Address Book Central Administration Apparatus for MFPs
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing address book management systems for Multi Function Peripherals (MFPs) require manual migration and classification of destination data, which is inefficient and does not consider usage history, limiting user usability.
Innovation Solution
An address book central administration apparatus that automatically collects transmission histories from multiple MFPs, extracts destination data pieces, calculates their importance based on usage frequency and time, and registers high-importance data in user-specific address books, eliminating the need for manual classification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If address books are manually migrated from multiple MFPs to a server, then address book data can be centralized, but the work required is excessive and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automatic self-service migration where the server autonomously collects transmission history data from multiple MFPs, extracts destination information, calculates importance levels, and generates address books without requiring manual intervention. This self-organizing process eliminates the excessive manual work previously required for address book centralization.
2Ease of operation
If all destination data pieces are simply re-registered without consideration of usage history, then address books can be created quickly, but users still have to classify them manually depending on frequency of use
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary classification by calculating importance levels for all destination data pieces based on transmission history before the user needs to use the address book. This advance processing organizes data by usage frequency and recency, so when users access the address book, the data is already sorted and ready for selection without requiring manual classification.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses transmission history data as feedback to automatically determine the importance and sorting order of destination data pieces. By analyzing past usage patterns, the system continuously refines the address book organization, ensuring that frequently used destinations appear first without requiring user intervention for classification.
3Reliability
If address books are created without considering usage history, then the creation process is simple, but the resulting address books are not useful for users
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the parameter of destination data by calculating importance levels based on multiple factors from transmission history, including the number of times a destination has been used and the recency of usage. This parameter transformation converts raw transmission data into meaningful importance scores, enabling the address book to automatically prioritize useful destinations without requiring complex manual evaluation.
Data Source
AI summary
An address book central administration apparatus connected to a plurality of image processing apparatuses via a network includes: a data collector under control of a CPU of the address book central administration apparatus that collects, from the plurality of image processing apparatuses administered by the address book central administration apparatus, at least transmission histories of a plurality of transmission users including a particular user and other users, the transmission histories including records proving that the transmission users have conducted data transmission from the image processing apparatuses, a destination data extractor that extracts destination data from the transmission histories collected by the data collector, and an importance level calculator that performs a calculation to calculate levels of importance of the destination data extracted by the destination data extractor.