JP3511560B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fax machine, a copying machine,
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus applied to a scanner or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus generally fetches items of functions usable by the printer into an application or driver on a host and unilaterally instructs the setting of printing conditions of the printer. Alternatively, in a network or Bi-Centro environment, the status of the printer is downloaded and only items that can be set are set. They are,
It can be said that this is a passive setting method for the printer.

Regarding the output, when the printer is a remote place such as a network printer, the output state and the like are grasped by going to the printer.

[0004]

However, when the printer in the above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatus performs output, if the printer on hand is not suitable for large-capacity output or the print quality is not suitable, it is necessary to use an output specialist. You have to bring it to the vendor or install a suitable output device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of easily outsourcing document output to an external output company and facilitating charge management thereof.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus of the present invention is an image forming apparatus which can be connected to a network and can use an html format language,
I / F section for connecting to host computer, RAM for work memory, ROM in which fonts are stored in advance, ROM storing control program for overall operation, CPU for controlling overall operation, customer information management A charge management server having a storage device for controlling the output request from the host computer, and a printer device managed by the charge management server for responding to the output request. It is characterized by performing billing management of the clients.

Further, when the information of the client that has issued the output request cannot be found, it is preferable to be able to access the billing management server and automatically search for the client information.

Further, when the information of the client that has issued the output request cannot be found in the billing management server, it is preferable that the client can be automatically requested for user registration.

It is preferable that the billing information of the client who issued the output request be automatically uploaded to the billing management server on a regular basis. Another aspect of the present invention is a network.
Image forming device that can be connected to the Internet and can use html format language
I / F for connecting to a host computer
Part, RAM for work memory, fonts are stored in advance
ROM, control program for overall operation is stored
Manages ROM, CPU that controls overall operation, and customer information
Storage device, and from the host computer
A billing management service equipped with a controller for managing output requests
Server and billing management server manage output requests
Via the network to the printer device for
Information on the client that is connected and submitted the output request is found
If it is not possible, the client information of the billing management server will be updated.
The client that issued the output request by accessing
It is characterized by performing charge management of .

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1
3 to 3, there is shown an embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a system applied to the image forming apparatus of this embodiment. The system of FIG. 2 is configured by a client side device, an image forming apparatus side device, and a network that connects the respective device groups. For example, hub polling (HU)
B / hub polling) method is used. In the system shown in FIG. 2, the client-side device is composed of a host computer 10 and a printer 20 normally used by the client. The image forming apparatus side device is composed of a billing management server 30, a large-capacity printer 40, a high-precision printer 50, and a color printer 60.

FIG. 1 is a controller 1 applied to a charge management server 30 which constitutes the image forming apparatus side device of FIG.
It is the block diagram which showed the structural example of 00. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a RAM, which is used as a work memory of the CPU 106, an input buffer for input data, a digitizing of an image, and the like. A font ROM 102 is a read-only memory in which font patterns and the like are recorded.

A program ROM 103 is a read-only memory in which a control program for the overall operation of the controller 100 is stored. 104 is the engine I /
F is an interface unit that fetches the status of the engine and communicates print data. 105
Is a network I / F, which is an interface unit for communicating with a host via the network.

Reference numeral 106 denotes a CPU which controls the overall operation of the controller 100. 107 is NVRAM,
It is a non-volatile storage device that stores the contents of mode instructions and the like. Reference numeral 108 denotes a panel device, which is an operation unit for notifying the printer status and setting a mode. 11
A large-capacity storage device 1 such as a hard disk drive is a storage device for managing customer information.

FIG. 3 is a processing flowchart showing an operation example. From the host computer 10 on the network used by the client, one language format, html
Format output request (step S1) is network I / F
Come through 105. In response to this output request, the CPU 10
6 uses the program of the program ROM 103 to search the mass storage device 111 for the billing request information of the client who has made the output request (S2).

If the charge management registration information of the client can be found in the storage device (S2 / YES), the CPU 10
6 uses the program in the program ROM 103 to issue a "print acceptance OK" response to the client through the network I / F 105 (S3). CP
The U 106 accesses the customer management information of the charging management server according to the contents of the program ROM 103, and periodically uploads the charging information of the client (S4).

In the above operation, when the user information of the client cannot be found on the mass storage device 111 (S2 /
No), the CPU 106 accesses the customer management information of the billing management server according to the contents of the program ROM 103 (S5), and extracts the customer information of the client (S6 /
YES), the data is stored in the mass storage device 111 (S7).

In the above operation, when the client user information cannot be found in the customer management information of the billing management server (S6 / NO), CPU 106 causes program ROM 10 to operate.
In accordance with the contents of No. 3, a request for user registration including a payment method of the fee is issued to the client (S8), and if the user agrees to this, registration is performed as a new user in the mass storage device 111 (S9, S10).

[0019]

As is apparent from the above description, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the accounting management server is provided with the controller for managing the output request from the host computer, and the accounting management of the client issuing the output request is performed. To do. Therefore, since the printer itself manages the charge, the printers can be easily shared by different departments, and the amount of hardware investment can be small. Also, it becomes easy to outsource the output.

Further, since the above printer automatically accesses the billing server and updates the user information,
Clients can easily use printers in various places.

Furthermore, since the printer automatically requests user registration, it does not bother the administrator of the charge management server.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a controller applied to a billing management server of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a system applied to the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a processing flowchart showing an operation example.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Host computer 20 printers 30 Billing management server 40 large capacity printer 50 high precision printer 60 color printer 100 controller 101 RAM 102 font ROM 103 program ROM 104 Engine I / F 105 Network I / F 106 CPU 107 NVRAM 108 panel device 111 mass storage device

Front page continuation (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 1/32-1/36 H04N 1/42-1/44 G06F 3/09-3/12 G03G 15/00 102- 306

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. In an image forming apparatus capable of connecting to a network and using an html format language, an I / F section for connecting to a host computer, a RAM for work memory, a ROM in which fonts are stored in advance, and an overall operation A billing management server including a ROM storing a control program, a CPU that controls the overall operation, a storage device that manages customer information, and a controller that manages an output request from the host computer; It has a printer device managed by a server for responding to the output request, and the information of the client who issued the output request cannot be found.
If the client information of the billing management server is
The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the charge management of the client that has issued the output request is performed by performing the access. 2. Information of the client who has issued the output request
If the message cannot be found on the billing management server, the client
Can automatically request user registration
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the that. 3. The section of the client who has issued the output request
Automatically upload money information to the billing management server on a regular basis
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is loaded . 4. It can be connected to a network and is in html format.
In an image forming apparatus capable of using a language, an I / F unit for connecting to a host computer, a work memory
RAM for memory, ROM in which fonts are stored in advance, all
ROM that stores the body movement control program
CPU to control the operation of the customer, memory to manage customer information
Storage device and output request from the host computer
A billing management server having a controller for managing
It is managed by the billing management server and corresponds to the output request.
Printer device for connection via the network.
Is continued, Do can discover client information that has issued the output request is
If the client information of the billing management server is
The client who issued the output request by accessing
An image forming apparatus, which performs charge management of a printer .