JP2004295670A - Charging management system and device used therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To properly perform charging according to the priority of a printing job and properly perform execution of the printing job according to its priority. <P>SOLUTION: In this charging management system, color laser printers 60a and 60b are adapted as printers for setting printing orders according to the priorities set to printing jobs transmitted from a client computer 35 or the like to execute the printing jobs, and accumulating and storing the number of printing pages for every priority in a RAM or the like. A charging management server 20 is adapted as a device for calculating the charging amount based on information such as the number of printing pages for every priority acquired through a network 30 or the memory element 50 of a toner cartridge mounted on a cartridge connection part 28 and registering the calculated charging amount in a charging management database 26. According to this, the charging can be further properly performed according to the priorities of printing jobs, and execution of printing jobs according to the priorities can be further properly performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a billing management system, a printing apparatus used therefor, a billing management apparatus, a program used therefor, and a billing management method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a printing apparatus that executes a received print job to perform printing and uses the printing apparatus. The present invention relates to a billing management system including a billing management device that manages billing for a printer, a printing device used therefor, a billing management device, a program used therefor, and a billing management method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as this type of billing management system, there has been proposed a billing system in which a maintenance fee or the like is billed in accordance with the used amount of the printing apparatus, such as the number of prints or toner consumption (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this system, a billing process is performed based on information such as a unit price determined in advance according to the usage amount of the printing apparatus and the contents of the contract. Further, as a printing apparatus constituting such an accounting management system, a color laser printer or the like which is connected to a network such as a LAN and executes a print job transmitted from each client computer or the like connected to the network is generally known. ing. In this apparatus, print jobs received from each client computer or the like are sequentially executed and printed.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-305920 A
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in such a printing apparatus, if the user wants to perform an urgent print, the user cancels the print job being executed or the print job in a standby state and gives an instruction to execute the urgent print job, and then executes the canceled print job. Need to be instructed again. In this case, even if the user who has canceled the print job is limited in use of the printing apparatus, the charging process such as the maintenance fee is uniformly performed according to the usage amount such as the number of prints. Will be done. This gives the user an unfair feeling of accounting.
[0005]
It is an object of the present invention to provide a charging management system and a printing apparatus, a charging management apparatus, and a charging management method that are used for charging more appropriately according to the priority of an executed print job. Another object of the present invention is to provide a charging management system and a printing apparatus, a charging management apparatus, and a charging management method used for the same, which more appropriately execute a print job according to a priority.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems and Their Functions and Effects]
The accounting management system of the present invention, the printing apparatus used therefor, the accounting management device, the program used therefor, and the accounting management method employ the following means in order to at least partially achieve the above-mentioned object.
[0007]
The billing management system of the present invention comprises:
An accounting management system comprising: a printing device that performs printing by executing a received print job; and an accounting management device that manages accounting for use of the printing device.
The printing apparatus includes: a job receiving unit configured to receive a plurality of print jobs for which a print condition including at least a priority is set as one of the conditions; and a print job based on the priority set for the received print job. A print order setting unit for setting the print order, a job execution unit for executing the received print job based on the set print order, and a printing device for executing the print job by the job execution unit. Information storage means for storing information relating to the usage amount in association with the information relating to the priority and information relating to the instruction source of the print job,
The charging management device includes an information obtaining unit that obtains information stored in an information storage unit of the printing device, and a charging processing unit that performs a charging process based on the obtained information.
That is the gist.
[0008]
In the accounting management system according to the present invention, the printing apparatus sets the printing order based on the priority set for the received print job, executes the print job based on the printing order, and executes the print job. The information on the usage of the printing apparatus is stored in association with the information on the priority and the information on the instruction source. Then, the charging management device acquires information stored in the printing device and performs a charging process for use of the printing device. Therefore, it is possible to execute the print jobs in the printing order according to the priority and to charge for the use of the printing apparatus based on the information such as the priority. As a result, it is possible to charge more appropriately in accordance with the priority of the executed print job. It should be noted that the “information on the usage amount of the printing apparatus” includes information such as the number of printed pages, the number of printed dots, the amount of printing agent consumed during printing, and the size of printed data.
[0009]
In the charging management system according to the present invention, the print order setting means of the printing apparatus sets the print order of each print job such that the higher the priority set for the received print job is, the higher the priority is executed. It can also be a means. By doing so, the print job having the higher set priority can be preferentially executed.
[0010]
Further, in the charging management system according to the present invention, the printing apparatus, when a print job is received by the job receiving unit, a priority set for the received print job and a print job being executed by the job execution unit. Job interruption means for judging whether or not to interrupt the print job being executed based on the set priority and interrupting the print job being executed when it is determined to interrupt the print job being executed. May be provided. In the charging management system according to the aspect of the present invention, the job suspending means of the printing apparatus may be configured such that a priority set for the print job received by the job receiving means is higher than a priority set for the print job being executed. It may be a means for determining that the print job being executed is interrupted when the predetermined priority is given. In this case, the print job being executed can be canceled based on the priority of the received print job and the priority of the print job being executed. As a result, an urgent print job can be executed with higher priority.
[0011]
Further, in the charging management system according to the present invention, the information storage means of the printing device is a means for accumulating and storing information on the usage of the printing device for each of the information on the priority and the information on the instruction source. It can also be. In this case, the data size of the information stored in the information storage unit of the printing device can be reduced.
[0012]
In the billing management system of the present invention, the information storage means of the printing device may be a storage element of a recording agent cartridge mounted on the printing device. In this case, information on the amount of use of the printing apparatus can be stored in the storage element of the recording agent cartridge.
[0013]
In the billing management system according to the present invention, the billing processing unit of the billing management device may be a unit that calculates a billing amount for use of the printing device for each piece of information about the instruction source. In this way, it is possible to calculate the charge amount for each print job instruction source.
[0014]
Further, in the billing management system according to the present invention, the billing processing means of the billing management device is a means for calculating a billing amount for use of the printing device so that the higher the priority set for the print job, the higher the price. It can be. In this way, the higher the set priority, the higher the charge for executing the print job.
[0015]
The billing management device of the present invention comprises:
An accounting management device that manages accounting for use of a printing device that performs printing by executing a received print job,
Information for obtaining information on the usage of the printing apparatus, information on the priority set for the print job associated with the information on the usage, and information on the instruction source of the print job associated with the information on the usage Acquisition means;
Charging processing means for performing charging processing based on the acquired information;
The gist is to provide
[0016]
The accounting management apparatus according to the present invention acquires information on the usage of the printing apparatus, information on the priority of the print job, information on the instruction source of the print job, and the like, and performs accounting processing for the use of the printing apparatus. Therefore, it is possible to charge for the use of the printing apparatus based on information such as the priority of the print job. As a result, it is possible to charge more appropriately in accordance with the priority of the executed print job. It should be noted that the “information on the usage amount of the printing apparatus” includes information such as the number of printed pages, the number of printed dots, the amount of printing agent consumed during printing, and the size of printed data.
[0017]
Further, in the charging management device of the present invention, the information acquisition means may be means for acquiring information stored in the storage element from a storage element of the collected recording agent cartridge. This makes it possible to acquire information on the amount of use of the printing apparatus from the storage element of the recording agent cartridge and use it for billing.
[0018]
Further, in the accounting management device according to the present invention, the information acquisition unit may be a unit that acquires information from the printing device via a communication line. In this case, information on the usage of the printing apparatus can be acquired via the communication line and used for billing.
[0019]
In the billing management device of the present invention, the billing processing means may be a means for calculating a billing amount for use of the printing apparatus for each piece of information relating to the instruction source. In this way, it is possible to calculate the charge amount for each print job instruction source.
[0020]
Further, in the billing management device according to the present invention, the billing processing means is a means for calculating a billing amount for use of the printing apparatus such that the higher the priority set for the print job, the higher the price. You can also. In this way, the higher the set priority, the higher the charge for executing the print job.
[0021]
The program for the accounting management apparatus of the present invention uses the computer of the accounting management apparatus of the present invention in any one of the above-described embodiments, that is, basically, a printing apparatus that executes a received print job and performs printing. A charge management device that manages charging for the print device, the information relating to the usage amount of the printing device, the information relating to the priority set for the print job associated with the information relating to the usage amount, and the information relating to the usage amount. The gist of the present invention is to function as an accounting management device including an information acquisition unit that acquires information about a print job instruction source and an accounting processing unit that performs accounting processing based on the acquired information.
[0022]
In the program for the charging management apparatus of the present invention, the computer is caused to function as the charging management apparatus of any of the above-described aspects of the present invention. And the like, and the effect of being able to charge more appropriately in accordance with the priority of the executed print job.
[0023]
The billing management method of the present invention comprises:
A billing management method for managing billing for use of a printing apparatus that executes a received print job and performs printing, comprising:
(A) information about the usage of the printing apparatus, information about the priority set for the print job associated with the information about the usage, and information about the instruction source of the print job associated with the information about the usage. Acquired,
(B) performing a billing process based on the acquired information;
That is the gist.
[0024]
In the accounting management method of the present invention, information on the usage of the printing apparatus, information on the priority of the print job, information on the instruction source of the print job, and the like are acquired, and the accounting for the use of the printing apparatus is performed. Therefore, it is possible to charge for the use of the printing apparatus based on information such as the priority of the print job. As a result, it is possible to charge more appropriately in accordance with the priority of the executed print job.
[0025]
The printing apparatus of the present invention
A printing device that executes the received print job and performs printing, and
A job receiving unit that receives a plurality of print jobs for which a print condition including at least priority as one of the conditions has been set;
Print order setting means for setting the print order of each print job based on the priority set for the received print job;
Job execution means for executing the received print job based on the set print order;
Information storage means for storing information relating to the amount of use of the printing apparatus in association with information relating to the priority and information relating to the instruction source of the print job as billing information used for billing as the print job is executed by the job execution means; ,
The gist is to provide
[0026]
In the printing apparatus of the present invention, the print order is set based on the priority set for the received print job, the print job is executed based on the print order, and the usage of the printing apparatus with respect to the executed print job is set. Is stored as billing information in association with information about the priority and information about the instruction source. Therefore, it is possible to execute the print jobs in the printing order according to the priority, store information on the priority, and use the information as billing information for use of the printing apparatus.
[0027]
In the printing apparatus of the present invention, when a print job is received by the job receiving unit, the priority set for the received print job and the priority set for the print job being executed by the job executing unit are set. It is also possible to provide a job interruption means for judging whether or not to interrupt the running print job on the basis of the current print job, and for interrupting the running print job when it is determined to interrupt the running print job. it can. In the printing apparatus according to the aspect of the present invention, the job interrupting unit includes a predetermined priority in which the priority set for the print job received by the job receiving unit is higher than the priority set for the print job being executed. It is also possible to use a means for determining that the print job being executed is interrupted when the print job is executed. In this case, the print job being executed can be canceled based on the priority of the received print job and the priority of the print job being executed. As a result, an urgent print job can be executed with higher priority.
[0028]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described using examples. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a system configuration of a charging management system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the billing management system 10 includes a billing management server 20 functioning as a billing management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a print server transmitted from a client computer 35 connected via a network such as a LAN. The printer includes color laser printers 60a and 60b according to an embodiment of the present invention for executing a job and performing printing. Manage billing for use of 60b.
[0029]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the electrical connection of the charging management server 20 according to the embodiment using functional blocks. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the charge management server 20 includes a general-purpose computer 22 having a CPU 23, a ROM 24, a RAM 25, and an input / output interface (not shown). And a cartridge connection unit 28 to which a toner cartridge 40 is attached via an input / output interface (not shown) of the computer 22, and which is read from a color laser printer 60a connected via a network 30. The color laser printers 60a, 60b are collected from the color laser printer 60b and read from the storage element 50 of the toner cartridge 40 attached to the cartridge connection unit 28. To manage the charging for the use of.
[0030]
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of information managed in the charging management database 26 of the charging management server 20. As shown in the figure, the charging management database 26 includes an ID (printer ID) of the color laser printer 60 for which charging is to be managed, a period to be charged (for example, for March 2003), and a color laser for the charging period. Information such as the number of pages printed by the printer 60, the billing amount calculated based on the number of pages printed, and the like is managed. As shown in the figure, the number of printed pages is managed by the total number of pages for each user group (for example, department) of the user who instructed printing and for each priority set when instructing printing. Here, the priority is information set as one of the printing conditions in a print job transmitted from the client computer 35 or the like to the color laser printer 60. The printing order of the print job is set based on the degree. Further, as shown in the figure, the amount of charge calculated is managed for each user group. Among these pieces of information, the printer ID is information registered when, for example, a user enters into a contract with the user to use the color laser printer 60. The charging period, the number of printed pages, the charging amount, and the like are stored in the charging management server. 20 is information registered in the billing calculation process executed by 20. The charge calculation process will be described later.
[0031]
As shown in FIG. 2, the storage element 50 of the toner cartridge 40 includes a memory cell 52 for storing data, a read / write control unit 54 for controlling reading and writing of data in the memory cell 52, and a clock signal CLK. An address counter 56 for counting up when exchanging data with the accounting management server 20 of the embodiment and the color laser printer 60 of the embodiment via the read / write control unit 54. As such a storage element 50, for example, an EEPROM can be used.
[0032]
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of the color laser printer 60 according to the embodiment in which the toner cartridge 40 is mounted. The color laser printer 60 is configured as a full-color electrophotographic image forming apparatus employing a single photoreceptor system and an intermediate transfer system. As shown, as shown, cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow An exposing device 62 for irradiating a laser on a charged photoreceptor 63 to form an image decomposed for each color such as (Y) and black (K) as an electrostatic latent image, and a mounted toner cartridge for each color A developing unit 61 for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor 63 as a toner image using toner of each color supplied from 40C, 40M, 40Y, and 40K, and a developing device 61 for each color developed on the photoconductor 63 A primary transfer unit 71 that forms a color toner image by transferring a toner image on a transfer belt 64, a transport unit 66 that transports paper from a paper cassette 65, and a transfer unit that transports the paper to the transported paper. A secondary transfer unit 67 for transferring the color toner image formed on the belt 64, a fixing unit 68 for fusing and fixing the color toner image transferred on the sheet to the sheet, and discharging the sheet; And a controller 70 for controlling the operation of
[0033]
As shown in FIG. 4, the developing device 61 is configured to be rotatable so that the mounted toner cartridges 40C, 40M, 40Y, and 40K face the photoconductor 63, respectively. Each of the toner cartridges 40C, 40M, 40Y, and 40K includes a storage element 50C, 50M, 50Y, and 50K, respectively, and is connected to the storage element 50 when the storage element 50 is located on the lower right side in the drawing. Information related to the use of the color laser printer 60 is written by the controller 70 via 69. The electrical connection between the controller 70 and the storage element 50 is the same as the connection between the charging management server 20 and the storage element 50 illustrated in FIG.
[0034]
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing functional blocks of the controller 70 of the color laser printer 60. As illustrated, the controller 70 is configured as a microprocessor mainly including a CPU 80, a RAM 81, and a ROM 82. The RAM 81 includes a spooler 83 that accumulates a plurality of received print jobs until execution is completed. Further, the controller 70 is configured such that detection values from various sensors (for example, a temperature sensor or the like) and other input signals (for example, a print instruction signal from an operator) are input via a signal line. Based on these input signals, the exposure unit drive control unit 90, the development unit drive control unit 91, the primary transfer unit drive control unit 92, the secondary transfer unit drive control unit 93, the fixing unit drive control unit 94, the transport unit drive control A color laser printer such as an exposure unit 62, a developing unit 61, a primary transfer unit 71, a secondary transfer unit 67, a fixing unit 68, a transport unit 66, and a movable connection unit 69 via a unit 95, a movable connection unit drive control unit 96, and the like. The operation of each unit of the control unit 60 is controlled. The exposure unit 62, the primary transfer unit 71, the secondary transfer unit 67, the fixing unit 68, the transport unit 66, and the like are the same as those of a normal color laser printer or a color copying machine, and therefore, detailed description thereof is omitted. I do.
[0035]
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage element 50 of the toner cartridge 40. In the embodiment, as shown, the storage element 50 stores the ID of the toner cartridge 40 (cartridge ID), the printer ID of the color laser printer 60 in which the toner cartridge 40 is mounted, the model name of the color laser printer 60, and the color. Information such as the number of monthly pages printed by the laser printer 60 is stored. As shown in the figure, the total number of pages to be printed is managed for each user group and for each priority set when printing is instructed. Of these pieces of information, the cartridge ID is written into the storage element 50 at a factory or the like when the toner cartridge 40 is manufactured, and the printer ID, the model name, the number of printed pages per month, and the like are stored in the color laser printer 60. When the toner cartridge 40 is attached to or removed from the storage device 50, information stored at a predetermined address in the RAM 81 or the ROM 82 of the controller 70 is copied to the storage element 50. The number of print pages for each month is information that is written to a predetermined address of the RAM 81 of the controller 70 during the printing process executed by the color laser printer 60. The printing process will be described later.
[0036]
Next, the operation of the charging management system 10 according to the embodiment will be described. First, processing related to printing by the color laser printer 60 will be described, and then processing related to billing calculation by the billing management server 20 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print job receiving process executed by the controller 70 of the color laser printer 60. As shown, the print job receiving process is executed when a print job transmitted from the client computer 35 or the like is received (step S100). In the embodiment, the flowchart of FIG. 7 is used for the description of the print job receiving process. However, for ease of understanding, the spooler 83 included in the RAM 81 of the color laser printer 60 is illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B. As described above, a case where three print jobs “JOB01” to “JOB03” are accumulated and “JOB01” is being executed will be described as a specific case. In the embodiment, three priorities A (urgent), B (priority), and C (normal) are used as the priorities set for the print job.
[0037]
First, a case where the priority set for the received print job is C (normal) will be described. In this case, the print order is set so that the print order of the received print job is the last of the waiting print jobs (steps S110 and S140), and the print job receiving process ends. In the specific examples of FIGS. 8A and 8B, when a print job “JOB04” having a priority of C (normal) is received, as shown in FIGS. Is set at the end of the print order.
[0038]
Next, a case where the priority set for the received print job is B (priority) will be described. In this case, the print order of the received print job is set so as to be executed prior to the print job having the priority C (normal) among the waiting print jobs (steps S110 and S140). The reception process ends. In the specific examples of FIGS. 8A and 8B, when the print job “JOB05” having the priority B (normal) is received, as shown in FIGS. The print order of the print job “JOB05” is set so as to be executed before the print job with the priority C (normal).
[0039]
Next, a case where the priority set for the received print job is A (urgent) will be described. In this case, if the priority of the print job being executed is C (normal), the print job being executed is canceled (steps S110 to S130), and the received print job or the canceled print job is canceled. Is set in accordance with the priority (step S140), and the print job receiving process ends. That is, since the received print job has a priority of A (urgent), the printing order is set so that the priority of the received print job is higher than that of the B (priority) or C (normal) print job, and the print job is canceled. Since the priority of the print job is C (normal), the print order is set to be the last of the waiting print jobs. In the specific example of FIG. 8A, when the print job “JOB06” having the priority A (emergency) is received, the print job “JOB01” has the priority C (normal) during the execution of the print job “JOB01”. Cancel ". Then, as shown in FIG. 11A, the print order of the received print job “JOB06” is set to be higher than the waiting print job of B (priority) or C (normal). Is set, and the print order is set so that the canceled print job “JOB01” is the last of the waiting print jobs.
[0040]
On the other hand, if the priority of the received print job is A (urgent) but the priority of the print job being executed is not C (normal), the print job being executed is not canceled and the priority is B. The print order is set so that the received print job is executed with priority over the (priority) or C (normal) print job (steps S110, S120, S140), and the print job reception process ends. In the specific example of FIG. 8B, even if the print job “JOB06” having the priority A (emergency) is received, the priority of the print job “JOB01” being executed is not C (normal) and is not canceled. As shown in FIG. 11B, the print order is set so that the print job “JOB06” received with priority over the print jobs with priority B (priority) or C (normal) is executed with priority. .
[0041]
Next, a printing process executed by the controller 70 of the color laser printer 60 will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the printing process. The print processing is executed when a print job that is being executed is completed and there is a print job that is waiting, or when a new print job is received and a print job that is waiting is generated. In the printing process, first, as shown, a print job whose print order is set to be executed first among the waiting print jobs stored in the spooler 83 is executed (step S200). The print order set for the waiting print job is information set by the print job receiving process described above.
[0042]
Then, in accordance with the user group, priority, etc. of the executed print job, the number of pages printed by executing the print job is added to the number of monthly printed pages stored at a predetermined address in the RAM 81 of the controller 70 (step S210), the printing process ends. That is, as described above, since the number of print pages for each month stored at a predetermined address in the RAM 81 is accumulated for each user group and for each priority, the number of print pages corresponding to the user group and the priority of the executed print job is determined. You will add numbers. In the embodiment, the user group of the print job is identified using the IP address of the client computer 35 or the like that is the transmission source of the print job. That is, a network address (for example, an address corresponding to the upper 24 bits) is determined from the source IP address set in the print job, and the network address is used as a user group. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of the content of the number of print pages for each month stored at a predetermined address in the RAM 81. As shown in the figure, the number of print pages for each month is accumulated for each user group (network address) and each priority.
[0043]
Next, the operation of the accounting management server 20 will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a billing calculation process performed by the billing management server 20 according to the embodiment at a predetermined timing. Here, when the color laser printer 60 to be charged is a user connected to the charging management server 20 via the network 30 (that is, in the case of the color laser printer 60a shown in FIG. The predetermined timing corresponds to a regular timing (for example, the first day of every month), and when the color laser printer 60 is not connected via the network 30 (that is, the color laser shown in FIG. 1). The predetermined timing corresponds to the case where the toner cartridge 40 is collected and attached to the cartridge connection unit 28 as the predetermined timing. As described above, in the embodiment, regardless of whether the color laser printer 60 is connected to the network 30, the accounting management server 20 performs the accounting calculation processing in a unified manner.
[0044]
In the billing calculation process, first, as shown in FIG. 14, information such as the number of monthly printed pages for the color laser printer 60 to be billed is acquired (step S300). In the case of an online user, for a color laser printer 60 whose printer ID is registered in the charging management database 26, the number of monthly printed pages stored at a predetermined address of a RAM 81 included in the controller 70 of the color laser printer 60, etc. Is obtained via the network 30. In the case of an offline user, the information stored in the storage element 50 of the collected toner cartridge 40 is obtained via the cartridge connection unit 28. As described above, the acquired number of print pages for each month is accumulated and managed for each user group and for each priority.
[0045]
Then, the charge amount for each user group is calculated based on the acquired information such as the number of print pages for each month (step S310). In the embodiment, the charging unit price is set for each priority and registered in advance in the charging management database 26 and the like, and the charging unit is calculated by multiplying this charging unit by the number of print pages per month for each priority. Then, the calculated charging amount for each priority is added up for each user group to obtain a charging amount for each user group. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a charging unit price table. In the embodiment, as shown in the figure, the charging unit price is set such that the higher the priority, the higher the price. Note that various other rules can be applied to the calculation rule of the charge amount as long as the charge amount is calculated according to the priority.
[0046]
When the billing amount for each user group is calculated in this way, the calculated billing amount is registered in the billing management database 26 as the billing amount for the corresponding billing period (step S320), and the billing calculation process ends. The information such as the charge amount registered in the charge management database 26 can be used when executing a billing process for the user.
[0047]
According to the accounting management system 10 of the embodiment described above, the number of monthly printed pages for each user group and each priority stored in the RAM 81 of the controller 70 of the color laser printer 60 and the storage element 50 of the toner cartridge 40 Is acquired by the accounting management server 20, and the accounting amount can be calculated based on the acquired number of print pages for each month. Therefore, it is possible to calculate the billing amount for each user group according to the priority set when instructing printing. As a result, it is possible to charge more appropriately in accordance with the priority set for the print job. Further, information such as the number of print pages per month is acquired from the RAM 81 of the controller 70 of the color laser printer 60 via the network 30, and the collected storage elements 50 of the toner cartridge 40 are read from the cartridge connection unit of the accounting management server 20. Since the information is obtained through the server 28, the charges for the online user and the offline user can be centrally managed. In the print job receiving process of the color laser printer 60, when the priority of the received print job is A (urgent) and the priority of the print job being executed is C (normal), the print job being executed is Since the cancel is canceled, the urgent print job can be executed with higher priority.
[0048]
Here, in the color laser printer 60 of the embodiment, the controller 70 executing the processing in step S100 corresponds to a job receiving unit, the controller 70 executing the processing in steps S110 to S130 corresponds to a job interrupting unit, and The controller 70 executing the processing in step S200 corresponds to a print order setting unit, the controller 70 executing the processing in step S200 corresponds to a job executing unit, and the controller 70 executing the processing in step S210, the RAM 81, and the storage element 50 correspond to information. It corresponds to storage means. In the charging management server 20 of the embodiment, the computer 22 executing the processing in step S300 corresponds to an information acquiring unit, and the computer 22 executing the processing in steps S310 and S320 corresponds to a charging processing unit.
[0049]
In the charging management system 10 of the embodiment, when the priority set for the received print job is A (urgent) and the priority set for the print job being executed is C (normal), Although the print job was cancelled, if the print job based on the priority set for the received print job and the priority set for the print job being executed is canceled, the print job being executed is canceled according to other rules. May be determined. For example, when the priority set for the received print job is A (urgent), the print job being executed may be canceled regardless of the priority set for the print job being executed. Further, such a print job being executed may not be canceled.
[0050]
In the charging management system 10 according to the embodiment, the case where the priority set for the print job is three levels of A (urgent), B (priority), and C (normal) is exemplified, but the contents of the priority are limited to these. Of course, it is not possible, and any number of stages may be used. Also, when setting the print order of the print jobs, the print jobs are set in the order of priority, but other rules may be applied as long as they are based on the priority of the print job.
[0051]
In the charging management system 10 of the embodiment, the number of print pages for each month stored at a predetermined address of the RAM 81 of the color laser printer 60 is accumulated for each user group and for each priority. Although slightly inferior, the number of print pages, the user group, and the priority may be stored for each executed print job. In this case, when copying the information stored in the RAM 81 to the storage element 50 by the controller 70 of the color laser printer 60 or executing the accounting calculation process by the accounting management server 20, the number of print pages for each print job is set by the user. What is necessary is just to perform the process which adds up for every group and every priority.
[0052]
In the charging management system 10 of the embodiment, the number of printed pages is used as the information on the usage amount of the color laser printer 60. However, it is needless to say that other information may be used. Information such as the amount of toner consumed for printing and the data size of a print job may be used as information on the usage of the color laser printer 60.
[0053]
In the billing management system 10 of the embodiment, the billing amount is calculated for each user group. However, the billing amount for use of the entire color laser printer 60 may be calculated. Further, the network address and the like are determined from the transmission source IP address set in the print job and used as the user group. However, if the information can identify the instruction source of the print job, other information is used as the user group. It can be used. For example, the user group of the print job may be identified using information on the affiliation of the user such as a work group name managed by the OS.
[0054]
In the charging management system 10 of the embodiment, in the case of an online user, information such as the number of print pages for each month stored at a predetermined address of a RAM 81 included in the controller 70 of the color laser printer 60 is acquired via the network 30. However, since it is sufficient that the information is stored in the storage medium of the color laser printer 60, for example, the information stored in the storage element 50 of the toner cartridge 40 may be obtained via the network 30. Also, in the charging management system 10 of the embodiment, the charging management server 20 performs the centralized charging calculation process irrespective of whether or not the color laser printer 60 is connected to the network 30, but only for online users. The charge calculation process described above may be performed, or the charge calculation process only for the offline user may be performed.
[0055]
The billing management system 10 of the embodiment manages billing for use of the color laser printer 60 configured as a full-color electrophotographic image forming apparatus employing a single photoreceptor system and an intermediate transfer system. Any device that can store information such as the number of printed pages can be used. A color laser printer or copier configured as a multi-color electrophotographic image forming apparatus of a multi-photoreceptor type or a direct transfer type, or a monochrome type It is also possible to manage charging for use of a laser printer, a copying machine, an ink jet printer, or the like configured as an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
[0056]
In the embodiment, the charging management server 20 included in the charging management system 10 has been described. However, a similar charging management method may be used. Further, the computer may be in the form of a program that causes one or more computers to function as the charge management server 20. At this time, each step of the billing calculation process illustrated in FIG. 14 may be programmed using a suitable programming language and installed in a computer.
[0057]
As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described using the examples. However, the present invention is not limited to these examples, and may be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention. Obviously you can get it.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of a system configuration of a charging management system 10;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a charging management server 20;
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of management information of a charging management database 26.
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a color laser printer 60.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a controller 70;
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of information stored in a storage element 50.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print job receiving process.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a print job stored in a spooler 83.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a print job stored in a spooler 83.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a print job stored in a spooler 83.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a print job stored in a spooler 83.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a printing process.
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of the number of monthly print pages in a RAM 81.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a billing calculation process.
FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a charging unit price table.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 charging management system, 20 charging management server, 22 computer, 23 CPU, 24 ROM, 25 RAM, 26 charging management database, 28 cartridge connection unit, 30 network, 35 client computer, 40, 40C, 40M, 40Y, 40K toner cartridge, 50, 50C, 50M, 50Y, 50K storage elements, 52 memory cells, 54 read / write control units, 56 address counters, 60, 60a, 60b color laser printers, 61 developing units, 62 exposing units, 63 photoconductors, 64 transfer Belt, 65 paper cassette, 66 transport unit, 67 secondary transfer unit, 68 fixing unit, 69 movable connection unit, 70 controller, 71 primary transfer unit, 80 CPU, 81 RAM, 82 ROM, 83 spooler, 90 exposure unit Drive control unit, 91 developing unit drive control unit, 92 primary transfer unit drive control unit, 93 secondary transfer unit drive control unit, 94 fixing unit drive control unit, 95 transport unit drive control unit, 96 movable connection unit drive control unit.

Claims (20)

An accounting management system comprising: a printing device that performs printing by executing a received print job; and an accounting management device that manages accounting for use of the printing device.
The printing apparatus includes: a job receiving unit configured to receive a plurality of print jobs for which a print condition including at least a priority is set as one of the conditions; and a print job based on the priority set for the received print job. A print order setting unit for setting the print order, a job execution unit for executing the received print job based on the set print order, and a printing device for executing the print job by the job execution unit. Information storage means for storing information relating to the usage amount in association with the information relating to the priority and information relating to the instruction source of the print job,
An accounting management system comprising: an information acquisition unit that acquires information stored in an information storage unit of the printing device; and an accounting unit that performs accounting based on the acquired information. 2. The accounting method according to claim 1, wherein the print order setting unit of the printing apparatus sets a print order of each print job so that the higher the priority set for the received print job, the higher the priority. Management system. The printing apparatus is configured to perform, based on the priority set for the received print job when the print job is received by the job receiving unit and the priority set for the print job being executed by the job execution unit, 3. The accounting according to claim 1, further comprising: a job interruption unit configured to determine whether to interrupt the print job being executed, and to interrupt the print job being executed when it is determined that the print job being executed is interrupted. Management system. The job suspending means of the printing apparatus performs the execution when the priority set for the print job received by the job receiving means is a predetermined priority higher than the priority set for the print job being executed. 4. The charging management system according to claim 3, wherein the charging management system is means for determining that the current print job is to be interrupted. 5. The information on the amount of use of the printing apparatus is any one of the number of printed pages, the number of printed dots, the amount of printing agent consumed during printing, and the size of printed data. A billing management system as described. The accounting according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the information storage unit of the printing device is a unit that accumulates and stores information on the usage amount of the printing device for each of the information on the priority and the information on the instruction source. Management system. 7. The accounting management system according to claim 1, wherein the information storage unit of the printing apparatus is a storage element of a recording agent cartridge mounted on the printing apparatus. The charging management system according to claim 1, wherein the charging processing unit of the charging management device is a unit that calculates a charging amount for use of the printing device for each piece of information related to the instruction source. 9. The charge processing unit of the charge management device according to claim 1, wherein the charge processing unit calculates a charge amount for use of the printing device so that the higher the priority set for the print job, the higher the price. Billing management system. An accounting management device that manages accounting for use of a printing device that performs printing by executing a received print job,
Information for obtaining information on the usage of the printing apparatus, information on the priority set for the print job associated with the information on the usage, and information on the instruction source of the print job associated with the information on the usage Acquisition means;
Charging processing means for performing charging processing based on the acquired information;
Charging management device comprising: The accounting management according to claim 10, wherein the information on the usage amount of the printing apparatus is any one of the number of printed pages, the number of printed dots, the amount of printing agent consumed in printing, and the size of printed data. apparatus. The charging management apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the information acquisition unit is a unit that acquires information stored in a storage element of the collected recording agent cartridge from the storage element. The charging management device according to claim 10, wherein the information acquisition unit is a unit that acquires information from the printing device via a communication line. 14. The accounting management apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the accounting processing unit is configured to calculate an accounting amount for using the printing apparatus for each piece of information about the instruction source. 15. The accounting management apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the accounting processing unit is configured to calculate an accounting amount for using the printing apparatus such that the higher the priority set for the print job, the higher the price. A program for causing a computer to function as the accounting management device according to any one of claims 10 to 15. A billing management method for managing billing for use of a printing apparatus that executes a received print job and performs printing, comprising:
(A) information about the usage of the printing apparatus, information about the priority set for the print job associated with the information about the usage, and information about the instruction source of the print job associated with the information about the usage. Acquired,
(B) A charging management method for performing a charging process based on the acquired information. A printing device that executes the received print job and performs printing, and
A job receiving unit that receives a plurality of print jobs for which a print condition including at least priority as one of the conditions has been set;
Print order setting means for setting the print order of each print job based on the priority set for the received print job;
Job execution means for executing the received print job based on the set print order;
Information storage means for storing information relating to the amount of use of the printing apparatus in association with information relating to the priority and information relating to the instruction source of the print job as billing information used for billing as the print job is executed by the job execution means; ,
A printing device comprising: The print job being executed based on the priority set for the received print job when the print job is received by the job receiving unit and the priority set for the print job being executed by the job execution unit 19. The printing apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising: a job suspending unit configured to determine whether to suspend printing, and to suspend the currently executing print job when it is determined to suspend the currently executing print job. The job interrupting unit is configured to execute the print job being executed when the priority set for the print job received by the job receiving unit is higher than the priority set for the print job being executed. 20. The printing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the printing apparatus determines that the job is interrupted.

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