Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Masaaki Ogura

Hidehiko Watanabe

Nachio Seko

Koubun Suzuki

Takato Yano

Toshiaki Higaya

Junji Kurokawa

Goro Mori

Toshiyuki Ogawa

Masaji Ito

Toshiaki Hayasaka

Kiyotaka Ohta

Kiyozo Hashizume

Kiyoshi Ugajin

Kiyoshi Ugazin

An image forming apparatus manages a plurality of external apparatuses while collecting information regarding each external apparatus through a network using a communication condition acquired through the network. A managed object specifying part specifies managed object apparatuses that are managed by the image forming apparatus through a communication part. An apparatus correspondence communication condition acquiring part receives via the communication part information regarding communication condition corresponding to the managed object apparatuses specified by the managed object specifying part, and stores in a memory part the received information by relating to identification information of the managed object apparatuses. An apparatus monitoring part refers to the communication conditions stored in the memory part on an individual managed object apparatus basis so as to acquire state information via the communication part, and stores the acquired state information in the memory part. An information providing part provides to external apparatuses through the communication part the state information of each managed object apparatus stored in the memory part.

Image forming apparatus

A remote management system for performing remote management of electronic apparatuses via a communication line and an intermediary apparatus by a managing apparatus is provided. The managing apparatus includes a storage part storing first software for updating second software of each of the electronic apparatuses and a software transmitting part that transmits the first software to the intermediary apparatus. The intermediary apparatus includes a storage part, a software writing part that writes the first software to the second storage part, and a software transmitting part that transmits the first software to one of the electronic apparatuses which one requires the second software thereof to be updated. The electronic apparatuses each includes a non-volatile storage part storing the second software and a software updating part that updates the second software based on the first software received from the intermediary apparatus.

Remote management system, intermediary apparatus therefor, and method of updating software in the intermediary apparatus

An image-forming-device management system includes an image-forming device, a data communication device and a central management device. A real-time clock circuit (RTC) of the data communication device compares a current time with a predetermined data transmission time. A CPU included in a part constantly supplied with electricity from a power source in the data communication device instructs a power-source controller to supply the electricity from the power source to a communication-related part including a network control unit (NCU), a modem and an image-forming-device interface, thereby activating the communication-related part. Subsequently, the CPU calls out the central management device by using the NCU, and transmits data acquired from the image-forming device in advance, to the central management device by using the modem.

Image-forming-device management system capable of operating in energy-saving mode

In an image forming device management system and method of the present invention, a data communication device is connected to one or a plurality of image forming devices and a central control system is connected to the data communication device via a public switched telephone network and provides a remote maintenance of the one or the plurality of image forming devices through the telephone network and the data communication device. A communication request signal is transmitted from the data communication device to the image forming device concerned. When the request signal is received by the image forming device concerned, a supplying of a power from a main power source to the image forming device concerned is automatically turned on. The supplying of the power from the main power source to the image forming device concerned is automatically turned off after a communication between the data communication device and the image forming device concerned ends.

Image forming device management system and method

In image forming device management system and method of the present invention, a data communication device transmits, on an early message date that is earlier than a normal message date for a corresponding one of a plurality of image forming devices, a usage data of the corresponding one of the image forming devices to a center management device via a telephone network by using a call sent by the data communication device. The center management device receives, on the early message date for the corresponding one of the image forming devices, the usage data of the corresponding one of the image forming devices that is transmitted by the data communication device, by using the call sent by the data communication device. The center management device issues a billing of a usage charge of the corresponding one of the image forming devices based on the usage data received by the center management device.

An image forming apparatus and method supervising system includes a plurality of data communication apparatuses connecting at least one image forming apparatuses and a central control apparatus through a plurality of data communication apparatuses via a communication line. The image forming apparatus supervising system supervises the image forming apparatuses with the central control apparatus via the communication line and the data communication apparatus. A usage information transmitting device transmits usage information such as for example the total number of image formed sheets to the central control apparatus. An apparatus list generating device generates an apparatus list indicating which image forming apparatuses or data communication apparatuses have usage information to be transmitted. A first obtaining operation executing device obtains the usage information. A confirming device confirms at least one data communication or image forming apparatus with not-yet-obtained usage information. A not-yet-obtained list generating device generates a not-yet-obtained list indicating that at least one data communication and image forming apparatus has not-yet-obtained usage information. Further, a second obtaining operation executing device obtains usage information from those apparatuses having not-yet-obtained usage information (i.e usage information which did not transmit usage data during the first obtaining operation).

System and method for supervising image forming apparatuses

An image-forming-device management system includes an image-forming-device, a data communication device and a central management device. A real-time clock circuit (RTC) of the data communication device compares a current time with a predetermined data transmission time. If the current time matches with the data transmission time, the RTC generates a data transmission request that requests for data transmission to the central management device. A CPU included in a part constantly supplied with electricity from a power source in the data communication device instructs a power-source controller to supply the electricity from the power source to a communication-related part including a network control unit (NCU), a modem and an image-forming-device interface, thereby activating the communication-related part. Subsequently, the CPU calls out the central management device by using the NCU, and transmits data acquired from the image-forming-device in advance, to the central management device by using the modem.

Image forming apparatus administration system including a communication

A remote diagnosis apparatus comprising communication control units which store particular data sent from a plurality of copying machines and execute communication control for the data and a controller which is connected via a public line network to the communication control units and into which data stored in the communication control units is inputted to be stored therein, the communication control units comprising a counter counting times of recalling, and a control means for sending a call again in a state where particular data can not be transmitted and setting a particular value in the counter when new data to be transmitted is received while waiting for an opportunity to send a call again.

System for remote diagnosis of image forming apparatuses, including

A digital copier or like image forming apparatus is capable of selectively operating both as a copier or as a facsimile terminal and which can accommodate multi-sized papers of different sizes at one time. Image data transmitted by facsimile is printed out on a paper of any desired size at a receive station and is stored temporarily if the unit is being operated as a facsimile machine at the time of reception.

Digital copier with a facsimile function

A continuous plural page copying method for a copier determines the size and lengthwise direction of a document which is laid on a glass platen, and produces magnifications on the basis of a relationship between one half of the size of the document in the lengthwise direction and the size of the papers selected. Consecutive pages of the document are reproduced continuously with no regard to the orientation of the document on the glass platen relative to the scanning direction of a scanner. The method reproduces an image on a paper while desirably matching it to the size of the paper.

Continuous plural page copying method for a copier

A digital copier or like image forming apparatus having a facsimile function in addition to a copying function includes a memory which accommodates a plurality of pages of document data. The copier is controlled such that image data of those documents which were fed by a document feeder and transmitted by facsimile sequentially arrive at a receive station from the first page to the last page in this order.

A digital copier or like image forming apparatus having a facsimile function is provided with two different matrices for halftone processing which are selectively used depending upon the operation mode, i.e., a copy mode or a facsimile mode.

The cleaning method for use in an electrophotographic copying apparatus of the type removing toner images remaining on the surface of a photoconductor by a cleaning blade which includes the steps of bringing the cleaning blade into pressure contact with the photoconductor at least prior to the movement of the photoconductor, and moving the cleaning blade away from the surface of the photoconductor after the movement of the photoconductor is stopped with completion of copying process.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Masaaki Ogura