Information processing device and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus and a program for recommending relocation in response to changes in user usage or changes in the status of an image forming apparatus in a situation where a plurality of image forming apparatuses are distributed and arranged in a place where a specific user exclusively uses the image forming apparatus and a place where the image forming apparatus is shared and used by a plurality of users.SOLUTION: In an image forming system in the case where a plurality of image forming apparatuses 20, 41, and 42 are distributed in an office and a user's home, when a user's usage status changes or the status of any of the arranged image forming apparatuses 20, 41, and 42 changes, a management server 10 refers to a usage history for each user's function in the image forming apparatuses 20, 41, and 42 to propose a relocation of the plurality of the arranged image forming apparatuses 20, 41, and 42.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an optimal placement analysis apparatus that can analyze the optimal installation location of a multifunction device in an office or the like by calculating the optimal placement degree of the multifunction device based on the usage history log and location information of the multifunction device, the location information of the client, and the optimal placement coefficient.

Prior Art Document

Patent Document

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an information processing apparatus and a program capable of proposing rearrangement according to changes in the usage status of users or changes in the status of image forming apparatuses in a state where a plurality of image forming apparatuses are distributed and arranged in a place where a specific user exclusively uses an image forming apparatus and a place where a plurality of users share and use an image forming apparatus.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The information processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present disclosure includes a processor, and when the usage status of a user changes or the status of any one of the plurality of arranged image forming apparatuses changes in a state where the plurality of image forming apparatuses are distributed and arranged in a first place where a specific user exclusively uses an image forming apparatus and a second place where a plurality of users share and use an image forming apparatus, the processor refers to the usage history of each user for each function in the plurality of image forming apparatuses and proposes rearrangement of the plurality of arranged image forming apparatuses.

[0006] An information processing apparatus in a second aspect of the present disclosure, in an information processing apparatus in a first aspect, wherein when a user starts performing work at a first location, the processor extracts image forming apparatuses used by other users at the first location that have a usage frequency of less than or equal to a preset value, and proposes to rearrange them at the first location where the user who started performing work at the first location is performing work.

[0007] An information processing device in a third aspect of the present disclosure, in an information processing device in a second aspect, refers to the value of the total number of output pages, which is the sum of the number of printed pages and the number of copies, in a first location and a second location for each user, extracts image forming devices of users whose ratio of the value in the first location to the value in the second location is less than or equal to a preset percentage, as image forming devices whose usage frequency is less than or equal to a preset value, and proposes to relocate them to the first location where the user who started performing work in the first location is performing work.

[0008] An information processing apparatus in a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, in an information processing apparatus in a first aspect, the processor proposes a rearrangement to swap the faulty image forming apparatus with another image forming apparatus if a specific function in any of the image forming apparatuses located at a first location fails and the frequency of use of the faulty function is higher than a preset value.

[0009] The information processing apparatus of the fifth aspect of this disclosure, in the information processing apparatus of the fourth aspect, the processor extracts from among a plurality of image forming apparatuses an image forming apparatus in which the frequency of use of a specific malfunctioning function is less than or equal to a preset value, If the malfunctioning image forming apparatus has a function that is used more frequently than a preset value, and the extracted image forming apparatus has a function that is used more frequently than a preset value in the malfunctioning image forming apparatus, we propose a rearrangement in which the malfunctioning image forming apparatus and the extracted image forming apparatus are swapped.

[0010] A program according to a sixth aspect of this disclosure, in a state where multiple image forming apparatuses are distributed between a first location where a specific user has exclusive use of the image forming apparatus and a second location where multiple users share and use the image forming apparatuses, causes the computer to perform the step of referring to the usage history of each function of the multiple image forming apparatuses and proposing a rearrangement of the multiple image forming apparatuses when the user's usage status changes or the state of any of the arranged image forming apparatuses changes. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the information processing device of the first aspect of this disclosure, when multiple image forming apparatuses are distributed between locations where a specific user exclusively uses an image forming apparatus and locations where multiple users share and use an image forming apparatus, it becomes possible to propose a rearrangement in response to changes in user usage or changes in the state of the image forming apparatuses.

[0012] According to the information processing device of a second aspect of this disclosure, when a user begins performing work at a first location, it is possible to suggest the rearrangement of the image forming apparatus used by that user at the first location.

[0013] According to the information processing apparatus of a third aspect of this disclosure, when a user begins to perform work at a first location, it is possible to propose that an image forming apparatus that is not frequently used by other users at the first location be reassigned as an image forming apparatus to be used by the user who has begun performing work at the first location.

[0014] According to the information processing apparatus of the fourth aspect of this disclosure, even if a particular function of one of the image forming apparatuses located at the first location fails, it is possible to propose a rearrangement that involves replacing it with another image forming apparatus.

[0015] According to the information processing device of the fifth aspect of this disclosure, even if a malfunctioning image forming apparatus is replaced with another image forming apparatus, it is possible to propose a rearrangement that minimizes disruption to the operations of any user of either image forming apparatus.

[0016] According to the program of the sixth aspect of this disclosure, when multiple image forming apparatuses are distributed between locations where a specific user exclusively uses an image forming apparatus and locations where multiple users share and use an image forming apparatus, it becomes possible to propose a rearrangement in response to changes in user usage or changes in the state of the image forming apparatuses. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0017] [Figure 1] This figure shows the system configuration of an image forming system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the management server 10 in one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the management server 10 in one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of a user management table stored in the data storage unit 36. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the management server 10 in one embodiment of this disclosure when a user begins working from home. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of a list table of users using home-installed devices, extracted from the user management table. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example usage table for comparing user A's usage at home and at the office. [Figure 8] This diagram illustrates the rearrangement of an image forming apparatus 41, which was located in User A's home, to the home of User B, who has started working from home. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of a user management table that includes information on the location of malfunctions in an image forming apparatus. [Figure 10] It is a diagram showing an example of a usage status table indicating the usage status of home-installed devices of all users in whose homes an image forming apparatus is installed. [Figure 11] It is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the management server 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when some functions of an image forming apparatus arranged in a user's home malfunction. [Figure 12] It is a flowchart for explaining specific determination contents of a determination process as to whether or not the rearrangement conditions described in step S207 of the flowchart of FIG. 11 are satisfied. [Figure 13] It is a diagram showing an example of a list table of home-installed device usage users created by extracting users who are using home-installed devices among users other than user B. [Figure 14] It is a diagram for explaining a rearrangement in which the image forming apparatus 41 arranged in user A's home and the image forming apparatus 43 arranged in user B's home are swapped.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0018] Next, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the system configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is configured to be distributed and arranged not only in the office of a company having a plurality of image forming apparatuses but also in the homes of individual users and the like.

[0021] Specifically, in FIG. 1, a plurality of image forming apparatuses 20 are arranged in the office, an image forming apparatus 41 is arranged in user A's home, and an image forming apparatus 42 is arranged in user D's home.

[0022] Furthermore, a management server 10, which is an information processing device for managing these image forming machines 20, 41, 42, etc., is installed in the office. Within the office, the management server 10 is connected to the image forming machine 20 via the company LAN, etc., and is connected to the image forming machines 41, 42, etc., located in the users' homes via the internet 30.

[0023] In recent years, with the spread of teleworking, image forming machines are sometimes installed and used in private homes. In such cases, the image forming machine 20 installed in the office will be shared and used by multiple users, while the image forming machines 41 and 42 installed in each user's home will be used exclusively by that user.

[0024] In this situation, each user performs their duties by working from home on some days and going to the office on other days. However, with this work arrangement, some users work only in the office and do not work from home, while others work almost exclusively from home and rarely go to the office. Furthermore, there is a limited number of image forming machines, and it may not be possible to place an image forming machine in the homes of all users who work from home. Therefore, image forming machines are appropriately placed in the homes of users who work from home, according to their work schedule and the usage of the image forming machines, so that they can perform their duties. Note that image forming machines include not only so-called multifunction devices that have multiple functions such as printing, scanning, copying, and facsimile, but also devices such as printers that only have printing functions.

[0025] However, even if the image forming equipment is initially properly positioned, changes in work patterns may lead to users who previously worked only in the office starting to work from home, or conversely, users who previously worked from home ceasing to work from home and returning to working only in the office. Furthermore, some functions of the equipment installed in a user's home may malfunction, rendering it unusable. If the placement of the image forming equipment remains unchanged when such changes in user usage or the condition of the equipment occur, it will disrupt operations.

[0026] Therefore, the management server 10 of this embodiment proposes rearrangement in response to changes in user usage or changes in the status of the image forming machines, when multiple image forming machines are distributed between locations such as the homes of individuals who exclusively use the image forming machines and locations such as offices where multiple users share the image forming machines. Here, rearrangement of image forming machines means moving an image forming machine located in one user's home to another user's home, exchanging an image forming machine located in one user's home with one located in another user's home, or removing an image forming machine located in one user's home.

[0027] Next, Figure 2 shows the hardware configuration of the management server 10 in the image forming system of this embodiment.

[0028] The management server 10 is composed of an information processing device such as a personal computer, and as shown in Figure 2, it has a CPU 11, memory 12, storage device 13 such as a hard disk drive, a communication interface (IF) 14 for sending and receiving data to and from external devices via the Internet 30 or other networks, and a user interface (UI) device 15 including a touch panel or liquid crystal display and a keyboard. These components are connected to each other via a control bus 16.

[0029] The CPU 11 is a processor that controls the operation of the management server 10 by executing predetermined processes based on a control program stored in the memory 12 or storage device 13. In this embodiment, the CPU 11 is described as reading and executing a control program stored in the memory 12 or storage device 13, but it is not limited to this. This control program may be provided in the form of a computer-readable recording medium. For example, this program may be provided in the form of a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM and DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM recorded on an optical disc, or in the form of a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory and memory card recorded on a semiconductor memory. Alternatively, this control program may be obtained from an external device via a communication line connected to the communication interface 14.

[0030] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the management server 10 realized by the execution of the control program described above.

[0031] As shown in Figure 3, the management server 10 of this embodiment includes an operation input unit 32, a display unit 33, a data transmission / reception unit 34, a control unit 35, and a data storage unit 36.

[0032] The data transmission / reception unit 34 transmits and receives data via the Internet 30 to external devices such as image forming machines 41 and 42 located in the user's home, and to the image forming machine 20 located in the office via the company LAN. The display unit 33 is controlled by the control unit 35 and displays various information to the user. The operation input unit 32 receives various operation information performed by the user.

[0033] The data storage unit 36 ​​stores various data based on the control of the control unit 35, and also acquires and stores the usage status of each user in the image forming apparatus 20, and the usage status of image forming apparatuses 41, 42, etc., installed in each user's home. Here, the usage status of the image forming apparatus specifically refers to the usage history for each function such as printing, scanning, and copying by each user. The data storage unit 36 ​​also stores a user management table as shown in Figure 4. As shown in Figure 4, this user management table stores information for each user, such as whether or not each user works from home and information about home-installed devices, which are devices installed in the user's home. According to the user management table shown in Figure 4, for example, it can be seen that user A works from home, and that image forming apparatus 41 is installed in user A's home.

[0034] Then, the control unit 35 uses the information stored in the user management table and the usage information obtained from the image forming apparatus 20, 41, 42, etc. to propose a rearrangement of the image forming apparatus 20, 41, 42, etc. to the user.

[0035] Specifically, when multiple image forming machines 20, 41, and 42 are distributed between the office and the user's home, the control unit 35, when the user's usage status changes or the status of any of the placed image forming machines 20, 41, and 42 changes, refers to the usage history of each user's functions in the image forming machines 20, 41, and 42 and proposes a rearrangement of the multiple image forming machines 20, 41, and 42.

[0036] For example, when a user starts working from home, the control unit 35 extracts image forming machines used by other users at home that have a usage frequency below a predetermined value and proposes to relocate them to the home where the user who started working from home is performing their duties.

[0037] More specifically, the control unit 35 refers to the total number of printed and copied pages for each user, comparing the output values ​​at home and at the office. It then extracts image forming machines for users whose home output value is less than or equal to a preset ratio, and proposes that these machines be relocated to the home where the user who has started working from home performs their duties.

[0038] Furthermore, if a specific function in one of the image forming machines located in the user's home malfunctions, and the frequency of use of that malfunctioning function exceeds a preset value, the control unit 35 proposes a rearrangement to swap the malfunctioning image forming machine with another image forming machine.

[0039] Specifically, if the scanning function of an image forming machine located in the home of a user who frequently uses the scanning function malfunctions, it will disrupt the user's ability to perform their work. Therefore, the management server 10 proposes a relocation that swaps the image forming machine with the malfunctioning scanning function with another image forming machine.

[0040] For example, the control unit 35 extracts from among multiple image forming machines an image forming machine whose usage frequency for a specific malfunctioning function is below a preset value. Then, if the malfunctioning image forming machine has a function whose usage frequency is higher than the preset value, and the extracted image forming machine has a function whose usage frequency is higher than the preset value in the malfunctioning image forming machine, the control unit 35 proposes a rearrangement to swap the malfunctioning image forming machine with the extracted image forming machine.

[0041] In other words, the control unit 35 proposes a rearrangement where, if the scanning function of an image forming apparatus located in the home of a user who frequently uses the scanning function fails, and an image forming apparatus located in the home of a user who does not use the scanning function has a scanning function, and the image forming apparatus with the faulty scanning function has a function that the user who does not use the scanning function frequently uses, the two image forming apparatuses are swapped.

[0042] Next, the operation of the management server 10 in this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0043] [When a user starts working from home] First, the operation of the management server 10 in one embodiment of this disclosure when a user begins working from home will be explained with reference to the flowchart in Figure 5.

[0044] When a user begins working from home, in step S101, the control unit 35 extracts and lists users who are using home-installed devices, which are image forming machines set up in the user's home, from the user management table shown in Figure 4. An example of a list table of users using home-installed devices extracted in this way is shown in Figure 6. Referring to Figure 6, it can be seen that users A and D have been extracted, and that image forming machines 41 and 42 are installed in their homes, respectively.

[0045] Next, in step S102, the control unit 35 determines whether or not the verification of all listed users has been completed. Since the verification of all users has not yet been completed, in step S103, the control unit 35 selects one unverified user. For example, let's assume that the control unit 35 selects user A from the list table shown in Figure 6.

[0046] Then, in step S104, the control unit 35 obtains the usage status of the image forming apparatus 41, which is located in the home of the selected user A, from the data storage unit 36. Furthermore, in step S105, the control unit 35 obtains the usage status of the image forming apparatus 20 located in the office, which is located in the office, from the data storage unit 36.

[0047] Figure 7 shows an example of a usage table used to compare user A's usage patterns at home and at the office, obtained in this manner.

[0048] Next, in step S106, the control unit 35 determines whether the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus 41 at the home of the selected user A is lower than the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus 20 at the office.

[0049] The usage table example shown in Figure 7 shows the number of uses within a certain period, such as one week or one month, and indicates the frequency of use of each function, such as "color copy," "black and white copy," and "scan." The control unit 35 may also perform image analysis of scanned or printed image data to determine the document content of the image data and store the usage status for each document content in the data storage unit 36.

[0050] In step S106, when the control unit 35 determines the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus, it may make the determination based on the frequency of use of a specific function of the image forming apparatus, or it may make the determination based on the sum of the frequencies of use of multiple functions. In the following explanation, as an example, the case in which the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus is determined based on the number of outputs, which is the sum of the number of prints and copies, will be used.

[0051] Furthermore, the control unit 35 will determine, for example, that the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus at home is lower than the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus at the office if the ratio of the number of prints at home to the number of prints at the office is 5% or less.

[0052] If User A's usage status is as shown in Figure 7, the control unit 35 calculates the value of home usage frequency / office usage frequency using, for example, the following calculation formula. Here, the number of output pages is calculated as the sum of "number of color copy executions", "number of black and white copy executions", and "number of print executions".

[0053] Frequency of use at home / Frequency of use at the office = (3 + 0 + 0 + 0) / (300 + 100 + 50) ≈ 0.7%

[0054] Then, in step S106, if the control unit 35 determines that the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus 41 at user A's home is lower than the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus 20 at the office, in step S107, the control unit 35 extracts the image forming apparatus 41 located at user A's home as a candidate for relocation. According to the calculation formula described above, the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus 41 at user A's home is approximately 0.7% of the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus 20 at the office, so the control unit 35 determines that the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus 41 at user A's home is low. Therefore, the control unit 35 extracts the image forming apparatus 41 located at user A's home as a candidate for relocation. Then, the control unit 35 proceeds to the process in step S102.

[0055] If the control unit 35 does not determine that the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus at the user's home is lower than the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus 20 at the office, the control unit 35 proceeds to step S102 without extracting the image forming apparatus located at the user's home as a candidate for relocation.

[0056] In step S102, the control unit 35 determines whether or not the verification of all users listed in step S101 has been completed. The control unit 35 then repeats the processes in steps S103 to S107 until the verification of all listed users has been completed.

[0057] Then, if the control unit 35 determines that it has finished verifying all users listed in step S102, in step S108 it displays a list of image forming apparatuses that have been extracted as candidates for relocation.

[0058] Based on the determination process described above, the control unit 35 displays and proposes a relocation on the display unit 33, for example, moving the image forming apparatus 41 from user A's home to user B's home. Upon receiving this relocation proposal, the administrator user decides to move the image forming apparatus 41 to user B's home and arranges for the move. As a result, as shown in Figure 8, the image forming apparatus 41 is placed in the home of user B, who has started working from home. Here, user A mainly uses the image forming apparatus 20 in the office and did not use the image forming apparatus 41 that was placed in their home very often, so there are no work-related problems. User B, who has started working from home, can then receive the image forming apparatus 41 from user A and perform printing, scanning, etc., at home.

[0059] In the above explanation, the frequency of use of an image forming machine located at home was compared to the frequency of use of an image forming machine at the office based on the number of prints. However, it is also possible to determine the frequency of use using other usage history information such as the number of operations, the frequency of integration with external software, power consumption, and the number of times the power is turned on.

[0060] Furthermore, the control unit 35 can not only suggest a rearrangement when a user starts working from home, but can also suggest a rearrangement of the image forming apparatus when the current placement of the apparatus does not match the user's usage. For example, if a slow-printing image forming apparatus is placed in the home of a user who does a lot of printing, and a fast-printing image forming apparatus is placed in the home of a user who hardly uses the printing function, the control unit 35 may suggest a rearrangement that swaps the image forming apparatuses.

[0061] [If some functions of the image forming equipment installed at your home malfunction] Next, we will describe the operation of the management server 10 when some functions of an image forming apparatus located in a user's home fail.

[0062] In order to suggest the relocation of an image forming apparatus when some functions of the image forming apparatus located at a user's home fail, the control unit 35 of the management server 10 manages information on the location of the failure in the image forming apparatus located at the user's home as a user management table.

[0063] An example of such a user management table is shown in Figure 9. For simplicity, this explanation assumes that there are only four users, users A through D, who are using the image forming apparatus. The control unit 35 periodically sends and receives data to and from the image forming apparatus located at the users' homes via the internet 30 to monitor whether or not a malfunction has occurred in the image forming apparatus's functions and updates the user management table accordingly.

[0064] The example user management table shown in Figure 9 shows that information is managed not only about whether there are any malfunctions in the image forming machine located in the user's home, but also which function the malfunction occurred in. Furthermore, the example user management table shown in Figure 9 shows an example of changes when the image forming machine 43 located in user B's home malfunctions and the scanner function fails.

[0065] Figure 10 shows an example of a usage table used in the following explanation. The usage table example in Figure 10 shows information indicating the usage status of home-installed devices for all users who have an image forming machine installed in their home.

[0066] Next, the operation of the management server 10 in one embodiment of this disclosure when some functions of an image forming apparatus located in a user's home fail will be described with reference to the flowcharts in Figures 11 and 12.

[0067] In step S201, the control unit 35 refers to the user management table to determine whether a new fault has occurred. If it determines in step S201 that a new fault has occurred, the control unit 35 determines in step S202 whether the image forming apparatus needs to be rearranged.

[0068] Here, the situation in which a relocation of an image forming apparatus is necessary is specifically when a specific function of an image forming apparatus located in a user's home malfunctions, and the frequency of use of that malfunctioning function by that user exceeds a predetermined value. In other words, if a malfunction occurs in the printing function of an image forming apparatus located in the home of a user who frequently uses the printing function, or if a malfunction occurs in the scanning function of an image forming apparatus located in the home of a user who frequently uses the scanning function, it will be determined that relocation is necessary.

[0069] If it is determined in step S201 that no new faults have occurred, or if it is determined in step S202 that rearrangement of the image forming apparatus is not necessary, the control unit 35 repeats the determination in step S201 until a new fault occurs.

[0070] Then, if it is determined in step S202 that the image forming apparatus needs to be rearranged, the control unit 35 extracts and lists users who are using the home-installed device, excluding the user using the home-installed device that has malfunctioned, in step S203. Specifically, the control unit 35 extracts users who are using the home-installed device, excluding user B, from the user management table shown in Figure 9, and creates a home-installed device user list table as shown in Figure 13.

[0071] Referring to the list of users using home-installed devices in Figure 13, we can see that users A and D are extracted as users using home-installed devices.

[0072] Next, in step S204, the control unit 35 determines whether or not the verification of all listed users has been completed. Since the verification of all users has not yet been completed, in step S205, the control unit 35 selects one unverified user. For example, let's assume that the control unit 35 selects user A from the list table shown in Figure 13.

[0073] Then, in step S206, the control unit 35 obtains the usage status of the image forming apparatus 41, which is the device located in the home of the selected user A, from the data storage unit 36. Specifically, the control unit 35 obtains information on user A's usage status from the usage status table shown in Figure 10.

[0074] Then, in step S207, the control unit 35 determines whether or not the rearrangement conditions are met. The specific details of this determination will be explained separately with reference to the flowchart in Figure 12.

[0075] Then, if the control unit 35 determines in step S207 that the conditions for relocation are met, in step S208, it extracts the image forming apparatus 41 located at user A's home as a candidate for relocation. The control unit 35 then proceeds to the process in step S204.

[0076] If the control unit 35 determines in step S207 that the relocation conditions are not met, it proceeds to step S204 without extracting the image forming apparatus 41 located at user A's home as a candidate for relocation.

[0077] In step S204, the control unit 35 determines whether or not the verification of all users listed in step S203 has been completed. The control unit 35 then repeats the processes in steps S205 to S208 until the verification of all listed users has been completed.

[0078] Then, if the control unit 35 determines that it has finished verifying all users listed in step S204, in step S209 it displays a list of image forming apparatuses that have been extracted as candidates for relocation.

[0079] Next, the specific details of the determination process for determining whether the rearrangement conditions described in step S207 of the flowchart in Figure 11 are met will be explained with reference to the flowchart in Figure 12.

[0080] In the following explanation, we will describe a scenario where the scanner function of the image forming apparatus 43 located at User B's home malfunctions, and the selected user is User A.

[0081] First, in step S301, the control unit 35 checks whether the selected user A is using the function that has malfunctioned, namely the scanning function. Specifically, the control unit 35 refers to the number of scans performed by user A in the usage status table shown in Figure 10 to check whether the frequency of use of the scanner function by user A is equal to or greater than a preset value. For example, if the usage status table shown in Figure 10 is a table of usage counts per month, the control unit 35 checks whether the frequency of use of the scanner function by user A is 10 times or more per month.

[0082] Then, in step S302, the control unit 35 determines whether the selected user A is using the function where the malfunction occurred, that is, the scanning function.

[0083] In the usage status table shown in Figure 10, the number of scans performed by user A is 0, and the frequency of use of the scanner function by user A is not greater than or equal to a preset value, so the control unit 35 determines that user A is not using the scanner function.

[0084] Next, in step S303, the control unit 35 checks whether the image forming apparatus 43 that has malfunctioned has functions that are frequently used by the selected user A. Specifically, the control unit 35 refers to the usage status table in Figure 10 and determines that the functions that are frequently used by user A are the color copy function, the black and white copy function, and the print function, and then checks whether these functions are provided in the image forming apparatus 43 that has malfunctioned.

[0085] Then, in step S304, the control unit 35 determines whether the image forming apparatus 43 that has malfunctioned has functions that are frequently used by user A.

[0086] Here, the image forming apparatus 43 is a color multifunction device equipped with color copying, black and white copying, and printing functions. Therefore, the control unit 35 determines that the image forming apparatus 43 that has malfunctioned is equipped with functions frequently used by user A.

[0087] Next, in step S305, the control unit 35 checks whether the image forming apparatus 41 used by the selected user A has the functions that user B, who is using the malfunctioning image forming apparatus 43, frequently uses. Specifically, the control unit 35 refers to the usage status table in Figure 10 and determines that the functions that user B frequently uses are the black and white copy function, the scan function, and the print function, and then checks whether these functions are available in the image forming apparatus 41 used by user A.

[0088] Then, in step S306, the control unit 35 determines whether the image forming apparatus 41 used by user A is equipped with functions that user B frequently uses.

[0089] Here, since the image forming apparatus 41 is a color multifunction device equipped with black and white copying, scanning, and printing functions, the control unit 35 determines that the image forming apparatus 41 is equipped with functions that user B frequently uses.

[0090] Therefore, in step S307, the control unit 35 determines that the image forming apparatus 41 used by the selected user A satisfies the relocation conditions. However, if in step S302 it is determined that user A is using the scanner function, if in step S304 it is determined that the malfunctioning image forming apparatus 43 does not have functions frequently used by user A, or if in step S306 it is determined that the image forming apparatus 41 used by user A does not have functions frequently used by user B, then in step S308 the control unit 35 determines that the image forming apparatus 41 used by the selected user A does not satisfy the relocation conditions.

[0091] The determination method described above is merely an example, and other determination methods may be used. For example, the control unit 35 extracts image forming machines from among several image forming machines located in the homes of users other than user B, the image forming machine whose usage frequency of the malfunctioning scanning function is less than or equal to a preset value. Then, if user B's image forming machine 43 has a function that is used more frequently than the preset value in the extracted image forming machine, and the extracted image forming machine has a function that is used more frequently in the malfunctioning image forming machine 43, the control unit 35 may propose a rearrangement to swap the malfunctioning image forming machine 43 with the extracted image forming machine.

[0092] Based on the determination process described above, the control unit 35 displays and proposes a rearrangement on the display unit 33, for example, swapping the image forming apparatus 41 and the image forming apparatus 43. Upon receiving this rearrangement proposal, the administrator user decides to swap the image forming apparatus 41 and the image forming apparatus 43 and arranges for their relocation. As a result, as shown in Figure 14, the image forming apparatus 43 with the malfunctioning scanner function is placed at user A's home, and the image forming apparatus 41 is placed at user B's home. Here, since user A rarely uses the scanner function, the malfunctioning image forming apparatus 43 is not a problem for user A, and as long as the frequently used color copy function is available, there is no disruption to their work. For user B, the swap allows them to use the image forming apparatus 41 with a working scan function, enabling them to perform tasks that utilize the scan function.

[0093] In each of the embodiments described above, the term "processor" refers to a processor in a broad sense, and includes general-purpose processors (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit, etc.) and dedicated processors (e.g., GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, programmable logic device, etc.).

[0094] Furthermore, the processor operations in each of the above embodiments may not be performed by a single processor, but may also be performed by multiple processors located in physically separate locations working together. Also, the order of the processor operations is not limited to the order described in each of the above embodiments, and may be changed as appropriate.

[0095] [Differentiation] In the above embodiment, the case in which the management server 10 proposes rearranging the image forming apparatus was described, but the disclosure is not limited thereto, and it is also possible to incorporate the functions of the management server 10 described above into the image forming apparatus such as a multifunction printer. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0096] 10 Management Server 11 CPU 12 memory 13 Storage device 14. Communication Interface 15. User Interface Device 16 Control bus 20 Image forming apparatus 30 Internet 32 Operation Input Section 33 Display section 34 Data transmission / reception unit 35 Control Unit 36 Data Storage Unit 41-43 Image forming apparatus

Claims

1. Equipped with a processor, The processor, in a state where multiple image forming machines are distributed between a first location where a specific user has exclusive use of the image forming machine and a second location where multiple users share and use the image forming machine, proposes that when a user begins working at the first location, it extracts image forming machines from among those used by other users at the first location whose usage frequency is less than or equal to a predetermined value, and relocates them to the first location where the user who began working at the first location is performing their work. Information processing device.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor refers to the value of the total number of output pages, which is the sum of the number of printed pages and the number of copies, at a first location and the value at a second location for each user, extracts image forming apparatuses for users whose ratio of the value at the first location to the value at the second location is less than or equal to a preset percentage, and proposes to relocate them to the first location where the user who started performing work at the first location is performing work.

3. comprising a processor, The processor, in a state where multiple image forming machines are distributed between a first location where a specific user has exclusive use of the image forming machine and a second location where multiple users share and use the image forming machines, proposes a rearrangement to swap the malfunctioning image forming machine with another image forming machine if a specific function in one of the image forming machines located in the first location fails and the frequency of use of the failed function is higher than a preset value. Information processing device.

4. The aforementioned processor, From among multiple image forming machines, we extract the image forming machine whose frequency of use of a specific malfunctioning function is below a predetermined value. If the malfunctioning image forming apparatus has a function that is used more frequently than a preset value, and the extracted image forming apparatus has a function that is used more frequently than a preset value in the malfunctioning image forming apparatus, then we propose a rearrangement to swap the malfunctioning image forming apparatus with the extracted image forming apparatus. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.

5. In a situation where multiple image forming machines are distributed between a first location where a specific user has exclusive use of the image forming machine and a second location where multiple users share and use the image forming machine, when a user begins working at the first location, the system extracts image forming machines from among those used by other users at the first location whose usage frequency is less than or equal to a predetermined value, and proposes that these machines be relocated to the first location where the user who began working at the first location is performing their work. A program to be executed by a computer.

6. In a state where multiple image forming apparatuses are distributed between a first location where a specific user has exclusive use of the image forming apparatus and a second location where multiple users share and use the image forming apparatus, If a specific function in any of the image forming apparatuses located at the first location fails, and the frequency of use of the failed function is higher than a preset value, the procedure involves proposing a rearrangement to swap the failed image forming apparatus with another image forming apparatus. A program to be executed by a computer.

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