JP2022046065A - Printing cost calculation method, program, and printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

To properly calculate a printing cost related to printing for business use.SOLUTION: A printing cost calculation method includes: storing associated information in which a printing quantity and a maintenance charge corresponding to a printer are associated with each other; discriminating whether a print job is printing for personal use or printing for business use; when discriminating that the print job is printing for business use, determining a print charge related to the printing for business use based on the job printing quantity of the print job, and calculating a charge of maintenance for business use related to the printing for business use based on the related information and the job printing quantity; and calculating a printing cost from the print charge and the charge of maintenance for business use.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a printing cost calculation method, a program, and a printing system.

Conventionally, a method of calculating a printing cost is known. For example, in Patent Document 1, when the actual print usage amount is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the billing fee is calculated based on the actual print usage amount, and when the actual print usage amount exceeds the predetermined value, the actual print usage amount is calculated. A calculation method for calculating a billing fee based on the maintenance usage amount, which is the ink usage amount used for maintenance, is disclosed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-012103

However, when an individual printing device is used for business such as working from home, the calculation method of Patent Document 1 includes the usage amount related to private printing in the actual printing usage amount, so that printing related to commercial printing is included. It is difficult to calculate the cost properly.

One aspect of solving the above problem is a method of calculating a printing cost of a printing control device connected to a printing device, which stores related information associated with a printing amount corresponding to the printing device and a maintenance fee related to maintenance. , It is determined whether the print job is private printing or commercial printing, and when it is determined that the print job is commercial printing, commercial printing is performed based on the job print amount of the print job. The printing fee related to the above is calculated, the business maintenance fee related to the commercial printing is acquired based on the related information and the job printing amount, and the commercial printing is performed by the printing fee and the commercial maintenance fee. This is a printing cost calculation method that calculates the related printing costs.

Another aspect of solving the above-mentioned problems is a program executed on a computer of a print control device connected to a printing device, and maintenance related to the printing amount and maintenance of the computer corresponding to the model of the printing device. When the related information associated with the charge is stored, it is determined whether the print job is for private printing or the printing for business use, and when it is determined that the printing job is for printing for business use. The printing fee related to the business printing is calculated based on the job printing amount of the printing job, and the business maintenance fee related to the business printing is acquired based on the related information and the job printing amount. The printing cost related to the commercial printing is calculated from the printing fee and the commercial maintenance fee.

Yet another aspect of solving the above problems is a printing system having a printing device, a server, and a printing control device connected to the printing device and the server, and the printing device obtains model information of the printing device. The printing device storage unit is provided with a printing device storage unit for storing and a printing device control unit for transmitting the model information stored in the printing device storage unit to the printing control device. A print control device control unit that determines whether the printing is for business use and, when it is determined that the printing is for business use, transmits the received model information and the job print amount of the print job to the server. The server has a server storage unit that stores related information in which the model information, the job print amount, and the print amount and the maintenance fee related to the maintenance of the printing device are associated with each other, and the related information is received. The business maintenance fee is calculated based on the model information and the received job printing amount, the printing fee is calculated based on the received job printing amount, and the business use maintenance fee and the printing fee are used for the business use. It is equipped with a server control unit that calculates printing costs related to printing.

The figure which shows the structure of a printing system. The figure for demonstrating the calculation application execution part. A flowchart showing the operation of the terminal device. The figure for demonstrating the calculation application execution part. A flowchart showing the operation of the printing system.

First Embodiment The first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a printing system 1000.
As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system 1000 includes a terminal device 1.
The terminal device 1 corresponds to an example of a print control device.

The terminal device 1 is a PC (Personal Computer). The terminal device 1 may be a desktop type, a laptop type, or a tablet type. The terminal device 1 is communicably connected to the printing device 2 via the local network LN, and is communicably connected to the server 3 via the global network GN.
The global network GN includes a dedicated line, a public line network, the Internet, and the like.

The printing system 1000 includes a printing device 2.
The printing device 2 is a device that prints an image on a printing medium. The type of print medium is not limited, and examples thereof include cut paper, roll paper, and synthetic resin sheets of a predetermined size. There is no limitation on the printing method of the printing device 2, and a printing method such as a dot impact type, a thermal sublimation type, or a thermal type can be adopted. In this embodiment, the case where the printing method of the printing device 2 is an inkjet method is illustrated.

One or a plurality of other printing devices (not shown) of different manufacturers or models may be connected to the terminal device 1.

The printing system 1000 includes a server 3.
The server 3 is a server device that communicates with the terminal device 1 and transmits related information 311 to the terminal device 1. Related information 311 will be described later.

Each configuration of the terminal device 1, the printing device 2, and the server 3 will be described.

The configuration of the server 3 will be described.
The server 3 includes a server control unit 30 and a server communication unit 31.

The server control unit 30 includes a server processor 300, which is a processor that executes programs such as a CPU and an MPU, and a server storage unit 310, and controls each unit of the server 3. The server control unit 30 reads the program stored in the server storage unit 310 by the server processor 300, and executes various processes by hardware and software.

The server storage unit 310 stores a program executed by the server processor 300 and data processed by the server processor 300. The server storage unit 310 stores a program executed by the server processor 300, a plurality of related information 311s, and various other data. The server storage unit 310 has a non-volatile storage area. The server storage unit 310 may include a volatile storage area and form a work area for the server processor 300.

Related information 311 includes information in which a print amount corresponding to a predetermined printing device and a maintenance fee are associated with each other. The print amount may indicate the number of prints, the amount of ink used in printing, or the amount of integrated elements such as the number of prints, the size of the print medium, and the ink usage fee. The maintenance fee indicates a fee for maintenance of the printing apparatus 2 such as cleaning and flushing, and includes at least a fee corresponding to the amount of ink used in the maintenance. The server storage unit 310 stores the printing device 2 or the related information 311 corresponding to the model of the printing device 2. It also stores related information corresponding to other printing devices or models of other printing devices. In the related information 311 corresponding to the printing apparatus 2, the printing amount corresponding to the printing apparatus 2 and the maintenance fee are associated with each other. The information included in the related information 311 includes model information 211 indicating the model of the printing apparatus 2, and charge information indicating the maintenance charge associated with the printing amount.

The server communication unit 31 is equipped with communication hardware according to a predetermined communication standard, and communicates with the terminal device 1 via the global network GN under the control of the server control unit 30.

Next, the printing apparatus 2 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the printing device 2 includes a printing device control unit 20, a printing device communication unit 21, and a printing unit 22.

The printing device control unit 20 includes a printing device processor 200, which is a processor that executes programs such as a CPU and an MPU, and a printing device storage unit 210, and controls each unit of the printing device 2. The printing device control unit 20 reads the program stored in the printing device storage unit 210 by the printing device processor 200, and executes various processes by hardware and software.

The printing device storage unit 210 stores a program executed by the printing device processor 200 and data processed by the printing device processor 200. The printing device storage unit 210 stores a program executed by the printing device processor 200, model information 211 indicating the model of the printing device 2, and various other data. The printing device storage unit 210 has a non-volatile storage area. The printing device storage unit 210 may include a volatile storage area and form a work area of the printing device processor 200.

The printing device communication unit 21 is equipped with communication hardware according to a predetermined communication standard, and communicates with the terminal device 1 via the local network LN under the control of the printing device control unit 20. A USB connection may be made to the terminal device 1 via a USB cable to communicate with the terminal device 1.

The printing unit 22 includes a printing mechanism for printing an image on a printing medium. The printing unit 22 includes a printing head that ejects ink and a conveying mechanism that conveys a printing medium. The printing unit 22 may be configured to include various sensors for detecting the position and size of the printing medium, a head scanning mechanism for scanning the printing head, and the like.

The configuration of the terminal device 1 will be described.
The terminal device 1 includes a terminal control unit 10, a first terminal communication unit 11, a second terminal communication unit 12, a display unit 13, and an input unit 14.
The terminal control unit 10 corresponds to an example of the print control device control unit.

The terminal control unit 10 includes a terminal processor 100, which is a processor that executes programs such as a CPU and an MPU, and a terminal storage unit 110, and controls each unit of the terminal device 1. The terminal processor 100 corresponds to an example of a computer. Further, the terminal storage unit 110 corresponds to an example of the storage unit. In the terminal control unit 10, the terminal processor 100 reads out the program stored in the terminal storage unit 110 and executes various processes by hardware and software. The terminal control unit 10 functions as a generation application execution unit 101 that executes the generation application 112 stored in the terminal storage unit 110. The terminal control unit 10 functions as a driver execution unit 102 that executes the printer driver 113 stored in the terminal storage unit 110. The terminal control unit 10 functions as a calculation application execution unit 103 that executes the calculation application 114 stored in the terminal storage unit 110. These functional parts will be described later.

The generation application 112 is an application program that generates data of a document or an image.
The calculation application 114 is an application program for calculating printing costs related to printing for business use. The calculation app 114 corresponds to an example of a program.

The terminal storage unit 110 stores a program executed by the terminal processor 100 and data processed by the terminal processor 100. The terminal storage unit 110 stores the operating system 111, the generation application 112, the printer driver 113, the calculation application 114, and various other data. The terminal storage unit 110 has a non-volatile storage area. The terminal storage unit 110 may include a volatile storage area and form a work area of the terminal processor 100.
In the following description, the operating system is abbreviated as OS.

The first terminal communication unit 11 is equipped with communication hardware according to a predetermined communication standard, and communicates with a server 3 connected via the global network GN under the control of the terminal control unit 10.

The second terminal communication unit 12 is equipped with communication hardware according to a predetermined communication standard, and communicates with the printing device 2 connected via the local network LN under the control of the terminal control unit 10.

The display unit 13 is a display composed of an LED (Light Emitting Diode), an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode), or the like, and displays information in a predetermined manner according to the control of the terminal control unit 10. The display unit 13 may be an external device connected to the terminal device 1.

The input unit 14 is connected to an operation switch provided in the terminal device 1 and an input means such as a touch panel, a mouse, and a keyboard, detects an input operation of a user, and outputs a detection result to the terminal control unit 10. It is an interface. The terminal control unit 10 executes a process corresponding to the input operation based on the input from the input unit 14.

As described above, the terminal control unit 10 functions as a generation application execution unit 101, a driver execution unit 102, and a calculation application execution unit 103.

The generation application execution unit 101 generates data such as documents and images to be printed by the printing device 2 based on the user's operation on the terminal device 1.

The driver execution unit 102 generates a print job based on the data generated by the generation application execution unit 101 by the function of the printer driver 113. The print job includes data generated by the generation application execution unit 101, various commands for printing a document or an image indicated by the data, and the like. When the driver execution unit 102 generates a print job, it outputs it to the spooler 1111.

The spooler 1111 is an API (Application Programming Interface) provided by the OS 111 on which the generation application 112 and the printer driver 113 operate. The spooler 1111 receives the print job output by the driver execution unit 102, temporarily stores the received print job in the designated print queue 115, and performs the print job according to the state of the print device 2 corresponding to the print queue 115. Output to the printing device 2. The print queue 115 is arbitrarily generated by the user for each print setting of the printing device 2 connected to the terminal device 1 and for each printing purpose, and is stored in the terminal storage unit 110. The terminal storage unit 110 has a private print print queue 115A for temporarily storing print jobs related to private printing and a commercial print print queue for temporarily storing print jobs related to commercial printing. 115B and is generated.
The private print print queue 115A corresponds to an example of the second print queue. The commercial print print queue 115B corresponds to an example of the first print queue.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the calculation application execution unit 103.
The calculation application execution unit 103 has a related information acquisition unit 1031, a monitoring unit 1032, and a printing cost calculation unit 1033 as functional units.

The related information acquisition unit 1031 acquires the related information 311 from the server 3.
When the terminal device 1 and the printing device 2 are connected to each other via the local network LN, the related information acquisition unit 1031 transmits the request information for requesting the model information 211 to the connected printing device 2 by the second terminal communication unit 12. do. When the printing device control unit 20 of the printing device 2 receives the request information by the printing device communication unit 21, the printing device control unit 20 transmits the model information 211 stored in the printing device storage unit 210 to the terminal device 1.
The related information acquisition unit 1031 transmits the model information 211 received from the printing device 2 connected to the terminal device 1 to the server 3 by the first terminal communication unit 11. The server control unit 30 of the server 3 transmits the related information 311 corresponding to the printing device 2 to the terminal device 1 by the server communication unit 31 based on the received model information 211. The related information acquisition unit 1031 receives the related information 311 corresponding to the printing device 2 from the server 3 and acquires the related information 311 corresponding to the printing device 2. The related information 311 acquired here is information corresponding to the model of the printing apparatus 2.

The related information acquisition unit 1031 stores the related information 311 corresponding to the printing device 2 acquired from the server 3 in the terminal storage unit 110. When the connection between the terminal device 1 and the printing device 2 is disconnected, the related information acquisition unit 1031 may delete the related information 311 corresponding to the printing device 2 whose connection has been disconnected from the terminal storage unit 110.

The monitoring unit 1032 monitors the spooler 1111. The monitoring unit 1032 determines whether the spooler 1111 has received a print job related to private printing or a print job related to commercial printing. When the spooler 1111 stores the print job in the private print print queue 115A, the monitoring unit 1032 determines that the spooler 1111 has received the print job related to private printing. When the spooler 1111 stores the print job in the commercial print print queue 115B, the monitoring unit 1032 determines that the spooler 1111 has received the print job related to the commercial print.

When the monitoring unit 1032 determines that the spooler 1111 has received a print job related to printing for business use, the print cost calculation unit 1033 calculates the print cost based on the print job stored in the print queue 115B for business use. .. When the monitoring unit 1032 determines that the spooler 1111 has received the print job related to private printing, the print cost calculation unit 1033 does not calculate the print cost based on the print job stored in the private print print queue 115A.

The printing cost calculation unit 1033 calculates the printing cost as follows.

The print cost calculation unit 1033 acquires the print job stored in the commercial print print queue 115B. The print cost calculation unit 1033 acquires the job print amount based on the acquired print job.
The print cost calculation unit 1033 acquires the number of prints, the size of the print medium, the amount of ink used, and the like by command analysis of the print job, and acquires the job print amount by a predetermined method based on the acquired elements. Alternatively, the print cost calculation unit 1033 acquires the number of prints, the size of the print medium, and the like from the predetermined area of the print job, and acquires the job print amount by a predetermined method based on the acquired elements. The predetermined area is an area commonly included in the print job regardless of the command system of the commands included in the print job. This predetermined area is called a DEVMODE structure.

When the print cost calculation unit 1033 acquires the job print amount from one print job, the print cost of the print job is calculated based on the acquired job print amount. The print cost calculation unit 1033 calculates the print charge corresponding to the print job based on a predetermined algorithm that can calculate the print charge according to the job print amount, the correspondence table associated with the print charge according to the print amount, and the like. calculate. The printing cost calculation unit 1033 may calculate the total printing cost by adding the calculated printing fee to the printing fee calculated in the previous printing job.

The print cost calculation unit 1033 compares the job print amount with the print amount associated with the maintenance fee included in the related information 311. If the job print amount is larger than the print amount associated with the maintenance fee, the maintenance fee is acquired as the maintenance fee for business use. The printing cost is calculated by adding the acquired maintenance fee for business use to the printing fee of the print job. If the job print amount is less than the print amount associated with the maintenance fee, the maintenance fee is not acquired, the business maintenance fee is set to 0, and the job print amount is added to the print job print fee to calculate the print cost. If the job job print amount is less than the print amount associated with the maintenance fee, the job print amount may be stored as the cumulative print amount. In this case, when receiving the next and subsequent print jobs, the acquired job print amount is added to the cumulative print amount measured cumulatively after adding the previous maintenance fee to the print cost, and the previous maintenance fee is used as the print cost. Calculate the cumulative print amount from the addition to the time when the print job is received. When the cumulative printing amount is larger than the printing amount associated with the maintenance fee included in the related information 311, the printing cost calculation unit 1033 sets the maintenance fee included in the related information 311 as the commercial maintenance fee related to commercial printing. And add the acquired maintenance fee for business use to the printing cost. The printing cost calculation unit 1033 does not add the maintenance fee for business use to the printing cost when the total cumulative printing amount is less than the printing amount associated with the maintenance fee included in the related information 311.

The operation of the terminal device 1 will be described.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the terminal device 1.

At the start of the operation shown in FIG. 3, the terminal storage unit 110 stores related information 311 corresponding to the printing device 2 connected to the terminal device 1.

The monitoring unit 1032 of the calculation application execution unit 103 determines whether the spooler 1111 has received a print job related to private printing or a print job related to business printing (step SA1).

When the monitoring unit 1032 determines that the spooler 1111 has received a print job related to private printing (step SA1: private use), the monitoring unit 1032 waits until the spooler 1111 receives the next print job.

When the monitoring unit 1032 determines that the spooler 1111 has received the print job related to printing for business use (step SA1: for business use), the print cost calculation unit 1033 acquires the print job from the print queue 115B for business use. (Step SA2).

After acquiring the print job, the print cost calculation unit 1033 acquires the job print amount from the acquired print job (step SA3).

After acquiring the job print amount, the print cost calculation unit 1033 calculates the print charge based on the acquired job print amount (step SA4).

After calculating the printing fee, the printing cost calculation unit 1033 adds the calculated printing fee to the printing cost (step SA5).

After acquiring the job print amount, the print cost calculation unit 1033 compares the job print amount with the print amount associated with the maintenance fee included in the related information 311. Alternatively, the cumulative print amount from the previous addition of the maintenance fee to the print cost to the time when the current job print amount is acquired is acquired, and the current job print amount is added to the acquired cumulative print amount to perform cumulative printing. The amount is calculated and compared to the print amount associated with the maintenance fee included in the relevant information 311. (Step SA6).

Compared with the print amount, the print cost calculation unit 1033 determines whether the job print amount or the calculated cumulative print amount is larger than the print amount associated with the maintenance fee included in the related information 311 (step SA7). ).

When the print cost calculation unit 1033 determines that the job print amount or the cumulative print amount is less than the print amount associated with the maintenance fee included in the related information 311 (step SA7: NO), the maintenance fee is added to the print cost. No (step SA8).

When the print cost calculation unit 1033 determines that the job print amount or the cumulative print amount is larger than the print amount associated with the maintenance fee included in the related information 311 (step SA7: YES), the print cost calculation unit 1033 is included in the related information 311. The maintenance fee associated with the printing amount is acquired as a commercial maintenance fee related to commercial printing (step SA9), and the acquired commercial maintenance fee is added to the printing cost (step SA10).

As described above, in the printing cost calculation method for calculating the printing cost, the related information 311 in which the printing amount corresponding to the printing device 2 and the maintenance fee are associated with each other is stored. If it is determined whether the print job is private printing or commercial printing and the print job is commercial printing, printing related to commercial printing is performed based on the job print amount of the print job. Ask for a fee. Based on the related information 311 and the job print amount, the business maintenance fee related to the business printing is calculated, and the printing cost is calculated from the calculated printing fee and the business maintenance fee.

The calculation application 114 executed in the terminal processor 100 of the terminal device 1 stores the terminal processor 100 in the related information 311 in which the print amount corresponding to the printing device 2 and the maintenance fee are associated with each other. When it is determined whether the print job is private printing or commercial printing and the print job is determined to be commercial printing, it is related to commercial printing based on the job print amount of the print job. Ask for a printing fee. A business maintenance fee related to business printing is calculated based on the related information 311 and the job printing amount, and the printing cost is calculated based on the calculated printing fee and the business maintenance fee.

According to the printing cost calculation method and the calculation application 114, it is determined whether the printing job is for private printing or commercial printing, and when it is determined that the printing is for commercial printing, the printing fee and the maintenance fee are determined based on the printing job. Since the printing cost including the above is calculated, the printing cost related to the printing for business use can be calculated appropriately.

In addition, since the printing cost related to printing for business use can be appropriately calculated, the user can accurately charge the billing destination of the company to which the user belongs to the printing cost incurred in the work at home.

In the printing cost calculation method, the spooler 1111 is monitored, and when the spooler 1111 stores a print job in the commercial print print queue 115B, it is determined that the print job is for commercial printing.

According to this, since it is possible to determine that the print job is for business use without executing the analysis of the print job, it is possible to determine that the print job is for business use while reducing the processing load. It can be done easily.

In the print cost calculation method, when the spooler 1111 stores a print job in a private print print queue 115A different from the commercial print print queue 115B, it is determined that the print job is private printing and the print cost is not calculated. ..

According to this, when it is determined that the print job is for private printing, the printing cost based on the print job is not calculated. Therefore, the printing cost for commercial printing includes the printing cost for private printing. Can be prevented. Therefore, the printing cost related to printing for business use can be calculated appropriately. In addition, since it is possible to determine that the print based on the print job is private printing without executing the analysis of the print job, it is possible to determine that the print job is private printing while reducing the processing load. It can be done easily.

In the printing cost calculation method, the model information 211 of the printing device 2 is transmitted to the server 3, the related information 311 corresponding to the transmitted model information 211 is acquired from the server 3, and the acquired related information 311 is stored.

According to this, since the related information 311 corresponding to the printing apparatus 2 can be acquired from the server 3, the maintenance fee can be obtained according to the accurate information. Therefore, the printing cost related to printing for business use can be calculated more appropriately.

Second Embodiment The second embodiment will be described. In the description of the second embodiment, the same components as those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, the terminal device 1 is configured to calculate the printing cost, but in the second embodiment, the server 3 is configured to calculate the printing cost.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the calculation application execution unit 103.
The calculation application execution unit 103 has a monitoring unit 1032, a model information acquisition unit 1034, and a transmission unit 1035 as functional units.

The model information acquisition unit 1034 acquires model information 211 from the printing device 2 connected to the terminal device 1. The model information 211 is information for identifying the printing device 2, and includes a serial number of the printing device 2 and the like.

When the terminal device 1 and the printing device 2 are connected to each other via the local network LN, the model information acquisition unit 1034 transmits request information for requesting the model information 211 to the connected printing device 2 by the second terminal communication unit 12. do. When the printing device control unit 20 of the printing device 2 receives the request information by the printing device communication unit 21, the printing device control unit 20 transmits the model information 211 stored in the printing device storage unit 210 to the terminal device 1. The model information acquisition unit 1034 stores the model information 211 acquired by reception in the terminal storage unit 110.

When the monitoring unit 1032 determines that the spooler 1111 has received the print job related to printing for business use, the transmission unit 1035 acquires the print job stored in the print queue 115B for business use. Then, the transmission unit 1035 acquires the job print amount based on the acquired print job. On the other hand, when the monitoring unit 1032 determines that the spooler 1111 has received the print job related to private printing, the transmission unit 1035 does not acquire the print job stored in the private print print queue 115A.

When the transmission unit 1035 acquires the job print amount, the acquired job print amount and the model information 211 of the printing device 2 corresponding to the commercial print print queue 115B in which the print job for which the job print amount is acquired is stored are stored. It is transmitted to the server 3 by the first terminal communication unit 11.

When the server control unit 30 of the server 3 receives the job print amount and the model information 211 from the terminal device 1, the server control unit 30 calculates the print cost in the same manner as the print cost calculation unit 1033 of the first embodiment. The server control unit 30 calculates the printing cost for each received model information 211, in other words, for each printing device 2.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printing system 1000 of the second embodiment.
In FIG. 5, the flowchart FB shows the operation of the terminal device 1, and the flowchart FC shows the operation of the server 3.

At the start of each flowchart shown in FIG. 5, the model information acquisition unit 1034 acquires the model information 211 from the printing device 2 connected to the terminal device 1, and the acquired model information 211 is stored in the terminal storage unit 110. ..

As shown in the flowchart FB, the monitoring unit 1032 of the terminal device 1 determines whether the spooler 1111 has received a print job related to private printing or a print job related to commercial printing (step SB1). ..

When the monitoring unit 1032 determines that the spooler 1111 has received the print job related to private printing (step SB1: private use), the monitoring unit 1032 waits until the next print job is received.

When the monitoring unit 1032 determines that the spooler 1111 has received a print job related to printing for business use (step SB1: business use), the transmission unit 1035 acquires the print job stored in the print queue 115B for business use. (Step SB2) and acquire the job print amount (step SB3).

After acquiring the job print amount, the transmission unit 1035 transmits the acquired job print amount and the model information 211 stored in the terminal storage unit 110 to the server 3 by the first terminal communication unit 11 (step SB4). ..

As shown in the flowchart FC, the server control unit 30 of the server 3 determines whether or not the job print amount and the model information 211 have been received by the server communication unit 31 (step SC1).

When the server control unit 30 determines that the job print amount and the model information 211 have not been received by the server communication unit 31 (step SC1: NO), the server control unit 30 executes the process of step SC1 again.

When the server control unit 30 determines that the job print amount and the model information 211 have been received by the server communication unit 31 (step SC1: YES), the server control unit 30 specifies the related information 311 corresponding to the received model information 211 (step). SC2).

In step SC2, the server control unit 30 identifies the printing device 2 from a predetermined database based on the received model information 211. Then, the server control unit 30 specifies the related information 311 corresponding to the printing device 2 from the server storage unit 310 based on the specified printing device 2.

After specifying the related information 311 corresponding to the printing device 2, the server control unit 30 calculates the printing fee based on the received job printing amount (step SC3).

After calculating the printing fee based on the job printing amount, the server control unit 30 uses the calculated printing fee as the printing fee. If the print cost is calculated based on the previous print job, the print charge calculated based on this print job is added to the print charge calculated and stored based on the previous print job, and printing is performed. It may be calculated as an expense (step SC4).

After receiving the job print amount, the server control unit 30 compares the job print amount with the print amount associated with the maintenance fee included in the related information 311 based on the received job print amount and the model information 211 (). Step SC5). If the cumulative print amount is not calculated, the process proceeds to step SC6. If the job print amount is larger than the print amount associated with the maintenance fee in step SC6, the process proceeds to step SC8 to acquire the maintenance fee as the maintenance fee for business use. The acquired maintenance fee for business use is added to the printing fee of the print job to calculate the printing cost (step SC9). If the job print amount is less than the print amount associated with the maintenance fee, the maintenance fee is not acquired, the commercial maintenance fee is set to 0, and the job print amount is added to the print job print fee to calculate the print cost (step SC7). ). If the job job print amount is less than the print amount associated with the maintenance fee, the job print amount may be stored as the cumulative print amount. In this case, when receiving the next and subsequent print jobs, the cumulative print amount from the previous addition of the maintenance fee to the print cost to the time when the current job print amount is received is acquired, and the acquired cumulative print amount is used. The received job print amount is added to calculate the cumulative print amount (step SC5). The server control unit 30 calculates the cumulative print amount for each model information 211 of a plurality of printing devices including the terminal device 1 or the printing device 2 connected to another terminal device connected to the server 3, in other words, for each printing device. calculate.

After calculating the cumulative print amount, the server control unit 30 determines whether or not the calculated cumulative print amount is larger than the print amount associated with the maintenance fee included in the related information 311 specified in step SC2 (step). SC6).

When the server control unit 30 determines that the cumulative print amount is less than the print amount associated with the maintenance fee included in the related information 311 (step SC6: NO), the maintenance fee is not added to the print cost (step SC7). ..

When the server control unit 30 determines that the cumulative print amount is larger than the print amount associated with the maintenance fee included in the related information 311 (step SC6: YES), the maintenance included in the related information 311 specified in step SC2. The fee is acquired as a commercial maintenance fee related to commercial printing (step SC8).

After acquiring the commercial maintenance fee, the server control unit 30 adds the acquired commercial maintenance fee to the printing cost (step SC9).

As described above, the printing system 1000 includes a printing device 2, a server 3, and a terminal device 1 capable of communicating with the printing device 2 and the server 3. The printing device 2 includes a printing device storage unit 210 that stores the model information 211 of the printing device 2, and a printing device control unit 20 that transmits the model information 211 stored by the printing device storage unit 210 to the terminal device 1. The terminal device 1 determines whether the print job is private printing or commercial printing, and when it is determined that the print job is commercial printing, the received model information 211 and the job print amount of the print job are determined. A terminal control unit 10 for transmitting to the server 3 is provided. The server 3 has a server storage unit 310 that stores related information 311 associated with model information 211, printing amount, and maintenance fee related to maintenance of the printing device 2, related information 311 and received model information 211, and reception. The server control unit 30 is provided with a server control unit 30 that obtains a business maintenance fee based on the job printing amount, calculates a printing fee based on the received job printing amount, and calculates a printing cost based on the business maintenance fee and the printing fee.

According to the second embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment is obtained.

Each of the above-described embodiments shows one aspect, and can be arbitrarily modified and applied.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the print job received by the spooler 1111 is determined to be private printing or commercial printing according to the print queue 115 in which the print job is stored. However, the determination between private printing and commercial printing is not limited to this. The calculation application execution unit 103 may set a folder in each output destination of the print queue 115 and determine according to the type of the folder in which the print job is saved. The calculation application execution unit 103 may perform a keyword search on the print job stored in the print queue 115, and determine whether or not the search target keyword can be searched. In this case, the calculation application execution unit 103 converts the print job into a data format such as text that can be searched for keywords.

The printing device 2 may have a function other than the printing function such as a scanning function and a facsimile function.

The functions of the terminal control unit 10, the printing device control unit 20, and the server control unit 30 may be realized by a plurality of processors or semiconductor chips.

Each part shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and the specific mounting form is not particularly limited. It is not always necessary to implement hardware corresponding to each part individually, and it is of course possible to realize the functions of each part by executing a program by one processor. Some of the functions realized by software may be realized by hardware, or some of the functions realized by hardware may be realized by software. In addition, the detailed configuration of each of the terminal device 1, the printing device 2, and the server 3 can be arbitrarily changed.

The operation step units shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 are divided according to the main processing contents in order to facilitate understanding of the operations of each part of the terminal device 1 and the printing system 1000, and are the processing units. It is not limited by the method of division and the name. It may be divided into more step units depending on the processing content. One step unit may be divided so as to include more processing. Further, the order of the steps may be appropriately changed as long as the purpose is not hindered.

1 ... Terminal device (print control device), 2 ... Printing device, 3 ... Server, 10 ... Terminal control unit (print control device control unit), 20 ... Printing device control unit, 30 ... Server control unit, 100 ... Terminal processor ( Computer), 114 ... Calculation application (program), 115 ... Print queue, 115A ... Private print print queue (second print queue), 115B ... Commercial print print queue (first print queue), 210 ... Printing device Storage unit, 211 ... Model information, 310 ... Server storage unit, 311 ... Related information, 1000 ... Printing system, 1111 ... Spooler.

Claims (6)

It is a method of calculating the printing cost of the print control device connected to the printing device.
Stores related information in which the printing amount corresponding to the printing device and the maintenance fee related to maintenance are associated with each other.
Determine if the print job is private printing or commercial printing,
When it is determined that the print job is printing for the business, a printing fee related to the printing for the business is calculated based on the job printing amount of the printing job, and the printing fee is calculated based on the related information and the job printing amount. , Acquired the commercial maintenance fee related to the above commercial printing,
The printing cost related to the commercial printing is calculated from the calculated printing fee and the commercial maintenance fee.
Printing cost calculation method. The first print queue related to the commercial printing and the second print queue related to the private printing are stored.
Monitor the spooler,
When the spooler stores the print job in the first print queue, it is determined that the print based on the print job is a print for business use.
The printing cost calculation method according to claim 1. When the spooler stores the print job in the second print queue, it is determined that the print based on the print job is a private print, and the print cost is not calculated.
The printing cost calculation method according to claim 2. The print control device transmits model information indicating the print device to the server, and the print control device transmits the model information indicating the print device to the server.
The related information corresponding to the printing device based on the transmitted model information is acquired from the server.
Memorize the acquired related information,
The printing cost calculation method according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A program that runs on the computer of the print control device connected to the print device.
On the computer
Relevant information associated with the printing amount corresponding to the printing device and the maintenance fee related to maintenance is stored.
Lets you determine whether the print job is private printing or commercial printing,
When it is determined that the printing job is printing for business use, the printing fee for printing for business use is calculated based on the printing amount related to the printing job, and the related information and the printing job are related. Obtain a commercial maintenance fee related to the commercial printing based on the print amount.
The printing cost related to the commercial printing is calculated from the acquired printing fee and the commercial maintenance fee.
program. A printing system having a printing device, a server, and a printing control device that connects the printing device to the server.
The printing device is
A printing device storage unit that stores model information of the printing device, and
A printing device control unit that transmits the model information stored in the printing device storage unit to the printing control device is provided.
The print control device is
It is determined whether the print job is for private printing or business printing, and when it is determined that the printing is for business use, the received model information and the print amount related to the print job are transmitted to the server. Equipped with a print control device control unit for transmission
The server
A server storage unit that stores the model information, the job print amount, and related information associated with the print amount and the maintenance fee related to the maintenance of the printing device.
The commercial maintenance fee is calculated based on the related information, the received model information, and the received job print amount, and the print fee is calculated based on the received print amount. A server control unit that calculates printing costs from the printing charges is provided.
Printing system.

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