JP2011112939A - Apparatus and system for forming image - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming system which can perform a secured charging, and easily executing a temporary change in a charging condition. <P>SOLUTION: A charging condition retaining part 403 retains a normal charging condition according to identification information read by a reading part 401. An extracting part 405 extracts charging condition changing information that is selectable by a user specified by the identification information read by the reading part 401 from a change information storing part 404. When one of the charging condition changing information extracted by the extracting part 405 is selected by the user, a charging condition changing part 406 changes the charging condition that is retained in the charging condition retaining part 403 according to the selected charging condition changing information. A charging part 407 charges according to the charging condition retained in the charging condition retaining part 403 when printing is executed by an image forming part 140. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming system having an authentication function and a charging function.

  Image forming apparatuses such as printers, copiers, and multifunction machines are often used in offices or the like when connected to an information processing terminal such as a personal computer through a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network). Such an image forming apparatus functions as an image forming apparatus that prints image data input from the information processing terminal on paper, or functions as an image reading apparatus that acquires image data used in the information processing terminal. Or function as a document management device that stores image data in a searchable manner.

  An image forming apparatus used in an office or the like is often provided with a user authentication function from the viewpoint of improving security. An image forming apparatus having a user authentication function can identify individual users. Therefore, a desired default setting is registered for each user, and when the authentication process is completed and the apparatus becomes usable, various settings of the image forming apparatus are automatically set to default setting values corresponding to the user. It is also possible to set to. In recent years, an authentication function has been realized by a configuration in which identification information recorded on an IC card possessed by an individual user is read by an IC card reader, and an image forming apparatus having various additional functions has also been proposed. (For example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2.)

  For example, in Patent Document 1, when transmitting a job to an image forming apparatus, job information and the number of times of reading an IC card are registered in association with each other, and an IC card is registered in an IC card reader included in the image forming apparatus for the number of times of registration. An image forming apparatus that executes a corresponding job when read is disclosed. In this prior art, since the job to be executed can be specified at the same time as the authentication with the IC card, the job can be easily selected.

  Patent Document 2 discloses an image forming apparatus that accepts a print setting input operation from a user on condition that an IC card storing electronic money is detected. With this configuration, in an image forming apparatus installed in an environment where an unspecified user such as a convenience store visits, an input operation of print settings by a user who does not intend to use is prevented.

JP 2007-156745 A JP 2009-43127 A

  In an image forming apparatus used in an office or the like, billing condition information may be included in the default settings described above. Such a configuration is useful, for example, in a case where different accounting conditions are applied to each department in an environment where people in a plurality of departments use one multifunction device in the office. In this case, the image forming apparatus recognizes the user's department from the user identification information used in the authentication process, and automatically sets the accounting conditions assigned to the department. As a result, reliable charging can be realized for use of the image forming apparatus.

  However, in an actual usage environment, there may occur a situation where charging according to the above-described charging conditions of default settings is not appropriate. For example, when the image forming apparatus is used on behalf of another department, it is more appropriate to charge the other department than to charge the department to which the user who uses the image forming apparatus belongs. Also, if the image forming apparatus must be used in a situation where maintenance time is near and image quality may deteriorate, the charge will be lower than the normal charge that guarantees normal image quality. May be more appropriate.

  In order to set a charging condition different from the default charging condition, the image forming apparatus may be provided with a charging condition changing function by the user. However, in such an image forming apparatus having a charging condition changing function, the charging conditions can be arbitrarily changed, so there is a possibility that reliable charging cannot be realized.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and is capable of realizing reliable charging and easily changing temporary charging conditions easily. The purpose is to provide a system.

  In order to achieve the above object, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention employs the following technical means. That is, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an image forming unit, a reading unit, an authentication unit, a charging condition holding unit, a change information storage unit, an extracting unit, a charging condition changing unit, and a charging unit. The image forming unit prints image data on a sheet. The reading unit reads the identification information from the portable storage medium when the portable storage medium storing the identification information for identifying the user is arranged at a predetermined position. The authentication unit prohibits printing in the image forming unit until the identification information read by the reading unit satisfies a pre-registered authentication condition. The charging condition holding unit holds a normal charging condition corresponding to the identification information read by the reading unit, which is applied to charging for printing executed by the image forming unit. The change information holding unit stores charging condition change information that is information for changing the normal charging condition to a different charging condition. The extraction unit extracts charging condition change information that can be selected by the user specified by the identification information read by the reading unit from the change information storage unit based on the identification information read by the reading unit. When the user selects one of the charging condition change information extracted by the extraction unit, the charging condition change unit changes the normal charging condition held in the charging condition holding unit according to the selected charging condition change information. . Then, the charging unit executes charging according to the charging conditions held in the charging condition holding unit when printing is executed by the image forming unit.

  In this image forming apparatus, the user can only change the charging condition according to the charging condition change information that can be selected by the user specified by the identification information read by the reading unit. For this reason, the change range of the charging condition is limited according to the user, and reliable charging can be realized. In addition, when the user changes the charging condition, the contents that can be changed by the user are automatically listed. Therefore, the user can select only the listed contents temporarily. The billing conditions can be easily changed.

  In this image forming apparatus, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the normal charging condition is stored in the portable storage medium and is input to the charging condition holding unit through the reading unit. Further, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the charging condition change information is stored in the portable storage medium and is input to the change information storage unit through the reading unit.

  On the other hand, in another aspect, the present invention can also provide an image forming system including an image forming apparatus, a reading apparatus, an authentication apparatus, and a charging apparatus. That is, the image forming apparatus prints image data on a sheet. The reading device reads the identification information from the portable storage medium when the portable storage medium storing the identification information for identifying the user is disposed at a predetermined position. The authentication device prohibits printing in the image forming device until the identification information read by the reading device satisfies a pre-registered authentication condition. The billing apparatus includes a billing condition holding unit, a change information storage unit, an extraction unit, a billing condition changing unit, and a billing unit. The charging condition holding unit holds a normal charging condition according to the identification information read by the reading device, which is applied to charging for printing executed by the image forming apparatus. The change information storage unit stores charging condition change information that is information for changing the normal charging condition to a different charging condition. The extraction unit extracts charging condition change information that can be selected by the user specified by the identification information read by the reading device from the change information storage unit based on the identification information read by the reading device. When the user selects one of the charging condition change information extracted by the extraction unit, the charging condition change unit changes the normal charging condition held in the charging condition holding unit according to the selected charging condition change information To do. The billing unit performs billing according to the billing conditions held in the billing condition holding unit when printing is executed by the image forming apparatus.

  According to the present invention, charging condition change information that can be selected by the user is automatically listed and presented to a user who wants to temporarily change the charging condition. Therefore, the user can change the charging condition by selecting desired charging condition change information from the presented charging condition change information. Further, the charging condition change information presented to the user is extracted based on the identification information for identifying the user, so that reliable charging is not hindered.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an operation panel of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the multifunctional device in one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the correspondence of the accounting condition change information in one Embodiment of this invention FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a charging procedure performed by the multifunction machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the charge condition change operation screen which the multifunctional device in one Embodiment of this invention displays The figure which shows an example of the warning screen which the multifunctional device in one Embodiment of this invention displays.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, the present invention is embodied as a digital multifunction machine.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a digital multifunction peripheral according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction peripheral 100 includes a main body 101 including an image reading unit 120 and an image forming unit 140, and a platen cover 102 attached above the main body 101. A document table 103 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 101, and the document table 103 is opened and closed by a platen cover 102. The platen cover 102 includes a document conveying device 110, a document tray 111, and a paper discharge tray 112.

  An image reading unit 120 is provided below the document table 103. The image reading unit 120 reads an image of a document and generates digital data (image data) of the image. The image data is subjected to designated image processing as necessary. The document can be placed on the document table 103. A scanning optical system 121 is disposed below the document table 103. The scanning optical system 121 includes a first carriage 122, a second carriage 123, and a condenser lens 124. The first carriage 122 is provided with a linear light source 131 and a mirror 132, and the second carriage 123 is provided with mirrors 133 and 134. The light source 131 illuminates the document. The mirrors 132, 133, and 134 guide reflected light from the document to the condenser lens 124, and the condenser lens 124 forms an optical image on the light receiving surface of the line image sensor 125. In the scanning optical system 121, the first carriage 122 and the second carriage 123 are provided so as to be able to reciprocate in the sub-scanning direction 135. By moving the first carriage 122 and the second carriage 123 in the sub-scanning direction 135, the image of the document placed on the document table 103 can be read by the image sensor 125.

  Further, the document can be placed on the document tray 111. The document transport device 110 transports the documents set on the document tray 111 one by one to the image reading position. When reading an image of a document set on the document tray 111, the image reading unit 120 temporarily fixes the first carriage 122 and the second carriage 123 according to the image reading position. When the document passes through the image reading position, the light source 131 illuminates the document. The light from the light source 131 is reflected by the original that passes through the original table 103 and passes through the original reading position, and is guided to the image sensor 125 by the mirrors 132, 133, and 134 and the condenser lens 124. The document that has passed the image reading position is discharged to the paper discharge tray 112.

  For example, the image sensor 125 generates image data corresponding to each color of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) based on the received light. The generated image data can be printed on paper in the image forming unit 140. It can also be transmitted to other devices via the network 162 via the network adapter 161 or the like.

  The image forming unit 140 prints image data obtained by the image reading unit 120 or image data received from another device connected to the network 162 via the network adapter 161 on a sheet. The image forming unit 140 includes a photosensitive drum 141. The photosensitive drum 141 rotates in one direction at a constant speed. Around the photosensitive drum 141, a charger 142, an exposure unit 143, a developing unit 144, and an intermediate transfer belt 145 are arranged in this order from the upstream side in the rotation direction. The charger 142 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 141. The exposure device 143 irradiates the surface of the uniformly charged photoconductor drum 141 with light according to the image data, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor drum 141. The developing device 144 attaches toner to the electrostatic latent image and forms a toner image on the photosensitive drum 141. The intermediate transfer belt 145 transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 141 onto a sheet. When the image data is a color image, the intermediate transfer belt 145 transfers each color toner image onto the same sheet. The RGB color image is converted into C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (black) format image data, and the image data of each color is input to the exposure unit 143.

  The image forming unit 140 feeds paper from the manual feed tray 151, the paper feed cassettes 152, 153, and 154 to the transfer unit between the intermediate transfer belt 145 and the transfer roller 146. Various sizes of paper can be placed or stored in the manual feed tray 151 and the paper feed cassettes 152, 153, and 154. The image forming unit 140 selects a sheet specified by the user or a sheet corresponding to the automatically detected document size, and pulls out the selected sheet from the manual feed tray 151 and the cassettes 152, 153, and 154 by the feeding roller 155. The pulled-out paper is sent to the transfer unit by the conveyance roller 156 and the registration roller 157. The sheet on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 148 by the conveyance belt 147. The fixing device 148 has a fixing roller 158 and a pressure roller 159 with a built-in heater, and fixes the toner image on the sheet by heat and pressing force. The image forming unit 140 discharges the sheet that has passed through the fixing device 148 to the discharge tray 149.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an appearance of an operation panel included in the multifunction peripheral. The user can use the operation panel 200 to give the MFP 100 a start of copying and other instructions, and to confirm the status and settings of the MFP 100. On the operation panel 200, a display 201 with a touch panel and operation buttons 203 are arranged. The user can perform input through the display 201 using, for example, the touch pen 202.

  The display 201 displays an operation screen having a setting unit 204 and a message display unit 205. A plurality of tabs 206 are prepared in the setting unit 204. The “Basic” tab is used to set the paper size and orientation, copy magnification, density, and the like. The “Basic” tab has various elements such as buttons for setting. For example, when the user performs an operation of pressing the “density setting” button 207, a window for designating a numerical value of density is displayed over the tab. In the example of FIG. 2, in addition to the “basic” tab, a “user function”, “function list”, and “program” tab are also provided. The user can switch the display of these tabs by performing an operation of selecting (touching) the tab button 208. While one tab is selected, other tabs and their elements are hidden on the operation screen.

  The message display unit 205 displays a message that informs the user of settings such as the state of the multifunction peripheral, such as whether copying is possible or whether paper supply is necessary, and the number of copies. In this display, detection results of various sensors included in the multifunction peripheral 100 and user operation results are reflected. Note that FIG. 2 shows a state before authentication processing in an authentication unit described later is performed, and a message “please authenticate” indicating the state is displayed on the message display unit 205.

  The operation keys 203 include a main power key 209, a numeric keypad 210, a start key 211, a clear key 212, a LogOut key 213, and the like. For example, the main power key 209 is used to switch the main power supply of the multifunction peripheral 100 on and off. The numeric keypad 210 can be used for specifying the number of copies and setting the copy magnification. When the user makes these settings, the multi-function device 100 displays a message such as “Can be copied (with settings)” on the message display unit 205 to notify the user that the settings have been made. The start key 211 is used for a start instruction for copying or image printing. The user operates the clear key 212 when canceling the setting made by the user. Since whether or not the machine accepts the setting by the user can be determined by the above-described message, the clear key 212 may be operated if the setting becomes unnecessary. Although not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, input to the operation panel 200 is prohibited until an authentication unit described later satisfies an authentication condition registered in advance. If the user authenticated by the authentication unit presses the LogOut key 213 after using the multifunction peripheral, or if there is no operation on the operation panel 200 and the operation of the image reading unit 120 or the image forming unit 140 continues for a predetermined time after the authentication, the composite The machine 100 is configured to return to the state before the authentication process is performed.

  FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of a control system in the multifunction machine. The multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 301, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 302, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 303, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 304, an original transport device 110, and an image reading unit 120. A driver 305 corresponding to each drive unit in the image forming unit 140 is connected via an internal bus 306. The ROM 303, the HDD 304, and the like store programs, and the CPU 301 controls the multifunction peripheral 100 in accordance with the instructions of the control program. For example, the CPU 301 uses the RAM 302 as a work area, and controls the operation of each driving unit by exchanging data and commands with the driver 305. The HDD 304 is also used to store image data obtained by the image reading unit 120 and image data received from other devices through the network adapter 161.

  In addition to the operation panel 200, various sensors 307 and an IC card reader 308 are connected to the internal bus 306. The operation panel 200 receives a user operation and supplies a signal based on the operation to the CPU 301. The display 201 displays the above-described operation screen according to a control signal from the CPU 301. The sensor 307 includes various sensors such as an open / close detection sensor for the platen cover 102, a document detection sensor on the document table 103, a temperature sensor for the fixing device 148, and a detection sensor for the conveyed paper or document. The CPU 301 executes, for example, a program stored in the ROM 303 to realize each of the following means (functional blocks) and controls the operation of each means according to signals from these sensors. The IC card reader 308 reads user identification information stored in the IC card from an IC card possessed by the user, and the authentication unit executes an authentication process described later based on the identification information.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the MFP according to the present embodiment. The reading unit 401 reads the identification information from the portable storage medium when the portable storage medium storing the identification information for identifying the user is disposed at a predetermined position. Here, the IC card reader 308 functions as the reading unit 401. That is, when an IC card as a portable storage medium is placed at the reading position of the IC card reader 308, the IC card reader 308 reads user identification information stored in the IC card. The identification information may be information that can identify the user. For example, a user ID uniquely assigned to each user can be used as the identification information. The identification information may further include information indicating a department to which the user belongs, such as a department ID, and information indicating an authority given to the user, such as a position ID. In the present embodiment, the identification information includes a user ID, a department ID, and a position ID. Note that it is not essential that the portable storage medium is an IC card, and any portable storage medium such as a magnetic card or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory can be adopted. In this case, it goes without saying that the reading unit 401 has a configuration corresponding to a portable storage medium (magnetic guard reader, USB interface, etc.).

  The authentication unit 402 determines whether the identification information read by the reading unit 401 satisfies a pre-registered authentication condition. The authentication unit 402 permits printing of image data in the image forming unit 140 when the authentication condition is satisfied, and prohibits printing of image data in the image forming unit 140 when the authentication condition is not satisfied. Therefore, the authentication condition may be any condition that allows the user who is permitted to print in the image forming unit 140 to be identified. Although not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, an authorized person list in which user IDs of users permitted to print in the image forming unit 140 are registered in the authentication unit 402 in advance, and the “user ID acquired by the reading unit 401” is registered. Is included in the permitter list ". That is, when the user ID included in the identification information read by the user by the IC card reader 308 is included in the authorized person list, the user can execute printing in the image forming unit 140. In this embodiment, printing in the image forming unit 140 is prohibited by not accepting a printing operation through the operation panel 200 until the authentication condition is satisfied.

  The charging condition holding unit 403 holds normal charging conditions that are applied to charging for printing executed by the image forming unit 140. In the present embodiment, the normal charging condition is selected according to the identification information read by the reading unit 401. For example, the normal charging condition is registered in the normal charging condition storage unit 410 in advance in association with the identification information, and the charging condition holding unit 403 receives the input identification based on the identification information input from the reading unit 401. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which normal charging conditions corresponding to information are read. The normal billing conditions include various information for realizing billing according to the contents of the printing process when printing is performed in the multifunction peripheral 100. For example, the normal billing conditions are the unit price for each combination of paper size, color mode (monochrome, mono color, full color), printing surface (single-sided printing, double-sided printing), paper type (plain paper, glossy paper, etc.) and upper limit amount including. Alternatively, it includes a unit price for toner consumption and an upper limit amount. In the configuration in which charging is performed using the count value of the printed sheet counter included in the multifunction peripheral, the normal charging condition includes a counter increment for each combination and an upper limit counter value. In this case, there may be one counter or a plurality of counters (for example, a monochrome / monocolor printing counter and a full-color printing counter). The charging unit may be a user unit or a department unit to which a plurality of users belong. Here, the charge is made in units of department IDs included in the identification information.

  The change information storage unit 404 stores charging condition change information. The charging condition change information is information for changing the normal charging condition to a different charging condition. Here, the change information storage unit 404 stores a plurality of charge condition change information, and each charge condition change information is associated with identification information. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of charging condition change information stored in the change information storage unit 404. In the example of FIG. 5, five charging condition change information (A information, B information, C information, D information, E information) is stored in the change information storage unit 404, and each charging condition change information and user group ( X group, Y group, Z group). The user group is a group for classifying users who use the multifunction device 100. In the present embodiment, the user group is associated with the identification information described above. In FIG. 5, the relationship between each charging condition change information and each user group is indicated by a circle. That is, the A information and the E information are associated with the Y group and the Z group, respectively. B information is associated with the X group, the Y group, and the Z group. The C information and the D information are associated with only the Z group.

  For example, the A information is billing condition change information for adding an item “designate a billing target department to a department other than the user's department” to the normal billing condition associated with the user. . The B information is billing condition change information for adding to the normal billing condition associated with the user, an item “excluded from billing because the printed matter is a maintenance report”. The C information is billing condition change information for adding to the normal billing condition associated with the user, an item of “half the billing amount for a specific number or more”. The D information is charging condition change information for adding an item “permit printing exceeding the upper limit amount” to the normal charging conditions associated with the user. The E information is billing condition change information for adding to the normal billing condition associated with the user, an item of “half the billing amount because the maintenance period is near”. Further, in this example, the X group is a general job, the Y group is a section manager job, and the Z group is a department manager job, and is distinguished by a job position ID included in the identification information. The contents of each charging condition change information and the user group classification are examples, and are not limited to the contents.

  Therefore, in this example, the user to whom the manager ID is assigned can change the charging condition according to each charging condition change information of the E information from the A information. The user to whom the position ID of the section manager is assigned can change the charging condition according to the charging condition change information of the A information, the B information, and the E information. In addition, the user who is given the position ID of the general job can only change the charging condition according to the charging condition change information of the B information.

  The extraction unit 405 extracts charging condition change information that can be selected by the user specified by the user ID included in the identification information read by the reading unit 401 from the change information storage unit. In the above example, if the position ID included in the identification information is a general position, the extraction unit 405 extracts only the B information. If the position ID included in the identification information is a section manager, the extraction unit 405 extracts A information, B information, and E information. If the position ID included in the identification information is a department manager, the extraction unit 405 extracts A information, B information, C information, D information, and E information.

  When the user selects one of the charging condition change information extracted by the extracting unit 405, the charging condition changing unit 406 is a normal charging held in the charging condition holding unit 403 according to the selected charging condition change information. Change the condition. The method for causing the user to select the charging condition change information is arbitrary. For example, the extraction unit 405 displays the extracted charging condition change information on the selection unit 408 so that the user can select desired charging conditions. A configuration for selecting change information can be employed. In the present embodiment, the display 201 functions as the selection unit 408. That is, when the user authenticated by the authentication unit 402 selects the “function list” tab (see FIG. 2) on the operation screen displayed on the display 201, the “function list” tab including the “charge condition change” button is displayed. Is done. When the “change billing condition” button is selected, a billing condition change operation screen that displays the billing condition change information extracted by the extraction unit 405 in a selectable manner is displayed on the display 201. For example, a user (Y group) to whom the position ID of the section manager is assigned selects “Specify the department to be charged as a department other than the user's department” (A information) on the accounting condition change operation screen. In this case, the extraction unit 405 inputs the selected charging condition change information to the charging condition change unit 406. In response to the input, the charging condition changing unit 406 changes the normal charging condition held by the charging condition holding unit 403 in accordance with the input charging condition change information (A information).

  Thereafter, when a print instruction is given from the user to the image forming unit 140, the image forming unit 140 prints the image data held in the image data storage unit 409. At this time, the charging unit 407 acquires the contents of the printing process executed by the image forming unit 140 and charges the printing process according to the charging condition held in the charging condition holding unit 403. In the present embodiment, the billing information aggregated for each department ID is held in the billing unit 407. If the user does not select the charging condition change information through the selection unit 408, the charging unit 407 performs charging according to the normal charging conditions held in the charging condition holding unit 403.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a charging process procedure executed by the multifunction machine. The procedure proceeds with the reading unit 401 (IC card reader 308) reading the IC card as a trigger (Yes in step S601). As described above, when the user reads the IC card, the reading unit 401 reads the identification information recorded on the IC card and holds the identification information. Further, the reading unit 401 notifies the authentication unit 402 of the user ID included in the identification information. The authentication unit 402 confirms whether or not the user ID is recorded in a pre-registered permitter list. If it is recorded in the permitter list, the authentication unit 402 allows the user to print on the image forming unit 140 by allowing the user to operate the image forming unit 140 through the operation panel 200. As described above, when the user ID does not satisfy the authentication condition, the authentication unit 402 maintains a state in which printing in the image forming unit 140 is prohibited (No in step S601).

  When authenticated by the authenticating unit 402, the authenticating unit 402 notifies the reading unit 401 to that effect. Upon receiving the notification, the reading unit 401 inputs identification information to the accounting condition holding unit 403 and the extraction unit 405.

  The charging condition holding unit 403 reads out and holds the normal charging condition according to the input identification information from the normal charging condition storage unit 410 (step S602). As described above, in the present embodiment, the identification information includes the user ID, the department ID, and the position ID. In this case, the normal charging condition is registered in advance in association with the user ID, department ID, or position ID. That is, when the normal charging condition is set for each user, it is stored in association with the user ID. When the normal charging condition is set for each department, it is stored in association with the department ID. When the normal charging condition is set for each position, it is stored in association with the position ID. Further, the extraction unit 405 reads and holds the charging condition change information that can be selected by the user specified by the input identification information from the change information storage unit 404 based on the position ID.

  In this state, when the user desires to change the charging condition from the normal charging condition, the user displays the charging condition change operation screen on the display 201 as described above (No in steps S603 and S608).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a charging condition change operation screen. As shown in FIG. 7, the charging condition change operation screen 701 includes a charging condition change information selection field 702, a “change confirmation” button 703, and a “cancel” button 704. In the charging condition change information selection field 702, the charging condition change information extracted by the extraction unit 405 (charging condition change information that can be selected by the authenticated user) is displayed together with a corresponding check box. Check is entered). FIG. 7 shows a display example when the authenticated user belongs to the Z group shown in FIG. That is, all of the A information to E information can be selected. In the present embodiment, since the A information to the E information do not have a mutually exclusive relationship, the user can select one or more items in the charging condition change information selection field 702. . Further, as shown in FIG. 7, when A information (billing to other departments) is selected, a billing department is designated. The “change confirmation” button 703 is used to reflect the selected charging condition change information on the current normal charging condition and close the charging condition change operation screen 701. A “Cancel” button 704 is used to cancel the selection of charging condition change information (return to the state before the operation) and close the charging condition change operation screen 701.

  In the charging condition change information selection field 702, when the user selects any charging condition change information and selects the “change confirmation” button 703, the instruction is input to the extraction unit 405 (Yes in step S608). At this time, the extraction unit 405 notifies the charging condition change unit 406 of the specified charging condition change information. The charging condition changing unit 406 that has received the notification changes the charging condition held in the charging condition holding unit 403 according to the notified charging condition change information (step S609). For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when “other department billing” is selected and “sales department 2” is designated as the billing destination, the billing condition changing unit 406 is held in the billing condition holding unit 403. The billing destination (the department to which the user belongs) in the normal billing conditions is changed to the designated billing destination (“Sales Section 2”). If the user selects the “change confirmation” button 703 without selecting any charging condition change information, or selects the “cancel” button 704, the extraction unit 405 notifies the charging condition change unit 406. Is not performed (No in step S608). In the present embodiment, the extraction unit 405 is configured to store charging condition change information selected by the user after authentication. Then, when the user selects the “change confirmation” button 703 or the “cancel” button 704 to close the charging condition changing operation screen 701 and then displays the charging condition changing operation screen 701 again, the previous selection state is charged. The accounting condition change operation screen 701 is displayed in the state displayed in the condition change information selection field 702. In this case, the extraction unit 405 notifies the charging condition change unit 406 only when the specified state of the charging condition change information is different from the previous specification (Yes in step S608).

  After the charging condition change information is specified as described above, when the user presses the start key 211, the image forming unit 140 starts printing the specified image data (Yes in step S603). The method for specifying image data is not particularly limited. For example, the user may designate image data read by the image reading unit 120 or input from another device via the network 162 and stored in the HDD 304 as image data to be printed in advance. it can. Further, an image of a document set on the document tray 111 can be read by the image reading unit 120 in response to pressing of the start key 211, and the read image data can be used as image data to be printed. The designated image data is held in the image data storage unit 409 and printed by the image forming unit 140.

  When the user presses the start key 211, the charging unit 407 confirms whether there is a print restriction based on the charging condition held in the charging condition holding unit 403 (step S604). The print restriction refers to a state in which printing cannot be performed, for example, because the upper limit amount allocated to the user's department is reached. The billing unit 407 acquires billing information (billing amount and counter count value of the billing target department) at the start of printing by the image forming unit 140, and includes an upper limit included in the billing conditions held in the billing condition holding unit 403. Compare with the value (upper limit amount or upper limit counter value). If it is less than the upper limit value, the image forming unit 140 is allowed to execute printing (No in step S604). If the upper limit is reached, a warning is displayed on the display 201 to notify the user that printing cannot be performed, and the process ends (Yes in step S604).

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a warning screen displayed at this time. In this example, the warning screen 801 includes a “confirm” button 802 and displays that the image data cannot be printed because the charge limit has been reached. When the user selects the “confirm” button 802 on the warning screen 801, the procedure ends.

  When printing is permitted, the image forming unit 140 acquires the image data of the first page from the image data storage unit 409 and prints the image on paper (steps S604 No and S605). At this time, the charging unit 407 acquires the contents of the printing process executed by the image forming unit 140 and charges the printing process according to the charging condition held in the charging condition holding unit 403. That is, the charge for the printing is added to the charge information of the department ID to be charged (step S606).

  When the image data held in the image data storage unit 409 is image data of a plurality of pages, the image forming unit 140 subsequently acquires the image data of the next page and prints the image on a sheet (Step) S607 Yes, S604 No, S605). Also at this time, the charging unit 407 acquires the contents of the printing process executed by the image forming unit 140 and charges the printing process (step S606). Even in the case of printing such multiple pages of image data, the charging unit 407 confirms whether there is a print restriction before starting the printing of each page (step S604).

  As described above, when the image forming unit 140 completes the printing of the image data to be printed held in the image data storage unit 409, the process ends (No in step S607). Note that when the user logs out from the multifunction peripheral 100 by pressing the LogOut key 213 (see FIG. 2) or the like, the image data held in the image data storage unit 409 and the charging conditions held in the charging condition holding unit 403 are changed. Deleted. Therefore, when the user is authenticated by the authentication unit 402, the charging condition holding unit 403 always holds the normal charging condition associated with the authenticated user.

  As described above, in the MFP 100, the user can only change the charging condition according to the charging condition change information that can be selected by the user specified by the identification information read by the reading unit 401. With this configuration, since the change range of the charging condition is limited depending on the user, reliable charging can be realized without unduly limiting convenience. In addition, when the user changes the charging condition, the contents that can be changed by the user are automatically listed. Therefore, the user can select only the listed contents temporarily. The billing conditions can be easily changed.

  In the above description, a configuration is described in which normal charging conditions are associated with identification information and registered in advance in normal charging condition storage unit 410, and charging condition change information is associated with identification information and registered in advance in change information storage unit 404. did. However, it is not essential for the present invention that the normal charging condition and the charging condition change information be registered in advance in the multifunction peripheral 100. In other words, the normal charging condition and charging condition change information are stored in the portable storage medium, and are input to the charging condition holding unit 403 and the change information storage unit 404 through the reading unit 401 when the multifunction peripheral 100 is used. However, the same effect can be obtained.

  For example, the normal charging condition may be recorded on an IC card used by the user for authentication. In this case, the multifunction peripheral 100 does not need to store all the normal charging conditions to be applied, and the normal charging condition storage unit 410 becomes unnecessary. Further, from the viewpoint of facilitating management of the normal charging condition and charging condition change information, the normal charging condition and charging condition change information may be stored in another IC card different from the IC card used for user authentication. . In this configuration, the normal charging condition or charging condition change information for all users can be changed by changing the stored contents of other IC cards. In this case, the other IC card may appropriately update the storage contents of the normal charging condition storage unit 410 and the change information storage unit 404, and the other IC card may be updated with the normal charging condition storage unit 410 and the change information. The storage unit 404 may function.

  In the above description, the image forming apparatus includes a configuration including all of a reading unit that reads identification data, an authentication unit that performs authentication based on the identification information, and a charging unit that charges for printing. As appropriate, it may be configured as a separate body and connected through a network or the like. For example, a charging device having the above-described charging condition holding unit, change information storage unit, extraction unit, charging condition changing unit, and charging unit function is configured separately from the image forming apparatus, and the charging device is configured to display an image through a network or the like. Even when connected to the forming apparatus in a communicable manner, the same effects as those of the multifunction machine of the above embodiment can be obtained. Further, even when the authentication apparatus having the function of the authentication unit is configured separately from the image forming apparatus and the authentication apparatus is connected to the image forming apparatus through a network or the like so as to be communicable, Similar effects can be obtained. With such a configuration, a charging unit and an authentication unit can be made common to a plurality of image forming apparatuses.

  As described above, according to the present invention, charging condition change information that can be selected by the user is automatically listed and presented to a user who wants to temporarily change the charging condition. For this reason, the user can change the charging condition only by selecting desired charging condition change information from the presented charging condition change information. Further, since the charging condition change information presented to the user is extracted based on identification information for identifying the user, reliable charging is not hindered.

  The above-described embodiments do not limit the technical scope of the present invention, and various modifications and applications other than those already described are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration is described in which charging is performed every time the image forming unit prints one page. However, charging may be performed after printing a plurality of pages. In this case, printing is not stopped even if the charging upper limit is reached during a job for printing the plurality of pages.

  In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is embodied as a digital multi-function peripheral. However, the present invention can be applied not only to a digital multi-function peripheral but also to an arbitrary image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copier.

  According to the present invention, reliable charging can be realized, and temporary charging conditions can be easily changed, which is useful as an image forming apparatus and an image forming system.

100 MFP 140 Image forming unit 308 IC card reader (reading unit)
200 Operation Panel 401 Reading Unit 402 Authentication Unit 403 Accounting Condition Holding Unit 404 Change Information Storage Unit 405 Extraction Unit 406 Accounting Condition Changing Unit 407 Accounting Unit

Claims (4)

An image forming unit that prints image data on paper;
A reading unit that reads identification information from the portable storage medium when a portable storage medium storing identification information for identifying a user is disposed at a predetermined position;
An authentication unit that prohibits printing in the image forming unit until the identification information read by the reading unit satisfies a pre-registered authentication condition;
A charging condition holding unit that holds normal charging conditions according to the identification information read by the reading unit, applied to charging for printing performed by the image forming unit;
A change information storage unit that stores charge condition change information that is information for changing the normal charge condition to a different charge condition;
An extraction unit that extracts charging condition change information that can be selected by the user specified by the identification information read by the reading unit from the change information storage unit based on the identification information;
When the user selects one of the charging condition change information extracted by the extraction unit, the charging condition change for changing the normal charging condition held in the charging condition holding unit according to the selected charging condition change information And
A charging unit that charges according to a charging condition held in the charging condition holding unit when printing is performed by the image forming unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the normal charging condition is stored in a portable storage medium and input to the charging condition holding unit through the reading unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the billing condition change information is stored in a portable storage medium and input to the change information storage unit through the reading unit. An image forming apparatus for printing image data on paper;
A reading device that reads identification information from the portable storage medium when the portable storage medium storing identification information for identifying the user is disposed at a predetermined position;
An authentication device that prohibits printing in the image forming apparatus until the identification information read by the reading device satisfies a pre-registered authentication condition;
A charging condition holding unit that holds a normal charging condition according to the identification information read by the reading device, applied to charging for printing performed by the image forming apparatus;
A change information storage unit that stores charge condition change information that is information for changing the normal charge condition to a different charge condition;
An extraction unit that extracts charging condition change information that can be selected by the user specified by the identification information read by the reading device from the change information storage unit based on the identification information;
When the user selects one of the charging condition change information extracted by the extracting unit, the charging condition change for changing the normal charging condition held in the charging condition holding unit according to the selected charging condition change information And
A charging unit that charges according to a charging condition held in the charging condition holding unit when printing is performed by the image forming apparatus;
A charging device comprising:
An image forming system comprising:

Images