Image formation device, control method and program

Abstract

To causes a user to select whether an owner is an individual or an employer so that burden of printing cost according to the owner of an image formation device can be distributed to the employer and the user.SOLUTION: When an "owner registration" button 611 of a "setting selection screen" 610 is selected, an "owner registration screen" 620 is displayed on a touch panel 51. The "owner registration screen" 620 is a screen that causes a user to select whether an owner is an employer or an individual. When an "individual" button 621 is operated, an "individual information input screen" is displayed on the touch panel 51, and the user is prompted to input individual information. When an "employer" button 622 is selected, an "employer information input screen" 640 is displayed on the touch panel 51, and the user is prompted to input employer information. By this, the user can be caused to select whether an owner is an individual or an employer so that burden of printing cost according to the owner of an image formation device can be distributed to the employer and the user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction peripheral, a control method for the image forming apparatus, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Recently, society has become more flexible in terms of time and place of work, and the number of workplaces implementing remote work where employees (referred to as users) work from home is increasing. During remote work, users may output business prints for business use, such as business materials from their workplace, using a personal printer (referred to as a personal printer) owned by themselves. In Patent Document 1, a method for calculating the printing cost for outputting a business print when using a personal printer has been proposed.

[0003] According to this, since the workplace can pay the printing cost of the business print for the user who uses the personal printer for business, the user can output the business print using the personal printer without worrying about the printing cost. In addition, although the user may also output a private print for personal use using the personal printer, in Patent Document 1, the printing cost of the business print is calculated separately from the private print, so the workplace does not bear the printing cost for outputting the private print.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] By the way, when a printer owned by the workplace is provided to a user (referred to as a provided printer), the user outputs business prints using the provided printer. Since the workplace bears the printing cost of business prints for the provided printer, the printing cost is not paid to the user by the workplace. On the other hand, when the user outputs personal prints using the provided printer, since the user should pay the printing cost of personal prints, the workplace bills the user for the printing cost of personal prints. However, conventionally, when a personal printer and a provided printer are used in a mixed manner, it has been difficult to allocate the burden of printing costs corresponding to personal prints and business prints output from these printers between the workplace and the user according to whether the owner of the image forming apparatus is an individual (personal printer) or the workplace (provided printer).

[0006] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus, a control method, and a program that can select whether the owner of the image forming apparatus is an individual or a workplace so that the burden of printing costs corresponding to the owner of the image forming apparatus can be allocated between the workplace and the user.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] An image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording material, a display unit that can display a screen for allowing the owner of the image forming apparatus to select whether the user's workplace or the user himself / herself, and a selection unit that can select either the user's workplace or the user himself / herself based on the screen. This is the feature.

[0008] An image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording material, a transmission unit that can transmit information for causing an external terminal connected via any one of a LAN, a cable, and wireless to display a screen for allowing the owner of the image forming apparatus to select whether the user's workplace or the user himself / herself, and a reception unit that can receive either information regarding the user's workplace or information regarding the user himself / herself selected based on the screen from the external terminal. This is the feature.

[0009] A control method according to an embodiment of the present invention is a control method for registering the owner of an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material with an external server, and includes a step of causing a display unit of the image forming apparatus to display a screen for allowing the owner of the image forming apparatus to select whether the user's workplace or the user himself / herself, a step of selecting either the user's workplace or the user himself / herself according to a user input based on the screen, and a step of transmitting either information regarding the selected user's workplace or information regarding the user himself / herself to an external server of the workplace connected via the Internet. It is characterized by this.

[0010] A control method according to an embodiment of the present invention is a control method for registering the owner of an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material with an external server, and includes a step of transmitting information for causing an external terminal connected via any of LAN, cable, or wireless to display a screen for allowing the owner of the image forming apparatus to select whether the user's workplace or the user himself / herself, a step of receiving either information regarding the user's workplace or information regarding the user himself / herself selected based on the screen from the external terminal, and a step of transmitting either the information regarding the user's workplace or the information regarding the user himself / herself received from the external terminal to an external server of the workplace connected via the Internet. It is characterized by this.

Advantages of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, the user can be allowed to select whether the owner of the image forming apparatus is an individual or a workplace, so that the burden of printing costs can be allocated between the workplace and the user according to the owner of the image forming apparatus.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] <Image Forming Apparatus> Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a laser printer capable of forming a black single-color image on a recording material P using an electrophotographic method. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an image reading unit 30, an image forming unit 90, a fixing unit 40, a cassette 11, and an operation unit 50.

[0014] The image reading unit 30 has a document reading unit 31 that reads the image of a document, and a document conveying unit 32 that automatically conveys the document to the document reading unit 31. The document reading unit 31 includes a scanner having, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CIS (Contact Image Sensor). The scanner reads the image of the document conveyed onto the platen glass of the document reading unit 31 by the document conveying unit 32, or the image of the document manually set on the platen glass by the user. The image of the document read by the scanner is converted into an electrical signal and transmitted to the control unit 100 as image data.

[0015] Under the control of the control unit 100, the image forming unit 90 forms an image on the recording material P based on the image data of the read document, or forms an image on the recording material P based on the image data transmitted from an external terminal. The external terminal is, for example, a personal computer that is connected to the image forming apparatus 1 so as to be capable of data communication. The image forming unit 90 includes a photosensitive drum 21, a charger 22, an exposure device 23, a developing device 24, and a transfer roller 25. The photosensitive drum 21 that is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow A is uniformly charged on its surface in advance by the charger 22, and then an electrostatic latent image is formed by the exposure device 23 that is driven based on the image data. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 21 is developed into a toner image by the developing device 24. The developing device 24 develops the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 21 into a toner image using the toner contained in the developer.

[0016] The recording material P is loaded in the cassette 11. The recording material P loaded in the cassette 11 is supplied one by one to the conveyance path by the conveyance roller 12 and conveyed toward the registration roller 13. Thereafter, the recording material P is conveyed from the registration roller 13 to the transfer position at the timing when the toner image on the photosensitive drum 21 reaches the transfer position formed by the photosensitive drum 21 and the transfer roller 25. In the process of the recording material P passing through the transfer position, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 21 is transferred to the recording material P.

[0017] The recording material P onto which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 40. The fixing device 40 includes a fixing roller and a pressure belt. The pressure belt abuts against the fixing roller and forms a fixing nip portion that applies heat and pressure while sandwiching and conveying the recording material P. The toner image is fixed to the recording material P when heat and pressure are applied as the recording material P passes through the fixing nip portion. The fixing roller is heated by, for example, a ceramic heater or a halogen heater in order to heat the recording material P. The recording material P that has passed through the fixing device 40 is discharged to the discharge tray 15 by the discharge roller 14.

[0018] <Control Unit> As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 100 that controls the entire image forming apparatus 1. The control unit 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 while referring to FIG. 1. Note that various devices other than those shown in FIG. 2, such as an image reading unit 30, a fixing unit 40, motors and power supplies (not shown), are connected to the control unit 100, but illustration and description thereof are omitted here because they are not essential to the gist of the invention.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 100 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103. Various programs and various data are stored in the ROM 102 and the RAM 103. For example, programs such as an “owner registration process” (see FIG. 4) and an “image forming process” (see FIG. 6), which will be described later, are stored in the ROM 102. The CPU 101 executes the “image forming process (program)” stored in the ROM 102. Thereby, the control unit 100 can control the image forming unit 90 to form an image on the recording material P based on job data received from an external terminal 300 described later. Job data received from the external terminal 300, owner information input by the user, etc. are stored in the RAM 103. Also, calculation processing results and the like associated with the execution of various programs are temporarily stored in the RAM 103.

[0020] An operation unit 50 disposed in the apparatus main body is connected to the control unit 100 so that data can be input and output. The operation unit 50 can display information output from the control unit 100 and input information to the control unit 100. The operation unit 50 has a resistive film type or capacitive touch panel 51. The user can perform operations such as registration of owner information described later and setting of the size and number of output sheets of the recording material P on which an image is to be formed by touching the touch panel 51 from various screens that can be displayed on the touch panel 51 as a display unit.

[0021] In order to connect the control unit 100 of the image forming apparatus 1 to the external server 200 and the external terminal 300 so that data can be transmitted and received, it has a network unit 104 as a transmission unit (second transmission unit, reception unit, or acquisition unit). Through the network unit 104, the image forming apparatus 1 is connected to the external server 200 at the workplace through an external network such as the Internet VPN (Virtual Private Network). Also, the image forming apparatus 1 is directly connected to the external terminal 300 via either a LAN, a cable, or wireless. The image forming apparatus 1 and the external terminal 300 are connected via any connection unit 301 such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable, a wired LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless LAN, or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0022] The external terminal 300 is a personal computer installed at the user's home and can access the external server 200 through the Internet VPN 500. The user can create business data for business printing used in business and personal data for personal printing used privately using the external terminal 300. Also, the user can operate the image forming apparatus 1 by inputting a start command for an image forming job from the external terminal 300 to form an image on the recording material P.

[0023] The external server 200 is, for example, a computer of an in-house system constructed at the user's workplace or a computer on the cloud provided at the user's workplace. From the perspective of preventing information leakage, the external server 200 records access records by the external terminal 300 and the like. The image forming apparatus 1 is installed at the same user's home as the external terminal 300 and is connected to be capable of data communication with the external terminal 300.

[0024] In addition, the control unit 100 includes a data determination unit 107. Job data received from the external terminal 300 connected to the network unit 104 is sent to the data determination unit 107. For example, the data determination unit 107 has a function of storing business words used in the work at the workplace, analyzes the received job data, and determines whether the job data is business data or personal data based on whether the data contains the same words as the business words. If the data contains the same words as the business words, the job data is determined to be business data.

[0025] The CPU 101 associates job information (Fa ··· Fn) with the job data (JOBa ··· JOBn) determined to be business data or personal data by the data determination unit 107 and stores it in the RAM 102. As job information, the CPU 101 sets a flag "1" for the job data determined to be personal data by the data determination unit 107 and sets a flag "0" for the job data determined to be business data. The job data and job information are stored in the job storage area 120 of the RAM 102 and read from the RAM 102 during image formation.

[0026] Note that the job data received from the external terminal 300 and stored in the job storage area 120 is business data or personal data created by the user on the external terminal 300, or business data downloaded by the user from the external server 200 to the external terminal 300 in advance. A flag "0" indicating that it is business data may be associated in advance with the business data downloaded from the external server 200 as job information.

[0027] When the image forming job is a private use job, the control unit 100 can count the first count number, which is the number of sheets of the recording material P formed by the image forming unit 90, and the second count number, which is the number of sheets of the recording material P formed by the image forming unit 90 when the job is for business use. To do so, the control unit 100 as a counting unit has a first counter 105 and a second counter 106. Although details will be described later, when the image forming apparatus 1 is a supply printer owned by the workplace and supplied to the user from the workplace, the first counter 105 counts the number of printed sheets of private printing, and the second counter 106 counts the number of printed sheets of business printing. When the image forming apparatus 1 is a personal printer owned by the user, the first counter 105 counts the number of printed sheets of business printing, and the second counter 106 counts the number of printed sheets of private printing.

[0028] As described above, the image forming apparatus 1 and the external terminal 300 are installed at the home of a user who works from home such as remote work. The external terminal 300 is connected to the image forming apparatus 1 and to the external server 200 through the Internet VPN 500. Here, an example of the network configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 and the external terminal 300 installed at the home of each user and the external server 200 installed at the workplace when a plurality of users are performing remote work is shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 1 and the external terminal 300 installed at the home KA of the user are labeled, and the image forming apparatuses and external terminals installed at the other homes KB to KH are not labeled.

[0029] As shown in Fig. 3, an image forming apparatus 1 and an external terminal 300 are installed in each user's home KA to KH where they work remotely or work from home. The external terminal 300 is connected to the image forming apparatus 1. The image forming apparatus 1 and the external terminal 300 installed in each user's home KA to KH are connected to an external server 200 through an Internet VPN 500. By inputting owner information from the operation unit 50 (see Fig. 2) of the image forming apparatus 1, the user can register the image forming apparatus 1 at home with the external server 200 as a supplied printer, a personal printer, or otherwise.

[0030] The external server 200 stores owner information for each image forming apparatus 1 installed in each user's home. When the owner information is "personal", the image forming apparatus 1 is registered with the external server 200 as a "personal printer", and when the owner information is "workplace", the image forming apparatus 1 is registered with the external server 200 as a "supplied printer". In the example shown in Fig. 3, the image forming apparatuses 1 installed in homes KA, KC, KF, and KG are registered as "personal printers", and the image forming apparatuses 1 installed in homes KB, KD, KE, and KH are registered as "supplied printers".

[0031] <Owner registration process> Next, the "owner registration process" for registering the owner information of the image forming apparatus 1 installed at home will be described with reference to Figs. 4 to 5(e) while referring to Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the "owner registration process". The "owner registration process" shown in Fig. 4 is started by the control unit 100, for example, when the main power of the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on, when the image forming apparatus 1 resumes from the power-saving standby state (so-called sleep state), or when the user selects the display of the "main menu screen" from the operation unit 50. Figs. 5(a) to 5(b) are various screens displayed on the touch panel 51 of the operation unit 50 during owner information registration. Fig. 5(a) is the "main menu screen", Fig. 5(b) is the "setting selection screen", Fig. 5(c) is the "owner registration screen", Fig. 5(d) is the "personal information input screen", and Fig. 5(e) is the "workplace information input screen".

[0032] As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 100 displays the "main menu screen" on the touch panel 51 (S1). As shown in FIG. 5(a), on the "main menu screen" 600, for example, a "Copy" button for copying a document, a "Fax" button for faxing a document, a "Print" button for instructing the start of printing, a "Scan and Send" button for sending the scan data of the scanned document to a desired personal computer, and a "Settings" button 601 for performing various settings and registrations described later are displayed so as to be operable by the user.

[0033] When the control unit 100 detects that the "Settings" button 601 on the "main menu screen" 600 has been operated by the user (S2), it causes the display on the touch panel 51 to transition from the "main menu screen" 600 to the "Settings Selection Screen" (S3). As shown in FIG. 5(b), on the "Settings Selection Screen" 610, a "Paper Settings" button for setting the type and size of the recording material P, a "Printer Settings" button for setting the configuration of the image forming apparatus 1, a "Fax Destination Registration" button for registering the fax transmission destination of a document, a "Network Registration" button for registering the image forming apparatus 1 in an external network connectable to the external server 200, and an "Owner Registration" button 611 for registering the owner (owner name) of the image forming apparatus 1 are displayed so as to be operable by the user.

[0034] When the control unit 100 detects that the "Owner Registration" button 611 on the "Settings Selection Screen" 610 has been operated by the user (S4), it causes the display on the touch panel 51 to transition from the "Settings Selection Screen" 610 to the "Owner Registration Screen" and display it (S5). As shown in FIG. 5(c), the "Owner Registration Screen" 620 is a screen for allowing the user to select whether the owner of the image forming apparatus 1 is the user's workplace or the user himself / herself, and a "Personal" button 621 and a "Workplace" button 622 are displayed so as to be selectable by the user. Based on the "Owner Registration Screen" 620 displayed on the operation unit 50 as a selection unit (specifically, the touch panel 51), the user can select either the user's workplace or the user himself / herself.

[0035] The control unit 100 determines which of the "Individual" button 621 and the "Workplace" button 622 on the "Owner Registration Screen" 620 has been operated by the user (S6). When it detects that the "Individual" button 621 has been operated (YES in S6), the control unit 100 changes the display on the touch panel 51 from the "Owner Registration Screen" 620 to the "Personal Information Input Screen" 630 (S7), and prompts the user to input personal information (S8). The "Personal Information Input Screen" 630 is a screen for the user to input information regarding the user himself / herself. On the other hand, when it detects that the "Workplace" button 622 has been operated (NO in S6), the control unit 100 changes the display on the touch panel 51 from the "Owner Registration Screen" 620 to the "Workplace Information Input Screen" 640 (S9), and prompts the user to input workplace information (S10). The "Workplace Information Input Screen" 640 is a screen for the user to input information regarding the user's workplace.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 5(d), the "Personal Information Input Screen" 630 has an input area 631, and the input area 631 is an area where the user can input personal information such as the user's name, address, registration date, and the model of the image forming apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. 5(e), the "Workplace Information Input Screen" 640 has an input area 641, and the input area 641 is an area where the user can input workplace information such as the name of the workplace to which the user belongs, the system management department and the administrator name of the workplace, the address of the workplace, the registration date, and the model of the image forming apparatus 1. The input personal information and workplace information are stored as owner information in the owner information storage area 110 of the RAM 102.

[0037] In addition, on the "Personal Information Input Screen" 630 and the "Workplace Information Input Screen" 640, "End" buttons 632 and 642 for ending information registration are respectively displayed so as to be operable by the user. When the control unit 100 detects that the "End" buttons 632 and 642 are operated and the input of personal information or workplace information by the user has ended (S11), it transmits the personal information or workplace information to the external server 200 through the Internet VPN 500 (S12). The external server 200 stores the owner information (personal information or workplace information) transmitted from the image forming apparatus 1 (see FIG. 3). Thereby, the external server 200 registers the image forming apparatus 1 in which "personal information" has been input by the user as a "personal printer", and registers the image forming apparatus 1 in which "workplace information" has been input by the user as an "issued printer".

[0038] Next, the image forming process executed by the image forming apparatus 1 in which the above-described owner registration has been performed will be described with reference to FIG. 6 while referring to FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the image forming process. The image forming process shown in FIG. 6 is executed by the control unit 100 of the image forming apparatus 1 when the image forming apparatus 1 receives an image forming job start command from the external terminal 300.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 100 refers to the owner information stored in the RAM 102 and determines whether the image forming apparatus 1 is a "personal printer" or an "issued printer" (S20). The control unit 100 determines that it is a "personal printer" if the owner information is "personal information", and determines that it is an "issued printer" if the owner information is "workplace information". When the image forming apparatus 1 is a "personal printer" (YES in S20), the control unit 100 executes the processes of "Steps S21 to S29" described later, and when the image forming apparatus 1 is an "issued printer" (NO in S20), the control unit 100 executes the processes of "Steps S31 to S39" described later.

[0040] The processing performed when the image forming apparatus 1 is a "personal printer" (YES in S20) will be described. When the control unit 100 receives job data from the external terminal 300 (S21), the data determination unit 107 determines whether the received job data is business data or personal data (S22), and sets a flag corresponding to the determination result in the job information (S23). As described above, when it is determined to be personal data, it is set to the flag "1", and when it is determined to be business data, it is set to the flag "0". The control unit 100 stores these job data and job information (flags) in the RAM 102 in the order of reception (S24). Then, in order to form an image on the recording material P, the control unit 100 reads out the job data from the RAM 102 in the order of reception, and determines whether the read job data is business data or personal data with reference to the job information (S25).

[0041] When the read job data is business data (YES in S25), the control unit 100 controls the image forming unit 90 according to the read job data and outputs a business print (S26). In this case, the control unit 100 counts the number of printed sheets by the first counter 105 (S27). On the other hand, when the read job data is personal data (NO in S25), the control unit 100 controls the image forming unit 90 according to the read job data and outputs a personal print (S28). In this case, the control unit 100 counts the number of printed sheets by the second counter 106 (S29).

[0042] The control unit 100 repeats the processing of the above "steps S21 to S29" until the image forming job is completed (S30). When the image forming job is completed, that is, when the output of the business print and the personal print has been completed according to all the job data received from the external terminal 300, the control unit 100 transmits the owner information stored in the RAM 102 and the number of printed sheets counted by the first counter 105 to the external server 200 (S40). In this way, when the image forming apparatus 1 is a "personal printer", the number of business print sheets is counted by the first counter 105, and the number of personal print sheets is counted by the second counter 106.

[0043] After the completion of the image forming job, the number of printed sheets of the business print counted by at least the first counter 105 is transmitted to the external server 200 with the owner information attached (S40). In this way, when the image forming apparatus 1 is a "personal printer", the number of printed sheets of the business print counted by the first counter 105 is transmitted. As information for the user to pay the cost corresponding to the use of the image forming apparatus 1 from the user's workplace, the second count number counted by the first counter 105 is transmitted.

[0044] The processing performed when the image forming apparatus 1 is a "supply printer" (NO in S20) will be described. When the control unit 100 receives job data from the external terminal 300 (S31), the data determination unit 107 determines whether the received job data is business data or personal data (S32), and sets a flag corresponding to the determination result in the job information (S33). The control unit 100 stores these job data and job information (flags) in the RAM 102 in the order of reception (S34). Then, the control unit 100 reads out the job data from the RAM 102 in the order of reception to form an image on the recording material P, and determines whether the read job data is business data or personal data by referring to the job information (S35).

[0045] When the read job data is business data (YES in S35), the control unit 100 controls the image forming unit 90 according to the read job data and outputs a business print (S36). In this case, the control unit 100 counts the number of printed sheets by the second counter 106 (S37). On the other hand, when the read job data is personal data (NO in S35), the control unit 100 controls the image forming unit 90 according to the read job data and outputs a personal print (S38). In this case, the control unit 100 counts the number of printed sheets by the first counter 105 (S39).

[0046] The control unit 100 repeats the processes of "Steps S31 to S39" described above until the image forming job is completed (S30). When the image forming job is completed, that is, when the output of business printing and personal printing has been completed according to all the job data received from the external terminal 300, the control unit 100 transmits the owner information stored in the RAM 102 and the number of printed sheets counted by the first counter to the external server 200 (S28). In this way, when the image forming apparatus 1 is a "supply printer", the number of printed sheets of personal printing is counted by the first counter 105, and the number of printed sheets of business printing is counted by the second counter 106.

[0047] After the completion of the image forming job, at least the number of printed sheets of personal printing counted by the first counter 105 is transmitted to the external server 200 with the owner information attached (S40). In this way, when the image forming apparatus 1 is a "supply printer", the number of printed sheets of personal printing counted by the first counter 105 is transmitted. As information for billing the user for the use of the image forming apparatus 1 from the user's workplace, the first count number counted by the first counter 105 is transmitted.

[0048] The external server 200 receives the owner information and the number of printed sheets counted by the first counter 105 from the image forming apparatus 1. The external server 200 stores the cumulative value obtained by accumulating the number of printed sheets for each image forming apparatus 1 specified according to the owner information, and calculates the printing cost for the print output according to this cumulative value. The cumulative value of the external server 200 is the number of sheets output by the user for "business printing" with the "personal printer" when it is a "personal printer". Also, when it is a "supply printer", it is the number of sheets output by the user for "personal printing" with the "supply printer".

[0049] As described above, in this embodiment, the user can register the image forming apparatus 1 installed at home as either a "personal printer" or an "issued printer". Then, depending on whether the image forming apparatus 1 is a "personal printer" or an "issued printer", the target for counting the number of printed sheets by the first counter 105 is switched between "business printing" and "personal printing", and the number of printed sheets counted by the first counter 105 is transmitted to the external server 200. Thereby, when "business printing" is output by the "personal printer", the printing cost can be billed to the user from the workplace, and when "personal printing" is output by the "issued printer", the printing cost can be billed to the user from the workplace. That is, the burden of the printing cost corresponding to the owner of the image forming apparatus 1 can be allocated between the workplace and the user, so that the user can be made to select whether the owner of the image forming apparatus 1 is an individual or a workplace.

[0050] In the above-described embodiment, various screens shown in FIGS. 5(a) to 5(e) are displayed on the touch panel 51 of the operation unit 50 provided in the image forming apparatus 1, so that the user can be made to select whether the owner of the image forming apparatus 1 is an individual or a workplace in the image forming apparatus 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, various screens shown in FIGS. 5(a) to 5(e) may be displayed on an external terminal 300 connected to the image forming apparatus 1, and the user may be made to select whether the owner of the image forming apparatus 1 is an individual or a workplace on the external terminal 300.

[0051] Note that the above-described embodiment is not limited to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and may be applied to an image forming apparatus using other methods such as an inkjet method.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0052] 1…Image forming apparatus, 50…Selection unit (operation unit), 51…Display unit (touch panel), 90…Image forming unit, 100…Counting unit (control unit), 104…Transmission unit (second transmission unit, acquisition unit, reception unit, network unit), 107…Judgment unit (data judgment unit), 200…External server, 300…External terminal, 500…Internet (Internet VPN), P…Recording material

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus, comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording material; a display unit capable of displaying a screen for allowing the owner of the image forming apparatus to select whether the user's workplace or the user himself / herself; a selection unit capable of selecting either the user's workplace or the user himself / herself based on the screen. The image forming apparatus is characterized by the above.

2. According to the selection by the selection unit, a screen for inputting information regarding the user's workplace or a screen for inputting information regarding the user himself / herself is displayed on the display unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. Comprising a transmission unit capable of transmitting information to an external server of the workplace connected via the Internet, wherein the transmission unit transmits either information regarding the user's workplace or information regarding the user himself / herself to the external server according to the selection by the selection unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

4. An acquisition unit that acquires a job for forming an image on a recording material; a determination unit that determines whether the job is for personal use where the user privately uses the image forming apparatus or for business use where the user uses the image forming apparatus for work at the workplace; a counting unit capable of counting, respectively, a first count number which is the number of recording materials on which an image is formed by the image forming unit when the job is for personal use, and a second count number which is the number of recording materials on which an image is formed by the image forming unit when the job is for business use, based on the determination by the determination unit; wherein the transmission unit, to the external server, when the user's workplace is selected by the selection unit, transmits the first count number as information for billing the user for the use of the image forming apparatus from the user's workplace; when the user himself / herself is selected by the selection unit, transmits the second count number as information for paying the user for the use of the image forming apparatus from the user's workplace. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, characterized by the above.

5. An image forming apparatus, comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording material; a transmission unit capable of transmitting information for causing an external terminal connected via any one of LAN, cable, or wireless to display a screen for allowing the owner of the image forming apparatus to select whether the user's workplace or the user himself / herself. A receiving unit capable of receiving either information regarding the workplace of the user selected based on the screen from the external terminal or information regarding the user individual. An image forming apparatus characterized by this.

6. A second transmitting unit capable of transmitting information to an external server of the workplace connected via the Internet, The second transmitting unit transmits either information regarding the workplace of the user received from the external terminal or information regarding the user individual to the external server. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, characterized by this.

7. An acquisition unit that acquires a job of forming an image on a recording material from the external terminal, A determination unit that determines whether the job is a private use in which the user privately uses the image forming apparatus or a business use in which the user uses the image forming apparatus for business at the workplace, A counting unit capable of counting, respectively, a first count number that is the number of recording materials on which an image is formed by the image forming unit when it is a private use job based on the determination of the determination unit, and a second count number that is the number of recording materials on which an image is formed by the image forming unit when it is a business use job. The second transmitting unit, to the external server, When receiving the workplace of the user from the external terminal, transmits the first count number as information for billing the user individual for the use of the image forming apparatus according to the workplace of the user. When receiving the user individual from the external terminal, transmits the second count number as information for paying the user individual for the use of the image forming apparatus according to the workplace of the user. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, characterized by this.

8. A control method for registering the owner of an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material to an external server, comprising: A step of causing a display unit of the image forming apparatus to display a screen for allowing the owner of the image forming apparatus to select whether it is the workplace of the user or the user individual; A step of selecting either the workplace of the user or the user individual according to a user input based on the screen; A step of transmitting either information regarding the workplace of the selected user or information regarding the user individual to an external server of the workplace connected via the Internet. A control method characterized by this.

9. A control method for registering the owner of an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material with an external server, comprising: a step of transmitting information for causing an external terminal connected via any one of a LAN, a cable, and wireless communication to display a screen for allowing the owner of the image forming apparatus to select whether the user's workplace or the user himself / herself; a step of receiving either information regarding the user's workplace or information regarding the user himself / herself selected based on the screen from the external terminal; a step of transmitting either the information regarding the user's workplace or the information regarding the user himself / herself received from the external terminal to an external server of the workplace connected via the Internet; and characterized by the above control method.

10. A program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to claim 8 or 9.

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