Print management system, information processing device, image forming device, control method of information processing device, and control method of image forming device

Abstract

To provide a print management system which can obtain appropriate control information corresponding to a consumable item.SOLUTION: A print management system includes: an image forming device which comprises a printing unit which prints an image by using a consumable item, a detection unit which detects environment information on installation environment, and a print control unit which transmits first information including consumable item information, the environment information, and image information extracted from the image of a test pattern printed by the printing unit, and acquires control information set in accordance with the consumable item from an information processing device; and the information processing device which comprises a management storage unit which stores accumulated data accumulating history of each of second information including the consumable item information, the environment information, and the image information acquired from each of the image forming device and other image forming devices, and a management control unit which generates the control information based on the accumulated data and transmits the information to the image forming device in response to the reception of the first information from the image forming device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a print management system, an information processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, a control method for an information processing apparatus, and a control method for an image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 proposes an image forming apparatus that acquires identification information of consumables, transmits it to a server device, and receives image forming conditions for controlling an image forming unit from the server device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-61016 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, if a consumable item whose identification information cannot be recognized by the server device is installed in the image forming device, the image forming device cannot obtain control information corresponding to the consumable item from the server device.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to propose a print management system, an information processing device, an image forming device, a control method for an information processing device, and a control method for an image forming device that are capable of obtaining appropriate control information corresponding to consumables. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A printing management system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes an image forming device having a printing unit that prints images using consumables, a detection unit that detects environmental information of the installation environment, and a printing control unit that transmits first information to an information processing device, the first information including consumable information of the consumables, the environmental information detected by the detection unit, and image information extracted from a test pattern image printed by the printing unit, and acquires control information for controlling the printing unit from the information processing device, the control information being set corresponding to the consumables; a management memory unit that stores accumulated data that accumulates histories of second information including the consumable information, the environmental information, and the image information acquired from the image forming device and other image forming devices, and a management control unit that, upon receiving the first information from the image forming device, identifies, based on the accumulated data, multiple pieces of second information that show a high degree of association with the first information, and generates the control information based on the first information and the identified multiple pieces of second information, and transmits the control information to the image forming device.

[0007] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is an information processing device communicatively connected to an image forming device and other image forming devices that transmits first information including consumable information on consumables, environmental information on the installation environment, and image information extracted from an image of a test pattern printed using the consumables, and requests control information for controlling printing, and has a management memory unit that stores accumulated data that accumulates the history of each piece of second information including the consumable information, the environmental information, and the image information obtained from the image forming device and the other image forming devices, and a management control unit that, upon receiving the first information from the image forming device, identifies multiple pieces of second information that show a high degree of correlation with the first information based on the accumulated data, and generates the control information based on the first information and the identified multiple pieces of second information and transmits it to the image forming device.

[0008] An image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is an image forming apparatus communicatively connected to an information processing apparatus, and includes a printing unit that prints images using consumables, a detection unit that detects environmental information of the installation environment, and a printing control unit that transmits first information to the information processing apparatus, the first information including consumable information of the consumables, the environmental information detected by the detection unit, and image information extracted from an image of a test pattern printed by the printing unit, and obtains control information for controlling the printing unit from the information processing apparatus, the control information being set corresponding to the consumables, and is generated from accumulated data in the information processing apparatus that accumulates second information including the consumable information, the environmental information, and the image information obtained from each of the image forming apparatus and another image forming apparatus.

[0009] A control method for an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a control method for an information processing device communicatively connected to an image forming device that requests control information for controlling printing, and includes the steps of receiving first information from the image forming device, the first information including consumable information on consumables, environmental information on the installation environment, and image information extracted from an image of a test pattern printed using the consumables; storing the first information received from the image forming device as accumulated data together with second information including the consumable information, the environmental information, and the image information that has been previously obtained from the image forming device and another image forming device; identifying, based on the accumulated data, multiple pieces of second information that show a high degree of correlation with the first information, and generating the control information based on the first information and the identified multiple pieces of second information; and transmitting the control information to the image forming device.

[0010] A control method for an image forming device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a control method for an image forming device that is communicatively connected to an information processing device and prints images using consumables, and includes the steps of detecting environmental information of the installation environment, printing a test pattern, acquiring image information extracted from the image of the printed test pattern, transmitting first information including consumable information of the consumable, the environmental information, and the image information to the information processing device, and acquiring control information for controlling the printing of the image from the information processing device, which is set corresponding to the consumable, and the control information is generated in the information processing device based on accumulated data that accumulates second information including the consumable information, the environmental information, and the image information acquired from each of the image forming device and other image forming devices. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present disclosure, it is possible for a print management system to obtain appropriate control information corresponding to a consumable item. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a general configuration of a print management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the internal structure of an image forming apparatus included in the print management system shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the print management system shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a test pattern printed by an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a test pattern printed by an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a test pattern printed by an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a test pattern printed by an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a test pattern printed by an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a test pattern printed by an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of information acquired by a management server from an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of information acquired by a management server from an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of information acquired by a management server from an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of information acquired by a management server from an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of grouped data generated based on accumulated data in a management server according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control information acquisition process performed by an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control information generation process by a management server according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a main configuration of a print management system according to a first modified example of an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 18] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control information acquisition process performed by an image forming apparatus according to a first modified example of an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 19] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control information generation process by a management server according to a first modified example of an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments and modifications of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that, hereinafter, identical or corresponding components will be designated by the same reference numerals throughout the drawings, and redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted. Furthermore, the embodiments and modifications described below are merely examples of the present disclosure, and the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments and modifications. Various modifications other than these embodiments and modifications are possible depending on the design, etc., as long as they do not deviate from the technical concept of the present disclosure.

[0014] (Print Management System) A print management system 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a general configuration of the print management system 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of the internal structure of an image forming device 100 included in the print management system 300 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of the print management system 300 shown in FIG. 1. Since the image forming devices 100a to 100d each have a similar configuration, FIG. 3 illustrates the main configuration of the image forming device 100a as a representative.

[0015] 1, a print management system 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses 100a-100d and a management server 200 communicatively connected to each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 100a-100d, for example, via a communication network (not shown). Note that when there is no need to distinguish between the image forming apparatuses 100a, 100b, 100c, and 100d, they may be simply referred to as image forming apparatuses 100. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 1 shows four image forming apparatuses 100 connected to the management server 200, but any number of image forming apparatuses 100 may be used as long as they are plural.

[0016] The image forming device 100a is equipped with a removable consumable item, for example, a toner cartridge 20. In the print management system 300, when a new toner cartridge 20 is installed as a consumable item in the image forming device 100a, the image forming device 100a is configured to be able to acquire, from the management server 200, control information 32 corresponding to the characteristics of the toner cartridge 20.

[0017] 1, in the printing management system 300, the image forming device 100a transmits consumable information, environmental information, and image information (described later) to the management server 200 to request control information 32, and the management server 200 generates the control information 32 in response to the request from the image forming device 100a and transmits it to the image forming device 100a. Note that the transmission and reception of this information between the image forming device 100a and the management server 200 is similarly performed between each of the other image forming devices 100b to 100d and the management server 200.

[0018] (Image forming device) Image forming apparatus 100 is a laser-type color printer that forms multicolor and monochrome images on paper on which the image is to be formed. Image forming apparatus 100 prints an image on paper based on image data read from an original by image reading device 90 (described later) or image data received from an external source. Note that in this embodiment, a laser-type color printer will be described as an example of image forming apparatus 100, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, image forming apparatus 100 may also be an inkjet printer.

[0019] 2, image forming apparatus 100 includes a printing unit 110, an image reading device 90, a document placing table 92, and an automatic document feeder 120. Printing unit 110 includes an exposure unit 1, a developing device 2, a photosensitive drum 3, a cleaner unit 4, a charger 5, an intermediate transfer belt unit 6, a fixing unit 7, a paper feed cassette 81, and a manual paper feed cassette 82.

[0020] An image reading device 90 and a document table 92 made of transparent glass are provided above the printing unit 110. An automatic document feeder 120 is attached above the document table 92.

[0021] Automatic document feeder 120 automatically transports a document onto document placing table 92. Automatic document feeder 120 is also configured to be able to rotate in the direction of arrow R. Then, by opening the top of document placing table 92, a document can be placed on document placing table 92.

[0022] The image reading device 90 reads image data from a document that has been transported or placed on the document placement table 92. The printing unit 110 prints an image on paper based on the image data read by the image reading device 90.

[0023] The image data handled by the image forming apparatus 100 corresponds to a color image using the colors yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). Therefore, the developing device 2, the photosensitive drum 3, the cleaner unit 4, and the charger 5 are each provided to form four types of latent images corresponding to the respective colors.

[0024] The charger 5 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 to a predetermined potential. The charger 5 may be a charger type, a contact type, or a brush type charger.

[0025] The exposure unit 1 is configured as a laser scanning unit (LSU) equipped with a laser emission section, a reflecting mirror, etc. The exposure unit 1 includes a polygon mirror that scans the laser beam, and optical members such as lenses or mirrors that guide the laser light reflected by the polygon mirror to the photosensitive drum 3. The exposure unit 1 exposes the charged photosensitive drum 3 to light in accordance with image data, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 in accordance with the image data.

[0026] The developing unit 2 visualizes the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 3 with toner. The developing unit 2 includes a developing tank 2a, which contains toner. The developing unit 2 is configured to supply the toner contained in the developing tank 2a to the photosensitive drum 3. Each developing tank 2a is connected to a toner cartridge 20 (consumable) that contains toner via a toner supply pipe (not shown). A toner cartridge 20 is provided for each of the four colors of toner.

[0027] The cleaner unit 4 removes and collects the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 after development and image transfer.

[0028] An intermediate transfer belt unit 6 is disposed above the photosensitive drum 3. The intermediate transfer belt unit 6 includes an intermediate transfer belt 61, an intermediate transfer belt drive roller 62, an intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63, a plurality of intermediate transfer rollers 64, and an intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65. Four intermediate transfer rollers 64 are provided, one for each of the colors Y, M, C, and K.

[0029] The intermediate transfer belt drive roller 62, the intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63, and the four intermediate transfer rollers 64 tension and rotate the intermediate transfer belt 61. Each intermediate transfer roller 64 also applies a transfer bias for transferring the toner image on the photosensitive drum 3 onto the intermediate transfer belt 61.

[0030] The intermediate transfer belt 61 is provided so as to come into contact with each photosensitive drum 3. The toner images of each color formed on the photosensitive drum 3 are transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 61 in order, superimposed on top of each other, to form a color toner image (multicolor toner image) on the intermediate transfer belt 61. The intermediate transfer belt 61 is formed in an endless shape using, for example, a film having a thickness of about 100 μm to 150 μm.

[0031] The toner image is transferred from the photosensitive drum 3 to the intermediate transfer belt 61 by an intermediate transfer roller 64 that is in contact with the back side of the intermediate transfer belt 61. A high-voltage transfer bias (a high voltage with a polarity (+) opposite to the charged polarity (-) of the toner) is applied to the intermediate transfer roller 64 in order to transfer the toner image. The intermediate transfer roller 64 is a roller based on a metal (e.g., stainless steel) shaft with a diameter of 8 to 10 mm, the surface of which is covered with a conductive elastic material (e.g., EPDM, urethane foam, etc.). This conductive elastic material allows a high voltage to be applied uniformly to the intermediate transfer belt 61.

[0032] The electrostatic latent images visualized on each photosensitive drum 3 according to each hue are layered on the intermediate transfer belt 61 and transferred onto the paper by the transfer roller 10 arranged at the contact position between the paper and the intermediate transfer belt 61.

[0033] At this time, the intermediate transfer belt 61 and the transfer roller 10 are pressed together at a predetermined nip, and a voltage is applied to the transfer roller 10 to transfer the toner onto the paper (a high voltage of the opposite polarity (+) to the toner's charged polarity (-)).

[0034] Furthermore, as described above, toner that has adhered to the intermediate transfer belt 61 by coming into contact with the photosensitive drum 3, or toner that remains on the intermediate transfer belt 61 without being transferred onto paper by the transfer roller 10, can cause toner color mixing in the next process, so it is removed and collected by the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65.

[0035] The intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65 includes, for example, a cleaning blade as a cleaning member that comes into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 61. The surface of the intermediate transfer belt 61 opposite to the surface that comes into contact with the cleaning blade is supported by an intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63.

[0036] Paper feed cassette 81 is a tray for storing paper sheets used for image formation, and is provided below exposure unit 1 of printing section 110. Also, manual paper feed cassette 82 is provided on the side of printing section 110. In image forming apparatus 100, paper sheets can also be manually set in manual paper feed cassette 82.

[0037] The printing unit 110 is further provided with a paper discharge tray 91. The paper discharge tray 91 collects printed sheets of paper face down.

[0038] The printing unit 110 is also provided with a paper transport path S for sending paper from the paper feed cassette 81 and the manual paper feed cassette 82 to the paper discharge tray 91 via the transfer roller 10 and the fixing unit 7. Along the paper transport path S from the paper feed cassette 81 or the manual paper feed cassette 82 to the paper discharge tray 91, pickup rollers 11a and 11b, a plurality of transport rollers 12a to 12d, registration rollers 13, the transfer roller 10, the fixing unit 7, and the like are arranged.

[0039] Conveyance rollers 12a to 12d are small rollers that assist in the transport of paper, and a plurality of them are provided along paper transport path S. Pickup roller 11a is provided near the end of paper feed cassette 81, and picks up paper one sheet at a time from paper feed cassette 81 and supplies it to paper transport path S. Similarly, pickup roller 11b is provided near the end of manual paper feed cassette 82, and picks up paper one sheet at a time from manual paper feed cassette 82 and supplies it to paper transport path S.

[0040] The registration rollers 13 temporarily hold the paper being transported in the paper transport path S. The registration rollers 13 transport the paper to the transfer rollers 10 at a timing that aligns the leading edge of the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 61 with the leading edge of the paper.

[0041] The fixing unit 7 includes a heat roller 71 and a pressure roller 72, which rotate while sandwiching the paper between them. The heat roller 71 is set to a predetermined fixing temperature based on a signal from a temperature detector (not shown). The heat roller 71, together with the pressure roller 72, thermally and compresses the toner onto the paper. This allows the fixing unit 7 to melt, mix, and press the multicolor toner image transferred onto the paper, thereby thermally fixing it to the paper. The fixing unit 7 is also provided with an external heating belt 73 for externally heating the heat roller 71.

[0042] In image forming apparatus 100 having the above configuration, printing unit 110 prints on paper sheets as follows when it acquires image data. That is, printing unit 110 guides paper sheets placed in paper feed cassette 81, for example, one by one, to paper conveyance path S using pickup roller 11a, and conveys the paper sheets to registration rollers 13 using conveyance rollers 12a. Then, registration rollers 13 convey the paper sheets to transfer rollers 10 at a timing when the leading edge of the paper sheets aligns with the leading edge of the toner image on intermediate transfer belt 61, and the toner image is transferred onto the paper sheets. The paper sheets then pass through fixing unit 7 to thermally fix the toner image onto the paper sheets, and the paper sheets are discharged to paper output tray 91 via conveyance rollers 12b.

[0043] Incidentally, in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, a toner cartridge 20 can be cited as a consumable item that can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus 100. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 1, it will be described that the toner cartridge 20 is replaced in, for example, the image forming apparatus 100a among the image forming apparatuses 100a to 100d.

[0044] If the replaced toner cartridge 20 is the same product as the toner cartridge 20 before replacement, the printing unit 110 in the image forming device 100 can perform printing by directly using the control information 32, which includes parameters related to image processing and parameters related to control of the image forming device 100, that are set according to the toner cartridge 20 before replacement. Also, if the replaced toner cartridge 20 is a product provided by the manufacturer of the image forming device 100 and has undergone a design change from the toner cartridge 20 before replacement due to a running change, the control information 32 corresponding to the replaced toner cartridge 20 can be obtained by inquiring of the manufacturer of the image forming device 100.

[0045] However, if the replaced toner cartridge 20 is not a genuine product provided by the manufacturer of the image forming device 100, the image forming device 100 may not be able to obtain control information 32 corresponding to the replaced toner cartridge 20, and may not be able to perform proper printing.

[0046] Therefore, the image forming apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is configured to be able to acquire the control information 32 corresponding to the replaced toner cartridge 20 even if the image forming apparatus 100 does not hold the control information 32 corresponding to the replaced toner cartridge 20. Below, the configuration related to the process of acquiring the control information 32 corresponding to the replaced toner cartridge 20 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 3, in addition to the printing unit 110 and image reading device 90 described with reference to FIG. 2, the image forming device 100 further includes a detection sensor 8, an attachment unit 21, a paper setting unit 93, an image forming device communication unit 94, a print memory unit 30, and a print control unit 40.

[0048] The detection sensor 8 detects environmental information related to the installation environment of the image forming apparatus 100. The detection sensor 8 may be, for example, a temperature sensor that detects the temperature inside or around the image forming apparatus 100, or a humidity sensor that detects the humidity inside or around the image forming apparatus 100. The environmental information may be the temperature and humidity of the image forming apparatus 100 detected by the detection sensor 8.

[0049] The mounting portion 21 is a container that houses the toner cartridge 20. The toner cartridge 20 is detachable from the mounting portion 21. The mounting portion 21 has an opening for inserting and withdrawing the toner cartridge 20.

[0050] When mounting the toner cartridge 20 in the image forming apparatus 100, the user inserts and pushes the toner cartridge 20 into the opening of the mounting portion 21. When removing the toner cartridge 20, the user pulls out the toner cartridge 20 housed in the mounting portion 21 through the opening of the mounting portion 21.

[0051] When the toner cartridge 20 is mounted in the mounting portion 21, a non-volatile memory (not shown), such as an IC chip, provided in the toner cartridge 20 is electrically connected to the image forming apparatus 100. The print control unit 40 is configured to read the consumables information of the toner cartridge 20 from the non-volatile memory, such as an IC chip, provided in the toner cartridge 20. The consumables information includes, for example, information indicating the type information, unique number, model information, production lot, production base, and production date of the toner cartridge 20.

[0052] The paper setting unit 93 is a user interface for setting the size and type of paper on which an image is printed in the image forming apparatus 100. In the image forming apparatus 100, the user can operate the paper setting unit 93 to set the size and type of paper on which an image is printed.

[0053] The image forming device communication unit 94 establishes communication with the management server 200 and transmits and receives information to and from the management server 200 .

[0054] The print storage unit 30 is a readable and writable recording medium, such as a solid state drive (SSD) or a hard disk drive (HDD). When the print control unit 40 is a central processing unit (CPU), the print storage unit 30 stores a control program executed by the CPU. The print storage unit 30 also stores control information 32, test pattern information 33, and adjustment frequency information 34.

[0055] The control information 32 is information set corresponding to the toner cartridge 20 mounted in the mounting portion 21, and includes parameters related to image processing by the printing portion 110 and information related to the control of the image forming apparatus 100. Examples of the control information 32 required corresponding to the toner cartridge 20 include adjustment values ​​for color correction, a setting value of the transfer bias applied to the intermediate transfer roller 64, a setting value of the fixing temperature set in the fixing unit 7, and a setting value of the power of the laser emitted by the exposure unit 1.

[0056] The control information 32 stored in the print memory unit 30 may include both default control information 32 that was preset when the image forming device 100 was manufactured and updated control information 32 that was newly set corresponding to the toner cartridge 20 installed in the installation unit 21, or it may include only the updated control information 32.

[0057] The control information 32 may also include control information 32 corresponding to each of the toner cartridges 20 that have been installed in the mounting portion 21. When the control information 32 includes control information 32 corresponding to each of the toner cartridges 20 that have been installed in the mounting portion 21, the consumable information indicating the toner cartridge 20 installed in the mounting portion 21 and the control information 32 corresponding to this toner cartridge 20 are stored in the print storage portion 30 in association with each other.

[0058] Test pattern information 33 includes image data of a test pattern to be printed on paper to obtain control information 32, and information regarding printing conditions for printing performed based on the image data of the test pattern. Examples of test patterns to be printed on paper include the calibration patch shown in Fig. 4, the color correction patch shown in Fig. 5, the full-color pattern shown in Fig. 6, the rectangular pattern shown in Fig. 7, the thin line pattern shown in Fig. 8, and the dot pattern shown in Fig. 9. Figs. 4 to 9 are diagrams showing examples of test patterns printed by image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0059] The calibration patch shown in Fig. 4 is an image of a pattern represented by patches of multiple gradation values ​​for C, M, Y, and K from top to bottom. That is, the top two rows in Fig. 4 are patch rows shown for C, the bottom two rows below C are patch rows shown for M, the bottom two rows below M are patch rows shown for Y, and the bottom two rows below Y are patch rows shown for K. By reading the image of this calibration patch printed on paper, adjustment values ​​for adjusting the gradation for each of the single colors C, M, Y, and K can be obtained as control information 32.

[0060] 5 is an image showing a patch pattern in which various gradation values ​​of C, M, Y, and K are superimposed. By reading the image of this color correction patch printed on paper, adjustment values ​​for adjusting the colors in which various gradations of C, M, Y, and K are superimposed can be obtained as control information 32.

[0061] The full-color pattern shown in FIG. 6 is an image printed in a single color across the entire surface of a sheet of paper. Color uniformity can be examined from an image printed on paper based on the full-color pattern. For example, color uniformity when the dot area is 100% in halftone printing can be adjusted primarily by changing the setting value of the transfer bias applied to the intermediate transfer roller 64 and the setting value of the fixing temperature of the fixing unit 7. Furthermore, the uniformity of intermediate gradations can be adjusted primarily by changing the setting value of the transfer bias applied to the intermediate transfer roller 64 and the halftone pattern. Furthermore, the impairment of uniformity due to banding can be adjusted primarily by changing the halftone pattern. Therefore, by scanning an image printed with the full-color pattern and extracting image information, the setting value of the transfer bias applied to the intermediate transfer roller 64, the setting value of the fixing temperature of the fixing unit 7, the halftone pattern, and other information can be obtained as control information 32.

[0062] The rectangular pattern shown in FIG. 7 is an image in which rectangles are printed for each of the predetermined gradation values ​​of C, M, Y, and K. The presence or absence of print defects can be checked from the image printed on paper based on this rectangular pattern. This print defect can be adjusted by adjusting the setting value of the transfer bias applied to the intermediate transfer roller 64. Therefore, by reading the image in which the rectangular pattern is printed and extracting the image information, the setting value of the transfer bias applied to the intermediate transfer roller 64 can be obtained as control information 32.

[0063] The thin line pattern shown in FIG. 8 is an image in which multiple thin lines are drawn in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. From an image printed on paper based on this thin line pattern, it is possible to check whether or not there is a change in line width. This line width can be adjusted by the power of the laser emitted by the exposure unit 1. Therefore, by reading the image on which the thin line pattern is printed and extracting the image information, the setting value of the laser power emitted by the exposure unit 1 can be obtained as control information 32.

[0064] The dot pattern shown in Figure 9 is an image printed with halftone dots (halftone dots) consisting of one pixel or two or more pixels for each of C, M, Y, and K. From an image printed on paper based on this dot pattern, it is possible to check the reproducibility of the dots, such as their shape and size. This dot reproducibility can be improved by setting the screen (halftone dots). Therefore, by reading an image printed with the dot pattern and extracting the image information, the type of screen to be selected can be obtained as control information 32.

[0065] The adjustment frequency information 34 is information that indicates the update frequency of the control information 32 used in the image forming apparatus 100. In the initial operation of the image forming apparatus 100 using genuine consumables, the adjustment frequency information 34 may be information that is predetermined at the time of factory shipment, such as the operating time of the image forming apparatus 100 or the number of prints processed by the image forming apparatus 100, and is pre-stored in the print storage unit 30. On the other hand, when a new consumable is installed, the adjustment frequency information 34 is updated to information obtained from the management server 200.

[0066] The print control unit 40 controls various parts of the image forming apparatus 100 and can be realized by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The print control unit 40 includes, as functional blocks, an extraction unit 42, a control information acquisition unit 43, an adjustment frequency setting unit 44, and a test pattern acquisition unit 45. When the print control unit 40 is a CPU, these functional blocks can be realized by the CPU reading out a program (not shown) stored in the print storage unit 30 into a memory (not shown) and executing it.

[0067] The test pattern information 33 may be information that is stored in advance in the print storage unit 30 of the image forming apparatus 100, or may be information that is acquired from the management server 200.

[0068] In addition, printing of an image based on test pattern information 33 may be performed using control information 32 currently set in image forming device 100, or may be performed using default control information 32 that was previously set when image forming device 100 was manufactured.

[0069] The extraction unit 42 extracts image information from the image of the test pattern printed on paper. Here, the image information extracted by the extraction unit 42 may be the image data of the test pattern printed on paper itself, or may be pixel values ​​of the test pattern printed on paper. Alternatively, the image information may be a representative value extracted from the image data, or a value obtained by performing an averaging or other calculation on values ​​extracted from the image data.

[0070] The control information acquisition unit 43 acquires, from the management server 200, the control information 32 that has been generated in the management server 200 based on the environmental information indicating the temperature and humidity detected by the detection sensor 8 and the image information extracted by the extraction unit 42. Specifically, the control information acquisition unit 43 transmits to the management server 200 the environmental information detected by the detection sensor 8 and the image information extracted by the extraction unit 42, along with consumable information indicating the toner cartridge 20 attached to the attachment unit 21, and requests the control information 32. The control information acquisition unit 43 then acquires the control information 32 from the management server 200. When acquiring the control information 32 from the management server 200, the control information acquisition unit 43 also acquires the adjustment frequency information 34.

[0071] The adjustment frequency setting unit 44 sets the update frequency of the control information 32 used by the image forming apparatus 100 based on the adjustment frequency information 34 previously stored in the print storage unit 30 or the adjustment frequency information 34 received from the management server 200. Furthermore, if the degree of correction when updating the control information 32 at the update frequency based on the adjustment frequency information 34 is not the same as when the consumable is a genuine product, the adjustment frequency setting unit 44 modifies the adjustment frequency information 34 to advance the next update cycle.

[0072] That is, when a consumable item such as a toner cartridge 20 is newly installed in the image forming apparatus 100, the image forming apparatus 100 is configured to acquire, from the management server 200, control information 32 according to the characteristics of the installed consumable item.

[0073] Here, when image forming apparatus 100 repeatedly executes printing processes using newly installed consumables based on control information 32 acquired from management server 200, the print processing results may not be as desired due to consumption or deterioration of the consumables or deterioration of components constituting image forming apparatus 100. Furthermore, even if non-genuine consumables initially perform similarly to genuine consumables after installation, they may not be able to maintain this performance for the same period of time. For this reason, image forming apparatus 100 needs to update control information 32 at an appropriate time. Therefore, adjustment frequency setting unit 44 is configured to request new control information 32 from management server 200 at the timing specified by adjustment frequency information 34 acquired from management server 200. In other words, adjustment frequency information 34 is information indicating the timing or cycle for updating control information 32.

[0074] The test pattern acquisition unit 45 acquires the test pattern information 33 when the printing unit 110 prints an image of a test pattern. If the test pattern information 33 is stored in advance in the print storage unit 30, the test pattern acquisition unit 45 can read and acquire the test pattern information 33 from the print storage unit 30. On the other hand, if the test pattern information 33 is not stored in the print storage unit 30, the test pattern acquisition unit 45 can acquire the test pattern information 33 from the management server 200.

[0075] (Management Server) The management server 200 is a server that manages each of the multiple image forming apparatuses 100a to 100d that are communicatively connected to the management server 200. As shown in Fig. 3, the management server 200 includes a management control unit 50, a server communication unit 53, and a management storage unit 54.

[0076] The management control unit 50 performs various controls on the units included in the management server 200, and can be realized by, for example, a CPU. The management control unit 50 includes, as functional blocks, a data classification unit 51 and a control information generation unit 52. When the management control unit 50 is a CPU, these functional blocks can be realized by the CPU reading out a program (not shown) stored in the management storage unit 54 into a memory (not shown) and executing it.

[0077] Data classification unit 51 stores the history of consumable supply information, image information, and environmental information received from each of image forming apparatuses 100a to 100d via server communication unit 53 in management storage unit 54 as accumulated data 55. Note that there are cases where the consumable supply information, image information, and environmental information received from image forming apparatus 100a when requesting control information 32 from management server 200 is referred to as first information, and the consumable supply information, image information, and environmental information received from each of image forming apparatuses 100a to 100d and stored in management storage unit 54 as accumulated data 55 is referred to as second information.

[0078] The management server 200 may also receive operation history information, which will be described later, from each of the image forming apparatuses 100a to 100d, and include this information in the stored data 55. When the stored data 55 includes operation history information, the management server 200 can generate more optimal control information 32 based on the stored data 55.

[0079] Furthermore, the data classification unit 51 generates grouped data 56 by classifying each of the plurality of pieces of second information included in the accumulated data 55 so that pieces of second information with high degrees of association are grouped together, and stores the grouped data 56 in the management storage unit 54. Details of the grouped data 56 will be described later.

[0080] (Accumulated data) Here, the accumulated data 55 will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 13. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of information acquired by the management server 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure from the image forming apparatus 100a. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of information acquired by the management server 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure from the image forming apparatus 100b. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of information acquired by the management server 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure from the image forming apparatus 100c. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of information acquired by the management server 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure from the image forming apparatus 100d.

[0081] 10 to 13, management server 200 receives consumable product information, environmental information, image information, and operation history information from each of image forming apparatuses 100a to 100d. A case will be described in which the received consumable product information, environmental information, image information, and operation history information is included in accumulated data 55.

[0082] The consumable information is information stored in a non-volatile memory such as an IC chip provided in the consumable, and includes data indicating the type of consumable, its unique number, model information, production lot, production base, production date, etc. When the consumable is installed in the image forming apparatus 100, the image forming apparatus 100 can read and acquire the information from the IC chip of the consumable.

[0083] The operation history information includes information such as the operation history of the image forming apparatus 100, the print rate history, the number of copies history, the jam occurrence history, and the life counter of consumables provided in the image forming apparatus 100. From this operation history information, it is possible to identify other image forming apparatuses that are similar to the actual usage of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0084] The operation history is a history of operations performed on the image forming apparatus 100, and examples of such history include history related to printing operations such as single-sided printing and double-sided printing. From the operation history, it is possible to identify the types of operations that are frequently instructed to be performed on the image forming apparatus 100.

[0085] The print rate history is a history of information indicating the ratio of the cumulative area of ​​printed characters to the area of ​​the printing paper in a printed matter printed by the image forming apparatus 100. From this print rate history, it is possible to determine the tendency of the usage of the image forming apparatus 100, such as whether the image forming apparatus 100 prints a lot of images with a low print rate or a lot of images with a high print rate.

[0086] The copy count history is a history of the number of copies printed by a user in one printing process. From this copy count history, it is possible to determine the tendency of the user's usage of image forming apparatus 100, such as whether the user prints a large number of copies or a small number of copies each time.

[0087] The jam occurrence history is a history of information about the position at which a paper jam occurred on the paper transport path S. Multiple sensors for detecting paper jams are provided at predetermined positions along the paper transport path S, and the jam occurrence history can be obtained from the detection results of these sensors.

[0088] The life counter of a consumable is information obtained by counting the number of times or the length of time that a consumable, such as a photosensitive drum or a transfer belt, is used. From this information, it is possible to predict the number of times or the period of time that the consumable can be used until the end of its life.

[0089] Each piece of information includes hierarchical information from large concepts to small concepts, such as information on large categories, information on medium categories, information on small categories, and parameter values ​​(values ​​1 to 3) corresponding to each small category.

[0090] For example, consumables information includes toner cartridges and photoconductors as subordinate concepts (medium-level classification information). Furthermore, each of the toner cartridges and photoconductors includes color information (C, M, Y, K) as subordinate concepts (minor-level classification information). Each color information also includes parameters such as manufacturer information (value 1), whether it is a standard product (genuine product) (value 2), and production date and time (value 3).

[0091] The environmental information, operation history information, and image information also contain hierarchical information, similar to the consumables information described above. Note that the operation history information and image information also contain information on the proportion of monochrome printing (BW: Black and White) in addition to each color information (C, M, Y, K) in the subcategory information.

[0092] The management server 200 receives consumable information, environmental information, image information, and operation history information not only from the image forming device 100a, but also from each of the image forming devices 100b to 100d, as shown in Figures 11 to 13, and stores the information in the management memory unit 54 as accumulated data 55.

[0093] (grouped data) Next, the grouped data 56 will be described with reference to Fig. 14. Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of grouped data generated based on the accumulated data 55 in the management server 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0094] In management server 200, data classification unit 51 generates grouped data 56 based on accumulated data 55. For ease of explanation, the grouped data 56 obtained by grouping accumulated data 55, which accumulates the information shown in FIGS. 10 to 13, with a focus on toner cartridge K included in the consumables information will be described with reference to FIG. 14. Note that grouped data 56 can be generated by grouping not only consumables information but also environmental information, image information, and operation history information.

[0095] In the example of grouping data 56 shown in FIG. 14, for toner cartridge 20 K, grouping is performed based on whether the parameter values ​​(value 1, value 2, value 3) are unknown. That is, a group of image forming devices 100 for which all parameter values ​​are unknown is classified as group A, and a group of image forming devices 100 for which parameter values ​​have been set is classified as group B. In other words, data classification unit 51 classifies parameter values ​​included in small classification (K) that have a high degree of association into the same group. Note that parameter values ​​that have a high degree of association are values ​​whose parameter values ​​are the same or similar and whose distances to each other are within a predetermined range when the parameters are multidimensionally mapped.

[0096] 14, a characteristic of the grouped data 56 is that the read value of K in the high density portion of the image information tends to be larger in group B than in group A. Therefore, the management server 200 can set control information 32 according to each group and transmit appropriate control information 32 in response to a request for transmission of control information 32 from the image forming device 100.

[0097] The control information generation unit 52 generates the control information 32 by referencing the grouping data 56 stored in the management storage unit 54 based on the consumable product information, image information, environmental information, and operation history information (first information) received via the server communication unit 53 from the image forming apparatus 100 that requests the control information 32. That is, the control information generation unit 52 refers to the grouping data 56 and selects a group to which second information containing parameter values ​​that show a high degree of correlation with parameter values ​​included in the first information received from the image forming apparatus 100 belongs. Furthermore, the control information generation unit 52 obtains transition information indicating the transition in image quality of printed images based on the history of image information included in the second information of the selected group. For example, the control information generation unit 52 obtains an average value indicating, for example, image density change, obtained from the image information included in the second information belonging to the selected group, and can use the time-series change in this average value as transition information.

[0098] Then, the control information generator 52 generates the control information 32 according to the newly attached consumable item based on the first information and the second information of the selected group.

[0099] Therefore, even if the management server 200 does not have the control information 32 corresponding to the newly installed consumable item in the image forming device 100, the management server 200 can generate appropriate control information 32 according to the consumable item.

[0100] Furthermore, the control information generating unit 52 generates adjustment frequency information 34 indicating the update frequency of the generated control information 32 based on transition information obtained from the image information included in the second information of the selected group.

[0101] The control information generating unit 52 transmits the generated control information 32 and adjustment frequency information 34 to the image forming apparatus 100 via the server communication unit 53.

[0102] That is, when a new consumable is installed, image forming apparatus 100 can print an image so as to reproduce an optimized image quality by acquiring control information 32 from management server 200. However, since the progress and speed of deterioration of the consumables vary depending on whether the newly installed consumable is a genuine product, the installation environment of image forming apparatus 100, the manner in which image forming apparatus 100 is used, and other factors, it is necessary to acquire control information 32 from management server 200 again at an appropriate timing depending on the consumable and update control information 32. Therefore, in order to notify image forming apparatus 100 of the update timing of control information 32, management server 200 generates adjustment frequency information 34.

[0103] In this way, in the printing management system 300, the management server 200 can notify the timing of updating the control information 32, so that the image forming device 100 can reproduce stable, optimized image quality even if consumables are replaced.

[0104] The grouping into group A and group B described above is merely an example, and the greater the amount of accumulated data 55, the more detailed the grouping can be within group A or group B.

[0105] In addition, the data classification unit 51 may generate grouped data 56 for each of the multiple pieces of second information included in the accumulated data 55 based on the relevance of at least two or more pieces of information included in the second information, including consumable information, image information, environmental information, and operation history information.

[0106] In addition, the data classification unit 51 may be configured to create a learning model based on each of the multiple pieces of second information included in the accumulated data 55, and when it receives first information from the image forming device 100, to identify a group corresponding to the first information through machine learning using the learning model.

[0107] That is, it is not always possible to simply group images, as in the above-described grouping of group A and group B, and to easily identify the group corresponding to the first information received from image forming apparatus 100. Therefore, the image forming apparatus may be configured to identify the group corresponding to the first information by machine learning using a support vector machine (SVM), a neural network, or the like.

[0108] Furthermore, as described above, the management server 200 is configured to generate the grouped data 56 from the accumulated data 55 and store it in the management storage unit 54, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the management server 200 may store only the accumulated data 55 in the management storage unit 54, and upon receiving a request for control information 32 together with the first information from the image forming apparatus 100, select from the accumulated data 55 a plurality of pieces of second information including parameter values ​​that show a high degree of association with the parameter values ​​included in the first information received from the image forming apparatus 100. Then, the control information generation unit 52 may generate the control information 32 and the adjustment frequency information 34 based on the first information and the selected second information.

[0109] The management storage unit 54 is a readable / writable recording medium, such as a solid state drive (SSD) or a hard disk drive (HDD). When the management control unit 50 is a CPU, the management storage unit 54 stores a control program executed by the CPU. The management storage unit 54 also stores accumulated data 55 and grouping data 56. The management storage unit 54 may further store test pattern information 33 to be provided to the image forming apparatus 100.

[0110] The server communication unit 53 establishes communication with the image forming apparatus 100 and transmits and receives information to and from the image forming apparatus 100 .

[0111] (Control information acquisition process) Next, a control information acquisition process in the image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 15. Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the control information acquisition process by the image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0112] First, when the toner cartridge 20 is mounted in the mounting portion 21 as a consumable, the print control unit 40 acquires consumable information from the toner cartridge 20 (step S11). Next, the print control unit 40 acquires environmental information from the detection sensor 8 (step S12). After the print control unit 40 acquires the consumable information and environmental information in this manner, the test pattern acquisition unit 45 acquires test pattern information 33 from the print storage unit 30. Then, the printing unit 110 prints an image based on the test pattern information 33 acquired by the test pattern acquisition unit 45 onto paper using the mounted toner cartridge 20 (step S13). That is, the printing unit 110 prints an image of the test pattern included in the test pattern information 33 based on information about the printing conditions included in the test pattern information 33.

[0113] Next, image forming apparatus 100 scans the image printed on the paper in step S13 (step S14). The image may be scanned by a user placing the paper on which the image is printed on document table 92 and scanning it with image reading device 90. Alternatively, an inline sensor (not shown) may be provided between conveyance roller 12b and discharge tray 91 in paper conveyance path S, and the inline sensor may scan the image from the paper being conveyed on paper conveyance path S. In the case of a configuration in which an inline sensor is used to scan the image, the image of the test pattern printed on the paper can be automatically scanned in image forming apparatus 100.

[0114] Next, the extraction unit 42 extracts image information from the image data of the test pattern obtained by scanning. Then, the control information acquisition unit 43 transmits the image information extracted by the extraction unit 42, together with the consumable product information and the environmental information, to the management server 200 (step S15), and requests the control information 32. When requesting the control information 32, the control information acquisition unit 43 may also transmit operation history information of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0115] When management server 200 receives consumable product information, environmental information, and image information from image forming apparatus 100, management control unit 50 in management server 200 executes control information generation processing. That is, management control unit 50 generates control information 32 based on accumulated data 55, which is an accumulation of consumable product information, environmental information, and image information received from each of image forming apparatuses 100a to 100d. Furthermore, management control unit 50 generates adjustment frequency information 34 based on the accumulated data. Then, management control unit 50 transmits the generated control information 32 and adjustment frequency information 34 to image forming apparatus 100.

[0116] In the image forming apparatus 100, the control information acquisition unit 43 receives the control information 32 and the adjustment frequency information 34 from the management server 200 (step S16). Then, the control information acquisition unit 43 stores the control information 32 received from the management server 200 in the print storage unit 30 as information to be applied to the control of the printing unit 110. In addition, the adjustment frequency setting unit 44 sets the adjustment frequency so that the control information 32 is updated at the timing specified by the adjustment frequency information 34 acquired from the management server 200 (step S17).

[0117] By executing the above control information acquisition process, the image forming apparatus 100 can acquire the control information 32 corresponding to the toner cartridge 20 attached to the attachment unit 21.

[0118] (Control information generation process) Next, a control information generation process in the management server 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 16. Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of a control information generation process by the management server 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0119] The management server 200 receives first information including consumable product information, environmental information, and image information of the toner cartridge 20 from the image forming apparatus 100 via the server communication unit 53 (step S21). At this time, the management server 200 may be configured to receive operation history information in addition to the consumable product information, environmental information, and image information.

[0120] In the management server 200, the data classification unit 51 of the management control unit 50 stores the first information including consumable information, environmental information, and image information received from the image forming device 100 in the management memory unit 54 as accumulated data 55 together with information including consumable information, environmental information, and image information received from other image forming devices 100 (step S22).

[0121] Next, the data classification unit 51 classifies and groups the stored data 55 to generate grouped data 56 (step S23), and stores the grouped data 56 in the management storage unit 54.

[0122] After the data classification unit 51 generates the grouped data 56, the control information generation unit 52 refers to the grouped data 56 to identify a group corresponding to the first information, which includes consumable information, environmental information, and image information acquired from the image forming apparatus 100. The control information generation unit 52 then generates control information 32 based on the first information and the plurality of pieces of second information belonging to the identified group (step S24). The control information generation unit 52 then obtains transition information indicating a transition in the image quality of images printed based on the image information included in the plurality of pieces of second information belonging to the identified group. The control information generation unit 52 then generates adjustment frequency information 34 for the control information 32 generated in step S24 based on the transition information (step S25). In the management server 200, the management control unit 50 then controls the server communication unit 53 to transmit the control information 32 and the adjustment frequency information 34 to the image forming apparatus 100 (step S26).

[0123] In this manner, the management server 200 transmits the control information 32 and the adjustment frequency information 34 to the image forming apparatus 100 that is the source of the consumable product information, the environmental information, and the image information.

[0124] In this way, even if management server 200 does not have control information 32 corresponding to a consumable item newly installed in image forming device 100, management server 200 can refer to grouping data 56 to identify the group corresponding to the first information received from image forming device 100 in which the consumable item has been newly installed, and generate control information 32 using the second information belonging to the identified group. Image forming device 100 can then obtain control information 32 from management server 200.

[0125] Therefore, in the printing management system 300, even if the management server 200 does not have control information 32 corresponding to a newly installed consumable item, the image forming device 100 can obtain appropriate control information 32.

[0126] In particular, in the print management system 300, the management server 200 is configured to generate the control information 32 from the grouping data 56 generated based on the accumulated data 55 of the second information acquired from each of the multiple image forming devices 100. Therefore, the image forming device 100 can acquire more optimal control information 32 compared to acquiring, for example, the control information 32 generated from the accumulated data 55 that accumulates only the information of the image forming device 100 from the management server 200.

[0127] (First Modification) 15, when a new toner cartridge 20 is installed, the image forming apparatus 100 prints a test pattern image in step S13 after acquiring consumable information and environmental information about the toner cartridge 20. However, the image forming apparatus 100 may be configured to determine whether or not printing of the test pattern image is necessary before printing the test pattern image.

[0128] 16, the control information generation process by management server 200 is configured to store the consumable information, environmental information, and image information received from image forming apparatus 100 as accumulated data 55 in management storage unit 54 as is. However, data classification unit 51 of management control unit 50 may be configured to determine whether or not other image information is needed in addition to the received image information, and if other image information is needed, to request image information of another test pattern from image forming apparatus 100.

[0129] Below, the configuration of a printing management system 300 in which the image forming device 100 determines whether or not it is necessary to print a test pattern image and the management server 200 determines whether or not other image information is necessary will be described as a first variant with reference to Figures 17 to 19.

[0130] Fig. 17 is a block diagram showing an example of a main configuration of a print management system 300 according to a first modified example of the embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of a control information acquisition process by an image forming apparatus 100 according to a first modified example of the embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of a control information generation process by a management server 200 according to a first modified example of the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0131] 17, the print management system 300 according to the first modified embodiment differs from the print management system 300 according to the embodiment in that the print control unit 40 of the image forming apparatus 100 further includes a determination unit 41. The print management system 300 according to the first modified embodiment also differs from the print management system 300 according to the embodiment in that, when the management server 200 receives consumable information, environmental information, and image information from the image forming apparatus 100, the data classification unit 51 determines whether or not image information other than the received image information is necessary.

[0132] In other respects, the print management system 300 according to the embodiment and the print management system 300 according to the first variant of the embodiment have the same configuration, so similar components are given similar symbols and their descriptions are omitted.

[0133] The determination unit 41 determines whether or not it is necessary to print a test pattern image. Specifically, the determination unit 41 checks whether or not control information 32, which is set according to the toner cartridge 20 installed in the installation unit 21, is stored in the print storage unit 30. If the determination unit 41 determines that the control information 32 is not stored in the print storage unit 30, it instructs the print unit 110 to print an image based on the test pattern information 33 on paper. In response to this instruction from the determination unit 41, the print unit 110 reads the test pattern information 33 from the print storage unit 30 and prints an image based on the test pattern information 33 on paper.

[0134] As shown in FIG. 18, the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first modified example of the embodiment can execute the control information acquisition process as follows.

[0135] That is, in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first modification, when the toner cartridge 20 is mounted in the mounting portion 21, the print control unit 40 acquires consumable information from the toner cartridge 20 (step S31). Furthermore, the print control unit 40 acquires environmental information from the detection sensor 8 (step S32).

[0136] In this way, when the image forming apparatus 100 acquires the consumable product information and the environmental information, the determination unit 41 checks, based on the consumable product information, whether the control information 32 set according to the toner cartridge 20 is stored in the print storage unit 30. If the control information 32 is not stored in the print storage unit 30, the determination unit 41 determines that it is necessary to print a test pattern image ("Yes" in step S33). On the other hand, if the control information 32 is stored in the print storage unit 30, the determination unit 41 determines that it is not necessary to print a test pattern image ("No" in step S33).

[0137] If the answer is "No" in step S33, image forming apparatus 100 ends the control information acquisition process. On the other hand, if the answer is "Yes" in step S33, image forming apparatus 100 proceeds to step S34 and prints a test pattern image. The subsequent processes from step S34 to step S38 are the same as the processes from step S13 to step S17 shown in FIG. 15, and therefore will not be described here.

[0138] As described above, in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first modified embodiment, if the control information 32 corresponding to the newly installed toner cartridge 20 is stored in the print storage unit 30, that is, if the characteristics of the installed toner cartridge 20 are known, there is no need to print a test pattern image. Therefore, the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first modified embodiment can reduce the labor required for the control information acquisition process compared to the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the embodiment.

[0139] In the information acquisition process shown in FIG. 18, the judgment in step S33 by the judgment unit 41 is performed after the environmental information is acquired in step S32, but the judgment in step S33 may also be performed after the consumable information is acquired in step S31.

[0140] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 19, the management server 200 according to the first modified example of the embodiment can execute the control information generation process as follows.

[0141] That is, in the management server 200 according to the first modification, when consumable information, environmental information, and image information of the newly installed toner cartridge 20 are received from the image forming apparatus 100 via the server communication unit 53 (step S41), the data classification unit 51 of the management control unit 50 determines whether additional image information is required in addition to the received image information (step S42). If the data classification unit 51 determines that additional image information is required ("Yes" in step S42), it requests the image forming apparatus 100 for the additional image information (step S48). Then, the process repeats from step S41. Note that, when requesting additional image information from the image forming apparatus 100, the data classification unit 51 may be configured to transmit test pattern information for obtaining the additional image information to the image forming apparatus 100. Furthermore, when the management server 200 requests the image forming apparatus 100 to transmit additional image information, the image forming apparatus 100 needs to execute the processes from step S34 to step S36 of FIG. 18 again.

[0142] On the other hand, if the answer is "No" in step S42, the data classification unit 51 stores the received consumable product information, environmental information, and image information as accumulated data in the management storage unit 54 (step S43). The subsequent processes from step S43 to step S47 are the same as the processes from step S22 to step S26 shown in Fig. 16, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0143] As described above, image forming apparatus 100 is configured to be communicatively connected to management server 200 via a network and to transmit and receive information. However, if communication between the two is interrupted and information cannot be transmitted or received, information may be transmitted and received between the two via a portable external storage medium such as a USB memory. Alternatively, image forming apparatus 100 may be configured to establish communication with management server 200 via an externally connected communication terminal and transmit and receive information.

[0144] In addition, the image forming apparatus 100 is configured to scan the image of the test pattern printed on paper using the image reading device 90 or an in-line sensor. However, if an external scanner or document camera electrically connected to the image forming apparatus 100 is provided, the image of the test pattern may be scanned by the external scanner or document camera.

[0145] In the print management system 300, when a new toner cartridge 20 is installed, the image forming device 100 is configured to send consumables information, environmental information, and image information to the management server 200 in step S15 shown in Fig. 15. However, the image forming device 100 may also be configured to acquire paper information such as the size and type of paper set in the image forming device 100, and send this paper information to the management server 200 together with the consumables information, environmental information, and image information.

[0146] In this configuration, paper information is sent to the management server 200 along with image information, allowing the management server 200 to generate control information 32 taking into account the influence of factors such as the type of paper on which the image is printed.

[0147] Furthermore, toner cartridges 20 have been used as an example of a consumable item that can be attached to or detached from image forming apparatus 100, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if image forming apparatus 100 is an inkjet printer, the consumable item may be an ink cartridge. The consumable item may be any component that requires replacement due to the execution of a printing process in image forming apparatus 100. [Explanation of symbols]

[0148] 8 detection sensor 20 Toner cartridges 21 Mounting part 30 Print storage section 32 Control Information 33 Test Pattern Information 34 Adjustment Frequency Information 40 Printing control unit 42 Extraction part 43 Control information acquisition unit 44 Adjustment frequency setting section 45 Test pattern acquisition unit 50 Management and Control Unit 51 Data Classification Department 52 Control information generation unit 53 Server Communication Department 54 Management storage unit 55 Accumulated Data 56 Grouped Data 100 Image forming device 100a Image forming apparatus 100b Image forming device 100c image forming device 100d image forming device 110 Printing Department 200 Management Server 300 Printing Management System

Claims

1. a printing unit that prints images using consumables; a detection unit that detects environmental information of the installation environment; an image forming apparatus having a print control unit that transmits first information to an information processing device, the first information including consumable information of the consumable, the environmental information detected by the detection unit, and image information extracted from an image of a test pattern printed by the print unit, and acquires control information for controlling the print unit from the information processing device, the control information being set corresponding to the consumable; a management storage unit configured to store accumulated data that accumulates histories of second information including the consumable product information, the environmental information, and the image information acquired from the image forming apparatus and another image forming apparatus; an information processing device having a management control unit that, when receiving the first information from the image forming device, identifies a plurality of pieces of second information that show a high degree of relevance to the first information based on the stored data, generates the control information based on the first information and the identified plurality of pieces of second information, and transmits the control information to the image forming device; Print management system including

2. The management control unit 2. A printing management system as described in claim 1, wherein grouping data is generated by classifying each of the plurality of pieces of second information included in the accumulated data into the same group with highly related pieces, and based on the generated grouping data, a group to which the second information highly related to the first information received from the image forming device belongs is identified as a group corresponding to the first information, and the control information is generated based on the first information and the plurality of pieces of second information belonging to the identified group.

3. The printing management system described in claim 2, wherein the management control unit further generates frequency information indicating the update frequency of the control information based on transition information obtained based on the history of the image information contained in the plurality of second information belonging to the group, and transmits the frequency information together with the control information to the image forming device.

4. 3. A printing management system as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein when the consumable is installed, the printing control unit determines whether or not the printing unit needs to print an image of the test pattern based on the consumable information obtained from the consumable, and when it determines that printing of the test pattern is necessary, controls the printing unit to print an image of the test pattern.

5. the second information further includes operation history information relating to printing operations by the image forming apparatus and the other image forming apparatus; 3. The printing management system according to claim 2, wherein the management control unit generates the grouping data for each of the plurality of second information included in the accumulated data based on the degree of association of at least two or more pieces of information among the consumable information, the environmental information, the image information, and the operation history information included in the second information.

6. the management control unit creates a learning model based on each of the plurality of pieces of second information included in the stored data, The print management system according to claim 2 , wherein when the first information is received from the image forming device, the learning model is used to identify the group corresponding to the first information.

7. An image forming apparatus that transmits first information including consumable information of a consumable, environmental information of an installation environment, and image information extracted from an image of a test pattern printed using the consumable, and requests control information for controlling printing, and an information processing apparatus that is communicably connected to another image forming apparatus, a management storage unit configured to store accumulated data that accumulates histories of second information, including the consumable product information, the environmental information, and the image information, acquired from the image forming apparatus and the other image forming apparatus; an information processing device having a management control unit that, when receiving the first information from the image forming device, identifies multiple pieces of second information that show a high degree of correlation with the first information based on the accumulated data, generates the control information based on the first information and the identified multiple pieces of second information, and transmits the control information to the image forming device.

8. An image forming apparatus communicably connected to an information processing apparatus, a printing unit that prints images using consumables; a detection unit that detects environmental information of the installation environment; a print control unit that transmits first information to the information processing device, the first information including consumable information on the consumable, the environmental information detected by the detection unit, and image information extracted from an image of a test pattern printed by the printing unit, and acquires control information for controlling the printing unit, the control information being set corresponding to the consumable, from the information processing device; An image forming apparatus, wherein the control information is generated in the information processing device based on accumulated data that accumulates second information including the consumable information, the environmental information, and the image information obtained from each of the image forming apparatus and another image forming apparatus.

9. 1. A control method for an information processing device communicably connected to an image forming device that requests control information for controlling printing, comprising: receiving, from the image forming device, first information including consumable information of a consumable, environmental information of an installation environment, and image information extracted from an image of a test pattern printed using the consumable; storing the first information received from the image forming apparatus as accumulated data together with second information including the consumable product information, the environmental information, and the image information previously acquired from the image forming apparatus and another image forming apparatus; Identifying a plurality of pieces of second information that show a high degree of relevance to the first information based on the accumulated data, and generating the control information based on the first information and the identified plurality of pieces of second information; transmitting the control information to the image forming apparatus.

10. 1. A control method for an image forming apparatus that is communicably connected to an information processing apparatus and prints images using consumables, comprising: detecting environmental information of an installation environment; printing a test pattern; obtaining image information extracted from an image of the printed test pattern; transmitting first information including consumable product information of the consumable product, the environmental information, and the image information to the information processing device; acquiring, from the information processing device, control information for controlling printing of the image, the control information being set in correspondence with the consumable item; A control method for an image forming device, in which the control information is generated in the information processing device based on accumulated data that accumulates second information including the consumable information, the environmental information, and the image information obtained from the image forming device and another image forming device, respectively.

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