JPH07110645A - Image formation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the image formation system which can faithfully charge the use of a writing corresponding to the contents and value of the writing when a copy of the writing is taken. CONSTITUTION:A read part 21 reads a document image out and a discrimination part 23 discriminates a bar code in the read document image and obtains code data from the read bar code. The code data are sent from a copying machine 2 to a management device 3 through a communication line L and saved as a copy record on a hard disk 32. Then the charge for the use of the writing is calculated from copy record data stored on the hard disk 32 and the unit price and charging coefficient of the writing use charge recorded on the hard disk 33.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming system for reading image information from a document and forming an image based on the image information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, copying copyrighted works such as books has become a problem in terms of copyright. For this reason, there is a tendency to uniformly collect a fee (copying material usage fee) for copying a copyrighted work from a company or a university that has a relatively high frequency of copying.
However, in reality, the amount of what is copied is different for each company or university for which the fee is collected, and thus the fee cannot be collected accurately by such a method.

On the other hand, conventionally, as disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 3-52626 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 56-27162, there is known a copying system capable of counting a copying fee according to the number of copies. ing. If the usage fee for each copy of the work is set appropriately, it becomes possible to collect the usage fee more accurately than the above method by using such a copying system. .

[0004]

However, the counting of the number of copies performed by the above system is not associated with the content of the original document. That is, the above system
It does not measure how much each work is copied. For this reason, there is a problem that the copyright usage fee is added to the copy of the original document which is not the copyright document. In addition, as a matter of course, it was impossible to change the fee according to the value of the work.

The present invention aims to solve the above problems, and provides an image forming system capable of measuring the amount of use of the image forming system for image formation for each individual document. is there.

[0006]

An image forming system according to the present invention is an image forming system for reading image information from a document and forming an image based on the image information.
Identification information reading means for reading the identification information uniquely assigned to identify the original from the original, measuring means for measuring the amount of use of the image forming system main body for image formation, and the reading by the identification information reading means And a storage unit that stores the usage amount measured by the measurement unit in association with the identification information.

[0007]

In the image forming system according to the present invention, the image information is read from the original, and the identification information reading means reads the identification information uniquely given to each original from the original. On the other hand, the measuring unit measures the usage amount of the image forming system main body related to image formation. The storage means stores the usage amount measured by the measurement means in association with the identification information read by the identification information reading means.

[0008]

【Example】

<First Embodiment> The present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a document to be copied. As shown in FIG. 1, the barcode 1 is printed on the upper left corner of the original 1. The bar code 10 indicates code information for identifying a document. The original document shown in FIG. 1 may be created by the copying system shown in this embodiment, or may be created by another printing device or the like.

Table 1 shows the structure of the code data indicated by the bar code 10.

[0010]

[Table 1]

As shown in Table 1, the code data indicated by the bar code 10 is composed of the original name, page number and generation information. The manuscript name is a unique code assigned to each manuscript or book, and its value varies depending on the manuscript or book. The page number is a code indicating the page number of the manuscript. The generation information is a code indicating how many copies the original is from the original. 00 is added to the original, 01 if the original is a copy of the original, 02 if it is a grandchild copy, and so on when the copy is copied again as an original, the value is incremented by 1. It has become. Each code data is represented by a hexadecimal number, the manuscript name has 8 digits, the page number has 4 digits, and the generation information has 2 digits.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a copying system to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 2, this copying system includes a copying machine 2 for copying an original document and a management device 3 for managing a copyright fee to be charged for copying a copyrighted material by the copying machine 2. It is configured. Copy machine 2
And the management device 3 are connected by a communication line L,
From the copying machine 2, the code data attached to the original in the form of a bar code is sent to the management device 3 via the communication line L. A plurality of copying machines of the same type as the copying machine 2 can be connected to the communication line L, and the management device 3 can receive code data from each copying machine. If only one copying machine is managed, the management device 3 may be built in the copying machine 2.

The copying machine 2 has a central processing unit (CPU) 20 for controlling the operation of the entire copying machine, a reading section 21 for reading a document image, an image memory 22 for storing the read document image, and a reading unit 21. The identification unit 23 for identifying the barcode from the original image and obtaining the code data from the identified barcode, the modem 24 for outputting the code data to the communication line L, and the image forming on the paper An output unit 25 and an operation unit 26 for inputting / setting copy conditions and the like are provided.

The original 1 is set on the copying machine 2 and the operation unit 26
After inputting a user ID number for identifying a user and the number of copies, a copy key provided on the operation unit 26 is pressed to start copying. CCD in response to the start of copying
The reading unit 21 having a well-known configuration including a line sensor reads a document image and stores the read document image in the image memory 22.

The identification unit 23 identifies the image portion and the bar code by analyzing the characteristics of the original image on the image memory 22. The identification method will not be described in detail here since it is not directly related to the present invention. Next, the identified bar code is decoded and converted into code data, and this code data is stored in the RAM provided in the identification unit 23. Then, the generation information is incremented by one to update the code data, the code data is converted into a bar code to update the bar code, and the bar code is embedded in a predetermined position of the original image on the image memory 22. When creating the original of the original using the copying machine 2, the user inputs the original name and page number from the operation unit 26, and creates a barcode by using the original name and page number and the generation number 00. .

After that, the original image including the updated bar code is read from the image memory 22 and output on the paper by the well-known electrophotographic method by the output unit 25 of the copying machine 1.
In this way, the set number of copies is made, and when the copy is completed, the code data stored in the RAM of the identification section 23 is used as a copy machine ID number for specifying the copy machine that has made the copy, and the above-mentioned user. Output data is created by adding additional information including an ID number and the number of copies, and this is output to the modem 2
4 to send to the communication line L.

Next, the configuration of the management device 3 will be described.
The management device 3 is a CPU 30 that controls the entire management device 3.
A modem 31 for receiving the above-mentioned output data from the communication line L, a hard disk 32 for storing copy result data, which will be described later, and a hard disk 33 for storing billing information according to the document name and page number. The personal computer system is provided with a printer 34 for printing out the copyright fee, a keyboard 35, and a display 36. CPU
A clock IC 300 is provided in 30.

The data received from the communication line L through the modem 31 is added with the information regarding the date and time of copying and the charging information indicating whether or not the usage fee for the copyrighted work is charged, and is added to the hard disk 32 as one copy record data. Saved.

Table 2 shows an example of data stored in the hard disk 32.

[0020]

[Table 2]

The copy machine ID number is an identification code of the copy machine that has made a copy, and a unique number is given to each copy machine. The user ID number is a user identification code input from the operation unit 26 of the copying machine 2 when making a copy. A unique number is given by the user. User ID
When the number is not input, the CPU 20 prohibits copying. The number of copies is a code indicating how many copies have been made for one document. Each of the above-mentioned additional information is represented by a hexadecimal number, and the copying machine ID number and the user ID number are 8 digits and the number of copies is 2 digits.

The copy date and the copy time indicate the date and time of copying, that is, the date and time when the management device 3 receives the copy machine ID number from the copy machine 2, and the data of the clock IC 300 is used. The copy date and copy time are represented by decimal numbers. For example, December 30, 1992, 3:03 pm
If it was copied at 0 minutes, the copy date is "92123".
The copy flag is “0” and the copy time is “1530.” The charging flag indicates whether or not the usage fee of the copyrighted work has already been charged, “0” when the usage fee of the copyrighted work has not yet been charged, and “1” when the usage fee of the copyrighted work has already been charged. "It becomes.

In this way, for each copied original, one copy record data consisting of the copy machine ID number, the user ID number, the original name, the page number, the generation information, the number of copies, the copy date and time, and the billing flag is stored on the hard disk. It is written in one record of 32.

On the other hand, the hard disk 33 is prerecorded with data for calculating the copyrighted material usage fee. Tables 3 and 4 show the above data recorded on the hard disk 33.

[0025]

[Table 3]

[0026]

[Table 4]

As shown in Table 3, the unit price of the work fee and the reference date are registered for each manuscript name and page number. The unit price of the fee for using copyrighted works is determined for one copy and is shown in yen. The reference date represents a date as a starting point for calculating the number of days elapsed from the publication date of the manuscript (book).

Further, as shown in Table 4, the charging coefficient is determined by the number of days elapsed from the reference date and the generation information. The copyright fee is calculated by multiplying the unit price by the number of copies and the charge coefficient. By multiplying the billing coefficient, the usage fee of the copyrighted work is reduced according to the generation information and the copy date and time.
This is because it is generally considered that the image deteriorates and the quality of image information deteriorates as the number of generations of copying progresses, and that the value of information decreases as the number of days from the date of publication of a manuscript (book) elapses. Is.

When the management device 3 is instructed to issue a bill for the copyrighted material usage fee from the keyboard 35, the hard disk 3
The copyright usage fee is calculated from the copy result data stored in No. 2 and the unit price and the charging coefficient of the copyright usage fee recorded in the hard disk 33. Then, the invoice for the copyright usage fee is output by the printer 34.

The control procedure of the management device 3 described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, first, in step S100, it is determined whether or not the data including the code data and the additional information is received from the copying machine 2. When it is received, the copy date and time and the charging flag are added to the data received in step S101, the data is stored in one record of the hard disk 32 in the format shown in Table 2, and then the process returns to step S100. In this way, the management apparatus 3 repeats the process of adding the copy date and time and the accounting flag to each time the data is received from the copying machine 2 and storing it in the hard disk 32.

If no data is received, step S1
At 10, it is checked whether there is an instruction to issue a bill. If there is an instruction, in step S111, the copying machine I
The D number and the user ID number are set to the initial value "0000000.
1 ". In step S112, the variable S indicating the work usage fee is set to the initial value" 0 ", and then step S
In step 113, records with a charge flag of zero are searched in order from the first record, that is, records for which no bill has been issued yet.

If there is no record having the billing flag of zero, it is determined that the bill has been issued for all the records, and the process proceeds to step S118 in the determination of step S114. If a record with a billing flag of zero is found, it is determined that there is a record for which an invoice has not been issued, and the process proceeds to step S115 in the determination of step S114.

In step S115, the hard disk 3
3, the unit price of the work fee is determined from the original name and page number of the record. Next, with reference to the information (Table 4) stored in the hard disk 33, the charging coefficient is determined from the generation information of the record and the copy date and time. Then, in step S116, (copyright usage fee unit price) × (copies) ×
(Charging coefficient) is calculated to calculate the copyright usage fee of the record and added to the variable S. Continued Step S117
Then, after setting the charging flag to 1, the process returns to step S113 to restart the search from the next record. Then, until there is no record in which the billing flag is zero, step S11
By repeating the processes of 3 to S117, the copyright usage fee of the specific user is totaled.

In step S118, the copyrighted material usage fee thus aggregated is written in the hard disk 32. Table 5 shows the format of the data written in the hard disk 32 in step S118.

[0035]

[Table 5]

Next, in step S119, it is determined whether or not the total of the usage fee of the copyrighted work has been completed for all users of the specific copying machine. If not completed, step S121
And set the next user ID number in step S112.
Return to. In this way, the processes of steps S112 to S120 are continued until the aggregation is completed for all users. When finished, in step S121 the printer 34 outputs the usage fee of the copyrighted work for each user, and in step S122
Proceed to.

In step S122, it is determined whether or not the totalization, storage, and output of the copyrighted material usage charges have been completed for all the copying machines. When finished, the process returns to step S100. If not completed, the next copying machine ID number is set, the user ID number is set, and the process returns to step S112. Then, the processes of steps S112 to S123 are continued until the processes are completed for all the copying machines. Through the above processing, a copyrighted material usage fee can be charged for each user of each copying machine.

The information in Tables 3 and 4 stored in the hard disk 33 can be rewritten as needed. Therefore, even if the value of the manuscript changes,
For example, this change can be dealt with by changing the unit price of the copyrighted material usage amount on the hard disk 33 to an appropriate value, and it is not necessary to rewrite the code information attached to each manuscript.

Further, the invoice data for each user may be transmitted from the management device 3 to each copying machine through the modem 31 and the communication line L, and the printer of each copying machine may output the billing data. .

Further, in this embodiment, only the copyrighted material usage fee for copying the copyrighted material is calculated.
A copying fee determined by the price of consumables such as paper and toner may be printed out at the same time. The copy fee can be calculated by multiplying the copy unit price determined according to the paper size and the like by the number of copies.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the document name, page number, and generation information are used as the document identification information, but the unit price of the usage of the work may be used as the document identification information. . In this case, the unit price of the usage amount of the literary work may be read from the original document, and the charge may be calculated from this unit price and the usage amount of the copying machine, which simplifies the process.

<Second Embodiment> In the present embodiment, in order to prevent the bar code of the original from being hidden and illegally copied, for example, the applicant of the present application, Japanese Patent Application No. 4-17265.
As proposed in No. 9, an example in which the code data is made invisible and embedded in the original image of the original will be shown.

FIG. 4 shows an example of embedding code data as density data in a character image of a document. Figure 4
FIG. 7A is an enlarged view of the character “a” included in the original image. FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of a part of “a”. Code data is embedded in the ellipse shown in the figure. FIG. 4C is an enlarged view of the inside of the elliptical portion of FIG. 4B, in which the code data has a certain pattern of pixels having a specific density different from the surrounding pixels. When creating a document image, pixels of a predetermined array corresponding to code data are set and embedded in a specific density area that does not appear in image information as shown in FIG.

The copying machine of the present embodiment detects the code data by reading the original image in which the code data is embedded as described above and identifying the density of the image data by the identifying section 23. . Then, in the same manner as in the first embodiment, after the code data is updated, it is converted into density data and embedded in the image data. Other configurations are similar to those of the first embodiment. According to the method shown in the present embodiment, there is an advantage that it is easy to deal with an increase in the amount of additional information as compared with the method using the barcode in the first embodiment. Since some code data may be read in an erroneous form due to dirt or the like, a plurality of the same additional information may be output, and the valid data may be determined by majority voting.

[0045]

According to the image forming system of the present invention, the identification information uniquely given to each original is read from the original and is associated with the read identification information, and the amount of use of the image forming system main body for image formation is used. Memorize Therefore, it is possible to measure the usage amount of the image forming system related to image formation for each individual document. For example, it is possible to perform processing according to the value of the work, such as calculating a fee for copying from the work according to the value of the work.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a document 1 to be copied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a copying machine 2 and a management device 3.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of processing performed by a CPU 30 of the management device 3.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Manuscript 2 Copier 3 Management Device 10 Bar Code 21 Reading Unit 23 Identification Unit 30 CPU 32 Hard Disk 33 Hard Disk L Communication Line

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image forming system for reading image information from a document and forming an image on the basis of the image information, wherein the identification information reading means reads the identification information uniquely assigned to identify the document from the document. A measuring means for measuring the usage amount of the image forming system main body relating to image formation; and a storage means for storing the usage amount measured by the measuring means in association with the identification information read by the identification information reading means. An image forming system comprising: 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the identification information read by the identification information means includes generation information indicating a generation of copying of an original image. 3. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the identification information read by the recording identification information means includes date and time information, and further comprises date and time information providing means for giving date and time information indicating the current date and time, and the storage means. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the usage amount is stored in association with the date and time information read by the identification information reading unit and the date and time information provided by the date and time information providing unit. 4. The image forming system according to claim 1, further comprising a charge determining unit that determines a charge for image formation for each identification information based on the usage amount stored in the storage unit.