Image formation system and image formation program

Abstract

To provide an image formation system and an image formation program, which can improve a possibility of achieving a reduction target of the amount of emitted carbon dioxide when executing an image formation job which does not need to be immediately executed.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus executing an image formation job determines a candidate of schedule time for executing an immediate execution unnecessary job when generation of the immediate execution unnecessary job is instructed as an image formation job which does not need to be immediately executed and determines an emitted amount estimated value as an estimated value of an amount of emitted carbon dioxide when executing the immediate execution unnecessary job at the determined candidate time (S225), and determines a schedule time for the execution of the immediate execution unnecessary job among candidate times when the determined emitted amount estimated value is an upper limit value of the amount of emitted carbon dioxide or below (YES in S226 and S227).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming system and an image forming program for executing an image forming job. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art A known conventional image forming system is an image forming apparatus that limits print conditions that can be set when a total amount of carbon dioxide emissions for a predetermined period of time exceeds an upper limit (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-164486 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the image forming system described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that it does not adequately address the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions when executing an image forming job that does not need to be executed immediately.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide an image forming system and an image forming program that can improve the likelihood of achieving a carbon dioxide emission reduction target when executing an image forming job that does not need to be executed immediately. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The image forming system of the present invention is characterized in that, when an instruction is given to generate a job that does not require immediate execution as an image forming job that does not need to be executed immediately, the system determines candidates for the scheduled time for execution of the job that does not require immediate execution, calculates an emission estimate as an estimate of carbon dioxide emissions when the job that does not require immediate execution is executed at the candidate time, and determines the scheduled time from among the candidate times for which the estimated emission value is equal to or less than an upper limit of carbon dioxide emissions.

[0007] With this configuration, the image forming system of the present invention determines the scheduled time for execution of a job that does not require immediate execution from among candidate scheduled times for which the estimated value of carbon dioxide emissions when the job is executed at the candidate scheduled time for execution of the job, which is an image forming job that does not require immediate execution and is below an upper limit value, thereby improving the likelihood of achieving the carbon dioxide emission reduction target when an image forming job that does not require immediate execution is executed.

[0008] The image forming system of the present invention may, when there are multiple candidate times for which the emission estimated value is equal to or less than the upper limit value, determine the earliest of the candidate times for which the emission estimated value is equal to or less than the upper limit value as the scheduled time.

[0009] With this configuration, when there are multiple candidate scheduled times for which the estimated carbon dioxide emission amount is below the upper limit, the image forming system of the present invention determines the earliest of the candidate scheduled times for which the estimated carbon dioxide emission amount is below the upper limit as the scheduled time for execution of the job that does not require immediate execution, thereby enabling the job that does not require immediate execution to be executed at an early stage at which the carbon dioxide emission reduction target can be achieved.

[0010] The image forming system of the present invention may determine, as the scheduled time, a time of a deadline for execution of the job not requiring immediate execution, when there is no candidate time for which the estimated discharge amount value is equal to or less than the upper limit value.

[0011] With this configuration, the image forming system of the present invention determines the execution deadline time of a job that does not require immediate execution as the scheduled time for execution of the job when there is no candidate scheduled time for which the estimated carbon dioxide emission amount is below the upper limit, thereby reducing the possibility of a situation occurring in which a job that does not require immediate execution is not executed for too long.

[0012] The image forming system of the present invention may accept a specification of an acceptable waiting period as a period during which waiting is permitted until the job that does not require immediate execution is executed, and calculate the execution deadline by adding the acceptable waiting period to the generation time of the job that does not require immediate execution.

[0013] With this configuration, the image forming system of the present invention accepts the specification of the allowable waiting period used to calculate the execution deadline of a job that does not require immediate execution, so that the execution deadline of a job that does not require immediate execution can be set according to the user's preferences.

[0014] The image forming system of the present invention may calculate the execution deadline by adding an allowable waiting period, which is a period of time allowed to wait until the execution of the job that does not require immediate execution, to the generation time of the job that does not require immediate execution, accept a designation of the number of candidates, determine the interval between the candidates that are adjacent in time based on the allowable waiting period and the number of times, and determine the candidate based on the generation time and the interval.

[0015] With this configuration, the image forming system of the present invention accepts a specification of the number of candidate scheduled times used to determine candidates for the scheduled time for execution of jobs that do not require immediate execution, so that the candidates for the scheduled time for execution of jobs that do not require immediate execution can be tailored to the user's preferences.

[0016] The image forming system of the present invention may receive a specification of an interval between the candidates that are adjacent to each other in terms of time, and determine the candidate based on the generation time of the job that does not require immediate execution and the interval.

[0017] With this configuration, the image forming system of the present invention accepts a specification of the interval between candidate scheduled times that are adjacent in time and are used to determine candidate scheduled times for execution of jobs that do not require immediate execution, so that the candidate scheduled times for execution of jobs that do not require immediate execution can be tailored to the user's preferences.

[0018] The image forming system of the present invention may notify the scheduled time to a specific destination.

[0019] With this configuration, when the image forming system of the present invention determines the scheduled time for execution of a job that does not require immediate execution, it notifies a specific destination of the determined scheduled time, thereby allowing the user to be aware of the scheduled time for execution of the job that does not require immediate execution.

[0020] The image forming system of the present invention may, when there are multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution, determine a common scheduled time for the multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution from among the candidate times for which the sum of the estimated values ​​obtained for each of the multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution is less than the sum of the upper limit values ​​of each of the multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution.

[0021] With this configuration, when there are multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution, the image forming system of the present invention determines, as a common scheduled time for the multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution, a candidate scheduled time for which the total of the estimated carbon dioxide emission values ​​obtained for each of the multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution is less than the total of the upper limit carbon dioxide emission values ​​for each of the multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution, thereby improving the likelihood of achieving the carbon dioxide emission reduction target when multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution are executed.

[0022] The image forming system of the present invention may accept specification of reference job determination conditions as determination conditions for a reference job as the job not requiring immediate execution that is used as a criterion for determining the candidate from among the multiple jobs not requiring immediate execution, and determine the reference job in accordance with the reference job determination conditions.

[0023] With this configuration, the image forming system of the present invention accepts specification of reference job determination conditions as determination conditions for a reference job that is a job that does not require immediate execution and that is used as the basis for determining candidate scheduled times for multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution, so that the candidate scheduled times for the execution of jobs that do not require immediate execution can be tailored to the user's preferences.

[0024] In the image forming system of the present invention, it may be possible to specify, as the reference job determination condition, that the last generated job not requiring real-time execution among the plurality of jobs not requiring real-time execution is to be set as the reference job.

[0025] With this configuration, the image forming system of the present invention can specify as a reference job determination condition that the most recently generated job that does not require immediate execution be the reference job, so that candidates for the scheduled time of execution of the job that does not require immediate execution can be made according to the preferences of the user who instructed the generation of the most recently generated job that does not require immediate execution among multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution.

[0026] In the image forming system of the present invention, it may be possible to specify, as the reference job determination condition, that the first generated job not requiring real-time execution among the plurality of jobs not requiring real-time execution is set as the reference job.

[0027] With this configuration, the image forming system of the present invention can specify as a reference job determination condition that the first-generated job that does not require immediate execution be the reference job among multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution, so that candidates for the scheduled time of execution of the job that does not require immediate execution can be made according to the preferences of the user who instructed the generation of the first-generated job that does not require immediate execution among multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution.

[0028] The image forming system of the present invention may be capable of specifying as the reference job determination condition that a job that does not require immediate execution among the multiple jobs that does not require immediate execution, which is specified by identification information of the job that does not require immediate execution, is set as the reference job.

[0029] With this configuration, the image forming system of the present invention can specify as a reference job determination condition that a job that does not require immediate execution, which is specified by identification information among a plurality of jobs that does not require immediate execution, be made the reference job, so that candidates for the scheduled time of execution of the job that does not require immediate execution can be made according to the preferences of the user who has instructed the generation of the job that does not require immediate execution, which is specified by identification information among a plurality of jobs that do not require immediate execution.

[0030] The image forming system of the present invention may accept a specification of the upper limit value.

[0031] With this configuration, the image forming system of the present invention accepts the specification of an upper limit value for carbon dioxide emission, which is used to determine the scheduled time for execution of a job that does not require immediate execution, so that the scheduled time for execution of a job that does not require immediate execution can be tailored to the user's preferences.

[0032] The image forming system of the present invention calculates the estimated emission amount using a carbon dioxide emission estimation model, which is a formula for estimating carbon dioxide emissions, and the settings of the job that does not require immediate execution, and the carbon dioxide emission estimation model is a formula obtained by multiplying a carbon dioxide emission coefficient by a multiple regression equation for calculating an estimated value of power consumption when the image forming system executes the job that does not require immediate execution, and there may be multiple explanatory variables in the carbon dioxide emission estimation model depending on the type of settings of the job that does not require immediate execution.

[0033] With this configuration, the image forming system of the present invention uses a carbon dioxide emission estimation model, which is an equation obtained by multiplying a carbon dioxide emission coefficient by a multiple regression equation that obtains an estimated value of power consumption when a job that does not require immediate execution is executed, and the settings of the job that does not require immediate execution to obtain an estimated value of carbon dioxide emissions when a job that does not require immediate execution is executed, and has multiple explanatory variables depending on the type of settings of the job that does not require immediate execution.This prevents the influence of each explanatory variable on the estimated value of carbon dioxide emissions from being confused, and as a result, the accuracy of the estimated value of carbon dioxide emissions can be improved.

[0034] The image forming program of the present invention is characterized in that, when an instruction is given to generate an image forming job that does not need to be executed immediately, the program causes a computer to perform the following operations: determining a candidate for a scheduled time for execution of the job that does not need to be executed immediately; calculating an estimated emission value as an estimate of carbon dioxide emissions when the job that does not need to be executed immediately is executed at the candidate time; and determining the scheduled time from among the candidate times for which the estimated emission value is equal to or less than an upper limit for carbon dioxide emissions.

[0035] With this configuration, a computer executing the image formation program of the present invention determines the scheduled time for execution of a job that does not require immediate execution from among candidate scheduled times for execution of the job, which is an image formation job that does not require immediate execution, at which the estimated amount of carbon dioxide emissions when the job is executed at the candidate scheduled time is below the upper limit of carbon dioxide emissions, thereby improving the likelihood of achieving the carbon dioxide emission reduction target when an image formation job that does not require immediate execution is executed. Effect of the Invention

[0036] The image forming system and the image forming program of the present invention can improve the possibility of achieving a carbon dioxide emission reduction target when executing an image forming job that does not need to be executed immediately. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0037] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus as an image forming system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram showing an example of initial setting information shown in FIG. 1; [Diagram 3] 2 is a diagram showing an example of job information not requiring immediate execution shown in FIG. 1; FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a diagram showing an example of user management information shown in FIG. 1; [Diagram 5] 2 is a block diagram of an example of a carbon dioxide emission amount estimation model generation system for generating a carbon dioxide emission amount estimation model used by the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 6] 2 is a flowchart of a method for generating a carbon dioxide emission estimation model for use by the image forming device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 when editing the contents of the initial setting information. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an initial setting editing screen displayed in the operation shown in FIG. 7. [Figure 9] 4 is a flowchart of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 when generating an image forming job. [Figure 10] 10 is an example of a job generation instruction screen displayed in the operation shown in FIG. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart of a part of the scheduled time candidate determination process shown in FIG. [Figure 12] 12 is a continuation of the flowchart shown in FIG. 11 . [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart of the scheduled time determination process shown in FIG. [Figure 14] 14 is a flowchart of the emission upper limit value determination process shown in FIG. 13. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart of the scheduled time notification process shown in FIG. [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 when a job not requiring immediate execution is executed. [Figure 17] 1 in a case where one job not requiring real-time execution is generated and executed while another job not requiring real-time execution is not generated. FIG. [Figure 18] 1 when executing the previously generated job before its execution deadline, (a) is a diagram showing a state before the generation of the later generated job of the specific example of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 when, after generating one job that does not require immediate execution, another job that does not require immediate execution is generated before executing the previously generated job, the previously generated job is executed before its execution deadline, (b) is a diagram showing a state after the generation of the later generated job of the specific example of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 when, after generating one job that does not require immediate execution, another job that does not require immediate execution is generated before executing the previously generated job, the previously generated job is executed before its execution deadline, [Figure 19] 1 when executing the previously generated job at its execution deadline time when another job that does not require immediate execution is generated before executing the previously generated job, (a) is a diagram showing a state before the generation of the later generated job among specific examples of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 when executing the previously generated job at its execution deadline time when another job that does not require immediate execution is generated before executing the previously generated job, (b) is a diagram showing a state after the generation of the later generated job among specific examples of the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 when executing the previously generated job at its execution deadline time when another job that does not require immediate execution is generated after generating one job that does not require immediate execution. [Figure 20] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an image forming system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0038] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0039] (First embodiment) First, a configuration of an image forming system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0040] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus 10 serving as an image forming system according to the present embodiment.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 is a computer that includes an operation unit 11 which is an operation device such as a button through which various operations are input, a display unit 12 which is a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) that displays various information, a printer 13 which is a printing device that prints images on a recording medium such as paper, a scanner 14 which is a reading device that reads images from a document, a communication unit 15 which is a communication device that communicates with an external device via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet, or directly by wire or wirelessly without using a network, a fax communication unit 16 which is a fax device that communicates by fax with an external facsimile machine (not shown) via a communication line such as a public telephone line, a memory unit 17 which is a non-volatile memory device such as a semiconductor memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) that stores various information, and a control unit 18 which controls the entire image forming apparatus 10.

[0042] The storage unit 17 can store an image formation job execution program 17a for executing an image formation job (hereinafter referred to as an "image formation job") such as a copy job or a print job. The image formation job execution program 17a may be installed in the image forming apparatus 10 during the manufacturing stage of the image forming apparatus 10, or may be additionally installed in the image forming apparatus 10 from an external storage medium such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, or may be additionally installed in the image forming apparatus 10 from a network.

[0043] The storage unit 17 is capable of storing initial setting information 17b that indicates the contents of initial settings related to the execution of an image forming job.

[0044] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the initial setting information 17b.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 2, the initial setting information 17b includes an upper limit value for the amount of carbon dioxide emission by the image forming apparatus 10 (hereinafter referred to as the "emission limit value"), upper limit value priority information indicating whether or not to preferentially use the initial setting for the emission limit value, candidate determination conditions indicating the conditions for determining candidates for scheduled times for executing an image forming job (hereinafter referred to as "scheduled time candidates"), candidate condition priority information indicating whether or not to preferentially use the initial setting for the candidate determination conditions, reference job determination conditions indicating the conditions for determining an image forming job (hereinafter referred to as the "reference job") that is used as the basis for determining scheduled time candidates when there are multiple image forming jobs that have not yet been executed, and job condition priority information indicating whether or not to preferentially use the initial setting for the reference job determination conditions.

[0046] The candidate determination condition is specified by either the number of schedule time candidates or the interval between schedule time candidates that are adjacent to each other in time.

[0047] The reference job determination condition in the initial setting information 17b may be, for example, a condition that the last generated image formation job among image formation jobs that have not yet been executed is set as the reference job, or a condition that the first generated image formation job among image formation jobs that have not yet been executed is set as the reference job.

[0048] As described later, default values ​​are input to the initial setting information 17b before the contents are edited.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 1, the storage unit 17 can store job information 17c for managing image forming jobs that do not need to be executed immediately (hereinafter, referred to as "jobs not requiring immediate execution").

[0050] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the job information 17c not requiring immediate execution.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 3, the job information 17c not requiring immediate execution includes, for each image formation job, identification information of the image formation job (hereinafter referred to as "job ID"), identification information of the user of the image forming apparatus 10 (hereinafter referred to as "user ID") assigned to the person who instructed the generation of the image formation job, the generation time of the image formation job, the period permitted to wait until the image formation job is executed (hereinafter referred to as the "allowed waiting period"), the scheduled time of execution of the image formation job, the previous scheduled time of execution of the image formation job (hereinafter referred to as the "previous scheduled time"), the upper discharge amount value specified when setting the printing conditions of the image formation job, the candidate determination condition specified when setting the printing conditions of the image formation job, the reference job determination condition indicating which image formation job is to be used as the reference for determining the scheduled time candidate when there are multiple image formation jobs that have not yet been executed, and destination information such as an email address assigned to the person who instructed the generation of the image formation job.

[0052] The allowable waiting period can be specified, for example, between more than 0 hours and less than or equal to 24 hours.

[0053] The condition for determining the reference job in the job information 17c not requiring immediate execution may be, for example, a condition that the last image formation job generated among the image formation jobs not yet executed is set as the reference job, or a condition that the first image formation job generated among the image formation jobs not yet executed is set as the reference job, or a condition that an image formation job specified by the user among the image formation jobs not yet executed is set as the reference job.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 1, the storage unit 17 is capable of storing user management information 17d for managing users.

[0055] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the user management information 17d.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 4, the user management information 17d includes, for each user, a user ID and destination information such as the user's email address.

[0057] 1 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores programs and various data, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that serves as a memory used as a working area for the CPU of the control unit 18. The CPU of the control unit 18 executes programs stored in the storage unit 17 or the ROM of the control unit 18.

[0058] The control unit 18 executes the image formation job execution program 17a to thereby realize an image formation job execution unit 18a that executes an image formation job and an initial setting update unit 18b that updates the contents of the initial setting information 17b.

[0059] The carbon dioxide emission amount estimation model, which is a mathematical formula for the image forming job executing unit 18a to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide emission by the image forming apparatus 10 when the image forming apparatus 10 executes one job, is given by the following formula.

number

[0060] Carbon dioxide emission estimation models are prepared for each type of job.

[0061] In the carbon dioxide emission amount estimation model, the carbon dioxide emission coefficient may change depending on the time when the job is executed.

[0062] In the carbon dioxide emission amount estimation model, the formula in parentheses on the right side is a multiple regression formula (hereinafter referred to as the "power consumption estimation model") that obtains an estimated value of the power consumption when the image forming apparatus 10 executes one job.

[0063] In the carbon dioxide emission estimation model, n is an integer of 2 or more.

[0064] In the carbon dioxide emission estimation model, the explanatory variable x nmay exist according to the type of settings of the target job, for example.

[0065] x n For example, a value according to the number of prints indicating the number of recording media on which images are printed in the target job may be adopted as the print count.

[0066] x n For example, an explanatory variable according to the recording medium size indicating the size of the recording medium on which the image is printed in the target job may be adopted as the explanatory variable. The value of the explanatory variable according to the recording medium size may be determined according to the recording medium size, for example, 5 for A4 size, 2 for A5 size, etc. The value of the explanatory variable according to the recording medium size may be a numerical value proportional to the area of ​​the recording medium size, for example.

[0067] x n For example, a value according to the recording medium type indicating the type of recording medium on which an image is printed in the target job may be adopted as the explanatory variable. The value of the explanatory variable according to the recording medium type may be determined according to the recording medium type, for example, 3 for thick paper, 2 for plain paper, and 1 for thin paper. The value of the explanatory variable according to the recording medium type may be a numerical value proportional to the thickness of the recording medium type, for example. The explanatory variable according to the recording medium type may be provided for each recording medium type. When the explanatory variable according to the recording medium type is provided for each recording medium type, the value of the explanatory variable for each recording medium type may be, for example, 1 when the target recording medium type is specified in the job settings, and 0 when the target recording medium type is not specified in the job settings. For example, when the explanatory variable according to the recording medium type is provided for each recording medium type, the value of the explanatory variable for cardboard may be 1 when cardboard is specified as the recording medium type in the job settings, and 0 when cardboard is not specified as the recording medium type in the job settings.

[0068] x nFor example, a double-sided / single-sided explanatory variable indicating whether double-sided printing or single-sided printing is to be performed in the target job may be adopted as the explanatory variable. The value of the double-sided / single-sided explanatory variable may be, for example, 1 when double-sided printing is specified in the job settings, and 0 when single-sided printing is specified in the job settings.

[0069] x n For example, a variable corresponding to color / monochrome indicating whether color printing or monochrome printing is performed in the target job may be adopted as the explanatory variable. The value of the explanatory variable corresponding to color / monochrome may be, for example, 1 when color is specified in the job settings, and 0 when monochrome is specified in the job settings. The explanatory variable corresponding to color / monochrome may be provided separately for color printing and monochrome printing. When explanatory variables corresponding to color / monochrome are provided separately for color printing and monochrome printing, the value of the explanatory variable for color printing may be, for example, 1 when color printing is specified in the job settings, and 0 when color printing is not specified in the job settings. Similarly, when explanatory variables corresponding to color / monochrome are provided separately for color printing and monochrome printing, the value of the explanatory variable for monochrome printing may be, for example, 1 when monochrome printing is specified in the job settings, and 0 when monochrome printing is not specified in the job settings.

[0070] x nFor example, a value according to aggregation indicating the number of pages printed on one side of the recording medium may be adopted as the explanatory variable according to aggregation. The value of the explanatory variable according to aggregation may be, for example, 8 when "no aggregation" indicating that the number of pages printed on one side of the recording medium is 1 is specified in the job settings, 4 when "2in1" indicating that the number of pages printed on one side of the recording medium is 2 is specified in the job settings, 2 when "4in1" indicating that the number of pages printed on one side of the recording medium is 4 is specified in the job settings, and 1 when "8in1" indicating that the number of pages printed on one side of the recording medium is 8 is specified in the job settings.

[0071] In the case where the number of motors to convey the recording medium varies depending on the position of the medium supply unit to which the recording medium is supplied, for example, the power consumption when the image forming apparatus 10 executes a job varies depending on the position of the medium supply unit to which the recording medium on which the image is printed is supplied, x n As the position of the recording medium, a position corresponding to the position of a medium supply unit to which a recording medium on which an image is printed in the target job is supplied may be adopted.

[0072] In the case where the number of motors to convey the recording medium varies depending on the position of the medium discharge unit to which the recording medium is discharged, for example, the power consumption when the image forming apparatus 10 executes a job varies depending on the position of the medium discharge unit to which the recording medium on which the image is printed is discharged, x n As the printing position, a position corresponding to the position of a medium discharge unit to which a recording medium on which an image is printed in the target job is discharged may be adopted.

[0073] In the case where the image forming apparatus 10 has a function of performing post-processing such as sorting, stapling, punching, folding, etc. on the recording medium on which the image is printed, n As the post-processing time, a post-processing time may be adopted that corresponds to the type of post-processing to be performed on the recording medium on which the image is printed in the target job.

[0074] In the carbon dioxide emission estimation model, the constant term b indicates the total amount of power basically required for the target job. For example, the power basically required for the target job can be the power to raise and maintain the temperature of the fixing roller in printer 13 of image forming apparatus 10 to a specific temperature before printing, the power to stabilize the rotation of the motor that rotates the fixing roller in printer 13 of image forming apparatus 10 before printing, and the power to stabilize the rotation of the motor that rotates the polygon mirror in printer 13 of image forming apparatus 10 before printing.

[0075] Next, a configuration of a carbon dioxide emission estimation model generating system for generating a carbon dioxide emission estimation model will be described.

[0076] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example of a carbon dioxide emission amount estimation model generation system 20 for generating a carbon dioxide emission amount estimation model used by the image forming apparatus 10. As shown in FIG.

[0077] As shown in FIG. 5, the carbon dioxide emission estimation model generation system 20 includes an image forming device 30 that is the same model as the image forming device 10, a power meter 40 that measures the power consumption of the image forming device 30, and an electronic device 50, such as a smartphone or tablet, that stores the power consumption measured by the power meter 40.

[0078] Next, a method for generating a carbon dioxide emission estimation model will be described.

[0079] FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method for generating a carbon dioxide emission estimation model for use by image forming device 10. As shown in FIG.

[0080] 6, the worker collects a large amount of data for generating a power consumption estimation model (S101). Specifically, the worker accumulates data in the electronic device 50 for each job setting, the data correlating the power consumption measured by the power meter 40 when the image forming device 30 executes a job with the settings of the job executed by the image forming device 30.

[0081] When the step of S101 is completed, the worker generates a power consumption estimation model by multiple regression analysis using the data collected in S101 (S102). Specifically, the worker instructs the electronic device 50 to generate a power consumption estimation model by multiple regression analysis using the data collected in S101. Therefore, the electronic device 50 generates a power consumption estimation model by multiple regression analysis using the data collected in S101. The generation of the power consumption estimation model in S102 may be performed by machine learning.

[0082] When the step of S102 is completed, the worker generates a carbon dioxide emission amount estimation model using the power consumption estimation model generated in S102 (S103). Specifically, the worker instructs the electronic device 50 to generate a carbon dioxide emission amount estimation model using the power consumption estimation model generated in S102. Therefore, the electronic device 50 generates a carbon dioxide emission amount estimation model by multiplying the power consumption estimation model generated in S102 by a carbon dioxide emission coefficient.

[0083] The carbon dioxide emission estimation model generated by the method shown in FIG.

[0084] Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described.

[0085] First, the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 when editing the contents of the initial setting information 17b will be described.

[0086] A user can instruct the image forming device 10 to display a screen for editing the contents of the initial setting information 17b (hereinafter referred to as the "initial setting editing screen") via the operation unit 11. A user who can instruct the image forming device 10 to display the initial setting editing screen is, for example, an administrator of the image forming device 10.

[0087] When an instruction to display the initial setting editing screen is given, the initial setting update unit 18b executes the operation shown in FIG.

[0088] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 when editing the contents of the initial setting information 17b.

[0089] As shown in FIG. 7, the initial setting update unit 18b displays an initial setting edit screen 60 (see FIG. 8) on the display unit 12 (S131).

[0090] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the initial setting editing screen 60. As shown in FIG.

[0091] As shown in Figure 8, the initial setting editing screen 60 includes a spin box 61 for specifying a specific emission limit value, a check box 62 for specifying that the initial setting for the emission limit value is to be used preferentially, an area 63 for specifying candidate determination conditions, a check box 64 for specifying that the initial setting for the candidate determination conditions is to be used preferentially, an area 65 for specifying standard job determination conditions, a check box 66 for specifying that the initial setting for the standard job determination conditions is to be used preferentially, a cancel button 67a for canceling the editing of the contents of the initial setting information 17b, and an update button 67b for instructing the updating of the contents of the initial setting information 17b.

[0092] The area 63 includes a radio button 63a for selecting that the candidate determination condition is specified by the number of times, a radio button 63b for selecting that the candidate determination condition is specified by the interval, a spin box 63c for specifically specifying the number of times as the candidate determination condition, and a spin box 63d for specifically specifying the interval as the candidate determination condition. Only one of the radio buttons 63a and 63b is always selected. In the spin box 63c, the number of times can be specified as 2 or more times.

[0093] The area 65 includes a radio button 65a for selecting the image formation job that was generated last among the image formation jobs that have not yet been executed as the reference job, and a radio button 65b for selecting the image formation job that was generated first among the image formation jobs that have not yet been executed as the reference job. Only one of the radio buttons 65a and 65b is always selected.

[0094] As shown in FIG. 7, when the process of S131 ends, the initial setting update unit 18b determines whether or not the cancel button 67a has been pressed (S132).

[0095] If the initial setting update unit 18b determines in S132 that the cancel button 67a has not been pressed, it determines whether or not the update button 67b has been pressed (S133).

[0096] If the initial setting update unit 18b determines in S133 that the update button 67b has not been pressed, it executes the process of S132.

[0097] If the initial setting update unit 18b determines in S132 that the cancel button 67a has been pressed, it terminates the display of the initial setting edit screen 60 on the display unit 12 (S134), and ends the operation shown in FIG.

[0098] When the initial setting update unit 18b determines in S133 that the update button 67b has been pressed, it ends the display of the initial setting edit screen 60 on the display unit 12 (S135).

[0099] When the processing of S135 is completed, the initial setting update unit 18b updates the contents of the initial setting information 17b with the contents specified on the initial setting editing screen 60 at the time the update button 67b was pressed (S136), and terminates the operation shown in Figure 7.

[0100] In the above, an example in which the user edits the contents of the initial setting information 17b via the operation unit 11 has been described. However, the user can also edit the contents of the initial setting information 17b via a computer external to the image forming device 10. When the user edits the contents of the initial setting information 17b via a computer external to the image forming device 10, the initial setting editing screen 60 is displayed on the display unit of this computer. When the user edits the contents of the initial setting information 17b via a computer external to the image forming device 10, the initial setting update unit 18b may provide a Web page of the initial setting editing screen 60 that is accessible from a computer external to the image forming device 10. When the user edits the contents of the initial setting information 17b via a computer external to the image forming device 10, software installed on the computer external to the image forming device 10 may provide the initial setting editing screen 60.

[0101] Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 when generating an image forming job will be described.

[0102] A user can instruct the image forming apparatus 10 via the operation unit 11 to display a screen for instructing the image forming apparatus 10 to generate an image formation job (hereinafter, referred to as a "job generation instruction screen").

[0103] When an instruction to display the job generation instruction screen is given, the image formation job executing section 18a executes the operation shown in FIG.

[0104] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 when an image forming job is generated.

[0105] As shown in FIG. 9, the image formation job executing section 18a displays a job generation instruction screen 70 (see FIG. 10) on the display section 12 (S161).

[0106] FIG. 10 is an example of the job generation instruction screen 70.

[0107] A job generation instruction screen 70 shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the display unit 12 of the image forming apparatus 10 or on a display unit of a computer external to the image forming apparatus 10.

[0108] As shown in FIG. 10, the job generation instruction screen 70 includes an area 71 for specifying settings for the image formation job, a check box 72 for specifying that the job does not require immediate execution, a spin box 73 for specifying an acceptable waiting period, an area 74 for specifying an upper discharge amount value, an area 75 for specifying candidate determination conditions, an area 76 for specifying standard job determination conditions, a text box 77 for specifying user destination information, a cancel button 78a for canceling the generation of the image formation job, and a print button 78b for instructing the generation of the image formation job.

[0109] Area 71 includes a spin box 71a for specifying the number of copies to print, a drop-down list 71b for specifying the recording medium size, a drop-down list 71c for specifying the recording medium type, a drop-down list 71d for specifying double-sided / single-sided, and a drop-down list 71e for specifying color / monochrome.

[0110] An integer equal to or greater than 1 is entered into the spin box 73 .

[0111] The area 74 includes a check box 74a for enabling the specification of the emission upper limit value, and a spin box 74b for specifically specifying the emission upper limit value.

[0112] The area 75 includes a check box 75a for enabling the designation of the candidate determination condition, a radio button 75b for selecting that the candidate determination condition is designated by the number of times, a radio button 75c for selecting that the candidate determination condition is designated by the interval, a spin box 75d for specifically designating the number of times as the candidate determination condition, and a spin box 75e for specifically designating the interval as the candidate determination condition. Only one of the radio buttons 75b and 75c is always selected. In the spin box 75d, the number of times can be designated as 2 or more times.

[0113] The area 76 includes a check box 76a for validating the designation of the reference job determination condition, a radio button 76b for selecting the image formation job generated last among the image formation jobs not yet executed as the reference job, a radio button 76c for selecting the image formation job generated first among the image formation jobs not yet executed as the reference job, a radio button 76d for selecting the image formation job designated by the user among the image formation jobs not yet executed as the reference job, and a drop-down list 76e for designating any one of the image formation jobs not yet executed. Only one of the radio buttons 76b, 76c, and 76d is always selected. The image formation jobs displayed in the drop-down list 76e are displayed by job ID. The image formation jobs displayed in the drop-down list 76e are notified by the image formation job execution unit 18a.

[0114] As shown in FIG. 9, when the process of S161 ends, the image formation job executing section 18a judges whether or not the cancel button 78a has been pressed (S162).

[0115] If the image formation job executing section 18a determines in S162 that the cancel button 78a has not been pressed, it determines whether or not the print button 78b has been pressed (S163).

[0116] If the image formation job executing section 18a determines in S163 that the print button 78b has not been pressed, it executes the process of S162.

[0117] When the image formation job executing section 18a determines in S162 that the cancel button 78a has been pressed, it terminates the display of the job generation instruction screen 70 on the display section 12 (S164) and ends the operation shown in FIG.

[0118] When the image formation job executing section 18a determines in S163 that the print button 78b has been pressed, it ends the display of the job generation instruction screen 70 on the display section 12 (S165).

[0119] When the process of S165 ends, the image formation job executing unit 18a generates an image formation job (hereinafter referred to as the "latest job") with the settings specified in the area 71 of the job generation instruction screen 70 at the time when the print button 78b was pressed (S166). When the person who instructed the generation of the latest job is logged in to the image forming apparatus 10, the image formation job executing unit 18a associates the user ID of the person who instructed the generation of the latest job with the latest job.

[0120] When the process of S166 is completed, the image formation job executing unit 18a judges whether the latest job is an image formation job that needs to be executed immediately (hereinafter referred to as a "job requiring immediate execution") or a job not requiring immediate execution (S167). If the check box 72 is not checked on the job generation instruction screen 70 at the time the print button 78b is pressed, the image formation job executing unit 18a judges in S167 that the latest job is a job requiring immediate execution. On the other hand, if the check box 72 is checked on the job generation instruction screen 70 at the time the print button 78b is pressed, the image formation job executing unit 18a judges in S167 that the latest job is a job not requiring immediate execution.

[0121] When the image formation job executing section 18a determines in S167 that the latest job is a job requiring immediate execution, it executes the latest job generated in S166 (S168) and ends the operation shown in FIG.

[0122] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S167 that the latest job is a job that does not require immediate execution, it writes the time indicated as the scheduled time in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution to the previous scheduled time in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution for each of the image formation jobs in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution (S169).

[0123] When the process of S169 is completed, the image formation job executing section 18a deletes the scheduled times of all image formation jobs in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution (S170).

[0124] When the process of S170 is completed, the image formation job executing section 18a generates a record of the latest job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution (S171).

[0125] When the processing of S171 is completed, the image formation job execution unit 18a records in the job information 17c for jobs not requiring immediate execution (S172) the job ID of the latest job, the user ID of the person who instructed the creation of the latest job, the creation time of the latest job, and the allowable waiting period for the latest job that was specified on the job creation instruction screen 70 at the time the print button 78b was pressed.

[0126] When the processing of S172 is completed, the image formation job executing unit 18a determines whether or not at least one of the discharge amount upper limit value, the candidate determination conditions, the reference job determination conditions, and the destination information was specified on the job generation instruction screen 70 at the time the print button 78b was pressed (S173).

[0127] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S173 that at least one of the discharge amount upper limit value, the candidate determination conditions, the reference job determination conditions, and the destination information was specified on the job generation instruction screen 70 at the time the print button 78b was pressed, it records in the job information 17c for jobs not requiring immediate execution, which of the discharge amount upper limit value, the candidate determination conditions, the reference job determination conditions, and the destination information was specified on the job generation instruction screen 70 at the time the print button 78b was pressed, as information for the latest job (S174).

[0128] When the image formation job execution unit 18a determines in S173 that none of the discharge amount upper limit value, the candidate determination condition, the reference job determination condition, and the destination information is specified on the job generation instruction screen 70 at the time the print button 78b is pressed, or when the process of S174 ends, the image formation job execution unit 18a calculates the execution deadlines of all the image formation jobs indicated in the immediate execution unnecessary job information 17c (S175). Here, the image formation job execution unit 18a calculates the execution deadlines by adding the allowable waiting period indicated in the immediate execution unnecessary job information 17c to the generation time indicated in the immediate execution unnecessary job information 17c. For example, the execution deadline of an image formation job whose generation time is 11:15 on June 1, 2023 and whose allowable waiting period is 24 hours is 11:15 on June 2, 2023.

[0129] When the process of S175 is completed, the image formation job executing section 18a executes a scheduled time candidate determination process for determining a scheduled time candidate (S176).

[0130] Fig. 11 is a flowchart of a part of the scheduled time candidate determination process shown in Fig. 9. Fig. 12 is a flowchart continuing from the flowchart shown in Fig. 11.

[0131] As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the image formation job executing section 18a judges whether or not there are a plurality of image formation jobs indicated in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution (S191).

[0132] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S191 that there are no multiple image formation jobs indicated in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution, it determines whether or not the candidate condition priority information in the initial setting information 17b indicates that the initial settings of the candidate determination conditions are to be used preferentially (S192).

[0133] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S192 that the candidate condition priority information in the initial setting information 17b does not indicate that the initial settings of the candidate determination conditions are to be preferentially used, it determines whether or not candidate determination conditions for the latest job exist in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution (S193).

[0134] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S192 that the candidate condition priority information in the initial setting information 17b indicates that the initial settings of the candidate determination conditions are to be used preferentially, or determines in S193 that there are no candidate determination conditions for the latest job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution, it determines whether the candidate determination conditions in the initial setting information 17b, i.e., the initial settings of the candidate determination conditions, are specified by either the number of times or the interval (S194).

[0135] When the image formation job execution unit 18a determines in S194 that the candidate determination condition in the initial setting information 17b is specified by the number of times, it calculates the interval between scheduled time candidates that are adjacent to each other in time by dividing the allowable waiting period of the latest job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution by a numerical value obtained by subtracting 1 from the number of times specified in the candidate determination condition in the initial setting information 17b (S195).

[0136] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S194 that the candidate determination condition in the initial setting information 17b is specified as an interval, or when the process of S195 is completed, the image formation job executing unit 18a determines the scheduled time candidate of the latest job at the interval specified in the candidate determination condition in the initial setting information 17b or calculated in S195, based on the generation time of the latest job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution (S196). Here, the image formation job executing unit 18a does not include the time after the execution deadline calculated in S175 in the scheduled time candidates. For example, if the generation time of the latest job in job information 17c that does not require immediate execution is 11:15 on June 1, 2023, which is specified in the initial setting of the candidate determination conditions, or the interval calculated in S195 is one hour and the execution deadline calculated in S175 is 15:15 on June 1, 2023, the scheduled time candidates are five: 11:15 on June 1, 2023, 12:15 on June 1, 2023, 13:15 on June 1, 2023, 14:15 on June 1, 2023, and 15:15 on June 1, 2023.

[0137] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S193 that the candidate determination condition for the latest job exists in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution, it determines whether the candidate determination condition for the latest job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution is specified by the number of times or the interval (S197).

[0138] When the image formation job execution unit 18a determines in S197 that the candidate determination conditions for the latest job are specified by the number of times, it calculates the interval between scheduled time candidates that are adjacent to each other in time by dividing the allowable waiting period for the latest job in the job information 17c for jobs not requiring immediate execution by a numerical value obtained by subtracting 1 from the number of times specified in the candidate determination conditions for the latest job (S198).

[0139] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S197 that the candidate determination condition of the latest job is specified by an interval or when the process of S198 is completed, the image formation job executing unit 18a determines the scheduled time candidate of the latest job at the interval specified in the candidate determination condition of the latest job in the job information 17c not requiring immediate execution or calculated in S198 based on the generation time of the latest job in the job information 17c not requiring immediate execution (S199). Here, the image formation job executing unit 18a does not include the time after the execution deadline calculated in S175 in the scheduled time candidate. For example, if the generation time of the latest job in job information 17c that does not require immediate execution is 11:15 on June 1, 2023, and this is specified in the candidate determination conditions of the latest job, or if the interval calculated in S198 is two hours and the execution deadline calculated in S175 is 15:15 on June 1, 2023, the scheduled time candidates are 11:15 on June 1, 2023, 13:15 on June 1, 2023, and 15:15 on June 1, 2023.

[0140] When the image formation job execution unit 18a determines in S191 that there are multiple image formation jobs indicated in the job information 17c that do not require immediate execution, it determines whether or not the job condition priority information in the initial setting information 17b indicates that the initial settings of the reference job determination conditions are to be used preferentially (S200).

[0141] When the image formation job execution unit 18a determines in S200 that the job condition priority information in the initial setting information 17b does not indicate that the initial setting of the reference job determination conditions is to be used preferentially, it determines whether or not the reference job determination conditions of the latest job are present in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution (S201).

[0142] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S200 that the job condition priority information in the initial setting information 17b indicates that the initial settings of the reference job determination conditions should be used preferentially, or determines in S201 that the reference job determination conditions of the latest job do not exist in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution, the image formation job executing unit 18a determines a reference job in accordance with the reference job determination conditions in the initial setting information 17b, i.e., the initial settings of the reference job determination conditions (S202).

[0143] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S201 that the reference job determination condition of the latest job exists in the job information 17c not requiring immediate execution, it determines the reference job according to the reference job determination condition of the latest job in the job information 17c not requiring immediate execution (S203).

[0144] When the process of S202 or S203 is completed, the image formation job executing unit 18a determines whether or not the candidate condition priority information in the initial setting information 17b indicates that the initial setting of the candidate determination condition is to be preferentially used (S204).

[0145] When the image formation job execution unit 18a determines in S204 that the candidate condition priority information in the initial setting information 17b does not indicate that the initial settings of the candidate determination conditions are to be preferentially used, it determines whether or not candidate determination conditions for the reference job exist in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution (S205).

[0146] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S204 that the candidate condition priority information in the initial setting information 17b indicates that the initial settings of the candidate determination conditions are to be used preferentially, or determines in S205 that there are no candidate determination conditions for the reference job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution, the image formation job executing unit 18a determines whether the candidate determination conditions in the initial setting information 17b, i.e., the initial settings of the candidate determination conditions, are specified by either the number of times or the interval (S206).

[0147] When the image formation job execution unit 18a determines in S206 that the candidate determination condition in the initial setting information 17b is specified by the number of times, it calculates the interval between scheduled time candidates that are adjacent to each other in time by dividing the allowable waiting period of the reference job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution by a numerical value obtained by subtracting 1 from the number of times specified in the candidate determination condition in the initial setting information 17b (S207).

[0148] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S206 that the candidate determination condition in the initial setting information 17b is specified as an interval, or when the process of S207 is completed, the image formation job executing unit 18a determines the scheduled time candidate at the interval specified in the candidate determination condition in the initial setting information 17b or calculated in S207, based on the creation time of the reference job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution (S208). Here, the image formation job executing unit 18a does not include a time before the creation time of the latest job in the scheduled time candidate. In addition, the image formation job executing unit 18a does not include a time after the latest execution deadline calculated in S175 in the scheduled time candidate. For example, if the generation time shown in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution for the reference job is 11:15 on June 1, 2023, which is specified in the initial setting of the candidate determination conditions, or the interval calculated in S207 is one hour, the generation time of the latest job is 14:30 on June 1, 2023, and the latest execution deadline calculated in S175 is 18:30 on June 1, 2023, the scheduled time candidates will be 15:15 on June 1, 2023, 16:15 on June 1, 2023, 17:15 on June 1, 2023, and 18:15 on June 1, 2023.

[0149] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S205 that the candidate determination condition for the reference job exists in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution, it determines whether the candidate determination condition for the reference job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution is specified by the number of times or the interval (S209).

[0150] When the image formation job execution unit 18a determines in S209 that the candidate determination condition for the reference job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution is specified by the number of times, it calculates the interval between scheduled time candidates that are adjacent to each other in time by dividing the allowable waiting period for the reference job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution by a numerical value obtained by subtracting 1 from the number of times specified in the candidate determination condition for the reference job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution (S210).

[0151] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S209 that the candidate determination condition of the reference job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution is specified as an interval, or when the process of S210 is completed, the image formation job executing unit 18a determines the scheduled time candidate at the interval specified in the candidate determination condition of the reference job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution or calculated in S210, based on the creation time of the reference job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution (S211). Here, the image formation job executing unit 18a does not include a time before the creation time of the latest job in the scheduled time candidate. In addition, the image formation job executing unit 18a does not include a time after the latest execution deadline calculated in S175 in the scheduled time candidate. For example, if the generation time shown in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution for the reference job is 11:15 on June 1, 2023, which is specified in the candidate determination conditions for the reference job, or the interval calculated in S210 is two hours, the generation time of the latest job is 14:30 on June 1, 2023, and the latest execution deadline calculated in S175 is 18:30 on June 1, 2023, the scheduled time candidates will be 15:15 on June 1, 2023 and 17:15 on June 1, 2023.

[0152] When the process of S196, S199, S208, or S211 is completed, the image formation job executing unit 18a ends the scheduled time candidate determination process shown in FIG. 11 and FIG.

[0153] As shown in FIG. 9, when the image formation job executing unit 18a finishes executing the scheduled time candidate determining process in S176, it executes a scheduled time determining process for determining a scheduled time (S177).

[0154] FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the scheduled time determination process shown in FIG.

[0155] As shown in FIG. 13, the image formation job executing unit 18a determines whether or not there are any scheduled time candidates among those determined in the scheduled time candidate determination process of S176 that have not yet been targeted in the current scheduled time determination process shown in FIG. 13 (S221).

[0156] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S221 that there is a scheduled time candidate determined in the scheduled time candidate determination process of S176 that has not yet been considered in the current scheduled time determination process shown in FIG. 13, the image formation job executing unit 18a targets only the earliest scheduled time candidate determined in the scheduled time candidate determination process of S176 that has not yet been considered in the current scheduled time determination process shown in FIG. 13 (S222).

[0157] When the process of S222 is completed, the image formation job executing unit 18a identifies all image formation jobs that may be executed at the current target scheduled time candidate based on the execution deadline calculated in S175 (S223). Specifically, the image formation job executing unit 18a identifies all image formation jobs whose execution deadlines calculated in S175 are after the current target scheduled time candidate among all image formation jobs in the job information 17c not requiring immediate execution as image formation jobs that may be executed at the current target scheduled time candidate.

[0158] When the process of S223 is completed, the image formation job executing section 18a executes an emission upper limit value determination process for determining an emission upper limit value used for determining a scheduled time of execution of the image formation job (S224).

[0159] FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the emission upper limit value determination process shown in FIG.

[0160] As shown in FIG. 14, the image formation job executing unit 18a judges whether or not the upper limit value priority information in the initial setting information 17b indicates that the initial setting of the discharge amount upper limit value is to be preferentially used (S251).

[0161] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S251 that the upper limit priority information in the initial setting information 17b indicates that the initial setting of the discharge amount upper limit value should be used preferentially, it determines the product of the discharge amount upper limit value in the initial setting information 17b and the number of image formation jobs identified in the previous S223 as the discharge amount upper limit value to be used in the current process (S252).

[0162] If the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S251 that the upper limit priority information in the initial setting information 17b does not indicate that the initial setting of the discharge amount upper limit value should be used preferentially, then the image formation job executing unit 18a targets only one image formation job among the image formation jobs identified in the previous S223 that has not yet been targeted in the current discharge amount upper limit value determination process shown in Figure 14 (S253).

[0163] When the process of S253 is completed, the image formation job executing section 18a judges whether or not the discharge amount upper limit value of the currently targeted image formation job is specified in the immediate execution unnecessary job information 17c (S254).

[0164] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S254 that an upper discharge amount value for the currently targeted image formation job is specified in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution, it identifies the upper discharge amount value for the currently targeted image formation job specified in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution (S255).

[0165] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S254 that the discharge amount upper limit value for the currently targeted image formation job is not specified in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution, it identifies the discharge amount upper limit value in the initial setting information 17b as the discharge amount upper limit value for the currently targeted image formation job (S256).

[0166] When the processing of S255 or S256 is completed, the image formation job executing unit 18a determines whether or not there is any image formation job among the image formation jobs identified in the immediately preceding S223 that has not yet been targeted in the current emission upper limit value determination process shown in FIG. 14 (S257).

[0167] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S257 that there is an image formation job that has not yet been targeted in the current emission upper limit value determination process shown in FIG. 14 among the image formation jobs identified in the previous S223, the image formation job executing unit 18a executes the process of S253.

[0168] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S257 that there are no image formation jobs among the image formation jobs identified in the previous S223 that have not yet been targeted in the current emission amount upper limit value determination process shown in FIG. 14, it determines the total value of all the emission amount upper limit values ​​identified in S255 or S256 for the image formation jobs identified in the previous S223 as the emission amount upper limit value to be used in the current process (S258).

[0169] When the process of S252 or S258 ends, the image formation job executing unit 18a ends the discharge amount upper limit value determination process shown in FIG.

[0170] As shown in Fig. 13, when the emission upper limit value determination process of S224 is completed, the image formation job execution unit 18a uses the carbon dioxide emission estimation model and the image formation job settings to determine the total value of the estimated carbon dioxide emission amount when the image forming device 10 executes the image formation job for all the image formation jobs identified in S223 (S225). Here, for example, the carbon dioxide emission coefficient in the carbon dioxide emission estimation model may change depending on the time of the currently targeted scheduled time candidate. Also, for example, when there are multiple image formation jobs identified in S223, it is not necessary to consider b, which is a constant term in the carbon dioxide emission estimation model, for each image formation job identified in S223, and it is sufficient to include only one b for the entire image formation jobs identified in S223. Also, for example, if it is known in advance that there is a high probability that the temperature of the fixing roller in printer 13 of image forming device 10 will have warmed up to a specific temperature at the time of the current target candidate scheduled time, it may be taken into account in S225 that the temperature of the fixing roller in printer 13 of image forming device 10 will have warmed up to a specific temperature at the time of the current target candidate scheduled time.

[0171] When the process of S225 is completed, the image formation job executing section 18a judges whether or not the total value calculated in S225 is equal to or less than the discharge amount upper limit value determined in the discharge amount upper limit value determination process of S224 (S226).

[0172] If the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S226 that the total value calculated in S225 is not equal to or less than the discharge amount upper limit value determined in the discharge amount upper limit value determination process in S224, it executes the process of S221.

[0173] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S226 that the total value calculated in S225 is equal to or less than the discharge amount upper limit value determined in the discharge amount upper limit value determination process of S224, it writes the time of the current target scheduled time candidate as the scheduled time for all image formation jobs identified in S223, i.e., all image formation jobs that may be executed at the time of the current target scheduled time candidate, into the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution (S227).

[0174] The image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S221 that there are no scheduled time candidates among those determined in the scheduled time candidate determination process of S176 that have not yet been targeted in the current scheduled time determination process shown in FIG. 13, or when the process of S227 is completed, determines whether there is an image formation job for which a scheduled time is not written in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution (S228).

[0175] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S228 that there is an image formation job for which the scheduled time is not written in the immediate execution unnecessary job information 17c, the image formation job executing unit 18a writes the execution deadline calculated in S175 as the scheduled time in the immediate execution unnecessary job information 17c for the image formation job for which the scheduled time is not written in the immediate execution unnecessary job information 17c (S229). For example, for an image formation job for which the execution deadline calculated in S175 is 11:15 on June 2, 2023, the image formation job executing unit 18a writes 11:15 on June 2, 2023 as the scheduled time in the immediate execution unnecessary job information 17c, and for an image formation job for which the execution deadline calculated in S175 is 12:30 on June 2, 2023, the image formation job executing unit 18a writes 12:30 on June 2, 2023 as the scheduled time in the immediate execution unnecessary job information 17c.

[0176] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S228 that there is no image formation job for which a scheduled time is not written in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution, or when the processing of S229 is completed, the execution of the scheduled time determination processing shown in FIG. 13 is terminated.

[0177] As shown in FIG. 9, when the image formation job executing unit 18a finishes executing the scheduled time determination process in S177, it executes a scheduled time notification process to notify the person instructing the generation of the image formation job of the scheduled time determined in S177 (S178).

[0178] FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the scheduled time notification process shown in FIG.

[0179] As shown in FIG. 15, the image formation job executing unit 18a judges whether or not there is an image formation job whose scheduled time differs from the previous scheduled time in the immediate execution unnecessary job information 17c (S281).

[0180] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S281 that there is an image formation job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution whose scheduled time is different from the previous scheduled time, it targets only one image formation job that has not yet been targeted in the current scheduled time notification process shown in Figure 15 among the image formation jobs in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution whose scheduled time is different from the previous scheduled time (S282).

[0181] When the process of S282 is completed, the image formation job executing section 18a judges whether or not destination information is written in the immediate execution unnecessary job information 17c for the currently targeted image formation job (S283).

[0182] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S283 that destination information has been written in the job information 17c for the currently targeted image formation job, it notifies the destination indicated in the destination information for the currently targeted image formation job in the job information 17c for which immediate execution is not required, of information including the scheduled time of the currently targeted image formation job in the job information 17c for which immediate execution is not required (S284).

[0183] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S283 that destination information has not been written in the job information 17c not requiring immediate execution for the currently targeted image formation job, or when the processing of S284 is completed, it determines whether or not a user ID has been written in the job information 17c not requiring immediate execution for the currently targeted image formation job (S285).

[0184] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S285 that a user ID is written in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution for the currently targeted image formation job, it determines whether destination information is associated in the user management information 17d with the user ID of the currently targeted image formation job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution (S286).

[0185] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S286 that destination information in the user management information 17d corresponds to the user ID of the currently targeted image formation job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution, it notifies the destination indicated in the destination information that is associated in the user management information 17d with the user ID of the currently targeted image formation job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution of information including the scheduled time of the currently targeted image formation job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution (S287).

[0186] The image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S285 that a user ID is not written in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution for the currently targeted image formation job, determines in S286 that destination information is not associated in the user management information 17d with the user ID of the currently targeted image formation job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution, or, upon completion of the processing of S287, determines whether or not there is an image formation job that has not yet been targeted in the current scheduled time notification processing shown in Figure 15 among the image formation jobs in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution whose scheduled time is different from the previous scheduled time (S288).

[0187] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in the processing of S288 that there is an image formation job that has not yet been targeted in the current scheduled time notification processing shown in FIG. 15 among the image formation jobs in the job information 17c that do not require immediate execution whose scheduled times are different from the previous scheduled times, the image formation job executing unit 18a executes the processing of S282.

[0188] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S281 that there is no image formation job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution whose scheduled time is different from the previous scheduled time, or determines in the processing of S288 that there is no image formation job that has not yet been targeted in the current scheduled time notification processing shown in Figure 15 among the image formation jobs in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution whose scheduled time is different from the previous scheduled time, the image formation job executing unit 18a terminates execution of the scheduled time notification processing shown in Figure 15.

[0189] As shown in FIG. 9, when the execution of the scheduled time notification process in S178 is completed, the image formation job executing section 18a ends the operation shown in FIG.

[0190] In the above, an example has been described in which the user instructs the image forming apparatus 10 to generate an image formation job via the operation unit 11. However, the user can also instruct the image forming apparatus 10 to generate an image formation job via a computer external to the image forming apparatus 10. When the user instructs the image forming apparatus 10 to generate an image formation job via a computer external to the image forming apparatus 10, the job generation instruction screen 70 is displayed on the display unit of this computer. When the user instructs the image forming apparatus 10 to generate an image formation job via a computer external to the image forming apparatus 10, the image formation job execution unit 18a may provide a Web page of the job generation instruction screen 70 that is accessible from a computer external to the image forming apparatus 10. When the user instructs the image forming apparatus 10 to generate an image formation job via a computer external to the image forming apparatus 10, software such as a printer driver installed in a computer external to the image forming apparatus 10 may provide the job generation instruction screen 70.

[0191] Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 when executing a job that does not require immediate execution will be described.

[0192] The image formation job executing unit 18a executes the operation shown in Fig. 16 at a specific timing, which is, for example, a regular timing such as every minute.

[0193] FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 when a job not requiring immediate execution is executed.

[0194] As shown in FIG. 16, the image formation job executing unit 18a judges whether or not there is an image formation job whose scheduled time in the job information 17c not requiring immediate execution is before the current time (S311).

[0195] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S311 that there is an image formation job whose scheduled time in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution is before the current time, it executes all image formation jobs whose scheduled time in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution is before the current time (S312).

[0196] When the process of S312 is completed, the image formation job executing unit 18a deletes the record of the image formation job executed in S312 from the immediate execution unnecessary job information 17c (S313).

[0197] When the image formation job executing unit 18a determines in S311 that there is no image formation job whose scheduled time in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution is before the current time, or when the execution of the process in S313 is completed, the operation shown in FIG. 16 is terminated.

[0198] Next, a specific example of the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 when a job not requiring immediate execution is generated and executed will be described.

[0199] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a specific example of the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 in a case where one job not requiring real-time execution is generated and executed while another job not requiring real-time execution is not generated.

[0200] 17, the image formation job executing unit 18a does not generate any jobs not requiring immediate execution other than job A during the period from time ta1 when job A is generated in S166 as a job not requiring immediate execution to time ta3 when job A is executed in S312. Here, the allowable waiting period and execution deadline of job A are set to period Ta and time ta2, respectively.

[0201] The candidate condition priority information in the initial setting information 17b does not indicate that the initial setting of the candidate determination condition is preferentially used (NO in S192), and the number of times specified in the candidate determination condition of job A in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution is 4. Therefore, the image formation job executing unit 18a determines time ta1, time ta3, time ta4, and time ta2, which is the execution deadline of job A, as scheduled time candidates immediately after time ta1, which is the generation time of job A (S199). Here, the interval from time ta1 to time ta3, the interval from time ta3 to time ta4, and the interval from time ta4 to time ta2 are each 1 / 3 of the period Ta, which is the allowable waiting period of job A (S198).

[0202] The upper limit value priority information in the initial setting information 17b does not indicate that the initial setting of the emission amount upper limit value is preferentially used (NO in S251), and the emission amount upper limit value of job A in the immediate execution unnecessary job information 17c is Ya. The estimated value ya1 of the emission amount of carbon dioxide when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job A at time ta1, which is a scheduled time candidate, and the estimated value ya4 of the emission amount of carbon dioxide when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job A at time ta2, which is a scheduled time candidate, are larger than the emission amount upper limit value Ya. On the other hand, the estimated value ya2 of the emission amount of carbon dioxide when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job A at time ta3, which is a scheduled time candidate, and the estimated value ya3 of the emission amount of carbon dioxide when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job A at time ta4, which is a scheduled time candidate, are smaller than the emission amount upper limit value Ya. Therefore, the image formation job execution unit 18a determines the earliest time ta3 of times ta3 and ta4, which are candidate scheduled times immediately after time ta1, which is the generation time of job A, at which the estimated value of the carbon dioxide emission amount when the image forming device 10 executes job A is smaller than the emission upper limit value Ya, as the scheduled time for execution of job A (S221 to S227).

[0203] Fig. 18(a) is a diagram showing a state before generation of the later generated job among specific examples of operations of the image forming apparatus 10 when, after generating one job that does not require immediate execution, another job that does not require immediate execution is generated before executing the previously generated job, and the previously generated job is executed before its execution deadline. Fig. 18(b) is a diagram showing a state after generation of the later generated job among specific examples of operations of the image forming apparatus 10 when, after generating one job that does not require immediate execution, another job that does not require immediate execution is generated before executing the previously generated job, and the previously generated job is executed before its execution deadline.

[0204] 18, the image formation job executing unit 18a generates a job C other than job B as a job not requiring immediate execution in S166 at time tb1 after job B as a job not requiring immediate execution is generated in S166 and at time tc1 before job B is executed in S312. Here, the allowable waiting period and execution deadline of job B are respectively period Tb and time tb2, and the allowable waiting period and execution deadline of job C are respectively period Tc and time tc2.

[0205] The candidate condition priority information in the initial setting information 17b indicates that the initial setting of the candidate determination condition is preferentially used (YES in S192), and the interval specified in the candidate determination condition in the initial setting information 17b is the period T1. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 18(a), the image formation job executing unit 18a determines time tb1, time tb3, and time tb4 as scheduled time candidates immediately after time tb1, which is the generation time of job B (S196). Here, the interval from time tb1 to time tb3 and the interval from time tb3 to time tb4 are each the period T1.

[0206] The upper limit value priority information in the initial setting information 17b indicates that the initial setting of the emission amount upper limit value is to be preferentially used (YES in S251), and the emission amount upper limit value in the initial setting information 17b is assumed to be Y1. The estimated value yb1 of the carbon dioxide emission amount when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job B at time tb1, which is a scheduled time candidate, is larger than the emission amount upper limit value Y1. On the other hand, the estimated value yb2 of the carbon dioxide emission amount when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job B at time tb3, which is a scheduled time candidate, and the estimated value yb3 of the carbon dioxide emission amount when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job B at time tb4, which is a scheduled time candidate, are smaller than the emission amount upper limit value Y1. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 18(a), the image formation job execution unit 18a sets the earliest time tb3 of times tb3 and tb4, which are candidate scheduled times at which the estimated amount of carbon dioxide emissions when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job B is smaller than the emission upper limit value Y1, immediately after time tb1, which is the generation time of job B, as the scheduled time for execution of job B (S221 to S227).

[0207] Then, job C is created at time tc1, which is prior to time tb3, which is the scheduled time for execution of job B.

[0208] The job condition priority information in the initial setting information 17b does not indicate that the initial setting of the reference job determination condition is preferentially used (NO in S200), and the reference job determination condition of job C in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution indicates that the first image formation job generated among the image formation jobs that have not yet been executed is set as the reference job. As described above, the candidate condition priority information in the initial setting information 17b indicates that the initial setting of the candidate determination condition is preferentially used (YES in S204), and the interval specified in the candidate determination condition in the initial setting information 17b is the period T1. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 18(b), the image formation job executing unit 18a determines the time tb3, the time tb4, and the time tb5 as the scheduled time candidates immediately after the time tc1 that is the generation time of job C (S208). Here, the interval from the time tb1 to the time tb3, the interval from the time tb3 to the time tb4, and the interval from the time tb4 to the time tb5 are each the period T1.

[0209] As described above, the upper limit value priority information in the initial setting information 17b indicates that the initial setting of the emission amount upper limit value is preferentially used (YES in S251), and the emission amount upper limit value in the initial setting information 17b is Y1. The sum of the estimated value yb2 of the carbon dioxide emission amount when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job B at time tb3, which is a scheduled time candidate, and the estimated value yc1 of the carbon dioxide emission amount when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job C at time tb3 is greater than the emission amount upper limit value (2×Y1). On the other hand, the sum of the estimated value yb3 of the carbon dioxide emission amount when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job B at time tb4, which is a scheduled time candidate, and the estimated value yc2 of the carbon dioxide emission amount when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job C at time tb4 is smaller than the emission amount upper limit value (2×Y1). Also, the estimated value yc3 of the carbon dioxide emission amount when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job C at time tb5, which is a scheduled time candidate, is smaller than the emission amount upper limit value Y1. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 18(b), the image formation job executing unit 18a sets the earliest time tb4 of times tb4 and tb5, which are candidate scheduled times immediately after time tc1, which is the generation time of job C, for which the sum of the estimated amount of carbon dioxide emission when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job B and the estimated amount of carbon dioxide emission when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job C is smaller than the emission upper limit value, as the scheduled time for execution of job B and job C (S221 to S227).

[0210] Fig. 19(a) is a diagram showing a state before generation of a later generated job among specific examples of operations of image forming apparatus 10 when generating one job that does not require immediate execution and then generating another job before executing the previously generated job at the time of its execution deadline, Fig. 19(b) is a diagram showing a state after generation of a later generated job among specific examples of operations of image forming apparatus 10 when generating one job that does not require immediate execution and then generating another job before executing the previously generated job at the time of its execution deadline,

[0211] 19, the image formation job executing unit 18a generates job E as a job not requiring immediate execution in S166 after time td1 when job D as a job not requiring immediate execution is generated in S166 and at time te1 before job D is executed in S312. Here, the allowable waiting period and execution deadline of job D are respectively period Td and time td2, and the allowable waiting period and execution deadline of job E are respectively period Te and time te2.

[0212] The candidate condition priority information in the initial setting information 17b does not indicate that the initial setting of the candidate determination condition is preferentially used (NO in S192), and the number of times specified in the candidate determination condition of job D in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution is 4. Therefore, the image formation job executing unit 18a determines time td1, time td3, time td4, and time td2 as scheduled time candidates immediately after time td1, which is the generation time of job D (S199). Here, the interval from time td1 to time td3, the interval from time td3 to time td4, and the interval from time td4 to time td2 are each 1 / 3 of the period Td, which is the allowable waiting period of job D (S198).

[0213] The upper limit value priority information in the initial setting information 17b does not indicate that the initial setting of the emission upper limit value is preferentially used (NO in S251), and the emission upper limit value of job D in the immediate execution unnecessary job information 17c is Yd. The estimated value yd1 of the carbon dioxide emission amount when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job D at time td1, which is the scheduled time candidate, and the estimated value yd3 of the carbon dioxide emission amount when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job D at time td4, which is the scheduled time candidate, are larger than the emission upper limit value Yd. On the other hand, the estimated value yd2 of the carbon dioxide emission amount when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job D at time td3, which is the scheduled time candidate, and the estimated value yd4 of the carbon dioxide emission amount when the image forming apparatus 10 executes job D at time td2, which is the scheduled time candidate, are smaller than the emission upper limit value Yd. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 19(a), the image formation job execution unit 18a sets the earliest time td3 of times td3 and td2, which are candidate scheduled times at which the estimated amount of carbon dioxide emissions when the image forming device 10 executes job D is smaller than the emission upper limit value Yd, immediately after time td1, which is the generation time of job D, as the scheduled time for execution of job D (S221 to S227).

[0214] Then, job E is created at time te1, which is prior to time td3, which is the scheduled time for execution of job D.

[0215] The job condition priority information in the initial setting information 17b does not indicate that the initial setting of the reference job determination condition is preferentially used (NO in S200), and the reference job determination condition of job E in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution indicates that the image formation job that was last generated among the image formation jobs that have not yet been executed is set as the reference job. Here, as described above, the candidate condition priority information in the initial setting information 17b does not indicate that the initial setting of the candidate determination condition is preferentially used (NO in S204). And, the interval specified in the candidate determination condition of job E in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution is the period Te1. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 19(b), the image formation job executing unit 18a determines the time te1, the time te3, and the time te4 as the scheduled time candidates immediately after the time te1 that is the generation time of job E (S211). Here, the interval from the time te1 to the time te3 and the interval from the time te3 to the time te4 are the periods Te1, respectively.

[0216] As described above, the upper limit value priority information in the initial setting information 17b does not indicate that the initial setting of the emission upper limit value is preferentially used (NO in S251), and the emission upper limit value of job D in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution is Yd. The emission upper limit value of job E in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution is Ye. The estimated value (yd5+ye1) of the carbon dioxide emission amount when the image forming apparatus 10 executes jobs D and E at time te1, which is a scheduled time candidate, the estimated value (yd6+ye2) of the carbon dioxide emission amount when the image forming apparatus 10 executes jobs D and E at time te3, which is a scheduled time candidate, and the estimated value (yd7+ye3) of the carbon dioxide emission amount when the image forming apparatus 10 executes jobs D and E at time te4, which is a scheduled time candidate, are all greater than the emission upper limit value (Yd+Ye). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 19(b), immediately after time te1, which is the generation time of job E, the image formation job execution unit 18a sets time td2, which is the execution deadline of job D, as the scheduled time for execution of job D (S229), and sets time te2, which is the execution deadline of job E, as the scheduled time for execution of job E (S229).

[0217] As described above, the image forming apparatus 10 determines the scheduled time for executing a job that does not require immediate execution from among the scheduled time candidates for which the estimated amount of carbon dioxide emissions when the job is executed at the scheduled time candidate for the job that does not require immediate execution is equal to or less than the upper emission limit (S226 to S227), thereby improving the likelihood of achieving the carbon dioxide emission reduction target when an image forming job that does not require immediate execution is executed.

[0218] When there are multiple candidate scheduled times for which the estimated carbon dioxide emission amount is equal to or less than the emission upper limit, the image forming apparatus 10 determines the earliest of the candidate scheduled times for which the estimated carbon dioxide emission amount is equal to or less than the emission upper limit as the scheduled time for executing the job that does not require immediate execution (S221-S227), thereby enabling the job that does not require immediate execution to be executed at an early stage at which the carbon dioxide emission reduction target can be achieved.

[0219] When there is no candidate scheduled time for which the estimated carbon dioxide emission amount is equal to or less than the emission upper limit, the image forming apparatus 10 determines the execution deadline time of the job that does not require immediate execution as the scheduled time for execution of the job that does not require immediate execution (S229), thereby reducing the possibility of a situation occurring in which the period during which the job that does not require immediate execution is not executed is too long.

[0220] The image forming device 10 accepts the specification of the allowable waiting period used to calculate the execution deadline of a job that does not require immediate execution via a spin box 73 (see Figure 10), so that the execution deadline of a job that does not require immediate execution can be set according to the user's preferences.

[0221] Image forming device 10 accepts the specification of the number of scheduled time candidates used to determine the scheduled time candidates for the execution of jobs that do not require immediate execution via spin box 63c (see Figure 8) and spin box 75d (see Figure 10), so that the scheduled time candidates for the execution of jobs that do not require immediate execution can be tailored to the user's preferences.

[0222] Image forming device 10 accepts a specification of the interval between adjacent scheduled time candidates used to determine the candidate scheduled times for execution of jobs that do not require immediate execution via spin box 63d (see Figure 8) and spin box 75e (see Figure 10), so that the candidate scheduled times for execution of jobs that do not require immediate execution can be tailored to the user's preferences.

[0223] When the image forming apparatus 10 determines the scheduled time for execution of a job that does not require immediate execution, the image forming apparatus 10 notifies a specific destination of the determined scheduled time (S178), thereby allowing the user to be aware of the scheduled time for execution of the job that does not require immediate execution.

[0224] When there are multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution, the image forming device 10 determines a candidate scheduled time where the total of the estimated carbon dioxide emission values ​​obtained for each of the multiple jobs that does not require immediate execution is less than or equal to the total of the emission upper limit values ​​of each of the multiple jobs that does not require immediate execution as a common scheduled time for the multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution (S221 to S227), thereby improving the likelihood of achieving the carbon dioxide emission reduction target when multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution are executed.

[0225] Image forming apparatus 10 accepts specification of reference job determination conditions as determination conditions for a reference job that does not require immediate execution, which is used as the basis for determining scheduled time candidates among a plurality of jobs that do not require immediate execution, via radio button 65a (see Figure 8), radio button 65b (see Figure 8), check box 66 (see Figure 8), check box 76a (see Figure 10), radio button 76b (see Figure 10), radio button 76c (see Figure 10), radio button 76d (see Figure 10) and drop-down list 76e (see Figure 10), so that scheduled time candidates for execution of jobs that do not require immediate execution can be tailored to the user's preferences.

[0226] Image forming device 10 allows the user to specify, as a reference job determination condition, using radio button 65a (see FIG. 8) and radio button 76b (see FIG. 10), that the most recently generated job among multiple jobs not requiring immediate execution be made the reference job. This allows candidates for the scheduled time for execution of the job not requiring immediate execution to be set according to the preferences of the user who instructed the generation of the most recently generated job among multiple jobs not requiring immediate execution.

[0227] Image forming device 10 allows the user to specify, as a reference job determination condition, using radio button 65b (see FIG. 8) and radio button 76c (see FIG. 10), that the first job generated among multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution be made the reference job. This allows candidates for the scheduled time for execution of the job that does not require immediate execution to be set according to the preferences of the user who instructed the generation of the first job generated among multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution.

[0228] Image forming device 10 allows the user to specify, as a reference job determination condition, using radio button 76d (see Figure 10) and drop-down list 76e (see Figure 10), that a job that does not require immediate execution, specified by a job ID among multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution, be set as the reference job. Therefore, the candidate scheduled times for the execution of the job that does not require immediate execution can be set according to the preferences of the user who has instructed the generation of the job that does not require immediate execution, specified by a job ID among multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution.

[0229] Image forming device 10 accepts the specification of the discharge upper limit value used to determine the scheduled time of execution of a job that does not require immediate execution via spin box 61 (see Figure 8), check box 62 (see Figure 8), check box 74a (see Figure 10), and spin box 74b (see Figure 10), so that the scheduled time of execution of a job that does not require immediate execution can be tailored to the user's preferences.

[0230] The image forming apparatus 10 uses a carbon dioxide emission estimation model, which is an equation obtained by multiplying a carbon dioxide emission coefficient by a multiple regression equation for estimating power consumption when a job that does not require immediate execution is executed, and the settings of the job that does not require immediate execution to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide emissions when the job that does not require immediate execution is executed (S225).The model has multiple explanatory variables depending on the type of settings of the job that does not require immediate execution, and this equation is used to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide emissions when the job that does not require immediate execution is executed (S225).This prevents the influence of each explanatory variable on the estimated amount of carbon dioxide emissions from being confused, and as a result, the accuracy of the estimated amount of carbon dioxide emissions can be improved.

[0231] In the image forming apparatus 10, the multiple regression equation for estimating the power consumption when executing a job that does not require immediate execution includes a constant term b that indicates the total amount of power basically required for the job that does not require immediate execution, so that an estimate of the amount of carbon dioxide emissions can be obtained taking into account the influence of the power basically required for the job that does not require immediate execution.

[0232] In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 includes the generation time of a job that does not require immediate execution in the scheduled time candidates. However, the image forming apparatus 10 does not have to include the generation time of a job that does not require immediate execution in the scheduled time candidates. If the image forming apparatus 10 does not include the generation time of a job that does not require immediate execution in the scheduled time candidates, the number of times can be specified as one or more in the spin box 63c of the initial setting editing screen 60 and the spin box 75d of the job generation instruction screen 70. In addition, when the image forming device 10 does not include the generation time of a job that does not require immediate execution in the scheduled time candidates, the image forming job executing unit 18a, when calculating the interval between scheduled time candidates that are adjacent in time, divides, in S195, the allowable waiting period of the latest job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution by the number of times specified in the candidate determination conditions in the initial setting information 17b, divides, in S198, the allowable waiting period of the latest job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution by the number of times specified in the candidate determination conditions of the latest job, divides, in S207, the allowable waiting period of the reference job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution by the number of times specified in the candidate determination conditions in the initial setting information 17b, and divides, in S210, the allowable waiting period of the reference job in the job information 17c that does not require immediate execution by the number of times specified in the candidate determination conditions of the reference job in the job information 17c.

[0233] In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 uses a carbon dioxide emission estimation model to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide emission by the image forming apparatus 10. However, the image forming apparatus 10 may estimate the amount of carbon dioxide emission by the image forming apparatus 10 using a method other than the carbon dioxide emission estimation model described in this embodiment.

[0234] The image forming apparatus 10 is an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) in the example shown in FIG. 1, but may be a dedicated printer.

[0235] (Second embodiment) The first embodiment describes an example in which the image forming system is configured solely by the image forming apparatus 10. However, the image forming system of the present invention may be configured by the image forming apparatus and an auxiliary system configured by at least one computer, for example, as shown in FIG.

[0236] FIG. 20 is a block diagram of an image forming system 400 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0237] As shown in FIG. 20, the image forming system 400 includes an image forming apparatus 410 and an auxiliary system 420 that supports the functions of the image forming apparatus 410 .

[0238] Image forming apparatus 410 can realize functions other than specific functions (hereinafter referred to as "specific functions") among the functions of image forming apparatus 10 (see FIG. 1) according to the first embodiment.

[0239] The auxiliary system 420 is configured with at least one computer such as a PC. The auxiliary system 420 is capable of realizing a specific function. The computer constituting the auxiliary system 420 may be placed on the same LAN as the image forming apparatus 410, or may be placed on the cloud.

[0240] The image forming system 400 can achieve the same functions as the image forming apparatus 10 as a whole. [Explanation of symbols]

[0241] 10 Image forming devices (image forming systems, computers) 17a Image formation job execution program 400 Image forming system

Claims

1. determining candidates for a scheduled time for executing an image forming job not requiring immediate execution when an instruction to generate an image forming job not requiring immediate execution is received; calculating an estimated emission amount as an estimated value of the amount of carbon dioxide emission when the job not requiring immediate execution is executed at the candidate time; an image forming system, characterized in that the scheduled time is determined from among the candidate times for which the estimated emission amount is equal to or less than an upper limit of carbon dioxide emission amount.

2. The image forming system according to claim 1, characterized in that, when there are multiple candidate times at which the estimated emission value is equal to or less than the upper limit value, the earliest of the candidate times at which the estimated emission value is equal to or less than the upper limit value is determined as the scheduled time.

3. 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein when there is no candidate time at which the estimated discharge value is equal to or less than the upper limit, the execution deadline time of the job not requiring immediate execution is determined as the scheduled time.

4. accepting a designation of an allowable waiting period as a period during which the job not requiring immediate execution is allowed to wait until execution; 4. The image forming system according to claim 3, wherein the execution deadline is calculated by adding the allowable waiting period to a generation time of the job not requiring immediate execution.

5. calculating the execution deadline by adding an allowable waiting period as a period during which the job not requiring immediate execution is allowed to wait until the job not requiring immediate execution is executed to a generation time of the job not requiring immediate execution; Accepting a designation of the number of times of the candidate; determining an interval between the candidates that are adjacent in time based on the permissible waiting period and the number of times; The image forming system according to claim 3 , wherein the candidates are determined based on the generation time and the interval.

6. Accepting a designation of an interval between the candidates that are adjacent to each other in time; 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the candidate is determined based on a generation time of the job not requiring immediate execution and the interval.

7. 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the scheduled time is notified to a specific destination.

8. The image forming system according to claim 1, characterized in that, when there are multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution, the common scheduled time for the multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution is determined from among the candidate times for which the sum of the estimated values ​​obtained for each of the multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution is less than the sum of the upper limit values ​​for each of the multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution.

9. accepting specification of a reference job determination condition as a determination condition of a reference job as the job not requiring real-time execution that is used as a criterion for determining the candidate from among the plurality of jobs not requiring real-time execution; 9. The image forming system according to claim 8, wherein the reference job is determined in accordance with a reference job determination condition.

10. 10. The image forming system according to claim 9, wherein the reference job determination condition can be specified such that the last generated job not requiring real-time execution among the plurality of jobs not requiring real-time execution is set as the reference job.

11. 10. The image forming system according to claim 9, wherein the reference job determination condition can be specified such that the first generated job not requiring real-time execution among the plurality of jobs not requiring real-time execution is set as the reference job.

12. The image forming system according to claim 9, characterized in that it is possible to specify as the reference job determination condition that the job that does not require immediate execution among the multiple jobs that do not require immediate execution is set as the reference job by identification information of the job that does not require immediate execution.

13. 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, further comprising: a step of accepting a designation of the upper limit value.

14. determining the estimated emission value using a carbon dioxide emission estimation model, which is a formula for estimating the amount of carbon dioxide emission, and a setting of the job that does not require immediate execution; the carbon dioxide emission amount estimation model is a formula obtained by multiplying a carbon dioxide emission coefficient by a multiple regression equation for obtaining an estimated value of power consumption when the image forming system executes the job not requiring immediate execution, 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the carbon dioxide emission estimation model has a plurality of explanatory variables according to types of settings of the job not requiring immediate execution.

15. an operation of determining candidates for a scheduled time for executing a job not requiring immediate execution when a command is issued to generate the job not requiring immediate execution as an image forming job not requiring immediate execution; An operation of calculating an emission estimation value as an estimation value of the amount of carbon dioxide emission when the job not requiring immediate execution is executed at the candidate time; determining the scheduled time from among the candidate times for which the estimated emission value is equal to or less than an upper limit of the amount of carbon dioxide emission; An image forming program characterized by causing a computer to realize the above.

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