JP2011232955A - Image-forming apparatus and document management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image-forming apparatus and document management system configured so as to allow users to determine whether documents to be printed are effectively put to practical use after printing.SOLUTION: An image-forming apparatus comprises: an image forming part connectable to a utilization information acquisition device, that outputs document utilization information by reading document information, which is recorded in a printed document each time the printed document is used, via networks, and for forming an image on a printing medium to output it as a printed document; a document information recording part 61 for recording the document information in the printed document; a document utilization information counting part 64 for receiving the document utilization information output by the usage information acquisition device, and counting the utilization state of the printing document, which has the document information contained in the document utilization information, to store the state; and a counting result output part 67 for outputting the utilization state of the printed document so as to allow users to understand the state, based on the counting result.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a document management system capable of managing the usage status of a document printed by an image forming apparatus after printing.

  In offices and laboratories, various documents are printed by digital multifunction peripherals (MFPs), printers, copiers, and other image forming devices that have multiple functions such as a copy function, printer function, facsimile function, and scanner function. Yes. In recent years, a system for managing printed documents has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

  Patent Document 1 discloses a document management system for registering a history of a printed confidential document for a confidential document. This document management system reduces the possibility of leakage or loss of confidential documents by, for example, imposing restrictions on the number of copies that can be printed, printing paper, browsing period, and the like. Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which, when a printed document is discarded after the purpose of browsing or the like, the fact that the document is discarded is registered.

JP 2005-190365 A

  However, although the document management system of Patent Document 1 can reduce the problem of leakage or loss of confidential documents and their duplicate documents, it does not make it possible to grasp the usage status of printed documents.

  In general, some printed documents are frequently used for use by many users, while others are printed but are less frequently used after that. There are various uses for these printed documents. For this reason, it is difficult to grasp the actual usage status (number of users, usage time, etc.) of the printed document in the conventional system as well as in Patent Document 1. Therefore, it has been extremely difficult for each user to determine whether or not a document to be printed by an image forming apparatus such as a multifunction peripheral is effectively used after printing.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention collects and manages the usage status of a printed document that has been printed out, and enables the user to recognize the usage status of the printed document, so that the document to be printed can be effectively utilized after printing. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus and a document management system that allow a user to determine whether or not to be performed.

  The invention according to claim 1 is an image forming apparatus that can be connected via a network to a usage information acquisition device that reads document information recorded in the printed document and outputs the document usage information every time the printed document is used. An image forming unit that forms an image on a print medium and outputs the image as the print document, and the document information for specifying the print document is recorded in the print document output by the image forming unit. A document information recording unit; a document usage information totaling unit that receives the document usage information output by the usage information acquisition device; and totals and stores the usage status of the printed document having the document information included in the document usage information; An image forming apparatus comprising: a usage status output unit that outputs a usage status of a print document in a recognizable manner based on a counting result obtained by the document usage information counting unit.

  According to the above configuration, when the image forming apparatus outputs a print document by the image forming unit, the document information for specifying the print document is recorded in the print document by the document information recording unit. The image forming apparatus can be connected to the usage information acquisition apparatus via a network. When the usage information acquisition apparatus reads the document information recorded in the print document and outputs the document usage information, the image forming apparatus The document usage information totaling means has a so-called database function that receives the document usage information and totalizes and stores the usage status of the print document having the document information included therein. The usage status output unit of the image forming apparatus outputs the usage status of the print document so that the user can recognize based on the totaled result by the document usage information totaling unit. As described above, according to the present invention, the usage status of the printed document that has been printed out is tabulated and managed so that the user can recognize the usage status of the printed document. Therefore, the document to be printed is effectively utilized after printing. The user can easily determine whether or not Thus, the user can selectively print only documents that are effectively used after printing, and can reduce wasteful printing for documents that are not expected to be used effectively. This also means a reduction in the number of management targets for the printed document, which leads to a reduction in the management effort / cost of the printed document, prevention of decentralization of confidential information, and reduction of leakage of confidential information.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, when the print document is discarded, the document information recorded in the print document is read and the document discard information is output. A print document that is connectable to the information acquisition device via the network, and wherein the document usage information totaling unit receives the document disposal information output by the disposal information acquisition device and has the document information included in the document disposal information. In this configuration, the discard data is registered as the aggregated data of the usage status.

  According to the above configuration, the image forming apparatus can be connected to the discard information acquisition apparatus via the network, and the discard information acquisition apparatus reads the document information recorded in the print document and outputs the document discard information. The document usage information totaling means of the image forming apparatus receives the document discard information and registers the discard data as total data of the usage status of the print document having the document information included therein. This makes it possible to easily extract a document that has been registered for discard and a document that has not been registered for discard from the print document. Therefore, for example, a print document that has not been registered for disposal and has been in use for a long time after printing may be stored because it may be used in the future. However, by confirming the intention of the document creator to store the document for a long time, it is possible to solve the problem that a document with low use frequency is stored wastefully for a long time.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the document usage information totaling unit sets each print document to the frequency of use based on the totalization result of the usage status of the print document. The usage status output unit is configured to output the usage status of each print document based on the group classified by the document usage information aggregation unit.

  According to the above configuration, the user of the image forming apparatus can check the result classified into the group based on the usage frequency, so that the printed document is effectively used after printing, and is effectively used. It is possible to more easily confirm the print document that is not present.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, the document usage information totaling unit includes a number-of-users threshold setting unit that sets a threshold for the number of users of the printed document. It is the structure classified into a plurality of groups based on the threshold value of the number of users.

  According to the above configuration, the number of users is applied as a frequency parameter, and the user of the image forming apparatus can check the results classified into a plurality of groups based on the threshold of the number of users. Thus, it is possible to easily confirm a print document used by many users after printing and a print document with few users.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third or fourth aspect, the document usage information aggregation unit includes a usage time threshold value setting unit that sets a threshold value for a usage time of the print document. In this configuration, the documents are classified into a plurality of groups based on the use time threshold.

  According to the above configuration, the usage time is applied as a usage frequency parameter, and the user of the image forming apparatus can confirm the results classified into a plurality of groups based on the usage time threshold. Thus, it is possible to easily confirm a printed document that is used for a long time after printing and a printed document that uses less time.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the document information recording unit records the document information including document type information, and uses the document. The information totaling means totals the usage status of the print document including the document type information, and the usage status output means outputs the usage status for each document type information so that the user can recognize it.

  According to the above configuration, the document type information is included in the document information, and the user of the image forming apparatus can recognize the usage status for each document type information. Thus, the user can easily determine whether or not the document type to which the document to be printed belongs is effectively used after printing. Therefore, the user can selectively print only documents of a document type that is effectively used after printing, and can efficiently reduce wasteful printing for documents of a document type that are not expected to be used effectively.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a printing apparatus that prints a document instructed to be printed on a printing medium and outputs it as a printing document, and records document information for specifying the printing document in the printing document, and document use A usage information acquisition device that is provided at a location and reads document information recorded in the print document every time the print document is used and outputs the document usage information, and can communicate with the usage information acquisition device via the network A document management device connected to the document management device, the document management device receiving the document usage information output from the usage information acquisition device, and summing up the usage status of the printed document having the document information included in the document usage information. Document usage information totaling means for storing and usage status output means for outputting the usage status of the printed document in a recognizable manner based on the totaled result by the document usage information totaling means Is a document management system comprising and.

  According to the above configuration, the usage status of the printed document that has been printed out is collected and managed so that the user can recognize the usage status of the printed document, so whether the document to be printed can be used effectively after printing. It is possible to realize a document management system in which a user can easily determine whether or not.

  According to the present invention, the usage status of the printed document that has been printed out is tabulated and managed so that the user can recognize the usage status of the printed document, so whether or not the document to be printed is effectively utilized after printing. There is an effect that the user can easily determine.

1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a document management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view schematically showing an internal configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a control unit of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the paper in which the IC tag was stuck in the right place. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of writing document information to an IC tag when the image forming apparatus prints a document. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the IC tag reader in a document utilization location. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of totalization of the document usage information by a document usage information totalization part. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the IC tag reader in a document disposal place. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other total example of document utilization information by a document utilization information total part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other total example of document utilization information by a document utilization information total part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other total example of document utilization information by a document utilization information total part. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation when printing a document in the image forming apparatus. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation after printing a document in the image forming apparatus. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a document management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  An image forming apparatus and a document management system according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment and a document management system including the image forming apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the document management system includes an image forming apparatus 1, a plurality of terminal devices 52 such as PCs connected to the image forming apparatus 1 via a network 53, and a plurality of ICs provided at a document use location. An IC tag reader 50b provided in the tag reader 50a and the shredder 51 is provided. As will be described later, the image forming apparatus 1 has a function as a document management apparatus that manages a printed document and a printing function as a printer or a copier. In addition, the image forming apparatus 1 may be configured as a digital multi-function peripheral (MFP) having a plurality of functions such as a facsimile function and a scanner function. In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 will be described as an MFP.

  A user can instruct the image forming apparatus 1 to print a document from the terminal device 52 via the network 53. At this time, the user ID for identifying the user is transmitted from the terminal device 52 to the image forming apparatus 1 together with the print data. Thereby, the user who instructed printing by the image forming apparatus 1 can be specified. The image forming apparatus 1 receives a print instruction from the terminal device 52 and prints a document on a print sheet (recording medium).

  When a user directly operates the image forming apparatus 1 to copy a document (original), the user inputs his / her user ID to the image forming apparatus 1 and then performs a copying operation. The image forming apparatus 1 can specify the user who has copied (printed) on the printing paper.

  In the present embodiment, an IC tag Tg (so-called RF-ID (Radio) that enables wireless communication in a non-contact manner is applied to a print sheet that is a cover (first page of a print) of a print that is printed by the image forming apparatus 1. Frequency Identification)) is attached in advance by an appropriate method such as weaving, sticking, or printing on the printing paper. In the IC tag Tg, IC tag identification information for specifying (uniquely identifying) the printing paper to which the IC tag Tg is attached is recorded in advance.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation of writing document information to the IC tag Tg when the image forming apparatus 1 prints a document. The image forming apparatus 1 includes an IC tag writer 32 (see FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 6, when a document is printed, as document information, for example, creator number information, document number information, document type information The printing date and time information is recorded on the IC tag Tg by the IC tag writer 32.

  The user ID can be used as the creator number information. The document number information is information for specifying (uniquely identifying) a print document. As the document number information, the IC tag identification information recorded in advance on the IC tag Tg can be used as it is. Although it is possible for the user to specify the document number at the time of printing, in order to simplify the process of avoiding duplication of the document number, the IC tag identification information recorded in advance on the IC tag Tg is used as it is. It is desirable to use it as document number information. As the document type information, for example, codes such as A to D assigned for each document type may be used such as A: meeting material, B: design specification, C: verification report, D: minutes. it can. The printing date / time information is information obtained by, for example, acquiring the date / time when the document was printed based on the internal clock of the image forming apparatus 1 and recording it by the IC tag writer 32.

  The IC tag reader 50a reads electronic information (the document information) recorded on the IC tag Tg attached to the print document. The IC tag reader 50a outputs a weak radio wave. When the IC tag Tg attached to the printed document approaches the IC tag reader 50a within a certain distance range (information readable range), the IC tag Tg receives the radio wave output from the IC tag reader 50a. To do. The IC tag Tg is configured to secure operating power with the electromotive force generated by the received radio wave and transmit the document information written in the IC tag Tg to the IC tag reader 50a.

  In the present embodiment, the IC tag reader 50a is arranged at a plurality of document use locations in the system, such as a user's desk or a conference room desk. The IC tag reader 50a outputs the radio wave so as to cover the document use area (user work area) on the desk as an information readable range. Therefore, when the printed document with the IC tag Tg is placed on the desk of the user or the desk of the conference room, the document information recorded on the IC tag Tg is automatically read by the IC tag reader 50a. Has been. In this way, the IC tag reader 50a provided at the document usage location constitutes a usage information acquisition device.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the IC tag reader 50a at a document use location (such as a user's desk or a conference room desk). As shown in the figure, when the print document is placed in an information readable range such as a user's desk and the use of the print document is started, the IC tag reader 50a uses the IC tag Tg attached to the print document. The document information is read out from the file, and the use start date / time information is acquired. The use start date / time information is, for example, information obtained by the IC tag reader 50a acquiring the date / time based on the internal clock of the IC tag reader 50a. The read document information and use start date / time information are stored in the memory of the IC tag reader 50a until the use of the print document is completed. Then, the printed document is moved out of the information readable range from the user's desk or the like (for example, moved into the drawer of the user), and the IC tag reader 50a receives the document information from the IC tag Tg attached to the printed document. The IC tag reader 50a determines that the use of the print document has ended when it can no longer be read (cannot be received), and acquires use end date / time information. The use end date / time information is, for example, information obtained by the IC tag reader 50a acquiring the date / time based on the internal clock of the IC tag reader 50a.

  Further, the IC tag reader 50a adds a user number indicating the user of the print document to the read document information. This user number can be serial number information that is incremented each time a printed document is used.

  When the IC tag reader 50a acquires the use end date / time information, the IC tag reader 50a adds the user number, use start date / time information to document information (creator number information, document number information, document type information, print date information). The document usage information transmitting unit 55 generates document usage information to which usage end date / time information is added, and transmits the document usage information to the image forming apparatus 1 via the network 53. The operation of the image forming apparatus 1 when the document usage information is received will be described later.

  In the present embodiment, a shredder 51 is provided in a document discarding place where a user discards a document whose use purpose such as browsing is discarded, and an IC tag reader 50b that performs an information reading operation similar to the IC tag reader 50a is provided. The shredder 51 is also provided. The IC tag reader 50b outputs the radio wave so as to cover an area including the shredder 51 as an information readable range. Therefore, when the printed document with the IC tag Tg attached is discarded by the shredder 51, the document information recorded on the IC tag Tg is automatically read by the IC tag reader 50b. In this way, the IC tag reader 50b provided in the document disposal location constitutes a disposal information acquisition device.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the IC tag reader 50b at the document disposal location (location where the shredder 51 is installed). As shown in the figure, when the document is discarded by the shredder 51 at the document disposal location, the IC tag reader 50b reads the document information from the IC tag Tg attached to the print document and acquires the disposal date / time information. This discard date / time information is, for example, information obtained by the IC tag reader 50b acquiring the date / time based on the internal clock of the IC tag reader 50b. When the IC tag reader 50b acquires the discard date information, the document discard information obtained by adding the discard date information to the document information (creator number information, document number information, document type information, print date information) is acquired. A document discard information transmitting unit 56 that generates and transmits the document discard information to the image forming apparatus 1 via the network 53 is provided. The operation of the image forming apparatus 1 when document discard information is received will be described later.

  In this document management system, for example, a document discard box may be provided at the document discard location in addition to or in place of the shredder 51, and the IC tag reader 50b may be provided in the document discard box. In this case, the IC tag reader 50b outputs the radio wave so as to cover the area including the document discard box as an information readable range, and prints when the print document to be discarded is input to the document discard box. The document information is read from the IC tag Tg attached to the document, and the same operation as the IC tag reader 50b provided in the shredder 51 is performed.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a side view schematically showing the internal configuration of the image forming apparatus. As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a main body unit 2, a stack tray 3 disposed on the left side of the main body unit 2, a document reading unit 4 disposed on the upper part of the main body unit 2, The document feeding unit 5, the image processing unit 43, the control unit 44, and the communication unit 45 are provided above the document reading unit 4.

  An operation unit 6 is provided at the front portion of the image forming apparatus 1. The operation unit 6 displays a start key 7 for a user to input a print execution instruction, a numeric keypad 8 for inputting the number of copies to be printed, operation guide information for various copying operations, and the like. Display unit 9 including a liquid crystal display or the like having a touch panel function, a reset key 10 for resetting setting contents set on display unit 9, and a stop key for stopping a printing (image forming) operation being executed 11 and a function switching key 12 for switching various functions provided in the image forming apparatus 1.

  The document reading unit 4 includes a scanner unit 13 including a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor and an exposure lamp, and a document table 14 and a document reading slit 15 made of a transparent member such as glass. The scanner unit 13 is configured to be movable by a drive unit (not shown). When reading a document placed on the document table 14, the scanner unit 13 is moved along the document surface at a position facing the document table 14, and the document image is displayed. The image data acquired while scanning is output to the image processing unit 43. When reading the document fed by the document feeding unit 5, the document is moved to a position facing the document reading slit 15 and synchronized with the document feeding operation by the document feeding unit 5 via the document reading slit 15. The image of the original is acquired, and the image data is output to the image processing unit 43.

  The document feeder 5 includes a document placement unit 16 for placing a document, a document discharge unit 17 for ejecting an image-read document, and a document placed on the document placement unit 16. A document transport mechanism 18 including a paper feed roller, a transport roller (not shown), and the like for feeding the paper one by one to a position facing the document reading slit 15 and discharging it to the document discharge section 17 is provided. The document transport mechanism 18 further includes a paper reversing mechanism (not shown) that reverses the document and reversely transports the document to a position facing the document reading slit 15, and images on both sides of the document are passed through the document reading slit 15. Reading is possible from the scanner unit 13.

  Further, the document feeding unit 5 is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the main body unit 2 so that the front side thereof can move upward. By moving the front side of the document feeder 5 upward to open the upper surface of the document table 14, the operator can place a read document, for example, a book in a spread state, on the upper surface of the document table 14. It has become.

  The main body 2 includes a plurality of paper feed cassettes 19, a paper feed roller 20 that feeds the paper from the paper feed cassette 19 one by one and transports it to the image forming unit 21, and an image on the paper transported from the paper feed cassette 19. And an image forming unit 21 for forming the image.

  An image forming unit 21 outputs an optical unit 23 based on the image data acquired by the scanner unit 13 to expose the photosensitive drum 22 and a developing unit 24 that forms a toner image on the photosensitive drum 22. A transfer unit 25 that transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 22 to a sheet; and a fixing device 28 that includes a pair of rollers 26 and 27 that heat the sheet on which the toner image is transferred to fix the toner image on the sheet. And a pair of transport rollers 30, 31 and the like that are provided in the paper transport path in the image forming unit 21 and transport the paper to the stack tray 3.

  The image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes the above-described IC tag writer 32. The IC tag writer 32 is installed at an appropriate position on the downstream side of the fixing device 28. As shown in FIG. 5, document information is attached to the IC tag Tg affixed at an appropriate position on the sheet (first page) after the fixing process. (Creator number, document number, document type, printing date and time) are recorded.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the image forming apparatus 1 with the control unit 44 as the center. The same components as those shown in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description of the components already described is omitted.

  The control unit 44 controls overall operation of the image forming apparatus 1 and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The document reading unit 4, document feeding unit 5, operation unit 6, image forming unit 21, image processing unit 43, IC tag writer 32, communication unit 45, and document storage unit 46 are basically under the control of the control unit 44. Operate. The control unit 44 executes processing based on an operation control program stored in an unillustrated ROM or HDD (Hard Disk Drive) in accordance with various instruction signals input to the operation unit 6 from the user, The image forming apparatus 1 is comprehensively controlled by outputting an instruction signal to each functional unit.

  The image processing unit 43 performs various image processing relating to image data. For example, the image processing unit 43 performs image processing such as level correction, gamma correction, and other image data acquired by the document reading unit 4, image data compression or expansion processing, enlargement or reduction processing, and the like. Do.

  The communication unit 45 is connected to the network 53 (FIG. 1), and the control unit 44 of the image forming apparatus 1 communicates with external devices (such as the IC tag readers 50a and 50b and the terminal device 52) in the network 53. Is. Further, the communication unit 45 is connected to a telephone line or the like so as to be able to send and receive facsimile signals.

  The document storage unit 46 is an electronic document box that stores document data obtained by printing, copying, scanning, and the like in a large-capacity non-volatile auxiliary storage device such as an HDD, and enables centralized management of the stored document data. The document data stored in the document storage unit 46 can be printed out at any time. For example, on the screen of the display unit 9 of the image forming apparatus 1 or the screen of the terminal device 52, the document data is displayed as thumbnails, or each document data is displayed as a preview for each page, and the document stored in the document storage unit 46 is stored. While confirming the data, desired document data can be selected and printed out. Therefore, the user can read out a document having the same content as the printed document once printed out from the document storage unit 46, and print it out again.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the control unit 44. As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 44 includes a document information recording unit 61, a document usage information receiving unit 62, a document discard information receiving unit 63, a document usage information totaling unit 64, and a totaling result output unit 67.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, as shown in FIG. 5, a printing paper with an IC tag Tg is used as the first paper of the printed document when the document is printed on the paper. Then, when the document is printed, the document information recording unit 61 controls the IC tag writer 32 shown in FIG. 3 so that the document information (creator number, document number, document type, printing date and time) is attached with an IC tag. Recorded on the IC tag Tg of the printing paper. The document information recording unit 61 and the IC tag writer 32 constitute a document information recording unit.

  The document usage information receiving unit 62 receives the document usage information (see FIG. 7) transmitted from the document usage information transmitting unit 55 of the IC tag reader 50a provided at the above-described document usage location via the network 53. The information is output to the usage information totaling unit 64.

  The document usage information totaling unit 64 functions as a database that counts and stores the usage status of print documents having document information included in the document usage information received by the document usage information receiving unit 62. As a storage area of the document usage information totaling unit 64, a nonvolatile auxiliary storage device such as an HDD can be used. The document usage information totaling unit includes the document usage information receiving unit 62 and the document usage information totaling unit 64.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the document usage information totaling unit 64 totals user information for each document number. In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the document usage information totaling unit 64 starts using the print document with the document number “N001” when three users with the user numbers “USER001”, “USER002”, and “USER003”. Date and time and use end date are counted. In addition, information on the creator number, the document type, and the printing date / time is also stored as total data of the usage status.

  The document discard information receiving unit 63 receives document discard information (see FIG. 5) transmitted from the document discard information transmitting unit 56 of the IC tag reader 50b provided in the shredder 51 when the printed document is discarded after its use purpose such as browsing. 9) is received via the network 53, and is output to the document usage information totaling unit 64.

  When the document discard information received by the document discard information receiving unit 63 is input, the document use information totaling unit 64 registers the discard data as the total data of the usage status of the printed document having the document information included in the document discard information. To do. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the document usage information totaling unit 64 adds the disposal date information to the total data (see FIG. 8) of the user information of the discarded print document, and totals the user information. Update the data.

  Further, the document usage information totaling unit 64 uses the usage information for each document number, for example, the number of users, the usage time, the document life (discarded from creation) based on the total data of the user information shown in FIG. It has a function to create a table that calculates the time until An example of creation of the table is shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the document usage information totaling unit 64 creates a table in which the calculation results of user information for each document number are tabulated for ten print documents with document numbers “N001” to “N010”. is doing. Further, this table includes document type information together with the number of users, usage time, and document life.

  In addition, the document usage information totaling unit 64 of the present embodiment has a function of classifying each print document into a plurality of groups according to the frequency of use based on the totalization result of the usage status of the print document. Therefore, the document usage information totaling unit 64 includes a user number threshold setting unit 65 and a usage time threshold setting unit 66 as shown in FIG.

  The number-of-users threshold value setting unit 65 sets a threshold value for the number of users of each print document that serves as a group classification reference. The user number threshold setting unit 65 sets, for example, three threshold values SU1, SU2, and SU3 in descending order of the number of users, and can classify printed documents into four groups based on the number of users.

  As an example, if thresholds SU1, SU2, and SU3 are set to 10, 6, and 2, respectively, print documents used by 10 or more users are used for Group I and 6 or more users of less than 10 users. The printed document is group II, the document used by two or more users less than six is group III, the printed document used only by two or less users is group IV, and the printed document is the number of users. Based on this, it can be classified into four groups. In this group classification, by including the document type information of the print document, the use frequency (degree of effective use) of which print document belonging to which document type is effectively used by many users is confirmed. It can be desirable.

  The usage time threshold value setting unit 66 sets a threshold value for the usage time of each print document that serves as a group classification reference. For example, when three threshold values ST1, ST2, and ST3 are set by the usage time threshold setting unit 66 in the order of long usage time, the print documents can be classified into four groups based on the usage time.

  That is, when the threshold values ST1, ST2, and ST3 are set to 100 hours, 60 hours, and 20 hours, respectively, a print document that has been used by the user for 100 hours or more is a group A, and printing that has been used by the user for 60 hours or less less than 10 hours. The document is group B, the document used by the user for less than 60 hours and 20 hours or more is group C, the print document that is used by the user for less than 20 hours is group D, and the print document is classified into four groups based on the use time. Can be classified. Even in this group classification, by including the document type information of the print document, the use frequency (the degree of effective use) indicating which print document belonging to which document type has been used effectively by the user for many hours. This is desirable because it can be confirmed.

  The tabulation result output unit 67 as a usage status output unit has a function of outputting the usage status of the print document in a state recognizable to the user based on the tabulation result by the document usage information tabulation unit 64. For example, the tabulation result output unit 67 prints out the usage status of the print document based on the tabulation result on a recording medium (such as paper) or on the screen of the display unit 9 or the terminal device 52 of the image forming apparatus 1. By outputting the display, it can be output as a recognizable state for the user.

  A user of the image forming apparatus 1 confirms the result of grouping based on the use frequency such as the number of users and the use time as a print output or a display output, thereby effectively using the print after printing. Documents (groups I, II, III, groups A, B, and C) and documents that are not effectively used (groups IV and D) can be easily confirmed. For this reason, it is possible to check the degree of effective use (usage frequency) for each print document (for each document number) or for each document type of the print document.

  Further, the threshold value of each parameter indicating the frequency of use of the print document is determined by a PC that is connected to the image forming apparatus 1 or the network 53 by the user operating the operation unit 6 of the image forming apparatus 1, for example. It can be appropriately changed by remote operation from the terminal device 52.

  In the above example, the number of users or the usage time is used alone as a parameter indicating the usage frequency of the printed document. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and for example, as shown in FIG. Both the number of users and the usage time may be used as parameters indicating the usage frequency.

  In the example of FIG. 12, the threshold value for the number of users of each printed document is 3 people, the threshold value for the usage time is 61 hours, and the classification based on the number of users is 3 or more and less than 3 people. At the same time, the classification based on the usage time is divided into a case of 61 hours or more and a case of less than 61 hours, and these are classified into four groups.

  That is, group 1 includes three print documents with document numbers “N001”, “N002”, and “N007” shown in the table of FIG. 11 as print documents having three or more users and a use time of 61 hours or more. belong to. In the group 2, two print documents with document numbers “N005” and “N010” shown in the table of FIG. 11 belong as print documents having three or more users and a use time of less than 61 hours. In the group 3, a print document with the document number “N003” shown in the table of FIG. 11 belongs as a print document having the number of users of less than 3 and a usage time of 61 hours or more. Group 4 includes four prints having the document numbers “N004”, “N006”, “N008”, and “N009” shown in the table of FIG. 11 as print documents with the number of users being less than 3 and the usage time being less than 61 hours. The document belongs. In the example of group classification in FIG. 12, document life information and document type information are also included.

  In the example of FIG. 12 as well, print documents (groups 1, 2, and 3) that are effectively used after printing and documents (group 4) that are not effectively used after printing, in terms of the number of users and usage time. Can be easily and accurately confirmed. For this reason, it is possible to confirm the degree of effective use (usage frequency) as more accurate information for each print document (for each document number) or for each document type of the print document.

  By the way, in the example of FIG. 12, the document number is used as a reference for tabulation, but the usage frequency may be tabulated for each document type using the document type information as a reference for tabulation.

  As described above, the user himself / herself can confirm whether or not the document that the user is going to print is effectively used after printing by checking the degree (frequency of use) of the printed document. Can be judged. As described above, providing data to the user for determining whether or not a document should be printed leads to a reduction in useless printing. As a result, management manpower and management expenses are reduced by reducing the number of objects to be printed. Reduction, prevention of decentralization of confidential information, and reduction of leakage of confidential information.

  The tabulation result output unit 67 may output the usage status of the print document in a tabular form as illustrated in FIG. 11 or FIG. 12 at an arbitrary timing so that the user can recognize it.

  Alternatively, the tabulation result output unit 67 is a timing at which the user intends to print a document (for example, a timing at which a print output request for a document is requested from the terminal device 52, or the operation unit 6 of the image forming apparatus 1 is operated to operate the document. At the timing of printing, the usage status of the print document related to the document may be output so as to be recognized by the user as data for determining whether or not the document should be printed. For example, when the user reads out a document having the same contents as the printed document once printed out from the document storage unit 46 and tries to print it out again, the total result output unit 67 displays the print document up to now. Users can be notified by displaying the usage status. As a specific example, if the frequency of use of the printed document is low, a warning message such as “This document has not been used effectively after printing. Please refrain from printing.” Then, the totaling result output unit 67 causes the display unit 9 or the terminal device 52 to display and output. As a result, the user can confirm the warning message as described above and accurately determine whether or not the document should be printed.

  Further, when the user is going to print out a document of a document type with low usage frequency, the total result output unit 67 notifies the user by displaying the usage status of the print document of the document type so far. be able to. As a specific example, when the use frequency of a print document of the document type is low, a warning message such as “A document of this document type is not used effectively after printing. Please refrain from printing.” In the previous stage of print execution, the total result output unit 67 causes the display unit 9 or the terminal device 52 to display and output. As a result, the user can confirm the warning message as described above and can accurately determine whether or not the document of the document type should be printed.

  Moreover, it can also be set as the structure which the count result output part 67 shows and displays a usage frequency quantitatively with said warning message. For example, in the table of FIG. 12, the usage frequencies of the groups 1 to 4 can be expressed as numerical values 1 to 4, respectively, and the lower the numerical value, the higher the usage frequency can be quantified. When there are a plurality of print documents with the same content, or when there are a plurality of print documents with the same document type, the use frequency for each document content or each document type can be quantified by obtaining the average value of the numerical values. it can. This average value can be used as an index for determining the high usage frequency. For example, when the average value is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, it is possible to determine that the usage frequency is low and to display the warning message.

  In addition, when a plurality of print requests are duplicated based on the result of counting by the document usage information totaling unit 64, the image forming apparatus 1 prints a document with a lower usage frequency of past print documents or a document type. The print may be preferentially executed from a document or a document type with a high use frequency of the print document.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 1 is configured to restrict (prohibit) print output based on the counting result by the document usage information totaling unit 64 for a document or document type for which a past print document has been used less frequently. May be.

  By including the document lifetime information in the result of group classification, for example, a printed document belonging to group 4 that is printed instead of a memo whose document lifetime is only one day (document number “N008”) Can be sorted easily.

  For documents with a long document life, there may be cases where the user has stored a printed document for no purpose or has stored it because it may be used in the future. By confirming the intention of storing for a long period of time, it is possible to grasp the background of how documents with low usage frequency have been stored for a long period of time, and to take measures to prevent them from being stored for a long period of time.

  In particular, by including the document type information in the group classification result, it is possible to check the degree of effective use (frequency of use) for each document type of the printed document. In the example of FIG. 12, it can be easily recognized that most of the print documents of the document type D belong to the group 4 and the print documents of the document type D are not effectively used. The usage frequency information for each document type can be widely used as information for the user to determine whether the document to be printed is effectively used after printing.

  FIGS. 13 and 14 are flowcharts illustrating processing examples of the document information recording unit 61, the document usage information receiving unit 62, the document discard information receiving unit 63, the document usage information totaling unit 64, and the totaling result output unit 67 in the control unit 44. It is.

  As shown in FIG. 13, when the user instructs the image forming apparatus 1 to print a document from the terminal device 52 or the like (YES in S1), the document information recording unit 61 (FIG. 4) prints the IC tag Tg-attached printing paper. Document information (creator number, document number, document type, printing date, etc.) is recorded in (S2). As described above, the image forming apparatus 1 attempts to print by outputting a warning message or usage frequency information when a low usage frequency document is about to be printed before the actual printing process. Provides data for determining whether a document should be printed.

  After S2, the document usage information totaling unit 64 of the image forming apparatus 1 registers the document information in a storage unit such as an HDD (S3). Although the process of S3 can be omitted, it is desirable to register the document information of the print document when the print document is output in S3.

  This is because the document information of the printed document may not be read by the IC tag readers 50a and 50b even after being printed. For example, it may be assumed that the user takes out from a specified place (such as in the office) (for example, takes it home) and leaves it as it is. Therefore, as described above, when the document is printed, the document information of the print document is registered in the image forming apparatus 1, so that, for example, the IC tag Tg added to the print document can be selected for a long time. Based on the fact that the IC tag readers 50a and 50b have not been read, it is possible to estimate the fact that the printed document has been taken out of the designated location, or to estimate the fact that it has been left somewhere in the designated location. it can. As a result, the printed document can be traced from the time when the document is printed.

  Further, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 14, when the document usage information receiving unit 62 (FIG. 4) receives the document usage information transmitted from the IC tag reader 50a via the network 53 (YES in S11), the document usage is received. The information totaling unit 64 totals the document usage information received by the document usage information receiving unit 62 and stores it in the database (S12). An example of this aggregation is as described with reference to FIG. After the process of S12, the process returns to S11, and thereafter, every time the document usage information is received, the total result is updated.

  When the document discard information receiving unit 63 receives the document discard information transmitted from the IC tag reader 50b via the network 53 (YES in S13), the document usage information totaling unit 64 is included in the document discard information. Disposal data is registered as aggregated data on the usage status of a printed document having document information, and the aggregated data is updated (S14). An example of updating the aggregated data is as described with reference to FIG.

  As described above, when the print document is discarded, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to register the fact that the print document is discarded as total data based on the document discard information of the print document. As a result, out of the printed documents, it is possible to easily extract documents that are registered for discarding and documents that are not registered for discarding. Therefore, for example, if a usable period of a print document is set, for a document that has not yet been registered for disposal after the expiration of the usable period, the user who has printed out the document is notified whether the document is retained or not. You can track printed documents by making inquiries. Thereby, leakage and loss of confidential documents can be prevented. In addition, printed documents that have not been registered for disposal and that have passed for a long time after printing are stored because the user may store the printed documents for no purpose or in the future. In some cases, by confirming the intention of the document creator to store the document for a long time, it is possible to solve the problem that a document with low usage frequency is stored wastefully for a long time.

  After S14, the counting result output unit 67 outputs the usage status of the print document in a state that can be recognized by the user based on the counting result by the document usage information totaling unit 64 (print output, Display output, file output, etc.) (S15). This output example is as described with reference to FIG. 11 or FIG.

  In the example of the flowchart of FIG. 14 described above, a configuration is shown in which the summation result is output when the discard data is registered and the summation data is updated. In this case, the total result data may be displayed or output as a file on the terminal device 52 of the creator of the discarded print document or the terminal device 52 of the person in charge of document management. Note that the output timing of the total result is not limited to the example of the flowchart of FIG. 14, and as described above, the user can output the total result at an arbitrary timing, or before the document is printed. It is also possible to automatically display and output the counting results in a timely manner.

  FIG. 15 shows another configuration example of the document management system according to this embodiment.

  That is, the document management system according to the present embodiment is not limited to the configuration in which the image forming apparatus 1 includes the document management apparatus 72 as illustrated in FIG. 1, and the document management apparatus 72 is placed outside the image forming apparatus 71. It is good also as a structure provided.

  In the present embodiment, a case has been described in which document information is electronically recorded on a printing paper (printing medium) to which an IC tag Tg (electronic recording medium capable of recording electronic information) is attached. However, any document information can be read out after it is recorded on the print medium. For example, document information may be recorded on a print medium as a barcode. In this case, it is possible to read out the document information using a barcode reader as a usage information acquisition device instead of the IC tag reader. Alternatively, the document information may be encoded and expressed in alphanumeric characters or the like and recorded on a print medium. In this case, the document information can be read using a scanner having an OCR (Optical Character Reader) function as a usage information acquisition device.

  In the present embodiment, when a printed document with an IC tag Tg is placed on a user's desk or the like, the document information recorded on the IC tag Tg is automatically read by the IC tag reader 50a. The configuration in which the IC tag reader 50a automatically obtains use start date / time information and use end date / time information has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the usage information acquisition device (such as an IC tag reader or a barcode reader) can start using the date and time when the usage information acquisition device (such as an IC tag reader or a barcode reader) manually performs a document information reading operation or button operation at the start and end of usage of a printed document Information and use end date / time information may be acquired. However, it is possible to avoid forgetting the user's input operation and to obtain an accurate usage status by automatically acquiring the usage start date / time information and usage end date / time information in a non-contact manner using radio waves as in this embodiment. It can be said that it is more preferable because it can be monitored.

  Similarly, the discard information acquisition device is not limited to the IC tag reader 50b, and a barcode reader or the like can be applied.

  Further, in the present embodiment, an example of printing output, display output, or file output has been shown as a method for outputting the usage status of a printed document so that the user can recognize it. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Audio output may be used.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 Image forming device (printing device, document management device)
9 Display unit 21 Image forming unit (image forming means)
32 IC tag writer (document information recording means)
44 Control Unit 50a IC Tag Reader (Usage Information Acquisition Device)
50b IC tag reader (discard information acquisition device)
52 Terminal Device 53 Network 55 Document Usage Information Transmitter (Usage Information Acquisition Device)
56 Document Disposal Information Transmitter (Discard Information Acquisition Device)
61 Document information recording unit (document information recording means)
62 Document usage information receiving unit (document usage information counting means)
63 Document disposal information receiver (document usage information aggregation means)
64 Document usage information tabulation section (document usage information tabulation means)
65 Number of users threshold setting section (Number of users threshold setting means)
66 Usage time threshold setting unit (Usage time threshold setting means)
67 Total result output section (usage status output means)
71 Image forming device (printing device)
72 Document Management Device (Document Management Device)

Claims (7)

An image forming apparatus that can be connected via a network to a usage information acquisition apparatus that reads document information recorded in the printed document every time the printed document is used and outputs the document usage information,
Image forming means for forming an image on a print medium and outputting the image as the print document;
Document information recording means for recording the document information for specifying the print document in the print document output by the image forming means;
Document usage information totaling means for receiving the document usage information output by the usage information acquisition device, and totalizing and storing the usage status of the print document having the document information included in the document usage information;
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a usage status output unit that outputs a usage status of a print document in a recognizable manner based on a counting result obtained by the document usage information counting unit. It can also be connected via the network to a discard information acquisition device that reads document information recorded in the print document and outputs the document discard information when the print document is discarded.
The document usage information aggregation means receives the document disposal information output from the disposal information acquisition device, and registers the disposal data as aggregation data of the usage status of the print document having the document information included in the document disposal information. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The document usage information totaling unit classifies each print document into a plurality of groups according to the frequency of use based on the totalization result of the usage status of the print document,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the usage status output unit outputs a usage status of each print document based on the group classified by the document usage information aggregation unit.   The document usage information totaling unit includes a user number threshold setting unit for setting a threshold value for the number of users of a print document, and classifies each print document into a plurality of groups based on the threshold value of the number of users. Item 4. The image forming apparatus according to Item 3.   The document usage information aggregation means includes usage time threshold setting means for setting a usage time threshold for a print document, and classifies each print document into a plurality of groups based on the usage time threshold. Item 5. The image forming apparatus according to Item 3 or 4. The document information recording means records the document information including document type information,
The document usage information totaling unit totalizes the usage status of the print document including the document type information,
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the usage status output unit outputs the usage status for each document type information so that the user can recognize the usage status. A printing apparatus that prints a document instructed to be printed on a print medium and outputs the print document, and records document information for specifying the print document in the print document;
A usage information acquisition device that is provided at a document usage location and reads the document information recorded in the print document every time the print document is used, and outputs the document usage information;
A document management device communicably connected to the usage information acquisition device via a network;
The document management apparatus includes:
Document usage information totaling means for receiving the document usage information output by the usage information acquisition device, and totalizing and storing the usage status of the print document having the document information included in the document usage information;
A document management system comprising: a usage status output unit that outputs a usage status of a print document in a recognizable manner based on a counting result obtained by the document usage information counting unit.

Images