Abstract: A license management server manages a license to perform a service of remote maintenance related to one or more image forming apparatuses installed in a customer's site. The maintenance server includes a maintenance unit and a history management unit. If the license management server notified of expiration of an expiration date of the license defined by a contract, the maintenance unit stores history information acquired from the one or more image forming apparatuses corresponding to the expired license into a storage unit, and stops the service. If the license management server notified of grant of the license by a re-contract, the history management unit obtains the history information about the one or more image forming apparatuses corresponding to the granted license from the storage unit, and passes the obtained history information to the maintenance unit. By using the passed history information, the maintenance unit resumes the service.

Abstract: A license management system includes an image forming apparatus and a license management server. The license management server includes a group management database, a license management database, a time zone information table, a group management unit, and a license management unit. The group management database stores information indicating an organization to which the license is assigned. The information relates to a group to which the image forming apparatus belongs. The license management database stores information on the license for the group. The time zone information table describes information on a working hour in a time zone where the group is present. When the one working hour ends, the license management unit that re-assigns the license from the group in the ended working hour to the group in another working hour based on the time zone information table, the license management database, and a current time.

Abstract: A device management system for managing a plurality of image forming apparatuses includes a management state determination section and a management state notification section. The management state determination section determines whether or not each of the image forming apparatuses is appropriately managed based on information from an application for managing the image forming apparatuses. The management state notification section sends to a specified address an inappropriate management notification indicating that a given one of the image forming apparatuses is not appropriately managed. The management state notification section sends out the inappropriate management notification when the management state determination section determines that a given one of the image forming apparatuses is not appropriately managed (S135, S140, and S144).

Abstract: In a license management server, a license management DB stores information about a license for performing remote maintenance on an image forming apparatus installed in an end customer site. A group management DB stores information about a group to which the image forming apparatus belongs. A table defines and describes the number of image forming apparatuses belonging to the group and a content of the license to be granted to the group so that the content of the license becomes advantageous to a user as the number of image forming apparatuses increases. The user registers the image forming apparatuses into the group. A group management unit counts the number of image forming apparatuses belonging to the group. A license management unit adjusts the content of the license on the basis of the number of image forming apparatuses counted.

Abstract: A license management server manages a license to perform a service of remote maintenance related to one or more image forming apparatuses installed in a customer's site. The maintenance server includes a maintenance unit and a history management unit. If the license management server notified of expiration of an expiration date of the license defined by a contract, the maintenance unit stores history information acquired from the one or more image forming apparatuses corresponding to the expired license into a storage unit, and stops the service. If the license management server notified of grant of the license by a re-contract, the history management unit obtains the history information about the one or more image forming apparatuses corresponding to the granted license from the storage unit, and passes the obtained history information to the maintenance unit. By using the passed history information, the maintenance unit resumes the service.

Abstract: A mobile printing system includes a cloud server apparatus, a mobile terminal device, a device management server apparatus, a print-control device, and an image forming apparatus. The cloud server apparatus stores a document data file. The mobile terminal device includes a wireless communication interface, and a short-range communication interface of which the maximum communicable distance is shorter than that of the wireless communication interface, and transmits the document data file with its device ID to the cloud server apparatus. The device management server apparatus receives the document data file in association with the device ID, and converts the document data file to print data and stores it. The print-control device detects the mobile terminal device using a short-range communication interface, and receives its device ID, and receives the print data from the document management server apparatus, and transmits the print data to the image forming apparatus for printing.

Abstract: A method for secure communication and printing, comprising: user entering user and destination information to host; authentication server producing, saving encryption key for the job, user, and destination information into database, and sending to host; host encrypting the job using encryption key and sending job to destination; user entering user and destination information to device; authentication server retrieving encryption key from database, and sending to device; and device decrypting the job using encryption key and releasing job. Authentication at both host and MFP sides disables unauthorized, malicious attack to a user's mailbox, and results in jobs to a mailbox having different dynamic encryption keys, and no password or mailbox PIN trafficking on network. Furthermore, host and MFP can be at different domains. Methods also include secrecy encrypting encryption key; hashing key generator using SHA1, MD5, etc.

Abstract: A method for secure communication and printing, comprising: user entering user and destination information to host; authentication server producing, saving encryption key for the job, user, and destination information into database, and sending to host; host encrypting the job using encryption key and sending job to destination; user entering user and destination information to device; authentication server retrieving encryption key from database, and sending to device; and device decrypting the job using encryption key and releasing job. Authentication at both host and MFP sides disables unauthorized, malicious attack to a user's mailbox, and results in jobs to a mailbox having different dynamic encryption keys, and no password or mailbox PIN trafficking on network. Furthermore, host and MFP can be at different domains. Methods also include secrecy encrypting encryption key; hashing key generator using SHA1, MD5, etc.

Abstract: A system of managing image data in a network comprises a scanner, a printer and a client computer, each connected to the network. The printer includes a storage section for storing image data inputted by the scanner, and the client computer manages the image data stored in the storage section via the network. The system allows reductions in scale of the network system and its build-up cost.