Image forming apparatus that predicts maintenance time, management apparatus, management system, and control method therefor

The image forming apparatus comprising:

• a printer unit configured to print an image to a recording medium;
• an obtainment unit configured to obtain data showing statuses inside the image forming apparatus for items to which priorities that define obtainment orders are given;
• a storage unit configured to store the data as time series data;
• a controller configured to overwrite an address storing data of the low priority item with new data of the high priority item in a case where a storage capacity of the first storage unit is deficient to store the new data to the first storage unit;
• and
• an update unit configured to updates the priorities of the items according to changed priorities in a case where the priorities are changed in an external apparatus that obtains the data stored in the storage unit.

A management apparatus comprising:

• an obtainment unit configured to obtain data showing statuses inside an image forming apparatus for items to which priorities that define an order of data that should be obtained and stored preferentially in the image forming apparatus are given;
• a storage unit configured to store the data that the obtainment unit obtained;
• a determination unit configured to determine whether interpolation of defective data based on the data accumulated in the storage unit is possible for the items in a case where deficiency occurs in the data stored in the storage unit;
• a change unit configured to change the priorities of the items according to possibility of the interpolation determined by the determination unit;
• and
• a notification unit configured to notify the image forming apparatus of the priorities of the items that are changed by the change unit.

A control method for a management system that has an image forming apparatus and a management apparatus that are communicatively connected each other, the control method comprising:

• obtaining data showing statuses inside an image forming apparatus for items to which priorities that define an order of data that should be obtained and stored preferentially are given in the image forming apparatus;
• storing the data to a storage unit in the image forming apparatus;
• transmitting the stored data to the management apparatus in the image forming apparatus;
• storing the data transmitted from the image forming apparatus to the storage unit in the management apparatus;
• determining whether interpolation of defective data based on the data accumulated in the storage unit is possible for the items in a case where deficiency occurs in the data stored in the storage unit in the management apparatus;
• changing the priorities of the items according to possibility of the interpolation determined by the determination unit in the management apparatus;
• notifying the image forming apparatus of the priorities of the items that are changed by the change unit in the management apparatus;
• and
• updating the priorities of the items according to a notification from the management apparatus in the image forming apparatus.