approval operation via the operation unit 250 of the printer 200 to approve the connection. Upon receiving the connection approval operation, the printer 200 executes the connection process with the product registration server 100 in step S175 and transmits printer product information, such as the serial number stored in the storage unit 215, to the product registration server 100. The serial number transmitted at this time is an example of the second identification information.

[0045] Upon receiving the printer product information, the product registration server 100 searches the provisional registration list using the serial number included in the received printer product information as a key in step S180, and confirms the existence of the corresponding service subscription information. Although not specifically shown in the diagram, if it is found that the serial number and the corresponding service subscription information do not exist in the provisional registration list, the product registration server 100 assumes that the provisional registration information was lost due to some malfunction before final registration, and requests the user information and service type information to be registered again via the terminal device 300. The serial number registered in the provisional registration list is an example of the first identification information.

[0046] Next, in step S185, the product registration server 100 searches the registration list using the serial number received in step S175 as the key and determines whether the corresponding service subscription information exists. If the corresponding service subscription information exists, the process proceeds to step S190. In this case, the product registration server 100 assumes that the printer 200 with the serial number and its user MU have previously contracted for a different type of printing-related service than the current procedure, and that the user information has already been officially registered with the product registration server 100. Therefore, in step S190, the product registration server 100 updates the registration list to officially register the additional type of printing-related service to be subscribed to in this procedure, and proceeds the process to step S200.

[0047] On the other hand, if, in the determination in step S185, the received serial number and its corresponding service subscription information are not present in the main registration list, the product registration server 100 proceeds to step S195. In this case, the product registration server 100 considers that the printer 200 with the serial number and its user MU have newly subscribed to the service. Therefore, in step S195, the product registration server 100 registers the user information, printer product information, and service subscription information including the type of service subscribed to in the main registration list for new registration, and proceeds to step S200.

[0048] In step S200, the product registration server 100 deletes the registered temporary registration information from the temporary registration list. In step S205, the product registration server 100 sends back to the integration server 500 a notification that the registration of the printer 200 with the serial number deleted from the temporary registration list has been completed, along with the temporary registration list from which the temporary registration information was deleted. Upon receiving the temporary registration list and the notification, the integration server 500 updates the temporary registration list in step S210. From this point onward, the integration server 500 sends a registration request notification to all user information registered in the temporary registration list in step S130. Then, the integration server 500 and the product registration server 100 sequentially execute the registrations for the user MUs whose registration operations were received in step S140.

[0049] The product registration server 100 also sends a registration completion notification to the terminal device 300 via the printer 200 (steps S215 and S220). Upon receiving the registration completion notification, the terminal device 300 displays a registration completion screen in step S225 to inform the user MU that the registration has been completed.

[0050] In the above, step S40 is an example of a request unit, request step, and request processing. Step S75 is an example of a provisional registration unit and provisional registration step. Step S95 is an example of a service start unit and service start step. Steps S190 and S195 are examples of a final registration unit and final registration step. Step S130 is an example of an operation request unit. Step S160 is an example of a connection instruction unit and connection instruction processing. Steps S25 and S150 are examples of a confirmation unit. Step S175 is an example of a connection request unit.

[0051] <Effects of the Embodiment> In this embodiment, if the connection for communication between the printer 200 and the product registration server 100 is offline, the service management system 1 sends a provisional registration request including service subscription information in step S40. Upon receiving the provisional registration request, the service management system 1 performs provisional registration of the service subscription information in step S75. In step S95, the service management system 1 starts activating the printer 200 to enable print-related services in accordance with the provisional registration. When the connection between the printer 200 and the product registration server 100 becomes online, the service management system 1 performs formal registration of the provisionally registered service subscription information in steps S190 and S195.

[0052] According to this disclosure, even if the product registration server 100 goes offline without registering the service subscription information for the printer 200, the service management system 1 provisionally registers the service subscription information in step S75. Then, when the service management system 1 is online, it performs the final registration in step S190 or step S195, thereby enabling the smooth commencement of print-related services.

[0053] Note that step S40, which sends the provisional registration request, is not limited to the terminal device 300; it may also be performed by the printer 200. However, in that case, even if the printer 200 and the product registration server 100 are offline, the printer 200 and the sales company server 400 must be online.

[0054] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the service management system 1 sends an operation request in step S130 when the connection between the product registration server 100 and the printer 200 changes from an offline state to an online state. Therefore, after going online, it is possible to promptly request the user MU to perform the registration operation and quickly execute the registration process.

[0055] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the service management system 1 sends a connection instruction in step S160 when the connection between the product registration server 100 and the printer 200 changes from an offline state to an online state. Therefore, after going online, a rapid connection between the printer 200 and the product registration server 100 is achieved, making it possible to quickly execute the registration process.

[0056] In this embodiment, the terminal device 300 sends a connection instruction to the printer 200. This connection instruction transmission process includes indirectly sending a connection instruction to the printer 200 in response to the integrated server 500 sending the registration request to the terminal device 300.

[0057] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the service management system 1 checks in step S150 whether the connection between the product registration server 100 and the printer 200 is online. If the service management system 1 confirms that it is online, it sends a connection instruction in step S160. Therefore, it is possible to perform the registration process only when it is certain that the connection is online.

[0058] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the service management system 1 sends a connection request to the product registration server 100 in step S175 in response to receiving a connection approval operation from the user MU between the product registration server 100 and the printer 200. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the registration can be performed in step S190 or step S195 after obtaining approval from the user MU of the printer 200.

[0059] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the service subscription information provisionally registered in the provisional registration list in step S75 includes the serial number of the printer 200. The connection request sent in step S175 also includes the serial number of the printer 200. The service management system 1 executes step S190 or step S195 if the serial number of the printer 200 included in the provisionally registered service subscription information matches the serial number of the printer 200 included in the connection request. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the chance of mistakenly registering the serial number of the printer 200 that has not been provisionally registered in step S190 or step S195.

[0060] Furthermore, if the applicable printing-related service is one of the prepaid printing services, subscription services, or pay-per-use services mentioned above, it will include a billing service that charges based on the amount of printing done by the printer 200. In this case, a procedure for counting the amount of printing done by the printer 200 after the provisional registration in step S75, and a procedure for billing corresponding to the count value obtained in the above counting procedure after the final registration in step S190 or step S195 are required. Note that the counting procedure is an example of the counting unit, and the billing procedure is an example of the billing unit.

[0061] According to this, when user MU receives a billing service and prints using printer 200, as described above, the service subscription information is provisionally registered in step S75 while offline, and then formally registered in step S190 or step S195 while online, allowing the service to be started smoothly.

[0062] Furthermore, detecting the remaining quantities of various consumables and print counts in the printer 200 at the time of registration and sending them to the product registration server 100 is useful in that it can improve the accuracy of the amount calculation in the aforementioned billing service.

[0063] Furthermore, if the printing-related service that user MU subscribes to is an automatic delivery service for printer 200 consumables, then the printing-related service includes a service for delivering consumables. When the service starts in step S95, it is desirable that the service management system 1 executes a process to deliver consumables for printer 200 in response to the provisional registration in step S75. This allows user MU to use printer 200 after receiving the consumable delivery service, by having the product registration server 100 provisionally register the service subscription information in step S75 while offline, and then perform the final registration in step S190 or step S195 while online, enabling the service to start smoothly.

[0064] Furthermore, the sequence diagrams shown in Figures 5 to 8 do not limit this disclosure to the procedures shown in the sequence diagrams, and procedures may be added, deleted, or their order changed within the scope that does not deviate from the intent and technical concept of the disclosure. For example, the processes executed on the sales server 400 and the integrated server 500 in Figures 5 to 8 may be executed on a single server. Also, the processes executed by the terminal device 300 in Figures 5 to 8 may be executed on the printer 200.

[0065] In addition to what has already been described above, the methods described in the above embodiments and their respective modifications may be used in appropriate combinations.

[0066] Furthermore, although not to list every single example, this disclosure will be implemented with various modifications, to the extent that it does not deviate from its intended purpose. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0067] 1. Service Management System 100 Product Registration Servers (Example of a registration server) 200 Printers (an example of electronic equipment) 285 Ink cartridges (an example of consumables) 300 Terminal devices (an example of a terminal) 400 Sales Company Servers (Example of a temporary registration server) 500 Integrated Servers (Example of a temporary registration server)

Claims

1. A service management system having a temporary registration server, electronic devices, and terminals, If the connection between the registration server, which registers the user's service subscription information related to the electronic device, and the electronic device is offline, a request unit sends a provisional registration request including the service subscription information. A provisional registration unit that provisionally registers the service subscription information in response to receiving the provisional registration request, A service start unit initiates a predetermined service for the electronic device in response to the provisional registration by the provisional registration unit, In response to the connection between the registration server and the electronic device changing from an offline state to an online state, the final registration unit registers the service subscription information that was provisionally registered by the provisional registration unit. A service management system equipped with the following features.

2. The service management system according to claim 1, further comprising an operation request unit that transmits an operation request requesting a user to perform an operation for actual registration in response to the connection between the registration server and the electronic device changing from an offline state to an online state.

3. The service management system according to claim 1, further comprising a connection instruction unit that transmits a connection instruction to the electronic device to the registration server in response to the connection between the registration server and the electronic device changing from an offline state to an online state.

4. The system further includes a verification unit that checks whether the connection between the registration server and the electronic device is online or not. The aforementioned connection instruction unit is, The service management system according to claim 3, wherein the connection instruction is transmitted when the verification unit confirms that the system is online.

5. The connection request unit receives a connection instruction from the connection instruction unit, accepts a connection approval operation from the user between the registration server and the electronic device, and transmits a connection request to the registration server in response to the connection approval operation. The service management system according to claim 3, wherein the registration unit performs the registration in response to the connection request.

6. The service subscription information provisionally registered in the provisional registration section includes the first identification information of the electronic device, The connection request transmitted by the aforementioned connection request includes the second identification information of the electronic device, The aforementioned registration section is, The service management system according to claim 5, which performs the registration when the first identification information included in the service subscription information matches the second identification information included in the connection request.

7. The aforementioned electronic device is a printer, The aforementioned service includes a billing service that charges based on the amount of printing performed by the printer. A counting unit that counts the amount of printing done by the printer after the provisional registration by the provisional registration unit, After the registration by the registration unit, the billing unit performs billing corresponding to the count value by the counting unit, A service management system according to claim 1, comprising:

8. The aforementioned service includes a service for delivering consumables for the aforementioned electronic equipment. The service management system according to claim 1, wherein the service initiation unit performs processing for delivering consumables for the electronic device in response to the provisional registration by the provisional registration unit.

9. A service management method performed by a service management system having a temporary registration server, electronic devices, and terminals, If the connection between the registration server that registers the user's service subscription information related to the electronic device and the electronic device is offline, the request step includes sending a provisional registration request that includes the service subscription information. A provisional registration step in which the service subscription information is provisionally registered in response to the receipt of the provisional registration request, A service start step in which a predetermined service is initiated for the electronic device in response to the provisional registration in the provisional registration step, In response to the connection between the registration server and the electronic device changing from an offline state to an online state, a final registration step is performed to formally register the service subscription information that was provisionally registered in the provisional registration step. A service management method having the following characteristics.

10. A program that runs on a terminal computer, The program provides the computer with the following instructions: If the connection between the registration server that registers service subscription information and the electronic device is offline, a request process is performed to send a temporary registration request containing the service subscription information to the temporary registration server. After the provisional registration server provisionally registers the service subscription information in response to the receipt of the provisional registration request, and when the connection between the registration server and the electronic device changes from an offline state to an online state, the provisional registration server issues an instruction to the registration server to register the provisionally registered service subscription information. A program that executes something.

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