JP2018004779A - Consumable management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to actively recover a used consumable.SOLUTION: In a consumable management system 1, an image forming apparatus 2 detects replacement of a consumable 20 and notifies a management device 4 of the replacement; the management device 4 calculates the quantity of stock of the consumable 20 kept at hand by a user; when a shipment condition is satisfied, a distribution processing device 3 arranges shipment of a new consumable 20 and recovery of the used consumable 20. In the consumable management system 1, the user of the image forming apparatus 2 thus only needs to replace the consumable 20 to ship the new consumable 20 to the hands of the user through an instruction from the management device 4 when the shipment condition is satisfied and actively recover the used consumable 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

  The present invention relates to a consumable management system, and is suitable for application to a consumable management system that manages consumables such as toner cartridges used in an image forming apparatus (so-called printer).

  Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus, for example, an image is exposed on the surface of a photosensitive drum by a built-in exposure device, and a toner image is generated by attaching the toner to the surface, and then transferred and fixed on a medium such as paper. Those that form (i.e., print) images are widely used.

  In this image forming apparatus, for example, toner consumed during printing is stored in a toner cartridge, and the toner necessary for printing can be easily replenished by replacing the toner cartridge as a consumable item. In addition, in the image forming apparatus, by incorporating various sensors inside, it is possible to detect the remaining amount of toner and notify the user, or to detect that the user has replaced the toner cartridge.

  Further, such an image forming apparatus constitutes a consumable management system connected to a predetermined consumable management apparatus via a network, and the consumable management apparatus is configured according to the remaining amount of toner in the image forming apparatus. An apparatus that automatically orders a toner cartridge has also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-181561 (FIG. 1)

  By the way, the conventional toner cartridge is removed from the image forming apparatus after it is mounted on the image forming apparatus and the toner is consumed, that is, used. In such a used toner cartridge, although the contained toner is consumed by printing, not all of the component parts are consumed, so that sufficient quality and performance are maintained for some parts. May be reusable.

  Therefore, for example, a manufacturer who manufactures an image forming apparatus or a partner who has a technical alliance collects used toner cartridges, takes out parts that maintain sufficient quality and performance, and recycles them. It is conceivable to manufacture a new toner cartridge by using it. The toner cartridge manufactured in this way (hereinafter referred to as a reuse toner cartridge) is assured in performance and quality by the manufacturer in the same manner as a normal toner cartridge. Therefore, the user of the image forming apparatus can use the reused toner cartridge with peace of mind in the same way as a normal toner cartridge.

  However, although the above-described consumable management system can supply a new toner cartridge at a timing that requires replacement in the image forming apparatus, there is a problem in that the used toner cartridge is not necessarily sufficiently collected. It was.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and intends to propose a consumable management system that can actively collect used consumables.

  In order to solve this problem, in the consumable item management system of the present invention, an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a medium using a replaceable consumable item, a management device that manages information about the consumable item, and an image forming apparatus And a consumables management system having a network for exchanging information between management devices, and replacing used consumables that are used consumables in the image forming apparatus with unused consumables that are new consumables A replacement detection means for detecting that the consumables have been replaced, a recovery instruction means for instructing the recovery of the used consumables, and a used A collection detecting means for detecting that the consumables have been collected is provided.

  In the present invention, when a consumable item is replaced in the image forming apparatus, this is detected by the replacement detection means and notified to the management apparatus. Therefore, the management apparatus indicates that a used consumable has occurred in the image forming apparatus. The collection instruction means can instruct the collection of used consumables. Further, in the present invention, since the collection detecting means can detect that the used consumables have been collected, the collection status of the used consumables can be accurately grasped.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a consumable management system that can positively collect used consumables.

It is a basic diagram which shows the whole structure of a consumables management system. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus. It is a basic diagram which shows a consumables information table. It is a basic diagram which shows a mounting apparatus information table. It is a basic block diagram which shows the structure of a delivery processing apparatus. It is a rough-line block diagram which shows the structure of a management apparatus. It is a basic diagram which shows a user information database and a consumables information database. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an information notification processing procedure performed by the image forming apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the consumables management processing procedure (1) by a management apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the consumables management processing procedure (2) by a management apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the delivery processing procedure by a delivery processing apparatus.

  Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described with reference to the drawings.

[1. Consumables management system configuration]
As shown in FIG. 1, the consumables management system 1 according to this embodiment has a configuration in which an image forming apparatus 2, a delivery processing apparatus 3, and a management apparatus 4 are connected to each other via the Internet 5 as a network. . The image forming apparatus 2 is installed at an installation location L1 such as a user's workplace. The delivery processing device 3 and the management device 4 are provided in a management center S1 that is remote from the installation location L1. Incidentally, a plurality of image forming apparatuses 2 (not shown) installed at various installation locations are also connected to the consumable management system 1 via the Internet 5.

[1-1. Configuration of image forming apparatus]
The image forming apparatus 2 is a so-called MFP (Multi Function Peripheral), and has a printer function for forming (that is, printing) an image on paper as a medium, a function as an image scanner for reading an image, and a communication function. These combinations can operate as a printer, a copier (copy machine), a facsimile machine, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 2 includes therein an image formation control unit 11, an image formation storage unit 12, an image formation communication unit 13, a print data creation unit 14, a print data output unit 15, and the like. Yes. The image forming control unit 11 is mainly configured by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown), and reads various programs such as a print program from a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, etc. (not shown) and executes them. Various processing such as printing processing is performed.

  The image forming storage unit 12 includes a RAM (Random Access Memory), a hard disk drive, and the like, and stores various information such as various setting values necessary for various processes such as a printing process. The image forming storage unit 12 stores information for identifying an individual such as a model name assigned to the image forming apparatus 2 or a uniquely assigned manufacturing number in a non-volatile area such as a hard disk drive. In addition, information representing the history of print processing, such as the cumulative operation time and the cumulative number of printed sheets, is stored while being updated sequentially.

  The image forming communication unit 13 is, for example, a wired LAN (Local Area Network) compliant with a standard such as IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.3u / ab or a standard such as IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac. Is connected to the Internet 5 (FIG. 1) by a wireless LAN compliant with the above. The image forming communication unit 13 is also connected to a computer device (not shown). The image forming communication unit 13 receives image data and a print instruction thereof and supplies the image data to the image forming control unit 11. In response to this, the image formation control unit 11 supplies the image data to the print data creation unit 14.

  The print data creation unit 14 performs predetermined image processing or the like on the image data supplied from the image formation control unit 11 to generate print data that is a type of data suitable for printing. The print data output unit 14 15 is supplied.

  The print data output unit 15 includes an exposure device and a fixing device (not shown), a paper transport mechanism, and the like, and performs print processing for printing an image on paper. Specifically, the print data output unit 15 forms an electrostatic latent image by exposing the photosensitive drum based on the print data supplied from the print data creation unit 14 in the exposure device, and attaches toner to the image. Thus, a toner image is formed. The print data output unit 15 transports the paper along a predetermined transport path by the transport mechanism, transfers the toner image onto the surface, and fixes the toner image by the fixing device. Thus, the print data output unit 15 can form (that is, print) an image based on the supplied image data on a sheet.

  Incidentally, the print data output unit 15 has four exposure devices respectively corresponding to four colors such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, and sequentially forms toner images of four colors and superimposes these on the paper. By so transferring, a so-called color printing is realized.

  By the way, in each exposure device of the print data output unit 15, a toner cartridge containing toner is detachable (that is, replaceable), and the toner can be supplied from the toner cartridge. In each exposure apparatus, the remaining amount of toner contained in the toner cartridge is detected by a predetermined sensor, and this is notified to the image formation control unit 11. For this reason, the image forming control unit 11 prompts the user to replace the toner cartridge by displaying a predetermined message on a display unit (not shown) when the remaining amount of toner runs out, or when the toner becomes empty.

  In response to this, the user prepares a new (that is, unused) toner cartridge, and then performs an exchange operation such as removing a used toner cartridge, that is, a consumed toner cartridge, and installing a new toner cartridge. Do. As a result, the print data output unit 15 is in a state where the print processing can be performed again. For convenience of explanation, the toner cartridge is hereinafter referred to as a consumable 20. The used consumables 20 are collected and delivered to the management center S1 (FIG. 1) (details will be described later).

  A consumable information storage unit 21 is incorporated in the consumable 20. The consumable item information storage unit 21 is formed of, for example, a non-volatile storage element. Various information about the consumable item 20 is stored in advance, and a part of the information is appropriately updated. For example, the consumable information storage unit 21 records a product number assigned to the consumable 20 itself, a unique manufacturing number, a manufacturing date, a capacity of toner accommodated at the time of manufacturing, and the like.

  The consumable information storage unit 21 performs wired or wireless communication with the consumable information management unit 16 when the consumable 20 (that is, the toner cartridge) is attached to the image forming apparatus 2. For example, the consumable information management unit 16 reads various information such as a manufacturing number from the consumable information storage unit 21 and supplies the read information to the image forming storage unit 12. The image forming storage unit 12 constitutes the consumable information table T1 shown in FIG. 3, and stores information such as the remaining amount of toner and the number of printed sheets for each type of consumable 20 (that is, for each color of the toner cartridge). It is supposed to let you.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the consumable information storage unit 21 constitutes a mounting device information table T2 for storing information related to the image forming apparatus 2 on which the consumable 20 is mounted. In the mounting apparatus information table T2, for example, information such as the model name and manufacturing number of the mounted image forming apparatus 2, the use start date and the last use date, the number of printed sheets before replacement, the number of printed sheets after replacement, and the total number of printed sheets Is stored. The consumables information management unit 16 appropriately stores various information regarding the image forming apparatus 2 in the mounting device information table T2 of the consumables information storage unit 21, and updates it as needed.

  The consumable item replacement detection unit 17 detects that the consumable item 20 has been replaced, that is, that the used consumable item 20 has been removed and an unused consumable item 20 has been attached. The product information management unit 16 is notified. In response to this, the consumable information management unit 16 reads out information such as a manufacturing number from the consumable information management unit 16 of the newly installed consumable 20 and reads the consumable information table T1 (see FIG. 3). Incidentally, at this time, the image formation control unit 11 increments the value of the replacement counter by 1, and initializes the value of the number of printed sheets after replacement in the consumable information table T1 to “0”.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus 2 performs the printing process while consuming the toner in a state where the consumable 20 containing the toner is mounted. The image forming apparatus 2 reads various information from the consumable information storage unit 21 incorporated in the consumable 20 and stores various information.

[1-2. Configuration of delivery processing apparatus]
As shown in FIG. 5, the delivery processing device 3 is mainly configured by a delivery control unit 31 that performs overall control, a delivery storage unit 32 that stores various information, and a delivery communication unit 33 that performs communication processing. Yes. Similar to the image formation control unit 11 (FIG. 2), the delivery control unit 31 is mainly configured by a CPU (not shown), and by reading and executing various programs from a ROM, flash memory, etc. (not shown), Process. The delivery storage unit 32 is composed of a RAM, a hard disk drive, or the like, like the image forming storage unit 12, and stores various information. Similarly to the image forming communication unit 13 (FIG. 2), the delivery communication unit 33 is connected to the Internet 5 (FIG. 1) via a wired LAN or a wireless LAN, and transmits and receives various information to and from the management device 4. It has become.

  In addition, the delivery processing device 3 is provided with a shipping / collecting arrangement unit 34 and a consumable information reading unit 35. The shipping / collection arrangement unit 34 can exchange information with a predetermined delivery company, and can arrange delivery and collection of articles to the delivery company.

  For example, when the shipping / collection arrangement unit 34 receives a shipping instruction for shipping the consumable 20 to the installation location L1 from the management device 4 serving as a delivery instruction means, the delivery / recovery arrangement unit 34 requests the shipping to the shipping company, thereby managing the delivery source. The consumable 20 can be shipped from the center S1 and delivered to the installation location L1 as a delivery destination. Further, when receiving a collection instruction for collecting the consumables 20 from the installation location L1 from the management device 4, the shipping / collection arrangement unit 34 collects the consumables 20 from the installation location L1 by requesting the delivery company to collect them. Can be delivered to the management center S1.

  The consumables information reading unit 35 communicates with the consumables information storage unit 21 (FIG. 2) of the collected consumables 20 (that is, the toner cartridge) by wire or wirelessly, and the consumables information storage unit 21. The information is read from the data and supplied to the delivery control unit 31. In response to this, the delivery control unit 31 transmits this information to the management apparatus 4 via the delivery communication unit 33.

[1-3. Configuration of management device]
As shown in FIG. 6, the management device 4 is roughly divided into a management control unit 41 that performs overall control, a management storage unit 42 that stores various information, and a management communication unit 43 that performs communication processing. ing. Similar to the image formation control unit 11 (FIG. 2), the management control unit 41 is mainly configured by a CPU (not shown), and reads various programs from a ROM or flash memory (not shown) to execute various programs. Process. Similar to the image forming storage unit 12, the management storage unit 42 is composed of a RAM, a hard disk drive, or the like, and stores various information. The management communication unit 43 is connected to the Internet 5 (FIG. 1) via a wired LAN or a wireless LAN, like the image forming communication unit 13 (FIG. 2), etc., and between the image forming apparatuses 2 and the delivery processing apparatus. Various kinds of information are transmitted to and received from each other.

  In the management storage unit 42, a user information database (DB) 45 and a consumable information database 46 are constructed. As shown in FIG. 7A, the user information database 45 includes, for each image forming apparatus 2, various types such as a model name and a unique apparatus number of the image forming apparatus 2 or a company name and an administrator name to be used. Is stored. As shown in FIG. 7B, the consumable information database 46 stores the consumables 20 in the image forming apparatus 2 based on the information transmitted from the image forming apparatus 2 and the information obtained from the delivery processing apparatus 3. Various types of information on the consumables are stored for each type (for example, for each color of the toner cartridge).

  In the consumable information database 46, values such as an exchange counter, an average number of printed sheets, an average number of replacement days, etc. are obtained by appropriately performing calculation processing by the management control unit 41 based on information obtained from the image forming apparatus 2. Is stored. Of these, the replacement counter and the average number of replacement days are a value obtained by counting the number of times the consumable 20 has been replaced based on the detection result obtained from the consumable replacement detection unit 17 (FIG. 2) of the image forming apparatus 2, and This is a value obtained by calculating the average of the intervals (days) at which the consumables 20 are replaced. Hereinafter, the average number of replacement days is also referred to as an average replacement period, and the management control unit 41 that calculates the average replacement period is also referred to as an average replacement period calculating unit. Further, the average number of printed sheets is a value calculated based on the cumulative number of printed sheets of the image forming apparatus 2 and the number of times the consumable 20 has been replaced.

  The consumable information database 46 stores values such as the cumulative number of shipments and the number of collections based on information obtained from the delivery processing device 3. The cumulative shipment number is a value obtained by accumulating the number of consumables 20 that have been sent to the image forming apparatus 2 so far (ie, shipped) by arrangement of the delivery processing device 3. The number of collected items has been collected from the image forming apparatus 2 so far by arrangement of the delivery processing apparatus 3, that is, arrives at the management center S1 (FIG. 1), and is received by the consumable information reading unit 35 of the delivery processing apparatus 3. Is a value obtained by accumulating the number of consumables 20 read.

  Further, the consumable information database 46 stores the maximum stock quantity and the number of shipments. Among these, the maximum stock number is a value preset by the user of the image forming apparatus 2 and represents the maximum number of consumables 20 that the user thinks can be held as stock at hand. The number of shipments is calculated by subtracting the actual number of stocks (that is, the number of unused consumables 20 currently owned by the user) from this maximum stock number. The actual inventory quantity is calculated by subtracting the value of the replacement counter from the cumulative shipment quantity value.

  Further, the management control unit 41 (FIG. 6) configures a device information monitoring unit 47 and a collection history information processing unit 48 as functional processing blocks therein by executing a predetermined management program. The apparatus information monitoring unit 47 acquires various information from the image forming apparatus 2 via the management communication unit 43 and the Internet 5 (FIG. 1), monitors the information, and stores consumables stored in the management storage unit 42. The values in the information database 46 (FIG. 7B) are updated as appropriate. The collection history information processing unit 48 obtains information on the collected consumables 20 from the delivery processing device 3 via the management communication unit 43 and the Internet 5 (FIG. 1), and stores the information in the delivery storage unit 32 based on this information. The number of collected items in the stored consumable information database 46 (FIG. 7B) is updated as appropriate.

  As described above, the management device 4 stores various information related to the consumables 20 of the image forming device 2 in an organized manner based on various information obtained from the image forming device 2 and the delivery processing device 3, and appropriately stores them. It has been updated.

[2. Processing procedure]
Next, processing related to the consumable 20 in the consumable management system 1 will be described separately for the image forming apparatus 2, the management apparatus 4, and the delivery processing apparatus 3.

[2-1. Information notification processing of image forming apparatus]
First, an information notification processing procedure for notifying information related to the consumable 20 from the image forming apparatus 2 to the management apparatus 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the power is turned on, the image formation control unit 11 (FIG. 2) of the image forming apparatus 2 reads and executes the print program from the image formation storage unit 12, thereby starting the information notification processing procedure RT1 and proceeds to step SP1. Move.

  In step SP1, when the image formation control unit 11 obtains image data and a print instruction from a host device (not shown), the process proceeds to the next step SP2. In step SP2, the image formation control unit 11 generates print data by the print data creation unit 14 (FIG. 2), performs print processing by the print data output unit 15, and proceeds to the next step SP3.

  In step SP3, the image formation control unit 11 performs various values in the consumable information table T1 (FIG. 3) stored in the image formation storage unit 12, for example, the number of printed sheets after replacement and the total number of printed sheets, and the remaining amount of toner. Update. At the same time, the image forming control unit 11 sets various values in the mounting device information table T2 (FIG. 4) stored in the consumable information storage unit 21 of the consumable 20 by the consumable information management unit 16 (FIG. 2), for example, The number of printed sheets after replacement, the total number of printed sheets, and the last use date are updated, and the process proceeds to the next step SP4.

  In step SP4, the image formation control unit 11 determines whether or not the consumable item replacement detection unit 17 detects that the consumable item 20 has been replaced after notifying the management apparatus 4 of the information. If a negative result is obtained here, this indicates that there is no need to update the information regarding the consumable 20 stored in the management device 4 (FIG. 1). At this time, the image formation control unit 11 returns to step SP1 again and repeats a series of processes.

  On the other hand, if an affirmative result is obtained in step SP4, this indicates that the management apparatus 4 (FIG. 1) should be notified of various information regarding the replacement of the consumables 20. At this time, the image formation control unit 11 proceeds to the next step SP5, tries communication connection with the management apparatus 4 via the Internet 5, and proceeds to the next step SP6.

  In step SP6, the image formation control unit 11 determines whether or not there is a response from the management apparatus 4, that is, whether or not communication connection with the management apparatus 4 has been established. If an affirmative result is obtained here, the image formation control unit 11 moves to the next step SP7, transmits various information regarding the image forming apparatus 2 and the consumable 20 in the state after replacement to the management apparatus 4, and then Moving to step SP8, the information notification processing procedure RT1 is terminated.

  On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP6, the image forming control unit 11 moves to the next step SP8 without transmitting information to the management apparatus 4, and ends the information notification processing procedure RT1. Incidentally, in this case, the image formation control unit 11 notifies the management device 4 (FIG. 1) of various information related to the replacement of the consumable 20 when the communication connection with the management device 4 is established after the next time. It will be.

[2-2. Management device consumables management process]
Next, a consumable item management processing procedure for managing the consumable item 20 of each image forming apparatus 2 in the management apparatus 4 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 9 and 10. When the power is turned on, the management control unit 41 (FIG. 6) of the management device 4 reads the consumable management program from the management storage unit 42 and executes it to start the consumable management process procedure RT2, and the process goes to step SP11. Move.

  In step SP11, the management control unit 41 determines whether or not the user information database 45 (FIG. 7A) has been updated based on information such as the last update date and time stored in the management storage unit 42. If an affirmative result is obtained here, this means that information related to the new image forming apparatus 2 has been added to the user information database 45, and information related to the image forming apparatus 2 needs to be registered in the consumables information database 46. It represents something. At this time, the management control unit 41 proceeds to the next step SP12, updates the consumable information database 46 in accordance with the user information database 45, and proceeds to the next step SP13.

  In step SP13, the management control unit 41 determines whether there is an instruction to turn off the power. If a negative result is obtained here, the management control unit 41 proceeds to the next step SP14. In step SP14, the management control unit 41 determines whether there has been a communication connection attempt (FIG. 8, step SP5) from the image forming apparatus 2 via the Internet 5 (FIG. 1). If a negative result is obtained here, this indicates that the consumables 20 are not exchanged in each image forming apparatus 2 and therefore no new procedure is required for the consumables 20. . At this time, the management control unit 41 proceeds to step SP11 again, and repeats a series of processes to wait for a communication connection from the image forming apparatus 2.

  On the other hand, if an affirmative result is obtained in step SP14, this may indicate that the consumable 20 has been replaced in the image forming apparatus 2, and accordingly, it is necessary to arrange for the shipment and collection of a new consumable 20. It is possible that this may occur. At this time, the management control unit 41 proceeds to the next step SP15.

  In step SP15, the management control unit 41 identifies information such as an apparatus registration number from the image forming apparatus 2, information related to replacement of the consumable 20 such as a value of a replacement counter, and further information such as the total number of printed sheets. Information on the degree of wear of the consumable 20 is acquired, and the process proceeds to the next step SP16 (FIG. 10).

  In step SP16, the management control unit 41 determines whether or not the image forming apparatus 2 is registered in the consumable information database 46 (FIG. 7B) based on the apparatus registration number acquired from the image forming apparatus 2. judge. If an affirmative result is obtained here, this indicates that there is a possibility of updating the information on the consumables 20 or instructing delivery of the consumables 20. At this time, the management control unit 41 proceeds to the next step SP17.

  In step SP17, the management control unit 41 compares the value of the replacement counter newly acquired from the image forming apparatus 2 with the value of the replacement counter registered in the consumable information database 46 (FIG. 7B). Thus, it is determined whether or not the consumable 20 has been replaced after the consumable information database 46 has been updated last time. If a positive result is obtained here, this indicates that the consumables 20 have been exchanged in the image forming apparatus 2 and the stock quantity of the consumables 20 held by the user has changed accordingly. ing. At this time, the management control unit 41 proceeds to the next step SP18.

  In step SP18, the management control unit 41 updates the value of the replacement counter in the consumable information database 46 (FIG. 7B), and proceeds to the next step SP19. In step SP19, the management control unit 41 subtracts the updated value of the replacement counter from the cumulative shipment number, thereby calculating the latest number of consumables 20 in stock, and proceeds to the next step SP20. That is, the management control unit 41 functions as a consumables inventory quantity management unit that manages the inventory quantity of the consumables 20.

  Incidentally, the management control unit 41 can also calculate the remaining days until the last consumable 20 is used by multiplying the number of stocks calculated at this time with the average number of replacement days. For example, when the value of the replacement counter is 58, the cumulative shipment number is 60, and the average replacement period is 15 days, the inventory number of the consumables 20 is 60−58 = 2 [pieces], and the average replacement 30 days multiplied by 15 days, which is the number of days, is the number of days until the consumables 20 are used.

  In step SP20, the management control unit 41 determines whether or not a shipping condition for shipping the consumable 20 from the management center S1 is satisfied. Here, the shipping condition is that for each type of consumable 20 in the image forming apparatus 2, a new consumable 20 is placed before the last consumable 20 held by the user is consumed (that is, the toner is used up). It is stipulated that it can arrive. That is, satisfying the shipping condition means that the user does not have a sufficient number of consumables 20 as stock.

  Specifically, the management control unit 41 determines the average number of replacement days of the consumables 20 in the image forming apparatus 2 (FIG. 7B) and the number of days required for the consumables 20 shipped from the management center S1 to arrive at the installation location L1. The number of consumables 20 held by the user is determined in two ways according to the size relationship with the required number of delivery days (hereinafter also referred to as a delivery required period).

  That is, when the average replacement days are longer than the required delivery days, the shipping condition is that the number of consumables 20 held by the user is “0”. On the other hand, when the average replacement days are shorter than the required delivery days, the value obtained by dividing the required delivery days by the average replacement days is used as a threshold value, and the number of consumables 20 held by the user is equal to this value. It is a shipping condition that the value falls below the threshold.

  For example, when the average replacement days is 15 days and the required delivery days are 5 days, the management control unit 41, when the inventory number of the consumables 20 held by the user becomes “0”, It will be judged that the shipping condition is satisfied. In this case, the new consumable 20 is shipped on the day within the number of days (for example, 15−5 = 10 [days]) obtained by subtracting the number of days required for delivery from the average number of replacement days from the time when the consumable 20 is replaced. It will suffice if it is decided as a day to do.

  In addition, for example, when the average exchange days is 3 days and the required delivery days is 5 days, the management control unit 41 uses “2” as a threshold value obtained by division or the like. When the stock quantity of the product 20 falls below “2”, it is determined that the shipping condition is satisfied.

  If an affirmative result is obtained in step SP20, this indicates that the new consumable 20 should be shipped because the number of consumables 20 held by the user is relatively small. At this time, the management control unit 41 proceeds to the next step SP21.

  In step SP21, the management control unit 41 sends the new consumable 20 to the installation location L1 (FIG. 1) and the collection of the used consumable 20 to the delivery processing device 3 via the Internet 5. Arrange and move to next step SP23. At this time, the management control unit 41 sets the number of consumables 20 to be shipped so that the number of new (that is, unused) consumables 20 held by the user is kept below the maximum stock quantity.

  Specifically, the management control unit 41 sets a value obtained by subtracting the inventory number of the consumables 20 calculated in step SP19 from the maximum inventory number registered in the consumables information database 46, as the number of consumables 20 to be shipped. To do. For example, when the maximum inventory number is 4 and the inventory number of the consumables 20 is 2, the management control unit 41 sets the number of consumables 20 to be sent to 4-2 = 2 [pieces].

  On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP16, this is a case where the image forming apparatus 2 is newly purchased or the like, and information regarding the consumable 20 of the image forming apparatus 2 is stored in the consumable information database 46 (FIG. 7). (B)) indicates that it is not registered. At this time, the management control unit 41 proceeds to the next step SP22, registers information for each type of the consumable 20 in the image forming apparatus 2, and then proceeds to the next step SP23.

  In step SP <b> 23, the management control unit 41 determines whether information on the consumable 20 is transmitted from the delivery processing device 3. If a positive result is obtained here, the management control unit 41 proceeds to the next step SP24 at this time, updates the consumables information database 46 (FIG. 7B) based on the acquired information, and then performs step SP11 ( Returning to FIG. 9), a series of processing is repeated.

  The management control unit 41 proceeds to step SP11 (FIG. 9) when a negative result is obtained at step SP17, when a negative result is obtained at step SP20, and when a negative result is obtained at step SP23. Return and repeat a series of processing. If a positive result is obtained in step SP13 (FIG. 9), the management control unit 41 terminates the consumable management process procedure RT2, and then turns off the power by executing a predetermined power-off program.

[2-3. Delivery processing of delivery processing device]
Next, a delivery processing procedure for processing the shipment and collection of the consumable 20 in the delivery processing device 3 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the power is turned on, the delivery control unit 31 (FIG. 5) of the delivery processing device 3 starts the delivery processing procedure RT3 by reading and executing the delivery program from the delivery storage unit 32, and proceeds to step SP31.

  In step SP31, the delivery control unit 31 determines whether or not the management device 4 has instructed the delivery of a new consumable 20 and the collection of the used consumable 20. If a negative result is obtained here, the delivery control unit 31 waits for an instruction from the management device 4 by repeating this step SP31.

  On the other hand, if an affirmative result is obtained in step SP31, the delivery control unit 31 moves to the next step SP32, ships the designated number of new consumables 20 to the installation location L1 (FIG. 1) and uses the used consumables. After requesting the delivery company to collect the product 20, the process proceeds to the next step SP33. At this time, the delivery company delivers the designated number of new consumables 20 to the installation location L1. Further, when the used consumable 20 can be collected from the user, the delivery company delivers it to the management center S1 (FIG. 1).

  In step SP33, the delivery control unit 31 determines whether there is the consumable 20 collected from the user by the delivery company. If an affirmative result is obtained here, the delivery control unit 31 proceeds to the next step SP34, and information is collected from the consumable information storage unit 21 (FIG. 2) of the collected consumables 20 by the consumable information reading unit 35 (FIG. 5). And moves to the next step SP35.

  In step SP35, the delivery control unit 31 transmits information read from the consumables 20 from the delivery communication unit 33 (FIG. 5) to the management device 4 via the Internet 5 (FIG. 1), and then proceeds to the next step SP36. The delivery processing procedure RT3 is terminated. In response to this, the management device 4 obtains an affirmative result in step SP23 (FIG. 10), and then performs predetermined arithmetic processing and the like in the next step SP24, and stores the consumable information database 46 (FIG. 7B). It will be updated accordingly.

  If a negative result is obtained in step SP33, since the consumable 20 has not been collected and information cannot be read, the delivery control unit 31 moves to step SP36 and ends the delivery processing procedure RT3.

[3. Effect]
In the above configuration, the image forming apparatus 2 of the consumables management system 1 detects this and notifies the management apparatus 4 when the consumables 20 are replaced. When the management device 4 calculates the stock quantity of the consumables 20 held at the user's hand based on the value of the replacement counter and the cumulative shipment number, and determines that the shipping condition is satisfied, the management device 4 Along with the delivery of the consumables 20, an instruction is given to collect the used consumables 20.

  Therefore, in the consumables management system 1, the user of the image forming apparatus 2 simply replaces the consumables 20, and when the shipping conditions are satisfied, the new consumables 20 are handed to the user according to instructions from the management device 4. Can be delivered, and used consumables 20 can be actively collected.

  That is, in the consumables management system 1, when the user of the image forming apparatus 2 replaces the consumables 20, the consumables management system 1 prepares for the replacement of the next consumables 20 without performing operations and procedures related to shipping and collection. In addition, the used consumables 20 that are no longer necessary for the user can be collected, and the trouble of management and disposal can be eliminated.

  As a result, the consumables management system 1 can prevent the used consumables 20 from being discarded and cannot be collected at the user's discretion, and a reusable part is taken out from the collected consumables 20. When the new consumable 20 is manufactured, the reuse rate of each part can be increased. As a result, the consumables management system 1 can reduce the manufacturing cost of the consumables 20, so that when the selling price of the consumables 20 is reduced, the cost of the consumables 20 borne by the user is also reduced. Is possible.

  The consumable management system 1 reads information from the consumable information storage unit 21 (FIG. 2) of the consumable 20 collected by the delivery processing device 3, that is, the contents of the mounting device information table T2 (FIG. 4). The serial number and last use date of the mounted image forming apparatus 2 can be acquired. As a result, the consumables management system 1 can identify from which image forming apparatus 2 the consumables 20 were collected, and the consumables 20 are removed from the image forming apparatus 2 by using the last use date. It is also possible to calculate the number of days required for collection after this (hereinafter referred to as the number of days required for collection).

  For this reason, in the consumables management system 1, the number of image forming apparatuses 2 registered in the consumables information database 46 when the consumables 20 are manufactured by reusing some parts from the used consumables 20. In addition to the number of consumables 20 that each user has at hand, the number of days required for collection can be taken into account to calculate the appropriate number of products.

  Further, the consumable management system 1 can grasp the number of consumables 20 in stock at the user's hand based on the value of the replacement counter obtained from the image forming apparatus 2 and the cumulative shipment number. In the consumable management system 1, the number of days required for delivery is confirmed and stored in advance. For this reason, the consumable management system 1 can prevent a new consumable 20 from arriving before the consumables 20 run out at least at the user's hand, that is, so-called downtime.

  Further, in the consumables management system 1, the average replacement days of the consumables 20 in the image forming apparatus 2 are calculated and grasped, and the shipping conditions are switched according to the relationship between the average replacement days and the required delivery days. . For this reason, in the consumables management system 1, when the average replacement days are relatively long, the number of stocks becomes “0”, and for users with a relatively short average replacement days, By shipping the consumables, the consumables 20 can arrive at an appropriate timing before replacement is necessary.

  From another point of view, the consumables management system 1 determines the time for shipping the consumables 20 in consideration of the average number of replacement days and the required number of delivery days before the consumables 20 need to be replaced. The period during which the consumables 20 are kept in stock at the user's hand can be kept as short as possible while reliably arriving. As a result, the consumables management system 1 can minimize the burden on the user and can also suppress excessive distribution inventory.

  In addition, when a new consumable 20 is shipped, the consumable management system 1 sets the number to be shipped so as not to exceed the maximum stock quantity set in advance by the user. For this reason, in the consumables management system 1, it is possible to store a number of new consumables 20 appropriate for the user as stock, and there is no excessive management effort.

  Further, in the consumables management system 1, the cumulative shipment number, replacement counter, average replacement days, and the like for each type of the consumables 20 in each image forming apparatus 2 are unified by the consumables information database 46 (FIG. 7B). To manage. Further, the consumable management system 1 can also calculate a ratio (so-called collection rate) that can be collected from the user for each type of the consumable 20 in each image forming apparatus 2 based on the cumulative number of shipments and the number of collections.

  For this reason, the consumables management system 1 can accurately predict the demand for consumables 20 and the expectation of recovery of the consumables 20 through arithmetic processing, and accordingly, the manufacturing plan for the consumables 20 can be appropriately designed and corrected. The consumable 20 can be efficiently manufactured in a manufacturing factory or the like.

  According to the above configuration, the consumables management system 1 detects the replacement of the consumables 20 in the image forming apparatus 2 and notifies the management apparatus 4, and the consumables 20 held by the user in the management apparatus 4. When the delivery condition is satisfied, the delivery processing device 3 arranges for the delivery of a new consumable 20 and the collection of the used consumable 20. Therefore, in the consumables management system 1, the user of the image forming apparatus 2 simply replaces the consumables 20, and when the shipping conditions are satisfied, the new consumables 20 are handed to the user according to instructions from the management device 4. Can be delivered, and used consumables 20 can be actively collected.

[4. Other Embodiments]
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the delivery processing device 3 reads information from the consumable information storage unit 21 (FIG. 2) of the collected consumable 20 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and information may not be read from the consumable information storage unit 21 of the collected consumable 20. In this case, for example, when the delivery company receives the used consumables 20 from the user, the delivery company may input information on the collected consumables 20 using a predetermined terminal device or the like. In short, it is only necessary to be able to specify from which image forming apparatus 2 the consumable 20 has been collected.

In the above-described embodiment, the number of consumables 20 in stock at the user's hand is calculated from the value of the replacement counter obtained from the image forming apparatus 2 and the cumulative shipment number, and is used to satisfy the shipping condition. The case of judging whether or not was described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, one new consumable 20 is detected when it is detected that one consumable 20 has been replaced regardless of the number of consumables 20 in stock at the user's hand. You may make it arrange for dispatch of this, and collection | recovery of the used consumables 20. FIG.
You may do it.

  Further, in the embodiment described above, the maximum stock quantity set in advance by the user is stored in the consumable information database 46 (FIG. 7B), and when the new consumable 20 is shipped, the user's The case where the number of stocks is set so as not to exceed the maximum stock number has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when it is detected that one consumable 20 has been replaced without specifically setting the maximum stock quantity, one new consumable 20 is shipped and used. The consumables 20 may be collected.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case has been described in which it is determined whether or not the shipping condition is satisfied based on the average exchange days and the required delivery days. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when it is detected that one consumable 20 has been replaced without using the average number of replacement days and the number of days required for delivery, A collection of used consumables 20 may be arranged.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the new consumable 20 is delivered together with the new consumable 20 when the new consumable 20 is delivered to the installation location L1 by arranging the collection of the used consumable 20 together with the shipment. The case where the consumable 20 is collected has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the shipment of new consumables 20 and the collection of used consumables 20 may be separately arranged.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the toner cartridge containing the toner used in the image forming apparatus 2 is used as the consumable 20 and information related thereto is managed by the consumable information database 46 (FIG. 7B). The case of arranging the shipment and collection was described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, various parts that need to be replaced for each predetermined number of printed sheets, such as photosensitive drums and transfer belts of each color incorporated in the image forming apparatus 2, are used as a consumable 20 and a consumable information database. Information related to this may be managed by 46 according to the type, and shipping or collection may be arranged.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, in the delivery processing apparatus 3 installed in the management center S1, the dispatch / collection arrangement unit 34 that arranges the collection of new consumables 20 and the collection of used consumables 20, and the collection A case has been described where a consumable information reading unit 35 for reading information from the consumable information storage unit 21 of the consumable 20 is provided (FIG. 5). However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the management device 4 may be provided with the shipping / collecting arrangement unit 34 and the consumables information reading unit 35, or the consumables information reading unit 35 in the terminal device carried by the delivery company at the time of delivery. May be provided. In short, it is possible to arrange delivery and collection of the consumables 20 to the delivery company based on the consumables management processing in the management control unit 41, and to read information from the collected consumables 20 and to read this information. It only needs to be sent to.

  Further, in the above-described first embodiment, the case where the image forming apparatus 2 is configured as a so-called MFP that can also operate as a copying machine or a facsimile apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the image forming apparatus 2 may be configured as a printer or a facsimile apparatus having only a printing function. The same applies to the second embodiment.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and other embodiments. That is, the scope of the present invention extends to embodiments in which some or all of the above-described embodiments and other embodiments described above are arbitrarily combined, and embodiments in which some are extracted. is there.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the consumable item management system includes the consumable item replacement detection unit 17 as the exchange detection unit, the management control unit 41 as the collection instruction unit, and the consumable item information reading unit 35 as the collection detection unit. The case of configuring is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a consumable management system may be configured by replacement detection means, recovery instruction means, and recovery detection means having various other configurations.

  The present invention can be used in a consumable item management system that manages consumable items such as a toner cartridge and a photosensitive drum used in an image forming apparatus.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Consumables management system, 2 ... Image forming apparatus, 3 ... Delivery processing apparatus, 4 ... Management apparatus, 5 ... Internet, 11 ... Image formation control part, 12 ... Image formation storage part, 16 …… Consumables information management unit, 17 …… Consumables replacement detection unit, 20 …… Consumables, 21 …… Consumables information storage unit, 31 …… Delivery control unit, 32 …… Delivery storage unit, 34 …… Recovery Arrangement unit 35. Consumable information reading unit 41. Management control unit 42. Management storage unit 45. User information database 46. Consumable information database 47 47 device information monitoring unit 48 ... collection history information processing section, T1 ... consumables information table, T2 ... mounting device information table.

Claims (8)

An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a medium using replaceable consumables, a management apparatus that manages information about the consumables, and a network that exchanges the information between the image forming apparatus and the management apparatus A consumable management system comprising:
An exchange detecting means for detecting that the used consumable used as the consumable used in the image forming apparatus is replaced with a new unused consumable used as the consumable, and notifying the management device;
A recovery instruction means for instructing recovery of the used consumable when the replacement detection means detects that the consumable has been replaced;
A consumable item management system comprising: a collection detecting means for detecting that the used consumable item is collected. The consumable item includes a consumable item information storage unit that stores information about the consumable item,
The consumable item management system according to claim 1, wherein the collection detection unit detects that the used consumable item is collected by reading the information from the consumable item information storage unit. Based on the information read from the consumables information storage unit, the collection detection unit is a period from when the consumables are removed from the image forming apparatus to when the information is read from the consumables information storage unit The consumable item management system according to claim 2, wherein the required collection period is acquired. And a delivery instruction means for giving an instruction to deliver the new unused consumable from a predetermined delivery source (to the user of the image forming apparatus) based on a detection result by the replacement detection means. The consumable item management system according to claim 1. The consumable management system according to claim 4, wherein the collection instructing unit instructs to collect the used consumable in accordance with delivery of the new unused consumable. Based on the detection result by the replacement detection means, the image forming apparatus further comprises an average replacement period calculating means for calculating an average replacement period that is an average of the periods in which the consumables are replaced,
The delivery instructing means is based on the time point when the used consumable is replaced with the unused consumable in the image forming apparatus and the average replacement period calculated by the average replacement period calculating means. The consumables management system according to claim 4, wherein a time for delivering the consumables to be used is determined. A storage unit for storing a required delivery period, which is a period from when the delivery instruction means instructs delivery of the unused consumable to when the unused consumable arrives;
The delivery instructing unit stores in the storage unit the time when the used consumable is replaced with the unused consumable in the image forming apparatus, the average replacement cycle calculated by the average replacement cycle calculating unit, and the storage unit. The consumables management system according to claim 6, wherein a timing for instructing delivery of the unused consumables is determined based on the delivery required period. Based on the number of unused consumables for which delivery has been instructed by the delivery instructing means and the number of used consumables for which replacement has been detected by the replacement detecting means, the unused consumables that have been delivered and are unused. A consumables inventory management means for managing the consumables inventory, which is the number of consumables,
The consumables management system according to claim 4, wherein the delivery instructing unit instructs delivery of the new unused consumables when the consumables stock quantity becomes less than a predetermined threshold.

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