Programs and mobile devices

Abstract

To provide a program and a portable terminal allowing suitable transmission of maintenance information on an image forming apparatus.SOLUTION: A maintenance information acquisition unit acquires maintenance information. A rank information acquisition unit acquires rank information indicating the transmission priority defined in the maintenance information. A determination unit determines whether to transmit the maintenance information according to the rank information and the type of a communication line that can be used by a communication unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a program and a mobile terminal. [Background technology]

[0002] When an abnormality occurs in an image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus automatically transmits maintenance information such as machine information and error information to a service center via a communication line such as the Internet. A serviceman determines the need for maintenance such as an on-site repair based on this maintenance information. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6369089 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Data transmission to the service center is performed by connecting to an external network of the image forming apparatus. Therefore, due to security concerns such as the possibility of machine information being leaked, permission to connect to an external network may not be obtained. In this case, the image forming apparatus cannot transmit maintenance information to the service center.

[0005] One idea was to send maintenance information using the mobile terminals carried by service personnel; however, the data size to be sent could be large, and there were issues with the feasibility, communication costs, and whether it would be possible to send the information within a realistic time frame using the mobile terminal lines.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a program and a mobile terminal that can suitably transmit maintenance information for an image forming apparatus. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A program according to an embodiment causes a computer to function as a mobile terminal equipped with a communication unit capable of communicating using different types of communication lines, and causes the computer to function as a maintenance information acquisition unit, a rank information acquisition unit, and a determination unit. The maintenance information acquisition unit acquires maintenance information. The rank information acquisition unit acquires rank information indicating a transmission priority defined in the maintenance information. The determination unit determines whether or not to transmit the maintenance information depending on the type of communication line available to the communication unit and the rank information. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a system including a mobile terminal. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the electrical configuration of the mobile terminal. [Figure 2B] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the electrical configuration of a maintenance server. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of terminal maintenance information. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of individual maintenance information. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of server maintenance information. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of rank determination information. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of transmission determination information. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of permission information. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a permission screen. [Figure 10] 6 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the mobile terminal. [Figure 11] 6 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the mobile terminal. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by a maintenance server. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] The portable terminal of the embodiment is capable of suitably transmitting maintenance information for an image forming apparatus. The portable terminal of the embodiment is described in detail below.

[0010] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a system 1 including a mobile terminal 100 according to an embodiment. The system 1 shown in Fig. 1 includes n image forming apparatuses 10-1, ..., 10-n, the mobile terminal 100, a maintenance server 200, a serviceman terminal 300, and a network 30 connecting them. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the image forming apparatuses 10-1, ..., 10-n, any one of them will be referred to as an image forming apparatus 10.

[0011] The image forming apparatus 10 includes a printer, a scanner, etc. The image forming apparatus 10 stores maintenance information in a storage device provided therein. Here, the maintenance information is information related to the maintenance of the image forming apparatus 10. This maintenance information is information that is referred to by, for example, a serviceman.

[0012] Image forming apparatus 10 can provide the maintenance information to the outside of the apparatus by several methods. The first method is to transmit the maintenance information to another apparatus such as maintenance server 200 via a network. The second method is to record the maintenance information on a recording medium such as a USB memory. The third method is to display a two-dimensional code indicating the maintenance information on a display device provided in image forming apparatus 10 and have a smartphone or the like read the two-dimensional code. In the embodiment described below, a form in which maintenance information is transmitted to maintenance server 200 using the second method of recording maintenance information on a recording medium will be described.

[0013] The USB memory 20 records maintenance information by being inserted into a USB port of the image forming apparatus 10. The mobile terminal 100 is a terminal used by a serviceman. The mobile terminal 100 acquires the maintenance information from the USB memory 20 in which the maintenance information is recorded, and stores the maintenance information in a storage device of the mobile terminal 100. The mobile terminal 100 also provides the maintenance information to the maintenance server 200 via a mobile terminal network or a network 30. The serviceman terminal 300 is a terminal that accesses the maintenance server 200 and allows the serviceman to view the maintenance information, etc. The serviceman terminal 300 is, for example, a desktop computer or a smartphone.

[0014] The maintenance information provided by the image forming apparatus 10, the maintenance information stored in the mobile terminal 100, and the maintenance information stored in the maintenance server 200 may have different data structures, data items, etc. For example, the mobile terminal 100 may edit the maintenance information read from the USB memory 20 to have a data structure and item names for the maintenance server 200. In the following description, when there is a particular need to distinguish between the maintenance information stored in the mobile terminal 100 and the maintenance information stored in the maintenance server 200, they will be referred to as terminal maintenance information and server maintenance information, respectively. Both the terminal maintenance information and the server maintenance information are examples of maintenance information.

[0015] Fig. 2A is a diagram showing the electrical configuration of mobile terminal 100. Mobile terminal 100 is composed of CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110, ROM (Read Only Memory) 111, RAM (Random Access Memory) 112, display unit 113, communication unit 114, touch panel 115, microphone 116, and speaker 117. The units shown in Fig. 2A are connected by bus 118.

[0016] The CPU 110 controls the entire mobile terminal 100. The ROM 111 is a flash memory in which the programs and various data of the mobile terminal 100 are stored. Maintenance information read from the USB memory 20 is stored in the ROM 111. The RAM 112 is where programs are expanded and where temporary data is stored. The display unit 113 is composed of a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like. The communication unit 114 is capable of communication using different types of communication lines. In this embodiment, the communication unit 114 is capable of communication using various types of communication lines, such as 3G, 4G (LTE (Long Term Evolution)), and Wi-Fi (registered trademark). In addition to or instead of these communication lines, communication using 5G and Bluetooth (registered trademark) may be possible.

[0017] Touch panel 115 is disposed over display unit 113 and receives input from a service technician. Microphone 116 receives voice input during a call, etc. Speaker 117 outputs sounds such as a ringtone.

[0018] 2B is a diagram showing the electrical configuration of the maintenance server 200. The maintenance server 200 is composed of a CPU 210, a ROM 211, a RAM 212, a storage device 213, and a NIC (Network Interface Controller) 214. The components shown in FIG.

[0019] The CPU 210 controls the entire maintenance server 200. The ROM 211 is a flash memory in which the BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) of the maintenance server 200 and the like are stored. The RAM 212 is where programs are expanded and where temporary data is stored. The storage device 213 is composed of an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive) or the like. The storage device 213 stores programs for the maintenance server 200, server maintenance information, and the like. The NIC 214 is a controller for connecting to a network.

[0020] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of terminal maintenance information. The terminal maintenance information is stored in ROM 111 of mobile terminal 100. The terminal maintenance information shown in Fig. 3 includes, as an example, maintenance information for two image forming devices 10. The terminal maintenance information is made up of a customer ID, a device ID, a date, and individual maintenance information.

[0021] The customer ID is identification information that uniquely identifies a customer who uses the image forming device 10. The device ID is identification information that uniquely identifies the image forming device 10. The date indicates the date on which the individual maintenance information was acquired. As shown in FIG. 3, the customer ID and the image forming device 10 are linked.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of individual maintenance information included in terminal maintenance information. Individual maintenance information is composed of a category, an item, and a value. A category indicates a division of maintenance information. In this embodiment, three types of categories are provided: "usage status," "installation environment," and "debug," but the categories are not limited to these. An item belongs to a category and indicates an item of data within the category.

[0023] The counter shown in FIG. 4 indicates the cumulative number of printed pages (two pages per sheet in the case of double-sided printing) since a specified time (for example, when the counter was reset). In the case of FIG. 4, the counter is 12,345 pages. The color rate indicates the ratio of the number of color pages printed since the specified time to the counter. In the case of FIG. 4, the color rate is 50%. The room temperature indicates the room temperature (for example, the maximum room temperature or the average room temperature) detected by the image forming apparatus 10 on the day the individual maintenance information was acquired. In the case of FIG. 4, the room temperature is 24° C. Dlog indicates the file name of the debug log. In the case of FIG. 4, the file name is DL20210701.txt.

[0024] The maintenance information is not limited to the individual maintenance information shown in Fig. 4. Other maintenance information may include, for example, the remaining amount of toner, the operating time and idle time of the image forming apparatus 10, and the like.

[0025] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of server maintenance information stored in the maintenance server 200. The server maintenance information is composed of a device ID, type, item, rank, number of uses, and total number. Of these, the device ID is the same as the device ID described in FIG. 3. The items are the same as the items described in FIG. 4. The type indicates whether the image forming device 10 is a color machine or a monochrome machine. The rank is an example of rank information, and indicates a transmission priority. The transmission priority is used by the mobile terminal 100 to determine whether or not to transmit maintenance information. The priority decreases in the order of rank A, B, and C. In other words, rank A is most likely to be transmitted, and rank C is least likely to be transmitted. The rank also varies depending on the number of uses, etc.

[0026] The number of uses indicates how many times the serviceman terminal 300 has viewed the information shown in the item among the maintenance information of the image forming device 10 corresponding to the device ID. The total number indicates how many times the serviceman terminal 300 has viewed the maintenance information of the image forming device 10 corresponding to the device ID.

[0027] The total number and the number of uses will be specifically described. Regarding the total number, for example, when the counter, color rate, or room temperature of the image forming device 10 with the device ID DX is viewed, the total number corresponding to the counter, color rate, or room temperature is incremented by 1. Then, only the number of uses corresponding to the viewed item is incremented by 1. For example, when the counter is viewed, only the number of uses of the counter is incremented by 1.

[0028] 5, for example, the maintenance information of the image forming device 10 whose device ID corresponds to DX has been viewed 999 times. As for the number of uses, for example, the counter item in the maintenance information of the image forming device 10 whose device ID corresponds to DX has been viewed 999 times, and the color rate has been viewed 100 times. From this, it can be seen that the color rate in the maintenance information of the image forming device 10 whose device ID corresponds to DX is always viewed when the maintenance information is viewed. It can also be seen that the color rate is viewed about once in ten times (100 / 999) when the maintenance information of the image forming device 10 whose device ID corresponds to DX is viewed.

[0029] 6 is a diagram showing an example of rank determination information stored in maintenance server 200. Rank determination information is information used by maintenance server 200 to determine ranks. The rank in the server maintenance information is rank A when the number of uses / total number is 0.5 or more. The rank in the server maintenance information is rank B when the number of uses / total number is 0.25 or more and less than 0.5. The rank in the server maintenance information is rank C when the number of uses / total number is less than 0.25.

[0030] The larger the number of uses relative to the total number, the more attention the serviceman pays to that item. In other words, the larger the number of uses relative to the total number, the more important the item is in terms of maintenance. Such items are given a high transmission priority (high rank). The maintenance server 200 derives the number of uses / total number each time the total number or number of uses in the maintenance information changes, and determines the rank based on the rank determination information.

[0031] 7 is a diagram showing an example of transmission determination information stored in maintenance server 200. This transmission determination information is delivered to mobile terminal 100 and used by mobile terminal 100 to determine whether or not to transmit maintenance information. The transmission determination information is delivered to mobile terminal 100 when requested by mobile terminal 100.

[0032] The transmission determination information is composed of a line type and a rank. When the type of the available communication line is 3G, the mobile terminal 100 transmits only maintenance information of rank A to the maintenance server 200. When the type of the available communication line is 4G, the mobile terminal 100 transmits maintenance information of rank A and rank B to the maintenance server 200. When the type of the available communication line is Wi-Fi, the mobile terminal 100 transmits maintenance information of rank A, rank B, and rank C (all maintenance information) to the maintenance server 200. In this way, when the priority indicates the highest priority (rank A), the mobile terminal 100 transmits maintenance information via the communication unit 114 regardless of the type of the available communication line.

[0033] 8 is a diagram showing an example of permission information stored in maintenance server 200. This permission information is delivered to mobile terminal 100 and is used by mobile terminal 100 to determine whether or not to transmit maintenance information. The permission information is delivered to mobile terminal 100 when a request for permission information is made from mobile terminal 100. The permission information may also be updated by mobile terminal 100. The permission information updated by mobile terminal 100 is transmitted to maintenance server 200. In this case, maintenance server 200 updates the permission information.

[0034] The permission information is composed of a customer ID, a category, and a permission status. The customer ID is the same as the customer ID described in FIG. 3. The device ID is the same as the device ID described in FIG. 3. The category is the same as the category described in FIG. 4. The permission status indicates whether or not the transmission of an item belonging to a category of the maintenance information has been permitted. For example, in FIG. 8, a customer with a customer ID of CA is permitted to transmit an item in the maintenance information of the image forming device 10 linked to the customer, the item belonging to the category of usage status.

[0035] Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a permission screen displayed on the mobile terminal 100. For example, a service person can have a customer set up transmission of maintenance information using the mobile terminal 100 at the customer's site. At this time, the service person displays the permission screen shown in Fig. 9 on the mobile terminal 100. The permission screen shown in Fig. 9 is, as an example, a screen for setting permission to transmit items whose category belongs to the installation environment.

[0036] The service technician presents the mobile terminal 100 displaying the permission screen to the customer. The customer touches "Permit" if he / she wishes to permit, and "Do not permit" if he / she does not wish to permit. Note that "Do not permit" is also touched when setting that permission has been granted up until now but will no longer be granted. When the settings on the permission screen are updated, the updated permission information is sent to the maintenance server 200 as described above.

[0037] A customer can set the permission information on a device other than the mobile terminal 100. Specifically, the customer can set the permission information on a dedicated homepage provided for the customer. This homepage is provided by a Web server different from the maintenance server 200. When the permission information is set on the homepage, the Web server transmits the permission information to the maintenance server 200, and the maintenance server 200 updates the permission information.

[0038] The permission information and ranks described above are rules for transmitting maintenance information using mobile terminal 100. Some of these rules are based on relatively important items in maintenance, as indicated by the ranks, and others are based on whether or not permission has been obtained from the customer. Therefore, in a terminal using various lines, such as mobile terminal 100, maintenance information is transmitted based on the importance of the item and the type of line, making it possible to transmit maintenance information for the image forming apparatus in an appropriate manner.

[0039] Next, the flow of processing by the mobile terminal 100 and the maintenance server 200 will be described with reference to a flowchart. Figures 10 and 11 are flowcharts showing the flow of processing by the mobile terminal 100. The mobile terminal 100 judges whether an event has occurred (ACT101). The events include "USB memory detection", "available line change detection", "permission information update", and "rank update".

[0040] "USB memory detected" indicates that a USB memory 20 that has been inserted into the image forming apparatus 10 and has maintenance information recorded thereon has been detected as being connected. "Available line change detected" indicates that a change has occurred in the type of line that is currently available. For example, this may indicate that Wi-Fi has changed from an unavailable state to an available state. "Permission information updated" indicates that the maintenance server 200 has notified the user that the permission information has been updated. "Rank updated" indicates that the maintenance server 200 has notified the user that the rank has been updated.

[0041] When any of the events occurs (ACT101: YES), the mobile terminal 100 requests the maintenance server 200 for mobile side judgment information, and acquires the mobile side judgment information from the maintenance server 200 (ACT102). The mobile side judgment information is a collective expression of the device ID, item, and rank of the server maintenance information, the transmission judgment information shown in FIG. 7, and the permission information shown in FIG. 8. The acquired mobile side judgment information is stored in the ROM 111. The above ACT102 is an example of a rank information acquisition unit.

[0042] The mobile terminal 100 judges whether the event that has occurred is "USB memory detected" (ACT103). If the event that has occurred is "USB memory detected" (ACT103: YES), the mobile terminal 100 acquires maintenance information from the USB memory 20 (ACT104), stores the maintenance information in the ROM 111 (ACT105), and proceeds to ACT201 in Fig. 11. The above ACT104 is an example of a maintenance information acquisition unit.

[0043] In ACT103, if the event that has occurred is not "USB memory detection" (ACT103: NO), the mobile terminal 100 judges whether the event that has occurred is "available line change detection" (ACT106). If the event that has occurred is "available line change detection" (ACT106: YES), the mobile terminal 100 judges whether the line has changed to a line of a higher type (ACT107).

[0044] Here, the higher type of line is 4G or Wi-Fi if the type before the change is 3G. If the type before the change is 4G, the higher type is Wi-Fi. If the line has not changed to a higher type of line (ACT107: NO), the mobile terminal 100 returns to ACT101. If the line has changed to a higher type of line (ACT107: YES), the mobile terminal 100 acquires the maintenance information stored in the ROM 111 (ACT108) and proceeds to ACT201 of FIG. 11. Note that the maintenance information acquired in ACT108 is maintenance information that could not be transmitted with the type of line before the change. In this way, when the communication line available to the communication unit 114 has changed, the mobile terminal 100 determines whether or not to transmit the maintenance information according to the communication line after the change and the rank information in the flowchart of FIG. 11 described later.

[0045] An example of a case where the line changes to a line of a higher type is when a service technician returns to the office. At this time, the mobile terminal 100 is automatically connected to the company's Wi-Fi. This causes an event, "detection of change in available line," to occur, and the maintenance information is transmitted to the maintenance server 200 by the above process. Therefore, the service technician can transmit the maintenance information without operating the mobile terminal 100.

[0046] In ACT106, if the event that has occurred is not "detection of change in available line" (ACT106: NO), the mobile terminal 100 judges whether the event that has occurred is "permission information update" (ACT109). If the event that has occurred is "permission information update" (ACT109: YES) and the permitted categories have increased, the mobile terminal 100 acquires the maintenance information stored in the ROM 111 (ACT110) and proceeds to ACT201 in FIG.

[0047] An increase in permitted categories means that categories that were not permitted before are now permitted due to an update of the permission information. The maintenance information acquired in ACT110 is maintenance information that could not be transmitted with the permission information before the update. In other words, the difference from the maintenance information transmitted based on the permission information before the update is transmitted. If the permitted categories decrease because something that was permitted is no longer permitted, ACT110 is not executed and the process returns to ACT101.

[0048] In ACT109, if the event that has occurred is not "license information update" (ACT109: NO), the mobile terminal 100 judges whether the event that has occurred is "rank update" (ACT111). If the event that has occurred is "rank update" (ACT111: YES) and the amount of transmittable maintenance information has increased, the mobile terminal 100 acquires the maintenance information stored in the ROM 111 (ACT111) and proceeds to ACT201 in FIG.

[0049] An example of an increase in transmittable maintenance information is when the rank of one of the items, color rate, changes from B to A due to an update of the rank. The maintenance information acquired in ACT112 is maintenance information that could not be transmitted with the rank before the update. In other words, the difference from the maintenance information transmitted based on the rank before the update is transmitted. If the amount of transmittable maintenance information decreases with the updated rank (e.g., from rank A to rank B), ACT112 is not executed and the process returns to ACT101. In this way, when the rank information changes, the mobile terminal 100 determines whether or not to transmit maintenance information according to the communication line available through the communication unit 114 and the changed rank information in the flowchart of FIG. 11 described later.

[0050] Continuing with the above, the flow of processing of the mobile terminal 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 11. The transmission judgment information acquired in the processing of Fig. 10 is the transmission judgment information shown in Fig. 7. The mobile terminal 100 acquires the type of currently available line (ACT201). The mobile terminal 100 judges whether the type of currently available line is Wi-Fi or not (ACT202). If the type of currently available line is Wi-Fi (ACT202: YES), the mobile terminal 100 refers to the permission information, and transmits maintenance information (items) of ranks A, B, and C within the range of the permitted category to the maintenance server 200 (ACT203), and returns to ACT101 of Fig. 10.

[0051] In ACT202, if the type of the currently available line is not Wi-Fi (ACT202: NO), the mobile terminal 100 judges whether the type of the currently available line is 4G or not (ACT204). If the type of the currently available line is 4G (ACT204: YES), the mobile terminal 100 refers to the permission information, transmits maintenance information (items) of ranks A and B within the range of the permitted categories to the maintenance server 200 (ACT205), and returns to ACT101 in FIG.

[0052] In ACT204, if the type of the currently available line is not 4G (ACT204: NO), the mobile terminal 100 judges whether the type of the currently available line is 3G or not (ACT206). If the type of the currently available line is 3G (ACT206: YES), the mobile terminal 100 refers to the permission information, transmits rank A maintenance information (item) within the range of the permitted category to the maintenance server 200 (ACT207), and returns to ACT101 in FIG.

[0053] In ACT206, if the type of currently available line is not 3G (ACT206: NO), there is no available line, so the mobile terminal 100 returns to ACT101 in Fig. 10 without transmitting anything. In ACT201 to ACT207 in Fig. 11, the communication unit 114 judges whether or not to transmit maintenance information according to the type and rank information of the available communication line. Therefore, ACT201 to ACT207 are an example of a judgment unit.

[0054] 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the maintenance server 200. The maintenance server 200 judges whether or not maintenance information has been acquired from the mobile terminal 100 (ACT301). If maintenance information has been acquired (ACT301: YES), the maintenance server 200 updates the maintenance information stored in the storage device 213 that corresponds to the acquired maintenance information (ACT302), and returns to ACT301.

[0055] If maintenance information has not been acquired from the mobile terminal 100 (ACT301: NO), the maintenance server 200 judges whether or not mobile side judgment information has been requested from the mobile terminal 100 (ACT303). If mobile side judgment information has been requested (ACT303: YES), the maintenance server 200 acquires the device ID, item, rank, transmission judgment information, and permission information from the server maintenance information, from the storage device 213. The maintenance server 200 transmits the mobile side judgment information to the mobile terminal 100 (ACT304), and returns to ACT301.

[0056] If the mobile side determination information is not requested from the mobile terminal 100 (ACT303: NO), the maintenance server 200 determines whether or not the permission information has been set (ACT305). The permission information is set by the mobile terminal 100 or by a homepage as described above. If the permission information has been set (ACT305: YES), the mobile terminal 100 updates the permission information (ACT306). The maintenance server 200 notifies the mobile terminal 100 or the Web server of the permission information update (ACT307), and returns to ACT301. In ACT307, if the permission information has been set on the homepage, the maintenance server 200 notifies the mobile terminal 100 of the permission information update. In ACT307, if the permission information has been set on the mobile terminal 100, the maintenance server 200 notifies the Web server of the permission information update.

[0057] If the permission information is not set (ACT305: NO), the maintenance server 200 judges whether or not the maintenance information has been viewed from the serviceman terminal 300 (ACT308). If the maintenance information has not been viewed from the serviceman terminal 300 (ACT308: NO), the mobile terminal 100 returns to ACT301. If the maintenance information has been viewed from the serviceman terminal 300 (ACT308: YES), the maintenance server 200 updates the number of uses and the total number of server maintenance information (ACT309). As a result, the maintenance server 200 judges whether or not the rank has been updated (ACT310). If the rank has not been updated (ACT310: NO), the maintenance server 200 returns to ACT301. If the rank has been updated (ACT310: YES), the maintenance server 200 notifies the mobile terminal 100 of the rank update (ACT311) and returns to ACT301.

[0058] In the above-described embodiment, the transmission judgment information is based on the line type, but is not limited to this. The transmission judgment information may be based on the communication speed. For example, the communication speed may be divided into 10 Mbps or less, 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps, and 100 Mbps or more, and a rank may be assigned to each speed.

[0059] The rank is determined based on the number of uses and the total number, but this is not limiting. For example, the rank may be set by a serviceman.

[0060] When the maintenance information of the maintenance server 200 is transmitted using a USB memory as in the above embodiment in combination with transmission via the Internet, a rank of C can be set for items transmitted via the Internet, or a new rank indicating "do not transmit" can be set.

[0061] In the above embodiment, the mobile terminal 100 spontaneously transmits the maintenance information to the maintenance server 200. However, for example, the mobile terminal 100 may transmit the maintenance information in response to a request from the maintenance server 200.

[0062] The functions of the mobile terminal 100 in the above-described embodiment may be realized by a computer. In this case, a program for realizing the functions may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded in the recording medium may be read into the mobile terminal 100 and executed to realize the functions. In addition, the "computer-readable recording medium" refers to a storage device such as a USB memory. Furthermore, the "computer-readable recording medium" may include a device that dynamically holds a program for a short period of time, such as a communication line when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line, and a device that holds a program for a certain period of time, such as a volatile memory inside a computer system that is a server or client in that case. In addition, the above-described program may be a program for realizing a part of the above-described functions, or may be a program that can realize the above-described functions in combination with a program already recorded in the mobile terminal 100.

[0063] Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims, as well as in the scope and spirit of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 1... system, 10, 10-1, 10-2, 10-n... image forming apparatus, 20... USB memory, 30... network, 100... mobile terminal, 110, 210... CPU, 111, 211... ROM, 112, 212... RAM, 113... display unit, 114... communication unit, 115... touch panel, 116... microphone, 117... speaker, 118, 215... bus, 200... maintenance server, 213... storage device, 214... NIC, 300... serviceman terminal

Claims

1. A program that causes a computer to function as a mobile terminal having a communication unit capable of communicating using different types of communication lines, The computer, a maintenance information acquisition unit that acquires maintenance information; a rank information acquiring unit that acquires rank information indicating a transmission priority defined in the maintenance information; a determination unit that determines whether or not to transmit the maintenance information according to a type of a communication line that can be used by the communication unit and the rank information; Function as a The determination unit is a program that obtains a total number indicating the number of views for all items of the maintenance information and a usage number indicating the number of views for each item, and determines with a higher priority that an item with a larger value of the usage number relative to the total number should be transmitted.

2. The program according to claim 1 , wherein the determination unit determines that the maintenance information is to be transmitted when the transmission priority indicated in the rank information indicates the highest priority, regardless of the type of communication line available to the communication unit.

3. The program according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the determination unit, when a communication line available to the communication unit changes, determines whether or not to send the maintenance information based on the changed communication line and the rank information.

4. A program according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the rank information changes, the determination unit determines whether or not to send the maintenance information depending on the communication lines available to the communication unit and the changed rank information.

5. A communication unit capable of communicating using different types of communication lines; a maintenance information acquisition unit that acquires maintenance information; a rank information acquiring unit that acquires rank information indicating a transmission priority defined in the maintenance information; a determination unit that determines whether or not to transmit the maintenance information according to a type of a communication line that can be used by the communication unit and the rank information; Equipped with The judgment unit is a mobile terminal that obtains a total number indicating the number of views of all items of the maintenance information and a usage number indicating the number of views of each item, and determines that items with a larger usage number relative to the total number should be transmitted with a higher priority.

Images