JP2021115825A - Image formation apparatus and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To prevent wrong charge processing from being performed even when a plurality of charge management devices are connected, charge processing is performed in any charge management device for each output processing and any charge management device performs charge processing by using accumulated output number information.SOLUTION: In a case of receiving a printing job, an exclusive control management unit 32 changes status information associated with another charge server to "unavailable" when status information associated with a charge server that has transmitted the printing job is in the "stand-by state". A printing control unit 36 adds the page number to which the printing processing based on the received printing job is executed to information on the total print page number associated with the charge server. Even in a case of receiving the printing job, the printing control unit 36 does not execute the printing processing when the status information associated with the charge server that has transmitted the printing job is not in the "stand-by state".SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a program.

Patent Document 1 discloses a printer billing control method in which billing information is generated from the amount of consumables used by a print job and the billing information is output to a billing server triggered by the end of printing of the print job. Has been done.

JP-A-2017-102704

An object of the present invention is a case where a plurality of billing management devices are connected and a billing process is performed by one of the billing management devices for each output process, and the billing of any one of the plurality of billing management devices is performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus and a program capable of preventing an erroneous billing process from being performed even when the management device performs a billing process using the cumulative output number information.

[Image forming device]
The present invention according to claim 1 includes a memory and a processor.
The memory is
A plurality of state management information consisting of cumulative output number information and exclusive control information for permitting or prohibiting the use of the device is stored corresponding to a plurality of billing management devices.
The processor
When an output instruction corresponding to any of the plurality of billing management devices is received, the other billing management is performed when the exclusive control information associated with the billing management device indicates that the device is permitted to be used. After changing the exclusive control information associated with the device to a state that prohibits the use of the device, the output process based on the received output instruction is executed, and the number of outputs based on the output instruction is calculated by the billing management device. Add to the cumulative output number information associated with
Even when an output instruction corresponding to any of the plurality of billing management devices is received, if the exclusive control information associated with the billing management device indicates that the use of the device is prohibited. , Without executing the output processing based on the received output instruction,
When an inquiry for status management information is received from any of the plurality of billing management devices, the status management information associated with the billing management device that has sent the inquiry among the plurality of status management information is charged. It is an image forming device that returns to the management device.

2. The present invention according to claim 1, wherein when the processor receives the output instruction, the billing management device that transmits the output instruction is specified by using the address information to which the output instruction is given. It is an image forming apparatus of.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when a preset time elapses after the processor completes the output process based on the output instruction corresponding to a certain charge management device, or the explicit process is completed by the user. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the operation of the above is performed, the exclusive control information that has been changed to the state of prohibiting the use of the device is changed to the state of permitting the use of the device. ..

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the processor requires an authentication process when a user who manages the charge by a certain charge management device uses the device, the processor manages the charge of the user who intends to authenticate. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, which indicates that the user cannot be authenticated when the exclusive control information corresponding to the billing management device being used indicates that the use of the device is prohibited. Is.

The present invention according to claim 5 is the fourth aspect of the present invention, wherein the processor transmits information on the number of output sheets based on an output instruction from an authenticated user to a charge management device that manages the charge of the user. It is an image forming apparatus.

[program]
The present invention according to claim 6 includes a step of storing a plurality of state management information including cumulative output number information and exclusive control information for permitting or prohibiting the use of the device, corresponding to the plurality of billing management devices.
When an output instruction corresponding to any of the plurality of billing management devices is received, the other billing management is performed when the exclusive control information associated with the billing management device indicates that the device is permitted to be used. After changing the exclusive control information associated with the device to a state that prohibits the use of the device, the output process based on the received output instruction is executed, and the number of outputs based on the output instruction is calculated by the billing management device. And the step to add to the cumulative output number information associated with
Even when an output instruction corresponding to any of the plurality of billing management devices is received, if the exclusive control information associated with the billing management device indicates that the use of the device is prohibited. , A step that does not execute output processing based on the received output instruction,
When an inquiry for status management information is received from any of the plurality of billing management devices, the status management information associated with the billing management device that has sent the inquiry among the plurality of status management information is charged. It is a program for causing a computer to execute a step of returning to a management device.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is a case where a plurality of billing management devices are connected and billing processing is performed by one of the billing management devices for each output processing, and among the plurality of billing management devices. Even when any of the billing management devices of the above performs the billing process using the cumulative output number information, it is possible to provide an image forming device capable of preventing the wrong billing process from being performed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, even when the output instruction does not include the source information, the charge management device that transmitted the output instruction can be specified.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the exclusive control information from being left in a state of prohibiting the use of the device.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when there is a billing management device that performs billing management by performing user authentication processing in its own device, the user whose billing management device performs billing management. You can limit the use of your own device.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when there is a billing management device that performs billing management by performing user authentication processing in the own device, it is possible to realize billing management by the billing management device. ..

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, there is a case where a plurality of billing management devices are connected and billing processing is performed by one of the billing management devices for each output processing, and among the plurality of billing management devices. Even when any of the billing management devices of the above performs billing processing using the cumulative output number information, it is possible to provide a program capable of preventing incorrect billing processing from being performed.

It is a figure which shows an example of the printing system which used the general-purpose billing server 30 and the conventional image forming apparatus 90. It is a sequence chart for demonstrating the operation when the printing process is performed in the printing system shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing system which performs the charge processing using the charge server 50 prepared by the manufacturer which manufactured the image forming apparatus. It is a sequence chart for demonstrating the operation when the printing process is performed in the printing system shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the system configuration when the billing server 50 is added to the printing system as shown in FIG. 6 is a sequence chart for explaining an operation when an erroneous billing process is performed in the printing system shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the printing system which includes the image forming apparatus 10 of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware structure of the image forming apparatus 10 in the printing system of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the image forming apparatus 10 in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation of the charge server 30 in the printing system of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation of the charge server 30 in the printing system of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating how the status information of management tables 1 and 2 and the total number of printed pages change. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation of the print process when the user B operates the image forming apparatus 10 and executes a print job. It is a figure which shows an example of the display content which is displayed when the status information of management table 2 is not "stand-by state". It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the image forming apparatus 10A which made it possible to perform the charge process for the scan process. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation in the image forming apparatus 10A shown in FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining the details of the process of step S603 in FIG.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, before explaining the image forming apparatus of one embodiment of the present invention, a printing system using a conventional image forming apparatus will be described.

An image forming device called a so-called multifunction device may be installed in a university, a shared office, or the like and used jointly by a plurality of users. In such a case, in order to prevent a large amount of use by a specific user or to realize payment of a fee according to the amount of use, it is necessary to perform a billing process according to the number of printed sheets for each user.

Here, if the image forming apparatus is provided with an authentication device to authenticate the user and perform the billing process according to the number of prints of each user, the billing process according to the number of prints can be performed for each user. Is feasible.

However, in an image forming device such as a shared office that is shared by various companies and an image forming device that is shared by a large number of students such as a university, the image forming device itself should be changed. If such a billing process for each user is to be realized, an external general-purpose billing server is connected.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a printing system using such a general-purpose billing server 30 and a conventional image forming apparatus 90.

In the printing system shown in FIG. 1, for example, an image forming apparatus 90 installed in a shared office shared by a plurality of companies, a billing server 30, and a terminal apparatus 21 are connected by a network. ing. An authentication panel 60 for authenticating the user is installed in the vicinity of the image forming apparatus 90, and the authentication panel 60 is connected to the billing server 30.

The billing server 30 is a general-purpose billing management device capable of performing billing management regardless of the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus.

Here, for the sake of simplicity, only one terminal device 21 will be shown and described, but in reality, a plurality of terminal devices are connected to the network. The user A who operates the terminal device 21 is a user whose billing management is performed by the billing server 30.

Next, the operation when the printing process is performed in the printing system shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the sequence chart of FIG.

First, in step S101, the user A operates the terminal device 21 to transmit the print data to be printed to the billing server 30.

Then, in this state, when the user A moves to the installation location of the image forming apparatus 90 and touches, for example, the authentication card on which the IC chip is mounted on the authentication panel 60, the billing server 30 causes the user A to touch the authentication panel 60 in step S102. Perform authentication processing.

Then, when the authentication process is successful, the billing server 30 requests the image forming apparatus 90 for MIB (Management Information Base) information in step S103.

The MIB information is information related to the state and settings of the device to be monitored, and is information used when remotely monitoring and managing the state of the device. This MIB information includes information unique to each manufacturer, which is uniquely set for each manufacturer, and information defined by a standard.

Since the billing server 30 is a general-purpose billing management device, it can handle only standard MIB information. The standard MIB information includes information on the total number of printed pages, which is a so-called count value.

Here, the total number of printed pages is the cumulative number of output sheets information obtained by accumulating the printed pages after the installation or reset of the image forming apparatus.

Since the billing server 30 requests the MIB information from the image forming apparatus 90, the billing server 30 acquires the MIB information including the count value from the image forming apparatus 90 in step S104. Here, as an example, it is assumed that a count value of "10010 (sheets)" is obtained.

Next, in step S105, the billing server 30 transmits a print job to the image forming apparatus 90 based on the operation from the user A. Then, in step S106, the image forming apparatus 90 executes the printing process based on the transmitted print job. Here, it is assumed that the printing process for 5 pages has been executed.

Then, when the image forming apparatus 90 transmits the completion notification to the billing server 30 in step S107, the billing server 30 requests the MIB information again in step S108.

Then, in step S109, the billing server 30 acquires MIB information including the count value from the image forming apparatus 90. Here, in the image forming apparatus 90, since the printing process is executed in step S106, the count value is added by 5 to become "10015".

Therefore, in step S110, the billing server 30 specifies the number of prints by the difference between the count value "10010" received in step S104 and the count value "10015" received in step S109, and one sheet is printed. The charge amount for user A is calculated by multiplying the unit price per unit.

By executing the above processing, billing for each user can be performed simply by installing the general-purpose billing server 30 without the need for work such as adding an authentication function to the image forming apparatus 90. It will be possible.

Next, FIG. 3 shows an example of a printing system that performs billing processing using the billing server 50 prepared by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus.

The printing system shown in FIG. 3 has a configuration in which the image forming apparatus 90 and the terminal apparatus 22 are connected by a network, and the image forming apparatus 90 and the billing server 50 are connected by the Internet 40.

Here, the billing server 50 is a billing management device prepared by a manufacturer that manufactures the image forming apparatus 90, and performs a billing process for a user who uses the image forming apparatus 90.

Then, the user B who operates the terminal device 22 is a user whose billing management is performed by the billing server 50. The image forming apparatus 90 is provided with an authentication function for authenticating a user who intends to use the image forming apparatus 90.

Next, the operation when the printing process is performed in the printing system shown in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to the sequence chart of FIG.

First, in step S201, the user B operates the terminal device 22 to transmit the print data to be printed to the image forming device 90. Then, the image forming apparatus 90 converts the received print data into raster data and stores it as spool data.

Next, when the user B moves to the installation location of the image forming apparatus 90 and, for example, touches the authentication panel of the image forming apparatus 90 with the authentication card on which the IC chip is mounted, the image forming apparatus 90 causes the image forming apparatus 90 to touch the authentication panel of the image forming apparatus 90 in step S202. Authenticate user B.

During this authentication process, the image forming apparatus 90 confirms the user with the billing server 50 in step S203, and receives the confirmation result from the billing server 50 in step S204.

When the authentication of the user B is successful in this way, the image forming apparatus 90 executes the printing process based on the operation of the user B in step S205.

After that, in step S206, the image forming apparatus 90 transmits information such as the number of sheets printed by the user B to the billing server 50 as usage count information.

Then, in step S207, the billing server 50 performs a billing process for the user B using the transmitted usage count information.

Since the image forming apparatus 90 and the billing server 50 are manufactured by the same manufacturer in this way, it is possible to transmit the usage count information from the image forming apparatus 90 to the billing server 50 to execute the billing process. It becomes.

Next, FIG. 5 shows a system configuration when such a billing server 50 is added to a printing system installed in a shared office as shown in FIG. 1.

Also in FIG. 5, as in the above description, the user A is a user whose billing management is performed by the billing server 30, and the user B is a user whose billing management is performed by the billing server 50.

The general-purpose billing server 30 that acquires the count value from the image forming apparatus and performs the billing process and the billing server 50 manufactured by the same manufacturer as the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus are conventionally used. When the image forming apparatus 90 is connected to the image forming apparatus 90 at the same time and used, an erroneous billing process may be performed depending on the timing of the user who uses the image forming apparatus 90.

In the printing system shown in FIG. 5, the operation when such an erroneous billing process is performed will be described with reference to the sequence chart of FIG.

In the sequence chart shown in FIG. 6, the processes in steps S101 to S110 are the same as the processes shown in FIG. However, in FIG. 6, the user B performs between the process of step S107 in which the billing server 30 receives the completion notification from the image forming apparatus 90 and the process of step S108 in which the image forming apparatus 90 requests MIB information. The print process of step S205 is being executed.

Therefore, the count value received by the billing server 30 in step S109 includes the printing process for 20 sheets executed in step S205, and is set to "10035".

Therefore, in step S110, the billing server 30 mistakenly recognizes 25 pages, which is the difference between "10035" and "10010", as the number of prints, and calculates the billing amount for the user A.

Here, although the number of prints used by the user A is originally 5 pages, the billing process for 25 pages is performed for the user A, so that the incorrect billing process is performed. You can see that it has been printed.

Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 10 of the embodiment of the present invention, two billing servers 30 and 50 are connected by the configuration as described below, and billing is performed by one of the billing servers for each printing process. Even when the processing is performed and the billing server 30 performs the billing process using the count value which is the total number of printed pages, the wrong billing process is prevented from being performed.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a printing system including the image forming apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The printing system according to the embodiment of the present invention has a configuration in which the image forming apparatus 90 is replaced with the image forming apparatus 10 in the conventional printing system shown in FIG.

Then, in the printing system of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 7, an IP (Internet Protocol) address of "192.168.0.1" is assigned to the billing server 30, and an IP of "192.168.0.2" is assigned to the billing server 50. It is assumed that the address is assigned.

Then, as in the conventional printing system described above, the user A operating the terminal device 21 is a user whose billing management is performed by the billing server 30, and the user B operating the terminal device 22 is a user. , A user whose billing is managed by the billing server 50.

Next, FIG. 8 shows the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 in the printing system of the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 8, the image forming apparatus 10 is a communication interface (communication interface) for transmitting and receiving data to and from an external device and the like via a CPU 11, a memory 12, a storage device 13 such as a hard disk drive, and a network 30. It has 14.) 14, a user interface (abbreviated as UI) device 15 including a touch panel or a liquid crystal display, and a keyboard, a scanner 16, and a print engine 17. These components are connected to each other via a control bus 18.

The print engine 17 prints an image on a recording medium such as printing paper through steps such as charging, exposure, development, transfer, and fixing.

The CPU 11 is a processor that controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 by executing a predetermined process based on a control program stored in the memory 12 or the storage device 13. In the present embodiment, the CPU 11 is described as reading and executing the control program stored in the memory 12 or the storage device 13, but the program is stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM and stored in the CPU 11. It is also possible to provide.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 realized by executing the above control program.

As shown in FIG. 9, the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment includes a state management table 31, an exclusive control management unit 32, a billing management unit 33, an authentication panel 34, a data transmission / reception unit 35, and print control. A unit 36, a spool data storage unit 37, and a print processing unit 38 are provided.

The state management table 31 stores the state management information including the total number of printed pages information and the status information corresponding to a plurality of billing management servers.

Specifically, in the state management table 31, the management table 1 associated with the general-purpose billing server 30 and the management table associated with the billing management server 50 prepared by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus 10 2 is remembered.

Here, the total number of printed pages information is the cumulative output number of sheets information obtained by integrating the number of sheets of paper that have been printed after the device is turned on or after a certain point in time.

Further, the status information is exclusive control information indicating the current state of the device and permitting or prohibiting the use of the device. Specifically, the status information includes "printing", "standby state", and "use". It is switched to indicate one of the three states of "impossible".

Then, when the status information is in the "standby state", this status information indicates that the use of the device is permitted. Then, when the status information is either "printing" or "unavailable", this status information indicates that the use of the device is prohibited.

The data transmission / reception unit 35 transmits / receives data to / from an external device via a network.

The print control unit 36 controls so that the print process based on the output instruction of the received print job or the like is executed.

The spool data storage unit 37 stores the raster image obtained by performing raster conversion on the print job as spool data.

The print processing unit 38 outputs an image based on the print data stored in the spool data storage unit 37 on a recording medium such as printing paper.

When the exclusive control management unit 32 receives the print job corresponding to any of the two billing servers 30 and 50, the status information associated with the billing server indicates that the use of the device is permitted. In the case of "standby state", that is, the status information associated with other billing servers is changed to "unavailable". After that, the print control unit 36 executes a print process based on the received print job, and adds the number of prints based on the print job to the information on the total number of print pages associated with the billing server.

For example, when the exclusive control management unit 32 receives the print job corresponding to the billing server 30, the status information in the management table 2 is displayed when the status information in the management table 1 corresponding to the billing server 30 is "standby state". Change to "Unavailable". Then, the print control unit 36 executes a print process based on the received print job, and adds the number of prints based on the print job to the information on the total number of print pages of the management table 1 associated with the billing server 30. do.

The print control unit 36 indicates that even when a print job corresponding to any of the billing servers 30 and 50 is received, the status information associated with the billing server prohibits the use of the device. If so, that is, if it is "unavailable" or "printing", the print process based on the received print job is not executed.

When the exclusive control management unit 32 receives an inquiry for state management information from the billing server 30 via SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) communication, the management table associated with the billing server 30 that has sent the inquiry The state management information stored in 1 is returned to the billing server 30.

The billing management unit 33 transmits information on the number of prints based on the print instruction from the authenticated user to the billing server that manages the billing of the user. Specifically, the charge management unit 33 handles only the charge for the user B or the like whose charge is managed by the charge server 50, and the number of prints based on the print instruction from the user authenticated by the authentication panel 34. The information is transmitted to the billing server 50.

The authentication panel 34 authenticates the user by reading the information in the authentication card held by the user.

When the print control unit 36 or the exclusive control management unit 32 receives the print job, the print control unit 36 or the exclusive control management unit 32 identifies the billing server that sent the print job by using the address information such as the IP address to which the print job was sent. do.

Further, the exclusive control management unit 32 performs an operation of explicitly completing the process when a preset time, for example, 30 seconds has elapsed after the print process based on the print job corresponding to a certain billing server is completed. When is performed, the status information that was changed to "unavailable" is changed to "waiting".

The user B whose billing management is performed by the billing server 50 needs to perform an authentication process when using the device. Therefore, in the exclusive control management unit 32, when the user B authenticates and uses the device, the status information of the management table 2 corresponding to the billing server 50 that manages the billing of the user B is "unavailable". In the case of, the fact that the user cannot be authenticated is displayed on the operation panel or the like.

Next, the operation in the printing system of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the operation of the billing server 30 in the printing system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the billing server 30 receives the print data from the terminal device 21 of the user A in step S301, the billing server 30 stores the print data.

Then, the user A moves to the installation location of the image forming apparatus 10 and brings his / her own authentication card into contact with the authentication panel 60, so that the billing server 30 executes the authentication process of the user A in step S302.

Then, in step S303, the billing server 30 acquires MIB information from the image forming apparatus 10 to manage the state including the status information of the management table 1 associated with the billing server 30 and the information on the total number of printed pages. Get information.

Here, the billing server 30 determines in step S304 whether or not the acquired status information is in the "standby state".

Then, when the acquired status information is not in the "standby state", the billing server 30 repeats the acquisition of the MIB information at regular intervals, for example, until the acquired status information becomes the "standby state".

Then, when it is determined in step S304 that the acquired status information is in the "standby state", the billing server 30 transmits the stored print data of the user A as a print job to the image forming apparatus 10 in step S305. do.

Then, after the transmission of the print job is completed, the billing server 30 acquires the MIB information from the image forming apparatus 10 in step S306 to obtain the status information of the management table 1 associated with the billing server 30 and the total printing. Acquire state management information consisting of page number information.

Finally, in step S307, the billing server 30 calculates the difference between the total number of printed pages acquired in step S303 and the total number of printed pages acquired in step S306, calculates the billing amount for user A, and charges the user A. Execute the process.

Next, the operation when the image forming apparatus 10 in the printing system of the present embodiment receives the transmitted print job will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the image forming apparatus 10 receives the print job in step S401, the image forming apparatus 10 determines in step S402 whether or not the print job is transmitted from the billing server 30. Here, the image forming apparatus 10 determines whether or not the apparatus is the billing server 30 by confirming the IP address of the apparatus that has transmitted the received print job.

Then, in step S402, when it is determined that the device that has transmitted the print job is not the billing server 30, the image forming apparatus 10 spools the print job and stores it in the spool data storage unit 37 in step S407. To execute.

Then, when it is determined in step S402 that the device that has transmitted the print job is the billing server 30, the image forming device 10 changes the status information of the management table 2 to "unavailable" in step S403.

Next, in step S404, the image forming apparatus 10 executes a print process based on the print job from the billing server 30.

Then, in step S405, the image forming apparatus 10 adds the number of pages of the executed print processing to the total number of print pages of the management table 1.

Finally, in step S406, the image forming apparatus 10 changes the status information of the management table 2 from "unavailable" to "standby state" and ends the process.

A state in which the status information of the management tables 1 and 2 and the total number of printed pages are changed by executing the above-mentioned processing will be described with reference to FIG.

First, FIG. 12A shows the status information and the state of the total number of printed pages before the printing process based on the print job from the billing server 30 is executed. In FIG. 12A, both the status information of the management tables 1 and 2 is in the “standby state”, and the total number of printed pages is “10010” and “12301”, respectively.

Then, FIG. 12B shows the status information and the state of the total number of printed pages while the image forming apparatus 10 receives the print job from the billing server 30 and executes the print process.

Referring to FIG. 12B, the status information of the management table 1 is "printing" and the status information of the management table 2 is "unavailable" while the print job from the billing server 30 is being executed. I understand that. In this state, even if the user B whose billing management is performed by the billing server 50 tries to perform the print processing, the print process cannot be performed because the status information of the management table 2 is "unavailable". Such exclusive control will be performed.

Finally, FIG. 12C shows the status information and the state of the total number of printed pages after the image forming apparatus 10 completes the printing process of the print job from the billing server 30.

Referring to FIG. 12C, the status information of the management table 1 returns from "printing" to "standby state", and the status information of management table 2 returns from "unavailable" to "standby state". I understand. The total number of printed pages in the management table 1 is "10017" due to the execution of the printing process. The billing server 30 executed 7 pages, which is the difference between the total number of printed pages "10010" in the management table 1 before the start of the printing process and the total number of printed pages "10017" in the management table 1 after the completion of the printing process. It is determined that the number of pages is printed by the print job, and the billing process is performed.

Next, the operation of the print process when the user B, who is the charge management target user of the charge server 50, operates the image forming apparatus 10 to execute the print job, will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Here, it is assumed that the user B transmits the print data from the terminal device 22 to the image forming device 10 and stores the print data in a spooled state. In this state, when the user B moves to the installation location of the print image forming apparatus 10 and performs an authentication operation such that the holding authentication card comes into contact with the authentication panel 34, the image forming apparatus 10 performs step S501. In, the authentication operation of this user B is accepted.

Then, in step S502, the image forming apparatus 10 determines whether or not the status information of the management table 2 is in the “standby state”.

In step S502, when the status information of the management table 2 is determined not to be "standby state", that is, when it is determined to be "unavailable" or "printing", the image forming apparatus 10 is determined in step S503. , Displays that the authentication process cannot be executed.

An example of such display contents is shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 14, although the user B brought the authentication card 42 into contact with the authentication panel 34, on the operation panel 41 of the image forming apparatus 10, "the authentication process cannot be performed because another user is using it. You can see that the characters are displayed. That is, the authentication process by the user B is not accepted until the status information of the management table 2 becomes the "standby state".

Then, when it is determined in step S502 that the status information in the management table 2 is in the "standby state", the image forming apparatus 10 executes the authentication process in step S504. Specifically, the image forming apparatus 10 executes the authentication process of the user B by transmitting the authentication information of the user B to the charging server 50 and receiving the confirmation result from the charging server 50.

Then, in step S505, it is determined whether or not the authentication is successful, and if the authentication is successful, the image forming apparatus 10 changes the status information of the management table 1 to "unavailable" in step S506. At this time, the image forming apparatus 10 changes the status information of the management table 2 to "printing".

Next, in step S507, the image forming apparatus 10 executes the printing process of the spooled print job of the authenticated user B.

Then, in step S508, the image forming apparatus 10 adds the number of pages of the executed print processing to the total number of print pages of the management table 2.

Finally, in step S509, the image forming apparatus 10 changes the status information of the management table 1 from "unavailable" to "standby state". Further, the image forming apparatus 10 changes the status information of the management table 2 from "printing" to "standby state".

In the embodiment described above, while a user is executing a print job in the image forming apparatus 10, exclusive control is performed so that another user does not execute the print job. Therefore, even when a certain user sequentially executes a plurality of print jobs in succession, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a situation in which the output results of other users are mixed.

In the above embodiment, the case where two billing servers 30 and 50, which are billing management devices, are connected to one image forming device 10 has been described, but a plurality of billing servers are connected to one image. The present invention is similarly applicable to a system configuration such that it is connected to a forming device.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the print data from the terminal devices 21 and 22 is printed by the image forming apparatus 10 has been described, but the case where the above processing is applied to the billing process in the scanning process is described below. Will be described in.

The block diagram of FIG. 15 shows the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 10A capable of performing the billing process for the scan process in this way.

The image forming apparatus 10A shown in FIG. 15 clearly indicates the image reading unit 39 with respect to the image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 9, and charges the charge management unit 33 for each of the charge servers 30 and 50. It has a configuration in which the management units 33A and 33B are replaced. Further, in the image forming apparatus 10A shown in FIG. 15, it is assumed that the information on the total number of scanned pages is stored in the management tables 1 and 2 of the state management table 31, respectively.

Here, the billing management unit 33A manages the billing of the billing management target user by the billing server 30, and the billing management unit 33B manages the billing of the billing management target user by the billing server 50. The billing management unit 33 shown in the block diagram of FIG. 9 and the billing management unit 33A in the block diagram of FIG. 15 have the same functions.

When performing the billing process for the scan process of the billing target user by the billing server 30, not only the billing management unit 33A for the billing server 50 but also the billing management unit 33B for the billing server 30 is required in the image forming apparatus 10A. Become.

Then, the billing management units 33A and 33B are connected to the authentication panel 34, respectively, and all the users of the billing management target user of the billing server 30 and the billing management target user of the billing server 50 are before using the image forming apparatus 10A. It is necessary to bring one's own authentication card into contact with the authentication panel 34 to obtain authentication.

The operation of the image forming apparatus 10A having such a configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the image forming apparatus 10A receives the user authentication operation in step S601, in step S602, whether the authentication card at that time belongs to the charge management target user of the charge server 50 or the charge management target of the charge server 30. It is determined whether it belongs to the user.

Then, when it is determined in step S602 that the authentication card belongs to the billing management target user of the billing server 30, the image forming apparatus 10A executes the process for the billing target user of the billing server 30 in step S603. do.
The details of the processing of the billing server 30 for the billing target user are shown in the flowchart of FIG.

First, in the image forming apparatus 10A, in step S701, it is determined whether or not the status information of the management table 1 is in the "standby state".

In step S701, when it is determined that the status information of the management table 1 is not "standby state", that is, it is determined that it is "unavailable" or "printing", the image forming apparatus 10A performs in step S702. , Displays that the authentication process cannot be executed.

Then, when it is determined in step S701 that the status information in the management table 1 is in the "standby state", the image forming apparatus 10A executes the authentication process in step S703.

Then, in step S704, it is determined whether or not the authentication is successful, and if the authentication is successful, the image forming apparatus 10A changes the status information of the management table 2 to "unavailable" in step S705. At this time, the image forming apparatus 10A changes the status information of the management table 1 to "printing" or "scanning".

Next, in step S706, the image forming apparatus 10A executes a printing process or a scanning process of the spooled print job of the authenticated user.

Then, in step S707, the image forming apparatus 10A adds the number of pages of the executed print processing or the number of pages of the scan processing to the total number of print pages or the total number of scan pages of the management table 1.

Finally, in step S708, the image forming apparatus 10A changes the status information of the management table 2 from "unavailable" to "standby state". Further, the image forming apparatus 10A changes the status information of the management table 1 from "printing" or "scanning" to "standby".

Since the processing of the charging server 50 for the charging target user in step S604 is the same as the processing of steps S502 to S509 shown in the flowchart of FIG. 13, the description thereof will be omitted.

By performing such a process, the present invention can be similarly applied even when the scan process is charged.

In each of the above embodiments, the processor refers to a processor in a broad sense, such as a general-purpose processor (for example, CPU: Central Processing Unit, etc.) or a dedicated processor (for example, GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, etc.). FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, programmable logic device, etc.).

Further, the operation of the processor in each of the above embodiments may be performed not only by one processor but also by a plurality of processors existing at physically separated positions in cooperation with each other. Further, the order of each operation of the processor is not limited to the order described in each of the above embodiments, and may be changed as appropriate.

10, 10A image forming device 11 CPU
12 Memory 13 Storage device 14 Communication interface 15 User interface device 16 Scanner 17 Print engine 18 Control bus 21, 22 Terminal device 30 Billing server 31 Status management table 32 Exclusive control management unit 33, 33A, 33B Billing management unit 34 Authentication panel 35 Data Transmission / reception unit 36 Print control unit 37 Spool data storage unit 38 Print processing unit 39 Image reading unit 40 Internet 41 Operation panel 42 Authentication card 50 Billing server 60 Authentication panel 90 Image forming device

Claims (6)

Equipped with memory and processor
The memory is
A plurality of state management information consisting of cumulative output number information and exclusive control information for permitting or prohibiting the use of the device is stored corresponding to a plurality of billing management devices.
The processor
When an output instruction corresponding to any of the plurality of billing management devices is received, the other billing management is performed when the exclusive control information associated with the billing management device indicates that the device is permitted to be used. After changing the exclusive control information associated with the device to a state that prohibits the use of the device, the output process based on the received output instruction is executed, and the number of outputs based on the output instruction is calculated by the billing management device. Add to the cumulative output number information associated with
Even when an output instruction corresponding to any of the plurality of billing management devices is received, if the exclusive control information associated with the billing management device indicates that the use of the device is prohibited. , Without executing the output processing based on the received output instruction,
When an inquiry for status management information is received from any of the plurality of billing management devices, the status management information associated with the billing management device that has sent the inquiry among the plurality of status management information is charged. An image forming device that returns to the management device. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the processor receives an output instruction, the billing management device that transmits the output instruction is specified by using the address information to which the output instruction is given. The processor performs a preset time elapse after the output processing based on the output instruction corresponding to a certain billing management device is completed, or when an explicit processing completion operation is performed by the user. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exclusive control information that has been changed to the state of prohibiting the use of the device is changed to the state of permitting the use of the device. The processor corresponds to a billing management device that manages billing of a user who wants to authenticate when an authentication process is required when a user who manages billing by a certain billing management device uses the device. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, which indicates that the user cannot be authenticated when the exclusive control information indicates that the use of the apparatus is prohibited. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the processor transmits information on the number of output sheets based on an output instruction from an authenticated user to a charge management device that manages the charge of the user. A step of storing a plurality of state management information consisting of cumulative output number information and exclusive control information for permitting or prohibiting the use of the device corresponding to a plurality of billing management devices, and
When an output instruction corresponding to any of the plurality of billing management devices is received, the other billing management is performed when the exclusive control information associated with the billing management device indicates that the device is permitted to be used. After changing the exclusive control information associated with the device to a state that prohibits the use of the device, the output process based on the received output instruction is executed, and the number of outputs based on the output instruction is calculated by the billing management device. And the step to add to the cumulative output number information associated with
Even when an output instruction corresponding to any of the plurality of billing management devices is received, if the exclusive control information associated with the billing management device indicates that the use of the device is prohibited. , A step that does not execute output processing based on the received output instruction,
When an inquiry for status management information is received from any of the plurality of billing management devices, the status management information associated with the billing management device that has sent the inquiry among the plurality of status management information is charged. Steps to reply to the management device and
A program that lets your computer run.

Images