JP2003085454A - Copy system and charging method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a copy system and a charging method having proper charge collection capable of coping with new service, to enable a user to properly judge service used by equipment, to determine a charging object according to the service contents and capable of maintaining fairness in the aspect of payment. SOLUTION: Charging methods are selectively switched by service/functions used by a user (service user) who actually operates a copying machine by a use frequency detecting means 122 that detects use quantity of the respective kinds of service such as kinds of service, a charging destination and a charging unit price, the charging destination is set as a provider, the actual user, an equipment installer, etc., and service use bills 130 to 132 are issued to each of them.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of a copying system such as a copying machine and a printer which can be connected to the Internet, and a charging method using the system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a copying machine and a computer system for processing printing, a method of charging a usage fee to a user according to a printing amount and a method of charging a device installer according to a printing amount are used.

With the spread of the Internet and the development of various electronic services today, there is a strong demand for printing and processing of information obtained from electronic services in these copying machines and computer systems that process printing. It should be noted that many of the electronic services are content services that handle copyrights, such as music information distribution services.

A conventional copying system will be described below. An old copying system is a literal copying apparatus that optically reads a prepared document and prints the read image. Currently, the charges for these old copying systems currently installed at companies, convenience stores, and public institutions are the maintenance fees (perture fees) for maintaining the copying function of the copying machine. It is imposed on the equipment installer.

When a general user uses these devices, a coin box or a copy counter installed in a copying machine is used to collect a usage fee according to the number of copies and the paper size (copy size) depending on the situation. However, the equipment installer collects the fee in the form of perture fee + service fee. Alternatively, it is well established that a business operator purchases a main body having a copying function and simply charges a device usage fee to a general user by the above method. Generally, it is common in copying machines and in printer machines.

On the other hand, in recent copying systems, many proposals have been made to add new added value to the copying function. For example, the document printing method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2942968 or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-37004. A system and method for archiving a digital version of the document disclosed in the publication and generating a high-quality printed document from them, a document information management system disclosed in JP-A-11-96166, and further JP 2000-11857
There is an electronic book printing system disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication.

In the document printing method disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent No. 2942968, a barcode of information is attached to a printed matter, and the barcode on the printed matter is read by a barcode reader so that more detailed information can be obtained by the user. The function presented to is added value. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-3700
The system and method for archiving the digital versions of the documents disclosed in Publication No. 4 and generating high quality printed documents from them suffers from print quality degradation caused by repeated reading and writing in conventional copying systems. It is added as an added value that does not cause it.

The document information management system disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-96166 has added value so that it can process any request made by the user. In each of these examples, a new function is cooperation with an information system that is not included in the old copying system, and the bar code is a key element for cooperation with the information system.

The electronic book printing system disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-112857 is characterized in that billing information is sent by distribution of the electronic book and that plural printing prohibition means are provided to protect the copyright. However, the user is allowed to print a copy for a user who has paid a legal fee. If the copying system is a device specialized for this electronic book printing, there is little problem with the fairness of payment, and it can be inferred that the user pays the communication fee for the time required to download the book information. In addition, it is highly demanded to print the output of an Internet service due to the spread of the Internet, or conversely, connect paper information to the Internet and receive the service.

[0010]

The copying system is basically a basic means (printing / printing
Image reading, CPU, display means, communication means)
The role as an information terminal can be realized by linking individual means.

However, when various new services are provided by the copying system, some problems occur in the conventional charging method. For example, a user downloads information about a product that exists on the Internet, writes purchased items on a printed page, a copying system reads and interprets the items, and order processing is performed via communication.
Consider the case where a contract is printed from a reproduction system.

[0012] The provision of the catalog and the presentation of the communication fee / contract for the time required for the order processing can be interpreted as the information provider companies should provide free of charge. It is thought that it should be charged. Under this circumstance, in the old copying system, the user pays a fee according to the number of printed sheets and the communication fee is paid by the business operator or the user, and the fairness in terms of payment is lost.

Further, in the above description, there is an independent service that reads the page information added as a new service and performs the ordering process. The current billing system cannot support such new third party services. Further, in the electronic book printing system disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-112857, it is not possible to set appropriate billing information for various services.

As described above, in the current copying machines and computer systems for processing printing, since the charging system is directed to a specific user, it is not possible to appropriately charge for complicated service usage. If it is applied, the problem of losing the fairness of the usage fee arises as described above.

On the other hand, the functions of these copying machines and computer systems have become more sophisticated, and even in today's machines, means and communication means for connecting to the Internet, internal storage media such as hard disks and memories, and advanced equipment. It is equipped with a CPU that can perform various processes. For this reason, services of unprecedented methods using these functions are being provided.

Therefore, the present invention is also applicable to these new services, the user appropriately determines the services used by these devices, determines the charging target according to the service content, and at the same time pays fairness. It is an object of the present invention to provide a copying system and a charging method with an appropriate fee collection that can be kept.

[0017]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is based on a communication means connectable to the Internet, a display means for displaying information based on display data, and a print data. A billing method in a copying system having a printing unit for printing an image, comprising a table step of maintaining billing information according to a service in a table, a service detecting step of detecting the type of the service, and a usage frequency of each. And a charge changing step of selectively changing a charge method corresponding to the type of the service used, the charge method in the copying system.

According to the invention of claim 2, in claim 1, there is provided a detail display step of automatically creating a billing detail according to the type of the service used and displaying the billing detail on the display means. Characterize.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, a billing statement is automatically created according to the type of the service used, and the terminal device connected to the communication means via the Internet is used. It is characterized by comprising a transfer step of transferring the billing details.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a copying system having communication means connectable to the Internet, display means for displaying information based on display data, and printing means for printing an image based on print data. A table for maintaining billing information according to the service, a service detecting means for detecting the type of the service performed by the system, a usage detecting means for detecting the usage frequency of each service, and a type of the service used And a charge changing means for selectively changing the charge method according to the above.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect, the billing details are automatically created according to the type of the service used, and the billing details are displayed on the display means.

The invention of claim 6 is characterized in that, in claim 4 or 5, the usage unit price of the service and the billing destination information are obtained from a terminal device connected to the communication means via the Internet. .

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in any one of the fourth to sixth aspects, there is provided scanner means for optically reading a document to generate image data, and the image scanned by the scanner means is used for the communication means. And a terminal device connected via the Internet.

[0024] The invention of claim 8 comprises the charge collecting means for collecting and managing the price calculated based on the service according to any one of claims 4 to 7, and the service is used through the charge collecting means. The feature is that the fee is collected from the user.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the fourth to eighth aspects, the information storage means for storing the obtained information inside the device, the information transfer means for transferring the information to another recording medium, and the transfer The information recording means for recording the stored information in a form that can be taken out to the outside, and the fee payment detecting means for detecting the completion of payment of the fee, and by confirming the payment of the fee,
It is characterized in that the transfer of information to another recording medium is started.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the accompanying drawings,
The copying system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.
FIG. 1 shows a basic schematic configuration diagram. In FIG. 1, the lower left side shows the place where the copying system is placed, and the upper right side shows the provider side that provides a new service, both of which are in a state where they can communicate via the Internet 1. Is configured.

On the provider side, the server 2 and the content information 3 accessed from the server are linked via a predetermined network 4A. Further, the copying system side is in a state in which the terminal 5 capable of displaying the processing result of the copying system and the like and the copying machine 6 which is the copying system device are connected and linked by a predetermined network 4B as required.

Here, a copying machine will be described as a core of a copying system, but in the present embodiment, the copying machine is a scanner with a single scanner, a printer with a poor display interface, and a computer whose display is a terminal. It may be a system. In any case, the minimum required functions of the copying machine system are the printing means 107, the display means 102 having information input / output, and the communication means 10 with the outside.
It is 1.

The copying machine exemplified in this embodiment has a scanner 103 for optically reading an image, a control panel which is a display means 102 capable of inputting / outputting information to / from a user, and a printing means for printing information on paper. It is equipped with 107. More specifically, the components shown in FIG. 2 described later are required. The information obtained by this system is printed matter 7,
Alternatively, it can be taken out of the system as a copied work 8 that is digitally copied.

FIG. 2 shows components necessary for the means system of this embodiment. The display unit 102 includes a function of displaying display information output by a device or a system, and an input unit for accessing and controlling the display information. Communication with the provider or communication within the copying system is performed via the communication means 101.

In the case of inputting / outputting information on paper, the input is a means for reading an image, which is a scanner device 103 and a printing means 1.
07. The information storage means 104 holds temporary or permanent information in order to smoothly process a series of processes. The content stored here is controlled by the CPU 100, which is a calculation means, and is transmitted to the information transfer means 105 as necessary. An MO that can take out information as digital information is provided at the end of the information transfer means 105.
An external storage unit 106 represented by a floppy (registered trademark) disc, MD, CD-R, etc., and a printing unit 107 capable of taking out information as visible information are connected. These components are the same as in traditional copying systems.

The main part of this embodiment is the right element in FIG. First, the copying system includes a billing information table 110.
have. This table 110 is fixed inside the system (services available in the copying machine are limited) or dynamically acquires and updates information from the network (services available in the copying machine is limited. Absent)
There are cases.

Further, there are two methods for obtaining information through the network. The first is a method for obtaining information according to the service from the connected service server 2.
The second method is to connect to another server that has a list of services, features, and billing information to obtain the information.

The billing information includes at least information that can specify the type of service (breakdown column in FIG. 4), service usage unit price (unit price column in FIG. 4), unit used for service count (unit column in FIG. 4), charge target person Identifying information (Chargeable person column in the figure) ・ Identifying information provider (Information provider I in the figure)
D) is included, and if necessary, for example, the range of free services approved by the vendor (restricted column in the figure), the billing account number (not shown) provided by the information provider, the payment method (not shown), etc. are arbitrarily added. You can do it.

When the information is distributed via communication, it may be one or more divided files, and its format may be any encoded ID format or text format. This table is referred to by the service type detecting means 111 and the billing destination determining means 112 in order to manage the breakdown of each service used by the user.

The copying system uses the service type, billing destination, billing unit price, etc., obtained by these, and the usage frequency detecting means 122 for detecting the usage amount for each service so that the user (service user) who actually operated the copying machine can use the copying system. The charging method is selectively switched according to the service / function used, the charging destination is set to the provider, the actual user, the equipment installer, etc.
Is to issue.

Further, since the spot is normally used for the service user, it is possible to present the billing information by the special fee presenting means 120. According to this embodiment, a charging system that can support various services and a device that uses this system are provided by such a mechanism.

In order to explain the more specific operation, as an example of the service, the user downloads a list of favorite lyrics cards of the CD from the server of the music provider, selects the lyrics card to purchase from the list, and copies it. I will give an example of ordering and printing using the system.
FIG. 3 is an example of presenting service usage details to the user in the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is an example of a billing information table indispensable in the present embodiment. Further, FIG. 5 is a list service output result sample for explanation.

First, as the first step, the user connects the service (copyright download / print service here) running on the provider side server 2 using the display means 102 of the copying system as an interface. This connection method is not particularly limited to access from the display means. Some URL information, service connection telephone number, etc. are printed on the paper, and the user's correction information such as a system that decodes them and connects them to a predetermined server (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-96166) is used. It can be a system that can handle.

As a second step, the copying system downloads the data constituting the billing information table from the given server connection destination and updates the billing information table. This operation may not be necessary if the copying system is limited to a predetermined service.

It is also possible to obtain the billing information from a server having a list of services and billing information as described above. By this operation, for example, a billing information table as shown in FIG. 4 is generated. In the figure, the information provider ID = 0010135 means the content server company (provider) in FIG. 1, and the information provider ID = 10.
Reference numeral 01234 means a company that provides a copying machine and a copying system, and information provider ID = 105555 is shown in FIG.
It means an independent service provider (provisionally called a page information decoding service) that decodes the entry information from the print information to the user and performs order processing. In this embodiment, the structure of the billing information table and the data format of the values set in each column are not restricted.

As a third step, the system presents the information desired by the user using the display means or the printing means. When the display means is used, it can be realized by displaying a WEB screen on the display means. An example of the presentation using the printing means is a new concept, and the example is shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 shows detailed information of the CD lyrics card selected by the user as a purchase candidate, a check box for selecting the card, a communication field in which communication items to the provider can be arbitrarily entered, and the selected lyrics. It consists of an output destination selection check box for selecting the output destination of the card. In these checks of these outputs and in this step, the copying system refers to the charging information table. In the present embodiment, the copying system determines that the communication fee and the printing fee are provided by the provider free of charge (No. 4, No. 7, Line 7 in FIG. 4), and the usage fee is charged to the provider.

As a fourth step, the user inputs purchase information for the obtained information and transfers the information to the server. In this operation, as in the first step, it is possible to input information from the screen through the display means or to use a special service for inputting information from the page information as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 5, check boxes for items to be purchased and output destinations are marked by adding them with a pen, and if necessary, enter them in the communication field, and the entered printed matter is the scanner 1 of the copying machine.
By calling 03, the information decryption service retrieves the purchase information and transfers the information to the server. In this step, the copying system refers to the billing information table, and the communication fee for selecting the copyrighted work and the fee for using the decryption service for the space information are provided to the provider (lines 4 and 11 in FIG. 4) and the fee for using the scanning service by the scanner (see 4 number 9 line) charges the input user.

As a fifth step, the server transfers the requested content to the copying system. Even in this step, the copying system refers to the billing information table, and if the communication time is up to 300 seconds, the provider (number 2 line in FIG. 4)
For more than that, the service user (number 3 line in Fig. 4) is charged. Setting some restrictions as in this example also has the effect of clarifying to what extent the information service company is responsible.

Further, since the contents are copyrighted works, a separate service fee is charged to the service user (see number 1 in FIG. 4).
Line) will be charged. Prior art (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-112857) is included in the contents transferred here
It is also possible to add a print control command such as that shown in FIG.
As the sixth step, the copying system asks the service user to determine the output destination of the downloaded content. The selection of the output destination can also be input from the display means or a paper medium as shown in FIG.

As a seventh step, the copying system provides the service user with the charge information for the service user calculated by the charge information, the service type detecting means, the charge destination determining means and the frequency detecting means. It is presented by the fee presentation means 120. At the stage of presenting the billing information, the actually downloaded information is before printing 107 or copying 106 to a portable external recording medium, and of course the user can cancel it. As a method of presenting the service usage fee, printing the information as shown in FIG. 3, displaying it on the control panel which is the display means of the copying machine, or using a convenience store,
It is possible to transfer and display on the display means of the terminal in the counter.

As an eighth step, the service user pays the usage details. As a method of this, payment can be made in a coin box linked with a copying machine, or if a charge display is a display means of a terminal, payment can be made at a predetermined payment place (a counter at a convenience store or the like).

As a final step, the copying system detects the end of the charge collection by the charge payment detecting means 121, and prints the downloaded information or digitally copies it to a formable medium. On the other hand, the copying system charges the provider or the equipment installer by a predetermined method.

In the above description, the copyrighted content is used as the serviced information, but not only the service provided by the company to the service users free of charge can be operated by the system of this embodiment. , No. 1 in Fig. 4 even for a simple copy service that has been performed conventionally
If the service definition in line 0 is made, the system can be operated. In this case, some operations of steps 5 to 8 relating to copyright protection can be omitted.

Further, in the conventional copying service, it was a prerequisite of the copying machine to capture the original image by the scanner, but in the present embodiment, the printing means and the reading means individually provide different services. Therefore, it is charged separately as a service that transfers scanned images to others. Further, especially in the case where the sales of the copying system are affected by the comings and goings of users such as convenience stores, the ability to attract customers by the copying system may be charged as one of the services as shown in line 6 of FIG. It is possible.

In this way, by classifying services and managing their charging information and dynamically changing the charging method, fair charging is provided for various service uses and at the same time service users are provided. It will be possible to provide new value-added services that are easy to understand and highly used.

[0054]

As described above, the present invention has the following advantageous effects. A billing information table for managing billing information for each service having a unique function, a means for detecting a billing destination from the billing information, a means for individually detecting a service used by a user, and a means for detecting a frequency of use of the service By having the, it is possible to individually manage the charging destination and the usage charge of each service. Therefore, the user does not have to pay an unnecessary service usage fee, the fairness of the fee can be guaranteed, and the copying system can cope with the collection of fees for various services.

In addition, since the copying system is compatible with a wide variety of services, for example, when this system is installed in a place such as a convenience store that needs the ability to attract customers, a new business model such as a customer attraction service is introduced. It becomes possible to make a proposal. Further, when the provided service is a copyrighted work, it is possible to grasp the degree of access and the degree of diffusion of the copyrighted work separately.

By automatically presenting the charge details for the service used by the user, the transparency of the service charge can be maintained and the service provided by the provider can be deepened. By automatically printing the charge details for the service used by the user,
The user can easily check the service fee on paper.

By outputting the charge details for the service used by the user to the display section of the copying system, the user can confirm the service charge on the spot without moving. In particular, when linked with claim 11, it is possible to pay the fee on the spot. Further, by displaying the service fee on another terminal, if the copying system is placed in a convenience store or the like, for example, the fee can be paid by the person, which increases the security of the payment. Also,
The store side can also feel the degree of use on the skin, increasing the sense of security.

By obtaining the billing information by communication, the copying system can dynamically support various services. As a result, the number of services available to users in the copying system is increased, and the ability to attract customers by providing services can be proposed as a new service. Moreover, not only is it possible to instantly reduce the amount of labor required to revise fees, but it is also possible to perform billing management for many copying systems at once.

Unlike the conventional copying system, since the scanner and the printer provide individual services, the user can grasp the services used in more detail, and the transparency and fairness of charges are increased. On the other hand, a scanner service can be provided to the copying system provider as a new revenue.

Further, by providing the charge payment detecting means, it is possible to avoid an unintentional copy of the copyrighted content, which is useful for copyright protection.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a relationship between a copying system and a provider according to the present exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of a copying system in the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of presenting a service usage statement to a user notified by using the system.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a billing information table.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a sample example of a list service output result.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Internet 2 servers 5 terminals 6 Copier 101 communication means 102 display means 103 reading means 104 information storage means 105 information transfer means 106 external storage means 107 printing means 110 Billing information table 111 Service type detecting means 112 Charging destination determination means 120 Means of presenting fees to users 121 Means for detecting fee payment 122 Utilization frequency detection means

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G06F 17/60 ZEC G06F 17/60 ZEC G03G 21/00 396 G03G 21/00 396 21/02 G06F 3/12 KG06F 3/12 G03G 21/00 392

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A communication means connectable to the Internet, and a display means for displaying information based on display data.
A billing method in a copying system having a printing means for printing an image based on print data, comprising a table step of maintaining billing information according to a service in a table, and a service detection step of detecting the type of the service. , A charging in a copying system, comprising a usage detecting step of detecting each usage frequency, and a charging changing step of selectively changing a charging method associated with the type of service used. Method. 2. The copying system according to claim 1, further comprising a statement display step of automatically creating a billing statement according to the type of the service used and displaying the billing statement on the display means. Billing method in. 3. A transfer step of automatically creating a billing statement according to the type of the service used, and forwarding the billing statement to a terminal device connected to the communication means via the Internet. The charging method in the copying system according to claim 1 or 2. 4. Communication means connectable to the Internet, and display means for displaying information based on display data,
In a copying system having a printing unit that prints an image based on print data, a table that maintains accounting information according to the service, and a service detection unit that detects the type of the service performed by the system, respectively. And a charge changing unit for selectively changing a charging method according to the type of the service used. 5. The copying system according to claim 4, wherein a billing statement is automatically created according to the type of the service used, and the billing statement is displayed on the display means. 6. The copying system according to claim 4, wherein the unit price of use of the service and the billing destination information are acquired from a terminal device connected to the communication unit via the Internet. 7. A scanner means for optically reading a document to generate image data, and transmitting an image scanned by the scanner means to a terminal device connected to the communication means via the Internet. 7. The copying system according to claim 4, wherein: 8. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: a charge collecting unit that collects and manages the price calculated based on the service, and collects the service use charge from the user via the charge collecting unit. The copying system according to any one of 1 to 7. 9. An information storage means for storing the obtained information inside the device, an information transfer means for transferring the information to another recording medium, and an information recording means for recording the transferred information in a form that can be taken out to the outside. And a payment payment detection means for detecting the completion of payment of the charge, and by confirming the payment of the charge,
9. The copying system according to claim 4, wherein the transfer of information to another recording medium is started.