JP2007004402A - Program and number of print management method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a program and the number of print copies management method for reducing troublesomeness accompanied with the consideration of the limited number of print copies under the management of the number of print at a printer. <P>SOLUTION: The index of a print pace in a management period is calculated by seasoning a print history with schedule information (step S204), and the result value of the number of print until the present time in the management period is acquired, and the index of the print pace and the result value of the number of print are gathered and displayed with a graph (step S208). When the result value of the number of print copies is larger than the index of the print pace, not only a warning message to draw an attention from a user but also the graph are displayed (step S209). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for suppressing the number of printed sheets to be equal to or less than the limited number under the management of setting the limited number of sheets that can be printed by a printing apparatus.

In recent years, an increasing number of companies have introduced personal management of printing devices. The personal management of the printing apparatus is to set a limit number of prints that can be printed by the printing apparatus for each user during the management period, and to limit the use of the printing apparatus when the limit number is exceeded. By introducing personal management of printing devices, companies can raise the awareness of each user about resource saving and reduce printing costs.
JP 2001-195224 A

  By the way, in the personal management, each user is notified of the limited number of sheets that can be used in the printing apparatus set for the user by receiving a contact from the administrator. However, the user does not know how fast to print, and may save more than necessary, or conversely, print too much and receive unexpected print rejection when needed .

For this reason, the user is forced to use the printing apparatus while always being aware of the limited number of sheets throughout the management period, and the user often feels annoyed, which is regarded as a problem.
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a program and a printing number management method capable of reducing the troublesomeness associated with being aware of the limited number of sheets when using a printing apparatus under personal management. The purpose is to do.

Therefore, a program according to the present invention includes a first step of obtaining an index of a printing pace in a predetermined period starting from a reference date, a second step of obtaining an actual value of the number of printed sheets from the reference date to the present, A third step of outputting the print pace index and the actual value of the number of printed sheets together is executed by a computer.
Note that “output a printing pace index” means outputting a printing pace index for a specific day or a specific period of a predetermined period in addition to outputting all printing pace indices for a predetermined period. Including.

In the above configuration, the actual value of the number of printed sheets and the index of the printing pace are output together, and the user can adjust the printing pace with reference to the output. Is reduced.
In addition, it is preferable that the method includes a fourth step of obtaining a print pace index for the predetermined period based on the print history, and obtaining the index obtained in the fourth step in the first step. As a result, an index of the printing pace in consideration of the past printing situation is obtained.

  Here, the method includes a fifth step in which a user obtains a schedule for printing within the predetermined period, and in the fourth step, the print pace index is obtained in consideration of the schedule obtained in the fifth step. desirable. The method further includes a sixth step of obtaining a date on which the user does not perform printing within the predetermined period. In the fourth step, the number of printed sheets is 0 on the day on which the printing obtained in the sixth step is not performed. In consideration of this, it is desirable to obtain the print pace index. As a result, when the print pace index is calculated, the user's schedule is taken into account, so that the reliability of the index is improved.

The third step includes a step of comparing the print pace index with the actual number of printed sheets, and if the actual number of printed sheets is greater than the print pace index, be careful of the user. It is desirable to output that prompts. This is beneficial because the user can adjust the printing pace according to the cautions urged.
The method for managing the number of printed sheets according to the present invention includes a first step of obtaining an index of a printing pace in a predetermined period starting from a reference date, and a second step of obtaining an actual value of the number of printed sheets from the reference date to the present. And a third step of outputting the print pace index and the actual value of the number of printed sheets together. In the above configuration, the actual value of the number of printed sheets and the print pace index are output together, and the user can adjust the print pace with reference to the output. Annoyance is reduced.

Hereinafter, a program and a print number management method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<Configuration of print management system>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a print management system according to the present embodiment.
As shown in the figure, this system includes an MFP (Multiple Function Peripheral) 1, a schedule server 2, and a plurality of terminal devices 3 to 6 connected via a network, here a LAN (Local Area Network) 7, and TCP / IP Various data can be exchanged with each other in accordance with (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol).

The MFP 1 is, for example, a multi-function digital multi-function peripheral. The MFP 1 reads a set original image, obtains image data, and prints the original image based on the image data, or external terminal devices 3 to 6. Has a function of executing various jobs such as a print job for receiving a print execution instruction.
The schedule server 2 is a server that receives input of schedule information from a user and manages the schedule information. Note that the schedule server 2 receives information on the scheduled printing date and the scheduled number of printed sheets, scheduled business trip date, paid acquisition date, and the like from the user as schedule information.

The terminal devices 3 to 6 are, for example, personal computers (PCs), and transmit print jobs to the MFP 1 via the LAN 7.
<Configuration of terminal device>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the terminal device. Since the terminal devices 3 to 6 have the same configuration, only the terminal device 3 will be described here.

The terminal device 3 includes a CPU 30, a display 31, an operation unit 32, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 33, a RAM 35, an interface 36, and the like.
The CPU 30 controls the display contents of the display 31, accepts input information from the operation unit 32, and executes operations such as an OS (operating system) and applications.

The display 31 is a liquid crystal display device or the like, for example, and displays characters, figures, and the like on its display unit.
The operation unit 32 is, for example, a keyboard and a mouse, and is an input device for giving a command to the CPU 30 by pressing a button.
The HDD 33 stores an OS and application software. In this example, at least a printer driver for controlling the MFP 1 and a program according to the present embodiment are stored.

The RAM 35 functions as a main memory, a work area, and the like for the CPU 30, and stores temporary data generated when the program is executed, for example.
The interface 36 is a LAN card, a LAN board, or the like for connecting the CPU 30 and the LAN 7, and transmits and receives data to and from the MFP 1 and the schedule server 2 via the LAN 7.

<Configuration of MFP>
Next, the configuration of the MFP 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the MFP 1. As shown in the figure, the MFP 1 includes, as main components, a CPU 10, a scanner unit 11, a print output unit 12, an operation unit 13, an interface 14, a ROM 15, a RAM 16, and a received job analysis unit 17. A management information storage unit 18 and a print history storage unit 19.

The CPU 10 reads out a necessary program from the ROM 15 and controls various operations in a unified manner while measuring the timing so as to execute a smooth operation.
The scanner unit 11 is a known device that reads an image of a set document.
The print output unit 12 is a known device that prints image data on recording paper by an inkjet method, a laser method, or the like.

The operation unit 13 includes a display panel made of, for example, a liquid crystal touch panel. When a virtual button on the display panel is pressed, the information is transmitted to the CPU 10.
The interface 14 is a LAN card, a LAN board, or the like for connecting the CPU 10 and the LAN 7. The interface 14 receives data transmitted from the terminal devices 3 to 6 via the LAN 7 and sends the data to the CPU 10. Further, data from the CPU 10 is transmitted to the terminal devices 3 to 6 through the LAN 7.

The ROM 15 stores various programs such as a program related to a scan operation in the scanner unit 11 and a program related to a print operation in the print output unit 12.
The RAM 16 is a volatile memory and serves as a work area when the CPU 10 executes a program.
The reception job analysis unit 17 has a function of analyzing the received print job.

  The management information storage unit 18 stores a management information table. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a management information table. In the management information table, information relating to a user name, an IP address, an e-mail address, a print limit number of sheets, an authentication code, the number of used sheets to date, and a management period are stored as management information. In the example shown in the figure, one month from October 1, 2004 to October 31, 2004 is set as the management period.

The print history storage unit 19 stores a print history corresponding to each user. FIG. 5 shows a print history table of a certain user. As shown in the figure, in the print history, the date and the number of printed sheets are recorded in association with each other so that it can be understood how many days and how many sheets have been printed.
<Operation of MFP>
Next, the operation when the MFP 1 receives a print job will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing from when the MFP 1 receives a print job to when the MFP 1 executes the print job.

When the MFP 1 receives the print job (step S101: Yes), the reception job analysis unit 17 analyzes the received print job (step S102).
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a print job. The print job 40 includes a print command 41 and print data 42. The print command 41 stores information on the source IP address, format, number of pages, job name, paper size, paper type, authentication code, and number of copies.

  The reception job analysis unit 17 extracts the authentication code from the print command 41 (step S103), and the number of copies (the number of copies × the number of pages, but 1/2 in the case of duplex printing, and in the case of Nin1 printing, 1 / n divisor + 1) is extracted (step S104). Then, the CPU 10 adds the number of prints to be printed this time to the column corresponding to the print date in the user print history table corresponding to the authentication code from the print history storage unit 19 (step S105). Thereafter, the print job is executed (step S106). As described above, in the MFP 1, the numerical value of the print history table stored in the print history storage unit 19 is updated each time a print job is executed. Although the number of prints may be extracted from the print command as in the present embodiment, the number of actually executed print jobs is counted when the MFP 1 is discharged, and this count is used as the number of prints. It is preferable to add.

<Operation of terminal device>
Next, a program according to the present embodiment will be described.
The terminal device 3 is installed with software including a program according to the present embodiment. First, the user needs to make settings so that the terminal device 3 can access the MFP 1 and the schedule server 2 when using the program.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a program setting screen. The setting screen 44 includes a column for inputting the IP address and authentication code of the MFP 1 and a column for inputting the URL, user name, and password of the schedule server 2.
The user uses the keyboard or the like of the operation unit 32 to input predetermined items in these fields, and then presses an “OK” button 46 to complete the setting. With this setting, the terminal device 3 can access the MFP 1 and the schedule server 2 via the LAN 7 when necessary, and acquire various data from the respective devices.

  Hereinafter, in this example, it is assumed that the current date is October 5, 2004. Further, a case where the user of the terminal device 3 is Mr. Tanaka registered in the management information table of FIG. 4 will be described. The management period is set to 1,000 sheets as the limit number of sheets in the management period for one month with October 1, 2004 as the reference date, and the number of sheets used up to now is 200.

Next, processing of the program according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing of the program according to the present embodiment.
When the print setting dialog box is activated on the application of the terminal device 3 (step S201), the terminal device 3 accesses the MFP 1 and acquires management information and print history corresponding to the user of the terminal device 3 (step S201). S202). In this example, it is assumed that the table shown in FIG. 5 is acquired as the print history.

Then, the schedule information of the user of the terminal device 3 is acquired by accessing the schedule server 2 (step S203).
FIG. 10 shows a table for storing information acquired by the terminal device 3. In the table shown in the figure, information relating to the management period, the limited number of sheets set in the management period, and the number of sheets used so far in the management period are stored as management information. In this example, the management period is set to one month with October 1, 2004 as the reference date, and the limit number is set to 1,000.

In the table shown in the figure, the following schedule is stored as schedule information.
Regular printing: 200 sheets on October 20 Normal printing schedule: 150 sheets on October 7; 1 sheet on October 25 Business trip schedule date: October 14 Paid acquisition date: October 26 “To print a predetermined number of sheets on the same day every month, for example, for the creation of specifications”.

Then, based on the acquired print history and the limited number of sheets, the print pace index in the management period is calculated in consideration of the schedule information (step S204).
Here, a method of calculating the print pace index will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a process for calculating a print pace index, which corresponds to the subroutine of step S204 in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a table showing specific numerical values in the process of calculating the print pace index. In the table of FIG. 12, the date, the printing history data for July, the printing history data for August, and the printing history data for September are listed in order from the left column. ) To (F) are numerical values of calculation results in the process shown.
(A) First, an average value of the number of used sheets for each date is calculated from the printing history from July to September (step S301).

(B) If the acquired schedule information includes regular printing, the number of sheets printed on the regular day is subtracted from the average value obtained in (A) on the regular date. In this example, since there is regular printing that prints 200 sheets on the 20th of every month, 200 sheets are subtracted from the value of the 20th obtained in (A) (step S302).
(C) Next, allocation is performed in consideration of the regular print number and the scheduled print number. In this example, the number of regular prints is 200 (20 days), the planned number of prints is 150 (7 days), and 1 (25 days). A value obtained by subtracting the total (200 + 150 + 1 = 351 sheets) is obtained to obtain 1000-351 = 649 sheets. Allocation is performed by multiplying the value of each day calculated in (B) by 649/755 (step S303). The numerical value 755 corresponds to the total number of sheets in (B). If the obtained value is decimal, round the first decimal place to an integer.

(D) Next, business trips and paid holidays are taken into account. In the schedule information, the business trip schedule is October 14, and the paid acquisition date is October 26. Since the printing device is not used on the business trip date and the paid acquisition date, adjustment is performed in consideration of the fact that the number of printed sheets on these days is zero.
Specifically, first, in (C), the number assigned to these days is set to zero. Then, the number of prints assigned to these days is allocated to another day. A value obtained by adding a total of 31 sheets of 14 sheets allocated on the 14th and 17 sheets allocated on the 26th and 649 sheets that can be used outside the current month schedule is obtained. In this example, 649 + 31 = 680 sheets.

Then, a calculation of multiplying the value of each day by 680/649 is performed (step S304). If the value is a decimal, the first decimal place is rounded off to the integer as above.
(E) Next, the number of printed sheets scheduled in the schedule, 7 days (150 sheets), 20 days (200 sheets), 25 days (1 sheet) is added to the value of each day (step S305).
(F) Then, the cumulative value of the number of printed sheets is obtained (step S306). This accumulated value is used as an index of printing pace.

Returning to FIG. 9, following the calculation of the print pace index as described above in step S204, the actual value of the number of printed sheets from the reference date October 1 to October 5 is determined from the print history. And the calculated print pace index, and a graph showing the print pace index and the actual value of the number of printed sheets is created (step S205).
In this example, as shown in FIG. 5, the actual number of printed sheets is 100 sheets printed on October 4th and 100 sheets printed on October 5th, so it is 200 sheets as of October 5th. Yes.

Then, the print pace index is compared with the actual number of printed sheets. Specifically, the progress rate R = P / Q is calculated from the current cumulative performance value P and the current print pace index value Q (step S205).
When the progress ratio R is larger than a predetermined value X, for example, X = 1.0 (step S207: Yes), that is, when the actual value of the number of printed sheets is larger than the print pace index, a pop-up window is displayed with a warning message. Is displayed on the display 31 (step S209). The predetermined value X can be arbitrarily set by the user.

FIG. 13 is a display example of a pop-up window when the progress rate R is larger than a predetermined value X. In the pop-up window 50, a graph 51 and a message 52 are mainly displayed.
The vertical axis of the graph 51 is the number of sheets, the horizontal axis is the date, the bar graph in the graph shows the actual value of the number of printed sheets, and the line graph shows the index of the printing pace.

As shown in FIG. 13, by displaying the current actual value together with the print pace index, the user can adjust the print pace with reference to the display, so the user is always aware of the limited number of sheets. The accompanying trouble can be reduced.
In the pop-up window 50, a warning message 52 is displayed as "Printing speed is fast. Switch to 2in1, 4in1, double-sided mode."

With this message 52, the user can be alerted that there is a risk that the limited number of prints will be exceeded within the management period if the printing pace remains unchanged.
If the progress ratio R is equal to or less than the predetermined value X (step S208: No), the graph 51 is displayed on the display 31 in a pop-up window (step S208).
As described above, in the present embodiment, when executing a print job, the actual number of printed sheets and the print pace index are displayed together, and the user adjusts the print pace with reference to the display. Therefore, it is possible to reduce troublesomeness associated with always considering the limited number of sheets.

  Note that the present invention may be a method. Furthermore, the method may be a program executed by a computer. The program according to the present invention includes, for example, a magnetic disk such as a magnetic tape and a flexible disk, an optical recording medium such as a DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, CD-ROM, CD-R, MO, and PD, and a flash memory recording medium. It can be recorded on various computer-readable recording media, and may be produced, transferred, etc. in the form of the recording medium, wired and wireless various networks including the Internet in the form of programs, In some cases, the data is transmitted and supplied via broadcasting, telecommunication lines, satellite communications, or the like.

  Further, the program of the present invention does not need to include all modules for causing the computer to execute the processing described above. For example, a separate information processing apparatus such as a communication program or a program included in an operating system (OS) The computer may execute each process of the present invention using various general-purpose programs that can be installed in the computer. Therefore, it is not always necessary to record all the modules on the recording medium, and it is not always necessary to transmit all the modules. Further, there are cases where predetermined processing can be executed using dedicated hardware.

<Modification>
As described above, the present invention has been described based on the embodiments. However, the content of the present invention is not limited to the specific examples shown in the above-described embodiments. For example, the following modifications are possible. Can think.
(1) In the above description, a configuration in which the program according to the present embodiment is installed in the terminal device 3 and an actual value of the number of printed sheets and a graph of a print pace index are displayed on the display 31 of the terminal device 3 will be described. However, a program similar to the above may be installed in the MFP 1 and a graph may be displayed on the display unit of the MFP 1 when the user logs in to the MFP 1.

  (2) In the above description, the index is calculated based on the print history data for the most recent three months. However, the index may be calculated based on the print history data for the most recent one month, two months, or four months or more. The print history data used to calculate the index is not limited to the data for the most recent months. For example, the index is calculated based on the data for the same month in the previous year, the data for the same month in the previous year, etc. May be.

(3) Although the case where the management period is set to one month has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the management period may be set to one week or may be set to three months.
(4) In the above description, the configuration in which the schedule information is added to the print history and the print pace index is obtained has been described. However, the print pace index may be obtained based only on the print history. For example, when the management period is set to one month, the previous month's print history may be used as an index of the print pace.

  (5) In the above description, the configuration in which the index of the printing pace and the actual value of the number of printed sheets are displayed using the graph has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a table as shown in FIG. It is good also as composition to do. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a table storing print pace indices and actual values of the number of printed sheets for each date. The user can adjust the printing pace by referring to the table shown in FIG.

(6) In the above description, when the print pace index is displayed, the configuration of displaying the index over the entire management period has been described. For example, “110 results, 100 indexes up to today, until tomorrow” It may be configured to display only the indices for a specific date within the management period or for a specific period, such as “120 indexes of“.
(7) In the above description, the terminal device 3 accesses the schedule server 2 and acquires the schedule information. However, the user may directly register the schedule information in the terminal device 3.

  (8) The above describes the configuration in which the MFP 1 updates the print history each time a print job is executed. However, in addition to the print job, the print history is updated when a copy job is executed. Alternatively, the number of used sheets may be counted. At this time, it is preferable that the MFP 1 receives the user authentication code and adds the number of copies to the print history table corresponding to the authentication code.

(9) In the above program, the configuration for calculating the print pace index based on the print history has been described, but the print pace index may not be calculated on the program. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which an administrator prints a print pace index that is expected and stores it in the management server, and obtains the print pace index from the management server when necessary.
(10) In the above description, the configuration in which the actual value of the number of printed sheets and the index of the printing pace are displayed on the display unit such as a display has been described. However, the actual value of the number of printed sheets and the index of the printing pace are output by voice. In this case, the user may be notified. At this time, for example, a form of outputting a voice message such as “110 actual values, 100 indexes. It seems that the printing pace is fast. It is recommended to print in the duplex mode.” The user can adjust the printing pace by listening to such a voice message.

  (11) In the above description, personal management for managing the number of prints for each user has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to department management for limiting the number of printable sheets for each department in the company. .

  The present invention can be widely applied under the management of setting a limit on the number of printed sheets. In addition, since the present invention can provide a program that can reduce the troublesomeness in using the printing apparatus, its industrial utility value is extremely high.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a print management system according to an exemplary embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a terminal device. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of MFP1. FIG. It is a figure which shows a management information table. It is a figure which shows a printing history table. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing from when the MFP 1 receives a print job to when the MFP 1 executes the print job. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a print job. It is a figure which shows the setting screen of a program. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the program which concerns on this Embodiment. The table which stores the information which the terminal device acquired is shown. 10 is a flowchart showing processing for calculating a print pace index, which corresponds to the subroutine of step S204 in FIG. It is a table which shows the specific numerical value in the process which calculates the parameter | index of a printing pace. It is a display example of a pop-up window when the progress rate is larger than a predetermined value. It is a figure which shows the table which stores the numerical value of the index of the printing pace in each date, and the actual value of the number of printed sheets.

Explanation of symbols

1 MFP
2 Schedule Server 3 Terminal Device 11 Scanner Unit 12 Print Output Unit 13 Operation Unit 14 Interface 17 Received Job Analysis Unit 18 Management Information Storage Unit 19 Print History Storage Unit 31 Display 32 Operation Unit 36 Interface 40 Print Job 41 Print Command 50 Pop-up Window 51 Graph 52 Warning message

Claims (6)

A first step of obtaining an index of a printing pace in a predetermined period starting from a reference date;
A second step of obtaining an actual value of the number of printed sheets from the reference date to the present;
A program for causing a computer to execute a third step of outputting the print pace index and the actual value of the number of printed sheets together. A fourth step of obtaining an index of a printing pace in the predetermined period based on a printing history,
The program according to claim 1, wherein in the first step, the index obtained in the fourth step is obtained. A fifth step of obtaining a schedule for printing by the user within the predetermined period,
In the fourth step,
The program according to claim 2, wherein the print pace index is calculated in consideration of the schedule obtained in the fifth step. A sixth step of obtaining a date when the user does not perform printing within the predetermined period;
In the fourth step,
4. The program according to claim 2, wherein the print pace index is calculated in consideration of the fact that the number of printed sheets is 0 on the day when the printing obtained in the sixth step is not performed. 5. . In the third step,
Comparing the indicator of the printing pace with the actual value of the number of printed sheets,
The program according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the actual value of the number of printed sheets is larger than the index of the printing pace, an output for prompting a user to pay attention is performed. A first step of obtaining an index of a printing pace in a predetermined period starting from a reference date;
A second step of obtaining an actual value of the number of printed sheets from the reference date to the present;
A method for managing the number of printed sheets, comprising: a third step of outputting the print pace index and the actual value of the number of printed sheets together.

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