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Method and system for providing updated help and solution

1. US 20040201867 1 United States Patent Application Publication Pub No US 2004 0201867 1 Katano 43 Pub Date Oct 14 2004 54 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING 52 USS Ch cae 358 1 15 358 406 399 8 UPDATED HELP AND SOLUTION 717 171 345 705 710 15 INFORMATION AT A PRINTING DEVICE 702 179 76 Inventor Seiichi Katano San Jose CA US 57 ABSTRACT Correspondence Address A method and system for providing updated help and HICKMAN PALERMO TRUONG amp BECKER solution information at a printing device is disclosed LLP According to one aspect a printing device is configured to 1600 WILLOW STREET detect a problem relative to the printing device to download SAN JOSE CA 95125 US solution data from a remote server and display recom mended actions to address the problem According to 21 Appl No 10 404 755 another aspect a printing device is configured to receive user input through a user interface on the printing device 22 Filed Mar 31 2003 and to print instructions for operating the printing device in response to the user input According to another aspect a Publication Classification printing device is configured to collect statistics that indicate how many times one or more particular help instructions or 51 Tnt C 06 3 12 15 00 particular recommended actions have been selected dis GO6F 17 18 GO6F 9 44 GO9G 5 00 played The printing device is
2. 11 The printing device of claim 7 wherein the printing device is further configured to periodically download from the specified remote server that stores the one or more instructions for operating the printing device and at one or more specified intervals of time one or more other instructions for operating the printing device 12 The printing device of claim 7 wherein the printing device is further configured to store the one or more instructions on a persistent storage device 13 A printing device configured to receive user input through a user interface on the printing device select based on the user input from among a plurality of help instructions that specify how to operate the print ing device one or more particular help instructions that both correspond to the user input and specify how to operate the printing the device display through the user interface on the printing device the one or more particular help instructions and update statistics that indicate how many times the one or more particular help instructions have been selected 14 The printing device of claim 13 wherein the printing device is further configured to determine whether a number of times that the one or more particular help instructions have been selected exceeds a specified threshold and generate in response to determining that the number of times that the one or more particular help instructions have been selected exc
3. 1148 PERSISTENT STORAGE DEVICE 16N 284 HELP AND STATISTICS SOLUTION DATA DATA 120N NETWORK INTERFACE Patent Application Publication Oct 14 2004 Sheet 2 of 10 US 2004 0201867 200 4 202 DISPLAY INITIAL HELP SCREEN 204 HAS A USER INTERFACE ELEMENT THAT REPRESENTS AN ONLINE HELP REQUEST BEEN SELECTED YES 206 RECEIVE ONE OR MORE HELP KEYWORDS 208 CAN THE REMOTE SERVER BE ACCESSED NO 210 OBTAIN FROM A DATABASE STORED ON THE REMOTE SERVER HELP INFORMATION THAT 15 BASED ON THE ONE OR MORE HELP KEYWORDS 212 OBTAIN FROM A DATABASE STORED ON THE PRINTING DEVICE HELP INFORMATION THAT IS BASED ON THE ONE OR MORE HELP KEYWORDS FIG 2 Patent Application Publication Oct 14 2004 Sheet 3 of 10 US 2004 0201867 200 4 214 DISPLAY HELP INFORMATION SCREEN 216 HAS A USER INTERFACE ELEMENT THAT REPRESENTS A PRINT REQUEST BEEN SELECTED YES 218 PRINT THE HELP INFORMATION ON SHEET MEDIA FIG 2B Patent Application Publication Oct 14 2004 Sheet 4 of 10 US 2004 0201867 1 302 DISPLAY INITIAL HELP SCREEN 300 a HAS USER INTERFACE ELEMENT THAT REPRESENTS A REQUEST TO PRINT A USER MANUAL BEEN SELECTED 306 OBTAIN USER MANUAL DATA FROM A DATABASE 308 PRINT THE USER MANUAL ON SHEET MEDIA FIG 3 Patent Application Publication Oct 14 2004 Sheet 5 of 10 US 2004 0201867 400 402 D
4. In one embodiment of the invention if online help button 712 is selected then operation panel 700 displays an initial online help screen such as that depicted in FIG 7B Online help button 712 may be displayed in a darker color when online help button 712 is selected In one embodiment of the invention if start button 714 is selected then a copy job or print job is processed according to whatever functions have been selected 0100 FIG 7B is a block diagram that depicts example printing device operation panel 700 displaying an initial online help screen according to one embodiment of the invention Instead of interface elements 702 708 interface elements 716 724 are displayed on operation panel 700 Interface element 716 is an alphanumeric keyboard Inter Oct 14 2004 face element 718 is a keyword display window Interface element 720 is a go button Interface element 722 is a print latest manual button Interface element Interface element 724 is an exit button 0101 According to one embodiment of the invention when a key on alphanumeric keyboard 716 is selected the alphanumeric character represented by that key appears in keyword display window 718 Thus a user may touch characters that are represented on the alphanumeric key board 716 to enter one or more keywords into keyword display window 718 When go button 720 is selected then operation panel 700 displays an particular online help screen suc
5. the data that was sent to the printing device Oct 14 2004 0086 In block 510 it is determined whether a specified threshold has been exceeded For example help and solution data server 104 may determine from statistical data 126 whether a number of times that the help or solution data has been sent to the printing device exceeds a specified thresh old If the specified threshold has not been exceeded then control passes to block 512 in which normal operation resumes If the specified threshold has been exceeded then control passes to block 514 0087 In block 514 a notification is generated For example help and solution data server 104 may generate a notification that indicates that the data that was sent to the printing device has been sent a number of times that exceeds a specified threshold 0088 In block 516 the notification is sent to a specified e mail address For example the notification may be sent to an e mail address that corresponds to an e mail account from which administrator computer 106 can obtain e mail mes sages Based on the notification the notification s recipient may choose to update the help or solution data in an effort to reduce the frequency at which users access that help or solution data in the future Example Process for Periodically Synchronizing Help and Solution Databases 0089 FIG 6A is a flow diagram that depicts a process 600 for periodically synchronizing help and solution dat
6. a part of help and solution data 116 through printing module 112A As result users do not need to leave printing device 102A to obtain operating instructions for the printing device Users do not need to consult the website of an organization that supports the printing device nor do users need to converse with a technical support agent of such an organi zation to obtain assistance in operating printing device 102A 0045 While in one embodiment of the invention print ing device 102A prints an entire user manual in response to receiving the user input in an alternative embodiment of the invention printing device 102A prints only a specified section of help data A user may select such a section from among a plurality of sections through operation panel 110A The selection may be made from a list of sections or as a result of a search for one or more keywords 0046 User manuals for printing devices are sometimes revised to clarify complete or correct operating instructions contained therein Even if a user can find a copy of a user manual that copy might contain outdated information Therefore according to one embodiment of the invention printing device 102A determines whether the printing device can currently access a specified remote server that stores the operating instructions described above Printing device 102A may make the determination in response to receiving the user input described above For example printing d
7. cursor direction keys for communicating direction information and command selections to processor 804 and for controlling cursor movement on display 812 This input device typically has two degrees of freedom in two axes a first axis e g x and a second axis e g y that allows the device to specify positions in a plane Oct 14 2004 0113 The invention is related to the use of computer system 800 for confirming the wireless transmission of image or sound data from a mobile device According to one embodiment of the invention computer system 800 provides for confirming the wireless transmission of image or sound data from a mobile device in response to processor 804 executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 806 Such instructions may be read into main memory 806 from another computer readable medium such as storage device 810 Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in main memory 806 causes processor 804 to perform the process steps described herein In alternative embodiments of the invention hard wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement the invention Thus embodiments of the invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software 0114 The term computer readable medium as used herein refers to any medium that participates in providing instructions to processor 804 for executi
8. further configured to provide GO6F 11 30 the statistics to a remote server 104 HELP AND SOLUTION DATA SERVER 122 PERSISTENT STORAGE DEVICE 124 126 100 HELP AND STATISTICS SOLUTION MASTER MASTER DATA DATA 106 ADMINISTRATOR COMPUTER 130 NETWORK INTERFACE 102A 102N PRINTING DEVICE PRINTING DEVICE 110A 112A 110N 112N 1 OPERATION PRINTING OPERATION PRINTING PANEL MODULE PANEL MODULE PERSISTENT STORAGE DEVICE PERSISTENT STORAGE DEVICE 116 118 STATISTICS DATA 164 1188 STATISTICS DATA L NETWORK INTERFACE NETWORK INTERFACE HELP AND SOLUTION DATA HELP AND SOLUTION DATA Patent Application Publication Oct 14 2004 Sheet 1 of 10 US 2004 0201867 104 HELP AND SOLUTION DATA SERVER 122 PERSISTENT STORAGE DEVICE 124 126 128 FIG 1 100 x HELP AND STATISTICS E MAIL SOLUTION MASTER APPLICATION MASTER DATA DATA 106 ADMINISTRATOR COMPUTER 130 NETWORK INTERFACE 102N PRINTING DEVICE 102A PRINTING DEVICE 110 112 1108 112N OPERATION PRINTING OPERATION PRINTING PANEL MODULE PANEL MODULE 114A PERSISTENT STORAGE DEVICE 116A 118A HELP AND STATISTICS SOLUTION DATA DATA 120A NETWORK INTERFACE
9. indicate how many times one or more recommended actions have been displayed Printing device 102A determines whether a number of times that the one or more recommended actions have been displayed exceeds a specified threshold In response to determining that the number of times that the one or more recommended actions have been displayed exceeds the specified threshold print ing device 102A generates a notification that indicates that the number of times that the one or more recommended actions have been displayed exceeds the specified threshold 0057 A notification may be included in an e mail mes sage that is to be sent to a specified e mail address Addi tionally or alternatively a notification may be written to a log stored on persistent storage device 114A According to one embodiment of the invention printing device 102A sends notifications such as those described above to a specified e mail address For example printer 102A may send e mail messages through network 108 to one or more specified e mail accounts Administrator computer 106 may access such an e mail account through network 108 to obtain such e mail messages While in one embodiment of the invention printers 102A 102N are each configured to gen erate and send such notifications based on statistics data 118A 118N respectively in an alternative embodiment of the invention help and solution data server 104 generates and sends such notifications based on statistics ma
10. may store the downloaded information in help and solution data 116A on persistent storage device 114A 0093 FIG 6B is a flow diagram that depicts a process 650 for periodically synchronizing help and solution data bases according to one embodiment of the invention For example help and solution data server 104 may perform process 650 US 2004 0201867 1 0094 block 652 it is determined whether specified amount of time has passed since help and solution data was uploaded to a particular remote printing device For example help and solution data server 104 may determine whether a specified amount of time has passed since the server uploaded to printing device 102A data that is contained in help and solution master data 124 If the specified amount of time has not yet passed then control passes back to block 652 If the specified amount of time has passed then control passes to block 654 0095 In block 654 help and solution data is uploaded to the particular remote printing device For example help and solution data server 104 may upload to printing device 102A all of the relevant data that is contained in help and solution master data 124 Example Printing Device Operation Panel 0096 FIG 7 isa block diagram that depicts an example printing device operation panel 700 according to one embodiment of the invention Operating panel 700 includes interface elements 702 708 a keypad 710 an online help button
11. solution data display window 0108 According to one embodiment of the invention solution data display window 732 depicts one or more recommended actions for solving a problem that the printing device detected As described above updated solution data upon which the one or more recommended actions are based may be obtained from a remote server Solution data display window 732 may depict the one or more recom mended actions sequentially rather than simultaneously Solution display window may depict a next sequential recommended action when the printing device detects that a former sequential recommended action has been performed The one or more recommended actions may be presented in an order in which the must or should be performed 0109 For example if the detected problem is a paper jam then solution display window 732 may first depict a recommended action such as 1 Open the front cover Then when the printing device detects that the front cover has been opened solution data display window 732 may next depict a recommended action such as 2 Hold the green lever and pull out the cartridge gently Once the problem has been solved then operation panel 700 ceases displaying interface element 732 as depicted in FIG 7D and instead displays interface elements 702 708 as depicted in FIG 7A 0110 Implementation Mechanisms 0111 FIG 8 is a block diagram that depicts a computer system upon which an embodiment of t
12. the printing device 8 The printing device of claim 7 wherein the one or more instructions for operating the printing device comprise at least a portion of a user manual 9 The printing device of claim 7 wherein the printing device is further configured to determine whether the printing device can currently access a specified remote server that stores the one or more instructions for operating the printing device and download from the specified remote server that stores the one or more instructions for operating the printing device and in response to determining that the printing device can currently access the specified remote server that stores the one or more instructions for operating the printing device one or more of the one or more instructions for operating the printing device US 2004 0201867 1 10 The printing device of claim 7 wherein the printing device is further configured to determine whether the printing device can currently access a specified remote server that stores the one or more instructions for operating the printing device and print in response to receiving the user input through the user interface on the printing device and in response to determining that the printing device cannot currently access the specified remote server that stores the one or more instructions for operating the printing device one or more instructions that the printing device previously downloaded from the remote server
13. 4 In block 402 a problem is detected relative to a printing device For example printing device 102A may detect a paper jam in printing module 112A According to one embodiment of the invention each problem is associ ated with a different problem code 0075 In block 404 it is determined whether a remote server can be accessed For example printing device 102A may determine whether it can currently access through network interface 120A and network 108 help and solution data server 104 If the remote server can be accessed then control passes to block 406 If the remote server cannot be accessed then control passes to block 408 0076 In block 406 solution data is obtained from a database stored on the remote server For example printing device 102A may obtain solution data by downloading solution data that is stored in help and solution master data 124 According to one embodiment of the invention printing device 102A searches a database for solution data that matches a particular problem code 0077 In block 408 solution data is obtained from a database stored on the printing device For example printing device 102A may obtain solution data that is stored in help and solution data 116 US 2004 0201867 1 0078 block 410 based the solution data a trouble recovery wizard is displayed For example printing device 102A may display one or more recommended actions which are based on the solution data and compr
14. 712 and a start button 714 One or more of the components of operation panel 700 may be implemented using a touch sensitive LCD Thus one or more components of operation panel 700 may be graphically rendered 0097 Interface elements 702 708 indicate functions that a printing device is configured to provide relative to a print job or copy job Interface element 702 indicates the avail ability of an enlarge function Interface element 704 indi cates the availability of a reduce function Interface element 706 indicates the availability of a staple function Interface element 708 indicates the availability of a punch function A user may select one or more of interface elements 702 708 by touching the interface elements that the user wishes to select Selection of an interface element may cause that interface element to differ in appearance to indicate that the operation panel has detected the selection of that interface element For example if interface element 702 has been selected then interface element 702 may be shown in a darker color 0098 Keypad 710 may include actual physical keys or a graphical representation of keys Keypad 710 may include numerical keys for digits 0 through 9 Keypad 710 may also include keys that represent other symbols such as A user may use the keys of keypad 710 to input information that is requested by the printing device such as a number of copies to be made 0099
15. 8 is an e mail client applica tion E mail application 128 is configured to send e mail messages through network 108 to one or more specified e mail accounts Administrator computer 106 is configured to access such an e mail account for example through network 108 to obtain such e mail messages E mail mes sages may be temporarily stored on one or more e mail servers A Printing Device that Downloads Solution Data from a Remote Server 0036 According to one embodiment of the invention printing device 102A detects a problem relative to the printing device For example printing device 102A auto matically detects through sensors a paper jam in printing module 112A Printing device 102A downloads in response to detecting the problem solution data from a specified remote server that stores the solution data For example printing device 102A downloads solution data from help and solution data server 104 which stores solution data in help and solution master data 124 Printing device 102A displays through a user interface on the printing device one or more recommended actions that are based on the solution data and which address the detected problem For example printing device 102A displays one or more recommended actions through operation panel 110A Printing device 102A may select the one or more recommended actions from among a plurality of recommended actions based on the detected problem In this manner printing device 102A ma
16. 822 to a host computer 824 or to data equipment operated by an Internet Service Provider ISP 826 ISP 826 in turn provides data communication services through the worldwide packet data communication network now commonly referred to as the Internet 828 Local net work 822 and Internet 828 both use electrical electromag netic or optical signals that carry digital data streams The signals through the various networks and the signals on network link 820 and through communication interface 818 which carry the digital data to and from computer system 800 are example forms of carrier waves transporting the information 0119 Computer system 800 can send messages and receive data including program code through the net work s network link 820 and communication interface 818 In the Internet example a server 830 might transmit a requested code for an application program through Internet 828 ISP 826 local network 822 and communication inter face 818 In accordance with the invention one such down loaded application provides for configuring a monitoring system to monitor selected network elements as described herein Processor 804 may execute the received code as it is received and or stored in storage device 810 or other non volatile storage for later execution In this manner computer system 800 may obtain application code in the form of a carrier wave 0120 In the foregoing specification specific embodi ments of the invention ha
17. ETECT PROBLEM RELATIVE A PRINTING DEVICE 404 CAN THE REMOTE SERVER BE ACCESSED YES 406 29 SOLUTION DATA FROM DATABASE STORED ON THE REMOTE SERVER 29520829 408 OBTAIN SOLUTION DATA FROM A DATABASE STORED THE PRINTING DEVICE 410 DISPLAY A TROUBLE RECOVERY WIZARD BASED ON THE SOLUTION DATA 414 412 HAVE THE ONE OR HAS THE MORE RECOMMENDED PROBLEM ACTIONS BEEN BEEN SOLVED PERFORMED YES 416 FIG 4 RESUME NORMAL OPERATION Patent Application Publication Oct 14 2004 Sheet 6 of 10 US 2004 0201867 500 502 RECEIVE AN IDENTIFIER FROM A PRINTING DEVICE 504 SEARCH A DATABASE FOR DATA THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE IDENTIFIER 506 SEND THE DATA TO THE PRINTING DEVICE 508 BASED ON THE DATA THAT WAS SENT TO THE PRINTING DEVICE UPDATE STATISTICAL DATA 510 HAS A SPECIFIED THRESHOLD BEEN EXCEEDED NO 512 RESUME NORMAL OPERATION 514 GENERATE A NOTIFICATION 516 SEND THE NOTIFICATION A SPECIFIED E MAIL ADDRESS FIG 5 YES Patent Application Publication Oct 14 2004 Sheet 7 of 10 US 2004 0201867 602 HAS A SPECIFIED AMOUNT OF TIME PASSED SINCE HELP AND SOLUTION DATA WAS DOWNLOADED FROM A REMOTE SERVER 604 DOWNLOAD HELP AND SOLUTION DATA FROM THE REMOTE SERVER 606 STORE THE HELP AND SOLUTION DATA ON A PERSISTENT STORAGE DEVICE FIG 6A 652 HAS A SPECIFIED AMOUNT OF TIME PASSED SI
18. NCE HELP AND SOLUTION DATA WAS UPLOADED TO A REMOTE PRINTING DEVICE 654 UPLOAD HELP AND SOLUTION DATA TO THE REMOTE PRINTING DEVICE FIG 6B Patent Application Publication Oct 14 2004 Sheet 8 of 10 US 2004 0201867 700 112 ONLINE HELP 714 710 START KEY PAD FIG 7A 700 118 720 712 KEYWORD DISPLAY WINDOW GO ONLINE HELP Bema 8 ALPHANUMERIC KEYBOARD KEY PAD START 124 FIG 7B Patent Application Publication Oct 14 2004 Sheet 9 of 10 US 2004 0201867 700 712 ONLINE HELP 726 714 HELP DATA DISPLAY WINDOW 710 START KEY PAD FIG 7C 700 2 ONLINE HELP 132 110 22 SOLUTION DATA DISPLAY WINDOW KEY PAD FIG 7D 5 2004 0201867 1 Patent Application Publication Oct 14 2004 Sheet 10 of 10 068 808 MYOMLAN W901 MHOMLAN 068 5 1 15 gt sng 018 808 391440 08 055390 918 10 1 02 YHOSYND JOIAAG 218 14510 8 Old US 2004 0201867 1 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING UPDATED HELP AND SOLUTION INFORMATION AT PRINTING DEVICE FIELD OF THE INVENTION 0001 The invention relates to printing devices and more specifically to a method and system for providing updated help and solution information at a printing device BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 0002 Printing devices such as printer
19. Prints Operating Instructions in Response to Receiving User Input Through a User Interface on the Printing Device 0042 As mentioned above printed copies of user manu als are sometimes lost or misplaced Even if the user manual is stored as a document on a persistent storage device of some computer finding the location of the document within a hierarchical file structure can be time consuming and the document may be outdated Users typically dislike having to leave a printing device to find a user manual or other help information 0043 Therefore according to one embodiment of the invention printing device 102A receives user input through a user interface on the printing device For example printing device 102A receives user input through operation panel 110A The user input indicates to printing device 102A that Oct 14 2004 operating instructions such as a user manual for the printing device should be printed According to one embodiment of the invention the user input consists of the touching of a single user interface element displayed on operation panel 110A such as an interface element that depicts the label print latest manual 0044 In response to receiving the user input through the user interface on the printing device printing device 102A prints one or more instructions for operating the printing device For example printing device 102A prints help data which is stored on persistent storage device 114A as
20. a bases according to one embodiment of the invention For example any of printing devices 102A 102N may perform process 600 0090 block 602 it is determined whether a specified amount of time has passed since help and solution data was downloaded from a remote server For example printing device 102A may determine whether a specified amount of time has passed since the printing device downloaded all of the relevant data that is contained in help and solution master data 124 Because help and solution master data 124 may contain data for printing devices of other kinds than printing device 102A the printing device does not need to download data that is specified as being relevant only to other kinds of printing devices If the specified amount of time has not yet passed then control passes back to block 602 If the speci fied amount of time has passed then control passes to block 604 0091 block 604 help and solution data is downloaded from the remote server For example printer 102A may download all of the relevant data that is contained in help and solution master data 124 Such data may include help data such as user manual information and instructions for operating printing device 102A and solution data such as recommended actions for solving particular problems rela tive to printing device 102A 0092 block 606 the help and solution data is stored on a persistent storage device For example printer 102A
21. ample if printing device 102A cannot access help and solution data server 104 at the time that the user input is received then printing device may print a version of the help data that is stored on persistent storage device 114A Thus a user may obtain help information such as a user manual even if printing device 102A is not currently connected to network 108 0050 According to one embodiment of the invention printing device 102A also periodically downloads help data from a specified remote server that stores the help data in the same manner as that described above with reference to downloading solution data Thus relatively current help data may be provided to a user even if printing device 102A cannot access help and solution data server 104A at the time that the printing device receives user input that requests the help data A Printing Device that Maintains Statistical Data about Help and Solution Data Accesses 0051 Typically if help or solution data is unclear or erroneous users will access that help or solution data many times in an effort to understand what the help or solution data means If a particular function of a printing device is difficult to understand or operate or if a particular compo nent of a printing device frequently malfunctions then users will probably access help or solution data pertaining to that particular function or component many times In accordance with one embodiment of the invention an orga
22. com mended actions from among a plurality of possible recommended actions 4 The printing device of claim 1 wherein the printing device is further configured to periodically download at one or more specified intervals of time other solution data from the specified remote server that stores the solution data 5 The printing device of claim 1 wherein the printing device is further configured to store the solution data on a persistent storage device 6 The printing device of claim 1 wherein the printing device is further configured to update statistics that indicate how many times the one or more recommended actions have been displayed determine whether a number of times that the one or more recommended actions have been displayed exceeds a specified threshold generate in response to determining that the number of times that the one or more recommended actions have been displayed exceeds the specified threshold a noti fication that indicates that the number of times that the one or more recommended actions have been displayed exceeds the specified threshold and send the notification to a specified e mail address 7 A printing device configured to receive user input through a user interface on the printing device and print in response to receiving the user input through the user interface on the printing device and through a printing mechanism in the printing device one or more instructions for operating
23. described above Persistent storage device 122 stores help and solution master data 124 statistics master data 126 and an e mail applica tion 128 According to one embodiment of the invention help and solution master data 124 and statistics master data 126 are stored in a database that is maintained on persistent storage device 122 0033 Help and solution master data 126 is similar in content to help and solution data 116 described above Help and solution master data 126 may comprise help and solu tion data for each of printing devices 102A 102N The help and solution data for one printing device may differ from the help and solution data for another printing device For example the operating instructions for a fax machine are typically different than operating instructions for a copy machine According to one embodiment of the invention help and solution master data is a most recently updated version of the help and solution information for each of printing devices 102A 102N 0034 Statistics master data 126 comprises statistical information about the usage of the help and solution data on each of printing devices 102A 102N Thus statistics master data 126 comprises a compilation of statistics data 118A 118N For example statistics master data 126 may contain information about how many times records for bypass tray have been accessed in any of help and solution data 116A 116N Oct 14 2004 0035 E mail application 12
24. e at one or more specified intervals of time one or more instructions that are contained in a user manual 21 The method of claim 16 further comprising updating statistics that indicate how many times one or more particular help instructions have been selected determining whether a number of times that the one or more particular help instructions have been selected exceeds a specified threshold generating in response to determining that the number of times that the one or more particular help instructions have been selected exceeds the specified threshold a notification that indicates that the number of times that the one or more particular instructions have been selected exceeds the specified threshold and sending the notification to a specified e mail address 22 The method of claim 16 further comprising updating statistics that indicate how many times one or more particular recommended actions have been dis played on one or more printing devices determining whether a number of times that the one or more particular recommended actions have been dis played on the one or more printing devices exceeds a specified threshold generating in response to determining that the number of times that the one or more particular recommended actions have been displayed on the one or more printing devices exceeds the specified threshold a notification that indicates that the number of times that the one or more recommended actio
25. e an infrared transmitter to convert the data to an infrared signal An infrared detector can receive the data carried in the infrared signal and appropriate circuitry can place the data on bus 802 Bus 802 carries the data to main memory 806 from which processor 804 retrieves and executes the instructions The instructions received by main memory 806 may optionally be stored on storage device 810 either before or after execution by processor 804 0117 Computer system 800 also includes a communica tion interface 818 coupled to bus 802 Communication interface 818 provides a two way data communication cou pling to a network link 820 that is connected to a local network 822 For example communication interface 818 may be an integrated services digital network ISDN card or a modem to provide a data communication connection to a corresponding type of telephone line As another example US 2004 0201867 1 communication interface 818 may be a LAN card provide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN Wireless links may also be implemented In any such implementation communication interface 818 sends and receives electrical electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information 0118 Network link 820 typically provides data commu nication through one or more networks to other data devices For example network link 820 may provide a connection through local network
26. eeds the specified threshold a notification that indicates that the number of times that the one or more particular instructions have been selected exceeds the specified threshold 15 The printing device of claim 14 wherein the printing device is further configured to send the notification to a specified e mail address 16 A method of updating printing device solution data the method comprising uploading to a remote printing device solution data that includes one or more recommended actions to address one or more problems that could affect the remote printing device Oct 14 2004 17 The method of claim 16 wherein uploading further comprises uploading in response to the remote printing device detecting a particular problem relative to the remote printing device solution data that includes one or more recommended actions to address the particular prob lem 18 The method of claim 16 wherein uploading further comprises periodically uploading to the remote printing device at one or more specified intervals of time other solution data 19 The method of claim 16 further comprising uploading to the remote printing device and in response to the remote printing device receiving user input through a user interface on the remote printing device one or more instructions that are contained in a user manual 20 The method of claim 16 further comprising periodically uploading to the remote printing devic
27. elp and Solution Data Access Statistics 0081 FIG 5 is a flow diagram that depicts a process 500 for sending a notification based on help and solution data access statistics according to one embodiment of the inven tion For example help and solution database server 104 may perform process 500 0082 In block 502 an identifier is received from a printing device For example help and solution data server 104 may receive a keyword or a problem code from printing device 102A 0083 In block 504 a database is searched for data that is associated with the identifier For example help and solution data server 104 may search help and solution master data 124 for help data that contains or is associated with a particular keyword For another example help and solution data server 104 may search help and solution master data 124 for solution data that is associated with a particular problem code 0084 In block 506 the data that is associated with the identifier is sent to the printing device For example help and solution data server 104 may upload to printing device 102A help data that is associated with a particular keyword or solution data that is associated with a particular problem code 0085 In block 508 statistical data is updated based on the data that was sent to the printing device For example help and solution data server 104 may increment in statistics master data 126 a particular counter that is associated with
28. ernative embodiment of the invention printing devices 102A 102N are directly connected to help and solution data server 104 without any intervening network 0021 Printing devices 102A 102N may be printers MFPs copy machines fax machines or other devices that can print on sheets of media such as paper or transparencies According to one embodiment of the invention among printing devices 102A 102N are different sub types of print ing devices For example in one embodiment of the inven tion printing device 102A is a printer printing device 1028 is an MFP printing device 102C is a copy machine and printing device 102D is a fax machine 0022 Each of printing devices 102A 102N contains or is connected to multiple components For example printing device 102A has an operation panel 110A a printing module 112A a persistent storage device 114A and in one embodi ment of the invention a network interface 120A 0023 Network interface 120A allows printing device 102A to communicate with other devices such as help and solution data server 104 through network 108 For example network interface 120A may transmit and receive data packets according to data link layer network layer and transport layer protocols such as Ethernet Internet Protocol IP and Transmission Control Protocol TCP Thus in one embodiment of the invention network interface 120A is an Ethernet adapter In an alternative embodiment of the inven tion prin
29. evice 102A determines whether it can currently access help and solution data server 104 through network interface 120A and network 108 Printing device 102A may ping an IP address of help and solution data server 104 to determine whether the printing device can access the help and solution data server 0047 According to one embodiment of the invention in response to determining that printing device 102A can currently access the specified remote server the printing device downloads one or more of the operating instructions from the specified remote server For example printing device 102A may download help data such as a user manual or a section thereof from help and solution data server 104 and store that help data on persistent storage device 114A 0048 While in one embodiment of the invention print ing device 102A downloads an entire user manual in response to receiving the user input in an alternative embodiment of the invention printing device 102A down loads only a specified section of help data A user may select such a section from among a plurality of sections through operation panel 110A 0049 According to one embodiment of the invention if printing device 102A determines that the printing device cannot currently access help and solution data server 104 US 2004 0201867 1 printing device 102A prints one or more instructions that the printing device previously downloaded from the remote server For ex
30. h as that depicted in FIG 7C 0102 According to one embodiment of the invention when print latest manual button 722 is selected the printing device on which operation panel 700 is located prints an updated copy of a user manual for the printing device As described above updated user manual data may be obtained from a remote server Thus a user does not need to leave the printing device to obtain a current user manual for the printing device 0103 According to one embodiment of the invention when exit button 724 is selected operation panel 700 ceases displaying interface elements 716 724 as depicted in FIG 7B and instead displays interface elements 702 708 as depicted in FIG 7A 0104 FIG 7 is a block diagram that depicts example printing device operation panel 700 displaying a particular online help screen according to one embodiment of the invention Instead of interface elements 716 724 interface elements 726 730 are displayed on operation panel 700 Interface element 726 is a help data display window Inter face element 728 is a print button Interface element 730 is an exit button 0105 According to one embodiment of the invention help data display window 726 depicts help data that is associated with the one or more keywords that were dis played in keyword display window 718 at the time that go button 720 was selected For example if the keywords are bypass tray then help di
31. he invention may be implemented For example help and solution data server 104 may be implemented on computer system 800 Com puter system 800 includes a bus 802 or other communication mechanism for communicating information and a processor 804 coupled with bus 802 for processing information Com puter system 800 also includes a main memory 806 such as a random access memory RAM or other dynamic storage device coupled to bus 802 for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor 804 Main memory 806 also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instruc tions to be executed by processor 804 Computer system 800 further includes a read only memory ROM 808 or other static storage device coupled to bus 802 for storing static information and instructions for processor 804 A storage device 810 such as a magnetic disk or optical disk is provided and coupled to bus 802 for storing information and instructions Management server 104 may be implemented on computer system 800 0112 Computer system 800 may be coupled via bus 802 to a display 812 such as a cathode ray tube CRT for displaying information to a computer user An input device 814 including alphanumeric and other keys is coupled to bus 802 for communicating information and command selections to processor 804 Another type of user input device is cursor control 816 such as a mouse trackball stylus or
32. hereby preventing printing device 102A from communicating with help and solution data server 104 through network 108 at least temporarily Therefore according to one embodiment of the invention printing device 102A determines in response to detecting the problem whether the printing device can currently access through a communication interface of the printing US 2004 0201867 1 device the specified remote server that stores the solution data For example printing device 102A determines whether it can access help and solution data server 104 through network interface 120A and network 108 Printing device 102A may determine whether an active network connection is present and whether help and solution data server 104 responds to queries made through the network connection For example help and solution data server 104 may be configured with a particular IP address and printing device 102A may ping the particular IP address to determine whether the help and solution data server is currently accessible 0040 According to one embodiment of the invention printing device 102A displays in response to determining that the printing device cannot currently access the specified remote server that stores the solution data one or more recommended actions that are based on solution data that the printing device previously downloaded from the remote server For example in response to determining that printing device 102A cannot currently acce
33. ice is configured to collect statistics that indicate how many times one or more particular help instructions or particular recommended actions have been selected or dis played The printing device is further configured to provide the statistics to a remote server BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0010 Embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accom panying drawings in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which 0011 FIG 1 is a block diagram that depicts a system for providing updated help and solution information at printing devices according to one embodiment of the invention 0012 FIGS 2A and 2B are flow diagrams that depict a process for providing help information at a printing device according to one embodiment of the invention 0013 FIG 3 is flow diagram that depicts a process for printing an updated user manual at a printing device in response to user input received at the printing device according to one embodiment of the invention 0014 FIG 4 is a flow diagram that depicts a process for providing updated solution information at a printing device according to one embodiment of the invention 0015 FIG 5 is a flow diagram that depicts a process for sending a notification based on help and solution data access statistics according to one embodiment of the invention 0016 FIGS 6A and 6B are flow diagrams that depict p
34. ise a trouble recovery wizard through operation panel 110A 0079 In block 412 it is determined whether the one or more recommended actions have been performed For example printing device 102A may determine whether its hardware status has changed such as whether a particular cover of the printing device has been opened as recom mended For another example printing device 102A may determine whether user input which indicates that the one or more recommended actions have been performed has been received through operation panel 110A If the one or more recommended actions have not been performed then control passes back to block 412 If the one or more recommended actions have been performed then control passes to block 414 0080 block 414 it is determined whether the problem has been solved For example printing device 102A may determine whether the problem is still detected such as whether paper still jams printing module 112A For another example printing device may determine whether user input which indicates that the problem has been solved has been received through operation panel 110A If the problem has not been solved then control passes back to block 404 after which additional solution data may be obtained from a database in either block 406 or block 408 If the problem has been solved then control passes to block 416 in which normal operation resumes Example Process for Sending a Notification Based on H
35. nization that makes or supports printing device 102A can obtain from the printing device information that may be used to determine which sections of help and solution data should be revised and which aspects of the printing device should be rede signed or otherwise improved 0052 According to one embodiment of the invention printing device 102A receives input through a user interface on the printing device For example printing device 102A receives user input through operation panel 110A User input may comprise one or more keywords or the selection of one or more particular user interface elements Based on the user input printing device 102A selects from among a plurality of help instructions that specify how to operate the printing device one or more particular help instructions that correspond to the user input For example if help and solution data 116 is stored in a database then printing device 102A selects one or more particular database records based on the user input 0053 Printing device 102A displays through the user interface the one or more particular help instructions For example printing device 102A displays the one or more particular help instructions through operation panel 110A The help instructions may be displayed simultaneously or in succession 0054 According to one embodiment of the invention printing device 102A updates statistics that indicate how many times the one or more particular help inst
36. ns have been displayed on the one or more printing devices exceeds the specified threshold and sending the notification to a specified e mail address 23 A computer readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for updating printing device solu tion data which instructions when executed by one or more US 2004 0201867 1 processors cause the one more processors to perform the step of uploading to a remote printing device solution data that includes one or more recommended actions to address one or more problems that could affect the remote printing device 24 The computer readable medium of claim 23 wherein uploading further comprises uploading in response to the remote printing device detecting a particular problem relative to the remote printing device solution data that includes one or more recommended actions to address the particular prob lem 25 The computer readable medium of claim 23 wherein uploading further comprises periodically uploading to the remote printing device at one or more specified intervals of time the solution data 26 The computer readable medium of claim 23 wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more proces sors further cause the one or more processors to perform the step of uploading to the remote printing device and in response to the remote printing device receiving user input through a user interface on the remote printing device
37. nvention solution data comprises one or more separate solutions Each solution corresponds to or is associated with one or more problems A particular solution may comprise one or more distinct recommended actions that a user is to take relative to printing device 102A to remedy a problem with which the particular solution is associated For example a solution that is associated with a paper jam in the vicinity of a roller may comprise recommended actions such as opening a top panel of the printing device and operating a particular lever to expose the roller to the user so that the user can remove the jammed paper A sequence of recommended actions that are customized to solve a particular problem is sometimes called a trouble recovery wizard 0027 Statistics data 118A comprises statistics pertaining to the access of help and solution data 116A For example statistics data 118A may comprise information about the number of times that users of printing device 102A have accessed a particular help data record or solution This information can be used to identify parts of help and solution data 116A that might benefit from revision and to improve future printing devices According to one embodiment of the invention when a user accesses help and solution data 116A printing device 102A updates statistics data 118A in response to reflect the number of times that particular data has been accessed For example if a user accesses a record f
38. on Such a medium may take many forms including but not limited to non volatile media volatile media and transmission media Non volatile media includes for example optical or mag netic disks such as storage device 810 Volatile media includes dynamic memory such as main memory 806 Transmission media includes coaxial cables copper wire and fiber optics including the wires that comprise bus 802 Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves such as those generated during radio wave and infrared data communications 0115 Common forms of computer readable media include for example a floppy disk a flexible disk hard disk magnetic tape or any other magnetic medium a CD ROM any other optical medium punchcards papertape any other physical medium with patterns of holes a RAM a PROM and EPROM FLASH EPROM any other memory chip or cartridge a carrier wave as described hereinafter or any other medium from which a computer can read 0116 Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 804 for execution For example the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk of a remote computer The remote computer can load the instruc tions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over a telephone line using a modem A modem local to computer system 800 can receive the data on the telephone line and us
39. one or more instructions that are contained in a user manual 27 The computer readable medium of claim 23 wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more proces sors further cause the one or more processors to perform the step of periodically uploading to the remote printing device at one or more specified intervals of time one or more instructions that are contained in a user manual 28 The computer readable medium of claim 23 wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more proces Oct 14 2004 sors further cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of updating statistics that indicate how many times one or more particular help instructions have been selected by one or more printing devices determining whether a number of times that the one or more particular help instructions have been selected by the one or more printing devices exceeds a specified threshold generating in response to determining that the number of times that the one or more particular help instructions have been selected by the one or more printing devices exceeds the specified threshold a notification that indicates that the number of times that the one or more particular instructions have been selected by the one or more printing devices exceeds the specified threshold and sending the notification to a specified e mail address 29 The computer readable medium of claim 23 wherein the instructions when e
40. or bypass tray in help and solution data 116A then printing device 102A updates statistics data 118A to reflect that access 0028 Printing module 112A comprises mechanical and electronic components that operate to print information such as text and images on sheets of media such as paper or transparencies Printing module 112A further comprises components that operate to feed sheets of media into the printing module from one or more selected input trays and to output these sheets into one or more selected output bins 0029 According to one embodiment of the invention operation panel 110A is located on the surface of printing device 102A to serve as a user interface to receive input from a user and to display information to a user Operation panel 110A comprises an input device such as a touch panel or keypad and a display device such as an LCD cathode ray tube CRT or plasma display The input device and US 2004 0201867 1 display device may be integrated For example in embodiment of the invention operation panel 110A com prises an interactive touch sensitive screen that is capable of indicating to a user separate regions of a graphical user interface represented on the screen These regions when touched by the user cause printing device 102A to perform different functions Such regions are referred to as user interface elements or user interface objects 0030 Printing device 102A may comp
41. rface object that is labeled go 0062 In block 208 it is determined whether a remote server can be accessed For example printing device 102A may determine whether it can currently access through network interface 120A and network 108 help and solution data server 104 If the remote server can be accessed then control passes to block 210 If the remote server cannot be accessed then control passes to block 212 0063 In block 210 help information based on the one more help keywords is obtained from a database stored on the remote server For example printing device 102A may obtain help information by downloading help data that is stored in help and solution master data 124 According to one embodiment of the invention printing device 102A searches a database for help information that matches or contains particular keywords 0064 block 212 help information based on the one or more help keywords is obtained from a database stored on the printing device For example printing device 102A may obtain help information that is stored in help and solution data 116 0065 In block 214 a help information screen is dis played For example printing device 102A may display the help information through operation panel 110A Along with the help information the help information screen may comprise selectable user interface objects with labels such as print and exit 0066 In block 216 it is determined
42. rinting device The printing device may use all of the paper in its paper tray requiring a user to insert more paper into the appropriate tray 0005 Some of the more sophisticated printing devices include a display that shows solution information for solving problems that the printing device may experience For example a printing device may display on a liquid crystal display LCD panel located on the surface of the printing device recommended actions for removing paper that is stuck within the printing device In some instances the recommend actions depict components of the printing device that the user must manipulate in order to remedy the problem For example a printing device may display on an LCD panel an image of the printing device with a particular door or cover opened thus showing the user that he must open that particular door or cover to access the area of the printing device in which the problem has occurred Such solution information is usually stored in firmware of the printing device 0006 While solutions presented on a printing device s display and operating instructions printed in a manual may assist a user such solutions and instructions are sometimes difficult to understand Instructions may be unclear impre cise incomplete outdated or even erroneous When a user cannot understand help or solution information the user Oct 14 2004 may become frustrated with the printing device and the organization
43. rise components in addition to those described above For example printing device 102A may include a scanning module that operates to read images from a surface and produce data based on those images Printing device 102A may contain one or more sensors that operate to detect when a problem has occurred relative to the printing device Others of printing devices 102A 102N also comprise the components described above with reference to printing device 102A Where printing device 102A is described below the description may be applied to any of printing devices 102A 102N 0031 Network 108 may be implemented by any medium or mechanism that provides for the exchange of data between printing devices 102A 102N and help and solution data server 104 Examples of network 108 include without limitation a network such as a Local Area Network LAN Wide Area Network WAN Ethernet or the Internet or one or more terrestrial satellite or wireless links Network 108 may include a combination of networks such as those described Network 108 may transmit data according to Transmission Control Protocol TCP and Internet Protocol IP 0032 Help and solution data server 104 may be imple mented on a computer Help and solution data server 104 comprises a persistent storage device 122 and a network interface 130 Persistent storage device 122 and network interface 130 are similar to persistent storage device 114A and network interface 120A respectively
44. rocesses for periodically synchronizing help and solution databases according to one embodiment of the invention US 2004 0201867 1 0017 FIGS 7A 7D block diagrams that depict example printing device operation panel according to one embodiment of the invention and 0018 FIG 8 is a block diagram that depicts a computer system upon which an embodiment of the invention may be implemented DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 0019 In the following description for the purposes of explanation specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention However it will be apparent that the invention may be practiced without these specific details In some instances well known struc tures and devices are depicted in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention Example System for Providing Updated Help and Solution Information at Printing Devices 0020 FIG 1 is a block diagram that depicts a system 100 for providing updated help and solution information at printing devices according to one embodiment of the inven tion System 100 comprises printing devices 102A 102N help and solution data server 104 administrator computer 106 and network 108 While in one embodiment of the invention printing devices 102A 102N are communica tively coupled to network 108 and help and solution data server 104 is communicatively coupled to network 108 in an alt
45. ructions have been selected For example printing device 102A updates statistics data 118A Printing device 102A may increment counters that are associated with each of the particular help instructions According to one embodiment of the invention printing device 102A informs help and solution data server Oct 14 2004 104 of the update to statistics data 118A so that help and solution data server 104 may update statistics master data 126 to reflect the update to statistics data 118A 0055 According to one embodiment of the invention printing device 102A determines whether a number of times that the one or more particular help instructions have been selected exceeds a specified threshold For example printing device 102A determines from statistics data 118A whether the particular help instructions have been accessed more than a specified number of times In response to determining that the number of times that the one or more particular help instructions have been selected exceeds the specified thresh old printing device 102A generates a notification that indi cates that the number of times that the one or more particular instructions have been selected exceeds the specified thresh old 0056 According to one embodiment of the invention printing device 102A updates statistics relating to recom mended actions that are displayed in response to problems that the printing device detects Printing device 102A updates statistics that
46. s copy machines and multi function peripherals MFPs such as the Ricoh Aficio Color 6513 system continue to become more sophis ticated Despite efforts to make printing devices easy to operate many users of unfamiliar printing devices have in the past become perplexed when attempting to use those printing devices To assist users a maker of a printing device usually provides a paper copy of a user manual that contains instructions for operating a printing device As long as a user manual remains in a known location close to the printing device users can find help in the manual s pages 0003 Unfortunately user manuals are often lost or mis placed Frequently user manuals are kept in a different location than the printing device for which they contain operating instructions Even if a user knows where to find a user manual for the printing device that he is trying to operate the user may be burdened with the task of traveling some distance to where the user manual is kept and then traveling back to the printing device once he has read the user manual This wastes the user s time 0004 Even easily operated printing devices can experi ence problems that require user intervention The paper that feeds through a printing device may jam requiring a user to remove one or more pages that are stuck someplace inside of the printing device The printing device may run low on toner requiring a user to supply additional toner to the p
47. s determined whether a user interface element which represents a request to print a user manual has been selected For example printing device 102A may determine whether a user interface element labeled print latest manual has been selected through operation panel 110A If such a user interface element has not been selected then control passes back to block 304 If such a user interface element has been selected then control passes to block 306 0071 In block 306 user manual data is obtained from a database User manual data is one kind of help data For example printing device 102A may obtain user manual data by downloading user manual data that is stored in help and solution master data 124 For another example printing device 102A may obtain user manual data that is stored in help and solution data 116 0072 In block 308 the user manual is printed on sheet media For example printing device 102A may print the user manual based on the user manual data on one or more sheets of paper through printing module 112A Prior to printing the user manual data may be formatted according to a specified format Example Process for Providing Updated Solution Data at a Printing Device 0073 FIG 4 is flow diagram that depicts a process 400 for providing updated solution information at a printing device according to one embodiment of the invention For example any of printing devices 102A 102N may perform process 400 007
48. splay window 726 may display help data such as Use when copying onto OHP transpar encies adhesive labels translucent paper postcards and custom size paper Help display window 726 may addi tionally display the one or more keywords themselves As described above updated help data may be obtained from a remote server The help data may comprise text and or images Help data display window 726 may comprise a scroll bar having interface elements that may be selected to scroll the help data from beginning to end within the help display window if the help data is too large to be completely displayed within the help display window 0106 According to one embodiment of the invention when print button 728 is selected the printing device on which operation panel 700 is located prints the help data that is at least partially displayed in help data display window 726 According to one embodiment of the invention when exit button 730 is selected operation panel 700 ceases displaying interface elements 726 730 as depicted in FIG 7C and instead displays interface elements 702 708 as depicted in FIG 7A 0107 FIG 7D is a block diagram that depicts example printing device operation panel 700 displaying a trouble US 2004 0201867 1 recovery wizard screen according to one embodiment of the invention Instead of interface elements 702 708 interface element 732 is displayed on operation panel 700 Interface element 732 is a
49. ss help and solution data server 104 the printing device displays recommended actions that are based on help and solution data 116A that is stored on persistent storage device 114A According to one embodiment help and solution data 116A contains solution data that printing device 102A most recently downloaded from help and solution data server 104 Thus even when printing device 102A cannot connect to help and solution data server 104 printing device 102A can still display recommended actions to address detected problems 0041 According to one embodiment of the invention printing device 102A also periodically downloads solution data from the specified remote server that stores the solution data thus synchronizing help and solution data 116A with help and solution master data 124 For example printing device 102A downloads solution data from help and solution data server 104A at one or more specified intervals of time such as every day According to one embodiment of the invention printing device 102A stores the downloaded solution data on persistent storage device 114A Conse quently help and solution data 116A may contain recently updated solution data even before a problem is detected Thus even if printing device 102A cannot access help and solution data server 104A at the time that the printing device detects a problem the solution data stored on persistent storage device 114A may be relatively current A Printing Device that
50. ster data 126 Example Process for Providing Help Information at a Printing Device 0058 FIGS 2A and 2B are flow diagrams that depict a process 200 for providing help information at a printing device according to one embodiment of the invention For example any of printing devices 102A 102N may perform process 200 0059 block 202 an initial help screen is displayed For example printing device 102A may display an initial help screen through operation panel 110A The initial help screen may comprise selectable user interface elements with labels such as print latest manual and online help 0060 In block 204 it is determined whether a user interface element that represents an online help request has US 2004 0201867 1 been selected For example printing device 102A may determine whether a user interface element labeled online help has been selected through operation panel 110A If it is determined that such a user interface element has not been selected then control passes back to block 204 If it is determined that such a user interface element has been selected then control passes to block 206 0061 In block 206 one or more help keywords are received For example printing device 102A may receive a help keyword via a keypad that is displayed through opera tion panel 110A According to one embodiment of the invention the one or more help keywords are received upon the selection of a user inte
51. that made the printing device Unfortunately such organizations often remain oblivious to the plight of the user who cannot operate a printing device due to insufficient guidance A maker of a printing device is unlikely to remedy confusion of which the maker is unaware 0007 Even when a printing device maker is aware of user confusion distributing new printed manuals and or dis patching service personnel to update solution information stored in firmware can be prohibitively expensive Further more users typically dislike waiting for new manuals or service personnel to arrive while printing devices sit idle 0008 Based on the need to provide better guidance to confused and frustrated users of printing devices a method and system for providing updated help and solution infor mation at a printing device is highly desirable SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 0009 A method and system for providing updated help and solution information at a printing device is disclosed According to one aspect a printing device is configured to detect a problem relative to the printing device to download solution data from a remote server and display recom mended actions to address the problem According to another aspect a printing device is configured to receive user input through a user interface on the printing device and to print instructions for operating the printing device in response to the user input According to another aspect a printing dev
52. ting device 102A includes a communication inter face such as a Universal Serial Bus USB port a parallel port or a small computer system interface SCSI port through which printing device 102A may be directly con nected with other devices such as help and solution data server 104 0024 According to one embodiment of the invention persistent storage device 114A is a hard disk drive In Oct 14 2004 alternative embodiments of the invention persistent storage device 114A comprises other forms of re writable magnetic optical or electronic storage media Persistent storage device 114A stores help and solution data 116A and statistics data 118A In one embodiment of the invention help and solution data 116A and statistics data 118A are stored in a database that is maintained on persistent storage device 114A 0025 Help and solution data 116A contains both help data and solution data According to one embodiment of the invention help data comprises information that is taken from a user manual such as instructions for operating printing device 102A Help data may be stored in database records indexed by one or more keywords to allow rapid search and retrieval For example a record that is indexed according to keywords bypass tray may contain informa tion about the purpose function and use of a bypass tray of printing device 102A A given record may include text and images 0026 According to one embodiment of the i
53. ve been described However various modifications and changes may be made to such embodiments of the invention without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illus trative rather than a restrictive sense What is claimed is 1 A printing device configured to detect a problem relative to the printing device download in response to detecting the problem relative to the printing device solution data from a specified remote server that stores the solution data and display through a user interface on the printing device one or more recommended actions based on the solu tion data to address the problem 2 The printing device of claim 1 wherein the printing device is further configured to determine in response to detecting the problem whether the printing device can currently access through a communication interface of the printing device the specified remote server that stores the solution data and Oct 14 2004 display in response to determining that the printing device cannot currently access the specified remote server that stores the solution data one or more rec ommended actions that are based on solution data that the printing device previously downloaded from the remote server 3 The printing device of claim 1 wherein the printing device is further configured to select based on the problem the one or more re
54. whether a user interface element that represents a print request has been selected For example printing device 102A may determine whether a user interface element labeled print has been selected through operation panel 110A If such a user interface element has not been selected then control passes back to block 216 If such a user interface element has been selected then control passes to block 218 0067 block 218 the help information is printed on sheet media For example printing device 102A may print the help information on one or more sheets of paper through printing module 112A Prior to printing the help informa tion may be formatted according to a specified format Example Process for Printing a User Manual at a Printing Device in Response to User Input Received at the Printing Device 0068 FIG 3 is flow diagram that depicts a process 300 for printing an updated user manual at a printing device in response to user input received at the printing device Oct 14 2004 according to one embodiment of the invention For example any of printing devices 102A 102N may perform process 300 0069 block 302 an initial help screen is displayed For example printing device 102A may display an initial help screen through operation panel 110A The initial help screen may comprise selectable user interface elements with labels such as print latest manual and online help 0070 In block 304 it i
55. xecuted by the one or more proces sors further cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of updating statistics that indicate how many times one or more particular recommended actions have been dis played on one or more printing devices determining whether a number of times that the one or more particular recommended actions have been dis played on the one or more printing devices exceeds a specified threshold generating in response to determining that the number of times that the one or more particular recommended actions have been displayed on the one or more printing devices exceeds the specified threshold a notification that indicates that the number of times that the one or more recommended actions have been displayed on the one or more printing devices exceeds the specified threshold and sending the notification to a specified e mail address
56. y display one or more recommended actions that are specifically designed to solve a particular problem 0037 While in one embodiment of the invention print ing device 102A downloads all of the solution data that pertains to printing device 102A in response to detecting a problem in an alternative embodiment of the invention printing device 102A downloads only the solution data that corresponds to a particular problem in response to detecting the particular problem 0038 By downloading solution data from a remote server that stores the solution data printing device 102A can obtain updated solution data Thus a maker of printing device 102 can update the solution data that will be displayed to users of the printing device by updating the master solution data that is stored on help and solution data server 104 By downloading the solution data in response to detecting a problem printing device 102A can display solution data that has been updated as of the time that the problem occurred Others of printing devices 102A 102N may be configured similarly to printing device 102A Therefore updating help and solution master data 124 causes the solution data displayed by each such printing device to be updated thereby eliminating any need to update such printing devices separately and individually 0039 Sometimes communication between a printing device and a remote server is interrupted For example a portion of network 108 may fail t

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