JP2009172819A - Printer and composite machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inform running costs for a printer and a composite machine to a user at real time. <P>SOLUTION: A controlling part 10 for controlling the whole apparatus by executing various processes of the composite machine, is equipped with a copy controlling part 100 for controlling a copying operation or the like, a cost managing part 110 having a cost managing table 1100 setting a unit cost on every item to be an object for cost calculation and a power consumption on every specified operation, a cost calculating part 120 for calculating a cost on every specified operation such as a copying operation, a display processing part 130 for displaying the sum total value of the calculated cost by updating it at any time, and a setting receiving part 140 for receiving settings of the unit costs of articles of consumption and electric power to be used for cost calculation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus such as a printer or a multifunction machine, and more particularly to a technique for notifying a user of a printing cost.

  Conventionally, as a method for collecting the price of consumables such as toner cartridges mounted on a printing apparatus such as a multifunction machine, the number of printed sheets is counted, and a predetermined period of time is determined every predetermined period (for example, January). There is known a method called counter charge for calculating the number of printed sheets and charging the user for an amount corresponding to the number of printed sheets.

  For example, Patent Document 1 describes the following technique. In other words, the user device transmits the counted number of prints to the service center via the remote communication network. Then, the service center calculates an amount corresponding to the number of prints, and notifies the user of the amount as a billing amount via the remote communication network.

JP 2001-305920 A

  However, with the technology as described above, the user cannot know the amount corresponding to the number of printed sheets in real time. In addition, it is difficult to know the amount of money corresponding to the number of printed sheets in a printing apparatus that is not subject to counter charge. Furthermore, with the above technique, it is impossible to know the running cost including the cost other than the printing medium.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for notifying a user of running costs in real time.

  One aspect of the present invention for solving the above-described problem is a printer, a cost calculation unit that calculates and outputs a cost corresponding to a predetermined operation, and a cost display unit that displays the output cost. It is characterized by having.

  In addition, the printer includes a setting reception unit that receives a user operation, and a cost management unit that stores a unit price of the consumable used for the received predetermined operation. The cost calculation unit includes the consumable The cost may be calculated by using a unit price of.

  In the printer, the cost calculation unit may accumulate the calculated costs for a predetermined period and output a total value of the accumulated costs.

  In the printer, the setting reception unit receives a reset interval for resetting the accumulated total cost, and the cost calculation unit resets the accumulated cost when the reset interval elapses. May be characterized.

  Another embodiment of the present invention for solving the above-described problem is a multifunction device including any one of the above-described printers.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of a hardware configuration of a multifunction machine to which the present invention is applied.

  As shown in the figure, the multifunction device 1 includes a control unit 10, a communication interface (I / F) unit 20, a user interface (I / F) unit 30, a scanner unit 40, and a printer unit 50. . Of course, the configuration of the multifunction machine 1 is not limited to this. For example, a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk or a memory card may be provided as storage means for storing data to be printed.

  The control unit 10 is a unit that controls the above-described units and performs various processes of the multifunction device 1. The control unit 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 12 that performs various arithmetic processes, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 14 and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 16 that store programs to be executed and necessary data. For example, the control unit 10 receives setting information such as the number of copies and paper size and a copy execution instruction from the user via the user interface unit 20. When a copy execution instruction is accepted, the scanner unit 40 is caused to read a document according to the setting information, and the printer unit 50 is caused to print the read image data. For example, the control unit 10 receives data to be printed via the communication interface unit 30 and causes the printer unit 50 to print the received data.

  The communication interface unit 20 is a unit for communicating with an external device on a network such as a LAN. The communication interface unit 20 is, for example, a network adapter or a NIC (Network Interface Card). Of course, the communication interface unit 20 may be a USB (Universal Serial Bus) or the like.

  The user interface unit 30 is a unit for receiving user instructions by user operations. The user interface unit 30 includes, for example, a display and a so-called touch panel that is mounted on the display surface side of the display and transmits the display screen (not shown). The touch panel includes, for example, a pressure-sensitive or electrostatic input detection element. The user interface unit 30 includes buttons (for example, a copy start button) for executing various functions and hard switches such as a keyboard (not shown). The user interface unit 30 detects a user's touch operation on the touch panel and outputs it to the control unit 10 together with the touch position. Further, a user operation on the hard switch is detected and output to the control unit 10. Of course, the configuration of the user interface unit 30 is not limited to the above.

  The scanner unit 40 is a unit that reads a document placed on a document table (not shown) and generates image data. The scanner unit 40 includes an image data conversion unit 42 and a reading engine 44. The image data conversion unit 42 converts the analog information of gray for each of the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) read by the CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor of the reading engine 44 into a digital signal as image data. Output. The reading engine 44 is composed of a light source, a carriage, a scanning motor, a lens, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor (all not shown), and the like. The light is guided to a CCD sensor with RGB filters. There may be provided a sensor for detecting that the document has been set and the size of the document. Of course, the configuration of the scanner unit 40 is not limited to the above. For example, the document may be read by an ADF (Auto Document Feeder).

  The printer unit 50 is a unit for printing image data sent from the scanner unit 40 or the control unit 10. The printer unit 50 includes an image processing unit 52 and a print engine 54. The image processing unit 52 converts the received RGB image data to CMYK and performs image processing such as halftone processing. Then, the print engine 54 generates print data that can be printed. The print engine 54 supplies a plurality of paper feeding cassettes (tray) for loading printing papers of a plurality of sizes, and feeds / discharges the printing papers loaded in the paper feeding cassettes (trays) one by one to the transfer unit. Paper unit, toner cartridge containing toner of each color, photoconductor unit for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor and adhering the toner, printing paper sent from the paper supply / discharge unit to the toner image adhering to the photoconductor And a fixing unit (none of which is shown) for fixing the toner image transferred onto the printing paper to the printing paper with heat and pressure, and printing on a printing medium such as printing paper. A sensor that detects and outputs the size of the paper loaded in the paper feed cassette (tray) may be provided. Of course, the printer unit 50 is not limited to the laser type page printer as described above, and may be an ink jet type printer.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the control unit.

  As shown in the figure, the control unit 10 includes a copy control unit 100, a cost management unit 110, a cost calculation unit 120, a display processing unit 130, and a setting reception unit 140. Each of these functional units is constructed on the control unit 10 by the CPU 12 loading a predetermined program stored in advance on the ROM 16 onto the RAM 14 and executing it.

  The copy control unit 100 controls the overall operation of the multifunction device 1 including the above-described functional units. For example, the copy control unit 100 receives a user operation on the user interface unit 30 via the setting reception unit 140 and performs corresponding processing. For example, when a copy instruction is received, the scanner unit 40 is requested to read a document according to the set contents, and the printer unit 50 is instructed to print the read image data. .

  The cost management unit 110 manages the running cost of the multifunction machine 1 and displays the running cost on the user interface unit 30 in real time. Specifically, data such as various settings related to cost management and cost total values are managed using the cost management table 1100, and the cost total values are displayed on the user interface unit 30 via the display processing unit 130. Of course, the data management method is not limited to the table format.

  The cost management table 1100 is configured as shown in FIG. 3, for example. The cost management table 1100 includes a cost total value 1101 obtained by accumulating cost values calculated by the cost calculation unit 120 described later, a reset interval 1102 indicating a cycle (for example, January) for resetting the cost total value 1101 to 0, a cost Unit price information 1110 indicating the unit price of an item to be calculated (for example, consumable parts), and power consumption information 1120 indicating the power consumption for each of various operations (for example, copying and printing operations) of the multifunction device 1 are included. .

  The cost value is added to the total cost value 1101 (initial value = 0) every time the cost calculation unit 120 calculates the cost value. As the reset interval 1102, a predetermined interval or an interval designated by a user operation is set. The cost management unit 110 periodically resets the total cost value 1101 to 0 according to the reset interval 1102.

  The unit price information 1110 is configured by associating a unit price 1112 with each cost calculation target item 1111. The cost calculation target item 1111 is an element for which the running cost is calculated, and includes, for example, toner of each color, printing paper for each tray, photosensitive unit, power, and the like. The unit price 1112 of each color toner is the price per printed dot. The unit price 1112 of the printing paper is a price per printing paper. The unit price 1112 of the photoconductor unit is a price per photoconductor unit. The unit price 1112 of electric power is a price per 1 kWh (kilowatt hour). The unit price 1112 is set with a value specified by the user via the setting screen displayed on the user interface unit 30 or a value calculated by a predetermined calculation formula from the value specified by the user. A default value may be set in advance. The cost calculation target item 1111 is not limited to the above, and other elements may be set in advance or by a user operation.

  The power consumption information 1120 is configured by associating a power consumption amount 1122 with each operation identification code 1121. The operation identification code 1121 is a code (ID) for identifying various operations of the multifunction device 1. Here, the operation is, for example, copying or printing processing per sheet, and is distinguished for each combination of setting contents such as monochrome, color, sheet size, and printing mode. The power consumption 1122 is the amount of power consumed per operation by the operation indicated by the operation identification code 1121. A value measured in advance is set in the power consumption 1122.

  Returning to FIG. 2, when various operations of the multifunction device 1 are executed, the cost calculation unit 120 calculates a cost value of the operations. Specifically, when the copy control unit 100 starts control of operations such as printing and copying, the cost calculation unit 120 first determines the operation contents (for example, color mode, number of printed sheets, paper size, etc.) as copy control. Acquired from the part 100 and specified. Then, the cost value of the operation is calculated. Then, the calculated cost value is output to the cost management unit 110.

  The cost value is calculated by the following formula, for example. Formula 1: (toner K usage x toner K unit price) + (toner C usage x toner C unit price) + (toner M usage x toner M unit price) + (toner Y usage x toner Y unit price) + (printing paper Unit price) + (photosensitive unit unit price / photosensitive member durable number) + (power consumption × unit price of electric power). The amount of toner used for each color is calculated, for example, by causing the image processing unit 52 of the printer unit 50 to calculate the number of dots necessary for printing the generated print data and acquiring the number of dots. The toner unit price is calculated by acquiring the unit price 1112 of the cost calculation target item 1111 corresponding to the toner color to be used from the unit price information 1110. The unit price of the printing paper is calculated by acquiring the unit price 1112 of the cost calculation target item 1111 corresponding to the paper size to be used from the unit price information 1110. The unit price of the photoconductor is calculated by obtaining from the unit price information 1110. For example, the photoconductor durability number is obtained from the print engine 54 of the printer unit 50 or is obtained by obtaining a value set by the user. The power consumption amount is calculated by acquiring the power consumption amount 1122 of the operation identification code 1121 corresponding to the specified operation content from the power consumption information 1120. The unit price of power is calculated by acquiring from the unit price information 1110. Of course, the cost calculation is not limited to the above formula, and for example, the cost of power consumption necessary for the reading operation of the scanner unit 40 may be included. In addition, even when the printer unit is an ink jet system, the unit price per dot can be calculated, and therefore it is applicable. When the multifunction device 1 is in a sleep or standby state, a cost value may be calculated using a predetermined power consumption amount every predetermined time (for example, 1 minute).

  The display processing unit 130 receives an instruction from another functional unit, and generates and outputs a drawing command for causing the user interface unit 30 to display a screen. For example, a setting screen for receiving various settings such as copying and a drawing command for displaying a total cost value are generated.

  The setting reception unit 140 receives a user operation input via the user interface unit 30, analyzes the operation content, and controls other functional units so that processing corresponding to the operation content is executed. . For example, it accepts a user operation for executing copying, and requests the copy control unit 100 to start executing copying. In addition, various settings related to cost management are received and sent to the cost management unit 110.

  Next, processing for receiving various settings related to cost management will be described with reference to FIGS. 4-6 is a figure which shows the example of a transition of the user interface screen which receives various settings. Of course, the configuration of the user interface screen is not limited to these.

  When the MFP 1 is activated, the copy control unit 100 displays a setting screen 300 as shown in FIG. 4A on the user interface 30 through the display processing unit 130. The setting screen 300 is, for example, a top menu screen that is always displayed while the power is on. The setting screen 300 includes an area 310 that includes buttons for displaying various setting menus related to copying, faxing, administrator settings, and the like, an area 320 that displays a message for guiding operation contents, and various setting menus related to copying. An area 330, 335, 340, 345, 350, an area 360 for displaying the total cost value, and the like are included. Here, an area 330 is a button for selecting a color mode, an area 335 is a button for selecting a duplex printing setting, an area 340 is a button for setting a print magnification, and an area 345 is a paper size. The area 350 includes an area for displaying the number of copies and a button for setting the print density. In the area 360, the total cost value 1101 acquired from the cost management table 1100 by the copy management unit 110 is displayed. The display is updated when the cost total value 1101 is updated. Further, according to the reset interval 1102, a character string indicating which period is the total cost value, for example, “November cost”, “November 11 cost”, or the like may be displayed.

  When the touch of the administrator setting button 312 on the setting screen 300 (FIG. 4A) is detected via the setting receiving unit 140, the copy control unit 100 displays the setting screen as shown in FIG. 4B. 300 is displayed. The setting screen 300 includes an area 370, an area 380, an area 390, and the like that include various setting menus related to administrator settings. Each of the areas 370, 380, and 390 includes buttons for performing settings that can be set according to the authority of the administrator. For example, a button for performing network setting and user management setting is provided. In addition, a button 372 for performing various settings related to cost management is provided.

  When the touch of the button 372 on the setting screen 300 (FIG. 4B) is detected via the setting receiving unit 140, the copy control unit 100 displays the setting screen 400 as shown in FIG. 4C. To do. The setting screen 400 includes an area 401 for displaying a message for guiding operation contents, a button 402 for setting a toner cost, a button 403 for setting a printing paper cost, and a power cost setting. A button 404 for setting, a button 405 for setting the cost of a periodic replacement part, a button 406 for setting a display update interval, and a setting screen 300 for confirming the setting contents (FIG. 4B) ) To return to the setting screen 300 (FIG. 4B) and cancel button 408 to stop changing the setting contents. When the buttons 402 to 406 are touched, a screen for performing corresponding settings is displayed as described below.

  When the touch of the button 402 on the setting screen 400 (FIG. 4C) is detected via the setting receiving unit 140, the copy control unit 100 displays a setting screen 420 as shown in FIG. 5D1. To do. The setting screen 420 includes an area 421 for displaying a message for guiding operation contents, a setting field 422 for setting the unit price of each color (K, C, M, Y) toner cartridge loaded in the printer unit 50, 423, 424, 425, a reset button 426 for setting the standard price of each color toner cartridge in these fields, and an OK button 428 for confirming the setting contents and returning to the setting screen 400 (FIG. 4C). And a cancel button 429 for canceling the change of the setting contents and returning to the setting screen 400 (FIG. 4C). Numerical values set in the setting columns 422, 423, 424, and 425 are input by, for example, operating a hard switch of the user interface unit 30. These numerical values are sent to the cost management unit 110 via the setting reception unit 140 when the OK button 428 is touched, and are used for setting the unit price information 1110 of the cost management table 1100.

  When the touch of the button 403 on the setting screen 400 (FIG. 4C) is detected via the setting receiving unit 140, the copy control unit 100 displays a setting screen 430 as shown in FIG. 5 (D2). To do. The setting screen 430 includes an area 431 for displaying a message for guiding the operation content, setting fields 432, 433, 434, and 435 for setting the unit price of the printing paper loaded in each tray of the printer unit 50. A clear button 436 for clearing the setting in the column, an OK button 438 for confirming the setting contents and returning to the setting screen 400 (FIG. 4C), and changing the setting contents to cancel the setting contents 400 ( 4 and a cancel button 439 for returning to FIG. The numerical values set in the setting columns 432, 433, 434, and 435 by operating a hard switch or the like are sent to the cost management unit 110 via the setting reception unit 140 when the OK button 438 is touched, and the cost management table. Used to set unit price information 1110 of 1100.

  When the touch of the button 404 on the setting screen 400 (FIG. 4C) is detected via the setting receiving unit 140, the copy control unit 100 displays a setting screen 440 as shown in FIG. 5 (D3). To do. The setting screen 440 includes an area 441 for displaying a message for guiding operation contents, a setting field 442 for setting a price per 1 kWh of power, a clear button 443 for clearing the setting of this field, and setting contents. An OK button 448 for confirming and returning to the setting screen 400 (FIG. 4C), and a cancel button 449 for canceling the change of setting contents and returning to the setting screen 400 (FIG. 4C). The When the OK button 448 is touched, a numerical value set in the setting field 442 by an operation of a hard switch or the like is sent to the cost management unit 110 via the setting reception unit 140 and is stored in the unit price information 1110 of the cost management table 1100. Used for configuration.

  When the touch of the button 405 on the setting screen 400 (FIG. 4C) is detected via the setting receiving unit 140, the copy control unit 100 displays a setting screen 450 as shown in FIG. 6 (D4). To do. The setting screen 450 includes an area 451 for displaying a message for guiding operation contents, a setting field 452 for setting the unit price of a periodic replacement part (for example, a photoreceptor unit), and the standard price of the periodic replacement part in this field. A reset button 453 for setting, an OK button 458 for confirming the setting contents and returning to the setting screen 400 (FIG. 4C), and a change of the setting contents are canceled and the setting screen 400 (FIG. 4C). And a cancel button 459 for returning to (). When the OK button 458 is touched, a numerical value set in the setting field 452 by an operation of a hard switch or the like is sent to the cost management unit 110 via the setting reception unit 140, and the unit price information 1110 of the cost management table 1100 Used for configuration.

  When the touch of the button 406 on the setting screen 400 (FIG. 4C) is detected via the setting receiving unit 140, the copy control unit 100 displays a setting screen 460 as shown in FIG. 6 (D5). To do. The setting screen 460 is used to set a display update interval for resetting the total cost value displayed in the region 461 for displaying the message for guiding the operation content and the region 360 in the setting screen 300 (FIG. 4A) to zero. Buttons 462, 463, 464, 465, and 466, a reset button 467 for resetting the total cost value to 0, and an OK button for confirming the setting contents and returning to the setting screen 400 (FIG. 4C). 468 and a cancel button 469 for canceling the change of the setting contents and returning to the setting screen 400 (FIG. 4C). The buttons 462 to 465 can set display update intervals in units of year, month, week, and day, respectively. The button 466 can be continuously set without providing a display update interval. When the buttons 462 to 466 are touched, information indicating the display update interval is sent to the cost management unit 110 via the setting reception unit 140 and used for setting the reset interval 1102 of the cost management table 1100. When the reset button 467 is touched, the cost management unit 100 resets the total cost value 1101 of the cost management table 1100.

  As described above, various settings relating to cost management are set in the cost management table 1100.

  Next, processing for updating the display of the total cost value will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for updating the display of the total cost value. This flow is started when the multifunction device 1 is activated. It is assumed that various setting values are set in the cost management table 1100. The resetting of the total cost value is executed by another processing flow.

  When this flow is started, the cost calculation unit 120 monitors whether or not the copy control unit 100 has started control of a predetermined operation such as printing or copying (S100). When it is determined that the predetermined operation has been started (YES in S100), the process proceeds to S110. On the other hand, if it is determined that the predetermined operation has not been started (NO in S100), monitoring is continued.

  When it is determined that the predetermined operation has been started (YES in S100), the cost calculation unit 120 identifies the content of the operation (S110). Specifically, the cost calculation unit 120 acquires the setting contents of the process that the copy control unit 100 controls execution, such as the color mode, the number of prints, and the paper size. From these pieces of information, the operation identification code corresponding to the operation content is specified.

  When the operation content is specified (S110), the cost calculation unit 120 calculates the cost value of the operation (S120). Specifically, each value of Equation 1 described above is acquired from the copy control unit 100, the copy management unit 110, the printer unit 50, and the like, and the cost value is calculated using Equation 1.

  When the cost value is calculated (S120), the cost calculation unit 120 updates the cost total value (S130). Specifically, the cost calculation unit 120 adds the calculated cost value to the total cost value 1101 of the cost management table 1100.

  When the total cost value 1101 is updated (S130), the cost management unit 110 updates the display of the total cost value (S140). Specifically, the cost management unit 110 displays the total cost value 1101 on the user interface unit 30 via the display processing unit 130. The total cost value 1101 is displayed in an area 360 of the setting screen 300 as shown in FIG. When the display of the total cost value is updated, the process returns to S100.

  As described above, the display of the total cost value is updated each time a predetermined operation is executed.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. According to the present embodiment, it is possible to notify the user of the running cost of the printing apparatus or the like in real time. That is, each time a predetermined operation is executed, the cost value of the operation is calculated and displayed on the display as a total cost value for a predetermined period. Therefore, regardless of whether or not the printing apparatus is a counter charge target, the user can easily check the running cost by himself / herself.

  The present invention has been described in connection with exemplary embodiments. Obviously, many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art. Accordingly, the above-described embodiments of the present invention are intended to illustrate and not limit the gist and scope of the present invention.

  For example, the present invention is not limited to a multifunction machine, and can be applied to an apparatus such as a printer. Specifically, a function realized on the control unit 10 may be executed on the printer. In addition, for example, the total cost value for each predetermined period (for example, January) is stored in the cost management database information and displayed on the display as a graph or the like, which can be useful for user cost management. . In addition to the total cost value, the cost value may be displayed for each predetermined operation.

1 is a block diagram showing an outline of a hardware configuration of a multifunction machine to which the present invention is applied. The block diagram which shows the function structure of a control part. The figure which shows the structural example of a cost management table. The figure which shows the example of a transition of the user interface screen which receives various settings (the 1). The figure which shows the example of a transition of the user interface screen which receives various settings (the 2). The figure which shows the example of a transition of the user interface screen which receives various settings (the 3). The flowchart which shows the flow of the process which updates the display of a cost total value.

Explanation of symbols

1: MFP, 10: control unit, 12: CPU, 14: RAM, 16: ROM, 20: communication interface (I / F) unit, 30: user interface (I / F) unit, 40: scanner unit, 42 : Image data conversion unit, 44: Reading engine, 50: Printer unit, 52: Image processing unit, 54: Print engine 100: Copy control unit, 110: Cost management unit, 120: Cost calculation unit, 130: Display processing unit 140: Setting reception unit,
1100: Cost management table, 1101: Total cost value, 1102: Reset interval, 1110: Unit price information, 1111: Cost calculation target item, 1112: Unit price, 1120: Power consumption information, 1121: Operation identification code, 1122: Power consumption ,
300: setting screen, 310: area, 312: administrator setting button, 320/330/335/340/345/350/360: area, 370: area, 372: button, 380/390: area,
400: Setting screen 401: Area 402-406: Button 408: OK button 409: Cancel button 420: Setting screen 421: Area 422-425: Setting field 426: Reset button 428: OK button 429: Cancel button, 430: Setting screen, 431: Area, 432-435: Setting field, 436: Clear button, 438: OK button, 439: Cancel button, 440: Setting screen, 441: Area, 442: Setting field 443: Clear button, 448: OK button, 449: Cancel button, 450: Setting screen, 451: Area, 452: Setting column, 453: Reset button, 458: OK button, 458: Cancel button, 460: Setting screen, 461: area, 462-466: button, 467: reset button, 68: OK button, 469: Cancel button

Claims (5)

A printer,
A cost calculating means for calculating and outputting a cost corresponding to a predetermined operation;
Cost display means for displaying the output cost,
Printer characterized by. The printer according to claim 1,
A setting accepting means for accepting a user operation;
Cost management means for storing the unit price of consumables used for the predetermined operation received,
The cost calculation means includes
Calculating the cost using the unit price of the consumables;
Printer characterized by. The printer according to claim 2,
The cost calculation means includes
Accumulating the calculated costs for a predetermined period, and outputting a total value of the accumulated costs;
Printer characterized by. The printer according to claim 3,
The setting acceptance means
Accept a reset interval to reset the accumulated total cost,
The cost calculation means includes
Resetting the accumulated cost when the reset interval elapses;
Printer characterized by.   A multifunction machine comprising the printer according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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