JP2010072757A - Equipment management device, equipment management system, equipment management method, equipment management program, and recording medium recording the program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an equipment management device, an equipment management system, an equipment management method, an equipment management program and a recording medium recording the program enabling effective reduction of power consumption in use of equipment. <P>SOLUTION: The equipment management device 10 configured to monitor the state of equipment 200 connected through a predetermined data transmission path 90 and manages the equipment 200 based on equipment information includes an acquisition means 21 which acquires the equipment information; a calculation means 31 which calculates power consumption and/or CO2 emission in execution of requested processing based on the acquired equipment information; determination means 32 and 33 which determine whether equipment 200 smaller in the power consumption and/or CO2 emission in execution of the requested processing than equipment 200 designated at the time of processing request is present; and an execution instruction means 34 which instructs execution of the requested processing to the equipment 200 determined to be smaller in the power consumption and/or CO2 emission in execution of the requested processing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a device management apparatus and device management system for managing at least one device connected via a data transmission path such as a network, and more particularly to a technology for performing device management in consideration of power consumption. .

  A system for monitoring the status of an image processing apparatus such as a multifunction peripheral or a printer via a predetermined data transmission path such as a network (hereinafter referred to as “device management system”) is already known, and the user manages it. It is possible to detect (know) the abnormality of the management target device without going to the target device (hereinafter referred to as “management target device”) (see, for example, “Patent Document 1”).

  In addition, the device management system not only detects abnormalities in managed devices, but also aims to reduce power consumption efficiently. The power consumption data in each operation mode of managed devices and the specifications of managed devices It is also possible to realize a device management function that takes into account the power consumption to calculate power consumption based on the data related to the above and the time data used in each operation mode and notify the administrator or user (for example, (See Patent Document 2).

  Furthermore, considering the environment in which the system is installed, power consumption and CO2 emissions are calculated even if the managed devices are devices with different specifications (for example, “devices from different manufacturers” or “devices of different generations”) However, there is a system for notifying an administrator or a user (see, for example, “Patent Document 3”).

  The background of the proposed system is that it is required to reduce the power consumption of all electrical products in order to suppress environmental destruction due to wasteful consumption of earth resources.

  Currently, electric power is produced (power generation) in a form that consumes earth resources, and an increase in power consumption leads to destruction of the global environment. For this reason, regulations and standards related to energy conservation have been formulated in each country in order to reduce power consumption. For example, the Energy Saving Act in Japan and the Energy Star in the United States. In addition, with the recent changes in the global environment, these regulations have been revised and the standards have become stricter.

  At present, companies and organizations are actively engaged in environmental activities, and it is decided to purchase electrical products to be used with emphasis on information on power consumption and energy efficiency obtained from electrical product catalogs and advertisements. The number of scenes is increasing.

For this reason, manufacturers of image processing apparatuses also offer low power consumption and energy efficient products to the market. Furthermore, in an environment where this image processing apparatus is used, the device management system allows the user to The power consumption and CO2 emission during use can be easily confirmed.
JP 2003-131663 A JP 2007-221565 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-322761

  However, in the conventional device management function taking into account power consumption shown in the patent literature, power consumption and CO2 emission are calculated, and the calculation result is notified to the administrator and the user (the power consumption and CO2 reduction amount are visualized). Even if it is possible, the user does not always use the device in consideration of power consumption reduction.

  In order to make the user use the device effectively to reduce the power consumption, not only the power consumption and CO2 emission amount at the time of using the device is clarified but also the power consumption corresponding to the processing request of the user is set. It is desirable to specifically propose effective usage patterns to be reduced, or to dynamically control the devices used in the system according to the power consumption.

  For this reason, even if the conventional technology can prompt the user to reduce power consumption, it leads to a reduction in power consumption, such as "How can a device reduce power consumption?" It is conceivable that effective power consumption reduction has not been realized because specific device usage has not been considered.

  The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a device management apparatus and device management capable of effectively reducing power consumption when using a device. A system, a device management method, a device management program, and a recording medium on which the program is recorded.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a device management apparatus that monitors the state of a device connected via a predetermined data transmission path and manages the device based on information about the device including the state information An acquisition unit that acquires information about the device, a calculation unit that calculates a power consumption amount and / or a CO2 emission amount during execution of request processing based on the information about the device acquired by the acquisition unit, and the calculation unit Based on the calculated power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount for each device, among the devices managed by the device management apparatus, the power consumption and / or CO2 at the time of execution of the request process from the device specified at the time of the process request. Determining means for determining whether or not there is a device with a small emission amount, and a device with a small amount of power consumption and / or CO2 emission determined by the determination means during execution of request processing In contrast, and summarized in that an apparatus having an execution instruction means for instructing the execution of the requested processing, the.

  With such a configuration, the device management apparatus according to the present invention acquires information about the device (device information) from the managed device, and calculates the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount of the managed device from the acquired information. . Based on the calculation result, whether there is a device whose power consumption and / or CO2 emission during use is less than the device to be managed that the user is trying to use among the devices to be managed that can be processed by the user. Judge whether or not.

  As a result, the execution of processing is instructed to a device that uses less power consumption and / or CO2 emission than the managed device that the user intends to use.

  In order to achieve the above object, the device management apparatus according to the present invention includes a power consumption amount and / or CO2 emission amount of a device designated at the time of a processing request calculated by the calculation unit, and a process calculated by the calculation unit. Comparing means for comparing the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount of equipment other than the equipment specified at the time of request with the determination means specified at the time of processing request based on the comparison result by the comparison means It is determined whether or not there is a device with less power consumption and / or CO2 emission during execution of request processing than the device.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the device management apparatus according to the present invention, the determination means includes a device that consumes less power and / or CO2 when the requested process is executed than the device specified when the process is requested. When it is determined that a device exists, a device with less power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount at the time of execution of the requested process than the device specified at the time of requesting processing is presented as a selection candidate of a device other than the device specified at the time of requesting processing And the execution instruction unit instructs the device selected and designated from the use device candidates presented by the use device selection candidate presentation unit to execute the request process.

  In order to achieve the above object, the device management apparatus according to the present invention is configured such that the used device selection candidate presenting means executes a requested process among devices managed by the device management apparatus based on information on the device. Identify possible devices, and select a device whose power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount is less than that specified at the time of processing request from the devices specified at the time of processing request. Presented as a candidate for use device selection.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the device management apparatus according to the present invention, the determination means includes a device that consumes less power and / or CO2 when the requested process is executed than the device specified when the process is requested. When it is determined that there is a device, the device includes a utilization device determination unit that identifies a device that has the least amount of power consumption and / or CO2 emission during execution of the requested process from the device specified at the time of the request for processing. And instructing the device determined by the used device determining means to execute the request process.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the device management apparatus according to the present invention, the execution instructing unit is configured such that the determination unit uses the power consumption and / or CO2 when executing the requested process from the device specified when the process is requested. When it is determined that there is no device with a small amount of discharge, the device designated at the time of processing request is instructed to execute the request processing.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the device management apparatus according to the present invention, the calculation means includes information related to the device, a weekly power consumption (TEC value) in the device, and a predetermined CO2 conversion value. Based on the above, the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount at the time of executing the request process is calculated.

  As a result, the device management apparatus according to the present invention is an effective device that reduces power consumption (reduction of power consumption) according to the power consumption of the managed device that participates in the device management system (managed by the device management device). Can be selected and specified, and the processing requested by the user can be performed using the specified management target device. As a result, when using a device, a device management function capable of effectively reducing power consumption can be provided to the user.

  In order to achieve the above object, the device management system according to the present invention monitors the state of a device connected via a predetermined data transmission path by a device management apparatus, and based on the information about the device including the state information, the device The device management apparatus acquires information related to the device, and based on the information related to the device acquired by the acquisition means, the power consumption and / or CO2 emission when executing the request processing Based on the calculation means for calculating the amount and the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount for each device calculated by the calculation means, among the devices managed by the device management apparatus, from the device specified at the time of processing request, A determination means for determining whether or not there is a device having a small amount of power consumption and / or CO2 emission during execution of the request processing, and the request determined by the determination means Relative physical runtime power consumption and / or low CO2 emissions equipment, and having an execution instruction means for instructing the execution of the requested processing, the.

  In order to achieve the above object, the device management system according to the present invention monitors the state of a device connected via a predetermined data transmission path by the device management apparatus, and based on information on the device including the state information. An appliance management system for managing the appliance, wherein the appliance management apparatus acquires information on the appliance, and on the basis of the information on the appliance acquired by the acquisition means, power consumption at the time of request processing execution and And / or calculating means for calculating the CO2 emission amount, and when the device executes a request process based on the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount for each device calculated by the calculating means. Determining means for determining whether or not there is a device with a small amount of power consumption and / or CO2 emission, and the power consumption at the time of executing the request processing determined by the determination means And / or for low CO2 emissions equipment, and having an execution instruction means for instructing the execution of the requested processing, the.

  In order to achieve the above object, a device management method according to the present invention monitors a state of a device connected via a predetermined data transmission path, and manages the device based on information about the device including the state information. A method in a management apparatus, which is an acquisition procedure for acquiring information related to the device, and a calculation procedure for calculating power consumption and / or CO2 emission during request processing based on information related to the device acquired by the acquisition procedure On the basis of the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount calculated for each device calculated by the calculation procedure, the consumption at the time of executing the request process from the devices specified at the time of the process request among the devices managed by the device management apparatus. A determination procedure for determining whether or not there is a device with a small amount of power and / or CO2 emission, and a power consumption amount during execution of request processing determined by the determination procedure and / or Are characterized by having relative equipment CO2 emissions is small, the execution instruction procedure instructing the execution of the requested processing, the.

  By such a procedure, the device management method according to the present invention acquires information (device information) about the device from the managed device, and calculates the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount of the managed device from the acquired information. Based on the calculation result, out of the management target devices that can be processed by the user request, use a device whose power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount during use is smaller than that of the management target device that the user intends to use. A device management operation is realized, which is presented as a candidate and instructs the management target device selected and designated by the user from the presented candidates.

  As a result, the device management method according to the present invention enables selection and designation of an effective device that reduces power consumption according to the power consumption of managed devices participating in the device management system (managed by the device management apparatus). Therefore, it is possible to perform device usage control for processing a user request using a designated management target device, and to provide a device usage environment that can effectively reduce power consumption when the user uses the management target device.

  According to the present invention, when a user uses a device, the power consumption and CO2 emission amount at the time of use are managed by the user from among the management target devices that can be processed by the user in the system. By presenting / specifying devices that are fewer than devices as candidates for devices to be used, it is possible to effectively reduce power consumption when using the devices.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
<System configuration>
Now, the configuration of the device management system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a device management system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the device management system 1 includes at least one managed device 200 such as an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) or LP (Printer: Laser Printer) and at least one client. A PC (Personal Computer) 300 (hereinafter simply referred to as “PC”) and the device management apparatus 100 are connected to each other via a data transmission path 90 such as a network.

  With such a system configuration, the device management apparatus 100 manages each device by monitoring the status of the device to be managed 200 and collecting information using a device management function that operates in the device. In addition, the PC 300 is provided with various types of information regarding the state of the management target device 200.

<Hardware configuration>
Next, a hardware configuration of the device management apparatus 100 that performs device management in the device management system 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the device management apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the device management apparatus 100 includes an input device 101, a display device 102, a drive device 103, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 104, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 105, a CPU (Central Processing). Unit) 106, interface device 107, and HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 108, which are mutually connected by a bus.

  The input device 101 includes a keyboard and a mouse, and is used to input each operation signal to the device management apparatus 100. The display device 102 is configured by a display or the like, and displays a processing result by the device management device 100 (for example, “various information related to a state acquired from the management target device 200”).

  The interface device 107 is an interface that connects the device management apparatus 100 to a data transmission path 90 such as a network. As described in the above system configuration, the device management apparatus 100 performs data communication with the management target device 200 and the PC 300 via the interface device 107.

  The HDD 108 controls the entire device management apparatus 100 and provides an information processing system (for example, an OS (Operating System) that is basic software such as “Windows (registered trademark)” and “UNIX (registered trademark)), Non-volatile storage of data and programs (such as “application program” and “application data”) that provide various functions (eg, “device management function” and “data communication function”) on the information processing system Is a sex storage device. The HDD 108 manages the stored programs and data by a predetermined file system or DB (Data Base).

  The program and data are provided to the device management apparatus 100 by a recording medium 103a such as a CD (Compact Disk), or downloaded from the data transmission path 90 such as a network via the interface apparatus 107. For example, when provided from the recording medium 103a, it is installed in the HDD 108 via the drive device 103 that can read the recording medium 103a.

  The ROM 105 is a nonvolatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that can retain internal data even when the power is turned off. The ROM 105 stores data such as a basic input / output system (BIOS) that is executed when the device management apparatus 100 is activated, and system settings and network-related settings of the device management apparatus 100.

  The RAM 104 is a volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that temporarily holds programs and data read from the various storage devices, and the CPU 106 executes a program read on the RAM 104 to execute a device management device. Various functions installed in the overall control 100 and the device management apparatus 100 are operated.

  With such a hardware configuration, the device management apparatus 100 executes, for example, a program for realizing a device management function read from the HDD 108 onto the RAM 104 by the CPU 106 to monitor the status of the management target device 200 and collect various information. In addition, information can be provided to the PC 300.

<Device management function>
The device management function that operates on the hardware configuration includes, as its mechanism, information including device status such as MIB (Management Information Base) information (hereinafter referred to as “device information”) from the management target device 200. Each managed device 200 is managed based on the acquired state information.

  From now on, among the device management functions, the “device management function considering power consumption” by the operation of the management target device 200 will be described in detail.

As described above as a problem to be solved by the present invention,
In the prior art, the power consumption and the CO2 emission amount are calculated, and the calculation result is notified to the administrator and the user (the power consumption and the CO2 reduction amount are visualized), and the user is prompted to reduce the power consumption. Even if it is possible, it does not take into account the specific use of equipment that leads to reduction of power consumption, such as "How to use equipment to reduce power consumption".

  For this reason, it is considered that the user does not actually use the device in consideration of the reduction in power consumption, and effective power consumption reduction cannot be realized.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to allow the user to use the device effectively to reduce the power consumption, not only the power consumption and CO2 emission amount when using the device but also the processing request of the user is required. Specifically, an effective usage pattern for reducing the power consumption corresponding to the above is proposed, or the devices in the system are dynamically controlled according to the power consumption.

  The device management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment acquires device information from the management target device 200, calculates the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount of the management target device 200 from the acquired information, and based on the calculation result, It is determined whether or not there is a device whose power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount during use is less than the management target device 200 that the user intends to use among the management target devices 200 that can be processed by the user request, It has a device management function of instructing a device that has low power consumption and / or low CO2 emission during use to execute processing.

  That is, in the device management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, an effective device that reduces power consumption according to the power consumption of the management target device 200 that participates in the device management system 1 (managed by the device management apparatus 100). Selection can be specified, and processing requested by the user is performed using the specified management target device 200.

  As a result, the device management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can perform use device control that can effectively reduce power consumption, and when the user uses the management target device 200, the effective power consumption of the entire system can be reduced. Reduction can be realized.

  Now, the configuration and operation of the “device management function considering power consumption” will be described. In the following description, when the management target device 200 is an image processing apparatus (for example, “MFP” or “LP”), the function that is considered to be most frequently used is the print function (print function). Since it is a function that requires the most power consumption, a use case of the management target device 200 by a user is assumed to be a scene where printing is performed (a scene where a user makes a print request to the management target device 200). Therefore, the device management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment controls the printing destination (use device) so that effective power consumption is reduced during printing before performing the requested printing. It has a print server function.

  However, the scene where the printing is performed is merely an example in which the user uses the management target device 200, and the present invention is not limited to the case where the printing is performed.

<Functional configuration>
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the device management function according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The device management function considering power consumption is a function realized mainly by software components of a device management component (application) installed (installed) in the device management apparatus 100.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the device management function according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of functional units. The plurality of functional units mainly acquire device information from the management target device 200 and manage it for each acquisition destination (hereinafter referred to as “device information management function unit group”) 20 and a management target. A function unit group (hereinafter referred to as “use device control function”) that performs control so as to perform processing requested by the user by an effective management target device 200 (use device) that reduces power consumption in accordance with the power consumption of the device 200. It is divided into “groups” and “30”.

(Device information management function group)
The state management function unit group 20 mainly includes a device information acquisition unit 21, a communication unit 22, a device information management unit 23, a monitoring condition setting unit 24, and a device information providing unit 25.

(Device information acquisition unit)
First, the device information acquisition unit 21 has a function of acquiring device information from the management target device 200 (MIB mounted on the management target device 200) via a data transmission path 90 such as a network.

  The “device information” referred to here includes, for example, the vendor name representing the device manufacturer, the model name representing the device type, the color / monochrome type representing the supported color type, the IPM representing the printing speed for 1 minute, and the actual A counter (total counter, black-and-white counter, color counter, etc.) indicating the number of printed sheets.

  Further, since the devices 200 to be managed managed by the device management apparatus 100 include products of other companies, it is desirable that the device information can be acquired in common regardless of the manufacturer. Therefore, the device information acquisition unit 21 acquires information (model name, color / monochrome type, IPM, and total counter) that can be acquired by the standard MIB as device information.

  The device information acquisition unit 21 acquires the device information by polling processing according to a predetermined monitoring interval (operation timing). The device information acquisition unit 21 acquires device information from the management target device 200 via the communication unit 22 described later.

(Communication Department)
The communication unit 22 has a function of performing data communication with the management target device 200 using a predetermined communication method (for example, “SNMP: Simple Network Management Protocol”).

  The communication unit 22 receives an operation request for information acquisition or information provision together with designation information (for example, “IP address”) of a communication destination, and performs a requested process based on the designation information. In addition, the communication unit 22 receives various types of information that are responded and transmitted from external devices such as the management target device 200 and the PC 300, and transfers the received data to each functional unit based on the information type.

  Further, the communication unit 22 searches for a managed device 200 participating in the device management system 1 (connected to the device management apparatus 100) via the data transmission path 90 (for example, “device search by SNMP”). ]). In such a case, the device information acquisition unit 21 acquires device information from the management target device 200 based on the search result by this function. When the management target device 200 has a trap function (automatic information transmission function), the communication unit 22 passes the device information transmitted from the management target device 200 to the device information acquisition unit 21.

(Device Information Management Department)
The device information management unit 23 holds the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 21, and for each managed device 200 that is the acquisition destination, the power consumption of the managed device 200 by the used device control function unit group 30 described later. And / or a function of managing the information as calculation information 41 for CO2 emission.

  Furthermore, the device information management unit 23 holds the calculated value of the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount of the management target device 200 by the use device control function unit group 30 to be described later, and manages it as the calculation result information 42.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a data example of the calculation information 41 and the calculation result information 42 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the calculation information 41 is configured by associating device identification data for identifying the management target device 200 with device data that is device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 21. Information 41a, model identification data for identifying the model of the management target device 200, and information 41b configured by associating standard power consumption data (TEC (Typical Electricity Consumption) value) with each other. .

  The information 41a is added and updated by the device information management unit 23 based on the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 21.

  Here, the TEC value will be briefly described. The TEC value is a standard value for conforming to the “International Energy Star Program” of the Energy Conservation Center of Japan. Specifically, in an office device such as a printer, the actual measured value (unit: kWh / week) of power consumption for one week (5 days in which operation and sleep / off are repeated + 2 days in sleep / off state). . If this value is below the reference value, it can be certified as a compatible device of the “International Energy Star Program”.

  In addition, since the TEC value is a value disclosed by, for example, the manufacturer of the certified device, the device information management unit 23 sets the model name that is the device information that can acquire the TEC value of the main model that is disclosed. The information 41b (standard power consumption list information) that can be uniquely specified based on the information is stored.

  Thereby, the TEC value (standard power consumption) corresponding to the management target device 200 can be acquired by referring to the information 41b based on the model name of the acquired device information.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, the calculation result information 42 includes the device identification data and the calculation of the power consumption amount and / or CO2 emission amount of the management target device 200 by the use device control function unit group 30 described later. The result data is associated with the result data.

  The calculation result information 42 is added / updated by the device information management unit 23 based on the power consumption and / or the CO2 emission calculated by the use device control function unit group 30 described later.

  The device information management unit 23 stores the calculation information 41 and the calculation result information 42 in a predetermined storage area of a storage device (for example, “HDD 108”) included in the device management apparatus 100, thereby storing the information. to manage.

  In FIG. 4, the calculation information 41a and the calculation result information 42 have been described as separate data configurations (FIGS. 4A and 4B), but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. Absent. As long as the device data and the calculation result data can be uniquely identified based on the device identification data, any data configuration / format may be used.

(Monitoring condition setting part)
The monitoring condition setting unit 24 is a function for setting a monitoring interval (operation timing) used when information is acquired by the device information acquisition unit 21.

  For example, the monitoring condition setting unit 24 receives an arbitrary adjustment value from the administrator, and sets the value in the device information acquisition unit 21 so that the device information acquisition unit 21 follows the updated setting value. Acquire information at the monitoring interval.

(Equipment Information Department)
The device information providing unit 25 has a function of providing device information managed by the device information providing unit 25 to an external device such as the PC 300.

  The device information providing unit 25 generates responding providing information based on various types of information managed by the device information managing unit 23, and transmits the generated providing information to the request source via the communication unit 22. Provide device information.

(Used device control function group)
The use device control function unit group 30 mainly includes a calculation unit 31, a calculation result comparison unit 32, a use device selection candidate presentation unit 33, and a use device control unit 34.

(Calculation unit)
First, the calculation unit 31 has a function of calculating the power consumption amount and / or the CO2 emission amount of the management target device 200 using the calculation information 41 managed by the device information management unit 23.

  The calculation unit 31 includes the power consumption and / or CO2 of the management target device 200 that acquired the device information at the timing when the device information acquisition unit 21 acquires the device information and the device information management unit 23 updates the calculation information 41. Calculate emissions. The calculation unit 31 passes the calculated power consumption and / or CO2 emission value to the device information management unit 23. As a result, the calculation result information 42 is updated.

-Calculation of power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount Various methods can be considered for calculation of the power consumption amount and / or CO2 emission amount performed by the calculation unit 31. For example, the calculation method is as follows.

[Power consumption (kWh)]
(A) The TEC value calculated based on the actually measured TEC value and the number of printed sheets per day (0.5 × IMP × IMP) is used as the power consumption per week.
(B) From the counter value (actual number of printed sheets) acquired as device information, an average number of printed sheets for a certain period (for example, “1 hour”) is calculated, and the number of printed sheets converted per day from the calculated average number of printed sheets; From the ratio with the number of printed sheets shown in (A) above, the power consumption is calculated based on the TEC value in (A) above.

[CO2 emissions (kg)]
Calculated by multiplying the calculated power consumption by a CO2 conversion coefficient. For example, the CO2 conversion factor includes the CO2 emission factor (emission factor associated with the use of electricity supplied by others) 0.555 (kg / kWh) set by the Ministry of the Environment. It may be a value.

  In addition, a method of dynamically calculating (calculating an estimated value) from the number of printed sheets in a print job requested by the user may be used.

(Calculation result comparison part)
The calculation result comparison unit 32 has a function of comparing the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount of the management target device 200 designated by the user at the time of the print request and the other management target device 200.

  First, the calculation result comparison unit 32 specifies the management target device 200 specified at the time of the request based on the print request (including print data) from the user received by the communication unit 22 from the external device such as the PC 300. The calculation result comparison unit 32 refers to the calculation result information 42 managed by the device information management unit 23 on the basis of the device identification data of the identified management target device 200, and / or the power consumption amount and / or held in association with each other. Obtain calculation result data for CO2 emissions. The calculation result comparison unit 32 refers to the calculation result information 42, compares the acquired calculation result data with the calculation result data of the other management target device 200, and passes the comparison result to the use device selection candidate presentation unit 33.

(Used device selection candidate presentation section)
The use device selection candidate presentation unit 33 selects the management target device 200 that uses less power consumption and / or CO2 emission during the printing operation than the management target device 200 specified by the user at the time of printing request. This is a function that is presented to the user as a selection candidate of an effective managed device 200).

  Based on the comparison result by the calculation result comparison unit 32, the use device selection candidate presentation unit 33 has a smaller power consumption amount and / or CO2 emission value than the management target device 200 designated by the user at the time of print request (power consumption amount). It is determined whether or not there is a management target device 200 (candidate device to be used).

  When the use device selection candidate presenting unit 33 determines that there is a management target device 200 with low power consumption and / or low CO2 emission amount, the use device selection candidate presentation unit 33 selects the management target device 200 that satisfies this condition as a use device selection candidate. Present. At this time, the use device selection candidate presenting unit 33 uses the device information such as the model name, color / monochrome type, and IPM of the calculation information 41 managed by the device information management unit 23, for example. Generate information. The generated selection candidate information is transmitted to the print request source via the communication unit 22 and presented to the user.

  The external device such as the PC 300 transmitted in this manner has, for example, a UI (User Interface) that can select a candidate for the use device and permit execution of printing based on the received information presentation request and the selection candidate information for the use device. The pop-up window is displayed on a display device included in the device. Alternatively, it may be displayed on the operation window of the printer driver that has requested printing.

  In addition, when the use device selection candidate presenting unit 33 determines that there is no managed device 200 with low power consumption and / or low CO2 emission amount, the use device selection candidate presentation unit 33 performs print processing by the managed device 200 specified by the user using the used device control. Request to section 34.

-About specification of utilization apparatus candidate The utilization apparatus selection candidate presentation part 33 does not necessarily use all the management object apparatuses 200 with little power consumption and / or CO2 discharge | emission amount as a selection candidate of utilization apparatus. A device to be managed 200 that can perform a printing process requested by the user and that has a low power consumption and / or low CO2 emission amount is presented as a candidate for use device selection.

  For example, the use device selection candidate presentation unit 33 determines whether the requested printing is “color printing” or “monochrome printing” based on the print data received from the external device such as the PC 300 by the communication unit 22. When it is determined that “color printing” is selected, a management target device 200 that can perform color printing processing is identified and selected as a selection candidate from among the management target devices 200 that consume less power and / or less CO 2. Further, based on the status information of the management target device 200 included in the device information, it is determined whether or not printing is possible.

  The user equipment selection candidate information easily indicates the difference in the effect of reducing the power consumption between the management target device 200 specified by the user and the management target device 200 presented as a use device candidate. In order to be able to grasp, it is good also as a structure containing the value of the power consumption amount of both the designated management object apparatus 200 and the management object apparatus 200 shown as a candidate, and a CO2 reduction amount. In addition, the IPM value of the device information may be included so that the user can select and specify the optimum print destination in order to efficiently perform the printing process among the plurality of used devices.

(Used equipment control section)
The used device control unit 34 is a function that instructs the management target device 200 specified according to the power consumption during printing to execute the printing process.

  The use device control unit 34 transmits the print data temporarily received by the print server function to the designated management target device 200 and instructs execution of the print processing.

Regarding Execution Instruction of Print Processing (User Request Processing) The use device control unit 34 first selects a use device candidate presented by the use device selection candidate presenting unit 33, and performs management based device 200 that performs printing. From the external device such as the PC 300 is notified from the communication unit 22 that the information regarding the designation of the device to be managed (designation of the device to be managed on behalf of the printing process) and the permission to execute printing by the designated device to be managed 200 are received.

  Based on the information related to the selection designation received by the communication unit 22 (for example, “IP address”), the user device control unit 34 designates the print data received at the time of the print request from the user as the print destination via the communication unit 22. To the managed device 200 and instruct the execution of the printing process (the designated managed device 200 performs the printing process).

  In addition, when there is no managed device 200 with low power consumption and / or low CO2 emission, the usage device control unit 34 follows the operation request from the usage device selection candidate presentation unit 33 and receives the print received from the user at the time of the print request. The data is transmitted to the management target device 200 that is first designated by the user (at the time of the print request) via the communication unit 22 to instruct execution of the printing process.

  After using the print execution instruction, the user device control unit 34 transmits predetermined message information including an instruction to execute the print process to an external device such as the PC 300 via the communication unit 22. The predetermined message information includes, for example, output destination information of a printed matter, a power consumption reduction rate (CO2 reduction rate), and the like. As a result, even if the device is controlled (changes the printing destination) according to the power consumption, the user can reduce the power consumption by “Which printer will output” or “First specified printer” (Whether CO2 emission has been reduced) can be easily confirmed.

<Functional operation>
From here, the operation | movement of utilization apparatus control according to the power consumption by each function part demonstrated above is demonstrated. The used device control functions by the above-described functional units operating in cooperation, and the software component for realizing the device management function installed in the device management apparatus 100 is stored by the CPU 106 from the storage location (for example, “ROM 105”). This is realized by reading into the RAM 104 and executing the following processing.

(Calculation information acquisition / calculation process)
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure up to calculation of the power consumption amount and the CO2 emission amount according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, in the device management apparatus 100, the communication unit 22 searches for a management target device 200 connected to a predetermined data transmission path 90 such as a network, and the device information acquisition unit 21 detects a predetermined monitoring interval. Accordingly, device information is acquired from the standard MIB mounted on each managed device 200 based on the previous search result (for example, “communication IP address”) (step S101). The acquired device information is transferred to the device information management unit 23 and recorded and held as calculation information 41.

  Next, the device information management unit 23 refers to the standard power consumption list information 41b stored in advance based on the model name for identifying the model acquired as the device information, and the standard consumption of each managed device 200. The amount of electric power (TEC value) is acquired (step S102). The acquisition referred to here means reading data stored in the storage device (for example, “HDD 108”) onto the RAM 104.

  Next, the calculation unit 31 calculates the power consumption amount and the CO2 emission amount based on the calculation information 41 for each managed device 200 managed by the device information management unit 23 and a predetermined calculation formula (step S103). ). The calculated power consumption amount and CO2 emission amount value are passed to the device information management unit 23.

  The device information management unit 23 records and holds these calculation results as calculation result information 42 (step S104).

  Regarding the update of the calculation information 41 and the calculation result information 42 by the device information management unit 23, the acquired device information, the calculated power consumption amount and the CO2 emission value are different from the currently held information. Only when.

(Device control processing)
Next, a description will be given of a process for controlling the used device based on the result calculated in step S103.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of user equipment control based on the calculation result according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As illustrated in FIG. 6, the device management apparatus 100 waits until the communication unit 22 receives a print request (processing request) from an external device such as the PC 300 (step S201: NO).

  When the communication unit 22 accepts the print request (step S201: YES), the calculation result comparison unit 32 and the management target device 200 designated at the time of the request are based on the calculation result information 42 managed by the device information management unit 23. The calculation result data of the power consumption amount and / or CO2 emission amount of the management target device 200 is compared, and the comparison result is passed to the utilization device selection candidate presenting unit 33.

  Based on the comparison result, the use device selection candidate presenting unit 33 has a smaller power consumption and / or CO2 emission value than the management target device 200 specified by the user at the time of printing request (power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount). It is determined whether or not there is a management target device 200 (a candidate device to be used) (step S203).

  If it is determined in step S203 that there is a candidate for use device (step S203: YES), one or more managed devices 200 with low power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount are selected as use device selection candidates. Presented to the user (step S204). At this time, the used device selection candidate presenting unit 33 transmits the used device selection candidate information to an external device such as the PC 300 via the communication unit 22 and presents it to the user.

  The communication unit 22 selects from the external device such as the PC 300 from the use device candidates presented by the use device selection candidate presenting unit 33, and designates the management target device 200 for printing (use device designation). Then, it waits until it receives information related to permission for printing execution (print permission) by the designated managed device 200 (step S205: NO).

  When the communication unit 22 accepts the designation of the device to be used and the print permission (step S205: YES), the device-use control unit 34 instructs the designated managed device 200 to execute the printing process (step S206).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S203 that there is no candidate for use device (step S203: YES), the use device control unit 34 performs print processing on the management target device 200 designated at the time of the first print request. Execution is instructed (step S207).

  The communication unit 22 transmits the print data temporarily received by the print server function to the management target device 200 via the predetermined data transmission path 90 (step S208).

  As described above, in the device management apparatus 100, software components that implement each functional unit are executed, so that the device management apparatus 100 participates in the device management system 1 (managed by the device management apparatus 100) according to the power consumption. Thus, it is possible to select and specify an effective device that reduces power consumption, and realizes device management by using device control that performs processing requested by the user using the specified management target device 200.

<Modification of device management configuration>
In the above embodiment, a functional configuration has been described in which selection candidates for devices to be used are presented and request processing is performed by the management target device 200 selected and designated by the user.

  Here, as a modification thereof, a functional configuration for dynamically selecting a device to be used inside the device management apparatus 100 will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a device management function according to a modification of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, in this modification, the use device control function unit group 30 does not have the use device selection candidate presentation unit 33, and based on the comparison result by the calculation result comparison unit 32, the use device control unit Reference numeral 34 designates execution of request processing.

  For example, the utilization device control unit 34 automatically selects a device having the smallest amount of power consumption and / or CO2 emission from among the management target devices 200 capable of performing the printing process requested by the user, The selected device management apparatus 200 is instructed to execute the request process.

  In addition, the utilization device control unit 34 returns the information of the management target device 200 that has issued the execution instruction to the external device such as the PC 300 that has issued the processing request via the communication unit 22.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to save the user from having to select and specify the management target device 200 to execute the process from a plurality of use device candidates, and the device management apparatus 100 can dynamically change according to the power consumption. Therefore, the optimum power consumption can be reduced in the entire system.

<Modification of device management system>
In the above embodiment, the device management apparatus 100 includes a device information acquisition / management function (each function of the device information management function unit group 20), a power consumption / CO2 emission calculation function, a used device selection candidate presentation function, and The system configuration having all the functions of the used device control function (each function included in the used device control function unit group 30) has been described.

  However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, a function distributed system configuration as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 may be used.

(Part 1)
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example (part 1) of the device management system 1 according to the modification of the present invention. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the device management apparatus 100 has only a device information acquisition / management function and a power consumption / CO2 emission calculation function, and the PC 300 has a use device selection candidate presentation function and a use device control function. The structure which has this may be sufficient.

  With such a system configuration, the function of managing various information such as the calculation information 41 and the calculation result information 42 and the function of controlling the management target device 200 according to the power consumption operate on different devices. , Processing load distribution can be achieved. In addition, since the user equipment control function operates on the PC 300 to which the user makes a processing request, it is not necessary to operate a function such as a print server that temporarily receives a processing request from the user, and the effective configuration of the system is simplified. Can be

(Part 2)
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration example (No. 2) of the device management system 1 according to the modification of the present invention. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 9, each management target device 200 may be configured to have a used device selection candidate presentation function and a used device control function.

  With such a system configuration, the managed device 200 that receives the processing request from the user and receives the execution job, the managed device 200 that uses the other managed device 200 receives the power consumption and / or When it is determined that the processing can be performed with a small amount of CO2 emission, the received execution job can be transferred to another managed device 200 to instruct execution of the request processing (perform device cooperation operation to reduce power consumption). be able to).

  In addition, in the case of the managed device 200 having the above functions, the functions of the used device control in general are performed by the managed device 200 itself, so that the data resources of the conventional device management system (for example, “collected device information”). Or “calculated power consumption and / or COS emissions”), and can be used to select and specify an effective device that reduces power consumption according to the power consumption of the managed device 200. Then, using the designated management target device 200, it is possible to perform a device control for processing a user request.

<Summary>
As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the device management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment first acquires device information from the management target device 200, and the management target device 200 of the management target device 200 from the acquired information. The power consumption amount and / or the CO2 emission amount is calculated, and the calculation results of both the management target device 200 that the user intends to use and the other management target devices 200 are compared.

  Subsequently, based on the comparison result, among the management target devices 200 that can be processed by the user, there are devices whose power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount during printing is smaller than that of the management target device 200 that the user intends to use. Determine if it exists.

  As a result, execution of processing is instructed to a device that consumes less power and / or emits less CO2.

  Further, when it is determined that there is a device with low power consumption and / or CO2 emission during use, the corresponding managed device 200 is presented as a candidate for the device to be used, and the user selects from the presented candidates Instruct the designated management target device 200 to execute the process.

  Alternatively, among the corresponding managed devices 200, the device with the least power consumption and / or CO2 emission during use is determined as a used device, and the execution of processing is instructed to the determined managed device 200 To do.

  Accordingly, the device management apparatus 100 can select and specify an effective device that reduces power consumption according to the power consumption of the management target device 200 that participates in the device management system 1 (managed by the device management apparatus 100). Using the designated management target device 200, it is possible to control the device used to process the user request.

  From the above, in the device management system 1 according to the present embodiment, when the user uses the management target device 200, the device management function for realizing effective power consumption reduction in the entire system is provided to the user. Can do.

  Up to this point, the present invention has been described based on the above embodiment. However, the “device management function” of the device management apparatus 100 according to the above embodiment operates according to each processing procedure described with reference to the drawings. This is realized by being executed by the CPU 106 as a program coded in a programming language suitable for the environment (platform). Therefore, the program can be stored in the computer-readable recording medium 103a.

  Further, the program is stored in a recording medium 103a such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a CD, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), etc., so that the device management apparatus can be read via the drive device 103 that can read the recording medium 103a. 100 can be installed. In addition, since the device management apparatus 100 includes the interface device 107, the program can be downloaded and installed using a telecommunication line such as the Internet.

  By the way, in the above embodiment, the configuration in which the calculation information 41 and the calculation result information 42 are held in a predetermined storage area of the storage device included in the device management apparatus 100 has been described. However, the present invention is limited to this configuration. It is not something.

  For example, the various information may be stored in the external recording medium 103a or may be stored in a storage device included in an external device connected via the data transmission path 90. The configuration may not be held in the storage device provided. The storage destination of the various types of information may be configured to be controlled by each functional unit that manages and refers to the information.

  In the above embodiment, MFPs and LPs are given as preferable examples of the management target device 100. However, the present invention is not limited to these devices. In the present invention, if it is possible to acquire device information, for example, any device that affects power consumption or CO2 emission during use, such as a fluorescent lamp, an aerial facility, a computer, an appliance, etc. Applicable applications are possible. Further, by combining them, it is possible to provide total support for the office and to apply the object of the present invention.

  Finally, the present invention is not limited to the requirements shown here, such as combinations of other elements with the shapes and configurations described in the above embodiments. With respect to these points, the present invention can be changed within a range that does not detract from the gist of the present invention, and can be appropriately determined according to the application form.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the apparatus management system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of the apparatus management apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the apparatus management function which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of data of the information for a calculation which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention, and calculation result information. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a process sequence until the power consumption amount and CO2 emission amount calculation which concern on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a process sequence of utilization apparatus control based on the calculation result which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the apparatus management function which concerns on the modification of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the apparatus management system (the 1) which concerns on the modification of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the apparatus management system (the 2) which concerns on the modification of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Device management system 20 Device information management function part group 21 Device information acquisition part 22 Communication part 23 Device information management part 24 Monitoring condition setting part 25 Device information provision part 30 Utilization apparatus control function part group 31 Calculation part 32 Calculation result comparison part 33 Use device selection candidate presentation unit 34 Use device control unit 41 Calculation information 42 Calculation result information 90 Data transmission path 100 Device management device 101 Input device 102 Display device 103 Drive device (a: recording medium)
104 RAM (volatile semiconductor memory)
105 ROM (nonvolatile semiconductor memory)
106 CPU (Central Processing Unit)
107 Interface device (NIC: Network I / F Card)
108 HDD (nonvolatile storage device)
200 Device to be managed (image processing device)
300 Client PC (information processing device)

Claims (12)

A device management apparatus that monitors the state of a device connected via a predetermined data transmission path and manages the device based on information about the device including state information,
Obtaining means for obtaining information about the device;
Calculation means for calculating the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount at the time of executing the request processing based on the information about the device acquired by the acquisition means;
Based on the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount for each device calculated by the calculation means, the power consumption at the time of executing the request process from the devices specified at the time of processing request among the devices managed by the device management apparatus. And / or determination means for determining whether or not there is a device with a low CO2 emission amount;
Execution instruction means for instructing execution of request processing to a device having a low power consumption and / or a low CO2 emission amount determined by the determination means;
A device management apparatus comprising: The device management device
The power consumption and / or CO2 emission of the device specified at the time of the processing request calculated by the calculation means, and the power consumption and / or CO2 emission of devices other than the device specified at the time of the processing request calculated by the calculation means. Having a comparison means for comparing quantity and value;
The determination means includes
Based on the comparison result by the comparison means,
The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not there is a device that consumes less power and / or CO2 when the request process is executed than a device specified when the process is requested. The device management device
When the determination unit determines that there is a device with less power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount at the time of request processing execution than the device specified at the time of processing request,
Utilization device selection candidate presenting means for presenting a device with less power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount at the time of request processing execution than a device designated at the time of processing request as a selection candidate of utilization devices other than the device designated at the time of processing request Have
The execution instruction means includes
The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the device management apparatus instructs the device selected and designated from the use device candidates presented by the use device selection candidate presentation unit to execute request processing. The use device selection candidate presenting means is:
Based on the information about the device, among the devices managed by the device management apparatus, identify a device that can execute the requested process,
Among the specified devices, the devices that consume less energy and / or CO2 emissions during the requested processing than the devices specified at the time of processing request are presented as selection candidates for devices other than the devices specified at the time of processing request. The device management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: The device management device
When the determination unit determines that there is a device with less power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount at the time of request processing execution than the device specified at the time of processing request,
Use device determination means for identifying a device that has the least amount of power consumption and / or CO2 emission during execution of request processing from the device specified at the time of processing request,
The execution instruction means includes
5. The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the device management apparatus instructs the device determined by the used device determination unit to execute a request process. 6. The execution instruction means includes
When the determination unit determines that there is no device with less power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount at the time of request processing execution than the device specified at the time of processing request,
The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the device management apparatus instructs the device designated at the time of processing request to execute the request processing. The calculating means includes
A power consumption amount and / or a CO2 emission amount at the time of executing a request process is calculated based on information on the device, a weekly power consumption amount (TEC value) in the device, and a predetermined CO2 conversion value. The device management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. A device management system that monitors a state of a device connected via a predetermined data transmission path by a device management device and manages the device based on information about the device including the state information,
The device management apparatus is
Obtaining means for obtaining information about the device;
Calculation means for calculating the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount at the time of executing the request processing based on the information about the device acquired by the acquisition means;
Based on the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount for each device calculated by the calculation means, the power consumption at the time of executing the request process from the devices specified at the time of processing request among the devices managed by the device management apparatus. And / or determination means for determining whether or not there is a device with a low CO2 emission amount;
An apparatus management system comprising execution instruction means for instructing execution of request processing for a device having a low power consumption and / or low CO2 emission amount during execution of the request processing determined by the determination means. . A device management system that monitors a state of a device connected via a predetermined data transmission path by a device management device and manages the device based on information about the device including the state information,
The device management apparatus is
Obtaining means for obtaining information about the device;
Calculation means for calculating the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount at the time of executing the request processing based on the information on the device acquired by the acquisition means,
The device is
Based on the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount for each device calculated by the calculating means, it is determined whether or not there is a device with less power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount during execution of request processing than the device. Determination means for determining;
An apparatus management system comprising execution instruction means for instructing execution of request processing for a device having a low power consumption and / or low CO2 emission amount during execution of the request processing determined by the determination means. . A device management method in a device management apparatus that monitors a state of a device connected via a predetermined data transmission path and manages the device based on information about the device including state information,
An acquisition procedure for acquiring information about the device;
A calculation procedure for calculating a power consumption amount and / or a CO2 emission amount at the time of executing the request process based on information on the device acquired by the acquisition procedure;
Based on the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount for each device calculated by the calculation procedure, the power consumption at the time of executing the request process from the devices specified at the time of processing request among the devices managed by the device management apparatus. And / or a determination procedure for determining whether there is a device with a low CO2 emission amount;
A device management method comprising: an execution instruction procedure for instructing execution of request processing to a device having a low power consumption and / or low CO2 emission amount during execution of the request processing determined by the determination procedure . A device management program in a device management apparatus that monitors the state of a device connected via a predetermined data transmission path and manages the device based on information about the device including state information,
Computer
Obtaining means for obtaining information about the device;
Calculation means for calculating the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount at the time of executing the request processing based on the information about the device acquired by the acquisition means;
Based on the power consumption and / or CO2 emission amount for each device calculated by the calculation means, the power consumption at the time of executing the request process from the devices specified at the time of the process request among the devices managed by the device management apparatus. And / or determination means for determining whether or not there is a device with a low CO2 emission amount;
A device management program that functions as an execution instructing unit that instructs execution of a request process to a device that has been determined by the determination unit and has low power consumption and / or CO2 emission during execution of the request process.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 11 is recorded.

Images