JP2022058094A - Color printer and color printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technique that is able to prevent double ordering of a consumable article.SOLUTION: A CPU 110 performs: an ordering process in which an order screen for consumable articles for three colors is displayed on a display 160 and, in response to receiving via an input IF170 an operation of ordering a kind of consumable article selected from the order screen, the selected kind of consumable article is ordered to a server 200 connected via a communication IF180; and a history information display process in which history information indicating order history of consumable articles ordered through the ordering process, which include information created based on the latest order date for the ordered consumable article, is displayed on the display 160 in a mode in which the kind of consumable article ordered through the ordering process is specified.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present application relates to a technique for ordering the consumables from a color printing apparatus.

Patent Document 1 describes an image forming apparatus for ordering consumables.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-34515

However, since the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 does not consider notifying the ordering status of the ordered consumables, there is a possibility that the user may place an order for the consumables in duplicate without knowing the ordering status. rice field.

It is an object of the present application to provide a technique capable of preventing duplicate ordering of consumables to be ordered.

In order to achieve the above object, the color printing apparatus of the present application includes a communication interface, a user interface, a display, and a controller, and uses consumables of at least one of three colors of cyan, magenta, and yellow. It is a color printing device that prints in color and consumes at least one color of consumables according to the color printing. The controller displays information indicating the remaining amount of each of the three colors of consumables on the display. The target is the product remaining amount display processing, the warning screen display processing that displays a warning screen on the display when the remaining amount of any of the three-color consumables falls below a predetermined threshold, and the three-color consumables. The ordering screen is displayed on the display, and the ordering operation for the type of consumables selected from the ordering screen is selected by the information processing device connected via the communication interface according to the acceptance via the user interface. Historical information showing the ordering process for ordering different types of consumables and the ordering history of the consumables ordered by the ordering process, including information created for the ordered consumables based on the latest ordering date. The history information display process of displaying the history information on the display in a mode in which the type of the consumable item ordered by the order process is specified is executed.

According to the present application, it is possible to prevent duplicate orders of consumables to be ordered.

It is a block diagram of the image processing system which concerns on one Embodiment of this application. It is a figure which shows the HOME screen ((a)), the service screen ((b)), and the consumables selection screen ((c)). It is a figure which shows the history information display screen ((a)) of consumables, the order confirmation screen ((b)), and the order quantity input screen ((c)). It is a figure which shows the history display item customization screen ((a)) and all order history display screen ((b)). It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the consumables order processing. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the history display item customization process. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the consumables history display processing. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the 1st status acquisition processing. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the 2nd status acquisition processing. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a print process. It is a figure which shows the warning screen.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a control configuration of an image processing system 1 (an example of a “color printing system”) including an MFP 100 (an example of a “color printing apparatus”) according to an embodiment of the present application. The image processing system 1 includes an MFP 100 and a server 200 (an example of an "information processing device"). MFP is an abbreviation for multifunction peripheral.

The MFP 100 and the server 200 can communicate with each other via the communication network 300. Specific examples of the communication network 300 are not particularly limited, but may be, for example, the Internet, a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, or a combination thereof.

The MFP 100 mainly includes a printer 130, a scanner 140, a fax unit 150, a display 160, an input IF 170, a communication IF 180, a CPU 110 (an example of a “controller”), a memory 120, and a communication bus 190. ing. IF is an abbreviation for interface. The components constituting the MFP 100 are connected to each other through the communication bus 190.

The printer 130 executes a printing operation of recording an image represented by image data on a sheet. As the recording method of the printer 130, a known method such as an inkjet method or an electrophotographic method can be adopted. The scanner 140 performs a scanning operation of reading an image recorded on a document and generating image data. The FAX unit 150 executes a FAX transmission operation of transmitting image data by fax to an external device and a FAX reception operation of receiving image data by FAX from the external device. The MFP 100 may include at least one of a printer 130, a scanner 140, and a fax unit 150.

The input IF 170 is a user interface that accepts input operations by the user. Specifically, the input IF 170 has a button, and outputs various operation signals associated with the pressed button to the CPU 110. Further, the input IF 170 may have a film-like touch sensor superimposed on the display surface of the display 160. The operation of designating an object displayed on the display surface of the display 160 and the operation of inputting a character string or a number string are examples of user operations. The "object" is, for example, a character string, an icon, a button, a link, a pull-down menu, or the like displayed on the display 160.

The input IF 170 realized as a touch sensor outputs position information indicating a position on the display surface touched by the user. The term "touch" in the present specification includes all operations of bringing the input medium into contact with the display surface. Further, the above-mentioned concept of "touch" includes "hover" or "floating touch" that brings the input medium close to a position where the distance between the input medium and the display surface is very small even if the input medium does not touch the display surface. You may. Further, the input medium may be a user's finger, a stylus, or the like. The user operation of tapping the position of the icon displayed on the display 160 is an example of the designation operation of designating the icon.

The communication IF 180 is for communicating with an external device through the communication network 300. That is, the MFP 100 transmits various information to the server 200 through the communication IF 180, and receives various data or various information from the server 200 through the communication IF 180.

The CPU 110 controls the overall operation of the MFP 100. The CPU 110 acquires and executes various programs described later from the memory 120 using FIGS. 5 to 10 based on various signals output from the input IF 170 and various information acquired from an external device through the communication IF 180.

The OS 121 and the control program 122 are stored in the memory 120. The control program 122 may be a single program or a collection of a plurality of programs. Further, the memory 120 stores data or information necessary for executing the control program 122. The memory 120 is composed of, for example, a RAM, a ROM, an NVM, an EEPROM, an HDD, a portable storage medium such as a USB memory attached to and detached from the MFP 100, a buffer included in the CPU 110, or a combination thereof. NVM is an abbreviation for non-volatile memory.

The memory 120 may be a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium is a non-transitory medium. In addition to the above examples, the non-transitory medium also includes recording media such as a CD-ROM and a DVD-ROM. A non-transitory medium is also a tangible medium. On the other hand, the electric signal that carries the program downloaded from the server 200 on the Internet is a signal medium that can be read by a computer, which is a kind of medium that can be read by a computer, but can be read by a non-transitory computer. Not included in the storage medium.

In this specification, basically, the processing of the CPU 110 according to the instruction described in the program is shown. That is, the processes such as "judgment", "extraction", "selection", "calculation", "decision", "specification", "acquisition", "acceptance", "control", and "setting" in the following description represent the processing of the CPU 110. The processing by the CPU 110 also includes hardware control via the OS. Note that "acquisition" is used as a concept that does not require a request. That is, the process of receiving the data without the CPU 110 requesting is also included in the concept of "the CPU 110 acquires the data". Further, the "data" in the present specification is represented by a computer-readable bit string. Data having the same substantial meaning and different formats are treated as the same data. The same applies to "information" in the present specification. Further, processing such as "command", "response", and "request" is performed by communicating information indicating "command", "response", "request", and the like. In addition, words such as "command", "response", and "request" may be described in the sense of information itself indicating "command", "response", "request", and the like.

The main process is started in response to the fact that the power switch of the MFP 100 is pressed. In the main process, the CPU 110 first displays the HOME screen 161 on the display 160. FIG. 2A shows an example of the HOME screen 161.

When the "Service" icon 161a in the HOME screen 161 is operated, the CPU 110 displays the service screen 162 on the display 160. FIG. 2B shows an example of the service screen 162. The service screen 162 displays a plurality of selection items including the "Order Supplies" item 162a, the "View Order history (all)" item 162b, and the "Customize history" item 162c.

When the "Order Supplies" item 162a is selected from the service screen 162, the CPU 110 executes a consumables ordering process (see FIG. 5 described later). When the "Customize history" item 162c is selected, the CPU 110 executes a history display item customization process (see FIG. 6 to be described later). When the "View Order history (all)" item 162b is selected, the CPU 110 executes a consumables history display process (see FIG. 7 to be described later). When other items are selected, the CPU 110 executes other processing. After executing each process, the CPU 110 returns the display to the HOME screen 161.

As the printer 130, in the present embodiment, a color printer capable of recording a color image on a sheet by an electrophotographic method is adopted. FIG. 10 shows a procedure of a printing process executed by the CPU 110 using the printer 130. The print process is one process included in the main process. Then, in the printing process, for example, when the user instructs the MFP 100 to read the color image on the document by the scanner 140 and print the color image on the sheet, the scanner 140 prints the color image on the document. It is started in response to transmitting the color image data read and generated to the printer 130. Further, the color image data used in the printing process may be received from the outside of the MFP 100 via, for example, the communication IF 180. Hereinafter, in the description of the procedure of each process, the step is referred to as "S".

In FIG. 10, first, the CPU 110 displays a printing screen (not shown) on the display 160 (S1). Next, the CPU 110 acquires image data (S2) and generates raster data of each color of C (cyan), M (magenta), and Y (yellow) based on the acquired image data (S3). It should be noted that the BK (black) raster data may be included in the generation.

Then, the CPU 110 prints on paper by an electrophotographic method using toner of each color corresponding to the generated raster data of each color (S4). In electrophotographic printing, specifically, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the generated raster data of each color is formed on the outer peripheral surface of each photosensitive drum (an example of a “photoreceptor”) corresponding to each color. By supplying the toner of each color to the outer peripheral surface of the corresponding photosensitive drum, the developer image of each color is carried on the outer peripheral surface of the corresponding photosensitive drum. Then, when a negative transfer current is output to the transfer roller, the developer image supported on the outer peripheral surface of each photosensitive drum is transferred to a sheet nipped by each photosensitive drum and a transport belt (an example of a "transfer body"). That is, it is printed. Most of the deposits such as toner and paper dust adhering to the outer peripheral surface of each photosensitive drum move to the transport belt, so removing the deposits adhering to the transport belt removes the deposits on the outer peripheral surface of each photosensitive drum. It will be removed. Therefore, the deposits adhering to the transport belt are removed. The removed deposits are collected in a waste toner box. Since the specific configurations exemplified by printing in the electrophotographic method are well known, the illustration of each configuration is omitted.

Next, the CPU 110 counts up the total number of prints, the number of times the drum unit is used, and the number of times the belt unit is used stored in the memory 120 (S5). The total number of prints is the total number of prints from the factory shipment of the MFP 100. The number of times each of the drum unit and the belt unit is used may be the total number of times of use since each unit is mounted on the MFP 100, and may be the total number of times of printing since each unit is mounted on the MFP 100. The drum unit is a unit including the photosensitive drum, and is provided for each color, for example. The belt unit is a unit including the above-mentioned conveyor belt. The reason why the number of times each of the drum unit and the belt unit is used is counted in this way is to specify the information regarding each replacement time of the drum unit and the belt unit and display it on the display 160. As a display mode, for example, it is conceivable to display numerical values such as 90%, 80%, and so on as the number of times of use increases, with 100% when each of the drum unit and the belt unit is attached. In addition, it may be replaced in a number of years and months from now. For the display of information regarding the replacement timing of the drum unit and the belt unit, for example, a "consumable replacement timing information display" item is provided in the service screen 162 (FIG. 2B), and the item is selected. Information on the replacement time of each consumable item including the drum unit and the belt unit may be displayed on the display 160 in the above display mode.

Next, the CPU 110 determines whether or not the remaining amount of toner of any color is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value (S6). The toner of each color is contained in the toner cartridge included in the corresponding drum unit. The remaining amount of toner of each color contained in each toner cartridge is detected by a sensor or calculated from the number of prints after mounting each toner cartridge and the amount of toner used. In S6, the CPU 110 determines whether or not the remaining amount of toner of each color thus acquired is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value. Further, the remaining amount of toner of each color acquired in this way is also used for the toner remaining amount display 161b in the HOME screen 161 (FIG. 2A). When an inkjet printer is used as the printer 130, in S6, the CPU 110 determines whether or not the ink remaining amount of any color is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value.

In the determination of S6, when the remaining amount of toner of any color is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value (S6: YES), the CPU 110 displays a warning screen 160a (an example of a “warning screen”) on the display 160 (an example of a “warning screen”). After S7), the process proceeds to S8. FIG. 11 shows an example of the warning screen 160a. On the warning screen 160a, along with the warning message 160a1 "Soon to run out of toner", bars 160a2 to 160a5 indicating the remaining amount of toner of each color are displayed, and the bar of the color (cyan (C) in the illustrated example) indicating the remaining amount of toner is displayed. A warning mark 160a6 is also displayed adjacent to the 160a3. On the other hand, in the determination of S6, when the remaining amount of toner of any color exceeds a predetermined threshold value (S6: NO), the CPU 110 skips S7 and advances the process to S8.

In S8, the CPU 110 displays the HOME screen 161 on the display 160. After that, the CPU 110 ends the printing process. When proceeding from S7 to S8, the CPU 110 may request some confirmation operation by the user while displaying the warning screen 160a, or display the warning screen 160a for a predetermined time without requesting the confirmation operation. After that, the transition to the HOME screen 161 may be performed. Further, when the remaining amount of toner of any color becomes lower than the threshold value further lower than the above-mentioned predetermined threshold value, the CPU 110 may display an error screen before transitioning to the HOME screen 161. As the error screen, for example, instead of the warning message 160a1 in the warning screen 160a, a warning message "Color printing cannot be performed due to out of toner" is displayed, and the other displays 160a2 to 160a may be left as they are.

Further, the drum unit and the belt unit may also have the CPU 110 display a warning screen prompting the replacement on the display 160 when the information regarding the replacement timing becomes equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value. Further, when the information regarding the replacement time becomes lower than the threshold value lower than the predetermined threshold value, the CPU 110 displays an error screen on the display 160 indicating that printing cannot be performed until the drum unit or the belt unit is replaced. May be good.

Further, the waste toner box also needs to be replaced when the inside of the box is filled with the collected deposits. The amount of deposits that can be collected in the waste toner box is detected by a sensor or calculated from the number of prints and the amount of toner used after the waste toner box is installed. For this reason, as with the drum unit and belt unit, the waste toner box also displays numerical values that decrease to 90%, 80%, and so on as the number of uses increases, with 100% when attached. Information on the replacement time can be displayed in the form of a replacement guideline in the years and months from now. Information on the replacement time of the waste toner box is also displayed in the above display mode according to the selection of the "consumables replacement time information display" item provided in the service screen 162 (FIG. 2B). It should be displayed above. Further, as with the drum unit and the belt unit, the waste toner box may display a warning screen prompting replacement and an error screen indicating that printing cannot be performed until the waste toner box is replaced on the display 160. good.

In the present embodiment, the consumables ordering process is executed in response to the selection of the “Order Supplies” item 162a from the service screen 162 (FIG. 2B) as described above, but the present invention is not limited to this. When the warning screen or the error screen is displayed on the display 160, the CPU 110 may execute the consumables ordering process for ordering the consumables that caused the warning screen or the error screen to be displayed. For example, when the warning screen 160a (FIG. 11) is displayed on the display 160, the CPU 110 executes the consumables ordering process, and from the warning screen 160a, the consumables selection screen 163 described below (FIG. 2 (c)). To transition to. The same treatment may be performed on other consumables, specifically, the drum unit, the belt unit, and the waste toner box.

FIG. 5 shows a detailed procedure of the consumables ordering process. In FIG. 5, first, the CPU 110 displays a consumables selection screen 163 (an example of an “ordering screen”) on the display 160 (S10). FIG. 2C shows an example of the consumables selection screen 163. On the consumables selection screen 163, the names of various consumables that can be ordered are displayed in a list format. The numerical value "0" displayed next to the names of various consumables indicates the quantity of consumables to be ordered from now on. On the consumables selection screen 163, "0" is displayed for each consumable, so there is no consumable to be ordered.

Next, when the type of consumable is selected (S12), the CPU 110 determines whether or not to order the selected consumable for the first time because it has never been ordered (S14). In this determination, when placing an order for the first time (S14: YES), the CPU 110 advances the process to S28. On the other hand, in this determination, if an order has already been placed in the past (S14: NO), the CPU 110 determines whether or not the operation for selecting consumables is the first selection operation (S16). In this determination, if the operation for selecting consumables is not the first selection operation (S16: NO), the CPU 110 advances the process to S28. On the other hand, in this determination, when the operation of selecting consumables is the first selection operation (S16: YES), the CPU 110 displays the consumables history information display screen 164 on the display 160 (S18).

FIG. 3A shows an example of the history information display screen 164 of consumables. The color of the consumable history information display screen 164 is "Cyan (C)" when the user selects the consumable name display "Cyan (C)" 163a as the consumable type from the consumable selection screen 163. Display on condition that the toner of "" has been ordered in the past (S14: NO) and that the name display "Cyan (C)" 163a was selected for the first time in this order processing (S16: YES). The screen displayed on 160 is shown. The history information display 164a, the "Yes" button 164b, and the "No" button 164c are mainly displayed on the history information display screen 164 of the consumables. Further, the name display 164d of the consumable item is displayed side by side with the history information display 164a so that the user can see at a glance which consumable item the history information display 164a is the history information.

In the history information display 164a, for example, the consumables order date (“Date”), the remaining consumables quantity (“No. of Units”), the consumables status (“Status”), and the consumables delivery date (Delivery). date) and the replacement date of the consumables (“Replaced date”) are included. Since the history information for displaying the history information display 164a is stored in the memory 120 for each consumable item, the CPU 110 corresponds to the selected consumable item when the type of consumable item is selected. The history information is read from the memory 120 and used for the history information display 164a.

Returning to FIG. 5, when the “Yes” button 164b is operated (S20: YES), the CPU 110 determines whether or not order confirmation is necessary (S22). In S22, the CPU 110 determines whether or not order confirmation is necessary based on the history information for displaying the history information display 164a. Specifically, for example, when the quantity of remaining consumables is "1" or more even though it has not been long since the replacement date of the consumables, or when the status of the consumables is from the order of the consumables to the delivery. In some cases, the CPU 110 determines that order confirmation is necessary. The quantity of remaining consumables is acquired in S128 or S134 of the first status acquisition process described later with reference to FIG. Similarly, the acquisition of the status of the consumable is performed in S128 or S134 of the first status acquisition process, and is also performed in the second status acquisition process described later with reference to FIG.

When order confirmation is required in the determination of S22 (S22: YES), the CPU 110 displays the order confirmation screen 165 (S24). FIG. 3B shows an example of the order confirmation screen 165. On the order confirmation screen 165, the “Yes” button 165b and the “No” button 165c are also displayed together with the confirmation reason display 165a.

Next, when the "Yes" button 165b is operated (S26: YES), the CPU 110 advances the process to S28. On the other hand, when the "No" button 165c is operated (S26: NO), the CPU 110 returns the process to S10.

In S28, the CPU 110 displays the order quantity input screen 166 on the display 160, and accepts the input of the order quantity via the input IF 170. FIG. 3C shows an example of the order quantity input screen 166. The order quantity input screen 166 is provided with an order quantity input field 166a, a numeric keypad 166b, and an OK button 166c. The user can input the order quantity in the order quantity input field 166a by operating the numeric keypad 166b.

Next, when the OK button 166c is operated (S30: YES), the CPU 110 displays the consumables selection screen 163 on the display 160 again (S32).

Next, when the "Start" button 163b is operated (S34: YES), the CPU 110 places an order for the input consumables in the ordered quantity by e-mail to the server 200 (S36), and then processes the consumables ordering process. To finish. As described above, if the CPU 110 is not operated in a state where a valid order quantity (“1” or more) is input to any of the consumables on the consumables selection screen 163, in other words, on the consumables selection screen 163, Unless, for example, "1" is displayed on any of the consumables, the order for the consumable is not instructed.

On the other hand, when the type of consumable is selected on the consumable selection screen 163 (S34: NO), the CPU 110 returns the process to S12.

In this way, in the consumables ordering process, when the type of consumables is selected from the consumables selection screen 163, the consumables history information display screen does not immediately transition from the consumables selection screen 163 to the order quantity input screen 166. After passing through 164 and the order confirmation screen 165 as necessary, the transition to the order quantity input screen 166 is made. This makes it possible to prevent duplicate orders.

On the other hand, when the selected consumable is the first order (S14: YES), the transition from the consumable selection screen 163 to the order quantity input screen 166 without going through the consumable history information display screen 164. I did it. This is because the history information for displaying the history information display 164a in the history information display screen 164 of the consumable is not stored in the memory 120.

Further, even when the consumables selection operation is not the first selection operation (S16: NO), the consumables selection screen 163 transitions to the order quantity input screen 166 without going through the consumables history information display screen 164. I am doing it. Here, when the consumables selection operation is not the first selection operation, for example, the consumables selection screen 163 transitions to the order confirmation screen 165 via the consumables history information display screen 164, and the order confirmation is performed. This is the case where the “No” button 165c is operated on the screen 165 to transition to the consumables selection screen 163 again, and the name display “Cyan (C)” 163a is selected again on the consumables selection screen 163. In this case, if the consumables history information display screen 164 is displayed again, the user will see the consumables history information display screen 164 again even though he / she has already seen the consumables history information display screen 164, which is different from the user's intention. This is because there is a risk of a transition.

In the consumables ordering process of the present embodiment, when the transition from the consumables selection screen 163 to the order quantity input screen 166 without going through the consumables history information display screen 164 is selected as described above. There were cases where the consumables were ordered for the first time (S14: YES) and cases where the consumables selection operation was not the first selection operation (S16: NO). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the user may switch between passing through the consumables history information display screen 164 and not passing through the consumables history information display screen 164. For example, when "Do not go through the consumables history information display screen 164" is set, in any case, the consumables selection screen 163 directly transitions to the order quantity input screen 166.

FIG. 6 shows a detailed procedure of the history display item customization process. In FIG. 6, first, the CPU 110 displays the history display item customization screen 168 on the display 160 (S80). FIG. 4A shows an example of the history display item customization screen 168. The history display item customization screen 168 is for customizing whether or not to display each item included in the entire order history of consumables to be displayed on the all order history display screen 169, which will be described later using FIG. 4 (b). It is a screen. The history display item customization screen 168 is provided with buttons 168a to 168e for switching display / non-display of each item, and a "SAVE" button 168f. Since each item is the same as each item included in the history information display 164a (see FIG. 3A), the description thereof will be omitted. However, even if the item is switched to non-display on the history display item customization screen 168, it is displayed on the history information display 164a. That is, in the history information display 164a, all items are displayed. This is because when the number of consumables ordered in the past is large on the total order history display screen 169, the total order history to be displayed is large, so there are many requests from users who want to shorten the displayed total order history. On the other hand, in the history information display 164a, since the order history for a certain consumable is only displayed, it seems that such a user's request is small. Further, the "SAVE" button 168f is a button for saving the display setting after customization. The history information display 164a may also hide the item switched to non-display on the history display item customization screen 168, similarly to the all order history display screen 169.

Returning to FIG. 6, when the customization target item is selected (S82), the CPU 110 determines whether or not the selected item is a “default” displayed item (S84). In this embodiment, three modes of "default", "show", and "hide" can be adopted as the display / non-display switching setting for each item. The "default" setting shows "display" fixedly and cannot be switched to "hidden".

In the determination of S84, when the selected item is the item displayed as "default" (S84: YES), the CPU 110 ends the history display item customization process. On the other hand, in the judgment of S84, when the selected item is not the item displayed as "default" (S84: NO) and the selected item is the item displayed as "show" (S86: YES), the CPU110. Changes the "show" setting to the "hide" setting (S88) and changes the display on the display 160 from the "show" display to the "hide" display (S90), and then proceeds to the process in S96.

On the other hand, in the judgment of S86, when the selected item is an item displayed as “hide” (S86: NO), the CPU 110 changes the “hide” setting to the “show” setting (S92) and displays 160. After changing the above display from "hide" display to "show" display (S94), the process proceeds to S96.

In S96, when the "SAVE" button 168f is operated (S96: YES), the CPU 110 updates the display setting with the changed display setting (S98), and then ends the history display item customization process. On the other hand, when the "SAVE" button 168f is not operated and the operation of transitioning from the history display item customization screen 168 to another screen is performed (S96: NO), the CPU 110 ends the history display item customization process. In this case, the display setting changed in S88 or S92 returns to the state before the setting change.

In the present embodiment, the "default" setting is fixedly indicating "display", but the present invention is not limited to this, and "non-display" may be fixedly indicated. Further, although the "default" setting is a setting that cannot be changed, the setting is not limited to this, and may be changed to a "hide" setting or a "show" setting. Further, the "default" setting may be eliminated and two modes of "show" setting and "hide" setting may be adopted as the display / non-display switching setting.

FIG. 7 shows a detailed procedure of the consumables history display process. In FIG. 7, first, the CPU 110 determines whether or not there is a consumable item to be displayed in the history (S100). Since the history information of the consumables ordered in the past is stored in the memory 120 for displaying the history information display 164a as described above, in the S100, the CPU 110 stores the history information in the memory 120. By determining whether or not there is a consumable item to be displayed in the history. In the determination of S100, if there is no consumable item to be displayed in the history (S100: NO), the CPU 110 ends the consumable item history display process. On the other hand, in the determination of S100, when there is a consumable item to be displayed in the history (S100: YES), the CPU 110 fixes one consumable item to be displayed in the history first, and has a plurality of items included in the history information for the consumable item. One of them is fixed, and the display setting for that item is acquired from the memory 120 (S102).

Next, if the acquired display setting is not the "hide" setting (S104: NO), that is, if it is the "default" setting or the "show" setting, the CPU 110 has acquired the display content of the item. After (S106), the process proceeds to S108. On the other hand, when the acquired display setting is the "hide" setting (S104: YES), the CPU 110 skips S106 and advances the process to S108.

FIG. 4B shows an example of the all order history display screen 169 displayed on the display 160 by the consumables history display process. The all order history display screen 169 is provided with an all order history display area 169a, a scroll bar 169b, and a "close" button 169c. In the all order history display area 169a, the history information 169a1, 169a2, ... Of all the consumables ordered in the past is displayed for each consumable. The scroll bar 169b is for scrolling the history information of consumables that is not displayed in the all order history display area 169a and displaying it in the all order history display area 169a. The "close" button 169c is a button for closing the all order history display screen 169 and transitioning to another screen.

The items displayed as history information 169a1, 169a2, ... Are items for which the "default" setting and the "show" setting are made as described above. That is, items for which "hide" is set are not displayed. In the above S104, the CPU 110 makes a determination not to acquire the display contents for the item for which the "hide" setting is made.

Returning to FIG. 7, in S108, the CPU 110 determines whether or not the processes of S104 and S106 have been completed for all the items. In this determination, if the item to be processed in S104 and S106 still remains (S108: NO), the CPU 110 returns the process to S102 after selecting the next item (S110). On the other hand, in this determination, when the item for processing the above S104 and S106 does not remain (S108: YES), the CPU 110 determines whether or not the processing of the above S102 to S110 has been completed for all the consumables to be displayed in the history. Judgment (S112). In this determination, if there is still a consumable item to be processed in S102 to S110 (S112: NO), the CPU 110 selects the next consumable item to be displayed in the history (S114), and then returns the process to S102. ..

On the other hand, in the determination of S112, when there is no consumable item to be processed in S102 to S110 (S112: YES), the CPU 110 displays the display content acquired for each consumable item to be displayed in the history (S116). .. As a result, as shown in the all order history display screen 169 of FIG. 4B, the history information 169a1, 169a2, ... Is displayed in the all order history display area 169a. Then, when the "close" button 169c is operated, the CPU 110 ends the consumables history display process.

FIG. 8 shows the procedure of the first status acquisition process. The first status acquisition process is periodically executed after the consumables ordered in S36 of the consumables ordering process (FIG. 5).

In FIG. 8, the CPU 110 first determines whether or not (current status = Exchanged or null) & (previous status = delivered) (S120). Here, in the present embodiment, the status can be any of six states of "null", "Exchanged", "Sent", "Received", "Dispatched", and "Delivered". “Null” indicates that the consumables have not been replaced. “Exchanged” indicates that the consumables have been replaced. “Sent” indicates a state in which a consumables order mail has been sent to the server 200. “Received” indicates that the server 200 has received the order mail. “Dispatched” indicates that consumables have been shipped. “Delivered” indicates that the delivery of consumables has been completed. Then, whether the current status is one of the four states of "Sent", "Received", "Dispatched", and "Delivered" is acquired by the second status acquisition process described later with reference to FIG.

In S120 above, (current status = Exchanged or null) indicates that the status of the consumable to be processed is equal to either the exchanged state or the non-replaced state. ing. (Previous status = Delivered) indicates that the status immediately before the consumable to be processed is the state in which the delivery of the consumable has been completed. Then, in S120, it is determined whether or not both (current status = Exchanged or null) and (previous status = Delivered) are "true". That is, in the judgment of S120, when it is "true" (S120: YES), the consumables to be processed are in a state where delivery has been completed and have been exchanged or have not been exchanged yet. be. In this case, the CPU 110 advances the process to S122. On the other hand, if it is "false" in the determination of S120 (S120: NO), the CPU 110 ends the first status acquisition process after notifying the error (S138).

In S122, the CPU 110 acquires the latest delivery date and order quantity. The latest delivery date may be obtained, for example, by analyzing the email containing "Delivered" that was recently received for the consumables to be processed. The order quantity is also usually stated in this email, so you can get it.

Next, the CPU 110 acquires the number of times the consumables to be processed have been exchanged from the acquired latest delivery date to the present (S124). When the consumables are replaced, the replacement date is stored in the memory 120, so that the CPU 110 counts the replacement dates included between the latest delivery date and the current date to select the consumables to be processed. You can get the number of exchanges.

Next, the CPU 110 determines whether or not the number of replacements of the consumables to be processed is equal to the ordered quantity (S126). In this determination, when the number of exchanges of the consumables to be processed is equal to the ordered quantity (S126: YES), the CPU 110 sets the current status = Exchanged and the remaining consumables quantity = 0 (S128), and further, the processing target. After acquiring the latest replacement date of the consumables (S130), the first status acquisition process is terminated.

On the other hand, in the determination of S126, when the number of exchanges of the consumables to be processed is not equal to the ordered quantity (S126: NO), the CPU 110 calculates the remaining consumables quantity and assigns it to the variable x (S132).

Next, the CPU 110 sets the current status = Exchanged, the remaining consumable quantity = x (S134), and further acquires the latest replacement date of the consumable to be processed (S136), and then performs the first status acquisition process. finish.

In this way, the current status, the remaining consumable quantity, and the latest replacement date acquired by the first status acquisition process are the current status, the remaining consumable quantity, and the latest replacement in the history information of the consumable to be processed by the CPU 110. It will be overwritten and updated on the day.

FIG. 9 shows the procedure of the second status acquisition process. In the second status acquisition process, the consumables ordered by e-mail in S36 of the consumable order process (FIG. 5) are ordered, and after the order is received, until the e-mail containing "Delivered" is received. It is executed regularly.

In FIG. 9, first, the CPU 110 acquires the latest e-mail corresponding to the consumables to be processed (S140), and analyzes the description contents of the acquired e-mail (S142).

Next, the CPU 110 determines whether or not the analyzed description content includes the character string "Sent" (S144). In this determination, if the analyzed description content includes the character string "Sent" (S144: YES), the CPU 110 ends the second status acquisition process after setting the current status = Sent (S146).

On the other hand, in the determination of S144, when the analyzed description content does not include the character string "Sent" (S144: NO), the CPU 110 determines whether or not the analyzed description content includes the character string "Received". Judgment (S148). In this determination, when the analyzed description content includes the character string "Received" (S148: YES), the CPU 110 ends the second status acquisition process after setting the current status = Received (S150).

On the other hand, in the determination of S148, when the analyzed description content does not include the character string "Received" (S148: NO), the CPU 110 determines whether or not the analyzed description content includes the character string "Dispatched". Judgment (S152). In this determination, if the analyzed description content includes the character string "Dispatched" (S152: YES), the CPU 110 ends the second status acquisition process after setting the current status = Dispatched (S154).

On the other hand, in the determination of S152, when the analyzed description content does not include the character string "Dispatched" (S152: NO), the CPU 110 determines whether or not the analyzed description content includes the character string "Delivered". Judgment (S156). In this determination, when the analyzed description content includes the character string "Delivered" (S156: YES), the CPU 110 ends the second status acquisition process after setting the current status = Delivered (S158).

On the other hand, in the determination of S156, if the analyzed description content does not include the character string "Delivered" (S156: NO), the CPU 110 terminates the second status acquisition process after notifying the error (S160).

The current status acquired by the second status acquisition process in this way is overwritten and updated by the CPU 110 with the current status in the history information of the consumables to be processed.

As described above, in the MFP 100 of the present embodiment, historical information including information created based on the latest ordering date for the ordered consumables is displayed in a mode in which the type of the ordered consumables is specified. Since it is displayed on 160, it is possible to prevent duplicate orders of consumables to be ordered.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
(1) In the above embodiment, the MFP 100 has been described as an example of the image processing device, but the image processing device is not limited to the MFP 100, and the image processing device may be a single printer, scanner, or copier.
(2) In the above embodiment, one CPU 110 is used as an example of the controller, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a controller composed of a plurality of CPUs may be used, or a controller including a CPU composed of a plurality of cores may be used. good. Further, it may have a CPU and a dedicated circuit. Examples of the dedicated circuit include ASIC and FPGA.

1 ... Image processing system, 100 ... MFP, 110 ... CPU, 120 ... Memory, 121 ... OS, 122 ... Control program, 130 ... Printer, 140 ... Scanner, 150 ... FAX unit, 160 ... Display, 170 ... Input IF, 180 ... communication IF, 190 ... communication bus, 200 ... server, 300 ... communication network.

Claims (18)

Communication interface and
User interface and
With the display
With the controller
It is a color printing device that performs color printing using consumables of at least one of the three colors of cyan, magenta, and yellow, and consumes the consumables of at least one color according to the color printing. hand,
The controller
Consumables remaining amount display processing that displays information indicating the remaining amount of each of the three colors of consumables on the display, and
A warning screen display process for displaying a warning screen on the display when the remaining amount of any of the three color consumables falls below a predetermined threshold value.
The ordering screen for the consumables of the three colors is displayed on the display, and the communication for ordering the consumables of the type selected from the ordering screen is received via the user interface. An ordering process for ordering the selected type of consumables from an information processing device connected via an interface, and
Historical information indicating the order history of consumables ordered by the order processing, including information created based on the latest order date for the ordered consumables, is ordered by the order processing. History information display processing to be displayed on the display in a mode in which the type of consumables is specified,
To execute,
Color printing equipment. The three-color consumables are the three-color toners.
The color printing device further
Equipped with a replaceable photoconductor,
Color printing is performed by supplying the toners of the three colors to the photoconductor on which the electrostatic latent image is formed, forming a developer image on the photoconductor, and transferring the developer image onto a sheet. It is an electrophotographic color printing device.
The controller
The first replacement time information display process for displaying information on the replacement time of the photoconductor on the display is executed.
In the ordering process, an ordering screen for the photoconductor is displayed on the display, and the communication is received in response to the ordering operation of the photoconductor selected from the ordering screen via the user interface. Ordering the selected photoconductor from an information processing device connected via an interface,
The color printing apparatus according to claim 1. The color printing device further
Equipped with an interchangeable transfer body,
An electrophotographic color printing apparatus that transfers the developer image onto a sheet using the transfer body.
The controller
A second exchange time information display process for displaying information on the exchange time of the transfer body on the display is executed.
In the ordering process, an ordering screen for the transfer body is displayed on the display, and the communication is received in response to the ordering operation of the transfer body selected from the ordering screen via the user interface. Ordering the selected transcript from an information processing device connected via an interface,
The color printing apparatus according to claim 2. The color printing device further
Equipped with a replaceable waste toner box
It is an electrophotographic color printing apparatus that stores deposits adhering to the transfer body in the waste toner box in response to the color printing.
The controller
A third replacement time information display process for displaying information on the replacement time of the waste toner box on the display is executed.
In the ordering process, an ordering screen for the waste toner box is displayed on the display, and an ordering operation for the waste toner box selected from the ordering screen is accepted via the user interface. Ordering the selected waste toner box from an information processing device connected via the communication interface.
The color printing apparatus according to claim 3. The history information includes information created for the ordered consumables based on the most recent order date and order quantity.
The color printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The mode in which the type of consumables ordered by the order processing is specified is a mode including the name of the consumables ordered.
The controller
In the history information display process, as the history information, the name of the ordered consumable and the information created about the ordered consumable based on the latest order date are displayed side by side.
The color printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The mode in which the type of consumables ordered by the ordering process is specified is displayed on condition that the operation for selecting the type of consumables to be ordered is accepted from the user interface.
The controller
In the history information display process, as the ordering target of the plurality of types of consumables, in response to the acceptance of the selection operation of the consumables to be ordered from the plurality of types of consumables from the user interface. Display the history information about the selected consumables,
The color printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The controller
In the history information display process, after displaying the history information about the consumables selected as the ordering target, the ordering screen of the consumables selected as the ordering target is displayed.
The color printing apparatus according to claim 7. The controller
In the history information display process, if the consumables selected as the ordering target have not been ordered in the past, the ordering target is not displayed without displaying the history information of the consumables selected as the ordering target. Display the ordering screen for the consumables selected as
The color printing apparatus according to claim 8. The controller
In the history information display process, after displaying the history information about the consumables selected as the ordering target, the ordering screen of the consumables selected as the ordering target is displayed, and then the user interface is used to display the history information. When the selection operation of selecting the same type of consumables as the consumables selected as the ordering target is accepted again, the history information about the consumables selected as the ordering target is not displayed. Display the ordering screen for the consumables selected as the ordering target.
The color printing apparatus according to claim 7. The controller further
In response to the reception of the display / non-display operation of the history information from the user interface, the first setting process for setting the display / non-display of the history information is executed.
In the history information display process, the history information is displayed when the display is set by the first setting process, and the history information is not displayed when the non-display is set by the setting process.
The color printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10. The controller further
For the consumables ordered, a decision process is executed to determine the order status from the order to the delivery.
In the history information display process, the order status determined by the determination process for the ordered consumable is also displayed as the history information.
The color printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11. The controller
The determination process determines the order status based on the information contained in the emails sent and received for the ordered consumables.
The color printing apparatus according to claim 12. The controller
In the history information display process, the first display mode for displaying the history information of the ordered consumables for the plurality of types of consumables in response to the acceptance of the consumables order history display operation from the user interface. In the second display mode, the history information is displayed for one of the consumables selected as the ordering target in response to the acceptance of the consumables selection operation to be ordered from the user interface. indicate,
The color printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13. The controller
In the history information display process, when the second display mode is displayed, the number of items included in the history information for one of the consumables selected as the order target is displayed in a larger number than the first display mode. do,
The color printing apparatus according to claim 14. The controller
When the display is displayed in the second display mode, the order processing is executed in response to the acceptance of the order operation from the user interface.
The color printing apparatus according to claim 14 or 15. The controller further
A second setting for setting display / non-display of the history information according to the reception of the display / non-display operation of the history information from the user interface for all the consumables that can be displayed in the first display mode. Execute the process and
In the history information display process, when displaying in the first display mode, the history information is displayed for the consumables for which the display is set by the second setting process, and the non-display is set by the second setting process. The history information is not displayed for the consumables that have been used.
The color printing apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 16. A color printing system including a color printing device and an information processing device connected to the color printing device.
The color printing device is
The first communication interface, the user interface, the display, the first controller,
It is a color printing device that performs color printing using consumables of at least one of the three colors of cyan, magenta, and yellow, and consumes the consumables of at least one color according to the color printing. hand,
The first controller is
Consumables remaining amount display processing that displays information indicating the remaining amount of each of the three colors of consumables on the display, and
A warning screen display process for displaying a warning screen on the display when the remaining amount of any of the three color consumables falls below a predetermined threshold value.
The ordering screen for the consumables of the three colors is displayed on the display, and the ordering operation of the consumables of the type selected from the ordering screen is accepted via the user interface. 1. Order processing for ordering consumables related to the ordering operation to an information processing device connected via a communication interface.
Historical information indicating the order history of consumables ordered by the order processing, including information created based on the latest order date for the ordered consumables, is ordered by the order processing. History information display processing to be displayed on the display in a mode in which the type of consumables is specified,
And run
The information processing device is
The second communication interface, the second controller,
Equipped with
The second controller is
A reception process for receiving information on the ordered consumables from the color printing apparatus connected via the second communication interface is executed.
Color printing system.

Images