Management device and print management system

Abstract

To suppress the setting of excessive charge quantities when a user purchases printing rights.SOLUTION: A printing service providing system 1 is configured to be able to execute a prepaid printing service in which a permissible print amount which serves as an upper limit for printing an image on paper can be increased in accordance with a charge quantity guaranteed by printing rights purchased through the user's financial burden. A mobile terminal 300 is configured to execute: a step S15 of acquiring restriction conditions related to the charge quantity or purchase amount applicable at the time of purchasing the printing rights; steps S35 and S60 of determining whether or not the corresponding charge quantity or purchase amount corresponds to the restriction conditions acquired in the step S15 when the user requests to purchase the printing rights; and steps S40 and S65 of executing a predetermined purchase suppression with respect to the purchase request when it is determined that the charge quantity or purchase amount corresponds to the restriction conditions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a management device that manages a printing system and a print management system. [Background technology]

[0002] In a printing service in which a user who uses a printing device pays a service provider a fee according to the printing content, a prepaid fee system may be introduced. Conventionally, as described in Patent Document 1, for example, a technique is known in which a user purchases printing authority for a fee and can print up to a certain amount of printing guaranteed by the purchased printing authority. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-110475 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. Here, for example, there are cases where the guaranteed print volume is mistakenly set to an excessive value that is not intended by the user when purchasing printing rights, or where the guaranteed print volume is set to an excessive value that is intended by the user but is undesirable from the technical viewpoint or from the viewpoint of smooth service provision, etc. In the above-mentioned conventional technology, no particular consideration is given to measures against such excessive guaranteed print volumes.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a management device and a print management system that can prevent an excessive guaranteed print volume from being set when purchasing printing authority for a user. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a management device that manages a printing system having a server and a printing device, wherein the printing system is configured to be capable of executing an authority purchasing service that can increase the allowable printing volume, which is the upper limit when printing an image on a sheet, according to the guaranteed printing volume guaranteed by a printing authority purchased at the user's financial expense, and the management device is configured to execute a restriction acquisition process that acquires restriction conditions related to the guaranteed printing volume or purchase amount that are applied when purchasing the printing authority, a judgment process that, when a user makes a request to purchase the printing authority, determines whether the corresponding guaranteed printing volume or purchase amount falls under the restriction conditions acquired in the restriction acquisition process, and a purchase suppression process that performs a predetermined purchase suppression on the purchase request when it is determined in the judgment process that the restriction conditions are met.

[0007] In the present invention, when a user purchases printing authority, a limiting condition related to a guaranteed print volume or a purchase amount is set in advance. The management device of the present invention executes a limit obtaining process to obtain the limiting condition.

[0008] When a user makes a purchase request, the management device executes a determination process to determine whether the guaranteed print volume or purchase amount corresponding to the purchase request satisfies the acquired limiting condition. If it is determined that the limiting condition is met, a purchase restriction process is performed to restrict purchases of the purchase request.

[0009] According to the present invention, by setting a limiting condition that prevents an excessive guaranteed printing volume from being set, it is possible to prevent an excessive guaranteed printing volume as described above from being set when a user purchases printing rights.

[0010] In addition, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is a printing management system capable of executing an authority purchasing service that can increase the allowable printing volume, which is the upper limit when a printing device prints an image on a sheet, according to the guaranteed printing volume guaranteed by a printing authority purchased at the user's financial expense, and has a restriction acquisition unit that acquires restriction conditions related to the guaranteed printing volume or purchase amount that are applied when purchasing the printing authority, a judgment unit that, when a user makes a request to purchase the printing authority, determines whether the corresponding guaranteed printing volume or purchase amount falls under the restriction conditions acquired by the restriction acquisition unit, and a purchase suppression unit that performs a predetermined purchase suppression on the purchase request when the judgment unit determines that the restriction conditions are met. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent an excessive guaranteed print volume from being set when purchasing printing authority for a user. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 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 illustrating a flow of information transmission and reception in the print service providing system. [Figure 4] 11 is a diagram showing an example of a model-specific parameter set and an operational parameter set. FIG. [Diagram 5] 11A to 11C are diagrams illustrating an example of screen transition between a selection operation screen and a confirmation screen displayed on a touch panel of a mobile terminal during a charge processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 5 is a flowchart showing in detail a procedure executed by a CPU of a mobile terminal in a charge charging process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an error screen that appears when an excessive charge number is set. [Figure 8]FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen for setting a monthly upper limit on the number of sheets and the upper limit on the amount of money in the second embodiment. [Figure 9] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating an example of a screen transition between a selection operation screen and a confirmation screen displayed on a touch panel of a mobile terminal during a charge processing according to the second embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing in detail a procedure executed by a CPU of a mobile terminal in a charge charging process according to a second embodiment. [Figure 11] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating an example of a screen transition between a selection operation screen and a confirmation screen displayed on a touch panel of a mobile terminal during a charge charging process according to the third embodiment. [Figure 12] 13 is a flowchart showing in detail a procedure executed by a CPU of a mobile terminal in a charge charging process according to a third embodiment. [Figure 13] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating an example of screen transition between an input operation screen and a confirmation screen displayed on a touch panel of a mobile terminal during a charge processing according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 14] 13 is a flowchart showing in detail a procedure executed by a CPU of a mobile terminal in a charge charging process according to a fourth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] <First embodiment: Setting charge upper limit to ensure print quality> A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] <Outline of the printing service provision system> FIG. 1 shows an example of the system configuration of a printing service system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printing service system 1 provides a prepaid printing service in which a user, who is a customer, pays a fee in advance to use a printing function of a printer 200. In FIG. 1, the printing service system 1 has a service server 100, a printer 200, a mobile terminal 300, and a transaction server 400. The service 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 printing service system 1 is an example of a printing system and a printing management system, the service server 100 is an example of a server, and the printer 200 is an example of a printing device. In this embodiment, the mobile terminal 300 operates as an example of a management device.

[0015] <Service server> The service server 100 is a server installed and operated by, for example, the manufacturer of the printer 200. As shown in Fig. 1, the service 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.

[0016] 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.

[0017] 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.

[0018] 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.

[0019] 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.

[0020] 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 service 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.

[0021] <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.

[0022] 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 that stores 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. Various programs are stored in the program storage area 232 as, for example, firmware. The data storage area 233 stores various information such as an operation parameter set 234, which is a collection of various parameter data related to the printer 200 in the operation of the prepaid printing service. The information in the operation parameter set 234 related to the prepaid printing service will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 4.

[0023] 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.

[0024] 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.

[0025] The printing unit 290 prints an image on the transported paper in a predetermined method while taking out the paper from the paper feed tray using a transport mechanism (not shown). The printing method is not particularly limited, but printing is performed, for example, by an inkjet method or a laser method. The printing unit 290 forms an image on the paper using ink in an ink cartridge or toner in 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. The above-mentioned paper is an example of a sheet.

[0026] <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.

[0027] The mass storage device 350 is, for example, a flash memory, and includes a program storage area 351 and a data storage area 352. In the program storage area 351, various programs related to the prepaid print service based on the flowcharts of Figs. 6, 10, 12, and 14 described later are stored 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 service server 100 connected to the network NT. In this embodiment, the data storage area 352 stores various information such as a model-specific parameter set 353, which is a collection of specification parameter data unique to each model of all printers 200 applicable to the prepaid print service. The information of the model-specific parameter set 353 will be described in detail in Fig. 4 described later.

[0028] 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.

[0029] 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.

[0030] <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).

[0031] <Prepaid printing service> FIG. 3 shows a specific example of a prepaid printing service provided by the printing service providing system 1 of the present embodiment.

[0032] 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.

[0033] The charge amount is added to the allowable number of prints by, for example, the processor 110 of the service server 100 updating the allowable number of prints 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 prints stored separately in the data storage area 233 is updated in synchronization.

[0034] 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 service 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.

[0035] 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.

[0036] 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 service server 100 in response to the user's operation and receiving the application from the service 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 service server 100.

[0037] Although not shown, a single print service providing system 1 may be configured to use multiple printers 200, in which case the service server 100 manages the allowable print numbers of the multiple printers 200 individually, and the mobile terminal 300 processes by switching between the printers 200. The above prepaid print service is an example of an authority purchasing service, the allowable print number is an example of an allowable print amount, and the charge number is an example of a guaranteed print amount.

[0038] Here, in the above-mentioned prepaid printing service, there are cases where it is desired to limit the addition of the charge number (increase in the number of permitted prints) by purchasing printing authority for various reasons. One of the reasons is that, for example, in the printer 200, mechanical deterioration accumulates due to continuous repetition of printing operations in addition to deterioration over time, and when a predetermined number of prints is exceeded, it may become impossible to ensure the specified print quality. The predetermined print quality is, for example, the quality of the printed image, quality related to paper transport such as the rate of jamming and the rate of paper wrinkles, etc. From such a technical viewpoint, there are cases where a fixed cumulative print upper limit number at which a predetermined print quality can be ensured is set for the printer 200, and it is desired to limit the cumulative charge number purchased for the printer 200 so that it does not exceed this cumulative print upper limit number.

[0039] Therefore, in this embodiment, a charging process is executed that can suppress purchase requests so that the cumulative charge number does not exceed the cumulative print upper limit number at the stage of the printing authority purchase procedure. The setting value of this cumulative print upper limit number is set in advance by the manufacturer for each model as parameter data related to the model-specific specifications of the printer 200. After a specific overhaul of the printer 200, the cumulative print upper limit number may be increased, or the cumulative charge number may be shortened or reset.

[0040] Fig. 4 illustrates a model-specific parameter set 353 and an operational parameter set 234 that are referenced when executing the above-mentioned charge processing. The model-specific parameter set 353 illustrated in Fig. 4(a) is, in this example, a data set that is stored in advance in the data storage area 352 of the mobile terminal 300 as described above (see Fig. 3 above), and is fixed value data related to the model-specific specifications of the printer 200 to be used. The model-specific parameter set 353 in the illustrated example stores the above-mentioned cumulative print limit number, the number of printable pages for the Y ink CTG, the number of printable pages for the M ink CTG, the number of printable pages for the C ink CTG, and the number of printable pages for the BK ink CTG.

[0041] The Y ink CTG printable number is the number of pages that can be printed in average color printing when one yellow (Y) ink cartridge is fully filled and installed in the printer 200. The other M ink CTG printable number, C ink CTG printable number, and BK ink CTG printable number are the printable numbers corresponding to the magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (BK) ink cartridges, respectively.

[0042] In the figure, only the model-specific parameter set 353 corresponding to the model of one printer 200 to be charged in the print service providing system 1 is shown, but the data storage area 352 may store model-specific parameter sets 353 corresponding to all models applicable to the system in advance. In that case, when the mobile terminal 300 is registered in the print service providing system 1, the model-specific parameter sets 353 corresponding to the one or more printers 200 used in the print service providing system 1 are extracted so as to be referenceable based on the model information of the printers 200. Then, when the charge charging process is executed, the model-specific parameter sets 353 corresponding to the printers 200 to be charged at that time can be switched and referenced.

[0043] 4(b) is a data set stored in the data storage area 233 of the printer 200, and is variable value data that the printer 200 refers to and processes when operating the prepaid printing service as described above. In the illustrated example of the operational parameter set 234, the total number of printed pages, the total number of printable pages, the allowable number of printed pages, the monthly upper limit charge number, the cumulative charge number for this month, the monthly upper limit charge amount, the cumulative charge amount for this month, the remaining number of pages converted into Y ink, the remaining number of pages converted into C ink, the remaining number of pages converted into M ink, and the remaining number of pages converted into BK ink are stored.

[0044] The total number of printed sheets is a parameter that indicates the total cumulative number of sheets that have actually been printed since the user started using the printer 200 up to that point, and is an important parameter for management as the absolute usage amount of the printer 200 by the user. The total number of printable sheets is set to the same value as the total number of printed sheets when the user of the printer 200 signs up for the prepaid printing service and starts using it, and is a parameter that indicates the total cumulative number of sheets that is the cumulative total of the number of charged sheets actually purchased thereafter. The allowable number of printed sheets is the difference between the total number of printed sheets and the total number of printable sheets, and the user can continue printing as long as the value of the allowable number of printed sheets does not reach zero.

[0045] The monthly upper limit charge number and monthly upper limit charge amount are the upper limit number and upper limit amount of monthly charge that are set arbitrarily by the user, and the current month's cumulative charge number and current month's cumulative charge amount are the cumulative number and amount actually charged in that month. The Y ink equivalent remaining number, C ink equivalent remaining number, M ink equivalent remaining number, and BK ink equivalent remaining number are values ​​obtained by converting the ink remaining amount of each color ink cartridge at that time into the number of printable pages in average color printing. The parameter data of the monthly upper limit charge number, the current month's cumulative charge number, the monthly upper limit charge amount, the current month's cumulative charge amount, the Y ink equivalent remaining number, C ink equivalent remaining number, M ink equivalent remaining number, and BK ink equivalent remaining number will be described in detail in the modified example below.

[0046] When a user operates the mobile terminal 300 to perform a charge process, the mobile terminal 300 acquires the operation parameter set 234 stored in the printer 200 at that time via the network NT or wireless communication such as Wi-fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark) (see FIG. 3). The above-mentioned maximum cumulative print count is an example of a maximum cumulative print value.

[0047] <Operation screen display when charging> 5A to 5C are examples of screen transitions displayed on the touch panel 340 of the mobile terminal 300 during the charge processing in this embodiment. When the user performs a predetermined operation on the mobile terminal 300 to start the charge processing for the printer 200, a selection screen 340A shown in FIG. 5A is displayed.

[0048] Selection screen 340A displays 341 the model number and serial number of the printer 200 currently being charged, a display 342 of the number of prints permitted for that printer 200 at that time, and charge buttons 343 corresponding to the four charge plans shown in the example. To switch the printer 200 to be charged, the icon button in display 341 is pressed to display a list of other printers 200 in a pull-down menu for selection, and illustration and description of this will be omitted here.

[0049] Each charge button 343 is provided with a warning icon C according to the contents of the model-specific parameter set 353 and the operation parameter set 234 at that time. In the example shown in the figure, the charge buttons 343 are displayed in an operable manner, including a charge button 343a corresponding to a charge plan for charging 50 sheets for 500 yen, a charge button 343b corresponding to a charge plan for charging 100 sheets for 950 yen, a charge button 343c corresponding to a charge plan for charging 200 sheets for 1800 yen, and a charge button 343d corresponding to a charge plan for charging 400 sheets for 3400 yen. The model-specific parameter set 353 and the operation parameter set 234 of the printer 200 to be charged are respectively as shown in the numerical example in FIG. 4. That is, the cumulative print limit number is 60,000 sheets, the total number of printed sheets is 58,900 sheets, the total number of printable sheets is 59,900 sheets, and the allowable number of printed sheets is 1,000 sheets.

[0050] The difference between the total number of pages actually printed in the past and the already charged allowable number of pages, and the cumulative print limit, which is the limit for ensuring print quality, is the maximum number of pages that can be charged in the current charging process. In other words, in the above example, 60,000-(58,900+1,000)=100 is calculated as the current charge limit. Therefore, the charge buttons 343c and 343d for the charge plans corresponding to charge numbers (200 and 400) that exceed the current charge limit of 100 are each given a warning icon C. This is equivalent to a warning to prevent the total of the total number of pages printed, the allowable number of pages printed, and the current charge limit X (58,900+1,000+X) from exceeding the cumulative print limit (60,000).

[0051] When the user selects and presses any of the charge buttons 343 with the warning icon C (charge button 343c in the illustrated example, see the filled-in display in the figure), the screen transitions to a confirmation screen 340B of the charge contents as shown in FIG. 5(b). In this confirmation screen 340B, a message 344 is displayed to alert the user again along with the charge number and the billing amount, and a confirmation button 345 for confirming the charge and a back button 346 for returning to the previous screen (selection screen 340A in this case) are also displayed. As described above, in this embodiment, when the number of sheets that the user attempts to add in the charge process exceeds the upper limit of the current charge upper limit, an icon or message to that effect is displayed on the screen to inform the user that the charge should be suppressed.

[0052] The charge button 343 is an example of a printing authority purchasing mode, the warning icon C is an example of a warning display, and the charge number exceeding the current charge upper limit is an example of a limiting condition.

[0053] <Control procedure> An example of a control procedure executed by the CPU 310 of the mobile terminal 300 to realize the charge processing in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 6. When the user performs an operation on the mobile terminal 300 to start the charge processing, the flow of Fig. 6 starts.

[0054] First, in step S5, model-specific parameter set 353 corresponding to the model of printer 200 to be charged is obtained from data storage area 352, and in step S10, operation parameter set 234 is obtained from said printer 200. Note that mobile terminal 300 may receive its own model-specific parameter set 353 together with operation parameter set 234 from printer 200 in this step S10.

[0055] The process proceeds to step S15, where the current charge upper limit is calculated based on the cumulative print limit in the model-specific parameter set 353 and the total number of printed sheets and the allowable number of printed sheets in the operation parameter set 234. Specifically, the current charge upper limit is calculated from the formula: cumulative print limit - (total number of printed sheets + allowable number of printed sheets).

[0056] The process proceeds to step S20, where a background screen of the selection screen 340A for selecting a recharge plan shown in FIG. 5(a) is displayed on the touch panel 340, excluding the recharge button 343.

[0057] In step S25, one of the multiple prepared charge plans that is a candidate for application is acquired, and in step S30, the charge button 343 corresponding to the acquired charge plan is displayed.

[0058] In the next step S35, it is determined whether the charge number of the acquired charge plan (abbreviated as "plan number" in the figure) exceeds the current charge upper limit number, and if it does not exceed it, the judgment is not satisfied (S35: NO) and proceeds to step S45. On the other hand, if it does exceed it, the judgment is satisfied (S35: YES), and in step S40, a warning mark icon C is additionally displayed on the charge button 343 and proceeds to step S45.

[0059] In step S45, it is determined whether or not the charge buttons corresponding to all the charge plans have been displayed, and if not all have been displayed, the determination is not satisfied (S45: NO) and the process returns to step S25. On the other hand, if all have been displayed, the determination is satisfied (S45: YES) and the process proceeds to step S50.

[0060] In step S50, the process loops to wait until any of the charge buttons 343 is pressed, and when the charge button 343 is pressed, the process proceeds to step S55.

[0061] In step S55, the screen transitions to confirmation screen 340B of FIG. 5(b) above, and only the charge number, the billing amount, confirmation button 345, and back button 346 are displayed.

[0062] Next, the process proceeds to step S60, where it is determined whether the charge number (abbreviated as "selected number" in the drawing) of the charge plan corresponding to the pressed charge button 343 exceeds the current charge upper limit number, and if it does not exceed it, the condition is not satisfied (S60: NO) and the process proceeds to step S70. On the other hand, if it does exceed it, the condition is satisfied (S60: YES), and in step S65, a message 344 is additionally displayed on confirmation screen 340B to alert the user that the charge number exceeds the quality assurance limit, and the process proceeds to step S70.

[0063] In step S70, it is determined whether or not the Confirm button 345 on the confirmation screen 340B has been pressed, and if the Confirm button 345 has been pressed, the condition is satisfied (S70: YES), and the flow ends and proceeds to a payment process (not shown). On the other hand, if the Confirm button 345 has not been pressed, the condition is not satisfied (S70: NO), and the flow proceeds to step S75.

[0064] In step S75, it is determined whether or not back button 346 on confirmation screen 340B has been pressed, and if back button 346 has been pressed, the condition is satisfied (S75: YES), and the process returns to step S20. On the other hand, if back button 346 has not been pressed, the condition is not satisfied (S75: NO), and the process returns to step S70.

[0065] In the above, step S15 is an example of a restriction acquisition process and a restriction acquisition unit, step S35 and step S60 are an example of a judgment process and a judgment unit, step S40 and step S65 are an example of a purchase inhibition process and a purchase inhibition unit, step S30 and step S40 are an example of a mode display process, and step S70 is an example of a mode designation acceptance process.

[0066] <Advantages of the First Embodiment> As described above, in the mobile terminal 300 included in the printing service providing system 1 of this embodiment, the calculation contents of the current charge upper limit number as a limiting condition related to the charge number are determined in advance with respect to the purchase of printing authority by a user. The mobile terminal 300 of this embodiment executes step S15 to calculate the current charge upper limit number as the upper limit of the charge number in the charging process.

[0067] When a purchase request is made by a user, in steps S35 and S60 executed by the mobile terminal 300, it is determined whether or not the recharge number corresponding to the purchase request satisfies the limiting condition that the recharge number is less than the current recharge upper limit number. If it is determined that the limiting condition is met, in steps S40 and S65, a predetermined purchase restriction is performed on the purchase request.

[0068] According to this embodiment, by setting a limiting condition that prevents an excessive charge number from being set, it is possible to prevent an excessive charge number as described above from being set when a user purchases printing rights.

[0069] In particular, in this embodiment, in order to ensure a predetermined print quality in the printer 200, a cumulative print upper limit number permitted in the printer 200 is determined, and a condition corresponding to the cumulative print upper limit number is set as a limiting condition. In steps S35 and S60, a determination is made according to the permissible print amount in the printer 200 at the time of the purchase request and the cumulative print upper limit number corresponding to the printer 200.

[0070] Specifically, a determination is made as to whether the sum of the total number of prints already performed on the printer 200 at the time of the purchase request, the total number of prints already charged to the printer 200, and the charge number corresponding to the current purchase request exceeds the cumulative print upper limit. This makes it possible to restrict purchases and prevent excessive charge numbers from being set if the sum exceeds the cumulative print upper limit. As a result, it is possible to avoid concerns that safe printing on the printer 200 may not be ensured.

[0071] In particular, in this embodiment, the cumulative print limit is set for each model of the printer 200. This makes it possible to appropriately prevent the setting of an excessive charge number in accordance with the specifications, durability, and the like of each model of the printer 200, and to avoid concerns that safe printing may not be ensured.

[0072] In particular, in this embodiment, when the limiting condition that the charge number corresponding to any of the displayed charge buttons 343 exceeds the current charge upper limit number is met, a warning icon C is also displayed on the charge button 343. This notifies the user that an excessive charge number will be set if left as is, and makes the user aware of this.

[0073] In addition, in this embodiment, the user can request a purchase by specifying the charge button 343c, 343d that is also displayed with the warning mark icon C. This ensures the user's freedom to make the purchase while being aware that an excessive charge number will be set.

[0074] In addition, the user may not be able to select and request purchase for the charge plan corresponding to the charge button 343c, 343d that is also displayed with the warning mark icon C. Specifically, for example, even if the confirmation button 345 in Fig. 5(b) is pressed, the settlement process does not proceed, and the screen transition to an error screen 340C as shown in Fig. 7 is made so that only a back button 346 that returns to the selection screen 340A can be pressed along with an error message 347. This can reliably prevent an excessive charge amount from being set even in cases where the user accidentally misses the warning display.

[0075] Alternatively, although not shown, the charge buttons 343c and 343d may be displayed in an inoperable, so-called grayed-out state on the selection screen 340A, or the charge buttons 343c and 343d themselves may not be displayed at all. Alternatively, the confirmation button 345 on the confirmation screen 340B may also be displayed in a grayed-out state or may not be displayed. This prevents the user from selecting the charge button 343c or 343d to make a purchase, so that it is possible to reliably prevent an excessive charge number from being set.

[0076] Although not shown, the current charge upper limit number may be displayed as reference information on at least one of the selection screen 340A and the confirmation screen 340B.

[0077] <Second embodiment: Setting charge upper limit based on business model reasons such as budgetary constraints> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the description of the same configuration and processing as the first embodiment will be omitted as appropriate.

[0078] In the first embodiment, the upper limit of the charge number in the charging process is set based on the technical reason of ensuring print quality. In addition, the charge upper limit may be set based on business model reasons such as the user's budget and work plan. For example, apart from the charging process, the mobile terminal 300 displays a setting screen 340D as shown in FIG. 8 by an operation that can only be performed by a predetermined setter who has management authority on the user side. In the setting screen 340D of the illustrated example, a display 341 of the printer 200 to be charged, a monthly upper limit charge number window 361, a monthly upper limit charge amount window 362, and a setting button 363 are displayed.

[0079] The monthly upper limit recharge quantity window 361 allows the user to set whether or not the monthly upper limit recharge quantity setting in the operation parameter set 234 is applicable (set using a check box in the figure) and to arbitrarily set the value of that setting. The monthly upper limit recharge amount window 362 allows the user to set whether or not the monthly upper limit recharge amount setting in the operation parameter set 234 is applicable (set using a check box in the figure) and to arbitrarily set the value of that setting. The user can perform the setting operations in the windows 361, 362 on the setting screen 340D and press the setting button 363 in advance. This allows the user to individually set the upper limit of the recharge quantity and the upper limit of the recharge amount according to the monthly budget and work plan, and store them semi-permanently in the target printer 200 as operation parameters. In response to this, the printer 200 accumulates the number of sheets charged and the purchase amount by month based on the actual charging procedure, and records these in the operation parameter set 234 as the accumulated number of sheets charged and the accumulated amount charged for this month.

[0080] As described above, in the charging process of the mobile terminal 300, the current charging upper limit number can be calculated from the difference between the monthly upper limit number of charges and the cumulative charging number for this month. In other words, purchase requests for excessive recharge numbers can be suppressed so that the recharge number in the charging process does not exceed this current charging upper limit. Also, in the charging process of the mobile terminal 300, the current charging upper limit amount can be calculated from the difference between the monthly upper limit amount and the cumulative charging amount for this month. In other words, purchase requests for excessive recharge numbers can be suppressed so that the purchase amount in the charging process does not exceed this current charging upper limit amount.

[0081] In the example shown in Fig. 4, the monthly upper limit charge number is set to 2000, the current month's cumulative charge number is set to 1900, the monthly upper limit charge amount is set to 20000 yen, and the current month's cumulative charge amount is set to 16500 yen. In accordance with these examples, the current upper limit charge number is set to 100, and the current upper limit charge amount is set to 3500 yen. Therefore, in the selection screen 340E of Fig. 9(a) displayed on the touch panel 340 of the mobile terminal 300 during the charge processing in the example of this embodiment, a warning mark icon C is displayed together with the charge buttons 343c and 343d of the charge plans with charge numbers of 200 and 400, respectively.

[0082] When the user presses the charge button 343c (see the filled-in display in the figure), a message 364 is displayed to remind the user that they will exceed the charge limit for this month, as shown in the example confirmation screen 340F in FIG. 9(b).

[0083] The flowchart shown in FIG. 10 represents the control procedure of the charge processing executed by the CPU 310 of the mobile terminal 300 in this embodiment, and only the procedures that differ from the flow in FIG. 6 shown in the first embodiment will be explained below.

[0084] First, in step S15A, which is executed instead of step S15, the current charge limit number and current charge limit amount are calculated based on the monthly charge limit number, the current month's cumulative charge number, the monthly charge limit amount, and the current month's cumulative charge amount in the operation parameter set 234.

[0085] In addition, in step S35A, which is executed in place of step S35, and in step S60A, which is executed in place of step S60, it is determined whether the number of charges for the selected charge plan exceeds the current charge upper limit number, or whether the purchase amount exceeds the current charge upper limit amount.

[0086] In step S65A executed in place of step S65, a message 364 is additionally displayed on confirmation screen 340F to alert the user that the monthly rechargeable number will be exceeded.

[0087] The calculation, determination, and notification of the upper limit number and upper limit amount described above are performed according to the applicability settings of the monthly upper limit recharge number setting and the monthly upper limit recharge amount setting on the setting screen 340D. In other words, if only one of them is applied, only the application setting is reflected, and if both are applied, both settings are reflected. Note that the other control procedures are the same as those in the first embodiment, so explanations will be omitted.

[0088] In the above, the monthly charge limit number is an example of a first upper limit value and an upper limit setting value, the monthly charge limit amount is an example of a second upper limit value and an upper limit setting value, the number of charges in the charge charge process exceeding the current charge limit number is an example of a first limiting condition, and the purchase amount in the charge charge process exceeding the current charge limit amount is an example of a second limiting condition.

[0089] <Effects of the second embodiment> As described above, in the mobile terminal 300 included in the printing service providing system 1 of this embodiment, the limiting conditions include the monthly charge upper limit number or monthly charge upper limit amount set by a specific setter, and in steps S35A and S60A, it is determined whether the charge number in the charge process exceeds the current charge upper limit number or whether the purchase amount exceeds the current charge upper limit amount. This allows the setter on the user side to set any charge upper limit.

[0090] In particular, in this embodiment, the upper limit of the number of recharges (monthly recharge upper limit) or the upper limit of the purchase amount (monthly recharge upper limit) permitted for each user is preset by a predetermined setter according to the attributes, capabilities, etc. of each user. As a limiting condition, it is set that the upper limit of the number of recharges or the upper limit of the purchase amount is not exceeded.

[0091] In steps S35A and S60A, it is determined whether the charge number corresponding to the purchase request exceeds the current charge upper limit number, or whether the purchase amount corresponding to the purchase request exceeds the current charge upper limit amount. In this way, if the charge number exceeds the current charge upper limit number or the purchase amount exceeds the current charge upper limit amount, purchases are restricted, and excessive charge number settings can be restricted.

[0092] Furthermore, in particular in this embodiment, by setting the monthly charge limit number or monthly charge limit amount as an upper limit value for a specified period, such as one month in this example, it is possible to manage the setting of the charge number for each specified period, and it is possible to reliably prevent the setting of an excessive charge number.

[0093] In particular, in this embodiment, with regard to the purchase of printing authority by a user, both the monthly charge upper limit number limit condition related to the charge number and the monthly charge upper limit amount limit condition related to the purchase amount are set in advance. When a purchase request is made by a user, in steps S35A and S60A, it is determined whether the charge number corresponding to the purchase request meets the monthly charge upper limit number limit condition and whether the purchase amount corresponding to the purchase request meets the monthly charge upper limit amount limit condition. If it is determined that either limit condition is met, purchase restriction is performed in steps S40 and S65A.

[0094] According to this embodiment, purchases are restricted when either the charge number or the purchase amount restriction conditions are met, thereby more reliably preventing an excessive charge number from being set.

[0095] <Third embodiment: Setting a charge upper limit based on operational reasons to maintain continuous printing> Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the description of the same configuration and processing as the first embodiment will be omitted as appropriate.

[0096] In the third embodiment, the charge upper limit may be set based on operational reasons such as maintaining continuous printing according to the remaining amount of consumables. For example, in general, in the printer 200, the amount of printing used for each of the yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (BK) ink cartridges in a full state from the time of installation to the time point is detected and managed, and the remaining ink amount may be recorded individually accordingly. In this case, the ink-equivalent remaining number of pages of each color in the operation parameter set 234 can be calculated and recorded based on the ink CTG printable number of pages of each color in the model-specific parameter set 353 shown in FIG. 4 above. Furthermore, based on these parameter data, it is possible to roughly predict how many pages of each color of ink will be required to run out and continue printing in the future.

[0097] In contrast, in this embodiment, if it is predicted that one of the inks will run out and printing will not be possible before the charge amount added in the charge process is used up, the user is notified of this fact to curb the charge amount and is prompted to request the delivery of the ink that is predicted to run out. Specifically, the difference between the ink-equivalent remaining number of sheets for each color and the allowable number of prints is calculated as the current charge upper limit number for each color. This corresponds to a determination of whether or not the sum of the allowable number of prints already charged for the printer 200 and the charge amount corresponding to the purchase request exceeds the ink-equivalent remaining number of sheets for the printer 200 corresponding to the ink remaining amount at the time of the purchase request.

[0098] In the case of the ink CTG printable number of sheets for each color, the allowable number of sheets printed, and the ink-equivalent remaining number of sheets for each color as shown in the example in Fig. 4 above, as shown in the selection screen 340G in Fig. 11(a), a warning icon C is displayed together with the charge buttons 343c and 343d. When the user presses the charge button 343c (see the filled-in display in the figure), a message 365 is displayed to alert the user, as shown in the confirmation screen 340H in the example shown in Fig. 11(b). In other words, the message 365 once again displays to the user the possibility of which ink may run out while the charge number is being used, and urges the user to request the shipment of that ink.

[0099] The flowchart shown in FIG. 12 represents the control procedure of the charge processing executed by the CPU 310 of the mobile terminal 300 in this embodiment, and only the procedures that differ from the flow of FIG. 6 shown in the first embodiment will be explained below.

[0100] First, in step S15B executed in place of step S15, the current charge upper limit number of sheets for each color is calculated as the difference between the permissible number of prints in the operation parameter set 234 and the ink-converted remaining number of sheets for each color.

[0101] In step S35B, which is executed in place of step S35, and in step S60B, which is executed in place of step S60, it is determined whether the charge number of the selected charge plan exceeds the current charge upper limit number of any color.

[0102] In step S65B, which is executed instead of step S65, a message 365 is additionally displayed on the confirmation screen 340H to inform the user of the possibility of which ink may run out while the charge number is being used, and to prompt the user to request the shipment of that ink. Note that other control procedures are the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore will not be described.

[0103] In addition, the consumables may be other consumables such as toner, in addition to ink. In the above, the remaining number of pages converted into ink for each color is an example of remaining amount information and a continuous print amount of the consumables, and step S10 is an example of a remaining amount acquisition process.

[0104] <Effects of the third embodiment> As described above, in the mobile terminal 300 included in the printing service providing system 1 of this embodiment, in order to prevent the printer 200 from becoming unable to print due to the consumables running out, the remaining amount or consumed amount of the consumables in the printer 200 is associated in advance with the new print amount (the ink-converted remaining number in this example) that allows new printing to be performed based on the remaining amount or consumed amount. A condition corresponding to the ink-converted remaining number is set as a limiting condition. In steps S35B and S60B, a determination is made according to the allowable print amount of the printer 200 at the time of the purchase request and the ink-converted remaining number corresponding to the printer 200.

[0105] Specifically, for example, a determination is made as to whether the sum of the permitted number of prints already charged for the printer 200 and the charge number corresponding to the purchase request exceeds the ink-equivalent remaining number of pages of the printer 200 corresponding to the remaining amount of ink at the time of the purchase request. This makes it possible to suppress purchases and suppress the setting of an excessive charge number when the sum exceeds the ink-equivalent remaining number. As a result, it is possible to prevent the printer 200 from becoming unable to print due to running out of consumables.

[0106] Furthermore, particularly in this embodiment, a correlation between the remaining amount of ink and the remaining number of pages converted into ink is set for each model of printer 200, and in steps S35B and S60B, a judgment is made based on the remaining number of pages converted into ink determined by applying the correlation to the remaining number of pages converted into ink obtained in step S10. This makes it possible to appropriately prevent excessive charge number settings according to the specifications, durability, etc. of each model of printer 200, and to avoid an inability to print due to running out of consumables.

[0107] <Fourth embodiment: Overcharge determination in response to user operation errors> Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the description of the same configuration and processing as the first embodiment will be omitted as appropriate.

[0108] In the fourth embodiment, the charge upper limit may be set in response to an excessive setting of the charge number due to an erroneous operation such as a user's mistake in setting operation. For example, instead of selecting one of a plurality of charge plans in which the charge number is predefined as in each of the above embodiments, the user may input and set an arbitrary charge number in the charge number input window 366 as shown in the charge number input screen 340I of FIG. 13(a). In this case, there is a possibility that the user may erroneously set a charge number that is significantly more excessive (20,000 in the illustrated example) than the charge number that he or she originally intended (for example, 200).

[0109] In contrast, in this embodiment, the mobile terminal 300 acquires information (not shown) on the past purchase history and print execution history stored by the service server 100 and the transaction server 400 for the user, and judges whether the charge number is excessively set based on the information. Specifically, the limiting condition is whether the current charge number is within a deviation range that is greater than the purchase amount (average monthly purchase amount, etc.) of the past printing authority or the amount of printing performed in the past, which is represented by the purchase history and print execution history, by a ratio equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, such as 10 times. If it is judged that the current charge number is within the deviation range, a message 368 is displayed, notifying the user that the charge number may have been excessively set due to an erroneous operation, as shown in a confirmation screen 340J in FIG. 13(b).

[0110] The flowchart shown in FIG. 14 represents the control procedure of the charge processing executed by the CPU 310 of the mobile terminal 300 in this embodiment, and only the procedures that differ from the flow in FIG. 6 shown in the first embodiment will be described below.

[0111] First, in step S5C executed in place of step S5, the purchase history and print execution history of the user are obtained from the service server 100 and the transaction server 400. Then, step S10 is omitted, and in step S15C executed in place of step S15, the deviation range is calculated based on the purchase history and print execution history.

[0112] In step S20C, which is executed instead of step S20, a recharge number input screen 340I including a recharge number input window 366 is displayed on the touch panel 340. After that, an input operation of the recharge number in the recharge number input window 366 is accepted.

[0113] Then, steps S25 to S45 are omitted, and in step S50C, which is executed instead of step S50, the process loops to wait until the charge execution button 367 on the charge number input screen 340I is pressed, and when it is pressed, the process proceeds to step S51. In step S51, it is determined whether the charge number has been input and set in the charge number input window 366, and if it has not been input and set, the determination is not satisfied (S51: NO), and the process returns to step S50C. On the other hand, if it has been input and set, the determination is satisfied (S51: YES), and the process proceeds to step S55.

[0114] In step S60C, which is executed instead of step S60, it is determined whether the inputted charge number exceeds the deviation range, and if it does not exceed the deviation range, the determination is not satisfied (S60: NO), and the process proceeds to step S70. On the other hand, if the inputted charge number exceeds the deviation range, the determination is satisfied (S60: YES), and the process proceeds to step S65C.

[0115] In step S65C, which is executed instead of step S65, a message 368 is additionally displayed on the confirmation screen 340J to inform the user that the charge number may have been excessively set due to an erroneous operation. The other control procedures are the same as those in the first embodiment, so the description will be omitted. In the above, step S5C is an example of a history acquisition process.

[0116] <Effects of the Fourth Embodiment> As described above, in the mobile terminal 300 included in the print service providing system 1 of this embodiment, in step S5C executed by the mobile terminal 300, the past purchase history or print execution history of the user who made the purchase request is acquired. As the limiting condition, a condition corresponding to the purchase price of the past print authority or the amount of printing performed in the past, which is represented by the purchase history or print execution history, is set. In addition, a predetermined deviation range is set according to the purchase price of the past print authority or the amount of printing performed in the past. In step S60C, it is determined whether the charge number in the printer 200 at the time of the purchase request falls within the corresponding deviation range.

[0117] Specifically, for example, it is judged whether the ratio between the charge number corresponding to the purchase request and the charge number corresponding to the past purchase amount is equal to or exceeds a predetermined threshold, or whether it is 10 or 100 times (so-called digit input error), etc. As a result, if the ratio is equal to or exceeds a predetermined threshold, or is 10 or 100 times, etc., purchases are restricted, and it is possible to prevent the setting of an obviously excessive charge number.

[0118] Furthermore, particularly in this embodiment, the deviation range is a range in which the ratio of the recharge number corresponding to the purchase request to the recharge number corresponding to the amount of past purchases is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, such as 10. This makes it possible to appropriately suppress the setting of a recharge number that is obviously excessive compared to the purchasing tendency of the user estimated from the amount of past purchases, and to prevent the setting of a recharge number that is likely not intended by the user.

[0119] In the above embodiments, the mobile terminal 300 judges whether the charge number corresponding to each limiting condition is excessively set, and restricts purchases of purchase requests according to the judgment result. In addition, the service server 100 or the printer 200 may perform similar judgment and purchase restriction processing. In that case, the device executing the processing may obtain information required for the processing (model-specific parameter set 353, operation parameter set 234, past purchase history of printing authority or print execution history), and calculate and compare the current charge upper limit number, etc. In this case, the service server 100 and the printer 200 are each an example of a management device.

[0120] When the service server 100 is operated as an example of a management device, for example, page data is transmitted from the service server 100 to the mobile terminal 300 for each processing step. The mobile terminal 300 displays the page data on the touch panel 340 via the browser. The contents of a user operation on the touch panel 340 are transmitted to the service server 100 via the browser.

[0121] When the printer 200 is operated as an example of a management device, for example, an embedded web server (EWS) is mounted on the printer 200 and controlled in the same manner as when the service server 100 is operated as an example of a management device.

[0122] Furthermore, a single device does not necessarily have to operate as the management device, and the management system may be configured by a plurality of devices selected from the service server 100, the printer 200, the mobile terminal 300, and other devices.

[0123] In addition, in each of the above embodiments, the operational parameter set 234 is stored in the data storage area 233 of the printer 200, and the model-specific parameter set 353 is stored in the data storage area 352 of the mobile terminal 300, but this is not limited to the above. The parameter set may be stored in any device as long as it can be acquired by a device operating as a management device or a device constituting a management system.

[0124] In addition, in the above, the flowcharts shown in Figures 6, 10, 12, and 14 do not limit the present invention to the procedures shown in the flowcharts, and procedures may be added or deleted, or the order of procedures may be changed, etc., within the scope that does not deviate from the spirit and technical idea of ​​the invention.

[0125] In addition to the above, the methods according to the above embodiments and their modifications may be used in appropriate combination.

[0126] 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]

[0127] 1. Printing service provision system 100 Service server (an example of a server or management device) 200 Printer (printing device, an example of a management device) 234 Operational Parameter Set 300 Mobile terminal (an example of a management device) 353 Model-specific parameter set 400 Trade Server C. Warning icon (Example of a warning display) NT Network

Claims

1. A management device that manages a printing system including a server and a printing device, The printing system includes: The printing system is configured to execute an authority purchase service that can increase an allowable print volume, which is an upper limit when printing an image on a sheet, according to a guaranteed print volume guaranteed by a printing authority purchased by a user at his / her financial expense; The management device includes: a restriction acquisition process for acquiring a restriction condition related to the guaranteed print volume or the purchase price that is applied when purchasing the printing authority; a determination process for determining whether or not the corresponding guaranteed print volume or the purchase amount satisfies the limiting condition acquired in the limit acquisition process when a user makes a purchase request for the printing authority; a purchase restriction process for restricting purchase of the purchase request when it is determined in the determination process that the restriction condition is met; A management device configured to execute the following:

2. The limiting condition is: a condition corresponding to an upper limit of cumulative printing value that can ensure a predetermined printing quality in the printing device, The management device, in the determination process, the determination is made according to the cumulative print upper limit value and the allowable print amount in the printing device at the time the purchase request is made.

2. The management device according to claim 1, wherein the management device is configured to:

3. the cumulative print upper limit is set for each model of the printing device; The management device according to claim 2.

4. The management device further comprises: A remaining amount acquisition process is configured to acquire remaining amount information of a consumable in the printing device, The limiting condition is: a condition corresponding to a continuable printing amount that allows printing to be performed by continuing to use the consumable in the printing device based on the remaining amount information acquired in the remaining amount acquisition process, The management device, in the determination process, the determination is made according to the continuable print volume and the allowable print volume of the printing device at the time the purchase request is made.

2. The management device according to claim 1, wherein the management device is configured to:

5. a correlation between the remaining amount information and the continuous print amount is set for each model of the printing device; The management device, in the determination process, The determination is made based on the continuable print amount determined by applying the correlation to the remaining amount information acquired in the remaining amount acquisition process.

5. The management device according to claim 4, wherein the management device is configured to:

6. The limiting condition is: Including the upper limit set value set by a predetermined setter, The management device, in the determination process, It is determined whether the guaranteed print volume corresponding to the purchase request exceeds the upper limit setting value.

2. The management device according to claim 1, wherein the management device is configured to:

7. The limiting condition is: a first upper limit value of the guaranteed print volume or a second upper limit value of the purchase amount, both set by a predetermined setter, The management device, in the determination process, determining whether the guaranteed print amount corresponding to the purchase request exceeds the first upper limit value, or whether the purchase amount corresponding to the purchase request exceeds the second upper limit value; 2. The management device according to claim 1, wherein the management device is configured to:

8. 8. The management device according to claim 7, wherein the first upper limit value or the second upper limit value is set as an upper limit value of the guaranteed print volume or the purchase amount per predetermined period.

9. The management device further comprises: a history acquisition process for acquiring a history of the purchase of the printing right or a history of printing execution of the user who made the purchase request; The limiting condition is: a condition corresponding to a purchase price of a printing right in the past or a printing volume executed in the past, which is represented by the purchase history or the print execution history acquired in the history acquisition process, The management device, in the determination process, Determine whether the guaranteed print volume corresponding to the purchase request falls within a predetermined deviation range based on the purchase price of the past printing authorization or the print volume executed in the past.

2. The management device according to claim 1, wherein the management device is configured to:

10. The deviation range is: a ratio of the guaranteed print amount corresponding to the purchase request to the guaranteed print amount corresponding to the amount of the past purchase is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value; The management device according to claim 9.

11. The management device includes: In the limit acquisition process, a first limit condition related to the guaranteed print volume and a second limit condition related to the purchase amount, which are applied when purchasing the printing authority, are acquired; In the determination process, it is determined whether the guaranteed print volume satisfies the first limiting condition and whether the purchase amount satisfies the second limiting condition; When the guaranteed print volume satisfies the first limiting condition or the purchase amount satisfies the second limiting condition, the predetermined purchase restriction is performed by the purchase restriction process. The management device according to claim 1 , configured to:

12. The management device further comprises: The method is configured to execute a mode display process for outputting a display signal for displaying at least one printing authority purchase mode, When the printing authority purchase mode displayed based on the display signal of the mode display process is a printing authority purchase mode for which the corresponding guaranteed print volume or the purchase amount is determined to satisfy the limiting condition in the determination process, a predetermined warning display for the purchase restriction is added to the display of the printing authority purchase mode in the purchase restriction process. The management device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, configured to:

13. The management device further comprises: The method is configured to execute a mode designation receiving process for receiving, as the purchase request, a designation of the print right purchase mode based on the display in the mode display process, The mode designation receiving process is executed regardless of whether the guaranteed print volume or the purchase amount corresponding to the displayed printing authority purchase mode is determined to meet the limiting condition or not in the determination process. The management device according to claim 12, configured to:

14. The management device further comprises: The method is configured to execute a mode designation receiving process for receiving, as the purchase request, a designation of the print right purchase mode based on the display in the mode display process, When it is determined in the determination process that the guaranteed print volume or the purchase amount corresponding to the displayed printing authority purchase mode satisfies the limiting condition, the mode designation acceptance process is not executed by the purchase restriction process. The management device according to claim 12, configured to:

15. The management device further comprises: The method is configured to execute a mode display process for outputting a display signal for displaying at least one printing authority purchase mode, When the printing authority purchase mode displayed based on the display signal of the mode display process is a printing authority purchase mode for which the corresponding guaranteed print volume or the purchase amount is determined to meet the limiting condition in the determination process, the printing authority purchase mode is not displayed by the purchase restriction process. The management device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, configured to:

16. A print management system capable of executing an authority purchase service that can increase an allowable print volume, which is an upper limit when a printing device prints an image on a sheet, according to a guaranteed print volume guaranteed by a printing authority purchased by a user at his / her financial expense, comprising: a restriction acquisition unit that acquires a restriction condition related to the guaranteed print volume or the purchase price that is applied when purchasing the printing authority; a determination unit that, when a user makes a purchase request for the printing authority, determines whether or not the corresponding guaranteed printing volume or the purchase amount satisfies the limiting condition acquired by the limit acquisition unit; a purchase restriction unit that performs a predetermined purchase restriction on the purchase request when the determination unit determines that the limiting condition is met; A print management system comprising:

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