Image Forming Apparatus Maintenance Notification via Presence Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Image forming apparatuses often fail to notify the correct person when maintenance work, such as consumable replacement or refilling, is required, leading to inefficient maintenance.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus determines if a registree is present and, if not, displays the location of another image forming apparatus where consumables can be obtained, using a guide map to facilitate maintenance work.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the image forming apparatus displays maintenance notifications on its own display, then the notification function is simple, but the notification cannot reach the proper person efficiently
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a notification management server as an intermediary between the image forming apparatus and the notifye's terminal device. The server receives notification information from the apparatus, manages registree information, and delivers notifications to the appropriate person's terminal, thereby ensuring reliable notification delivery without requiring complex modifications to the image forming apparatus itself.
2Productivity
If the apparatus notifies any available person, then notification speed is fast, but maintenance efficiency decreases due to wrong person notification
Solution Approach 1:
The notification management server performs preliminary actions by maintaining a registry of authorized persons (registrees) and their terminal device information in advance. When maintenance is needed, the server quickly retrieves the appropriate notifye's terminal from the pre-stored registree information, enabling fast and accurate notification delivery without time-consuming search or verification processes.
3Reliability
If no registree is present when maintenance is needed, then the system cannot notify anyone, but maintenance work is delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides backup notification mechanisms by displaying notification information on the image forming apparatus's own display and providing alert output (such as audible alarms) when no registree terminal is available to receive the notification. This cushioning ensures that maintenance notifications are always delivered through at least one channel, preventing complete notification failure and reducing maintenance delays.
4Ease of operation
If the apparatus provides detailed consumable location information, then ease of maintenance improves, but information management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the information management function from the image forming apparatus by implementing a separate notification management server that handles registree information storage and notification information generation. The image forming apparatus only needs to send simple maintenance status data, while the server manages the complex task of retrieving consumable location information from storage unit information and formatting detailed notification messages for the notifye.
Data Source
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AI summary
An image forming system includes an image forming apparatus and a first storage unit that stores registree information of users registered to perform work on the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes a processor programmed to determine whether or not work needs to be performed on the image forming apparatus by a worker based on a predetermined condition, obtain presence information of a registree from a second storage unit, the presence information indicating the presence state of the registree, identify one or more registrees associated with the work needs to be performed, in a case where work needs to be performed on the image forming apparatus by a worker, and upon determining that said one or more registrees is present, perform a notification process that notifies one of the present registrees that work needs to be performed on the image forming apparatus.