JP2018026700A - Department-classified expendable item management system and image formation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it easy, when shortage of an expendable item occurs in an image formation apparatus in a department, to identify another department with which negotiation for borrowing an expendable item is to be performed.SOLUTION: An image formation apparatus 1 comprises: a department registration acceptance unit for accepting registration of department information for identifying a department in which the apparatus is installed; an expendable item registration acceptance unit for accepting registration of storage information on expendable items to be used for image formation; an apparatus side wireless communication unit capable of wirelessly communicating with a portable communication terminal within a communication range; and a storage situation transmission processing unit for transmitting the storage information and department information as an expendable item storage situation to the portable communication terminal having entered the inside of the communication range. The portable communication terminal comprises: a terminal side wireless communication unit capable of wirelessly communicating with the image formation apparatus within the communication range; and a department-classified expendable item database for recording department-classified storage information on the basis of the expendable item storage situation received by the terminal side wireless communication unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention is a department that includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses that are installed for each department and that perform image formation using consumables held by each department, and a portable communication terminal that can wirelessly communicate with the image forming apparatus. The present invention relates to another consumable management system and an image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in image forming apparatuses such as multifunction peripherals and printers, spare consumables are often stored in order to prevent running out of consumables such as toner. Therefore, a technique for managing consumables inventory information has been proposed.

  For example, the number of consumables detected by the inventory detection device can be transmitted and shared among a plurality of portable terminals and image forming devices, or each of a plurality of image forming devices connected via a network can form another image. There has been proposed a technique for making it possible to search for consumables inventory information stored in the apparatus (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). In addition, the storage location and the type of consumables are managed in association with each other, the server manages consumables out-of-consumer information and consumables holding information of each image forming apparatus, and images and storage positions of consumables. Has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 3 to 5).

JP2016-034867 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-206588 JP 2004-005544 A JP 2009-037515 JP 2013-058835 A

  By the way, in the case where each department in the company has spare consumables individually, if there are no consumable parts in its own department, inquire whether there are spare consumables in other departments. It is carried out to lend. However, in the techniques of Patent Documents 1 to 5, when each department does not have a database for managing the inventory of consumables, other departments for negotiating consumables borrowing cannot be easily specified. There was a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides a technology that can easily identify another department for negotiating the consumables borrowing when the image forming apparatus of the own department runs out of consumables. The purpose is to provide.

A departmental consumable management system according to the present invention is a departmental consumable management system comprising a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a portable communication terminal, wherein the image forming apparatus identifies a department in which the department is installed. A department registration receiving unit that receives information registration, a consumables registration receiving unit that receives registration of holding information of consumables used for image formation, and device-side wireless communication that can wirelessly communicate with the mobile communication terminal within a communication range A holding status transmission processing unit that transmits the holding information and the department information as a consumable holding status to the mobile communication terminal that has entered the communication range via the device-side wireless communication unit, The portable communication terminal includes a terminal-side wireless communication unit capable of wireless communication with the image forming apparatus within a communication range, and the unit based on the consumable possession status received by the terminal-side wireless communication unit. Characterized in that a departmental consumables database for storing the held information for each.
The consumables possession status includes model information of the image forming apparatus, and the portable communication terminal receives a registration of registered model information for specifying a model of the image forming apparatus, A candidate list creation unit for creating a borrower candidate list that lists the consumables possession status of the department in which the same model as the registered model information for which the registration is accepted is listed based on a consumable database; You may prepare.
The consumables possession status may include the number of consumables, and the candidate list creation unit may create the borrower candidate list by arranging the departments in descending order of the number.
Further, the consumables possession status includes whether or not the consumables can be lent, and whether or not the consumables can be lent, and the candidate list creation unit rents the consumables to the section where the consumables can be lent. The borrower candidate list may be created in a higher rank than the rejected department.
The consumable possession status may include a contact information of a person in charge of managing the consumables, and the candidate list creation unit may create the borrowed candidate list including the contact information.
In addition, when the model information is changed by the model registration receiving unit, the candidate list creation unit may automatically recreate the borrowed candidate list corresponding to the changed model information.
The consumables possession status may include a purchase unit price of the consumables, and the candidate list creation unit may create the borrower candidate list by arranging the departments in the order of the purchase unit price in ascending order.
The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a department registration receiving unit that receives registration of department information that identifies an installed department, a consumables registration receiving unit that receives registration of possession information of consumables used for image formation, A device-side wireless communication unit capable of wireless communication with a mobile communication terminal within a communication range, and the possessed information and the department information are consumed in the mobile communication terminal that has entered the communication range via the device-side wireless communication unit An possession status transmission processing unit that transmits the product possession status is provided.

  According to the present invention, when the image forming apparatus in its own department runs out of consumables, it is possible to easily specify another department for negotiating the consumables borrowing.

It is a lineblock diagram showing a schematic structure of a departmental consumables management system of an embodiment concerning the present invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a functional block diagram which shows schematic structure of the wearable terminal shown in FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image forming apparatus in the departmental consumable management system shown in FIG. 1. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the wearable terminal in the consumable management system classified by department shown in FIG. It is an image figure which shows the example of registration of the consumable DB by division shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an image diagram of a borrower candidate list shown in FIG. 2.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that, in the following embodiments, the same reference numerals are given to configurations showing similar functions.

  Referring to FIG. 1, a departmental consumable management system 100 includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses 1 installed in each department in a company, and a wearable terminal 2 that performs wireless communication with the image forming apparatus 1. . Although the wristband type is shown as the wearable terminal 2 in FIG. 1, it may be a watch type, a glasses type, a ring type, or the like. Wearable terminal 2 may be a mobile communication terminal that can be carried by a user and has a wireless communication function, and may be, for example, a smartphone or a mobile phone. In FIG. 1, there is one wearable terminal 2, but there may be a plurality of wearable terminals 2.

  The image forming apparatus 1 is a printer, a copier, a multifunction machine, or the like, and is installed for each department in the company. Referring to FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an operation unit 11, a storage unit 12, an image processing unit 13, a printing unit 14, a wired communication unit 15, a device-side wireless communication unit 16, and a control unit 17. FIG. 2 shows a main configuration common to the image forming apparatus 1 installed in each department. In addition to this, a scanner that reads a document, a facsimile transmission / reception unit that performs facsimile communication, and the like may be provided. .

  The operation unit 11 is a user interface including a display unit such as a touch panel for displaying an operation screen and the like, and operation buttons for receiving operation instructions and the like. The display unit may be a touch panel.

  The storage unit 12 is a storage unit such as a semiconductor memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and stores image data. The storage unit 12 stores model information 121, department information 122, and consumables possession information 123.

  The model information 121 indicates the model of the image forming apparatus 1 and is set at the time of manufacture. The department information 122 indicates the department in which the image forming apparatus 1 is installed, and is set when the department information 122 is installed in the department. Consumables possession information 123 indicates the possession information of consumables used for image formation of the image forming apparatus 1, and includes the name of consumables, the number of consumables, the date of registration, whether or not to lend to other departments, and consumption. And the contact information of the person in charge of managing the product.

  The image processing unit 13 is means for performing predetermined image processing on the image data. In the image processing unit 13, for example, image improvement processing such as enlargement / reduction processing, density adjustment, and gradation adjustment is performed.

  The printing unit 14 is a printing unit that prints on recording paper. For example, the printing unit 14 forms a latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum based on the image data read from the storage unit 12, performs image formation using the latent image as a toner image with toner, and records from the photosensitive drum. The toner image is transferred onto the paper, and the toner image is fixed onto the recording paper and discharged.

  The wired communication unit 15 is connected to a LAN (Local Area Network) cable and has a function of transmitting and receiving various data such as a print job from a computer terminal or the like via the network.

  The device-side wireless communication unit 16 has a function of performing wireless communication with the wearable terminal 2 within a communication range by Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like, and transmitting and receiving various data. The communication range of the device-side wireless communication unit 16 is about 100 m for Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and about 10 m for Bluetooth (registered trademark).

  The control unit 17 is connected to the operation unit 11, the storage unit 12, the image processing unit 13, the printing unit 14, the wired communication unit 15, and the device-side wireless communication unit 16. The control unit 17 is an information processing unit such as a microcomputer provided with a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The ROM stores a control program for controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The control unit 17 reads the control program stored in the ROM, develops the control program in the RAM, and executes it to control the entire apparatus. The control unit 17 also functions as a department registration receiving unit 170, a consumable item registration receiving unit 171, a device-side connection processing unit 172, and a possession status transmission processing unit 173.

  The department registration accepting unit 170 has a function of accepting registration of department information 122 that identifies a department installed via the operation unit 11. The department information 122 may be registered when the image forming apparatus 1 is installed in the department.

  The consumable item registration receiving unit 171 has a function of receiving registration of the consumable item possession information 123 via the operation unit 11. When the person in charge of the image forming apparatus 1 supplies consumables to the department or uses the consumables held by the person in charge, the inventory number of consumables held by the department increases or decreases. The name of the consumables, the number of the consumables, whether or not to lend to other departments, and their contact information are input from the operation unit 11. When the person in charge completes the input, the consumables holding information 123 in the storage unit 12 is updated with the input contents, and the updated date is registered in the consumables holding information 123 as a registration date.

  The device-side connection processing unit 172 has a function of establishing wireless communication with the wearable terminal 2 within the communication range of the device-side wireless communication unit 16.

  When wireless communication is established between the image forming apparatus 1 and the wearable terminal 2 by the device-side connection processing unit 172, the possession status transmission processing unit 173 notifies the connected wearable terminal 2 of the consumables possession status wirelessly. It has a function of transmitting via the communication unit 16. The consumable possession status transmitted includes model information 121, department information 122, and consumable possession information 123 stored in the storage unit 12.

  With reference to FIG. 3, the wearable terminal 2 includes a terminal-side wireless communication unit 22, an operation unit 21, a storage unit 23, an external I / F unit 24, and a control unit 25.

  The terminal-side wireless communication unit 22 has a function of performing wireless communication with the image forming apparatus 1 using Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like, and transmitting and receiving various data.

  The operation unit 21 includes an operation button for receiving an operation instruction and a display unit for displaying various information.

  The storage unit 23 is configured by a flash memory or the like, and stores registered model information 231, departmental consumables DB (departmental consumables database) 232, and a borrower candidate list 233.

  As the registered model information 231, the model of the image forming apparatus 1 is registered. For example, the model of the image forming apparatus 1 in the department to which the wearer 2 wearer belongs can be registered. The departmental consumable DB 232 is a database that stores the consumable possession status received from the image forming apparatus 1 by the terminal-side wireless communication unit 22. The borrower candidate list 233 is a list of departments in which the same model as the registered model information 231 is installed as consumable borrower candidates based on the department-specific consumables DB 232.

  The external I / F unit 24 includes a connection interface with an external terminal such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) terminal, for example, and has a function of transmitting and receiving various data by connecting to a computer terminal or a smartphone.

  The control unit 25 is connected to the operation unit 21, the terminal-side wireless communication unit 22, the storage unit 23, and the external I / F unit 24. The control unit 25 is an information processing unit such as a microcomputer provided with a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The ROM stores a control program for performing operation control of the wearable terminal 2. The control unit 25 reads the control program stored in the ROM, expands the control program in the RAM, and executes it to control the entire terminal. In addition, the control unit 25 functions as a model registration receiving unit 251, a terminal side connection processing unit 252, a DB processing unit (database processing unit) 253, and a candidate list creation unit 254.

  The model registration receiving unit 251 receives registration of registered model information 231 that identifies the model of the image forming apparatus 1 via an external terminal connected to the operation unit 21 or the external I / F unit 24, and stores it in the storage unit 23. It has a function to memorize. For example, the model of the image forming apparatus 1 installed in the department to which the wearer belongs is registered as registered model information 231.

  The terminal side connection processing unit 252 has a function of establishing wireless communication with the image forming apparatus 1 via the terminal side wireless communication unit 22.

  The DB processing unit 253 has a function of registering the consumables possession status received from the image forming apparatus 1 by the terminal-side wireless communication unit 22 in the departmental consumables DB 232.

  The candidate list creation unit 254 refers to the departmental consumables DB 232 and creates a borrower candidate list 233 that lists departments in which the same model as the registered model information 231 is installed as consumables borrower candidates. Have

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, a process of transmitting the consumables possession status to the wearable terminal 2 that has entered the communication range of the apparatus-side wireless communication unit 16 in the image forming apparatus 1 will be described.

  The device-side connection processing unit 172 of the image forming apparatus 1 monitors whether the wearable terminal 2 exists within the communication range via the device-side wireless communication unit 16 (No in Step s11 and Step s11). When a user (wearer) wearing the wearable terminal 2 moves within the company and enters the communication range of the image forming apparatus 1, the apparatus-side connection processing unit 172 receives the wearable terminal 2 via the apparatus-side wireless communication unit 16. Is detected (Yes in step s11), and a connection request is transmitted to the detected wearable terminal 2 (step s12).

  Subsequently, the device-side connection processing unit 172 determines whether or not there is a response from the wearable terminal 2 (step s13), and when there is no response (No in step s13), the process ends. When there is a response (Yes in step s13), the device side connection processing unit 172 is a terminal to which the wearable terminal 2 is permitted to connect in advance based on the identification information of the wearable terminal 2 transmitted in the response. It is determined whether or not (predetermined terminal) (step s14). If the terminal is not permitted to connect in advance (No in step s14), the process ends.

  When the terminal is a terminal that is permitted to connect in advance (Yes in step s14), the device-side connection processing unit 172 transmits the connection information of the own device to the wearable terminal 2, and the device-side wireless communication unit 16 and the terminal-side wireless Wireless communication is established with the communication unit 22 (step s15).

  According to this, even when the image forming apparatus 1 in the department is replaced, the apparatus side connection processing unit 172 of the newly installed image forming apparatus 1 connects the own apparatus to the wearable terminal 2 permitted to connect in advance. Since information is transmitted, wireless communication can be established with the wearable terminal 2. Note that the device-side connection processing unit 172 has identification information of the wearable terminal 2 that is permitted to connect in advance.

  When the wireless communication is established, the possession status transmission processing unit 173 transmits the model information 121, the department information 122, and the consumables possession information 123 as the consumables possession status to the wearable terminal 2 via the device-side radio communication unit 16 (Step S1). s16) This process is terminated.

  As a result, when the wearer visits his / her department, the image forming apparatus 1 can transmit the consumables holding status in the image forming apparatus 1 to the wearable terminal 2. Therefore, the wearable terminal 2 can accumulate the possession information in the departmental consumables DB 232 for each department based on the transmitted consumables possession status. When the transmission of the consumables possession status is completed, the wireless connection between the image forming apparatus 1 and the wearable terminal 2 is disconnected by the apparatus side connection processing unit 172.

  Next, the operation of the wearable terminal 2 in the departmental consumable management system 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The terminal side connection processing unit 252 of the wearable terminal 2 stands by until a connection request is received from the image forming apparatus 1 via the terminal side wireless communication unit 22 (No in Step s21 and Step s21).

  When the connection request is received (Yes in step s21), the terminal-side connection processing unit 252 transmits a response to the image forming apparatus 1 via the terminal-side wireless communication unit 22 (step s22), and determines whether wireless communication has been established. (Step s23). If wireless communication has not been established (No in step s23), the process ends.

  When wireless communication is established (Yes in step s23), the DB processing unit 253 receives the consumables possession status via the terminal-side wireless communication unit 22 (step s24), and the received consumable possession status is determined by the departmental consumables. Register in the DB 232 (step s25).

  FIG. 6 shows an example of registration in the departmental consumable DB 232 when the wearer visits department D, department B, and department A. For example, when the wearer visits the department D, the department name “D”, the model name is stored in the departmental consumable DB 232 based on the consumables possession status transmitted from the image forming apparatus 1 installed in the department D. “MFP001”, consumable name “toner a”, inventory quantity “3”, registration date “2016/3/1”, rental availability “possible”, and contact “extension 1111” are registered. Similarly, based on the consumables possession status transmitted from the image forming apparatuses 1 of the department B and the department A, the department name, model name, consumable name, inventory quantity, registration date, availability of rental, and contact information are respectively Registered in the separate consumable DB 232. That is, the consumable item possession information is stored in the departmental consumable item DB 232 for each department based on the transmitted consumable part possession status.

  When the departmental consumable DB 232 is updated, the candidate list creation unit 254 creates the borrowed destination candidate list 233.

  First, the candidate list creation unit 254 refers to the departmental consumable DB 232 and narrows down records of the same model as the registered model information 231 (step s26). Subsequently, the candidate list creation unit 254 rearranges the list of records narrowed down from the departmental consumables DB 232 in descending order of the number of consumables (step s27).

  Subsequently, the candidate list creation unit 254 rearranges the rearranged list so that the department whose rental availability is "Yes" is positioned higher than the department whose rental availability is "No" (No). (Step s28). Subsequently, the candidate list creation unit 254 stores the rearranged list in the storage unit 23 as the borrowed destination candidate list 233 (step s29), and ends this process.

  Note that the user may arbitrarily specify whether or not to rearrange the number and whether or not to lend. In addition, the candidate list creation unit 254 excludes the departments whose loanability is “No” from the borrower candidate list 233 and leaves only the departments whose loanability is “Yes”. A list 233 may be created.

  FIG. 7 is an example of the borrower candidate list 233 created by the wearable terminal 2 whose registered model information 231 is “MFP001” based on the departmental consumable DB 232 shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 7 lists the consumables possession status of the department D and the department A that owns the image forming apparatus 1 with the model name “MFP001”. The borrower candidate list 233 includes the number of consumables in each department, whether or not it can be lent, and the contact information of the person in charge of managing the consumables. Can do. In particular, since it is possible to know whether or not consumables in other departments can be lent, it is possible to negotiate smoothly by preferentially contacting the departments that are allowed to rent. The candidate list creation unit 254 may cause the created borrower candidate list 233 to be displayed on the operation unit 21 or may be output to an external terminal via the external I / F unit 24.

  As described above, the departmental consumable management system 100 according to this embodiment includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses 1 and mobile communication terminals (wearable terminals 2), and the image forming apparatus 1 is installed in a department. A department registration accepting unit 170 for accepting registration of department information 122 for identifying the consumables, a consumables registration accepting part 171 for accepting registration of consumables possession information used for image formation (consumables possession information 123), and a communication range Device-side wireless communication unit 16 capable of wireless communication with other mobile communication terminals, and possession information and department information 122 are transmitted as consumables possession status to the mobile communication terminal that has entered the communication range via the device-side wireless communication unit 16 The portable communication terminal includes a terminal-side wireless communication unit 22 that can wirelessly communicate with the image forming apparatus 1 within the communication range, and a terminal-side wireless communication unit 22. Accordingly, characterized in that a departmental consumables database for storing possession information of each department (departmental consumables DB 232) based on the received expendable holdings.

  As a result, the wearer possession status transmitted from the image forming apparatus 1 installed in the department can be automatically stored in the departmental consumable DB 232 simply by the wearer visiting each department. It is possible to grasp the consumables possession status for each department.

  The candidate list creation unit 254 may create the borrowed destination candidate list 233 at a timing instructed by the user, or creates the borrowed destination candidate list 233 at a timing when the registered model information 231 of the wearable terminal 2 is changed. May be. The DB processing unit 253 stores the consumables possession status transmitted from the image forming apparatus 1 in the departmental consumables DB 232 even if it is of a model different from the registered model information 231. Therefore, even if the registered model information 231 of the wearable terminal 2 is changed, the borrower candidate list 233 corresponding to the changed registered model information 231 can be recreated from the consumables holding status of the departmental consumable DB 232.

  In addition, the consumable item registration receiving unit 171 may receive an input of the purchase unit price of the consumable item as the consumable item holding information. In this case, the purchase unit price of the consumables is included in the consumables possession status transmitted from the image forming apparatus 1 and is registered in the departmental consumable DB. The candidate list creation unit 254 may create the borrower candidate list 233 by arranging the departments in ascending order of purchase price of consumables. According to this, the person in charge can negotiate for borrowing to other departments in ascending order of the purchase unit price, and it is easy to perform a procedure for transferring the expenses of the own department to another department of the borrower based on the purchase unit price.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the image forming apparatus 1 detects the wearable terminal 2 and establishes communication has been described. However, the wearable terminal 2 may detect the image forming apparatus 1 and establish communication.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where one image forming apparatus 1 is installed in each department has been described as an example. However, a plurality of image forming apparatuses 1 may be installed in each department. In the departmental consumable DB 232 shown in FIG. 6, toner has been described as an example of consumables. However, a plurality of consumables such as color-specific toners, recording paper, and photoconductors are used based on the consumables possession status. It may be registered.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Wearable terminal 11 Operation part 12 Storage part 13 Image processing part 14 Printing part 15 Wired communication part 16 Device side wireless communication part 17 Control part 21 Operation part 22 Terminal side wireless communication part 23 Storage part 24 External I / F Unit 25 Control unit 100 Departmental consumable management system 121 Model information 122 Department information 123 Consumables possession information 170 Department registration accepting part 171 Consumables registration accepting part 172 Device side connection processing part 173 Ownership status transmission processing part 251 Model registration accepting part 252 Terminal side connection processing unit 253 DB processing unit 254 Candidate list creation unit 231 Registered model information 232 Departmental consumables DB
233 List of borrower candidates

Claims (8)

A departmental consumable management system comprising a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a mobile communication terminal,
The image forming apparatus includes:
A department registration accepting section for accepting registration of department information for identifying the installed department;
A consumables registration accepting unit that accepts registration of possession information of consumables used for image formation;
A device-side wireless communication unit capable of wireless communication with the mobile communication terminal within a communication range;
A holding status transmission processing unit that transmits the holding information and the department information as a consumables holding status to the mobile communication terminal that has entered the communication range via the device-side wireless communication unit;
The mobile communication terminal is
A terminal side wireless communication unit capable of wireless communication with the image forming apparatus within a communication range;
A departmental consumables management system comprising: a departmental consumables database that stores the possession information for each department based on the consumables possession status received by the terminal-side wireless communication unit. The consumable possession status includes model information of the image forming apparatus,
The mobile communication terminal is
A model registration accepting unit that accepts registration of registered model information specifying the model of the image forming apparatus;
Candidate list creation for creating a borrower candidate list that lists the consumable possession status of the department in which the same model as the registered model information for which the registration has been accepted is installed based on the department consumable database The departmental consumable management system according to claim 1, further comprising: The consumables holding status includes the number of the consumables,
The candidate list creation unit
The departmental consumable management system according to claim 2, wherein the departments are arranged in descending order of the number to create the borrower candidate list. The consumables possession status includes whether or not the consumables can be rented out.
The candidate list creation unit
4. The departmental consumables according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the borrower candidate list is created by arranging the departments that can be rented out above the departments that do not rent out the consumables. Management system. The consumables holding status includes the contact information of a person in charge of managing the consumables,
The candidate list creation unit
The departmental consumable management system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the borrower candidate list is created including the contact information. The candidate list creation unit
6. The borrower candidate list corresponding to the model information after the change is automatically re-created when the model information is changed by the model registration receiving unit. The departmental consumable management system according to item 1. The consumables possession status includes a purchase unit price of the consumables,
The consumable management by department according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the candidate list creation unit creates the borrower candidate list by arranging the departments in ascending order of the purchase unit price. system. A department registration accepting section for accepting registration of department information for identifying the installed department;
A consumables registration accepting unit that accepts registration of possession information of consumables used for image formation;
A device side wireless communication unit capable of wireless communication with a mobile communication terminal within a communication range;
A possession status transmission processing unit that transmits the possession information and the department information as a consumable possession status to the mobile communication terminal that has entered the communication range via the device-side wireless communication unit, Image forming apparatus.

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