Information processing system

Abstract

To perform charging of rational content for service utilization.SOLUTION: A homework presentation system 1 comprises a printer 100, a homework transfer server 200, and a homework management server 300A or 300B. The homework transfer server 200 transfers image data indicating a reading result of an answer manuscript from the printer 100 to the homework management server 300A or 300B. The homework transfer server 200 calculates a charge amount for the transfer service on the basis of an image data amount.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system including a reading device that reads an original. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, the results of scanning a document using a reading device such as a scanner may be transmitted to a computer such as a server via an appropriate communication path. Patent Document 1 is one example of this, in which a paper submission made by a student is scanned by a scanner, and the results are uploaded to an education management system via a PC. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-57293 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] One method of transmitting the results of scanning a document to a computer is to use a paid service that transfers the results of scanning a document from a scanning device to a target computer via another computer. A certain amount of charge is incurred when using such a paid service. In this case, it is required that the charge for the service usage be reasonable for both the service user and the service provider.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing system that charges a reasonable amount for the use of a service. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing system according to a first aspect of the present invention is an information processing system comprising a reading device and a first computer capable of communicating with the reading device, wherein the reading device executes a reading process to read a document and a first transmission process to transmit the reading results of the document by the reading process to the first computer, and the first computer executes a second transmission process to transmit the reading results received from the reading device to a second computer capable of communicating with the first computer, and an acquisition process to acquire a charge amount or an evaluation value for deriving the charge amount according to the content of the reading results transmitted to the second computer by the second transmission process.

[0007] An information processing system according to a second aspect of the present invention is an information processing system including a reading device and a first computer capable of communicating with the reading device, the information processing system being used for a service involving a fee, the reading device executing a reading process for reading an original document and a first transmission process for transmitting the results of reading the original document by the reading process to the first computer, and when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the first computer executing a second transmission process for transmitting the results of reading the original document received from the reading device to a second computer capable of communicating with the first computer, and a first charge being a fixed amount for a predetermined period of time, and when the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the first transmission process for transmitting the results of reading the original document by the reading process to the first computer is performed. The first computer executes a third transmission process to transmit the reading result received from the device to the second computer and a second charge is made, or the first charge is made when the reading result is not transmitted from the first computer to the second computer, and the specified condition is that the total amount of documents indicated by the reading result transmitted to the second computer by the second transmission process within the specified period does not exceed a specified upper limit value, and at least one of the following is performed: the transmission speed of the reading result in the third transmission process is made slower than the transmission speed of the reading result in the second transmission process; and the amount of the second charge is made greater than the amount of the first charge. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the information processing system of the first aspect of the present invention, a billing amount or an evaluation value for deriving a billing amount according to the contents of the read result transmitted to the second computer is acquired. Therefore, it is easy to perform a reasonable billing according to the read result transmitted to the second computer.

[0009] As an example, the evaluation value for deriving the charge amount is a value greater than 0 that increases as the amount of the document read increases, and the charge amount is calculated by multiplying this value by a predetermined unit price. As another example, the evaluation value is a value consisting of a natural number that increases as the amount of the document read increases, and the charge amount is obtained based on a table that associates the natural number with the charge amount.

[0010] Moreover, according to the information processing system according to the second aspect of the present invention, if the amount of documents transmitted to the second computer during a predetermined period does not exceed the upper limit, the first charge is performed together with the second transmission process. On the other hand, if the amount of documents transmitted to the second computer during a predetermined period exceeds the upper limit, the second charge is performed together with the third transmission process. Here, at least one of slowing down the transmission speed of the third transmission process compared to the second transmission process and making the amount of the second charge larger than the amount of the first charge is performed, or the first charge is performed without transmitting the scan results to the second computer. Therefore, regardless of whether the amount of transmission to the second computer exceeds the upper limit, a reasonable charge according to the scan results transmitted to the second computer is likely to be performed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a homework submission system according to a first embodiment which is one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a sequence diagram showing a series of processes executed by the homework submission system of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3]FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a homework submission system according to a second embodiment which is another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a homework submission system according to a third embodiment, which is yet another embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 5 is a sequence diagram showing a series of processes executed by the homework submission system of FIG. 4. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a homework submission system according to modified examples of the first to third embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] [First embodiment] A homework submission system 1 according to a first embodiment, which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, will be described below with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The homework submission system 1 (corresponding to the "information processing system" of the present invention) is a system that supports the submission of homework in an educational service provided to end users by educational providers, etc. In this embodiment, a case is assumed in which a certain end user has contracts with both educational provider A and educational provider B.

[0013] As shown in Fig. 1, the homework submission system 1 has a printer 100, a homework transfer server 200, and homework management servers 300A and 300B. The printer 100, the homework transfer server 200, and the homework management servers 300A and 300B can communicate with each other via a communication network N such as the Internet. The homework transfer server 200 is a server operated by a business operator X that provides data transfer services. The homework management server 300A is a server operated by an education provider A. The homework management server 300B is a server operated by an education provider B.

[0014] The printer 100 (corresponding to the “reading device” of the present invention) has a scanner unit 110, an image forming unit 120, a touch panel display 130, and a control unit 140.

[0015] The scanner unit 110 (corresponding to the "reading unit" of the present invention) has a reading surface on which a document is placed. The document is, for example, a sheet-like medium such as printing paper, paper, or cloth on which an image is formed or characters, figures, etc. are handwritten. In this embodiment, as described below, the document to be read is an original created by printing homework on printing paper by the image forming unit 120. The scanner unit 110 reads characters, figures, images, etc. formed on the surface of the document placed on the reading surface, which is the reading surface side, and generates read image data showing the read image.

[0016] When scanning an original document using the scanner unit 110, the scanning color mode and the resolution mode can both be selected. The color mode can be selected from two modes: monochrome and color. The resolution mode can be selected from two modes: high resolution and low resolution. The high resolution and low resolution can be any value as long as the high resolution is greater than the low resolution. As an example, the high resolution can be 600 dpi (dots per inch) and the low resolution can be 100 dpi.

[0017] The image forming unit 120 stores printing paper and forms an image represented by image data on the printing paper by applying ink to the printing paper. The image data used for such image formation is transmitted from the homework transfer server 200 or other external devices.

[0018] The touch panel display 130 can receive user input. That is, when a finger or the like touches the screen, the touch panel display 130 detects the contact position and outputs the detection result to the control unit 140. This allows various user inputs through the touch panel display 130. For example, an end user who uses the printer 100 can input, through the touch panel display 130, an instruction to start reading by the scanner unit 110, an instruction to start image formation by the image forming unit 120, and the like.

[0019] The control unit 140 executes various processes in cooperation with hardware such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), memories consisting of a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and electronic circuits that perform data communication processing with the outside, and software stored in a storage device. As a result, the control unit 140 controls the operation of the printer 100 according to instructions from the outside.

[0020] The operations of the printer 100 performed under the control of the control unit 140 include the following homework printing operation and answer reading operation.

[0021] The homework printing operation is an operation of printing homework on printing paper based on homework data (described later) transmitted from the homework transfer server 200. The homework data is image data showing an image expressing the contents of the homework. The control unit 140 controls the image forming unit 120 to form an image on printing paper based on the homework data transmitted from the homework transfer server 200. As a result, the homework indicated by the homework data is formed on the printing paper.

[0022] The answer reading operation is an operation in which the scanner unit 110 reads an original on which answers are written on a printed sheet on which a homework assignment has been printed by the homework printing operation. In this operation, the end user places an original on the reading surface of the scanner unit 110 and performs a user input to instruct the start of reading via the touch panel display 130. Note that the printer 100 may have a transport mechanism that transports multiple originals to the reading surface one page at a time.

[0023] In this embodiment, the end user selects a scan profile at the time of the above user input. The scan profile can be selected from a scan profile table, an example of which is shown in Table 1. The scan profile table includes a plurality of scan profiles. Each scan profile is held in the control unit 140, and includes a user ID, a transfer ID, and a scan mode. The scan mode is the above-mentioned color mode and resolution mode. The transfer ID is an ID indicating the association between the end user and the transfer destination server, as described later. Table 1 includes scan profiles No. 1 to No. 4 as an example. The user ID includes X and Y, and the transfer ID includes ID1, ID2, ID3, and ID4.

[0024] [Table 1]

[0025] When the user inputs the above instruction to start reading while selecting a scan profile, the control unit 140 makes the scanner unit 110 read the document in the mode indicated by the scan profile. The image data generated by the scanner unit 110 as a result of this reading is transmitted by the control unit 140 to the homework transfer server 200 together with the user ID and transfer ID indicated by the scan profile.

[0026] The homework transfer server 200 is a computer (corresponding to the "first computer" of the present invention) having hardware such as a CPU, a memory consisting of ROM and RAM, storage, and an electronic circuit that performs data communication processing with the outside, and software stored in a storage device such as memory or storage. The homework transfer server 200 executes the homework distribution process and the answer submission process by cooperation of this hardware and software.

[0027] In the homework distribution process, the homework transfer server 200 transmits the homework data included in the homework distribution instruction transmitted from the homework management server 300A or 300B to the printer 100, as described below. The homework distribution instruction includes a user ID. The homework transfer server 200 holds a distribution table that associates the user ID with the destination printer 100. Based on this, the homework transfer server 200 transmits image data to the printer 100 that corresponds to the user ID indicated in the homework distribution instruction.

[0028] In the answer submission process, the homework transfer server 200 transmits the image data and the user ID transmitted from the printer 100 by the above-mentioned answer reading operation to the homework management server 300A or 300B. A transfer ID is also transmitted from the printer 100. The homework transfer server 200 holds a submission table, an example of which is shown in Table 2 below. The submission table is a table that associates a transfer ID with a user ID and a destination server. The destination server is either the homework management server 300A or 300B. Based on this, the homework transfer server 200 transmits the image data and the user ID to the server corresponding to the transfer ID transmitted from the printer 100, that is, the homework management server 300A or 300B.

[0029] Each of the homework management servers 300A and 300B is a computer (corresponding to the "second computer" of the present invention) having hardware such as a CPU, a memory consisting of a ROM and a RAM, a storage, and an electronic circuit for performing data communication processing with the outside, and software stored in a storage device such as a memory or a storage. Each of the homework management servers 300A and 300B executes a process of sending a homework distribution instruction to the homework transfer server 200 by cooperation of the hardware and software. The homework distribution instruction includes homework data, which is image data representing the contents of the homework, and a user ID. Each of the homework management servers 300A and 300B also executes a process of receiving the user ID and image data transmitted from the homework transfer server 200 by cooperation of the hardware and software. Then, the answers to the homework represented by the received image data are evaluated for the user indicated by the user ID by each business operator who operates these servers.

[0030] As described above, through the homework submission system 1, homework is distributed to the end user by both educational providers A and B, and the end user submits the answers to the homework to both educational providers A and B. At that time, provider X supports the distribution and submission of the homework using a homework transfer server 200. In this embodiment, a charge is incurred for the use of the above service provided by provider X. The charge amount is required to be reasonable for both the end user and the provider.

[0031] Therefore, in this embodiment, the homework submission system 1 is configured as follows. First, the homework transfer server 200 holds a submission table, an example of which is shown in Table 2. The submission table includes a transfer ID, a user ID, and a transfer destination server as values ​​that associate a transfer ID with a user and a transfer destination server. Among these, "Server A" in the transfer destination server item indicates the homework management server 300A, and "Server B" indicates the homework management server 300B. Furthermore, the submission table includes the upper limit transfer amount, transfer record, and unit price for each transfer ID. The upper limit transfer amount (corresponding to the "predetermined upper limit value" of the present invention) indicates the upper limit of the amount of image data related to the answers transferred to the homework management server 300A or 300B for each service period having a certain length (for example, one month) in the contract related to each transfer ID. The transfer record indicates the total amount of image data transferred to the homework management server 300A or 300B during the current service period for each transfer ID. This result is updated by adding the amount of image data every time the image data is transferred to the homework management server 300A or 300B. The unit price is the amount charged per unit amount of data.

[0032] [Table 2]

[0033] Then, in the answer submission process, the homework transfer server 200 checks the amount of image data sent from the printer 100 against the submission table. Specifically, the homework transfer server 200 judges whether the sum of the transfer record associated with the transfer ID and the amount of image data exceeds the upper limit transfer amount associated with the transfer ID based on the transfer ID sent from the printer 100. If it is determined that the sum of the amount of image data and the transfer record does not exceed the upper limit transfer amount, the homework transfer server 200 transmits the image data from the printer 100 to the transfer destination server associated with the transfer ID in the submission table. On the other hand, if it is determined that the transfer record exceeds the upper limit transfer amount, the homework transfer server 200 does not transmit the image data from the printer 100 to either of the homework management servers 300A and 300B, and notifies the printer 100 of an error.

[0034] In addition, the homework transfer server 200 calculates the charge according to the transfer record. The charge is calculated by multiplying the transfer record by the unit price. For example, if the transfer record is 300MB and the unit price is c yen / MB, the charge is calculated as (300*c) yen.

[0035] The process flow of the homework submission system 1 will be described below with reference to Fig. 2. First, a homework distribution instruction is sent from the homework management server 300A or 300B to the homework transfer server 200 (S1). In response to this, the homework transfer server 200 sends homework data to the printer 100 corresponding to the user ID indicated in the homework distribution instruction (S2).

[0036] Next, the printer 100 performs a homework printing operation based on the image data from the homework transfer server 200 (S3). The end user thereby obtains a print sheet on which the homework is printed (S4). The end user then handwrites the answers to the homework on the print sheet (S5). Next, the end user places the manuscript on which the answers are handwritten on the printer 100, and performs a user input to start reading (scanning) via the touch panel display 130 (S6). In response to this, the printer 100 performs an answer reading operation (S7 and S8). That is, the manuscript on which the answers are handwritten is read by the scanner unit 110, and image data (scanned image) showing the reading result is transmitted to the homework transfer server 200.

[0037] Next, the homework transfer server 200 judges whether the sum of the amount of image data transmitted from the printer 100 in S8 and the transmission record of the submission table, an example of which is shown in Table 2, exceeds the upper limit transmission amount (S9). If it is judged that the sum does not exceed the upper limit transmission amount, the homework transfer server 200 transmits the image data transmitted from the printer 100 in S8 to the homework management server 300A or 300B (S10). Next, the homework transfer server 200 updates the transmission record of the submission table to a value obtained by adding the amount of image data (S11). Then, the homework transfer server 200 calculates the charge amount by multiplying the transmission record of the submission table by the unit price (S12). The calculated charge amount is transmitted to the printer 100 (S13), and is notified to the end user by displaying it on the touch panel display 130 of the printer 100 (S14).

[0038] If it is determined in S9 that the total exceeds the upper limit of the transfer amount, the homework transfer server 200 does not transmit the image data from the printer 100 to either the homework management server 300A or 300B, and notifies the printer 100 of an error (S15). In response, the printer 100 notifies the end user of the occurrence of the error by displaying an error on the touch panel display 130 (S16).

[0039] S15 and S16 are processes performed when the total amount of image data and the transfer record exceeds the upper limit transfer amount (hereinafter, referred to as "upper limit exceeding process"). This upper limit exceeding process may be either of the following processes A) and B).

[0040] a) A process of transmitting image data to homework management server 300A or 300B and increasing the amount charged. In this case, the amount charged may be calculated using a unit price higher than the unit price of the submission table. For example, if the unit price of the submission table is c yen / MB, the amount charged may be calculated using the following formula 1. Here, the excess data volume is the amount obtained by subtracting the upper limit transfer volume from the actual transfer volume. (Formula) (Billing amount) = (Maximum transfer amount) * c + (Excess data amount) * (c + Δ) Here, Δ is a positive value.

[0041] B) A process of transmitting image data to the homework management server 300A or 300B while slowing down the data transmission speed compared to when the total amount of image data and the transfer record does not exceed the upper limit transfer amount. A slowdown in the data transmission speed corresponds to an increase in the time required to transmit the image data. Therefore, this process may be performed, for example, by suppressing the data communication speed per unit time between the homework transfer server 200 and the homework management server 300A or 300B, or by delaying the start timing of data transmission from the homework transfer server 200 to the homework management server 300A or 300B.

[0042] According to the present embodiment described above, a billing amount is obtained according to the content of the image data showing the reading result transmitted to the homework management server 300A or 300B. Therefore, it is easy to perform a reasonable billing according to the reading result transmitted to the homework management server 300A or 300B.

[0043] In addition, in this embodiment, if the total amount of image data transmitted from the printer 100 and the transmission record of the submission table exceeds the upper limit transmission amount, the upper limit exceeding process consisting of S15 and S16 in FIG. 2 is executed. In other words, if the total amount of documents transmitted to the homework management server 300A or 300B during a specified service period exceeds the upper limit transmission amount, the image data is not transmitted to the homework management server 300A or 300B. This prevents the amount of transmission to the homework management server 300A or 300B from exceeding the upper limit transmission amount. In addition, regardless of whether the above process (a) or (b) is performed as the upper limit exceeding process, the amount of transmission to the homework management server 300A or 300B and the amount of charge are balanced. As a result, the amount of charge is likely to be reasonable according to the amount of transmission.

[0044] In this embodiment, the homework transfer server 200 calculates the charge amount by multiplying the transfer record by the unit price. Alternatively, the homework transfer server 200 may derive an evaluation value for calculating the charge amount. For example, the homework transfer server 200 may calculate the ratio of the transfer record to the upper limit transfer amount as an evaluation value and output it to the outside. In this case, the charge amount is obtained by multiplying the base amount corresponding to the upper limit transfer amount by the evaluation value. Also, the homework transfer server 200 may output the transfer record itself as the evaluation value. In this case, the charge amount is obtained by multiplying the evaluation value by the unit price, an example of which is shown in Table 2.

[0045] Furthermore, the homework transfer server 200 may output a rank derived based on the transfer record. For example, rank 1 corresponds to the case where the transfer record is smaller than α (>0), rank 2 corresponds to the case where the transfer record is equal to or larger than α and equal to or smaller than β (>α), and rank 3 corresponds to the case where the transfer record is larger than β. At this time, a fee set in advance for each rank may be acquired as a charge for the rank derived by the homework transfer server 200 based on the correspondence relationship.

[0046] Thus, as one example, the evaluation value is a value greater than 0 that increases as the amount of the document read increases, and the amount charged is calculated by multiplying this value by a predetermined unit price or base amount. As another example, the evaluation value is a value consisting of a natural number that increases as the amount of the document read increases, and the amount charged is obtained based on a table or the like that associates the natural number with the amount charged.

[0047] [Second embodiment] Hereinafter, a homework submission system 2 according to a second embodiment, which is another embodiment of the present invention, will be described. The second embodiment has many common configurations with the first embodiment. For this reason, the same reference numerals as above will be used for such common configurations, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. Below, the differences between the first embodiment and the second embodiment will be mainly described.

[0048] The homework submission system 2 differs from the homework submission system 1 according to the first embodiment in that a printer 102 and a homework transfer server 202 are used instead of the printer 100 and the homework transfer server 200, as shown in Fig. 3. The printer 102 and the homework transfer server 202 differ from the printer 100 and the homework transfer server 200 according to the first embodiment in the following respects, and are otherwise similar to the printer 100 and the homework transfer server 200.

[0049] In addition to the functions of the control unit 140, the printer 102 includes a control unit 142 having a function of determining an error during the answer reading operation. Specifically, the control unit 142 determines whether an error has occurred in reading the document by the scanner unit 110 during the answer reading operation. Such an error is determined, for example, based on the detection result of a sensor that detects whether a document jam has occurred when a transport mechanism transports the document to the reading surface of the scanner unit 110. The control unit 142 transmits the result of the error determination to the homework transfer server 202 together with the image data of the read result.

[0050] When calculating the charge, the homework transfer server 202 subtracts a certain amount from the value obtained by multiplying the transfer record in the submission table by the unit price if the image data sent from the printer 102 falls into the following two cases. The first case is when the image data indicates the presence of a blank page. The second case is when the error determination result sent from the printer 102 indicates the occurrence of an error during the answer reading operation, and the image data indicates the presence of a blank area.

[0051] In these cases, it is highly likely that it is inappropriate to charge for all pages of the scanned result. This is because, in the first case, if both sides of the document are scanned in the above answer scanning operation, it is possible that the last page of the scanned result will be blank. Also, in the second case, there is a possibility that an error in the answer scanning operation caused a loss of image data.

[0052] Therefore, in the first case, the homework transfer server 202 subtracts from the charge the amount obtained by multiplying the amount of data corresponding to the blank page by the unit price. In the second case, the homework transfer server 202 subtracts from the charge the amount obtained by multiplying the amount of data corresponding to the blank area by the unit price. This makes it easier for the charge to be reasonable.

[0053] [Third embodiment] Hereinafter, a homework submission system 3 according to the third embodiment, which is another embodiment of the present invention, will be described. The third embodiment has many common configurations with the first embodiment. For this reason, the same reference numerals as above will be used for such common configurations, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. Below, the differences between the first embodiment and the third embodiment will be mainly described.

[0054] In the third embodiment, a flat rate charge (corresponding to the "first charge" of the present invention) is set for the use of the service provided by the business operator X during a specified service period. This is different from the first embodiment in which a pay-per-use charge is applied as described above. In response to this, the homework submission system 3 according to the third embodiment employs a homework transfer server 203 instead of the homework transfer server 200 according to the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4. The homework transfer server 203 differs from the homework transfer server 200 according to the first embodiment in the following respects, and is otherwise similar to the homework transfer server 200.

[0055] The homework transfer server 203 holds a submission table, an example of which is shown in Table 3, instead of the submission table shown in Table 2. Table 3 includes a fixed price value and an excess unit price for each service period, instead of the unit prices in Table 2. As described below, the excess unit price is used as the basis for calculating the excess charge amount when the actual transfer amount exceeds the upper limit transfer amount. The excess unit price is set to a value greater than the value obtained by dividing the fixed price value by the upper limit transfer amount.

[0056] [Table 3]

[0057] In the homework submission system 3, the processes of S1 to S9 in Fig. 2 are performed. After that, as shown in Fig. 5, if it is determined in S8 that the sum of the amount of image data transmitted from the printer 100 and the transfer record in the submission table does not exceed the upper limit transfer amount in the submission table, the homework transfer server 203 transmits image data in S10 and updates the transfer record in S11, but does not perform S12 to S14.

[0058] On the other hand, if it is determined in S8 that the sum of the amount of image data sent from the printer 100 and the transfer record of the submission table exceeds the upper limit transfer amount, the homework transfer server 203 performs an upper limit exceeding process in which, while sending the image data to the homework management server 300A or 300B, flat-rate billing is switched to pay-as-you-go billing and the unit price is set to a relatively high value.

[0059] Specifically, the process is performed in steps S21 to S25 in Fig. 5. First, the homework transfer server 203 transmits the image data transmitted from the printer 100 in S8 to the homework management server 300A or 300B (S21). Next, the homework transfer server 203 updates the transmission record in the submission table to a value that includes the amount of image data (S22).

[0060] Next, the homework transfer server 203 calculates an excess charge by adding the fixed charge and the pay-per-use charge for the excess amount (S22). The excess charge is the fixed charge plus the pay-per-use charge obtained by multiplying the excess data amount by the excess unit price. The excess data amount is the amount obtained by subtracting the upper limit transfer amount from the actual transfer result. For example, in Table 3 above, if the transfer ID is ID1, the excess charge is calculated using the following formula 2. The calculated excess charge is sent to the printer 100 (S24), and is notified to the end user by displaying it on the touch panel display 130 of the printer 100 (S25). (Formula 2) (Excess charge) = g + k * (excess data volume)

[0061] According to this embodiment, if the sum of the amount of image data transmitted from printer 100 and the transfer record of the submission table does not exceed the upper limit transfer amount, a flat rate is charged. On the other hand, if the sum of the amount of image data transmitted from printer 100 and the transfer record of the submission table exceeds the upper limit, a flat rate plus a pay-per-use charge is charged. In other words, a charge greater than the flat rate is charged depending on the amount by which the transfer record during a specified service period exceeds the upper limit transfer amount. For this reason, regardless of whether the transfer record exceeds the upper limit, a reasonable charge according to the transfer record is likely to be charged.

[0062] The upper limit exceeding process may be the process consisting of S15 and S16 in FIG. 2, as in the first embodiment, or may be the process of b) above. When these processes are performed, it is preferable to adopt a flat-rate charge, an example of which is shown in Table 3 above. This makes it possible to balance the transfer record and the charge amount. Therefore, it is easy to charge rationally according to the transfer record.

[0063] <Modification> Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above based on the drawings, the specific configuration should not be considered to be limited to these embodiments. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than the description of the above embodiments, and further includes all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

[0064] For example, in each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the charge amount is calculated based on the amount of image data showing the result of scanning the answer manuscript. In contrast, the charge amount may be calculated based on the number of manuscripts (corresponding to the "number of manuscripts" of the present invention) or the size of the manuscripts, such as A4 or B5. In addition, a combination of two or more of the number of manuscripts, the size of the manuscripts, and the amount of image data may be used as a criterion for calculating the charge amount. For example, when a combination of the size and number of manuscripts is used as a criterion, the charge amount according to the number of sheets may be calculated at a rate of 〇 yen per sheet for A4 size, and the charge amount according to the number of sheets may be calculated at a rate of △ yen per sheet that is different from A4 size for B5 size.

[0065] In each of the above-described embodiments, the homework transfer server 200 calculates the charge amount each time image data is transferred to the homework management server 300A or 300B. However, the charge amount may be calculated at a timing other than the transfer of image data, such as the last day of a specified service period.

[0066] In each of the above-described embodiments, the answer reading operation is started by a user input to the printer 100 through the touch panel display 130. Alternatively, the answer reading operation may be started by an instruction by another method. For example, as shown in the homework submission system 4 of FIG. 6, an end user who uses the printer 104 may access the homework management server 304A or 304B using the terminal device 94, which may trigger a scan instruction (an instruction to start reading the answer) to be sent from the homework management server 304A or 304B to the homework transfer server 204. In this case, the terminal device 94 sends a user ID to the homework management server 304A or 304B. In response to this, the homework transfer server 204 sends a scan instruction to the printer 104 corresponding to the user ID, and the printer 104 performs the answer reading operation. Image data showing the answer, which is the read result of the answer reading operation, is sent from the printer 104 to the homework management server 304A or 304B via the homework transfer server 204.

[0067] As a reference embodiment, a single server having both the functions of the homework transfer server 200 and the homework management server 300A or 300B may be used. In this case, image data of the homework is sent from this server to the printer 100, and image data showing the answer, which is the result of reading by the printer 100, is also sent to this server. The server calculates the charge based on the amount of image data received from the printer 100.

[0068] In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, the printer 100 or the like that has both an image forming function and a document reading function is used. Instead of the printer 100 or the like, a reading device that has a document reading function but does not have an image forming function may be used. In this case, a printer or the like that is separate from the reading device may be used to print the homework.

[0069] In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, it is assumed that there are two educational providers A and B. However, the present invention may be applied to a system involving one or three or more educational providers. Furthermore, the homework management servers 300A and 300B are components of the homework submission system 1. That is, each embodiment is described with the second computer of the present invention as a component within the system. However, the second computer of the present invention may be considered as a component outside the system. That is, the information processing system of the present invention may be associated with a system that includes the printer 100 and the homework transfer server 200 and has the homework management servers 300A and 300B as external components.

[0070] In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications, the present invention is applied to each of the homework submission systems 1 to 4, but is not limited thereto. The present invention may be applied to a system having other inkjet type image forming devices that eject ink from a head, such as a multifunction printer or a copy machine. The present invention may also be applied to a system having a laser type image forming device that performs image recording processing by adhering toner to a print paper instead of adhering ink to a print paper in an inkjet method. In this case, a toner cartridge that contains toner is detachably mounted in the image forming device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] 1, 2, 3, 4 Homework submission system 100, 102, 104 Printers 110 Scanner section 120 Image forming section 140 Control section 142 Control section 200, 202, 203, 304 Homework transfer server 300A, 300B Homework management server

Claims

1. An information processing system including a reading device and a first computer capable of communicating with the reading device, The reading device is A reading process for reading the document; a first transmission process for transmitting a result of reading the document by the reading process to the first computer; The first computer a second transmission process for transmitting the read result received from the reading device to a second computer capable of communicating with the first computer; and an acquisition process for acquiring a charge amount or an evaluation value for deriving the charge amount according to the content of the reading result transmitted to the second computer by the second transmission process.

2. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the content of the read result is at least one of the number of documents, the amount of data indicating the contents of the documents, and the size of the documents.

3. The read result includes contents of a document of multiple pages, The information processing system according to claim 1, characterized in that the first computer executes the acquisition process so that, when the reading result indicates the presence of a blank page, the charged amount is lower than when the reading result does not indicate the presence of a blank page.

4. The information processing system according to claim 1, characterized in that when the reading result indicates the presence of a blank area due to an error occurring in the reading device, the first computer executes the acquisition process so that the charged amount is lower than when the reading result does not indicate the presence of a blank area due to an error occurring in the reading device.

5. If a predetermined condition is not met that the total amount of documents indicated by the read result transmitted to the second computer by the second transmission process within a predetermined period does not exceed a predetermined upper limit value, The information processing system of claim 1, characterized in that the first computer at least one of slowing down the transmission speed of the reading result in the second transmission process compared to when the specified condition is satisfied and increasing the amount charged in the acquisition process compared to when the specified condition is satisfied, or the first computer does not perform the second transmission process.

6. An information processing system for use in a service involving a fee, comprising: a reading device; and a first computer capable of communicating with the reading device, The reading device is A reading process for reading the document; a first transmission process for transmitting a result of reading the document by the reading process to the first computer; If certain conditions are met, a second transmission process is executed by the first computer to transmit the read result received from the reading device to a second computer capable of communicating with the first computer, and a first charge is made, which is a fixed amount for a predetermined period of time; If the predetermined condition is not met, the first computer executes a third transmission process for transmitting the read result received from the reader to the second computer, and a second charge is performed at the same time, or the read result is not transmitted from the first computer to the second computer, and the first charge is performed at the same time; the predetermined condition is that a total amount of documents indicated by the read results transmitted to the second computer by the second transmission process within the predetermined period does not exceed a predetermined upper limit value; An information processing system characterized in that at least one of the following is performed: the transmission speed of the reading result in the third transmission process is made slower than the transmission speed of the reading result in the second transmission process; and the amount of the second charge is made greater than the amount of the first charge.

7. The reading device is an image forming unit that forms an image on a medium; an image forming control unit that controls the image forming unit to form an original image on a medium, the original image corresponding to the contents of the original transmitted from a third computer that is capable of communicating with the reading device; 7. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the document read in the reading process originates from a medium on which the image forming unit has formed the document image.

Images