JP2010191570A - Printing controller, printing system, printing control method, program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device and a method that reduces the amount toner or paper used. <P>SOLUTION: The printing controller is configured to control an image forming apparatus which processes a printing job. The device is provided with: a condition storage part 31 for storing element control conditions for determining content of print setting affecting the amount of toner or paper used on the basis of remaining amount of toner or paper, in association with user identification information; an information acquisition part 32 for acquiring the user identification information and information on the remaining toner or paper included in the printing job from the image forming apparatus; a content determination part 33 for reading element control conditions from the condition storage part 31 based on the acquired user identification, and for determining the content of the print setting from the remaining amount information and the read element control conditions; and a content transmission part 34 for transmitting the content of setting to the image forming apparatus, and for updating the content of the print setting included in the printing job. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention acquires element information such as toner remaining amount and paper remaining amount from an image forming apparatus such as a printer, and print setting information included in a print job from the element information and element control conditions set in advance for the element. The present invention relates to a print control apparatus that can automatically change the print control apparatus, a print system including the print control apparatus, a print control method executed by the print control apparatus, a computer-readable program for executing the method, and a recording medium.

  Along with the improvement of the network environment, a plurality of printers and MFPs (Multi Function Peripherals) have been introduced and used in one office or branch office. In recent years, due to the environmental problem of global warming, energy-saving equipment has been introduced to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Also, waste emissions have been reduced, and paper and toner consumption have been reduced to effectively use resources. Has been done.

  This means that business owners and their managers, such as offices with many printers and MFPs, save paper usage and toner usage for all those who use those printers and MFPs. It is done by giving advice, but it is difficult to make it thorough. This is because there may be cases where it is desired to exclude the use of materials submitted outside the company from saving their use.

  When printing data is transmitted from a PC or the like to a printer and a printing instruction is given, a printer driver for controlling the printer needs to be installed in the PC or the like. The printer driver converts a document created on a PC or the like into print data, and transmits the print data to the printer.

  As a function of a printer driver, for example, a function is known in which device information of a printer is acquired before printing execution is started and a change in printing method is prompted. In addition, there is also known a technique for displaying a message for prompting eco-mode printing on a guidance screen when the remaining amount of toner reaches a certain level in a printer (see Patent Document 1).

  Although these techniques can reduce the amount of toner used, they urge the user to change the settings, and the user has to change the settings, which is a burden.

  Therefore, a technique for automatically changing the setting has been proposed in order to reduce the burden on the user (see Patent Document 2). In this technique, when it is determined that the sheet has been reduced to a predetermined amount in response to the detection output from the remaining paper amount detection unit, the control unit outputs a command to the sheet reversing unit to perform duplex printing.

  Also, when the remaining amount of paper is reduced to a predetermined amount, the data is reduced and expanded and rearranged to allow printing of several pages on one sheet, and several pages on a sheet larger than that sheet. It is also possible to select a large size paper from a plurality of paper feed trays so as to perform printing for a minute.

  However, in the conventional technique, it is possible to prompt the user to change the setting before executing printing, but this is not applied to a print job that is already being executed. In addition, the function of automatically switching to double-sided printing when the remaining amount of paper is low is effective for all users who use the device. This makes it difficult for various types of users to perform printing as intended by those users.

  Therefore, business owners and managers can easily make settings, enable users to perform intended printing, and reduce toner consumption and paper usage without many users being aware of it. It would be desirable to provide an apparatus and method that can be used.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention acquires from the image forming apparatus that processes a print job, the user name of the user who transmitted the print job to the image forming apparatus and element information such as the remaining amount of toner and the remaining amount of paper, Based on the element information and the control conditions set for each setting item that affects the usage amount of the element such as toner and paper set in advance according to the user name, the setting contents of each setting item of those elements are determined. Then, a print control device is provided that returns the setting contents to the image forming apparatus and updates the print setting information included in the print job.

  In this way, it is determined whether or not to perform toner save or double-sided printing from the current toner remaining amount, remaining paper amount, and control conditions corresponding to the user name, and print setting information included in the print job is updated. Therefore, it is possible to perform printing intended by the user, suppress toner consumption, and suppress paper use without the user being aware of it. As a result, a total cost of ownership (TCO) can be suppressed, which can contribute to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions due to resource saving. Moreover, since the business owner and the manager only register the setting conditions desired by the user, the setting can be easily performed.

  Therefore, the above problem can be solved by providing the print control apparatus of the present invention, and this print control apparatus is specifically configured to include the following units.

  In other words, the print control apparatus sets an element control condition for determining, according to the element information of the element, the setting content of the print setting that affects the usage amount of the element that varies depending on the use of the image forming apparatus that processes the print job. A condition storage unit that stores the user identification information in association with the user identification information, an information acquisition unit that acquires user identification information and element information included in the print job from the image forming apparatus, and an element from the condition storage unit based on the acquired user identification information The control condition is read, and the content determination unit that determines the setting content of the print setting of the element from the element information and the read element control condition, and the determined setting content is transmitted to the image forming apparatus and included in the print job And a content transmission unit that updates the setting content of the print setting.

  In addition, the apparatus calculates a paper usage ratio from a paper information storage unit that stores the upper limit number of sheets and the number of used sheets, which is one of the elements in association with the user identification information, and the upper limit number of sheets and the used number of sheets. A paper usage rate determination unit that determines whether or not the paper usage rate exceeds a threshold value, and a content change unit that changes the setting content determined by the content determination unit so that the paper usage is reduced when the threshold value is exceeded. And can further be included. Forcing a user with a large amount of paper usage to change the setting contents to reduce the paper usage amount such as double-sided printing and aggregate printing can reduce the toner consumption amount and the paper usage amount.

  The apparatus may further include a change notification unit that transmits a message to the effect of changing the setting content by the content changing unit to the image forming apparatus and displays the message on the display unit of the image forming apparatus. Accordingly, the user can know that the setting contents are changed before printing.

  The condition storage unit can further store lighting control conditions for determining whether or not printing is disabled depending on whether or not the room is turned off, and the information acquisition unit is provided by a power management device that manages the room power supply. Information on energization to the lighting device can be acquired. When the content determination unit detects that the light is turned off from the energization information, the content determination unit transmits an instruction to disable printing based on the illumination control condition to the content transmission unit, and the content transmission unit transmits the instruction to the image forming apparatus. As a result, it is possible to prevent printing from the time when all employees return home until one employee leaves the office the next morning.

  The condition storage unit can further store a time zone control condition for determining whether or not the image forming apparatus can be used according to the time zone, and the information acquisition unit is a clock function provided in the print control device Alternatively, time information can be acquired from an external device having a clock function. In this case, the content determination unit determines whether it is a usable time zone from the time information, and if it is a usable time zone, determines the setting content, sends it to the content transmission unit, and the content transmission unit Then, the setting contents are transmitted to the image forming apparatus. On the other hand, if it is an unusable time zone, an instruction not to execute printing is sent to the content transmission unit based on the time zone control condition, and the content transmission unit sends the instruction to the image forming apparatus. As a result, printing can be performed only during a usable time zone, and printing congestion can be avoided.

  The print control apparatus determines whether or not the specified information indicating that the setting content is not updated is included in the print job. If the information is included, the print setting included in the print job is included in the content determination unit. An information determination unit for instructing not to change the setting contents can be further included. As a result, when the print job is for external distribution or the like, the element control condition set for the user is ignored, and printing is performed under the control condition such as high quality with a large amount of toner consumption set by the user. be able to.

  The print control apparatus receives the user identification information and the change contents of the element control condition, and changes the element control condition associated with the user identification information stored in the condition storage unit based on the change contents. A change unit may be further included. As a result, the user can, for example, be set to forcibly perform monochrome printing in order to suppress toner consumption.

  In the present invention, in addition to the above print control apparatus, a print system including the print control apparatus and the image forming apparatus can be provided.

  When the image forming apparatus is shared by a plurality of users, from the viewpoint of security, it accepts input of user identification information and performs user authentication by determining whether or not it matches the user identification information registered in advance. An authentication unit can be further included.

  This authentication unit can include an IC card in which user identification information is recorded and a card reader that reads the user identification information. The authentication unit may be included in the print control apparatus or the image forming apparatus. An authentication server provided can also be used.

  The image forming apparatus can include a job deletion unit that deletes the print job after a predetermined time has elapsed since the print job was received. As a result, the number of print jobs to be printed is reduced, and the toner consumption and paper usage can be suppressed.

  In addition, the image forming apparatus notifies the user of the setting contents determined by the print control apparatus in response to the fact that the user identification information and the element information are not received within the specified time after being transmitted to the print control apparatus. An error presenting unit for presenting can be included. Thereby, the user can know that the setting contents are not transmitted from the print control apparatus to the image forming apparatus.

  In the present invention, in addition to the print control apparatus and the print system, a print control method including processing performed by the print control apparatus and the print system as processing steps can be provided. In addition, this method includes each processing step performed by each unit configuring the printing control apparatus and the printing system, and these processing steps can be realized by executing a computer-readable program. Therefore, in the present invention, a computer-readable program for realizing the image forming method can also be provided.

  The program can be provided by being recorded on a recording medium. In the present invention, a recording medium on which the program is recorded can be provided.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing system including a control server as a printing control apparatus of the present invention and an image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating one configuration example of an image forming apparatus. The functional block diagram which shows one structural example of a control server. The functional block diagram which shows another structural example of a control server. The figure which illustrated the correspondence table with which the user identification information stored in the paper information storage part of a control server, the upper limit number of sheets of paper, and the number of used sheets were matched. The figure which showed an example of the element control conditions stored in the condition storage part of a control server. The figure which illustrated the toner save condition which can be set up which is one of the element control conditions. The figure which illustrated the settable background printing conditions which are one of the element control conditions. The figure which illustrated the aggregate print conditions which can be set which is one of the element control conditions. The figure which illustrated the double-sided printing condition which can be set up as one of element control conditions. The figure which illustrated the blank paper printing conditions which can be set which is one of the element control conditions. The flowchart figure which showed the flow of the process performed by a printing system.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing system including a control server as a print control apparatus and an MFP as an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The printing system shown in FIG. 1 has a configuration in which a client device 10 used by a user, an MFP 20, and a control server 30 are connected to each other via a network 40 so as to communicate with each other. The network 40 can be the Internet or an intranet. The client device 10 and the MFP 20 may be directly connected by a cable, or may be configured to perform wireless communication via a wireless LAN or the like. Further, the MFP 20 and the control server 30 may be directly connected by a cable, or may be configured to perform wireless communication by a wireless LAN or the like.

  The client device 10 is installed with a driver for controlling the MFP 20 so that the MFP 20 can be used. Therefore, the client apparatus 10 includes a memory for storing a driver, a processor for reading and executing the driver, and a communication device for communicating with the MFP 20. The client device 10 also stores applications such as a document creation application and a spreadsheet application in order to create print data to be printed, an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse for inputting characters, and an input A display device for displaying the characters and the like. The client device 10 can be a PC, for example.

  The driver installed in the client device 10 can be a driver for controlling the MFP 20, but can also be a model-common driver that can output print data independent of the model. This model-common driver has compatibility with respect to functions that are generally common among models. The print data output using the driver can be printed out as set as the print setting information for the number of copies, print target, print range, font, margin, number of rows, number of columns, etc. The print data output using can be printed out almost as set as the print setting information.

  These drivers convert a file such as a document created using an application included in the client apparatus 10 into print data. This print data is transmitted to the MFP 20 as a print job. The print job includes user identification information such as the name of the user who transmitted the print job, and print settings. The print settings include setting items such as aggregate printing, duplex printing, monochrome / color printing, paper size, number of copies, blank page printing, toner save mode, punching, stapling, etc. Number of pages to be printed on paper, whether double-sided for double-sided printing, monochrome / color printing for monochrome / color printing, paper size for paper size, number of copies for number of copies, blank page printing Information on whether or not to print blank paper, whether or not to save toner in the toner save mode, whether or not to punch and punch, and whether or not to staple the staple, and information about the position.

  The MFP 20 processes the print job received from the client device 10 and performs printing. Therefore, the MFP 20 includes a printing device such as a printer. When the printing apparatus is an electrophotographic color printer, a photosensitive drum, a charging unit for charging the photosensitive drum, an exposure apparatus for irradiating laser light to form a latent image on the photosensitive drum, and A developing unit including a toner cartridge for developing a latent image formed on the photosensitive drum, a primary transfer unit for transferring the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum to a transfer belt, and paper feeding And a secondary transfer unit for transferring the toner image on the transfer belt onto the paper, and a fixing unit for fixing the toner image transferred onto the paper onto the paper.

  The MFP 20 also controls a processor for controlling the entire apparatus such as the irradiation position, intensity, irradiation time, transfer belt conveyance speed, paper feed speed, and fixing temperature of the exposure apparatus, and causes the processor to execute the control. And a communication device for performing communication with the client device 10. In addition, a paper discharge tray, a finisher for realizing a punching and stapling function, and the like are provided.

  Since the MFP 20 is a multifunction device, the MFP 20 further includes a reading device necessary for realizing a copy function, a FAX function, and a scanner function, a feeder for conveying a document, and the like in addition to the printing device. Communication between the client apparatus 10 and the MFP 20 can be performed using a protocol such as HTTP or FTP. In FIG. 1, one client device 10 and one MFP 20 are shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and two or more client devices, two or more MFPs and printers are connected to the network 40. There may be.

  A user creates a document or the like using an application on the client device 10, and includes character size, number of rows, number of columns, margins, enlargement / reduction, number of copies, paper size, print page number, number of pages in aggregate printing, duplex printing. Print settings such as the presence / absence of printing, and instructs the MFP 20 to print. The MFP 20 spools the print job received from the client device 10 and waits for execution of printing.

  Meanwhile, the control server 30 acquires user identification information from the MFP 20 and elements to be changed by use, specifically element information related to toner and paper, and the remaining amount of toner and paper as element information and each user. From the element control conditions set in advance, it is determined whether to save toner, double-sided printing or consolidated printing, and the setting contents are automatically determined and transmitted to the MFP 20.

  Based on the received setting content, the MFP 20 rewrites and updates the corresponding setting content included in the print job. Then, the MFP 20 executes printing based on the updated setting content. That is, double-sided printing is executed if double-sided printing is set in order to reduce the remaining amount of paper and reduce the amount of paper used.

  With reference to FIG. 2, functions provided in MFP 20 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The MFP 20 illustrated in FIG. 2 includes a receiving unit 21 that receives print data created by the client device 10 and converted by the driver as a print job, a spool unit 22 that spools the received print job, and job analysis that analyzes the print job. Part 23. The job analysis unit 23 analyzes user identification information, print settings, designation information described later, and the like included in the print job.

  In addition, the MFP 20 makes an inquiry to the job information acquisition unit 24 that acquires user identification information and the like included in the print job, and each component device that configures the MFP 20, and device information and element information of elements included in the component device The device information acquisition unit 25 for acquiring the information and the information transmission unit 26 for transmitting the user identification information and the element information to the control server 30 are provided. The element information includes the remaining toner amount and remaining paper amount.

  The MFP 20 includes, based on the setting content received from the control server 30 by the receiving unit 21, a content updating unit 27 that updates the setting content included in the print job, and an image forming unit 28 that forms an image based on the updated print setting. And a print execution unit 29 that prints and outputs the formed image on paper.

  The MFP 20 includes an operation panel as an input unit and a display unit, and can display a printing status, an error notification, and the like. When making an inquiry to each component device, the device information acquisition unit 25 can make an inquiry as the job information acquisition unit 24 acquires user identification information, or makes an inquiry at regular time intervals. Device information can also be acquired periodically.

  With reference to FIG. 3, the function with which the control server 30 shown in FIG. 1 is provided is demonstrated. The control server 30 includes a condition storage unit 31 that stores the element control conditions in association with the user identification information, an information acquisition unit 32 that acquires the user identification information and the element information from the MFP 20, and the acquired user identification information. The corresponding element control condition is read from the condition storage unit 31 based on the acquired element information and the read element control condition, and the content determination unit 33 that determines the setting content of the print setting and transmits the determined setting content to the MFP 20. Content transmission unit 34.

  The element control condition is a condition for causing the MFP 20 to determine the setting content of the print setting that affects the usage amount of the element that varies depending on the use according to the element information of the element. In other words, a condition for determining whether the print settings such as toner save, background printing, consolidated printing, double-sided printing, and blank page printing that affect toner and paper usage are set to “Yes” or “No” It is.

  Toner save has the effect of reducing the amount of toner used, and background printing also has the effect of reducing the amount of toner used unless background printing is performed. Aggregate printing, double-sided printing, and blank paper printing have the effect of reducing the amount of paper used. Note that the collective printing can reduce the amount of toner used by reducing characters and the like.

  In the case of color / monochrome printing, this is a condition for determining whether monochrome printing is set to “Yes” or “No”. The element information includes the remaining amount of toner and paper as elements. Other factors that vary depending on use include staples.

  The condition storage unit 31 stores, for each user, user identification information such as a user name and element control conditions that are input by the administrator of the MFP 20 in association with each other. This condition can be stored by inputting and registering in advance by an administrator. The input can be performed by connecting a PC or the like used by the administrator to the control server 30. At that time, in order to impersonate the administrator and prevent the element control condition from being changed without permission, a configuration is adopted in which the input is requested by requesting the administrator ID and password and receiving the authentication. It is preferable.

  In response to the MFP 20 receiving a print job, acquiring user identification information included in the print job, inquiring the component device, acquiring element information from the component device, and transmitting them, The information acquisition unit 32 acquires such information.

  In response to the information acquisition unit 32 acquiring the information, the content determination unit 33 is an element associated with the user identification information from the condition storage unit 31 based on the user identification information acquired by the information acquisition unit 32. Read control conditions. Then, the content determination unit 33 determines the setting content of the print setting of the element from the element information acquired by the information acquisition unit 32 and the read element control condition. For example, if the information that the remaining amount of toner is 40% at the start of use is acquired as the element information, and the element control condition is a condition that the toner save mode is set when the remaining amount of toner is 50% or less, from these, The setting content of the toner save mode of the print setting relating to the toner is determined as “toner save”.

  Since this element control condition exists not only in the toner save mode but also in background printing, aggregate printing, duplex printing, blank page printing, and color / monochrome printing, the content determination unit 33 sets the setting contents for these print settings as well. decide.

  The content transmission unit 34 transmits the determined setting content to the MFP 20 and updates the setting content of the print setting included in the corresponding print job. That is, the setting contents determined by the content determining unit 33 are the print setting contents such as toner save mode, background printing, aggregate printing, duplex printing, blank page printing, and color / monochrome printing included in the print job spooled in the MFP 20. Update the settings so that

  Thereafter, the MFP 20 processes the print job based on the updated setting content. That is, when “Toner Save” is set, printing is executed with a toner consumption amount smaller than the normal toner consumption amount. For example, if the normal toner consumption is 10, the toner consumption when the toner is saved can be 5 to 7 or the like. Note that these processes can be configured as a program and function as each unit by causing the processor to execute the program. However, a memory or the like is used as the storage unit for the condition storage unit.

  In addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 3, the control server 30 can further include a paper information storage unit 35, a paper usage ratio determination unit 36, and a content change unit 37 as shown in FIG. 4.

  The paper information storage unit 35 stores the upper limit number of sheets and the number of used sheets in association with user identification information such as a user name. The number of sheets used is the number counted by the counter, and increases by 1 each time one sheet of paper is used. For this reason, the paper information storage unit 35 can update and overwrite information at any time via the information acquisition unit 32. However, the information is not limited to this, and for example, the information is updated at a time when it is increased by ten. You can also.

  The paper usage rate determination unit 36 calculates a paper usage rate by dividing the usage number by the upper limit number, and determines whether the calculated paper usage rate exceeds a threshold value. The threshold value may be any value, for example, 0.8 or 0.9. This paper use ratio is a guideline indicating how much paper the user is using, and the higher this ratio is, the more paper is used.

  The amount of paper used is so effective that a user with such a high paper usage rate suppresses the use. For this reason, the content changing unit 37 changes the setting content determined by the content determining unit 33 for the user exceeding the threshold so that the use of paper is reduced. The content changing unit 37 changes the setting content determined by the content determining unit 33 to “double-sided printing” so that the use of paper is reduced even if “double-sided printing is not performed”, for example. Further, the content changing unit 37 is set so that, for example, “consolidated printing” is set in the setting content determined by the content determining unit 33, and the use of paper is reduced even when the consolidated page is “2”. The aggregation page is changed to “4”, “6” or the like. In this way, for a user with a large amount of paper used, the toner consumption amount and the paper usage amount can be suppressed by forcibly changing the setting contents to reduce the paper usage amount such as double-sided printing and aggregate printing. .

  This content change is automatically performed by the content change unit 37. However, before the setting content is changed, a message to change the content can be transmitted to the MFP 20 and displayed on the operation panel. In this case, a change notification unit for executing the process can be included. The user can know that the setting contents are changed before printing out by looking at the operation panel.

  The paper information stored in the paper information storage unit 35 can be a correspondence table in which the user name, the maximum number of sheets of paper, and the number of sheets used are associated with each other. FIG. 5 is an example of the correspondence table. Here, an authority group is assigned to each user. The authority group is a group that shares the intended printing, and users belonging to the same group share the same element control conditions such as toner save and background printing. This makes it easy for the administrator to set element control conditions for each user, and also facilitates the management thereof.

  Referring to FIG. 5, the user A belongs to the authority group 1G, the amount of paper used so far is 10,000 sheets, and the upper limit of paper usage set for the user A is 20000 sheets. Similarly, the user B belongs to 2G and the user C belongs to 3G. The amount of paper used so far is 7000 and 8000, respectively, and the upper limit of use is 15000 and 10000, respectively.

  The paper usage ratio is 0.5 for user A, about 0.47 for user B, and 0.8 for user C by dividing the paper usage by the upper limit of usage, and the paper usage ratio for user C is high. . When the threshold value is 0.9, no user has reached the threshold value, and therefore the content changing unit 37 does not change the threshold value. However, when the threshold value is 0.75, the user C has exceeded, so the content changing unit 37 changes the setting content to reduce the paper usage.

  Specifically, FIG. 6 shows an example of element control conditions set for each user. Although it can be set for each user, as described above, setting by authority group requires less data to be stored and management is easier, so here each element control condition is set for the authority group. ing.

  For each group, there are toner save, background printing, consolidated printing, double-sided printing, blank page printing, and monochrome printing as setting items that affect the element usage, and the conditions for these are entered as numerical values. This numerical value is a control level, and corresponds to a condition that matches a control level in each level table described later.

  From the table shown in FIG. 6, the user A belonging to the group 1G shown in FIG. 5 has a toner save level of 4, 3 for background printing, 2 for aggregate printing, 4 for double-sided printing, 3 for blank paper printing. The monochrome printing is set to 2. These levels can be set by the administrator of this system.

  The following describes what these levels indicate. As shown in FIG. 7, there are levels 1 to 4 for toner save, and levels 1 to 3 indicate that when the remaining amount of toner acquired as element information is 80%, 50%, 30% or less, the toner Indicates to save. Level 4 is “always high quality”, which indicates that toner is not always saved.

  Since user A has a toner save level of 4, user A is set not to save toner but to always print out with high quality.

  As for background printing, there are levels from 1 to 4 as shown in FIG. Levels 1 to 3 indicate that background printing is not performed when the remaining amount of toner acquired as element information is 80%, 50%, or 30% or less. Background printing is for setting whether or not to print an image or color in the background of an image to be printed. By not printing the background, toner consumption can be suppressed.

  Level 4 is set to “prioritize personal settings”, which indicates that the user who has transmitted the print job prioritizes the setting contents of the background print set for the print job. Therefore, if the user has set “background printing” in the print job, background printing is performed, and if “not background printing” is set, background printing is not performed.

  Since user A has a background printing level of 3, user A is set not to perform background printing when the remaining amount of toner is 30% or less. That is, if the remaining amount of toner in the element information acquired from the MFP 20 exceeds 30%, the setting content set by the user A is kept, and if it is 30% or less, the background printing is set not to be performed.

  As shown in FIG. 9, there are levels from 1 to 4 for the aggregate printing. Level 1 is “always 2-up printing”, which indicates that two pages are always printed on one sheet of paper. Levels 2 and 3 indicate that two pages are printed on one sheet when the remaining amount of paper acquired as element information is 50% or 30% or less, respectively. Level 4 is set to “prioritize personal settings”, which indicates that the user who has transmitted the print job prioritizes the setting contents of the aggregate print set in the print job.

  Here, the setting is made so that two pages are printed on one sheet of paper. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when level 2 is 50% or less, 4 sheets are printed on one sheet. The condition of printing for one page, Level 1 may be a condition for printing six pages on one sheet when the remaining amount of paper is 80% or less.

  User A is set to print two pages on one sheet of paper when the remaining amount of paper is 50% or less because the level of consolidated printing is 2. In other words, if the remaining amount of paper in the element information acquired from the MFP 20 exceeds 50%, the setting content set by the user A is kept, and if it is 50% or less, two pages are consolidated on one sheet. Set to print.

  Also, double-sided printing has levels from 1 to 4 as shown in FIG. Level 1 is “always double-sided printing”, which indicates that double-sided printing is always performed. Levels 2 and 3 indicate that duplex printing is performed when the remaining amount of paper acquired as element information is 50% or 30% or less, respectively. Level 4 is set to “prioritize personal settings”, which indicates that the user who has sent the print job gives priority to the double-sided print settings set for the print job. Therefore, if the user has set “double-sided printing” in the print job, double-sided printing is performed, and if “not double-sided printing” is set, double-sided printing is not performed.

  Since user A has a double-sided printing level of 4, the setting content set by user A is left as it is.

  Also, blank paper printing has levels from 1 to 4 as shown in FIG. Level 1 is “always do not print blank pages”, which indicates that blank pages are not always printed. Blank page printing sets whether or not to print a blank page included in the print data.

  Levels 2 and 3 indicate that blank paper is not printed when the remaining amount of paper acquired as element information is 50% or 30% or less, respectively. Level 4 is set to “prioritize personal settings”, which indicates that the user who sent the print job gives priority to the blank printing settings set for the print job. Therefore, if the user has set “print blank page” in the print job, a blank page is also printed. If the user has set “do not print blank page”, the blank page is not printed.

  User A is set to not print blank pages when the remaining amount of paper is 30% or less because the level of blank page printing is 3. In other words, if the remaining amount of paper in the element information acquired from the MFP 20 exceeds 30%, the setting content set by the user A is kept, and if it is 30% or less, the setting is made so that blank paper printing is not performed.

  Monochrome printing is used to set whether or not to perform monochrome printing. There are levels 1 and 2. Level 1 indicates that monochrome printing is performed, and level 2 indicates that personal settings are prioritized. On the contrary, level 1 may indicate that personal settings are given priority and level 2 may indicate monochrome printing.

  Since user A has a monochrome printing level of 2, the setting contents set by user A are left as they are.

  Here, processing performed between the MFP 20 and the control server 30 will be described in detail with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. First, when the receiving unit 21 of the MFP 20 receives a print job from the client device 10, this processing is started (step 1200). In step 1205, the spool unit 22 spools the print job.

  In step 1210, the job information acquisition unit 24 acquires user identification information such as a user name included in the print job. In step 1215, the device information acquisition unit 25 inquires each component device, acquires device information, and acquires element information from the device information. In step 1220, the information transmission unit 26 transmits user identification information and element information to the control server 30.

  In step 1225, the information acquisition unit 32 of the control server 30 acquires the information and sends the information to the content determination unit 33 and the paper usage ratio determination unit 36. In step 1230, the content determination unit 33 specifies an authority group from the received user identification information, and reads the level of each print setting specified from the authority group and its condition from the condition storage unit 31. Specifically, the authority group is specified using the table shown in FIG. 5, the level of each print setting is specified using the table shown in FIG. 6, and the level table shown in FIGS. Read the level condition.

  In step 1235, the content determination unit 33 applies the remaining amount of toner and the remaining amount of paper included in the element information to the read conditions, and determines the setting content of each print setting. In step 1240, the paper usage ratio determination unit 36 calculates a paper usage ratio from the number of used paper sheets and the upper limit number of sheets associated with the user identification information, and determines whether the paper usage ratio exceeds a threshold value. To do.

  If the paper usage ratio exceeds the threshold value, the process proceeds to step 1245, where the content changing unit 37 forcibly changes the setting content to reduce the paper usage. For example, when the determined setting content is no duplex printing, the setting is forcibly changed to duplex printing, and when the determined setting content is not aggregate printing, the setting is forcibly changed to aggregate printing.

  If the setting content can be changed so that the amount of paper used is reduced, one setting content may be changed, or two or more setting contents may be changed. In general, it is rare that all print settings are set to reduce paper usage, but if all print settings are set to reduce paper usage, it is more than that. Since the amount used cannot be reduced, it is not changed.

  After the change, the process proceeds to step 1250. If the paper use ratio does not exceed the threshold value, the process also proceeds to step 1250. In step 1250, the content transmission unit 34 transmits the determined setting content or the changed setting content to the MFP 20.

  The receiving unit 21 of the MFP 20 receives the determined or changed setting content, and in step 1255, the content updating unit 27 rewrites the setting content of the print setting included in the print job with the determined or changed setting content. Update. In this rewriting, the print job spooled in the spool unit 22 is searched using the user identification information as a key, and among the print settings included in the specified print job, the element corresponding to the determined or changed setting content is selected. This is done by replacing the setting contents of the setting item with the determined or changed setting contents.

  The print jobs whose setting contents are automatically changed in this way are sequentially taken out from the spool unit 22 and sent to the image forming unit 28. In step 1260, the image forming unit 28 forms an image based on the print settings included in the print job, and the print execution unit 29 prints on paper based on the print settings and outputs the paper. Here, image formation is performed using print settings required for image formation, and output is performed using print settings required for printing on paper. When the output is completed, the process is terminated in step 1265.

  FIG. 12 describes the processing performed using the control server having the configuration shown in FIG. 4, but in the case of the control server having the configuration shown in FIG. 3, only the processing of steps 1240 and 1245 is not performed.

  Up to now, the setting contents have been determined only by the element control conditions, but the MFP 20 can also be controlled by other conditions. In one example, the condition storage unit 31 of the control server 30 further stores lighting control conditions for determining whether or not printing is disabled depending on whether or not the room is turned off. It is possible to employ a configuration in which energization information to the lighting device is acquired from a power management device that manages power.

  The power management device manages all power states in the room, and can also manage power sources such as air conditioners and fans in addition to managing lighting power sources. This power management device acquires information such as whether or not power is supplied to lighting, air conditioners, etc., and how much power is supplied if it is supplied. It is managed whether there is an overcurrent or not.

  Here, energization information indicating whether or not power is supplied to the lighting device is acquired, and it is determined that the light is turned off when power is not supplied. In this case, when it is detected from the energization information that the light has been turned off, the content determination unit 33 sends an instruction to disable printing based on the illumination control condition to the content transmission unit 34, and the content transmission unit 34 transmits the instruction to the MFP 20. . The MFP 20 receives the instruction, stops execution of the print job spooled so far, and prevents printing.

  Specifically, the receiving unit 21 of the MFP 20 receives the instruction, sends it to each unit, and stops the processing by each unit. As a result, even if a print job is subsequently sent, it cannot be processed. In this way, in response to the fact that the room is turned off, it is possible to prevent printing from being performed until all employees return home and one employee comes to work the next morning. it can.

  When the MFP 20 is a model having both a main CPU and a sub CPU and having an energy saving mode, it cannot receive a print job at night because it cannot be spooled even if a print job is received. At night, it is possible to maintain the energy saving mode in which the main CPU is de-energized, and it is possible to reduce power consumption as well as toner consumption and paper use. In this case, the sub CPU cannot receive the print job and can send a message to the effect that printing cannot be executed to the person who sent the print job.

  Although only the illumination power supply cut-off has been described here, the present invention is not limited to this, and any condition of the external environment may be used as the control condition as long as the amount of toner and paper used and the power consumption of the MFP 20 can be suppressed. .

  Since the printing efficiency decreases when a large amount of print jobs are spooled, the MFP 20 can set a time zone in which the MFP 20 can be used as a condition for distributing the print jobs. Specifically, the condition storage unit 31 further stores a time zone control condition for determining whether the MFP 20 can be used according to the time zone, and the information acquisition unit 32 is provided in the control server 30. A configuration for acquiring time information from a clock function or an external device having a clock function can be employed.

  The time zone control condition is a condition that the MFP 20 can be used during this time zone and cannot be used otherwise. In this case, the content determination unit 33 determines whether it is a usable time zone from the time information acquired by the information acquisition unit 32, and if it is a usable time zone, it is set as described above. The content is determined and sent to the content transmission unit 34, and the content transmission unit 34 transmits the set content to the MFP 20.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that it is an unusable time zone, an instruction not to execute printing is sent to the content transmission unit 34 based on the time zone control condition, and the content transmission unit 34 sends the instruction to the MFP 20. Upon receiving this instruction, the MFP 20 deletes the print job or moves to another storage location and deletes it from the spool unit 22. As described above, printing is performed only during a time period in which the MFP 20 can be used, so that it is possible to perform processing according to the print schedule and avoid printing congestion. The printable time zone can be registered by the administrator using a PC or the like. In addition, the time zone is not limited to having a time, but can also have a day. In this case, it is possible to acquire day information by a calendar function and determine whether it is a usable day.

  Some print jobs require toner saving, double-sided printing, and non-intensive printing for distribution outside the company. However, since it is set under the element control conditions as described above and automatically changes when the conditions are met, there is a case where the print desired by the user cannot be obtained.

  Therefore, in the case of such printing, when a print job is transmitted from the client apparatus 10 to the MFP 20, the information included in the print job can be transmitted. This information may be any information and can be designated in advance. For example, it can be a specific character, symbol, number, etc., and may be a keyword. Specifically, there may be a case where there is an electronic seal stamp or a case where characters such as “contract”, “billing”, “estimation”, “order” are included.

  For this reason, the control server 30 determines whether or not the specified information indicating that the setting content is not updated is included in the print job. If the information is included, the control server 30 instructs the content determination unit 33 to specify the print job. An information determination unit that instructs not to change the setting contents of the included print settings can be provided. As a result, for a print job including the specified information, the element control conditions set for the user who sent the print job are ignored, and printing is performed under conditions such as high quality with a large amount of toner consumption set by the user. It can be performed.

  When the MFP 20 receives the print job, the MFP 20 transmits user identification information and element information to the control server 30. The information determination unit determines whether or not the designated information is included in the print job. In order to make a determination, the job analysis unit 23 is inquired, the job analysis unit 23 is made to analyze the print job, and the analysis result is returned.

  The information acquisition unit 32 of the control server 30 determines the presence / absence of the specified information based on the analysis result returned from the job analysis unit 23. If the specified information is present, the information acquisition unit 32 prints to the content determination unit 33. Instructs not to change the print settings included in the job.

  The control server 30 can not only receive user identification information and element information from the MFP 20, but can also receive user identification information and changes in element control conditions. In order to process the received change content, a condition change unit can be further provided. The condition change unit can change the element control condition associated with the user identification information stored in the condition storage unit 31 based on the change contents. By providing this condition changing unit, the user can, for example, set to force monochrome printing in order to suppress toner consumption.

  The contents of the change can be input to the control server 30 by the administrator of the MFP 20 using a PC or the like. When element control conditions are managed in an authority group, all users belonging to the authority group specified from the user identification information can be set to forcibly perform monochrome printing, for example. .

  The MFP 20 can further include a job deletion unit that deletes the print job after a predetermined time has elapsed since the print job was received. The print job is received by the receiving unit 21 and stored in the spool unit 22. After a predetermined time has elapsed since the reception, the job deletion unit deletes the spooled print job. The predetermined time may be any time and can be arbitrarily set by the administrator of the MFP 20.

  The job deletion unit includes a timer or the like, and can measure the elapsed time from the reception of each print job for each print job. As a result, the number of print jobs to be printed is reduced, and the toner consumption and paper usage can be suppressed.

  In addition, the MFP 20 responds that the setting content determined by the content determination unit 33 of the control server 30 has not been received within the specified time after transmitting the user identification information and the element information to the control server 30. An error presenting unit that presents an error notification can be further provided.

  This is for informing the user that the setting contents are not transmitted from the control server 30 to the MFP 20. A print job is sent with high-quality print settings, but when the toner remaining in the MFP 20 is low, the print job is canceled by knowing that the setting contents will not be automatically changed before printing. Appropriate measures such as can be taken. The designated time may be any time, but is shorter than the predetermined time. This is because it is meaningless to receive an error notification about the setting contents of the print job after the print job is deleted.

  Although the user identification information can be obtained from the print job, an authentication unit that performs user authentication can be further provided in order to use the service for executing the processing by the control server 30 described above. In this case, the user identification information can be acquired from the authentication information input by the user.

  The authentication unit can receive the user identification information and determine whether or not the user identification information matches the previously registered user identification information. The authentication unit can include an IC card in which user identification information is recorded and a card reader that reads the user identification information.

  When user authentication is required when using the MFP 20, the user inputs user identification information using an input device such as a keyboard provided in the client device 10. The authentication unit determines whether or not the input user identification information matches the registered information based on the user authentication information registered in advance and stored in the memory or the like. If there is, the user is authenticated and the use by the user is permitted.

  If there is no match, the authentication unit requests the user for new registration or refuses to use the user. When the use is rejected, a print job transmitted from the user can be prevented from being accepted.

  When a card reader is provided, an IC card on which an IC chip is mounted can be placed thereon, user information recorded on the IC chip can be read, and user identification information can be obtained from the user information. The IC chip can record information such as a user name, user ID, password, date of birth, department to which the IC chip belongs as user information. The authentication unit can acquire user identification information such as a user name and a user ID from among them.

  Companies and the like are increasingly equipped with an authentication server to enhance security. For this reason, user authentication can also be performed using this authentication server. User authentication in this case can be performed using an IC card on which an IC chip on which user information is recorded is mounted, in addition to the case where the user inputs a user ID and password. The user places the IC card on the card reader, and when the card reader reads the user information recorded on the IC chip, it sends it to the authentication server. The authentication server performs authentication by determining whether or not the sent user information matches the registered user information.

  The present invention has been described with the above-described embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and those skilled in the art will conceive other embodiments, additions, changes, deletions, and the like. It can be changed within the range that can be performed, and any embodiment is included in the scope of the present invention as long as the operation and effect of the present invention are exhibited. Therefore, the printing control method is not limited to the processing shown in FIG. 12, and includes processing performed using lighting control conditions and the like, processing performed by an information determination unit, an authentication unit, and the like. The method can also be realized by a program that causes a computer or the like to execute the method.

  This program can also be provided by being stored in a recording medium such as an FD, CD, DVD, or SD card, and a printing control method can be realized by a computer or the like being read from the recording medium and executed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Client apparatus, 20 ... MFP, 21 ... Reception part, 22 ... Spool part, 23 ... Job analysis part, 24 ... Job information acquisition part, 25 ... Equipment information acquisition part, 26 ... Information transmission part, 27 ... Content update part , 28 ... Image forming section, 29 ... Print execution section, 30 ... Control server, 31 ... Condition storage section, 32 ... Information acquisition section, 33 ... Content determination section, 34 ... Content transmission section, 35 ... Paper information storage section, 36 ... Paper usage rate determination unit, 37 ... Content change unit, 40 ... Network

JP 2005-208339 A JP-A-6-316123

Claims (23)

A print control apparatus for controlling an image forming apparatus that processes a print job,
Condition storage for storing element control conditions for determining the setting contents of print settings that affect the usage amount of elements that vary depending on the use of the image forming apparatus in accordance with the element information of the elements in association with user identification information And
An information acquisition unit for acquiring user identification information and the element information included in the print job from the image forming apparatus;
A content determination unit that reads out the element control condition from the condition storage unit based on the acquired user identification information, and determines the setting content of the print setting of the element from the element information and the read out element control condition;
A print control device including: a content transmission unit configured to transmit the determined setting content to the image forming apparatus and update the setting content of the print setting included in the print job.   A paper information storage unit that stores the upper limit number of sheets and the number of used sheets, which is one of the elements, in association with the user identification information; and calculates a paper usage ratio from the upper limit number of sheets and the used number of sheets; A content change unit that determines whether or not the usage rate exceeds a threshold value, and changes the setting content determined by the content determination unit so that the paper usage is reduced when the usage rate exceeds the threshold value. The printing control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a printing unit.   3. The printing according to claim 2, further comprising: a change notifying unit that transmits a message to the image forming apparatus to change the setting content before the setting changing unit by the content changing unit and displays the message on the display unit of the image forming apparatus. Control device.   The condition storage unit further stores lighting control conditions for determining whether or not printing is disabled depending on whether or not the room is turned off, and the information acquisition unit includes a power management device that manages indoor power supply, The printing control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein information on energization to the lighting apparatus is acquired.   The condition storage unit further stores a time zone control condition for determining whether or not the image forming apparatus can be used according to a time zone, and the information acquisition unit is a clock provided in the print control device. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein time information is acquired from an external apparatus having a function or a clock function.   It is determined whether or not the print job includes designated information indicating that the setting content is not updated. If the information is included, the content determination unit determines the print setting included in the print job. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an information determination unit that instructs not to change the setting contents.   A condition changing unit that accepts user identification information and change contents of the element control condition, and changes the element control condition associated with the user identification information stored in the condition storage section based on the change contents The print control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   A printing system comprising: the printing control apparatus according to claim 1; and an image forming apparatus that processes a print job.   The printing system according to claim 8, further comprising: an authentication unit that accepts input of user identification information and determines whether the user identification information matches with user registration information registered in advance to perform user authentication.   The printing system according to claim 8, wherein the image forming apparatus includes a job deletion unit that deletes the print job after a predetermined time has elapsed since the print job was received.   The image forming apparatus responds that the setting content determined by the print control apparatus has not been received within a specified time after the user identification information and the element information are transmitted to the print control apparatus. The printing system according to claim 8, further comprising an error presentation unit that presents an error notification. A print control method for controlling an image forming apparatus that processes a print job by a print control apparatus, wherein the print control apparatus is configured to set a print setting that affects a usage amount of an element that varies depending on use of the image forming apparatus. Including a condition storage unit that stores an element control condition for determining according to element information of the element in association with user identification information,
Obtaining user identification information and element information included in the print job from the image forming apparatus;
Reading the element control condition from the condition storage unit based on the acquired user identification information, and determining the setting content of the print setting of the element from the element information and the read element control condition;
Transmitting the determined setting content to the image forming apparatus, and updating the setting content of the print setting included in the print job. The print control apparatus further includes a paper information storage unit that stores an upper limit number of sheets and a used number of sheets that are one of the elements in association with the user identification information,
In the method, a paper usage ratio is calculated from the upper limit number of sheets and the used number of sheets, a determination is made as to whether or not the paper usage ratio exceeds a threshold value, and a determination is made when the threshold value is exceeded. The print control method according to claim 12, further comprising a step of changing the set content so that the use of paper is reduced.   The print control method according to claim 12, further comprising a step of transmitting a message to the effect of changing the setting content to the image forming apparatus and displaying the message on the display unit of the image forming apparatus. The condition storage unit further stores an illumination control condition for determining whether to make printing impossible depending on whether the room is turned off,
The printing control method according to claim 12, wherein in the obtaining step, energization information to the lighting device is obtained from a power management device that manages the indoor power supply. The condition storage unit further stores a time zone control condition for determining whether or not the image forming apparatus can be used according to a time zone,
The print control method according to claim 12, wherein in the acquiring step, time information is acquired from a clock function included in the print control apparatus or an external apparatus including a clock function.   It is determined whether or not specified information indicating that the setting content is not updated is included in the print job, and if the information is included, setting of print settings included in the print job in the determining step The print control method according to claim 12, further comprising a step of instructing not to change the contents.   Receiving the user identification information and the change content of the element control condition, and further changing the element control condition associated with the user identification information stored in the condition storage unit based on the change content The printing control method according to claim 12, further comprising:   The print control method according to claim 12, further comprising a step of accepting input of user identification information, performing user authentication by determining whether or not it matches with user identification information registered in advance.   The print control method according to claim 12, further comprising a step of deleting the print job after a predetermined time has elapsed since the print job was received in the image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus responds that the setting content determined by the print control apparatus is not received within a specified time after the user identification information and the element information are transmitted to the print control apparatus. The method according to claim 12, further comprising a step of presenting an error notification.   A computer-readable program for executing the printing control method according to any one of claims 12 to 21. A recording medium on which the program according to claim 22 is recorded.

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