Image forming device

Abstract

To support selection of a proper fee plan in accordance with a use mode of a device by a user.SOLUTION: A fee plan is a plan that a fee is charged as a money amount corresponding to the number of print papers that are consumed in image formation. A control part 30 obtains a consumption situation of the print papers consumed in image formation, and selects a recommended plan in accordance with the consumption situation. The control part 30 makes a display 20 display a guide message concerning the selected recommended plan.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a medium. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are services in which a fee is charged for the consumption of consumables used when forming images in an image forming device. Patent Document 1 is one example of such a service, in which a user applies for the use of a printing service while paying a fee for a specified number of printable sheets. This allows the user to consume paper as a consumable for the specified number of printable sheets. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-68372 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the case of a rate plan in which a fee is charged for the consumption of consumables, whether the rate plan is appropriate depends on the manner in which the user uses the device.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that supports a user in selecting an appropriate fee plan according to the manner in which the user uses the apparatus. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The image forming device of the present invention comprises an image forming unit that forms an image on a medium, a status acquisition unit that acquires the consumption status of consumables used by the image forming unit when forming an image, a notification unit that notifies information, and a control unit, and the control unit executes a plan notification process that causes the notification unit to notify information about a fee plan in which a fee is charged for consumption of the consumables or information related to the fee plan based on the consumption amount of the consumables indicated by the consumption status acquired by the status acquisition unit. Effect of the Invention

[0007] The fee plan or related information is notified based on the consumption amount of the consumables, which helps the user to select an appropriate fee plan according to the manner in which the device is used. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is a conceptual diagram of a determination period used in determining whether to recommend a rate plan regarding use of the printer in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] Fig. 3(a) is an example of a display of a message informing a user of a recommended plan selected based on the amount of paper consumption during the judgment period in Fig. 2. Fig. 3(b) is another example of a display of a message informing a user of the recommended plan. [Figure 4] 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing by a control unit in FIG. 1. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printer according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 6 is an example of a message that is displayed on the display of FIG. 5, encouraging users to subscribe to a rate plan. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] A printer 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0010] The printer 1 (corresponding to the “image forming apparatus” of the present invention) has an image forming section 10, a display 20, and a control section 30, as shown in FIG.

[0011] The image forming unit 10 has a paper storage unit 11 capable of storing printing paper, an ink cartridge 12 for storing ink, and an inkjet head 13. Under the control of the control unit 30, the image forming unit 10 forms an image on the printing paper by ejecting ink stored in the ink cartridge 12 from the inkjet head 13 onto the printing paper supplied from the paper storage unit 11.

[0012] There are multiple sizes and types of printing paper that can be stored in the paper storage unit 11. Examples of the multiple sizes include A4, B5, etc. Examples of the multiple types include plain paper, recycled paper, high-quality paper, glossy paper, etc. The paper storage unit 11 is configured to be able to simultaneously store one or more of these multiple sizes and types of printing paper.

[0013] There are multiple types of ink stored in the ink cartridge 12, differing in color, material, etc. For example, there are colors such as cyan, magenta, yellow, black, etc., and types such as pigments and dyes. The ink cartridge 12 simultaneously contains one or more of these multiple types of ink.

[0014] The display 20 (corresponding to the "notification unit" of the present invention) displays characters, images, etc. on a screen. This enables the display 20 to notify the user of various information.

[0015] The control unit 30 includes hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a storage unit configured with a read only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM), and an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The ROM stores program data and the like executed by the CPU and the ASIC. The RAM stores image formation instruction data (described below) and data used when the CPU executes a program. The CPU and the ASIC, which are hardware, execute various processes, such as processes for controlling the operation of the image forming unit 10 and the display 20, in accordance with the program data and other data, which are software, stored in the ROM and the RAM.

[0016] For example, the control unit 30 controls the image forming unit 10 to form an image indicated by image data received from an external PC or the like on a sheet of paper. The image data is data that indicates the content of the image formation to be performed by the image forming unit 10. The image data includes data indicating the content of the image to be formed on the printing paper, as well as data indicating the setting contents for various setting items. The setting items include the size and type of printing paper, print quality, number of prints, etc. The control unit 30 controls the image forming unit 10 to form an image according to the setting contents indicated by the image data. At this time, the control unit 30 counts the number of printing paper sheets consumed in the above image formation. The counting result is held as accumulated consumption data indicating the accumulated consumption amount of printing paper. The function of the control unit 30 to acquire the accumulated consumption amount in this way corresponds to the function of the "status acquisition unit" of the present invention. The accumulated consumption amount corresponds to the "consumption status" of the present invention.

[0017] It should be noted that a scanner unit for reading the contents of a document may be installed in the printer 1, and the image data used for the image formation may be data obtained by reading the document using the scanner unit.

[0018] In this embodiment, multiple types of fee plans for use of the printer 1 are assumed to be provided by the manufacturer of the printer 1. In each fee plan, the manufacturer provides the ink cartridge 12, and the fee for the ink cartridge is calculated based on the number of sheets of printing paper consumed in forming an image. In addition, each fee plan is assumed to be a plan in which the user uses a certain number of sheets of printing paper per month.

[0019] Table 1 below shows an example of a fee plan. Plans 1 to 3 in Table 1 (corresponding to the "first detailed plan" of the present invention) are flat-rate plans in which a monthly fee (corresponding to the "first fee" of the present invention) is set, which is a fixed fee per month. In these plans, an upper limit (corresponding to the "first reference value" of the present invention) is set for the number of sheets of printing paper consumed per month. An excess fee (corresponding to the "second fee" of the present invention) is set for consumption of printing paper exceeding this upper limit. The excess fee is a pay-per-use system in which a fee is charged per sheet. The judgment reference value will be described later. Plan 1 has the lowest monthly fee and upper limit, and the highest excess fee. In the order of plans 1, 2, and 3, the monthly fee and upper limit become higher, and the excess fee becomes lower. In addition, the ink cartridge 12 in the flat-rate plans may be provided according to a user's declaration, or may be provided automatically according to the ink consumption situation.

[0020] [Table 1]

[0021] Table 2 below shows another example of a fee plan. Plans 4 to 6 in Table 2 (corresponding to the "second detailed plan" of the present invention) are pay-as-you-go plans that purchase the right to form images corresponding to a specified number of sheets of printing paper. In pay-as-you-go plans, the right equivalent to a specified number of sheets of printing paper can be purchased in one lump sum. The user purchases one of the plans at a time of their own choosing. Plan 4 has the smallest number of sheets purchased, but the highest unit price per sheet of printing paper. Plans 4, 5, and 6, in that order, have lower unit prices as the number of sheets purchased increases. The purchase fee is the number of sheets purchased multiplied by the unit price.

[0022] [Table 2]

[0023] The printer 1 is connected to the fee management server 90 through a communication network N such as the Internet. The control unit 30 transmits the cumulative consumption indicated by the cumulative consumption data to the fee management server 90 together with the user ID. The fee management server 90 acquires the printing paper consumption for each one-month service period related to the flat-rate plan based on the cumulative consumption data from the printer 1. The printing paper consumption for each service period is calculated based on the cumulative consumption acquired at the start of the service period and the cumulative consumption acquired at the end of the service period. The fee management server 90 derives the fee for each service period based on the printing paper consumption for each service period. Each user is billed based on the derived fee. On the other hand, for the pay-per-use plan, the fee management server 90 judges whether the printing paper consumption exceeds the number of purchased sheets. If it is determined that the consumption does not exceed the number of purchased sheets, the fee management server 90 sends an instruction to the printer 1 to permit image formation. If it is determined that the consumption exceeds the number of purchased sheets, the fee management server 90 sends an instruction to the printer 1 to prohibit image formation. Printer 1 starts and stops image formation in response to instructions from fee management server 90. Printer 1 can also inquire of fee management server 90 about the subscription status of a plan based on the user ID. In response, fee management server 90 transmits information indicating whether the user corresponding to the user ID has subscribed to any plan, and if so, which of plans 1 to 6 it is.

[0024] As described above, each plan has a set fee for the consumption of print paper. However, the plans have different conditions, such as the fee per sheet. A user must consider whether or not to subscribe to a plan, and if so, which plan to select. However, users use the printer 1 in a variety of ways, and it is not necessarily clear to every user what advantages each of the multiple plans offers.

[0025] Therefore, the present embodiment has the following configuration for presenting an appropriate recommended plan according to the usage mode of the printer 1.

[0026] The control unit 30 holds plan data showing the contents of Tables 1 and 2. The plan data includes judgment reference values ​​that correspond one-to-one to the plans. The control unit 30 also holds recent consumption data showing the most recent consumption of printing paper by the user in a predetermined judgment period (hereinafter referred to as the most recent consumption). As shown in FIG. 2, the predetermined judgment period is made up of a number of consecutive unit periods each having a length of one month. The most recent consumption is calculated based on the cumulative number of sheets consumed acquired at the start of each unit period and the cumulative number of sheets consumed acquired at the end of each unit period. Table 3 shows an example of values ​​indicated by the most recent consumption data. "January consumption" indicates the consumption in the first unit period of the judgment period consisting of three unit periods. "February consumption" indicates the most recent consumption in the next unit period. "March consumption" indicates the consumption in the next unit period. The average consumption is the average consumption per unit period in the judgment period. Table 3 shows, as an example, the most recent consumption amounts of user 1 and user 2 who are not subscribed to a plan.

[0027] [Table 3]

[0028] The control unit 30 selects a recommended plan from among multiple plans included in the rate plans based on the usage mode of the printer 1 indicated by the most recent consumption amount and the judgment reference value for each plan, and causes information on the selected recommended plan to be displayed on the display 20 (corresponding to the "plan notification process" of the present invention). The following conditions (1) to (3) are used to select a plan.

[0029] <Criteria used to select subscription plans> (1) The amount of printing paper consumed in each unit period during the evaluation period is within the range of fluctuation indicated by one of the evaluation criteria and upper limit values ​​of the flat-rate plan.

[0030] Specifically, as shown in the following formula 1, the amount of printing paper consumed in each unit period is in the range from the upper limit minus the judgment reference value (corresponding to the "lower limit" of the present invention) to the upper limit. Since the judgment reference value has a one-to-one correspondence with plans 1 to 3 as described above, this range also has a one-to-one correspondence with plans 1 to 3. This range corresponds to the "variation range" of the present invention. The value obtained by subtracting the judgment reference value from the upper limit corresponds to the "lower limit" of the present invention. This value and the upper limit correspond to the "second reference value" of the present invention.

[0031] [Number 1] (Upper limit) - (criterion value) ≦ (printing paper consumption for each unit period) ≦ (upper limit)

[0032] If this condition is met, it indicates that the amount of printing paper consumed in each unit period is large to a certain extent, and that the consumption is kept within the fluctuation range indicated by the judgment reference value throughout the entire judgment period. In this case, it indicates that the user uses a certain amount of printing paper per month, and that the amount of paper used is unlikely to fluctuate from month to month, making it unlikely that an excess charge will be applied. This type of usage of the printer 1 is suitable for a flat-rate plan.

[0033] <Criteria used to select pay-as-you-go plans> (2) In the case where the most recent consumption amount during the evaluation period does not satisfy the condition (1), at least one of the consumption amounts of printing paper during each unit period exceeds one of the evaluation criteria of the pay-as-you-go plan, as shown in the following formula 2.

[0034] [Number 2] (Any of the criteria for the pay-as-you-go plan) < (printing paper consumption for each unit period)

[0035] In this case, it is shown that the user uses a certain amount of printing paper per month, and that the number of sheets used varies to some extent from month to month. This type of usage of the printer 1 is suitable for a pay-as-you-go plan. The plan that corresponds to the largest of the pay-as-you-go plan determination criteria values ​​that satisfy Formula 2 becomes a candidate for the recommended plan to be selected. The determination criteria value for the pay-as-you-go plan corresponds to the "upper limit threshold" of the present invention.

[0036] <Conditions used for both flat-rate and pay-as-you-go plan selection> (3) The projected cost of maintaining the status quo is lower than the cost of ink consumption for a new subscription or change of plan.

[0037] The predicted cost is a predicted value of the cost associated with ink consumption, and is derived by the control unit 30 (corresponding to the "cost prediction process" of the present invention). This condition is evaluated according to the following two cases depending on the plan subscription status of the user. Note that the plan subscription status of the user is based on information obtained by the control unit 30 from the fee management server 90, as described above.

[0038] The first case is a case of plan change, that is, a case in which the user is currently subscribed to a rate plan and is expected to select a recommended plan to change the subscribed plan. Among these, if the currently subscribed plan is a pay-as-you-go plan and the candidate recommended plan is also a pay-as-you-go plan, this is an exceptional case and condition (3) is not used. Among pay-as-you-go plans, plan 6 has the lowest unit price. For this reason, if this condition were used in the exceptional case described above, only a change to plan 6 would be allowed.

[0039] In cases other than the above exceptions, the predicted cost based on the current plan is compared with the cost based on the candidate recommended plan. The cost of a flat-rate plan is a monthly fee. For example, the cost of Plan 2 is 500 yen / month. The cost of a pay-as-you-go plan is the unit price multiplied by the average consumption per unit period of the judgment period. For example, the cost of Plan 5 based on the most recent consumption of User 1 in Table 3 is 9 yen / page * 35 pages / month = 315 yen / month. If, as a result of such cost calculation, the cost of the candidate recommended plan is lower than the predicted cost of the current plan, then condition (3) is met.

[0040] The second case is when the user is a new subscriber, that is, when the user is not currently subscribed to any rate plan. In this case, the predicted cost is calculated based on the most recent consumption amount as shown in the following formula 3. The standard unit price is held by the control unit 30. This unit price corresponds to the standard cost incurred for ink used per sheet of printed paper when no plan is subscribed to, that is, when a commercially available ink cartridge 12 is used.

[0041] [Number 3] (Forecasted cost) = (Average consumption per month) * (Standard unit price)

[0042] If the cost based on the candidate recommended plan is less than the predicted cost, this condition is met. The cost based on the candidate recommended plan is derived in the same manner as in the first case above.

[0043] The control unit 30 determines, as the recommended plan, a flat-rate plan among plans 1 to 3 that satisfies conditions (1) and (3). For example, in the case of user 1 in Table 3, the consumption amounts for all of January to March for plan 1 satisfy formula 1 of condition (1). Therefore, the recommended plan candidate is plan 1. The cost of subscribing to this plan 1 is 300 yen / month. On the other hand, for user 1 who has not subscribed to a plan, the predicted cost is calculated using formula 3 of condition (3). If the standard unit price is 10 yen / sheet, the predicted cost is 10 yen / sheet * 35 sheets / month = 350 yen / month. Therefore, condition (3) is satisfied. Therefore, plan 1 is the recommended plan for user 1.

[0044] For example, in the case of user 2 in Table 3, none of plans 1 to 3 satisfy formula 1 in condition (1). On the other hand, among the print paper consumption amounts in each unit period, the consumption amount in the first unit period exceeds the judgment reference value of plans 4 and 5, but does not exceed the judgment reference value of plan 6. Therefore, the candidate for the recommended plan is plan 5, which corresponds to the maximum judgment reference value that satisfies formula 2 in condition (2). The cost of subscribing to this plan 5 is 9 yen / sheet * 20 sheets / month = 180 yen / month based on the most recent consumption amount of user 2. On the other hand, for user 2 who has not subscribed to a plan, the predicted cost is calculated using formula 3 in condition (3). If the standard unit price is 10 yen / sheet, the predicted cost is 10 yen / sheet * 20 sheets / month = 200 yen / month.

[0045] When the control unit 30 determines the recommended plan, it derives the amount of savings to be achieved by subscribing to the plan. The amount of savings is the amount obtained by subtracting the cost based on the recommended plan from the predicted cost. Then, the control unit 30 causes the display 20 to display a guide message regarding the recommended plan.

[0046] FIG. 3(a) shows an example of a message for user 1 in Table 3. This message not only informs that flat-rate plan 1 has been selected as the recommended plan, but also includes the text "For those who print 30-40 pages per month" based on the most recent consumption amount, and information on the amount of savings. The amount of savings is 50 yen, calculated by subtracting the cost based on the recommended plan, 300 yen / month, from the predicted cost, 350 yen / month.

[0047] The example in FIG. 3(b) shows a message for user 2 in Table 3 as another example. In addition to the fact that Plan 5, a pay-as-you-go plan, has been selected as the recommended plan, the message includes the text "For those who print 5-45 pages per month" based on the most recent consumption amount, and information on the amount of savings. The amount of savings is the amount obtained by subtracting the cost based on the recommended plan from the predicted cost assuming that 100 pages have been printed as a guideline. The predicted cost is 10 yen / page * 100 pages = 1,000 yen, assuming a standard unit price of 10 yen / page. The cost based on the recommended plan is 9 yen / page * 100 pages = 900 yen, based on the unit price of Plan 5. Therefore, the amount of savings is 100 yen.

[0048] In addition, the information message regarding the recommended plan for a user who has already subscribed to any plan includes information indicating which plan has been selected as the recommended plan and information on the amount of savings (other than the above-mentioned exceptional cases), as described above. The amount of savings is the amount obtained by subtracting the cost based on the recommended plan from the predicted cost based on the current plan. For example, suppose that plan 3 is selected as the recommended plan for a user who has already subscribed to plan 5 and whose average print paper consumption during the evaluation period is 180 sheets. In this case, the amount of savings is 920 yen, which is the predicted cost based on plan 5 (9 yen / month * 180 sheets = 1,620 yen) minus the cost based on plan 3 (700 yen).

[0049] As described above, the amount of savings included in the guidance message corresponds to either information corresponding to subscribing to a new rate plan when not yet subscribing to a rate plan, or information corresponding to changing a currently subscribed plan to another plan. Note that the guidance message may also include information that directly indicates subscribing to a new rate plan when not yet subscribing to a rate plan, or changing a currently subscribed plan to another plan. For example, the guidance message may include a character string such as "For those who have not yet subscribed to a rate plan" as the former information, or a character string such as "For those who are currently subscribed to Plan 1" as the latter information.

[0050] An example of the flow of processing by the control unit 30 will be described below with reference to Fig. 4. First, the control unit 30 acquires the most recent consumption amount (S1). As described above, the most recent consumption amount is calculated based on the cumulative consumption amount acquired at the start of each unit period within the determination period and the cumulative consumption amount acquired at the end of each unit period.

[0051] Next, the control unit 30 judges whether the latest consumption amount acquired in S1 is within the range of the fixed price plan (S2). This process is performed by judging whether the above condition (1) is satisfied. If it is judged that the latest consumption amount is within the range of the fixed price plan (S2, Yes), the control unit 30 judges whether the cost will be reduced by the plan that satisfies the condition (1) among the plans 1 to 3 (S3). This process is performed by judging whether the above condition (3) is satisfied. If it is judged that the cost will be reduced (S3, Yes), the control unit 30 causes the display 20 to display a guide message (see FIG. 3(a)) regarding the recommended plan that is judged to reduce the cost (S4). This process of S4 corresponds to the "first detailed plan notification process" of the present invention. If it is judged that the cost will not be reduced (S3, No), the control unit 30 ends the series of processes without causing the display 20 to display the guide message of the recommended plan.

[0052] If it is determined in S2 that the latest consumption amount is not within the range of the flat-rate plan (S2, No), the control unit 30 determines whether or not the latest consumption amount is within the range of the pay-as-you-go plan (S5). This process is performed by determining whether or not the above condition (2) is satisfied. If it is determined that the latest consumption amount is not within the range of the pay-as-you-go plan (S5, No), the control unit 30 ends the series of processes without displaying a message informing the user of the recommended plan on the display 20. If it is determined that the latest consumption amount is within the range of the pay-as-you-go plan (S5, Yes), the control unit 30 determines whether or not the plan to which the user currently subscribes is a pay-as-you-go plan (S6). If it is determined that the plan to which the user currently subscribes is a pay-as-you-go plan (S6, Yes), the control unit 30 displays a message informing the user of the pay-as-you-go plan on the display 20 without making a cost determination in S7 described later (S8). This is the process performed in the above-mentioned exceptional case. The plan for which the guidance message is displayed in this process is the plan among plans 4 to 6 that corresponds to the largest judgment criterion value that satisfies formula 2 of condition (2).

[0053] If it is determined that the plan to which the user currently subscribes is not a pay-as-you-go plan (S6, No), the control unit 30 determines whether the cost will be reduced by the plan corresponding to the largest judgment reference value that satisfies the formula 2 of the condition (2) among the plans 4 to 6 (S7). This process is performed by determining whether the above condition (3) is satisfied. If it is determined that the cost will be reduced (S7, Yes), the control unit 30 causes the display 20 to display a guide message (see FIG. 3(b)) regarding the recommended plan that is determined to reduce the cost (S8). If it is determined that the cost will not be reduced (S7, No), the control unit 30 ends the series of processes without causing the display 20 to display the guide message for the recommended plan.

[0054] According to the first embodiment described above, a guide message regarding a recommended plan according to the most recent consumption of printing paper by the user is displayed on the display 20. This can help the user select an appropriate rate plan according to the manner in which the printer 1 is used.

[0055] At this time, the recommended plan is selected taking into consideration whether the user has not yet subscribed to a plan, so that it is possible to support the selection of an appropriate rate plan for both users who have not yet subscribed to a plan and those who have subscribed to a plan.

[0056] In this embodiment, as in the above conditions (1) and (2), a flat-rate plan or a pay-as-you-go plan is selected depending on whether the fluctuation in the amount of printing paper consumed is large or small. Therefore, a recommended plan suitable for the user's usage is selected. The flat-rate plans include plans 1 to 3, and the pay-as-you-go plans include plans 4 to 6, and a judgment reference value is set for each of these plans 1 to 6. Then, a recommended plan candidate is selected from plans 1 to 6 depending on whether the most recent consumption meets the conditions based on these judgment reference values. Therefore, an appropriate recommended plan candidate according to the plan settings is selected. Furthermore, as in the above condition (3), only if the cost is reduced from the current situation by subscribing to the recommended plan, a guide message for the recommended plan is displayed on the display 20. Therefore, an appropriate plan that reduces the ink consumption cost is guided.

[0057] [Second embodiment] A printer 100 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Fig. 5. The second embodiment has a common configuration with the first embodiment. Therefore, the same reference numerals as above will be used for such common configuration, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0058] The printer 100 has an image forming unit 10, a display 20, and a control unit 130. The control unit 130 is equipped with a CPU, a storage unit composed of ROM and RAM, and hardware such as an ASIC. The ROM stores program data and the like executed by the CPU and ASIC. The RAM stores image formation instruction data (described below) and data used when the CPU executes a program. The CPU and ASIC, which are hardware, execute various processes, such as processes for controlling the operation of the image forming unit 10 and the display 20, in accordance with the program data and other data, which are software stored in the ROM and RAM.

[0059] The control unit 130 holds plan data, cumulative consumption data, print status data, and ink consumption data. Of these, the cumulative consumption data is the same as in the first embodiment. The print status data includes data indicating the total value of print quality and the ink usage rate per sheet. The total value of print quality indicates the number of times the print quality mode was used in past image formation. This information is acquired based on the print quality indicated by the image data. Specifically, there are two types of print quality mode settings in image formation, high quality mode and low quality mode, and the image data indicates which of these modes is to be used. Each time image formation based on image data is performed, the control unit 130 performs image formation in the print quality mode indicated by the image data and tallies the print quality modes used. As a result, total values ​​such as N1 times for the high quality mode and N2 times for the low quality mode are acquired.

[0060] Furthermore, the ink usage rate per sheet corresponds to the ratio of the area where ink (corresponding to the "colorant" of the present invention) has been used to the entirety of one sheet of printing paper. The control unit 130 calculates the ink usage rate per sheet in each image formation based on the image data. The control unit 130 holds the ink usage rate per sheet in multiple image formations as printing status data. The ink consumption data indicates the cumulative amount of ink consumed. This information is obtained based on, for example, counting the number of times ink is ejected from the inkjet head 13 during image formation.

[0061] The plan data is data that indicates information related to the fee plan. As in the first embodiment, the fee plan is a plan in which the ink cartridge 12 is provided by a manufacturer or the like, and a fee for the ink cartridge is generated in accordance with the number of sheets of printing paper consumed in forming an image. The fee plan may be one or both of the flat-rate plan and pay-as-you-go plan of the first embodiment, or it may be a plan different from these. The plan data also includes data that indicates a judgment reference value. The judgment reference value (corresponding to the "predetermined threshold value" of the present invention) is a reference value related to the magnitude of the amount of ink consumed relative to the amount of printing paper consumed.

[0062] The control unit 130 evaluates the size of the ink consumption amount relative to the printing paper consumption amount based on at least one of the cumulative consumption amount data, the printing status data, and the ink consumption data. Specifically, the control unit 130 calculates one of the following evaluation values ​​(a) to (c) and compares the calculated evaluation value with a judgment reference value. If the evaluation value is equal to or greater than the judgment reference value, the control unit 130 causes the display 20 to display a guidance message such as the example shown in FIG. 6, which has content recommending subscription to a rate plan. On the other hand, if the evaluation value is less than the judgment reference value, the control unit 130 does not perform the display process of the guidance message.

[0063] (a) The value obtained by dividing the amount of ink consumed in a specified period by the amount of printing paper consumed in the same period. (b) The value obtained by dividing the number of times the high quality mode was selected in the image data for image formation performed in the specified period (corresponding to the "selection rate" of this invention). (c) The ink usage rate per sheet of paper. In deriving the evaluation values ​​of (a) to (c), the amount of consumables in a specified period is obtained based on the cumulative consumption at both the start and end points of the specified period.

[0064] According to the second embodiment described above, the fee plan charges a fee for the consumption of printing paper, while the ink cartridges 12 are provided separately. This type of fee plan is suitable for users who consume a large amount of ink relative to the consumption of printing paper. Any of the values ​​(a) to (c) above indicates the amount of ink consumed relative to the amount of printing paper consumed. Therefore, regardless of which of the values ​​(a) to (c) is used, subscription to the fee plan is appropriately recommended depending on the manner in which the user uses the printer 100.

[0065] <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.

[0066] In the first embodiment described above, the recommended plan is selected based on the amount of printing paper consumed. Alternatively, the recommended plan may be selected based on the time average of the amount of printing paper consumed. For example, the above condition (2) is based on the criterion that at least one of the amounts of printing paper consumed in each unit period in the judgment period exceeds one of the judgment reference values ​​of the pay-as-you-go plans. Alternatively, the criterion may be that the average value of the amount of printing paper consumed per month in the judgment period exceeds the judgment reference value.

[0067] In the first embodiment, the printer 1 selects the recommended plan. In the second embodiment, the printer 100 determines whether to display a guide message recommending subscription to a rate plan. Alternatively, these processes may be performed in an external computer such as the fee management server 90. For example, the printer 1 may transmit the most recent consumption to the external computer, and the external computer may select a recommended plan based on the most recent consumption, as in the first embodiment. In addition, a print server that manages print requests to the printer 1 through a network to which the printer 1 is connected may be used as the external computer. In this case, the print server may tally up the print quality settings in each print request, as in the second embodiment, and instruct the printer 1 to display a guide message recommending subscription to a rate plan based on the tallying results.

[0068] In the first embodiment, the degree of fluctuation in the printing paper consumption is evaluated as shown in the above condition (1). Alternatively, the degree of fluctuation may be evaluated using another method. For example, if the average monthly value of the printing paper consumption in the judgment period falls within a predetermined range and the variance of the printing paper consumption in each unit period is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, the degree of fluctuation in the consumption may be evaluated as small.

[0069] In the first embodiment described above, the display 20 serves as the notification unit of the present invention. Alternatively, or in addition, a notification unit using another means may be adopted. For example, information may be notified by audio output from a speaker, or information may be printed on a printing sheet by image formation, serving as the notification unit.

[0070] Also, in the first embodiment described above, the criterion for condition (2) is that at least one of the print paper consumption amounts in each unit period exceeds one of the judgment reference values ​​for the pay-as-you-go plans. In other words, condition (2) is met when the print paper consumption amount in each unit period exceeds the judgment reference value at least once within the judgment period. Alternatively, a condition may be adopted in which the print paper consumption amount in each unit period exceeds the judgment reference value N times (N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) within the judgment period. This corresponds to the "number of times that the consumption amount of the consumable in a unit period having a predetermined length or its time average exceeds the upper limit threshold in multiple consecutive unit periods is equal to or greater than a predetermined value" in the present invention.

[0071] In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, a guide message regarding subscription to a recommended plan or rate plan, that is, guide information for a rate plan, is displayed on the display 20. Alternatively, information related to a rate plan may be displayed on the display 20. For example, in a case where the printer 1 includes a model A that is compatible with plans 1 to 3 and a model B that is not compatible with plans 1 to 3, when plan 1 is selected as the recommended plan, a guide message having content recommending the introduction of model A instead of the plan content may be displayed on the display 20.

[0072] In the fee plans according to the above-described embodiments, fees are charged according to the consumption of printing paper. In contrast, the present invention may be applied to a fee plan in which fees are charged according to the consumption of ink. In this case, for example, the amount of ink consumed for each image formation is detected, and the detection result is added up as the cumulative ink consumption, and a recommended plan is selected based on the cumulative consumption.

[0073] Additionally, in the above-described embodiments, the present invention is applied to the printer 1 or 100, but is not limited thereto. The present invention may be applied to other inkjet type image forming devices that eject ink from a head, such as multifunction machines and copy machines, or to these image forming devices. The present invention may also be applied to laser type image forming devices that perform image recording processing by adhering toner to printing paper, instead of adhering ink to printing paper as in the inkjet method. In this case, a toner cartridge that contains toner is removably mounted in the image forming device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0074] 1,100 Printers 10 Image forming section 20 Display 30, 130 Control unit

Claims

1. an image forming unit that forms an image on a medium; a status acquisition unit that acquires a consumption status of a consumable used when the image forming unit forms an image; A notification unit that notifies information; A control unit, The control unit is An image forming device characterized by executing a plan notification process that causes the notification unit to notify the notification unit of guidance information for a fee plan in which a fee is charged for the consumption of the consumable, or information related to the fee plan, based on the consumption amount of the consumable indicated by the consumption status acquired by the status acquisition unit.

2. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fee plan guide information or the information related to the fee plan is information corresponding to a new subscription to the fee plan from a state where the user is not yet subscribed to the fee plan.

3. The fee plan includes a plurality of detailed plans, 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fee plan guide information or the information related to the fee plan is information corresponding to changing the detailed plan currently subscribed to to another detailed plan.

4. The above-mentioned fee plan is 2. The image forming device according to claim 1, further comprising a first detailed plan in which a fixed first fee is set for consumption of the consumables whose consumption amount in a specified service period is equal to or less than a first reference value, and a second fee higher than the first fee is set for consumption of the consumables whose consumption amount in the specified service period exceeds the first reference value.

5. The plan notification process includes: The image forming device according to claim 4, further comprising a first detailed plan notification process for comparing the consumption amount of the consumable or its time average indicated by the consumption status acquired by the status acquisition unit with a second reference value related to the degree of fluctuation in the consumption amount of the consumable, and if the comparison result indicates that the degree of fluctuation in the consumption amount is small, causing the notification unit to notify the notification unit of guidance information for the first detailed plan or information related to the first detailed plan.

6. The second reference value includes an upper limit value and a lower limit value, The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that, in the first detailed plan notification process, the fact that the consumption amount of the consumable in a specified period or its time average is within a fluctuation range from the lower limit value to the upper limit value indicates that the degree of fluctuation in the consumption amount is small.

7. The fee plan includes a plurality of the first detailed plans in which the first reference value and the first fee are different from each other, A plurality of the variation ranges are set in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of first detailed plans, The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the first detailed plan notification process is a process of causing the notification unit to notify guidance information of the first detailed plan corresponding to the range of fluctuation including the consumption of the consumable during the specified period or information related to the first detailed plan.

8. The control unit is execute a cost prediction process for obtaining a predicted value of a consumption cost of the consumable in a case where the user does not subscribe to the rate plan or does not change the rate plan; The image forming device of claim 1, characterized in that, in the plan notification process, when the consumption cost of the consumables decreases when subscribing to the rate plan or changing the rate plan compared to the predicted value of the consumption cost obtained by the cost prediction process, the notification unit is caused to notify the user of guidance information for the rate plan or information related to the rate plan.

9. The above-mentioned fee plan is 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second detailed plan in which a third lump-sum fee is set for a predetermined amount of the consumables.

10. The plan notification process includes: The image forming device according to claim 9, further comprising a second detailed plan notification process for comparing the consumption amount of the consumable or its time average indicated by the consumption status acquired by the status acquisition unit with a second reference value related to the degree of fluctuation in the consumption amount of the consumable, and if the comparison result indicates that the degree of fluctuation in the consumption amount is large, causing the notification unit to notify the notification unit of guidance information for the second detailed plan or information related to the second detailed plan.

11. The second reference value includes an upper limit value and a lower limit value, The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that in the second detailed plan notification process, the consumption amount of the consumable in a specified period or its time average being outside the range of fluctuation from the lower limit value to the upper limit value indicates that the degree of fluctuation in the consumption amount is large.

12. The fee plan includes a plurality of the second detailed plans in which the third fees are different from each other, A plurality of upper limit thresholds are set in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of second detailed plans, The second detailed plan notification process includes: a process of causing the notification unit to notify guidance information of the second detailed plan or information related to the second detailed plan corresponding to a maximum value among any of the plurality of upper limit thresholds that satisfy a predetermined condition, The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the specified condition is that the number of times that the consumption amount of the consumable in a unit period having a specified length or the time average thereof exceeds the upper limit threshold in multiple consecutive unit periods is equal to or greater than a specified value.

13. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fee plan is a plan in which a fee is charged for the consumption of media used by the image forming unit when forming an image, and a colorant used by the image forming unit when forming an image is provided.

14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that the plan notification process is a process of causing the notification unit to notify guidance information for the fee plan or information related to the fee plan based on the size of the colorant consumption amount relative to the medium consumption amount indicated by the consumption status acquired by the status acquisition unit.

15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that the plan notification process is a process for causing the notification unit to notify guidance information for the fee plan or information related to the fee plan when the ratio of the size of the colorant usage area to the total size of the medium indicated by the consumption status acquired by the status acquisition unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

16. When the image forming unit forms an image, a high print quality mode and a low print quality mode can be selected, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the plan notification process is a process of notifying the notification unit of guide information for the fee plan or information related to the fee plan when the selection rate of the mode with high print quality is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

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