Printer

Abstract

To improve convenience by making it possible to increase an allowable amount of printing even when information transmission / reception between a printer and an external device becomes impossible and new printing authority cannot be purchased.SOLUTION: A printer 200 is configured to be capable of executing printing with an allowable number of printed sheets as an upper limit, is configured to be capable of increasing the allowable number of printed sheets by purchase, is configured to decrease the allowable number of printed sheets according to an amount of printing and is capable of communicating with a management server 100. The printer performs: a step S45 and a step S60 of determining whether information transmission / reception to / from the management server 100 is possible or not; a step S200, a step S55, a step S300, and a step S70 of increasing the allowable number of printed sheets when it is determined that information transmission / reception is impossible and the allowable number of printed sheets is insufficient; and a step S125 and a step S150 of, when it is determined that the information transmission / reception is possible thereafter, transmitting a request to bill corresponding to an amount of increase in the allowable number of printed sheets, to the management server 100.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a printing device that enables printing by a user purchasing printing authority. [Background technology]

[0002] There is already a known system in which a user receives a printing service by paying a fee in a prepaid manner. In such a system, a technique is known in which a management server connected to a printing device adds a guaranteed printing amount corresponding to a printing right purchased based on a purchase request made manually by a user to an allowable printing amount of the printing device, and the printing device executes printing with the allowable printing amount after the addition as an upper limit, as described in Patent Document 1, for example. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-110476 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above conventional technology, when a print process based on the guaranteed print volume guaranteed by the printing authority is completed and the allowable print volume, which is the upper limit of printable capacity, becomes zero, the user purchases new printing authority, i.e., charges up. This adds to the guaranteed print volume guaranteed by the purchased printing authority, increasing the allowable print volume, and allows printing to continue. Now, let us consider a new case where, for example, the printing device goes offline or some kind of trouble occurs in the management server, and it becomes impossible to send and receive information between the printing device and the management server. In this case, the user cannot purchase new printing rights and cannot increase the printing volume allowed by the printing device, so there is a problem that when the allowed printing volume becomes zero, it becomes impossible to continue printing.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a printing device that can increase the allowable printing volume and improve convenience even when information transmission and reception between the printing device and an external device becomes impossible and new printing rights cannot be purchased. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a printing device having a printing unit, a control unit, and a communication unit, configured to be able to execute printing by the printing unit up to an allowable printing volume, configured to be able to increase the allowable printing volume according to a guaranteed printing volume guaranteed by a printing authority obtained by purchase, configured to decrease according to the amount of printing executed by the printing unit, and configured to be able to communicate with an external device via the communication unit, wherein the control unit is configured to execute a transmission / reception determination process for determining whether or not information can be sent / received with the external device, an allowable printing volume increase process for increasing the allowable printing volume when it is determined in the transmission / reception determination process that information sending / receiving is impossible and the allowable printing volume is insufficient, and a fee claim request process for sending a fee claim request corresponding to the increase in the allowable printing volume in the allowable printing volume increase process to the external device via the communication unit when it is determined in the transmission / reception determination process that information sending / receiving is possible after the allowable printing volume increase process.

[0007] In the printing device of the present invention, a transmission / reception determination process is executed by the control unit to determine whether or not information can be transmitted / received between the printing device and an external device via the communication unit. If it is determined that information transmission / reception is not possible and the allowable print volume is insufficient, the control unit executes an allowable print volume increase process. Even if information transmission / reception between the printing device and the external device is not possible and new printing authorization cannot be purchased, the allowable print volume of the printing device can be increased, and printing can be performed by the printing unit with the increased allowable print volume as an upper limit.

[0008] While information cannot be sent or received between the printing device and the external device, the user cannot be asked to pay the financial burden for the increase in the allowable printing volume, but when the sending / receiving determination process determines that information can be sent or received, the control unit performs a fee billing request process. In the fee billing request process, a fee billing request corresponding to the increase in the allowable printing volume in the allowable printing volume increase process is sent to the external device via the communication unit, so that the user can be asked to pay the corresponding financial burden.

[0009] According to the present invention, even if it becomes impossible to send and receive information between a printing device and an external device and new printing rights cannot be purchased, the allowable printing volume can be increased, thereby improving user convenience. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, even when the printing device cannot transmit and receive information to and from an external device and new printing authorization cannot be purchased, the allowable printing volume can be increased, improving convenience. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a print service providing system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a mobile terminal. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of information transmission and reception in the print service providing system during normal use. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a specific parameter process executed within the printer for a prepaid print service. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a flow of information transmission and reception in the print service providing system when server communication is disabled. [Figure 6] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating specific parameter processing when the allowable number of printable sheets is increased by adding the total number of printable sheets. [Figure 7] 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a flow of information transmission and reception in the print service providing system when server communication is restored; [Figure 8] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating specific parameter processing when the allowable number of printed sheets is increased by allowing a negative margin threshold value. [Figure 9] 4 is a flow chart detailing the steps performed by the printer's processor after power-on. [Figure 10] 4 is a flow chart detailing the steps performed by the printer's processor. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart showing in detail a procedure of offline processing. [Figure 12] 11 is a flowchart showing in detail a procedure of a server down process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] <Outline of the printing service provision system> An example of the system configuration of a print service providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. The print service providing system 1 provides a prepaid print service in which a user, who is a customer, pays a fee in advance to use the print function of a printer 200. In FIG. 1, the print service providing system 1 has a management server 100, a printer 200, a mobile terminal 300, and a transaction server 400. The management server 100, the printer 200, the mobile terminal 300, and the transaction server 400 are connected to a network NT including a mobile phone communication line, and can communicate with each other. The management server 100 is an example of an external device, and the printer 200 is an example of a printing device.

[0014] <Management Server> The management server 100 is a server installed and managed by, for example, a manufacturer of the printer 200. As shown in Fig. 1, the management server 100 has a processor 110, a storage device 115, and a communication interface 190. The processor 110, the storage device 115, and the communication interface 190 are connected via a bus 105 so as to be able to transmit and receive data to and from each other.

[0015] The storage device 115 includes a volatile storage device 120 and a non-volatile storage device 130. The volatile storage device 120 is, for example, a DRAM, and stores various programs and data to be processed. The non-volatile storage device 130 is, for example, a hard disk drive or a solid state drive, and includes a program storage area 131 and a data storage area 132.

[0016] Various programs are stored in the program storage area 131. The various programs include programs related to the prepaid printing service. The data storage area 132 stores various information related to users who have contracted for the prepaid printing service and the printers 200 they use.

[0017] The processor 110 is a device that performs data processing, such as a CPU, and executes various programs including programs related to the prepaid printing service stored in the program storage area 131. The processor 110 performs various processes including data communication with the mobile terminal 300, the printer 200, and the transaction server 400 that are connected to the network NT. The processor 110 executes the purchase of printing authority by the printing service providing system 1 of this embodiment.

[0018] The communication interface 190 is a wired LAN interface or a wireless interface for communicating with other devices, and is connected to a network NT.

[0019] In addition, the storage device 115 is not limited to being configured with the above-mentioned device elements, but may be configured with, for example, a RAM, a ROM, an EEPROM, a HDD, a portable recording medium such as a USB memory that is detachably attached to the management server 100, a buffer provided in the processor 110, or a combination of these. The storage device 115 may be a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium is a non-transitory medium. In addition to the above examples, non-transitory media also include recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs. A non-transitory medium is also a tangible medium. The same applies to the storage device 215 of the printer 200 described later.

[0020] <Printer> The printer 200 is owned, for example, by a user who receives the above-mentioned prepaid printing service. As shown in Fig. 1, the printer 200 has a processor 210, a storage device 215, a display unit 240, an operation unit 250, a communication interface 270, and a printing unit 290. The processor 210, the storage device 215, the display unit 240, the operation unit 250, the communication interface 270, and the printing unit 290 are connected to each other via a bus 205 so as to be able to transmit and receive data therebetween.

[0021] The storage device 215 includes a volatile storage device 220 and a non-volatile storage device 230. The volatile storage device 220 is, for example, a DRAM, and includes an image data storage area 221 for storing image data to be printed. The non-volatile storage device 230 is, for example, a flash memory, and includes a program storage area 232 and a data storage area 233. The program storage area 232 stores various programs related to the prepaid printing service based on the flowcharts of Figs. 9 to 12, which will be described later, as firmware, for example. The data storage area 233 stores various information related to the prepaid printing service, such as various parameters, such as the total number of prints, the total number of printable sheets, and the allowable number of prints, which will be described later. The parameter information related to the prepaid printing service will be described in detail in Figs. 4, 6, and 8, which will be described later.

[0022] The processor 210 is a device that performs data processing, and is, for example, a CPU. The processor 210 executes various programs stored in the program storage area 232. The processor 210 and the programs stored in the program storage area 232 are an example of a control unit.

[0023] The display unit 240 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and is capable of displaying various information. The operation unit 250 is a device that accepts operations by a user. The user can input various instructions to the printer 200 by operating the operation unit 250. The communication interface 270 is a wired or wireless network interface for communicating with other devices, and is connected to the network NT. The communication interface 270 is an example of a communication unit.

[0024] The printing unit 290 prints an image on the transported paper using a predetermined method while taking out paper from a paper feed tray using a transport mechanism (not shown). The printing method is not particularly limited, but printing is performed using an inkjet method or a laser method, for example. The printing unit 290 forms an image on the paper using ink from an ink cartridge or toner from a toner cartridge (not shown) in accordance with a print job sent from the mobile terminal 300 or a print job generated by the printing unit 290 itself based on an operation on the operation unit 250.

[0025] <Mobile devices> Fig. 2 shows an example of a system configuration of a mobile terminal 300. The mobile terminal 300 is, for example, a portable terminal such as a smartphone owned by a user, and is connected to a network NT via wireless communication. As shown in Fig. 2, the mobile terminal 300 has a CPU 310, a memory 320, a communication control unit 330 for connecting to the network NT via wireless communication, a touch panel 340, and a large-capacity storage device 350.

[0026] The mass storage device 350 is, for example, a flash memory, and includes a program storage area 351 and a data storage area 352. Various programs are stored in the program storage area 351 as, for example, applications. The CPU 310 executes the various programs stored in the program storage area 351. The CPU 310 executes various processes including data communication with the management server 100 connected to the network NT. The data storage area 352 stores a user ID and the like for identifying a user corresponding to the mobile terminal 300, which is issued based on the program or the print service.

[0027] The mobile terminal 300 also displays various information and accepts various operations by the user on a touch panel 340 that integrally combines a liquid crystal display and a touch pad. The user can input various instructions to the mobile terminal 300 by operating the touch panel 340.

[0028] Note that the mobile terminal 300 may be, instead of a mobile terminal, another information terminal such as a tablet computer or a desktop PC.

[0029] <Trade Server> 1, the transaction server 400 is a server for performing online settlement via a network NT. The transaction server 400 has a processor, a storage device, and a communication interface for connecting to the network NT (not shown).

[0030] <Prepaid printing service for normal use> FIG. 3 shows a specific example of a prepaid printing service provided by the printing service providing system 1 of this embodiment in the case of normal use.

[0031] In this embodiment, the printing service provided by the printing service providing system 1 is a prepaid printing service. The prepaid printing service is a service in which the charge number guaranteed for the printing right purchased in advance by the user through a purchase request by charging is added to the allowable number of printing pages of each target printer 200, and printing processing can be executed on the printer 200 up to the allowable number of printing pages.

[0032] The charge number is added to the allowable number of printable sheets by, for example, the processor 110 of the management server 100 updating the allowable number of printable sheets stored in the data storage area 132 for each individual printer 200. Furthermore, the addition information is also transmitted to the printer 200 via the network NT, and the allowable number of printable sheets stored separately in the data storage area 233 is updated in synchronization.

[0033] Each time printing is performed on the printer 200 side, the processor 210 reduces the value of the allowable number of sheets to be printed by the number of sheets printed, and the reduced value is transmitted to the management server 100 via the network NT, for example at regular intervals, and the allowable number of sheets to be printed in the data memory area 233 is updated synchronously.

[0034] In the above prepaid printing service, when the printer 200 completes printing based on the permitted number of pages and the permitted number of pages, which is the upper limit of the number of pages that can be printed, becomes zero or falls short, the user recharges the printer by purchasing a new printer. This adds to the purchased recharge amount, increasing the permitted number of pages, and allows printing to continue.

[0035] In the printing service providing system 1 of the present embodiment, the printing authority can be purchased based on a purchase request from a user as a purchasing form of the printing authority. The purchase of the printing authority based on the user's purchase request is executed by transmitting a purchase application for the printing authority from the mobile terminal 300 to the management server 100 in response to the user's operation and receiving the application from the management server 100. The purchase of the printing authority is executed at any timing desired by the user. At that time, the user selects one of a plurality of charge plans with different purchase numbers and purchase amounts, such as charge numbers of 50 sheets = 500 yen, 100 sheets = 900 yen, and 250 sheets = 2000 yen, and purchases the corresponding printing authority. The specific electronic payment process at the time of purchase is performed by the transaction server 400 in cooperation with the management server 100.

[0036] Here, specific parameter processing executed inside the printer 200 for the above prepaid printing service will be described with reference to Fig. 4. First, as shown in Fig. 4(a), the printer 200 stores parameters of the total number of printed sheets M and the total number of printable sheets N in the data storage area 233. The total number of printed sheets M is a parameter that indicates the total cumulative number of sheets that have actually been printed by the user of the printer 200 since the user subscribed to and started using the prepaid printing service up to that point in time, and is an important parameter in terms of management as the absolute usage amount of the printer 200 by the user. The total number of printable sheets N is a parameter that indicates the total cumulative number of charged sheets that the user of the printer 200 has actually purchased since the user subscribed to and started using the prepaid printing service.

[0037] The difference between the total number of printed sheets M and the total number of printable sheets N corresponds to the above-mentioned allowable number of printed sheets, and the user can continue printing as long as the value of this allowable number of printed sheets does not become zero. In addition, a parameter for the margin threshold Th is set separately at a relatively low, fixed value. When the total number of printed sheets M increases due to the use of the printer 200 and the total number of printed sheets M reaches the value obtained by subtracting the margin threshold Th from the total number of printable sheets N at that time, in other words, when the allowable number of printed sheets (NM) becomes smaller than the margin threshold Th, the processor 210 of the printer 200 notifies the user that printing will not be possible to continue in the near future and encourages a new charge. However, in this case, only the need for a charge is notified, and printing itself is possible until the allowable number of printed sheets becomes zero.

[0038] On the other hand, if the user is charged under a charge plan that purchases a charge quantity A, the charge quantity A is added to the original total printable quantity N to update it as the new total printable quantity N, and a new allowable print quantity is calculated as the difference between this and the total printable quantity M at that time. Also, in this embodiment, although not specifically shown, an auto-charge process that automatically adds a predetermined auto-charge quantity c without user confirmation or operation when it is detected that the allowable print quantity (NM) has fallen below the margin threshold value Th can also be executed by the user with a separate arbitrary setting.

[0039] Note that the above-mentioned allowable number of sheets to be printed is an example of an allowable amount of printing, the auto-charge process is an example of an automatic purchasing process, the margin threshold Th is an example of a threshold for the allowable amount of printing, the condition that triggers execution of the auto-charge process, in which the allowable number of sheets to be printed (NM) becomes smaller than the margin threshold Th, is an example of a specified condition, and the auto-charge number of sheets c is an example of a specified amount of printing.

[0040] <Prepaid printing service when server communication is unavailable> However, in the above prepaid printing service, in order for the management server 100 to properly manage charges according to the usage status of the printer 200, it is a prerequisite that normal information transmission and reception is ensured between the printer 200 and the management server 100. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 5, if the printer 200 goes offline due to a fault in the network NT, or if some functional fault occurs in the management server 100 and the server goes down, the user cannot purchase new printing rights and cannot increase the allowable printing volume of the printer 200. This causes problems such as the inability to continue printing when the allowable printing volume becomes zero during printing, or the inability to print a larger number of sheets than the allowable printing volume that was planned before printing because the remaining allowable printing volume is small.

[0041] In contrast, in this embodiment, when it is determined that the printer 200 cannot transmit or receive information to or from the management server 100 and the allowable number of pages to be printed is insufficient, the processor 210 of the printer 200 increases the allowable number of pages to be printed. In this case, the printer 200 processes the printer 200 to increase the allowable number of pages internally by itself, omitting billing charges in cooperation with the management server 100 and the transaction server 400. Then, after the allowable number of pages to be increased, when it is determined that the printer 200 can transmit or receive information to or from the management server 100, a request is sent to the management server 100 to bill the user for the increase in the allowable number of pages to be printed.

[0042] Incidentally, the process of increasing the allowable number of prints when communication with the server is unavailable as described above is a process that will ultimately incur costs, even if the user is billed for this after the fact. Therefore, it is desirable to notify the user of the occurrence of such a server communication inability and the need to increase the allowable number of prints, and to confirm whether or not the process can be carried out.

[0043] 6 shows the specific parameter processing contents when the allowable number of prints is increased inside the printer 200 so that printing can be continued even when communication with the server is not possible. In FIG. 6, when the allowable number of prints (NM) falls below the margin threshold Th, the processor 210 of the printer 200 skips the normal purchase and charge procedure and adds a temporary number of prints a that is set separately in advance to the original total number of prints N to update it as the new total number of prints N. The allowable number of prints is then increased by calculating the difference between this updated total number of prints N and the total number of prints M at that time (see "allowable number of prints (= (total number of prints N + temporary number of prints a) - total number of prints M)" in FIG. 5). In other words, this is equivalent to increasing the allowable number of prints by adding the allowable number of prints that has not been purchased to the allowable number of prints that has been purchased. This process of increasing the allowable number of printed sheets is repeatedly executed each time the allowable number of printed sheets (NM) becomes smaller than the margin threshold value Th while the server communication inability state continues, and the number of times this process is executed is stored.

[0044] When the printer 200 returns to a state where it can communicate with the server, as shown in FIG. 7, the printer 200 requests the management server 100 to bill the user for the cumulative number of pages that can be printed temporarily, i.e., the cumulative charge number equivalent to the sum of the number of pages that can be printed temporarily per time a and the number of times the above-mentioned increase process has been performed. This allows the management server 100 to grasp the cumulative number of pages that can be printed temporarily that the printer 200 added independently while it was unable to communicate with the server, i.e., the number of allowable prints that have not yet been purchased, and to bill the user accordingly. It is desirable to set a certain upper limit on the cumulative number of pages that can be printed temporarily and the number of times the increase process has been performed. After the post-billing has been performed, the printer 200 returns to the prepaid printing service for normal use shown in FIG. 3 above.

[0045] Furthermore, if the cause of the server communication failure is a server down, it is highly likely that the system operator who manages the management server 100 is responsible, and if the cause is offline, it is highly likely that the user or the line operator is responsible rather than the system operator. For this reason, in this embodiment, from the viewpoint of the business model, the above-mentioned post-billing is billed at a discounted price as an apology to the user only in the case of a server down, and no discount such as a discount price is applied in the case of offline.

[0046] In addition, the specific processing content of the process of increasing the allowable number of prints when communication with the server is not possible is not limited to adding the temporary number of prints a to the total number of prints N as shown in FIG. 6 above, but may be such that the allowable number of prints is temporarily increased by allowing the margin threshold Th of the allowable number of prints to be up to a negative value as shown in FIG. 8. In other words, the printer 200 may be billed later for the excess of the increased total number of prints M over the total number of prints N, without updating the total number of prints N that is originally stored in the printer 200. In this case, both the allowable number of prints and the margin threshold Th become negative values ​​corresponding to the excess of the total number of prints M, and are increased and updated in units of a separately set predetermined allowable negative number b. In addition, it is desirable to set a lower limit (an upper limit of an absolute value) for the negative value of the margin threshold Th in this case as well.

[0047] As for the process of increasing the allowable number of prints, the process of adding the number of temporary printable sheets a shown in Fig. 6 and the process of allowing the allowable number of prints and the negative value of the margin threshold Th shown in Fig. 8 are compatible, and whichever is selected and executed, the resulting processing effect is the same. Therefore, in the example of this embodiment, if the cause is offline, the allowable number of prints is increased by the process of adding the number of temporary printable sheets a, and if the cause is server down, the allowable number of prints is increased by the process of allowing the allowable number of prints and the negative value of the margin threshold Th.

[0048] Furthermore, when the above-mentioned auto-charge is set to be executed, during normal use, the allowable number of prints is automatically charged at the specified auto-charge number c without the need for user confirmation or operation. Therefore, as with auto-charge, the process of increasing the allowable number of prints when communication with the server is not possible may also be performed without the need for user confirmation or operation, and the allowable number of prints may be automatically increased by the auto-charge number c and billed later. Note that the user may be notified of the occurrence of such a state in which communication with the server is not possible and the process of increasing the allowable number of prints by the auto-charge number c will be performed, and the user may be able to set it at their own discretion so that they can confirm whether or not to do so.

[0049] <Control procedure> An example of a control procedure executed by the processor 210 of the printer 200 to realize the above-described processing in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of Figures 9 to 12. When the printer 200 is powered on, the flow of Figure 9 starts.

[0050] First, in step S5, the value of flag F is reset to 0. In step S10, the total number of printed sheets M, the total number of printable sheets N, and the margin threshold value Th at that time are obtained from the data storage area 233.

[0051] The process proceeds to step S20, where it is determined whether the allowable number of printed sheets (NM) is greater than the margin threshold Th. If the allowable number of printed sheets (NM) is greater than the margin threshold Th, the determination is satisfied (S20: YES), and the process proceeds to step S25. In step S25, it is determined whether an operation input from the operation unit 250 or an instruction from the mobile terminal 300 has been received to print the page that is currently being printed. If not, the determination is not satisfied (S25: NO), and the process proceeds to step S40. If received, the determination is satisfied (S25: YES), printing of one page to be printed is executed in step S30, and the value of the total number of printed sheets M is incremented by 1 in step S35, and then the process proceeds to step S40. In step S40, it is determined whether the value of flag F is 0. The value of flag F being 0 indicates that neither the increase in the allowable number of printed sheets based on offline processing, which will be described later, nor the increase in the allowable number of printed sheets based on server down processing has been executed. If F=0, the condition is satisfied (S40: YES), and the process returns to step S20. If the value of flag F is other than 0 in the determination of step S40 (S40: No), the process proceeds to step S110 in Fig. 10 (see connector B in the figure) described later.

[0052] In the judgment of step S20, if the allowable number of prints (NM) is equal to or less than the margin threshold Th, the judgment is not satisfied (S20: NO), and the process proceeds to step S45. In step S45, it is judged whether the network NT is in an offline state. If it is in an offline state, the printer 200 cannot transmit and receive information to and from the management server 100, and therefore the allowable number of prints cannot be increased by the user's billing charge, etc. If it is in an offline state, the judgment is satisfied (S45: YES), and the process proceeds to step S50. In step S50, it is judged whether a print instruction has been received, and if a print instruction has not been received, the judgment is not satisfied (S50: NO), and the process returns to step S20. This is because there is no need to temporarily increase the allowable number of prints when printing is not required. If a print instruction has been received, the judgment is satisfied (S50: YES), and the process proceeds to step S55 after executing the offline process of step S200 (see FIG. 11 described later). In step S55, the allowable number of print sheets is increased by adding the temporary number of printable sheets a set in the offline process in step S200 to the total number of printable sheets N, and then the process returns to step S20.

[0053] In the determination of step S45, if the network NT is in an online state, the determination is not satisfied (S45: NO), and the process proceeds to step S60. In step S60, it is determined whether the management server 100 is in a server-down state in which communication is not possible. The server-down state is detected, for example, when the printer 200 transmits a predetermined signal to the management server 100 even though the network NT is in an online state, and there is no predetermined response. In the server-down state, the allowable number of prints cannot be increased by the user's billing charge, etc. In the server-down state, the determination is satisfied (S60: YES), and the process proceeds to step S65. In step S65, it is determined whether a print instruction has been received, and if a print instruction has not been received, the determination is not satisfied (S65: NO), and the process returns to step S20. This is because there is no need to temporarily increase the allowable number of prints when there is no need to print. If a print instruction has been received, the determination is satisfied (S65: YES), and the server-down process of step S300 (see FIG. 12 described later) is executed, and the process proceeds to step S70. In step S70, the margin threshold Th is subtracted by the allowable minus number b set in the server down process in step S300 to temporarily increase the allowable number of printed sheets, and then the process returns to step S20. Here, the margin threshold Th may become a negative value as a result of the subtraction.

[0054] In the judgment of step S60, if the management server 100 is in a communicable state, the judgment is not satisfied (S60: NO), and the process proceeds to step S73. In step S73, it is judged whether the value of flag F is 0 or not. If the value of flag F is other than 0, the judgment is not satisfied (S73: NO), and the process proceeds to step S110 of FIG. 10 described later (see connector B in the figure). If F=0, the judgment is satisfied (S73: YES), and the process proceeds to step S75. In step S75, it is judged whether or not a normal charging operation has been input by the user, and if a charging operation has been input, the judgment is satisfied (S74: YES), and the process proceeds to step S80. In step S80, a charging process is executed to select a charging plan with a charging number A and settle the payment, and then in step S85, the charging number A is added to the total printable number N to increase the allowable number of printed sheets. The total printable number N thus updated is sent to the management server 100 for synchronization in the next step S90, and a corresponding request for billing is sent to the management server 100 in the next step S95, after which the process returns to step S20.

[0055] In the judgment of step S75 above, if the user has not input a charge operation, the judgment is not satisfied (S75: NO), and the process proceeds to step S100. In step S100, it is judged whether auto-charge is set to be executable (set ON), and if auto-charge is not set to be executable, the judgment is not satisfied (S100: NO), and the process returns to step S20. On the other hand, if auto-charge is set to be executable, the judgment is satisfied (S100: YES), and in step S105, the separately set auto-charge number A is added to the total printable number N to increase the allowable number of prints, and the process returns to step S20.

[0056] On the other hand, in the judgment of step S40, if the value of flag F is other than 0, the judgment is not satisfied (S40: NO), and the process proceeds to step S110 in FIG. 10. In step S110, it is judged whether the value of flag F is 1 or not. Here, it is judged whether the value of flag F is 1 (whether the allowable number of printed sheets has been increased based on offline processing) or whether the value of flag F is not 1, here, 2 (whether the allowable number of printed sheets has been increased based on server down processing). If F=1, the judgment is satisfied (S110: YES), and the process proceeds to step S115. In step S115, if the offline state is maintained, the process returns to S20 in FIG. 9 (see connector A in the figure), and when the state is improved and brought online, the process proceeds to step S120. The check for online status at this time may be performed continuously or at a predetermined time interval. In step S120, the total number of printable sheets N at that time is sent to the management server 100 for synchronization, and in the next step S125, a request for billing corresponding to the cumulative number of temporary printable sheets up to that point (abbreviated as "a minutes" in the figure) is sent to the management server 100. At this time, the mobile terminal 300 or information terminal of the user registered in the management server 100 may be notified of the recovery of the online state via email or the like. Then, in the next step S130, the sending of the request for billing in the above step S125 is repeated until it is confirmed that the user has paid the bill within the deadline. When payment is confirmed, in the next step S135, the cumulative number of temporary printable sheets up to that point is subtracted from the total number of printable sheets N at that time (abbreviated as "Na" in the figure), and the process returns to step S5.

[0057] On the other hand, in the judgment of step S110, if the value of flag F is F=2 other than 1, the judgment is not satisfied (S110: NO), and the process proceeds to step S140. In step S140, if the server down state is maintained, the process returns to S20 in FIG. 9 (see connector A in the figure), and when the state is improved and the management server 100 returns to a communication-enabled state, the process proceeds to step S145. Note that the communication state of the management server 100 at this time may be checked constantly or at a predetermined time interval. In step S145, the total printable number N at that time is sent to the management server 100 for synchronization, and in the next step S150, a request for a fee bill corresponding to the allowable negative number b up to that point (abbreviated as "b" in the figure) is sent to the management server 100. At this time, the recovery of the management server 100 may be notified to the mobile terminal 300 or information terminal of the user registered in the management server 100 via e-mail or the like. Then, in the next step S155, the sending of the request for the expense claim in the above step S150 is repeated until it is confirmed that the user has paid the expense claim within the deadline. When the payment is confirmed, in the next step S160, the margin threshold value Th at that time is added by the allowable negative number b up to that point (abbreviated as "Th+b" in the figure), and then the process returns to step S5.

[0058] Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing in detail the control procedure for the offline processing in step S200. In Fig. 11, first in step S205, it is determined whether auto-charge is set to be executable (ON), and if auto-charge is set to be executable, the condition is met (S205: YES), and in step S210 the temporary printable number a is set to the same number as the auto-charge number c, and then the process moves to step S240. On the other hand, if auto-charge is not set to be executable, the condition is not met (S205: NO), and the process moves to step S215.

[0059] In step S215, the display unit 240 displays a message indicating that normal charging processing is not possible because the network NT is offline, and also displays a message to ask the user whether or not to perform temporary charging by post-billing as an alternative processing. Thereafter, in step S220, it is determined whether or not the user has entered operational input to permit temporary charging via the operation unit 250, and if there has been operational input not permitting temporary charging, the determination is not satisfied (S220: NO), and in step S225 the number of temporary printable sheets a is set to 0, after which this flow ends. On the other hand, if there has been operational input permitting temporary charging, the determination is satisfied (S220: YES), and the flow proceeds to step S230.

[0060] In step S230, the number of sheets a that can be printed temporarily is set to, for example, Psmall, which is a number of sheets that is relatively smaller than the number of sheets charged in the normal charge plan, and in the next step S235, the number is set to the normal price to which the discount unit price for the temporary charge is not applied. This is because preferential treatment to users is not necessary from the perspective of the business model. In step S240, since auto-charge or temporary charge corresponding to the offline state can be executed, the value of flag F is set to 1 to indicate that the allowable number of prints has been increased based on offline processing. Then, this flow ends.

[0061] Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing in detail the control procedure of the server down process in step S300. In Fig. 12, first in step S305, it is determined whether auto-charge is set to be executable (ON setting), and if auto-charge is set to be executable, the condition is met (S305: YES), and in step S310, the allowable negative number b is set to the same number as the auto-charge number c, and then the process proceeds to step S340. On the other hand, if auto-charge is not set to be executable, the condition is not met (S305: NO), and the process proceeds to step S315.

[0062] In step S315, the display unit 240 displays a message that normal charging processing is not possible because the management server 100 is down, and displays a message to ask the user whether or not to perform temporary charging by deferred billing as an alternative processing. Then, in step S320, it is determined whether or not the user has entered an operation input to permit temporary charging via the operation unit 250, and if an operation input not permitting temporary charging has been entered, the determination is not satisfied (S320: NO), and in step S325, the allowable negative number b is set to 0, and this flow ends. On the other hand, if an operation input to permit temporary charging has been entered, the determination is satisfied (S320: YES), and the flow proceeds to step S330.

[0063] In step S330, the allowable negative number b is set to, for example, a number Plarge that is relatively larger than the charge number in the normal charge plan, and in the next step S335, a discount unit price is applied to the temporary charge. The processes in steps S330 and S335 are carried out because it is highly likely that the cause of the server communication failure state is a server down, and that the system operator is responsible, and therefore preferential treatment of users is necessary from the perspective of the business model. Then, in step S340, since the system is in a state where auto-charge or temporary charge corresponding to the server down state can be executed, the value of flag F is substituted with 2 to indicate that the allowable number of prints has been increased based on the server down process. Then, this flow ends.

[0064] In the above, steps S45 and S60 are an example of transmission / reception determination processing, steps S200, S55, S300, and S70 are an example of allowable print amount increasing processing, and steps S125 and S150 are an example of fee billing request processing.

[0065] <Effects of the embodiment> As described above, in the printer 200 provided in the print service providing system 1 of this embodiment, steps S45 and S60 are executed by the processor 210 to determine whether or not information can be exchanged between the printer 200 and the management server 100 via the communication interface 270. If it is determined that information exchange is not possible and the allowable number of pages to be printed is insufficient, steps S200, S55, S300, and S70 are executed. Even if information exchange between the printer 200 and the management server 100 cannot be performed and new printing authorization cannot be purchased, the allowable number of pages to be printed by the printer 200 can be increased, and printing can be performed by the printing unit 290 with the increased allowable number of pages as the upper limit.

[0066] While information cannot be exchanged between printer 200 and management server 100, the user cannot be required to pay the financial burden for the increase in the allowable number of prints, but if it is determined in steps S45 and S60 that information can be exchanged, processor 210 performs steps S125 and S150. In steps S125 and S150, requests for billing for expenses corresponding to the increase in the allowable number of prints in steps S200, S55, S300, and S70 are transmitted to management server 100 via communication interface 270, so that the user can be required to pay the corresponding financial burden.

[0067] According to this embodiment, even if information transmission and reception between the printer 200 and the management server 100 becomes impossible and new printing rights cannot be purchased, the number of pages that can be printed can be increased, thereby improving user convenience.

[0068] In particular, in this embodiment, when reception of a print execution instruction in response to a user operation is confirmed in step S50 or step S65, the above steps S45, S60, S200, S55, S300, and S70 are executed. According to this embodiment, the allowable number of prints can be increased when the allowable number of prints becomes insufficient in a state in which information cannot be sent or received from the management server 100 and the user issues a print execution instruction. As a result, it is possible to avoid the printer 200 from unnecessarily reacting and processing when a state in which information cannot be sent or received from the management server 100 temporarily occurs for a short period of time, and operational stability can be obtained.

[0069] Particularly in this embodiment, printer 200 further includes display unit 240 and operation unit 250, and processor 210 displays on display unit 240 that the normal increase in the allowable number of prints cannot be performed in steps S215, S220, S315, and S320, displays on display unit 240 an indication requesting the user to operate operation unit 250 to either temporarily increase the allowable number of prints or not, and increases the allowable number of prints when operation is performed on operation unit 250 to temporarily increase the allowable number of prints. As a result, the process of temporarily increasing the allowable number of prints is performed based on user operation, and it is possible to prevent the process of increasing the allowable number of prints against the user's will.

[0070] In this embodiment, particularly in steps S200 and S55 corresponding to the offline case, the allowable number of prints (=NM) is increased by adding the temporary number of prints a to the total number of prints N. In other words, the allowable number of prints is increased by adding the allowable number of prints that have not been purchased to the allowable number of prints that have been purchased. A request for a fee invoice corresponding to the allowable number of prints that have not been purchased is sent to the management server 100 in step S125. According to this embodiment, when information cannot be transmitted and received between the printer 200 and the management server 100 and new printing rights cannot be purchased, the allowable number of prints can be increased by adding the allowable number of prints that have not been purchased.

[0071] In this embodiment, particularly in steps S300 and S70, which correspond to the case where the server is down, the allowable number of sheets to be printed is temporarily increased by allowing the margin threshold Th of the allowable number of sheets to go down into the negative. In step S150, a request for a fee invoice that can resolve the insufficient number of sheets to be printed is sent to the management server 100. According to this embodiment, when the printer 200 and the management server 100 cannot exchange information and new printing authorization cannot be purchased, the allowable number of sheets to be printed can be increased by allowing the margin threshold Th of the allowable number of sheets to go down into the negative.

[0072] In this embodiment, if it is determined that either the offline state or the server down state has occurred, the printer 200 alone is treated as being incommunicable with the server and the process of increasing the allowable number of pages to be printed is executed. Alternatively, regardless of whether the state is offline or online, the process of increasing the allowable number of pages may be executed in the server down state where at least the management server 100 has a functional failure. This makes it possible to increase the allowable number of pages to be printed in the server down state where at least the management server 100 has a functional failure.

[0073] In particular, in this embodiment, in step S60, it is determined whether or not a functional malfunction has occurred in the management server 100, and in steps S150 and S335, a request is made to invoice for the cost at a discounted price obtained by applying a predetermined discount to a preset normal price system.

[0074] If the cause of the inconvenience to the user, such as the inability to purchase printing rights, is a malfunction of the management server 100, it is highly likely that the responsibility lies with the management side of the management server 100. According to this embodiment, in steps S150 and S335, in response to the high possibility that the management side is responsible, a discounted price can be charged to the user as an apology.

[0075] Furthermore, particularly in this embodiment, in step S45, it is further determined whether or not the printer 200 is offline, and if it is determined in steps S125 and S235 that the printer 200 is offline, a request is made to charge the fee at the normal price with no specified discount applied to the preset normal price system.

[0076] If the inconvenience to the user, such as the inability to purchase printing rights, is caused by the offline state of the printer 200, it is more likely that the fault lies with the user rather than with the management side of the management server 100. According to this embodiment, in steps S125 and S235, since it is less likely that the management side is responsible, the fee can be charged at the regular price without any discount.

[0077] In addition, in each of step S230 corresponding to the offline state and step S330 corresponding to the server down state, whether or not to execute the process of increasing the allowable number of prints, or the amount of increase in the allowable number of prints, may be set according to the user's print history or authority purchase history up to that point. In this way, whether or not to increase the allowable number of prints, or the amount of increase, is set according to the print history or authority purchase history. As a result, for example, it is possible to differentiate between a frequent user and other users as to whether or not they can benefit from the increase in the allowable number of prints, or the degree to which they can benefit.

[0078] In particular, in this embodiment, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, an auto-charge process is executed to automatically purchase printing rights without a user's purchase request. During auto-charge, a predetermined guaranteed print volume guaranteed by one auto-charge is added to the allowable print volume, thereby increasing the allowable print volume.

[0079] In steps S200, S55, S300, and S70, which are executed when it is determined in steps S45 and S60 that information transmission and reception is impossible, the allowable number of printed sheets is increased by the autocharge number c, which corresponds to the guaranteed printing amount for one autocharge.

[0080] In this embodiment, it is possible to make the increase in the allowable number of sheets to be printed the same in normal times when information can be sent and received with the management server 100, and the increase in the allowable number of sheets to be printed when information cannot be sent and received with the management server 100. According to this embodiment, even when information cannot be sent and received with the management server 100, it is possible to obtain an increase in the allowable number of sheets to be printed that is no different from normal times from the user's perspective, thereby improving convenience.

[0081] Furthermore, particularly in this embodiment, in steps S200, S55, S300, and S70, when the predetermined conditions for executing the auto-charge process are met, the allowable number of prints is increased without requiring the user to perform any operation to temporarily increase the allowable number of prints. As a result, since the process of temporarily increasing the allowable number of prints is performed without the need for user operation, the allowable number of prints can be increased without any difference from normal times from the user's perspective, improving convenience.

[0082] In this embodiment, two processing methods for increasing the allowable number of prints are shown in Fig. 6, which is an addition process of the temporary printable number a, and Fig. 8, which is an allowance process of the allowable number of prints and a negative value of the margin threshold Th. In either case, the upper limit of the increase is set to a separately set predetermined number. In addition, although not shown, it is also possible to allow printing regardless of the allowable number of prints within a separately set predetermined time range after the server communication failure state is detected. In this way, when information transmission and reception between the printer 200 and the management server 100 cannot be performed and new printing authorization cannot be purchased, a time limit range is set and printing can be permitted within that range regardless of the allowable number of prints.

[0083] Furthermore, in any of the above processes for increasing the allowable number of prints, rather than increasing the allowable number of prints in units of a predetermined number of sheets, such as the number of sheets that can be temporarily printed a or the allowable negative number of sheets b, the process may be carried out on a pay-per-use basis, where the increase is based on the resulting number of prints when the user has finished all printing.

[0084] In the above embodiment, normal charging or processing to increase the allowable number of prints when communication with the server is not possible is performed only after it is detected in step S20 during actual printing that the allowable number of prints has reached 0. Alternatively, the user may be able to check the allowable number of prints even when the printer is in standby and not printing, and may be allowed to arbitrarily start normal charging or processing to increase the allowable number of prints if the number of prints the user plans to print exceeds the allowable number of prints at that time (not shown).

[0085] In addition, in the above, the flowcharts shown in Figures 9, 10, 11, and 12 do not limit the present invention to the procedures shown in the flowcharts, and procedures may be added or deleted, or the order may be changed, within the scope that does not deviate from the spirit and technical idea of ​​the invention.

[0086] In addition to the above, the methods according to the above embodiments and their modifications may be used in appropriate combination.

[0087] Although not specifically illustrated, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0088] 1. Printing service provision system 100 Management server (an example of an external device) 200 Printer (an example of a printing device) 210 Processor (an example of a control unit) 240 Display section 250 Operation section 270 Communication interface (an example of a communication unit) 300 mobile devices 400 Trade Server NT Network

Claims

1. A printing department; A control unit; The Communications Department and having A printing device configured to be able to execute printing by the printing unit up to an allowable printing volume, configured to be able to increase the allowable printing volume according to a guaranteed printing volume guaranteed by a printing authority by purchase, configured to decrease the allowable printing volume according to a printing volume executed by the printing unit, and configured to be able to communicate with an external device via the communication unit, The control unit is a transmission / reception determination process for determining whether or not information transmission / reception with the external device is possible; an allowable print amount increasing process for increasing the allowable print amount when it is determined in the transmission / reception determination process that information transmission / reception is impossible and the allowable print amount is insufficient; a fee billing request process for transmitting a fee billing request corresponding to the increase in the allowable printing volume in the allowable printing volume increasing process to the external device via the communication unit when it is determined in the transmission / reception determination process that information transmission / reception is possible after the allowable printing volume increasing process; A printing device configured to:

2. The transmission / reception determination process and the allowable print amount increase process are executed when a print execution instruction is received.

2. The printing device of claim 1, wherein the printing device is configured to:

3. The printing device includes: Further comprising a display unit and an operation unit, The control unit, in the allowable print amount increasing process, a display on the display unit indicating that the normal increase in the allowable print volume cannot be performed; displaying on the display unit a message prompting a user to operate the operation unit to temporarily increase the allowable print volume or not; When the operation unit is operated to temporarily increase the allowable print volume, the allowable print volume is increased.

2. The printing device of claim 1, wherein the printing device is configured to:

4. The control unit is In the process of increasing the allowable print volume, the allowable print volume is increased by adding the allowable print volume that has not been purchased to the allowable print volume that has been purchased. In the fee claim request process, a fee claim request corresponding to the unpurchased allowable print amount is transmitted to the external device via the communication unit.

2. The printing device of claim 1, wherein the printing device is configured to:

5. The control unit is In the allowable print volume increasing process, the allowable print volume is provisionally increased by allowing a threshold value of the allowable print volume to be a negative value; In the fee claim request process, a fee claim request capable of resolving the insufficient state of the allowable print amount is transmitted to the external device via the communication unit.

2. The printing device of claim 1, wherein the printing device is configured to:

6. The control unit, in the transmission / reception determination process, determining whether the printing device is offline and whether the external device is malfunctioning; the allowable print amount increase process is executed when it is determined in the transmission / reception determination process that at least the external device is in a functional failure state; 2. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the printing device is configured to:

7. The control unit is In the transmission / reception determination process, it is determined whether or not a functional failure occurs in the external device; In the cost invoice request process, the cost invoice is requested at a discounted price obtained by applying a predetermined discount to a preset normal price system.

2. The printing device of claim 1, wherein the printing device is configured to:

8. The control unit is In the transmission / reception determination process, it is further determined whether the printing device is in an offline state; In the cost claim request process, If it is determined that the printing device is in an offline state, a request is made to bill for the cost at a normal price to which a predetermined discount is not applied to a preset normal price system.

8. The printing device according to claim 7, wherein the printing device is configured to:

9. 2. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the presence or absence of an increase in the allowable print volume, or the amount by which the allowable print volume is increased, is set according to a user's print history or authority purchase history.

10. The control unit further includes: An automatic purchase process for automatically purchasing the printing right without a user's purchase request when a predetermined condition is satisfied. is configured to run In the allowable print amount increasing process, 2. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the allowable print volume is increased by a predetermined print volume corresponding to the guaranteed print volume resulting from one automatic purchase of the printing authority.

11. The control unit further includes: An automatic purchase process for automatically purchasing the printing right without a purchase request from the user when a predetermined condition is satisfied. is configured to run When the predetermined condition for executing the automatic purchasing process is satisfied, the control unit increases the allowable print volume without prompting the user to perform the operation for temporarily increasing the allowable print volume in the allowable print volume increasing process.

4. The printing device according to claim 3, wherein the printing device is configured to:

12. The control unit, in the allowable print amount increasing process, Controlling the printing so that printing can be performed within a predetermined time range regardless of the allowable printing amount.

2. The printing device of claim 1, wherein the printing device is configured to:

Images