Information processing system and information processing program

Abstract

The use of the image forming apparatus will be restricted depending on the user. [Solution] The information processing system 1 obtains the printing settings and usage conditions of the printer 3 from the registered user. When it receives an image formation request from the user, it presents the user with the printer 3 that is permitted for use based on the usage conditions of the printer 3, and restricts the user's use of the selected printer 3 according to the usage conditions set for the selected printer 3.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing system and an information processing program.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a server system capable of communicating with an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus, the server system including: a first receiving unit that receives image data generated by a first application installed in the information processing apparatus; a first transmitting unit that transmits information for starting a second application for causing a user to make print settings used for printing the image data received by the first receiving unit to the information processing apparatus; a second receiving unit that receives the print settings made in the second application; and a print control unit that causes the image forming apparatus to execute printing based on at least the image data received by the first receiving unit and the print settings received by the second receiving unit.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When a user forms an image using an image forming apparatus, in order to suppress unauthorized use, an image formation request may be made to the image forming apparatus through a print management service.

[0005] Among the image forming apparatuses registered in the print management service, there are various image forming apparatuses such as, for example, image forming apparatuses owned by individuals. Therefore, depending on the image forming apparatus registered in the print management service, it may be difficult for users to freely use it.

[0006] The present invention aims to provide an information processing system and an information processing program that can restrict the use of an image forming apparatus according to the user. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The information processing system according to the first embodiment includes a processor, which acquires setting items related to image formation provided by the image forming apparatus and usage conditions for the image forming apparatus from a registered user who registers the image forming apparatus and stores them in a storage device, and when it receives an image formation request from a user who forms an image, it presents to the user an image forming apparatus that the user is permitted to use based on the usage conditions for the image forming apparatus that are stored in advance in the storage device, and performs control to restrict the user's use of the selected image forming apparatus according to the usage conditions set for the image forming apparatus selected from the presented image forming apparatus.

[0008] In the information processing system according to the second embodiment, as a condition for using the image forming apparatus, an upper limit is set for each user for at least one of the number of times the image forming apparatus is used and the number of recording media on which images are formed.

[0009] In the information processing system according to the third embodiment, if, in the information processing system according to the second embodiment, at least one of the number of times the selected image forming apparatus has been used by the user and the number of recording media on which images have been formed has reached the upper limit, the processor inquires with the registered user who registered the selected image forming apparatus whether or not the user can form an image using the selected image forming apparatus.

[0010] The information processing system according to the fourth aspect, in the information processing system according to the third aspect, the processor executes image formation using the selected image forming apparatus if the registered user who registered the selected image forming apparatus consents to the user forming an image using the selected image forming apparatus, while canceling image formation using the selected image forming apparatus if the registered user does not consent to the user forming an image using the selected image forming apparatus.

[0011] The information processing system according to the fifth embodiment, in the information processing system according to the first embodiment, receives a request from a user requesting the pickup of a recording medium on which an image has been formed, and when the user selects an image forming apparatus to use, the processor sends a request notification to the requesting user requesting the pickup of the recording medium on which the image has been formed from the selected image forming apparatus.

[0012] The information processing system according to the sixth embodiment, in the information processing system according to the fifth embodiment, if the requesting user agrees to take back the recording medium on which the image has been formed from the selected image forming apparatus, the processor performs image formation by the selected image forming apparatus, while if the requesting user does not agree to take back the recording medium on which the image has been formed from the selected image forming apparatus, the processor discontinues image formation by the selected image forming apparatus.

[0013] The information processing system according to the seventh embodiment, in the information processing system according to the sixth embodiment, when the requesting user agrees to take back the recording medium on which the image has been formed from the selected image forming apparatus, the processor presents the requesting user with a print screen displaying the settings of the selected image forming apparatus and accepts the requesting user's changes to the settings of the selected image forming apparatus.

[0014] The information processing system according to the eighth aspect, in the information processing system according to the seventh aspect, the processor receives a specification of the image formation time for forming an image from the requesting user through the print screen, and in accordance with the specified image formation time, the selected image forming apparatus performs the formation of the image requested by the user.

[0015] In the information processing system according to the ninth aspect, in the information processing system according to the fifth aspect, the processor performs image formation by the selected image forming apparatus if the requesting user does not respond to the request notification even after a specified time has elapsed.

[0016] In the information processing system according to the tenth embodiment, if, in the information processing system according to the first embodiment, multiple users are pre-configured as priority users who can use the selected image forming apparatus more than the user, the processor queries each of the priority users to determine whether or not the user can perform image formation using the selected image forming apparatus.

[0017] The information processing system according to the 11th embodiment, in the information processing system according to the 10th embodiment, executes image formation by the selected image forming apparatus if a predetermined number of the preferred users consent to image formation by the user using the selected image forming apparatus, while canceling image formation by the selected image forming apparatus if a predetermined number of the preferred users do not consent to image formation by the user using the selected image forming apparatus.

[0018] The information processing program according to the 12th aspect is a program that obtains setting items related to image formation provided by the image forming apparatus and the usage conditions of the image forming apparatus from a registered user who registers the image forming apparatus and stores them in a storage device, and when it receives an image formation request from a user who forms an image, it presents the user with image forming apparatuses that are permitted for use based on the usage conditions of the image forming apparatuses that are previously stored in the storage device, and causes the computer to execute control that restricts the use of the selected image forming apparatus by the user in accordance with the usage conditions set for the selected image forming apparatus from the presented image forming apparatuses. [Effects of the Invention]

[0019] According to the first and twelfth embodiments, the present invention has the effect of providing an information processing system and an information processing program that can restrict the use of an image forming apparatus according to the user.

[0020] According to the second embodiment, there is an effect that the use of the image forming apparatus by a user can be restricted according to the frequency with which the user uses the image forming apparatus.

[0021] According to the third embodiment, it has the effect of notifying the registered user that an image forming request has been made that does not meet the conditions for using the image forming apparatus.

[0022] According to the fourth aspect, even if a user's use of the image forming apparatus does not meet the usage conditions, the registered user can still use the image forming apparatus at their discretion.

[0023] According to the fifth embodiment, there is an effect that can suppress situations in which a recording medium on which an image has been formed is output from an image forming apparatus without anyone's knowledge.

[0024] According to the sixth aspect, there is an effect that it is possible to suppress a recording medium on which an image is formed from being left in the image forming apparatus.

[0025] According to the seventh aspect, there is an effect that it is possible to perform image formation in accordance with the content of the setting item specified by the requesting user.

[0026] According to the eighth aspect, there is an effect that it is possible to cause the image forming apparatus to perform image formation during a period when the requesting user can allocate time for picking up the printed matter.

[0027] According to the ninth aspect, there is an effect that it is possible to perform image formation with the image forming apparatus even when the requesting user has not recognized the request notification.

[0028] According to the tenth aspect, there is an effect that it is possible to prioritize the use of the image forming apparatus by the priority user over the use of the image forming apparatus by the using user.

[0029] According to the eleventh aspect, there is an effect that it is possible to allow the using user to use the image forming apparatus even if not all priority users approve of the use of the image forming apparatus by the using user.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0030] [Figure 1] It is a diagram showing a configuration example of an information processing system. [Figure 2] It is a diagram showing a functional configuration example of a terminal. [Figure 3] It is a diagram showing a functional configuration example of a management server. [Figure 4] It is a diagram showing a main part configuration example of each electrical system of a terminal and a management server. [Figure 5] It is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of registration processing. [Figure 6] It is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the use start process of a printer. [Figure 7]This flowchart shows an example of the process flow for generating printer management information. [Figure 8] This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the printing process. [Figure 9] This is a flowchart showing an example of the post-processing flow. [Figure 10] This flowchart shows an example of the printing process flow in Modification Example 1. [Figure 11] This flowchart shows an example of the printing process flow in Modification Example 2. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0031] This embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings for the same components and processes, and redundant explanations are omitted. The dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for illustrative purposes and may differ from actual ratios.

[0032] Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of the information processing system 1 in this disclosure. The information processing system 1 receives print instructions from a user and provides a platform that performs printing from an image forming apparatus selected by the user from among the pre-registered image forming apparatuses.

[0033] As shown in Figure 1, the information processing system 1 includes a terminal 2, a printer 3, a router 4, and a management server 7. The printer 3 is an example of an image forming apparatus in this disclosure.

[0034] Terminal 2 and printer 3 are installed in various locations. In the example shown in Figure 1, terminal 2 and printer 3 are installed in location A and location B, respectively. There are no restrictions on the installation location of terminal 2 and printer 3. For example, in this disclosure, location A is described as the user's home and location B as the user's workplace. Note that terminal 2 and printer 3 are not necessarily installed in the same location as a pair; there may be locations where only terminal 2 is installed, or locations where only printer 3 is installed. Also, multiple terminals 2 and printers 3 may be installed in the same location.

[0035] Hereafter, terminal 2 located at location A will be referred to as "terminal 2α". Printer 3 located at location A will be referred to as "printer 3A". Router 4 located at location A will be referred to as "router 4A". Also, terminal 2 located at location B will be referred to as "terminal 2β". Printer 3 located at location B will be referred to as "printer 3B". Router 4 located at location B will be referred to as "router 4B". On the other hand, if there is no need to distinguish between terminal 2α and terminal 2β, they will be referred to as "terminal 2". If there is no need to distinguish between printer 3A and printer 3B, they will be referred to as "printer 3". If there is no need to distinguish between router 4A and router 4B, they will be referred to as "router 4".

[0036] Terminal 2α and printer 3A are connected to router 4A via LAN (Local Area Network) 5A established at home. Terminal 2β and printer 3B are connected to router 4B via LAN 5B established at the company. Note that when there is no need to distinguish between LAN 5A and LAN 5B, they will be referred to as "LAN 5".

[0037] Printer 3 does not necessarily need to be connected to terminal 2 via LAN 5; it may be connected to terminal 2 by other communication methods. For example, printer 3 may be connected to terminal 2 via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable or Bluetooth®.

[0038] Routers 4A and 4B are each connected to the management server 7 via the communication line 10. The communication line 10 may be a public network such as the internet, but it may also be a dedicated line.

[0039] Terminal 2 has a print agent (hereinafter referred to as "Agent 6") installed, which is an example of an information processing program in this disclosure.

[0040] Agent 6 has functions for registering printer 3 with the information processing system 1, configuring printer 3, and issuing print commands to printer 3. Agent 6 processes various user commands related to printing in cooperation with the print management service provided by the management server 7. In other words, Agent 6 provides the user with an interface (I / F) to the information processing system 1. To put it another way, various user commands related to printing are notified from Agent 6 to the management server 7 and managed by the management server 7. In this disclosure, "printing" means forming an image on a recording medium such as paper. That is, printing and image formation represent the same concept.

[0041] The management server 7 outputs a list of printers 3 that are pre-registered in the information processing system 1 and are permitted for use by the user who issued the print request to the terminal 2 used by the user who issued the print request. The user selects the printer 3 they wish to use from the list of printers 3 displayed on terminal 2 and requests the management server 7 to print on the selected printer 3.

[0042] In this way, by managing various user instructions regarding printing on the management server 7, the printer 3 is prevented from being used haphazardly by users.

[0043] Figure 2 shows an example of the functional configuration of terminal 2. Terminal 2 includes the following functional units: printer I / F unit 2A, setting management unit 2B, user I / F unit 2C, communication unit 2D, and control unit 2E.

[0044] The printer interface unit 2A provides input / output functionality with printer 3, which is connected to terminal 2 via LAN 5. Specifically, the printer interface unit 2A acquires printer information from printer 3. The printer information includes identification information that uniquely identifies printer 3, and the printing capabilities of printer 3.

[0045] The identification information for printer 3 may include, for example, a combination of the printer's model name and serial number, the printer's IP address, or the printer's MAC address. Hereafter, the identification information for printer 3 will be referred to as the "printer ID." "ID" is an abbreviation for Identification.

[0046] The printing capabilities of printer 3 refer to information that indicates the types of printable content that printer 3 can handle. For example, whether printer 3 only supports black and white printing, or whether it supports both black and white and color printing, is an example of printer 3's printing capabilities. These printing capabilities of printer 3 are represented by the printing settings available to printer 3.

[0047] Print settings include, for example, color mode, print orientation, print accuracy, paper size, print area, and layout. Hereafter, these print settings will simply be referred to as "Printer 3 settings."

[0048] As mentioned above, the color mode is a setting that determines whether to print in black and white or in color.

[0049] The print direction setting determines whether printing is performed along the long edge of the paper or along a direction intersecting the long edge of the paper.

[0050] Print accuracy is a setting that determines the number of dots per inch (dpi) applied to the image being printed. In other words, print accuracy defines the resolution of the printout.

[0051] Paper size refers to the setting that determines the size of the paper used for printing, such as A3 or A4.

[0052] The "print side" setting determines whether printing is performed on one side of the paper or on both sides.

[0053] Layout refers to the setting that determines how many pages of images will be printed on each page of the paper.

[0054] The printer interface unit 2A acquires all configurable settings and values ​​related to image formation from the printer 3 as part of the printer 3's printing capabilities.

[0055] The user interface unit 2C provides input / output functions for the user operating terminal 2. Specifically, the user interface unit 2C receives instructions from the user to terminal 2 and converts the information processed by terminal 2 into a format that the user can understand and provides it to the user.

[0056] The settings management unit 2B sets and manages the printer ID, the settings items for printer 3, and the usage conditions for printer 3.

[0057] The usage conditions for printer 3 are the information set by the user who registers printer 3 with the information processing system 1 (hereinafter referred to as the "registered user"). By registering printer 3 with the information processing system 1, other users of the information processing system 1 will be able to use printer 3. Therefore, the registered user can prevent other users from using the registered printer 3 in an uncontrolled manner by limiting which users can use the printer 3, the available printing capacity, and the number of uses.

[0058] The usage conditions for printer 3 include authorized users and the printing capabilities of printer 3 that are permitted for use by authorized users. An authorized user is a user who is allowed to use the registered printer 3. A registered user may set different printing capabilities of printer 3 for each authorized user. In this disclosure, the printing capabilities of printer 3 permitted for authorized users are described as being set for each authorized user.

[0059] Furthermore, the usage conditions for printer 3 include an upper limit on at least one of the following: the number of times printer 3 can be used, and the cumulative number of sheets of paper that can be printed on printer 3. The number of times printer 3 can be used and the cumulative number of sheets of paper that can be printed are set for each authorized user, but registered users may set them on a per-printer 3 basis. Hereafter, upper limits set to restrict the use of printer 3, such as the number of times printer 3 can be used and the cumulative number of sheets of paper that can be printed, will be collectively referred to as "printing limits."

[0060] Furthermore, registered users may set terminal 2, which can issue print commands to printer 3, as a condition for using printer 3. Also, registered users may set locations where authorized users can use printer 3 as a condition for using printer 3.

[0061] Furthermore, the settings management unit 2B configures the settings items for printer 3 as instructed by the user (hereinafter referred to as "user") who prints from printer 3 using terminal 2.

[0062] The communication unit 2D sends and receives data with the printer 3 connected to LAN 5 and the management server 7 connected to the communication line 10. When the communication unit 2D sends and receives data with the management server 7, it does so via the router 4, which is connected to the communication line 10.

[0063] The control unit 2E controls the printer interface unit 2A, the settings management unit 2B, the user interface unit 2C, and the communication unit 2D, and processes various user instructions related to printing in cooperation with the management server 7.

[0064] Next, we will explain the functions of the management server 7. Figure 3 shows an example of the functional configuration of the management server 7.

[0065] The management server 7 includes a communication unit 7A, a registration unit 7B, a user management unit 7C, a search unit 7D, a control unit 7E, and a printer database (Database:DB) 7F.

[0066] The communication unit 7A transmits and receives data via the communication line 10 to terminals 2 and printer 3, which are connected to LAN 5 established at their respective locations. When the communication unit 7A transmits and receives data with terminals 2 and printer 3, it does so via the router 4.

[0067] The registration unit 7B registers the printer 3 specified by the registered user with the print management service. Information about the registered printer 3 is stored in the printer DB 7F. The printer DB 7F is a storage device that stores information used for the print management service.

[0068] Information regarding printer 3 includes the printer ID, the printing capabilities of printer 3, and the terms of use for printer 3.

[0069] The User Management Unit 7C manages user information for each printer 3, which is referenced by users when they use printer 3. Specifically, it manages the registered user who registered printer 3 and the authorized users who are permitted to use printer 3 for each printer 3. The management of registered users and users is performed using a user ID that uniquely identifies each user. There are no restrictions on the information used for the user ID as long as it uniquely identifies the user. As an example, in this disclosure, the email address assigned to each user is used as the user ID. User information is stored in the printer DB 7F. If an email address is not used as the user ID, the user ID and the user's email address are associated and stored in the printer DB 7F.

[0070] The search unit 7D retrieves information necessary for the management server 7 to provide print management services from the printer database 7F. For example, the search unit 7D uses the user ID of the user to search for printers 3 that the user can use. The search unit 7D also uses the printer ID to search for the registered user of printer 3.

[0071] These terminals 2 and management server 7 are configured using computers 8 and 9, respectively.

[0072] Figure 4 shows examples of the main electrical system configurations for terminal 2, which is configured using computer 8, and management server 7, which is configured using computer 9.

[0073] The computer 8 that constitutes terminal 2 is equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 8A, which is an example of a processor responsible for executing functions. The computer 8 also includes RAM (Random Access Memory) 8B, non-volatile memory 8C, and input / output interface (I / O) 8D, which are used as temporary workspaces for the CPU 8A. The CPU 8A, RAM 8B, non-volatile memory 8C, and I / O 8D are connected to each other via bus 8E.

[0074] Non-volatile memory 8C is an example of a storage device that retains stored information even when the power supplied to it is cut off. For example, semiconductor memory can be used for non-volatile memory 8C, but a hard disk may also be used. Information that needs to be retained even when the power to terminal 2 is cut off, such as agent 6 which makes computer 8 function as terminal 2, is stored in non-volatile memory 8C.

[0075] For example, the communication unit 8F, input unit 8G, and display unit 8H are connected to I / O 8D.

[0076] The communication unit 8F is connected to LAN 5 and includes a communication protocol for sending and receiving data with the printer 3, as well as the management server 7 and other external devices (not shown) connected to the communication line 10 via the router 4.

[0077] The input unit 8G is a device that receives user instructions and notifies the CPU 8A. The input unit 8G includes, for example, buttons, a touch panel, a mouse, a keyboard, and a pointing device.

[0078] The display unit 8H is an example of a display device that displays information processed by the CPU 8A as an image. The display unit 8H includes, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display.

[0079] On the other hand, the computer 9 that constitutes the management server 7 is equipped with a CPU 9A, which is an example of a processor responsible for executing functions. The computer 9 also includes RAM 9B, non-volatile memory 9C, and I / O 9D, which are used as temporary workspaces for the CPU 9A. The CPU 9A, RAM 9B, non-volatile memory 9C, and I / O 9D are connected to each other via bus 9E.

[0080] Non-volatile memory 9C is an example of a storage device that retains stored information even when the power supplied to it is cut off. Information that needs to be retained even when the power to the management server 7 is cut off, such as the management program that enables computer 9 to function as the management server 7, is stored in non-volatile memory 9C. The management program is an example of an information processing program. Furthermore, the printer DB 7F, which stores information necessary for providing print management services, is built in non-volatile memory 9C.

[0081] For example, the communication unit 9F, input unit 9G, and display unit 9H are connected to I / O 9D.

[0082] The communication unit 9F is connected to the communication line 10 and includes a communication protocol for sending and receiving data with other external devices connected to the communication line 10, as well as with terminals 2 and printer 3 connected to LAN 5 via router 4.

[0083] Since the input unit 9G and the display unit 9H have the same functions as the input unit 8G and the display unit 8H, respectively, their descriptions will be omitted.

[0084] Next, we will describe the printing process using information processing system 1.

[0085] Each user of Information Processing System 1 can use Printer 3, which is registered with Information Processing System 1. The registration of Printer 3 with Information Processing System 1 is performed by the registered user.

[0086] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the printer registration process executed by the CPU 8A of terminal 2 when a registration instruction for printer 3 is received from a registered user to the information processing system 1.

[0087] Agent 6, which defines the registration process for printer 3, is pre-stored, for example, in the non-volatile memory 8C of terminal 2. The CPU 8A of terminal 2 reads Agent 6 stored in the non-volatile memory 8C and executes the registration process for printer 3.

[0088] In step S10 of Figure 5, the CPU 8A obtains printer information for printer 3, which is connected to LAN 5 as specified by the registration instruction, via the communication unit 8F. SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is used to obtain printer information. The CPU 8A uses SNMP to obtain printer information from the MIB (Management Information Base) pre-installed on printer 3. The MIB contains information defined, for example, in RFC (Request for Comments) 1213.

[0089] The MIB contains all the settings for printer 3 and the possible values ​​for each setting. The MIB also includes printer 3's IP address and printer name. Therefore, the printer information includes the identification information and printing capabilities of the printer 3 being registered.

[0090] In step S20, CPU 8A obtains the registered user information of the registered user who issued the registration instruction for printer 3. Registered user information is information that indicates who the registered user is. Registered user information includes, for example, the registered user's user ID.

[0091] CPU 8A displays a screen on display unit 8H prompting the user to enter registered user information, and obtains the registered user information by having the registered user enter it through input unit 8G. Alternatively, CPU 8A may obtain the registered user ID entered by the registered user when logging into terminal 2 as registered user information.

[0092] In step S30, CPU 8A displays the settings screen for the printer 3 to be registered on display unit 8H. The settings screen is for the user to set the usage conditions for the printer 3 to be registered.

[0093] When the settings screen is displayed on the display unit 8H, the registered user sets the usage conditions for the printer 3 to be registered via the input unit 8G. Once the settings for the printer 3 to be registered are complete, the registered user notifies the CPU 8A that the settings have been completed, for example, by pressing the "Complete" button displayed on the settings screen.

[0094] Therefore, in step S40, CPU 8A determines whether the registered user has completed setting the usage conditions. If the completion of setting the usage conditions has not been notified, CPU 8A repeatedly executes the determination process in step S40 and monitors whether the registered user has pressed the completion button. On the other hand, if the completion of setting the usage conditions has been notified, the process proceeds to step S50.

[0095] In step S50, CPU 8A generates registration information for registering printer 3 with the information processing system 1. The registration information includes printer information obtained in step S10. The registration information also includes registered user information obtained in step S20. Furthermore, the registration information includes the usage conditions for printer 3 set by the registered user through the settings screen displayed in step S30.

[0096] In step S60, the CPU 8A transmits the registration information generated in step S50 to the management server 7 via the communication unit 8F.

[0097] The CPU 9A of the management server 7, upon receiving the registration information, stores the registration information in the printer DB 7F. In this case, the CPU 9A associates the received registration information with the printer ID used to uniquely identify the printer 3 registered in the information processing system 1. With this, the registration process for printer 3 shown in Figure 5 is completed. In this way, printer 3 is registered in the information processing system 1.

[0098] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the printer 3 activation process executed by the CPU 8A of terminal 2 when terminal 2 receives a print command from a user. The print command is an example of an image formation request in this disclosure. The CPU 8A of terminal 2 reads the agent 6 stored in the non-volatile memory 8C and executes the printer 3 activation process.

[0099] In step S100 of Figure 6, the CPU 8A obtains user information of the user who issued the print command. User information is information that indicates who the user is. User information includes at least the user ID of the user who issued the print command, i.e., the user ID.

[0100] CPU 8A displays a screen on display unit 8H prompting the user to enter user information, and obtains user information by having the user enter it through input unit 8G. Alternatively, CPU 8A may obtain the user ID entered by the user when logging into terminal 2 as user information.

[0101] Information regarding which terminal 2 the user issued the print command from is also an example of user information. Therefore, CPU 8A may include information that identifies the terminal 2 from which the print command was issued, such as the IP address of terminal 2 or the terminal name of terminal 2, which is uniquely set within the information processing system 1, in the user information. The IP address and terminal name of terminal 2 are pre-stored, for example, in non-volatile memory 8C.

[0102] In step S110, the CPU 8A transmits the user information obtained in step S100 to the management server 7 via the communication unit 8F.

[0103] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the process flow for generating printer management information, which is executed by the CPU 9A of the management server 7 when the management server 7 receives user information from terminal 2.

[0104] The management program that defines the process for generating printer management information is pre-stored, for example, in the non-volatile memory 9C of the management server 7. The CPU 9A of the management server 7 reads the management program stored in the non-volatile memory 9C and executes the process for generating printer management information.

[0105] In step S200 of Figure 7, the CPU 9A generates printer list information corresponding to the received user information. The printer list information includes the printer ID and printer name of all printers 3 registered in the information processing system 1 that are permitted to be used by the user represented by the user information.

[0106] CPU9A generates a printer list by searching the printer DB7F for printer 3, which is associated with an authorized user ID included in the user information. Printer 3 included in the printer list is specifically referred to as "Available Printer 3".

[0107] In step S210, CPU 9A retrieves printer setting information for each of the 3 available printers included in the printer list information. The printer setting information represents the printing capabilities that each available printer 3 can provide to the user.

[0108] CPU9A, for example, uses the user ID as a search key to retrieve the printing capabilities that available printer 3 can provide to the user from printer DB7F and obtains them as printer setting item information.

[0109] In step S220, CPU 9A generates printer usage information corresponding to the user information. The printer usage information includes the printer list information generated in step S200 and the printer setting item information obtained in step S210.

[0110] The printer list information for the user, specifically the available printer 3, and the printer settings information for available printer 3 are linked by their respective printer IDs.

[0111] In step S230, the CPU 9A transmits the printer usage information generated in step S220 to terminal 2, the source of the print command, via the communication unit 9F. This completes the printer management information generation process shown in Figure 7.

[0112] In this way, in response to the user information sent to the management server 7 in step S110 of Figure 6, printer usage information is sent from the management server 7 to the terminal 2.

[0113] Therefore, in step S120 of Figure 6, the CPU 8A of terminal 2 determines whether or not it has received printer usage information from the management server 7. If it has not received printer usage information, the CPU 8A repeatedly executes the determination process in step S120 to monitor for the reception of printer usage information. On the other hand, if it has received printer usage information, it proceeds to step S130.

[0114] In step S130, the CPU 8A displays the printer list information included in the printer usage information received from the management server 7 on the display unit 8H. This presents the available printers 3 for the user who issued the print command to the terminal 2.

[0115] The user selects a printer 3 from the available printers 3 presented to them as the printing destination. The printer selected by the user from the available printers 3 is called the "selected printer 3". After selecting printer 3, for example, the user can press the "Selection Complete" button, which will notify the CPU 8A of the selection completion.

[0116] Therefore, in step S140, CPU 8A determines whether the selection of printer 3 has been completed based on whether or not a selection completion notification has been received. If printer 3 is not selected, CPU 8A repeatedly executes the determination process in step S140, allowing the user to monitor the selection status of printer 3. On the other hand, if printer 3 is selected, the process proceeds to step S150.

[0117] In step S150, CPU 8A obtains printer setting information associated with the printer ID of selected printer 3 from the printer usage information. Based on the obtained printer setting information, CPU 8A displays the print screen of selected printer 3 on display unit 8H.

[0118] The print screen is where the user configures the settings for printer 3 so that they can obtain printed documents in their desired format. The printer 3 settings and configurable values ​​displayed on the print screen are limited to the range of settings and values ​​that the user is permitted to configure.

[0119] In other words, a user can only configure the settings of the selected printer 3 that the registered user has permitted, and within the range of values ​​permitted by the registered user. For example, even if the selected printer 3 supports both single-sided and double-sided printing, if the registered user has only permitted the user to set it to single-sided printing, the user can only set the print side setting to single-sided printing. Note that the number of copies to print is also an example of a setting item for printer 3.

[0120] Thus, the use of printer 3 by users is restricted by the usage conditions set by the registered user.

[0121] When the user configures the settings for the selected printer 3 and presses the print button displayed on the print screen, a print start command is sent to CPU 8A.

[0122] Therefore, in step S160, the CPU 8A determines whether or not a print start command has been received for the selected printer 3. If no print start command has been received, the CPU 8A repeatedly executes the determination process in step S160 to monitor the status of the settings for the selected printer 3 made by the user. On the other hand, if a print start command has been received, the process proceeds to step S170.

[0123] In step S170, CPU 8A generates a print request for the selected printer 3. The print request includes, for example, the printer ID of the selected printer 3, the user information of the user, the values ​​of each setting item of the selected printer 3 set through the print screen, and the image data to be printed.

[0124] In step S180, the CPU 8A sends the print request generated in step S170 to the management server 7 via the communication unit 8F. This completes the printer 3 activation process shown in Figure 6.

[0125] Next, the printing process for the selected printer 3 will be described. Figure 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the printing process executed by the CPU 9A of the management server 7 when the management server 7 receives a print request from terminal 2. The CPU 9A of the management server 7 reads the management program stored in the non-volatile memory 9C and executes the printing process.

[0126] As already explained, each printer 3 registered in the information processing system 1 has usage conditions set by the registered user.

[0127] Therefore, in step S300 of Figure 8, the CPU 9A determines whether the print request to the selected printer 3 satisfies the usage conditions for the selected printer 3.

[0128] One of the conditions for using the selected printer 3 is that registered users may have set a limit on the amount of printing they can do. The cumulative value of the condition items for which a printing limit has been set is recorded in the non-volatile memory 9C for each user. Therefore, the CPU 9A obtains the user ID from the user information included in the print request.

[0129] CPU9A refers to the cumulative value of the condition items stored for the user ID and determines whether the cumulative value of the condition items is equal to or greater than the upper limit for printing set for each condition item.

[0130] For example, suppose that the number of times printer 3 has been used and the cumulative number of printable sheets are set as upper limits for printing for selected printer 3. In this situation, if, for example, the number of times the user has used selected printer 3 and the cumulative number of sheets printed by selected printer 3 are both below the upper limits, CPU 9A determines that the conditions for using selected printer 3 are met. On the other hand, if, for example, at least one of the number of times the user has used selected printer 3 and the cumulative number of sheets printed by selected printer 3 is above the upper limit, CPU 9A determines that the conditions for using selected printer 3 are not met.

[0131] Furthermore, the determination of whether the usage conditions are met in step S300 of Figure 8 is not limited to comparison with the upper limit for printing.

[0132] For example, if the usage conditions specify a location where authorized users can issue print commands, CPU 9A determines whether the usage conditions are met based on the authorized user's location information. CPU 9A can obtain the authorized user's location information, for example, from the terminal 2 carried by the authorized user.

[0133] If multiple usage conditions are set for selected printer 3, CPU 9A determines that a print request to selected printer 3 satisfies the usage conditions for selected printer 3 if all usage conditions are met.

[0134] If the usage conditions for the selected printer 3 are met, the process proceeds to step S340. In this case, the print command from the user will be a print command within the permitted range set by the registered user of the selected printer 3. Therefore, in step S340, the CPU 9A transmits the print request received from terminal 2 to the selected printer 3 specified by the print request via the communication unit 9F.

[0135] As a result, the selected printer 3, upon receiving the print request, prints the image data onto the paper according to the print conditions specified by the values ​​of each setting item included in the print request.

[0136] On the other hand, if the determination process in step S300 determines that the print request to selected printer 3 does not meet the usage conditions for selected printer 3, the process proceeds to step S310.

[0137] In this case, since the print request does not meet the usage conditions for selected printer 3, the user should not be able to print using selected printer 3. However, if printing is uniformly rejected when the print request does not meet the usage conditions for selected printer 3, it could lead to inconvenience for the user. Therefore, the information processing system 1 performs processing that takes into account the balance between the circumstances of the registered user who manages printer 3 and the convenience of the user who uses printer 3.

[0138] Specifically, even if a print request does not meet the usage conditions for the selected printer 3, the information processing system 1 will perform printing on the selected printer 3 if it has permission from the registered user who registered the selected printer 3.

[0139] Therefore, in step S310, the CPU 9A sends an inquiry notification to the registered user of the selected printer 3 via the communication unit 9F to inquire about the possibility of printing. The print request includes the printer ID of the selected printer 3. Accordingly, the CPU 9A uses the printer ID of the selected printer 3 as a search key to retrieve the registered user information of the selected printer 3 from the printer DB 7F. Since the registered user information includes the registered user ID, the CPU 9A sends an inquiry notification to the registered user's email address. The inquiry notification includes reference information for the registered user to consider whether or not to allow printing for the user. For example, the inquiry notification includes the name of the user who wishes to print, the values ​​of each setting item of the selected printer 3 set by the user, and the usage conditions set by the registered user.

[0140] Upon receiving an inquiry notification, the registered user refers to the reference information contained in the notification and sends a response to the management server 7 instructing whether or not to allow printing on the selected printer 3. Therefore, in step S320, the CPU 9A determines whether or not it has received a response from the registered user to the inquiry notification. If no response has been received, the determination process in step S320 is repeatedly executed to monitor for the reception of a response. On the other hand, if a response has been received, the process proceeds to step S330.

[0141] In step S330, the CPU 9A determines whether the content of the received response is an acceptance response that permits printing on the selected printer 3. If it is an acceptance response, the process proceeds to step S340, where the CPU 9A transmits the print request received from terminal 2 to the selected printer 3 specified by the print request via the communication unit 9F. As a result, the selected printer 3, upon receiving the print request, prints the image data onto the paper according to the print conditions specified by the values ​​of each setting item included in the print request.

[0142] On the other hand, if the received response in the determination process of step S330 is a rejection response, the process proceeds to step S350. In this case, the registered user of the selected printer 3 has not authorized the user to use the selected printer 3. Therefore, in step S350, the CPU 9A discards the print request received from terminal 2 and cancels the printing. Following the cancellation of printing, the CPU 9A sends a print rejection notification to terminal 2, the source of the print request, via the communication unit 9F, informing it that the print request did not meet the conditions for using the selected printer 3.

[0143] Upon receiving the print rejection notification, terminal 2 notifies the user via display unit 8H that printing to the selected printer 3 is not possible, for example, because the usage conditions are not met. This completes the printing process shown in Figure 8.

[0144] It is also possible that registered users are unaware that they received a notification from management server 7. Furthermore, even if registered users are aware of the notification, they may forget to send a response.

[0145] Therefore, if a registered user does not respond to an inquiry notification even after the first specified time has elapsed, CPU 9A may consider that a rejection response has been received and proceed with subsequent processing. The first specified time for waiting for a response from the registered user can be stored in advance, for example, in non-volatile memory 9C. The first specified time can be changed, for example, by the system administrator of information processing system 1.

[0146] If step S340 is executed to send a print request to the selected printer 3 and the user's image data is printed from the selected printer 3, the management server 7 then proceeds to perform post-processing.

[0147] Figure 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the post-processing flow performed by the CPU 9A of the management server 7. The CPU 9A of the management server 7 reads the management program stored in the non-volatile memory 9C and performs post-processing.

[0148] In post-processing, the cumulative values ​​of condition items for which printing limits are set are updated when printing is performed on selected printer 3.

[0149] Therefore, in step S400, CPU 9A determines whether or not there are usage conditions with an upper limit for the selected printer 3. If there are usage conditions with an upper limit, the process proceeds to step S410.

[0150] In step S410, CPU9A updates the cumulative value of condition items for which upper limits on printing are set. For example, if an upper limit on the amount of paper that can be printed is set, CPU9A updates the cumulative number of pages by adding the number of pages printed by the current print request to the cumulative number of pages printed by the user using the selected printer 3 up to date. Also, for example, if an upper limit on the number of times printer 3 can be used is set, CPU9A updates the cumulative number of uses by adding the number of times the selected printer 3 has been used by the user using the current print request, i.e., 1, to the cumulative number of times the selected printer 3 has been used by the user up to date.

[0151] In step S420, CPU 9A determines whether at least one of the cumulative values ​​of the condition items for which an upper limit is set for printing is equal to or greater than the upper limit. If at least one of the cumulative values ​​of the condition items is equal to or greater than the upper limit, the process proceeds to step S430.

[0152] If at least one of the cumulative values ​​of the condition items exceeds the upper limit, then if the same user who issued the print command this time attempts to print on the same printer 3 again, the printer 3 usage conditions will not be met and the print will be rejected. Therefore, in step S430, the CPU 9A sends an upper limit reached notification to the registered user of the selected printer 3 via the communication unit 9F.

[0153] The limit reached notification is a notification prompting registered users to review their printing limits. The limit reached notification includes, for example, the username of the user whose cumulative value has reached the printing limit, the name of the condition item that reached the limit, and the limit set for that condition item. The method for sending the limit reached notification to registered users is the same as the method for sending the inquiry notification described in step S310 of Figure 8.

[0154] A registered user who receives a notification that the upper limit has been reached sends a response to the management server 7 instructing whether or not to change the upper limit for printing on the selected printer 3. Therefore, in step S440, the CPU 9A determines whether or not it has received a response from the registered user regarding the upper limit notification. If no response has been received, the determination process in step S440 is repeatedly executed to monitor for the reception of a response. On the other hand, if a response has been received, the process proceeds to step S450.

[0155] In step S450, the CPU 9A determines whether the response is an instruction to change the upper limit for printing, i.e., an instruction to change the upper limit. If the response is an instruction to change the upper limit, the process proceeds to step S460.

[0156] In step S460, CPU 9A updates the upper limit of the condition item that has been instructed to be changed to the new upper limit specified by the upper limit change instruction, and then terminates the post-processing shown in Figure 9. In this way, if the user's use of printer 3 causes the user's usage conditions for printer 3 to no longer be met, the management server 7 prompts the registered user to review the usage conditions before the user uses printer 3 again.

[0157] On the other hand, if the determination process in step S400 determines that there are no usage conditions with an upper limit, then the upper limit used as a usage condition does not exist. Therefore, the post-processing shown in Figure 9 is terminated.

[0158] Furthermore, if the determination process in step S420 determines that the cumulative values ​​of all condition items are below the upper limit, the usage conditions for printer 3, which are associated with an upper limit, are met. Therefore, the post-processing shown in Figure 9 is terminated without sending an upper limit notification.

[0159] Furthermore, if the determination process in step S450 determines that the response to the upper limit notification is not an instruction to change the upper limit, there is no need to update the upper limit of the condition item. Therefore, the post-processing shown in Figure 9 is terminated.

[0160] In this manner, the information processing system 1 of this disclosure sets usage conditions for the printer 3. The information processing system 1 prints from the designated printer 3 in response to a print request that satisfies the usage conditions.

[0161] <Example 1> There may be situations where a user needs to print using printer 3, which is located remotely. For example, with the increase in working from home, a user at home might need to print using printer 3 located at their workplace.

[0162] When a user selects printer 3, located at their workplace, as the print destination and issues a print command from their home terminal 2, the printout is output from printer 3 at the workplace. The printout from printer 3 is an example of a recording medium on which an image has been formed. Because these printouts are generated without the knowledge of any users at the workplace, they may sometimes be left unattended on the printer's output tray.

[0163] Therefore, Modification 1 of this disclosure describes an information processing system 1 that can specify a user to pick up printed materials output to a remote printer 3.

[0164] In this disclosure, "distant location" refers to a location where the travel time required for a user who has issued a print command to printer 3 to travel to printer 3 to pick up the printed materials exceeds a predetermined time. The predetermined travel time is, for example, the time required to obtain the printed materials by having another user pick them up, rather than picking them up oneself. Therefore, the predetermined travel time differs for each printer 3 selected as the printing destination.

[0165] In Modification 1, the print request includes the setting of the requesting user. The requesting user is a user that the user requests to pick up the printed materials from printer 3 on behalf of the user. The requesting user is set by the user, for example, through the print screen displayed in step S150 of Figure 6. If the selected printer 3 is a distant printer 3, the user sets the user ID of a user who is thought to be near the selected printer 3 as information representing the requesting user.

[0166] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the print processing flow executed by the CPU 9A of the management server 7 when the management server 7 receives a print request from terminal 2, including the requesting user's settings.

[0167] The printing process shown in Figure 10 differs from that shown in Figure 8 in that steps S312, S322-S328, and S332 have been added. Additionally, step S320 has been replaced by step S320A, and step S330 has been replaced by step S330A. The following explanation will focus on the differences between the printing process shown in Figure 10 and that shown in Figure 8.

[0168] If the determination process in step S300 determines that the conditions for using the selected printer 3 are met, the process proceeds to step S312.

[0169] In step S312, the CPU 9A sends a request notification to the requesting user via the communication unit 9F, requesting the pickup of the printed materials to be printed by the selected printer 3. For example, email is used to send the request notification to the requesting user. The requesting user's email address is obtained from the requesting user's user ID.

[0170] Upon receiving the request notification, the requesting user sends a response to the management server 7 indicating whether or not to accept the pickup of the printed materials from the selected printer 3.

[0171] Therefore, in step S320A, the CPU 9A determines whether or not it has received any response. If no response has been received, the determination process in step S320A is repeatedly executed to monitor for the reception of a response. On the other hand, if any response has been received, the process proceeds to step S322.

[0172] In step S322, the CPU 9A determines whether the received response is a response to an inquiry notification.

[0173] If the determination process in step S322 determines that the received response is not a response to an inquiry notification, i.e., a response to a request notification, the process proceeds to step S324.

[0174] In step S324, CPU 9A determines whether the response to the request notification is an acceptance response acknowledging acceptance of the pickup of the printed materials. If it is an acceptance response, the process proceeds to step S326.

[0175] Since the requesting user has agreed to the pickup of the printed materials from the selected printer 3, in step S326, the CPU 9A displays the print screen for the selected printer 3 on the display unit 8H of the terminal 2 used by the requesting user. The IP address of the terminal 2 used by the requesting user is pre-stored in the printer DB 7F in association with the user ID of each user.

[0176] When the requesting user, whose terminal 2 displays the print screen, presses the print execution button displayed on the print screen, a print start command is sent to the management server 7.

[0177] Therefore, in step S328, the CPU 9A determines whether or not it has received a print start command from the requesting user for the selected printer 3. If a print start command has not been received, the CPU 9A repeatedly executes the determination process in step S328 to monitor whether the requesting user has pressed the print execution button for the selected printer 3. On the other hand, if a print start command has been received, the process proceeds to step S332.

[0178] As already explained, the print screen also allows you to set the values ​​of the settings for selected printer 3. Therefore, the requesting user may change the values ​​of the settings for selected printer 3 as needed. For example, if the number of pages to print is large, the requesting user may change the layout set by the user so that more pages of images can be printed on a single print sheet. The values ​​of the settings set by the requesting user are added to the print start command.

[0179] Therefore, in step S332, the CPU 9A updates the values ​​of each setting item of the selected printer 3 included in the print request to the values ​​set by the requesting user. The CPU 9A also includes a priority instruction in the print request, instructing the selected printer 3 to process it with priority over other print requests. Then, proceeding to step S340, the CPU 9A sends the print request to the selected printer 3 specified in the print request via the communication unit 9F, and the print process shown in Figure 10 is completed.

[0180] When a selected printer 3 receives a print request, if the print request includes a priority instruction, it will process the print request containing the priority instruction first, even if it has already received other print requests. In other words, the information processing system 1 prioritizes processing print requests that request the user to pick up the printed materials. Therefore, when a requesting user goes to the selected printer 3 to pick up their printed materials, they do not have to wait until other users have finished printing.

[0181] On the other hand, if the determination process in step S322 determines that the received response is a response to an inquiry notification, the process proceeds to step S330A.

[0182] In step S330A, CPU9A determines whether the response to the inquiry notification is an acceptance response that permits printing on the selected printer 3. If it is an acceptance response, it means that the registered user has permitted printing on the selected printer 3. Therefore, proceeding to step S312, CPU9A sends a request notification to the requesting user and continues the process described above.

[0183] If the judgment process in step S330A determines that the response is an refusal response, the process proceeds to step S350. As a result, printing from the user-selected printer 3 is canceled.

[0184] Furthermore, if the determination process in step S324 determines that the response to the request notification is a rejection response refusing to pick up the printed materials, the process proceeds to step S350. In other words, if the user does not agree to the pickup of the printed materials requested by the user, the CPU 9A cancels printing from the selected printer 3 by the user.

[0185] Thus, according to the printing process in Modification 1, if a requesting user is set for a print request and the requesting user agrees to pick up the printed materials, the requesting user is instructed to start printing. Therefore, situations where printed materials are output from the selected printer 3 without any user's knowledge, even if the printer 3 is located in a distant location, are prevented. Also, since the printed materials printed by the selected printer 3 are picked up by the requesting user, situations where printed materials are left on the output shelf of the selected printer 3 are prevented. Furthermore, by setting a requesting user, print requests that request the pickup of printed materials from the requesting user are processed preferentially.

[0186] Furthermore, the requesting user can determine the timing of the print execution requested by the user to suit their own convenience. For example, even if a requesting user receives a request to pick up printed materials from a user while they are engaged in a task that requires their immediate attention, they can simply issue a print execution command after completing their current task, allowing them to pick up the printed materials without interrupting their work.

[0187] In Modification 1, an example was described in which printing starts without delay on the selected printer 3 when the requesting user presses the print execution button displayed on the print screen. In contrast, the CPU 9A of the management server 7 may be configured on the print screen to allow the requesting user to select the printing timing. When the requesting user specifies the printing timing and presses the print execution button, the CPU 9A starts the printing requested by the user from the selected printer 3 according to the specified printing timing. Specifically, if the requesting user specifies the printing timing as 30 minutes later, the CPU 9A executes step S340 in Figure 10 30 minutes after the print execution button is pressed and sends the print request to the selected printer 3.

[0188] Furthermore, in Modification 1, the requesting user sends a response to the receiving user's request notification, indicating whether or not they will pick up the printed materials. However, it is possible that the requesting user is unaware that a request notification has been received. Also, even if the requesting user is aware of the request notification, they may forget to send a response to it.

[0189] Therefore, if the requesting user does not respond to the request notification even after the second specified time has elapsed, the CPU 9A may consider that an acceptance response has been received and send the print request to the selected printer 3. In other words, if the requesting user does not respond to the request notification even after the second specified time has elapsed, the CPU 9A will perform the printing requested by the user using the selected printer 3 after the second specified time has elapsed. The second specified time for waiting for a response from the requesting user can be stored in advance, for example, in the non-volatile memory 9C. The second specified time can be changed, for example, by the system administrator of the information processing system 1.

[0190] <Modification 2> Information processing system 1 may have a printer 3 registered that is installed in a user's home and used by a limited group of people with predetermined, fixed members (for example, a group of three or fewer people). In this way, printer 3, which is used by a small number of limited users, has a desire to be used preferentially by the predetermined users who were originally scheduled to use it (hereinafter referred to as "priority users").

[0191] Therefore, Modification 2 of this disclosure describes an information processing system 1 that can prioritize the use of printer 3 by a preferred user when the printer 3 used by the preferred user is selected as the preferred printer 3 by the user. It is assumed that there are multiple preferred users who use printer 3.

[0192] A registered user who registers printer 3, which will be used by the preferred user, with the information processing system 1 sets group information for printer 3 through the settings screen displayed on terminal 2 in step S30 of Figure 5. The group information includes, for example, the user ID of each preferred user.

[0193] Note that printer 3 used by the priority user will be the printer 3 located far away from the user. Therefore, the user will set up a requesting user to pick up the printed materials. The requesting user will be one of the priority users.

[0194] Figure 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the print processing flow executed by the CPU 9A of the management server 7 when the management server 7 receives a print request from terminal 2, including the settings of the requesting user.

[0195] The printing process shown in Figure 11 differs from the printing process shown in Figure 10 in that steps S302 and S304 have been added. Also, step S320A has been replaced by step S320B, and step S324 has been replaced by step S324A.

[0196] If the determination process in step S300 determines that the conditions for using the selected printer 3 are met, the process proceeds to step S302.

[0197] In step S302, CPU 9A determines whether group information is set for the selected printer 3. If group information is not set, the process proceeds to step S312. That is, in the subsequent processing, CPU 9A executes the printing process shown in Modification Example 1.

[0198] On the other hand, if group information is set, the process proceeds to step S304. In step S304, the CPU 9A sends permission request notifications to each preferred user via the communication unit 9F.

[0199] A permission request notification is a notification that asks each of the priority users included in the group information whether or not they are allowed to print using printer 3, which is used by the priority user. The permission request notification includes, for example, the username of the user, the username of the requesting user, and the values ​​of each setting item of the selected printer 3.

[0200] For sending permission request notifications to each preferred user, email or similar methods are used. CPU9A can obtain the email address of each preferred user from the user ID of each preferred user included in the group information set for the selected printer 3.

[0201] In step S304, a permission request notification is sent to each of the preferred users who will be using the selected printer 3.

[0202] Each priority user who receives a permission request notification refers to the information contained in the permission request notification and sends a response to the management server 7 instructing whether or not to allow printing on the selected printer 3. Therefore, in step S320B, the CPU 9A determines whether or not it has received a response from each priority user. If no response has been received from any priority user, the determination process in step S320B is repeatedly executed to monitor for the reception of responses. On the other hand, if responses have been received from all priority users, the process proceeds to step S322.

[0203] Furthermore, if a request notification is sent to the requesting user in step S312, the determination process in step S320B determines whether or not a response to the request notification has been received. Also, if an inquiry notification is sent to a registered user in step S310, the determination process in step S320B determines whether or not a response to the inquiry notification has been received. In other words, step S320B determines whether or not a response to any of the notifications sent in steps S310, S304, or S312 has been received.

[0204] In this case, the response received by the management server 7 is a response to the permission request notification. Therefore, the determination process in step S322 leads to step S324A.

[0205] In step S324A, CPU 9A determines whether the responses from all preferred users are acceptance responses that permit the user to print on selected printer 3. If all responses from preferred users are acceptance responses, the CPU 9A executes the processes from step S326 onward. That is, CPU 9A outputs the user's printout from selected printer 3, which has the group information set.

[0206] On the other hand, if at least one of the preferred users responds with a rejection, the process proceeds to step S350. That is, the CPU 9A discards the user's print request and cancels the printing. Following the cancellation of printing, the CPU 9A sends a print rejection notification to terminal 2, the source of the print request, via the communication unit 9F, informing it that the use of printer 3 has been refused.

[0207] As described above, according to the printing process in Modification 2, if group information is set for the selected printer 3, the selected printer 3 will print the user's documents only if permission to use the selected printer 3 is obtained from all preferred users included in the group information. If a preferred user is using printer 3, the preferred user can use printer 3 preferentially by sending a rejection response to the permission request notification.

[0208] In step S324A of Figure 11, CPU 9A is configured to output the user's printout from the selected printer 3 only if all responses from priority users to the permission request notification are acceptance responses. However, CPU 9A may also output the user's printout from the selected printer 3 only if a specified number of priority users respond with acceptance responses. For example, if the specified number is 2, CPU 9A may output the user's printout from the selected printer 3 even if there are 3 priority users, as long as the responses from 2 priority users are acceptance responses. The specified number is set, for example, by the registered user through the settings screen displayed on terminal 2 when registering printer 3 with the information processing system 1.

[0209] The determination process in step S324A of Figure 11 shown above corresponds to the determination process when the specified number of people is all of the priority users.

[0210] In addition, in Modification 2, as in Modification 1, if the requesting user does not respond to the request notification even after the second specified time has elapsed, the CPU 9A may consider that an acceptance response has been received to the request notification and send the print request to the selected printer 3. Alternatively, the requesting user may specify the print timing from the print screen so that printing is performed after the specified time has elapsed.

[0211] Although one aspect of the information processing system 1 has been described above using embodiments, the disclosed form of the information processing system 1 is merely an example. The form of the information processing system 1 is not limited to the scope described in the embodiments. Various modifications or improvements can be made to the embodiments without departing from the gist of this disclosure. Such modified or improved forms are also included within the technical scope of the disclosure. For example, without departing from the gist of this disclosure, the internal processing order in the printer 3 registration process in Figure 5, the printer 3 usage start process in Figure 6, and the printer management information generation process in Figure 7 may be changed. Also, without departing from the gist of this disclosure, the internal processing order in the printing process in Figures 8, 10, and 11, and the post-processing in Figure 9 may be changed.

[0212] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which each process is implemented in software. However, the equivalent processes shown in the flowchart may also be processed in hardware. In this case, processing speed can be increased compared to when each process is implemented in software.

[0213] In this embodiment, each process is executed on any computer. Furthermore, any computer may execute these processes using a processor as hardware, a program as software, or a combination thereof. In that case, the processor is configured to work in cooperation with the program to execute the various processes in this embodiment, and can function as a unit or means in this embodiment. Also, the execution order of the processes by the processor is not limited to the order described and may be changed as appropriate. Any computer may be a general-purpose computer, a computer designed for a specific purpose, a workstation, or any other system capable of executing each process.

[0214] A processor may consist of one or more hardware components, and the type of hardware is not limited. For example, a processor may consist of hardware such as a CPU, MPU (Micro Processing Unit), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or other programmable logic devices, ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or other dedicated circuits for executing specific processes, GPU (Graphic Processing Unit), or NPU (Neural Processing Unit). Furthermore, the type of hardware may be a combination of different types of hardware. When multiple hardware components are configured to execute one or more processes of a given processor, these multiple hardware components may reside in physically separate devices or in the same device. Also, in any embodiment, the order of each process performed by the processor is not limited to the order described above and may be changed as appropriate. Hardware is composed of electrical circuits (circuitry) that combine circuit elements such as semiconductor elements.

[0215] Furthermore, the program may be firmware or software such as microcode. Alternatively, the program may be, for example, a group of program modules, each function of which may be implemented by a processor configured to perform its respective function. The program may be program code or multiple code segments stored on one or more non-temporary computer-readable media (e.g., storage media or other storage devices). The program may be divided and stored on multiple non-temporary computer-readable media located on physically separate devices. The program code or code segments may represent any combination of procedures, functions, subprograms, routines, subroutines, modules, software packages, classes, or instructions, data structures, or program statements. The program code or code segments may be connected to other code segments or hardware circuits by sending and receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. The program of this application may also be provided as a program product.

[0216] Furthermore, terminal 2 may download agent 6 from an external device via communication unit 8F and store the downloaded agent 6 in non-volatile memory 8C. Also, management server 7 may download a management program from an external device via communication unit 9F and store the downloaded management program in non-volatile memory 9C.

[0217] The following are additional details regarding this embodiment.

[0218] (Note) (((1))) Equipped with a processor, The processor obtains setting items related to image formation provided by the image forming apparatus, and usage conditions for the image forming apparatus from a registered user who registers the image forming apparatus, and stores them in a storage device. When an image formation request is received from a user who is to form an image, the system presents the user with an image forming apparatus that is permitted for use, based on the usage conditions of the image forming apparatus pre-stored in the storage device. The system controls the use of the selected image forming apparatus by the user, in accordance with the usage conditions set for the image forming apparatus selected from the presented image forming apparatuses. Information processing system.

[0219] (((2))) As a condition for using the image forming apparatus, an upper limit is set for each user, which is either the number of times the image forming apparatus is used or the number of recording media on which images are formed. The information processing system described in (((1))).

[0220] (((3))) With respect to the selected image forming apparatus, if at least one of the number of times the user has used the image forming apparatus or the number of recording media on which images have been formed has reached the upper limit, the processor will inquire with the registered user who registered the selected image forming apparatus whether or not the user can perform image forming using the selected image forming apparatus. The information processing system described in (((2))).

[0221] (((4))) The processor, when the registered user who registered the selected image forming apparatus approves the user performing image forming using the selected image forming apparatus, executes image forming using the selected image forming apparatus, If the user does not consent to image formation using the selected image forming apparatus, the image formation using the selected image forming apparatus will be stopped. The information processing system described in (((3))).

[0222] (((5))) The processor receives a request from a user who requests the collection of a recording medium on which an image has been formed. If the user selects an image forming apparatus to be used, a request notification will be sent to the requesting user requesting them to retrieve the recording medium on which the image has been formed from the selected image forming apparatus. An information processing system described in any one of (((1))) to (((4))).

[0223] (((6))) If the requesting user agrees to take back the recording medium on which the image has been formed from the selected image forming apparatus, the processor will perform image formation by the selected image forming apparatus, If the requesting user does not agree to take back the recording medium on which the image has been formed from the selected image forming apparatus, the image formation by the selected image forming apparatus will be stopped. The information processing system described in (((5))).

[0224] (((7))) When the requesting user agrees to take back the recording medium on which the image has been formed from the selected image forming apparatus, the processor presents the requesting user with a print screen displaying the settings of the selected image forming apparatus and accepts the requesting user's changes to the settings of the selected image forming apparatus. The information processing system described in (((6))).

[0225] (((8))) The processor receives a request from the user via the print screen specifying the image formation time for forming the image, and, according to the specified image formation time, performs the formation of the image requested by the user using the selected image forming apparatus. The information processing system described in (((7))).

[0226] (((9))) If the requesting user does not respond to the request notification within a specified time, the processor will perform image formation using the selected image forming apparatus. An information processing system described in any one of (((5))) to (((8))).

[0227] (((10))) If, with respect to the selected image forming apparatus, multiple users are pre-configured as priority users who can use the selected image forming apparatus more readily than the regular users, The processor inquires with each of the preferred users whether or not they can perform image formation using the selected image forming apparatus. An information processing system described in any one of the items (((1))) to (((9))).

[0228] (((11))) The processor executes image formation using the selected image forming apparatus when a predetermined number of the preferred users agree to the user forming an image using the selected image forming apparatus. If a predetermined number of the aforementioned priority users do not consent to image formation by the user using the selected image forming apparatus, the image formation by the selected image forming apparatus will be terminated. The information processing system described in (((10))).

[0229] (((12))) The image forming apparatus provides setting items related to image forming, and the usage conditions of the image forming apparatus, which are obtained from the registered user who registers the image forming apparatus and stored in a storage device. When an image formation request is received from a user who is to form an image, the system presents the user with an image forming apparatus that is permitted for use, based on the usage conditions of the image forming apparatus pre-stored in the storage device. To cause a computer to execute control that restricts the user's use of the selected image forming apparatus according to the usage conditions set for the image forming apparatus selected from the presented image forming apparatus. Information processing program.

[0230] The information processing system relating to (((1))) and the information processing program relating to (((12))) have the effect of providing an information processing system and an information processing program that can restrict the use of an image forming apparatus according to the user.

[0231] According to the information processing system described in (((2))), the system has the effect of being able to restrict the use of the image forming apparatus by users according to the frequency of use by users of the image forming apparatus.

[0232] According to the information processing system in (((3))), it has the effect of notifying registered users that an image forming request has been made that does not meet the conditions for using the image forming apparatus.

[0233] According to the information processing system in (((4))), even if a user does not meet the usage conditions for the image forming apparatus, the registered user can use the image forming apparatus at their discretion.

[0234] The information processing system described in (((5))) has the effect of suppressing situations in which a recording medium on which an image has been formed is output from an image forming apparatus without anyone's knowledge.

[0235] The information processing system relating to (((6))) has the effect of preventing the recording medium on which an image has been formed from being left in the image forming apparatus.

[0236] The information processing system related to (((7))) has the effect of being able to form an image in accordance with the content of the setting items specified by the requesting user.

[0237] According to the information processing system described in (((8))), the effect is that the image forming apparatus can perform image formation during the period when the requesting user has time to pick up the printed materials.

[0238] According to the information processing system described in (((9))), even if the requesting user is unaware of the request notification, the image forming apparatus can perform image formation, which has the effect of enabling image formation.

[0239] According to the information processing system related to (((10))), the effect is that priority can be given to the use of the image forming apparatus by priority users over the use of the image forming apparatus by regular users. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0240] 1. Information Processing System 2(2α, 2β) terminals 2A Printer I / F section 2B Settings management section 2C User Interface Section 2D communication department 2E Control Unit 3 (3A, 3B) Printer 4 (4A, 4B) Routers 5 (5A, 5B) LAN 6 Agents 7. Management Server 7A Communication Department 7B Registration Department 7C User Management Department 7D Search Unit 7E Control section 7F Printer Database 8(9) Computer 8A (9A) CPU 8B (9B) RAM 8C (9C) Non-Volatile Memory 8D (9D) I / O 8E (9E) bus 8F (9F) Communication Unit 8G (9G) Input Unit 8H (9H) Display Unit 10 Communication lines

Claims

1. Equipped with a processor, The processor obtains setting items related to image formation provided by the image forming apparatus, and usage conditions for the image forming apparatus from a registered user who registers the image forming apparatus, and stores them in a storage device. When an image formation request is received from a user who is to form an image, the system presents the user with an image forming apparatus that is permitted for use, based on the usage conditions of the image forming apparatus pre-stored in the storage device. The system controls the use of the selected image forming apparatus by the user, in accordance with the usage conditions set for the image forming apparatus selected from the presented image forming apparatuses. Information processing system.

2. As a condition for using the image forming apparatus, an upper limit is set for each user, which is either the number of times the image forming apparatus is used or the number of recording media on which images are formed. The information processing system according to claim 1.

3. With respect to the selected image forming apparatus, if at least one of the number of times the user has used the image forming apparatus or the number of recording media on which images have been formed has reached the upper limit, the processor will inquire with the registered user who registered the selected image forming apparatus whether or not the user can perform image forming using the selected image forming apparatus. The information processing system according to claim 2.

4. The processor, when the registered user who registered the selected image forming apparatus approves the user performing image forming using the selected image forming apparatus, executes image forming using the selected image forming apparatus, If the user does not consent to image formation using the selected image forming apparatus, the image formation using the selected image forming apparatus will be stopped. The information processing system according to claim 3.

5. The processor receives a request from a user who requests the retrieval of a recording medium on which an image has been formed. If the user selects an image forming apparatus to be used, a request notification will be sent to the requesting user requesting them to retrieve the recording medium on which the image has been formed from the selected image forming apparatus. The information processing system according to claim 1.

6. If the requesting user agrees to take back the recording medium on which the image has been formed from the selected image forming apparatus, the processor will perform image formation by the selected image forming apparatus, If the requesting user does not agree to take back the recording medium on which the image has been formed from the selected image forming apparatus, the image formation by the selected image forming apparatus will be stopped. The information processing system according to claim 5.

7. When the requesting user agrees to take back the recording medium on which the image has been formed from the selected image forming apparatus, the processor presents the requesting user with a print screen displaying the settings of the selected image forming apparatus and accepts the requesting user's changes to the settings of the selected image forming apparatus. The information processing system according to claim 6.

8. The processor receives a request from the user via the print screen specifying the image formation time for forming the image, and, according to the specified image formation time, performs the formation of the image requested by the user using the selected image forming apparatus. The information processing system according to claim 7.

9. If the requesting user does not respond to the request notification within a specified time, the processor will perform image formation using the selected image forming apparatus. The information processing system according to claim 5.

10. If, with respect to the selected image forming apparatus, multiple users are pre-configured as priority users who can use the selected image forming apparatus before other users, The processor inquires with each of the preferred users whether or not they can perform image formation using the selected image forming apparatus. The information processing system according to claim 1.

11. The processor executes image formation using the selected image forming apparatus when a predetermined number of the preferred users agree to the user forming an image using the selected image forming apparatus. If a predetermined number of the aforementioned priority users do not consent to image formation by the user using the selected image forming apparatus, the image formation by the selected image forming apparatus will be terminated. The information processing system according to claim 10.

12. The image forming apparatus provides setting items related to image forming, and the usage conditions of the image forming apparatus, which are obtained from the registered user who registers the image forming apparatus and stored in a storage device. When an image formation request is received from a user who is to form an image, the system presents the user with an image forming apparatus that is permitted for use, based on the usage conditions of the image forming apparatus pre-stored in the storage device. To cause a computer to execute control that restricts the user's use of the selected image forming apparatus according to the usage conditions set for the image forming apparatus selected from the presented image forming apparatus. Information processing program.

Images