JP2018025965A - Information management device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To preferentially record appropriate log information, to avoid an increase in load and operation delay due to log information collection processing, and a decrease in basic performance such as printing speed. SOLUTION: A log collecting unit 12 which is classified into a plurality of categories related to an inkjet printing apparatus 2 and collects log information output based on various generation conditions, and a log information generation condition are stored in association with each category. The generation condition storage unit 15b, the state monitoring unit 14 that monitors the generation state of the generation condition related to the inkjet printing device 2 and records the monitoring result as the generation history information D1, and the generation history information D1 recorded by the state monitoring unit 14 With reference to this, a log output level control unit 18 that controls the output amount of log information to the log collection unit 12 for each log information generation condition is provided. [Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an information management apparatus that collects log information related to a monitoring target device such as an image forming apparatus such as an inkjet printer.

  In general, an information management apparatus that collects log information such as communication logs, operation logs, and error logs of image forming apparatuses connected to an image forming apparatus such as an ink jet printer that performs printing on a print medium as a monitoring target. well known. This log information can be used to identify the cause of a failure that has occurred in the monitored device.

  For example, the log output device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is based on a frequency detection unit that calculates a frequency of occurrence of a log generated by a module to be monitored, and a log output level that is a reference for log output based on the frequency of occurrence. It has a level changing unit for adjusting and a log output unit for outputting a log having an importance level equal to or higher than the log output level. According to the log output device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the log output level can be limited to logs with high importance, and the processing cost of unnecessary log output can be reduced.

JP 2013-206117 A

  However, in the log output device disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, the log output level is simply changed according to the frequency of occurrence of errors regardless of the type of error. An excessive amount of logs may be output compared to the existing logs. If an excessive amount of logs is output in this way, the load and operation delay due to log information collection processing such as log information output, transmission / reception, and writing to storage devices will increase, and basic printing speed will be increased. There was a risk of adverse effects on performance.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and it is possible to preferentially record appropriate log information, increase the load and operation delay due to log information collection processing, and improve basic performance such as printing speed. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information management apparatus capable of avoiding a decrease.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a first feature is log collection means that collects log information that is classified into a plurality of categories related to monitored devices and that is output based on various generation conditions. Generation condition storage means for storing the generation condition of the log information in association with the category, state monitoring means for monitoring the generation state of the generation condition relating to the monitoring target device, and recording the monitoring result as generation history information, Log output level control means for controlling the output amount of the log information by the log collecting means for each occurrence condition of the log information with reference to the occurrence history information recorded by the state monitoring means, and the log output level The control means refers to the occurrence history information and logs information classified into a category other than the category related to the occurrence condition that has already occurred within a predetermined period. It is to reduce the output amount.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the monitoring target device is an image forming apparatus that continuously forms an image on a large number of sheets, and the plurality of categories include a category related to a control system of the image forming apparatus. Is included.

  A third feature of the present invention is that log information classified into each category is set with a maximum output amount, and the log output level control means is a category related to a control system that has already occurred within a predetermined period. And a maximum output amount that does not reduce the image forming productivity of the image forming apparatus based on an output amount of a category other than the category, and adjusts an increase / decrease amount of the log information within a range not exceeding the maximum output amount. It has a function.

  According to the first feature of the present invention, when collecting log information that is output based on occurrence conditions such as the occurrence of various errors, the log collection means is referred to by referring to the occurrence history information recorded in the past. The output amount of the log information can be controlled to increase or decrease for each log information generation condition. As a result, the output amount of log information can be changed automatically according to the past or current state, triggered by the occurrence of a specific error, and only the details of the occurrence conditions belonging to the specific category. Log information can be output, and detailed information on the cause of errors can be collected.

  In addition, at this time, it is possible to output in detail the log information related to the occurrence condition that has already occurred, such as an error that is currently occurring, and to reduce the output amount of other log information. It is possible to reduce load and operation delay due to log information collection processing such as reception and writing to a storage device, and to avoid adversely affecting the operation of the monitoring target device due to an increase in the amount of log information collected.

  According to the second feature of the present invention, when the device to be monitored is an image forming apparatus, image formation that makes it easy to output a large amount of log information and adjust the output amount so as to affect the print processing speed. By making the log information of the control system of the device to be monitored, detailed information on the cause of the error of the image forming device can be collected by software operations, and the load and operation delay due to the collection process can be reduced. It is possible to effectively avoid the adverse effects on the operation of the image forming apparatus.

  According to the third feature of the present invention, by adjusting an increase / decrease amount with respect to the output amount of log information within a range not exceeding the maximum output amount of each log information, an occurrence condition in which the output amount of log information is not originally large The amount of log information collected can be prevented from being reduced, and the collection of log information of a type that does not affect the operation of the monitored device can be prevented from being unnecessarily limited.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a printing system to which an information management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement at the time of changing log output automatically triggered by the error used as the generation condition in this embodiment. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement which adjusts the output amount of another category according to the maximum output amount, when changing log output in this embodiment. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement at the time of changing a log output automatically with a retention period setting as a trigger in this embodiment. In this embodiment, it is a time chart figure which shows transition of the log output at the time of error occurrence. It is explanatory drawing which shows the data structure of the generation history information table data in this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In one embodiment of the present invention, an information management apparatus that is connected to an inkjet printing apparatus that performs printing on a predetermined print medium based on a print job, acquires log information about the inkjet printing apparatus, and manages the acquired log information. An example will be described.

(Configuration of printing system)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of functional modules of a printing system to which an information management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system 10 includes an information management apparatus 1 and an inkjet printing apparatus 2 that is an image forming apparatus.

  The ink jet printing apparatus 2 includes a print control unit 21 and a printing unit 22. The print control unit 21 causes the printing unit 22 to print based on a print job generated based on a user operation or a print job supplied from the outside.

  Further, the print control unit 21 transmits log information of the ink jet printing apparatus 2 to the information management apparatus 1. Furthermore, when starting the inkjet printing apparatus 2, the printing control unit 21 transmits power state information indicating that the power of the inkjet printing apparatus 2 is turned on to the information management apparatus 1, and normally stops the inkjet printing apparatus 2. When this is done, power status information indicating that the power of the inkjet printing apparatus 2 has been turned off is transmitted to the information management apparatus 1. For example, when the inkjet printing apparatus 2 is forcibly terminated by the user's operation, the termination process cannot be executed normally, and thus the power status information is not transmitted to the information management apparatus 1.

  Furthermore, when the print control unit 21 detects some error such as a communication failure without the inkjet printing apparatus 2 being frozen, the print control unit 21 indicates failure occurrence information indicating that a failure has occurred in the inkjet printing apparatus 2. Is transmitted to the information management apparatus 1.

  Based on the print job supplied from the print control unit 21, the printing unit 22 has a total of four colors from an inkjet head (not shown) to cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K). By discharging this ink, color printing is performed on a print medium cut to a predetermined size.

  The information management apparatus 1 includes an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU as a control unit, and constructs various virtual function modules on the arithmetic processing unit by executing various programs on the arithmetic processing unit. The “module” refers to a functional unit that is configured by hardware such as an apparatus or a device, software having the function, or a combination thereof, and achieves a predetermined operation. Specifically, as a functional module related to log output control, the information management apparatus 1 includes an input / output interface 11, a log collection unit 12, a notification unit 13, a state monitoring unit 14, a condition management unit 16, and an occurrence condition change. Unit 17, log output level control unit 18, and various storage units 15 a and 15 b.

  The input / output interface 11 is a connection interface for connecting to the inkjet printing apparatus 2, and power state information indicating that the power of the inkjet printing apparatus 2 is turned on or off is supplied from the inkjet printing apparatus 2. The input / output interface 11 is supplied with log information of the ink jet printing apparatus 2 and failure occurrence information from the ink jet printing apparatus 2.

  The log collection unit 12 is a module that collects log information supplied from the inkjet printing apparatus 2 that is a monitoring target device via the input / output interface 11 and stores the collected log information in the log storage unit 15a. In this embodiment, log information is classified into a plurality of categories, and log information output based on occurrence conditions such as occurrence of various errors is collected. The log information includes operation log information indicating an operation history of the inkjet printing apparatus 2, communication log information indicating a communication history between the print control unit 21 and the printing unit 22 of the inkjet printing apparatus 2, and the inkjet printing apparatus 2. Error log information indicating the history of failures that occurred in

  The state monitoring unit 14 monitors the generation state of the generation condition relating to the inkjet printing apparatus 2 that is the monitoring target device, and the monitoring result is stored in the generation condition storage unit 15b as illustrated in FIG. 6 through the condition management unit 16. The occurrence history information D1 is recorded, and the occurrence history information D1 is rewritten through the occurrence condition changing unit 17. Specifically, the state monitoring unit 14 acquires an error code notifying that a failure has occurred in the inkjet printing apparatus 2 that is a monitoring target device.

  The various storage units 15a and 15b are devices for accumulating data in a recording medium and reading out the accumulated data according to the request of each device. For example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), A memory card or the like can be used. Specifically, the log storage unit 15a is a storage area that stores log information collected by the state monitoring unit 14 as a log file. The generation condition storage unit 15b is a storage area that stores log information generation conditions in association with categories.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, occurrence history information D1 in which information relating to various occurrence conditions is stored is stored in the occurrence condition storage unit 15b as table data. The occurrence history information D1 includes The various errors that are the occurrence conditions are stored in association with the “category” to which the error belongs, the current “state”, and the “elapsed days” from when the error occurred. “Condition” here is an item that defines the start condition (trigger) for automatically changing the output level of log information. In the standard log that is normally output, an error that seems difficult to analyze It is targeted. “Category” refers to a location where an error has occurred, and includes systems, engines, networks, panels, etc., and log information can be output for each category. “Elapsed days” is an item that holds the number of days that have elapsed since the occurrence of the error. If no error occurs within the number of days specified by the user (administrator), the related settings are changed.

  Here, the current state indicates an occurrence state of an event such as an error that is a condition for starting log output. In the present embodiment, there are “not generated”, “being generated”, and “occurred”. . This “non-occurrence” is a state in which no error has occurred. For example, as shown in FIG. 5 as an example of “error 1”, when the corresponding error occurs for the first time in this state, the details will be detailed at the next occurrence. In order to obtain the log, as the related setting, change the “status” from “not generated” to “occurring”, and as shown in FIG. The output level is changed from “low” to “high”, and the output amounts of the other categories are reduced or set to 0 as shown in FIG.

  In addition, “occurring” is a state where an error has already occurred. As shown in FIG. 5, when an appropriate error occurs in this state, detailed log acquisition has been completed. As shown in FIG. 5B, as a related setting, “status” is changed from “occurring” to “generated”. In addition to this, as shown in (a) in the figure, the log output amount (log output level) related to the occurrence condition belonging to the category is changed from “high” to “low”, and the output amount of other categories Is returned to the standard log output amount as shown in FIG.

  Furthermore, “Occurred” is a state where a detailed log has already been acquired. In this state, log acquisition is no longer necessary, so the related settings are not changed and the state is “Occurred”. The log output amount (log output level) also remains “low”. This “occurred” state can be canceled by a user or an administrator.

  Each record of the occurrence history information D1 is associated with table data D21 and D22 for setting log output level and holding period as related information, and each occurrence is stored in the log output level setting table data D21. The setting value for the log output amount adjustment process related to the condition is stored, and the setting value for the log information acquisition days related to each occurrence condition is stored in the retention period setting table data D22.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6, the log output level at the time of error occurrence is set to “high” for the occurrence condition No1 “error 1” in the table data D21, and the category corresponding to the error is detailed. It is described that a log is output and log information other than the corresponding category is not output. In addition, in the log output level setting table data D21, the log output level at the time of error occurrence is set to “low” for “error 2” of the occurrence condition No2, and all categories regardless of the category corresponding to the error. It is described that the standard log information is to be output. On the other hand, the retention period setting table data D22 describes, for example, that “error 1” of the occurrence condition No1 is set to “0 to 31” for the log information acquisition days, and 0 to 31 days from the occurrence of the error. It is described that the detailed log is acquired and the log output level setting is changed to “low” when an error does not occur after the specified period.

  The condition management unit 16 is a module that manages and controls reading / writing of various information recorded in the generation condition storage unit 15b. The monitoring result in the state monitoring unit 14 is analyzed by the generation condition changing unit 17, and the condition management unit 16 selects a record of the corresponding generation condition according to the analysis result, and the state and elapsed days regarding the record are rewritten. It is done. The occurrence condition change unit 17 appropriately rewrites and updates the occurrence condition record, so that the output amount of log information in the inkjet printing apparatus 2 is changed for each occurrence condition of the log information through the log output level control unit 18. Be controlled.

  The log output level control unit 18 is a module that refers to the occurrence history information D1 recorded by the state monitoring unit 14 and controls the output amount of log information to the log collection unit 12 for each occurrence condition. For example, the log output level control unit 18 refers to the occurrence history information D1, increases the output amount of log information classified into the category related to the occurrence condition that has already occurred within a predetermined period, Reduce the output amount of log information classified into categories. Further, for example, the log output level control unit 18 refers to the occurrence history information D1 and decreases the output amount of log information classified into the category related to the occurrence condition that has already increased the output amount within a predetermined period.

  Furthermore, in the occurrence history information D1 according to the present embodiment, the maximum output amount of each log information classified into each category is set, and the log output level control unit 18 logs other than the category that increases the output amount. When adjusting the output amount of information, refer to the maximum output amount of log information classified into a category that increases the output amount, and log classified into categories other than the category according to the maximum output amount of each log information The reduction amount with respect to the output amount of information can be adjusted.

  The notification unit 13 is a module for notifying the user that the log output level has been changed. When the log output level is changed, the log output level control unit 18 monitors the log output level change process. Alternatively, a message to that effect may be displayed on the display unit 23 such as a touch panel on the ink jet printing apparatus 2 via the input / output interface 11 or distributed by e-mail or the like.

(Printing system operation)
An operation of the printing system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation when the log output is automatically changed with an error as a trigger in the present embodiment as a trigger, and FIG. 4 automatically outputs the log with the retention period setting as a trigger. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation when changing, and FIG. 5 is a time chart showing the transition of log output when an error occurs.

(1) Changing log output triggered by an error First, an operation for automatically changing log output triggered by an error will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, when a failure occurs in the inkjet printing apparatus 2 that is the monitoring target device (S101), the state monitoring unit 14 reads the error variation code output due to the failure, The occurrence condition of the failure is determined (S102), and it is determined whether the determined error corresponds to the error to be monitored (S103).

  More specifically, for example, errors relating to the control system of the inkjet printing apparatus 2 such as a process down error are subject to state monitoring. This error is monitored at regular intervals to determine whether a resident process exists, and when the resident process does not exist, it is determined that the resident process is down and a process down error occurs as a notification to that effect. Is done.

  In this way, it is detected that the resident process of the inkjet printing apparatus 2 to be monitored is down, and the control system module process is specified based on the error variation code. Examples of the control system module to be monitored include a network, a USB connection device, a panel, a system status, a printing operation, and an image tone.

  In step S103, if the error that has occurred does not correspond to the monitoring target error ("N" in S103), nothing is done and the next error is awaited. On the other hand, in step S103, when the error that has occurred corresponds to the monitoring target error (“Y” in S103), the occurrence state is determined (S104). Specifically, referring to the occurrence history information D1 stored in the occurrence condition storage unit 15b, the current state in the record of the corresponding error (occurrence condition) is “not occurred”, “being generated”, “occurrence” It is determined whether it is “complete” (S104).

  If it is determined in step S104 that “not occurred”, the item “state” in the occurrence history information D1 is set to “occurring” (S105), and the elapsed days are reset to 0 (S106). Since there is no history of occurrence of the error during the predetermined period, it is necessary to collect detailed information by increasing the log output level, so the log output level is set to “high” (S107). In accordance with the change in the log output level, in the category to which the occurrence condition belongs, the output of the related log information is set high, so that a so-called detailed log is output (S108), and log output other than the category is output as necessary. (S109).

  This step S109 will be described in detail. In the present embodiment, the maximum output amount of each log information classified into each category is set in the occurrence history information D1, and priority is given to the maximum output amount of log information of each category. The log output amount is adjusted according to the priority. For example, in the category related to the system (control system), the log output amount when an error occurs is larger than other categories, so even if you set the priority higher and lower the output amount of other categories Log information needs to be collected. On the other hand, for example, since the log output amount of a network communication system or a user interface system such as a panel is relatively small, it is not necessary to reduce the output amount of other categories so much.

  In this embodiment, this priority is determined by comparison with a threshold value. As shown in FIG. 3, specifically, the log output level control unit 18 refers to the maximum output amount of each log information of each category set in the occurrence history information D1 (S109a), and the maximum output amount is set. It is determined whether or not the threshold value is exceeded (S109b). When the maximum output amount of the corresponding category exceeds the threshold value (“Y” in S109b), the output amount of log information classified into a category other than the corresponding category is adjusted.

  Here, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the log information classified into a category other than the corresponding category is set not to be output (S109c). It should be noted that the threshold value is divided into several levels, and the reduction amount of log information classified into categories other than the corresponding category can be adjusted according to the level of the maximum output amount. On the other hand, if the maximum output amount does not exceed the threshold value in step S109b, setting the log information of the corresponding category in detail does not affect the processing delay, etc. The log output amount of the street is set (“N” in S109b). Thereafter, a message indicating that the log output level has been changed is displayed (S114), and an email notification is sent to the administrator (S115).

  On the other hand, if it is determined as “occurring” in step S104, the item “state” of the occurrence history information D1 is set to “occurred” (S110), and the elapsed days are reset to 0 (S111). Since the error has a history that occurred during the specified period, the log output level has already been set to “High”, and detailed information collection has started, the log output level has to be set to “Low”. The setting is changed (S112). In accordance with the change in the log output level, the log information output is reset to a low level in all categories including the category to which the occurrence condition belongs, and a so-called standard log is output (S113). Then, regarding this change in the log output level, a message to that effect is displayed (S114), and an email notification is sent to the administrator (S115).

  On the other hand, if it is determined as “occurred” in step S104, the detailed log has already been recorded and the occurrence state has been returned to “occurred”. Therefore, the processing related to log output control is terminated without executing special processing.

(2) Change of log output triggered by retention period setting Next, an operation when the log output is automatically changed using the retention period setting as a trigger will be described. Here, each occurrence condition is periodically inspected, it is determined whether or not the retention period setting exceeds a predetermined time length, and the log output level is changed using the retention period as a trigger.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, each occurrence condition is sequentially inspected to extract occurrence conditions whose state is “error occurrence”. Specifically, the occurrence history information D1 stored in the log storage unit 15a is periodically inspected (S201), and the state of each occurrence condition is confirmed (S202). If it is determined in step S202 that the state is “not generated”, the process proceeds to confirmation of the next generation condition (“not generated” in S202). If the status is “occurred” or “occurring” in step S202 (“occurred or occurring” in S202), the status is changed to “not generated” (S203).

  Then, the elapsed days are reset to 0 (S204). Since the error has a history that occurred during the specified period, the log output level has already been set to “High”, and detailed information collection has started, the log output level has to be set to “Low”. The setting is changed (S205). In accordance with the change in the log output level, the output of log information is reset to a low level in all categories including the category to which the occurrence condition belongs, so that a so-called standard log is output (S206). Then, regarding this change in the log output level, a message to that effect is displayed (S207), and an email is sent to the administrator (S208).

(Printing system operation)
According to the information management apparatus of the printing system according to the present embodiment described above, the occurrence history information D1 recorded in the past is collected when collecting log information output based on occurrence conditions such as occurrence of various errors. With reference to the log collection unit 12, the output amount of the log information can be controlled to increase or decrease for each log information generation condition. As a result, the output amount of log information can be changed automatically according to the past or current state, triggered by the occurrence of a specific error, and only the details of the occurrence conditions belonging to the specific category. Log information can be output, and detailed information on the cause of errors can be collected.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to output in detail log information relating to the occurrence condition that has already occurred, such as an error that is currently occurring, and to reduce the output amount of other log information. Can reduce the load and operation delay due to log information collection processing such as output, transmission / reception, and writing to the storage device, and avoiding adverse effects on the operation of monitored devices due to increased load of log information collection . Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the output amount of log information such as an error for which log information has already been collected can be reduced, and the load and operation delay due to log information collection processing can be more reliably reduced.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, since the monitoring target device is an image forming apparatus, the control system of the image forming apparatus that easily outputs a large amount of log information and easily adjusts the output amount as the print processing speed is affected. By using log information as a monitoring target, it is possible to collect detailed information on the cause of error in the image forming device, etc., by operating the software, reducing the load and operation delay caused by the collection process, and image formation It is possible to effectively avoid adverse effects on the operation of the apparatus.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the output amount of unnecessary log information, such as an error for which log information has already been collected, is reduced, so that the load and operation delay due to log information collection processing can be more reliably reduced. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, in order to reduce the output amount of log information classified into a category other than the category according to the maximum output amount of each log information, up to the occurrence condition where the output amount of log information is not large originally. It is possible to avoid a reduction in the amount of log information collected, and it is possible to prevent unnecessarily limiting the collection of log information of a type that does not affect the operation of the monitoring target device.

D1 ... Occurrence history information D21 ... Log output level setting table data D22 ... Retention period setting table data 1 ... Information management device 2 ... Inkjet printing device 10 ... Printing system 11 ... Input / output interface 12 ... Log collection unit 13 ... Notification unit 14 ... Status monitoring unit 15a ... log storage unit 15b ... generation condition storage unit 16 ... condition management unit 17 ... generation condition change unit 18 ... log output level control unit 21 ... print control unit 22 ... print unit 23 ... display unit

Claims (3)

Log collection means for collecting log information that is classified into a plurality of categories related to monitored devices and that is output based on various generation conditions;
A generation condition storage means for storing the generation condition of the log information in association with the category;
State monitoring means for monitoring the occurrence state of the occurrence condition relating to the monitored device and recording the monitoring result as occurrence history information;
Log output level control means for controlling the output amount of the log information by the log collecting means for each occurrence condition of the log information with reference to the occurrence history information recorded by the state monitoring means;
The log output level control means refers to the occurrence history information, and reduces the output amount of log information classified into a category other than the category related to the occurrence condition that has already occurred within a predetermined period. Information management device. The monitoring target device is an image forming apparatus that continuously forms images on a large number of sheets.
The information management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of categories include a category related to a control system of the image forming apparatus. Each log information classified into each category has its maximum output amount set.
The log output level control means calculates a maximum output amount that does not reduce image formation productivity of the image forming apparatus based on a category relating to a control system that has already occurred within a predetermined period and an output amount of a category other than the category. The information management apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a function of adjusting an increase / decrease amount of the log information within a range not exceeding the maximum output amount.

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