Information processing equipment, printing system, printing method

Abstract

There was a need for a method that would charge different fees for cloud printing services to users with varying usage patterns. [Solution] The information processing device comprises an authentication unit that performs user authentication, a billing unit that performs preparatory processing for billing the user for a printing service that prints print data to a printing device associated with the authenticated user via an information processing device, and a print control unit that, when the preparatory processing is performed, receives a print request to the printing device associated with the user and causes the printing device to execute printing, wherein the billing unit configures an information processing device that varies the billing method to the user according to the amount printed by the printing device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a printing system, and a printing method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, a cloud printing service that causes a printer to execute printing via a cloud server from a client terminal is known.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In order to provide a cloud printing service, various costs for maintaining and managing a server are required. For example, there are management costs for user information and printer information, and costs that increase when the printing volume increases. On the other hand, the modes of causing a printer to execute printing using a cloud printing service vary among users. Also, the printing volume for causing a printer to print using a cloud printing service varies among users. A method of charging each user a usage fee for the cloud printing service has been desired for such usage patterns.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The information processing device for solving the above problems comprises an authentication unit that performs user authentication, a billing unit that performs preparatory processing for billing the user for the use of a printing service that prints print data to a printing device associated with the authenticated user via the information processing device, and a print control unit that, once the preparatory processing is complete, receives a print request to the printing device associated with the user and causes the printing device to execute printing, wherein the billing unit differentiates the billing method to the user according to the amount of printing by the printing device.

[0006] A printing system to solve the above problems comprises an information processing device and a printing device. The information processing device includes an authentication unit that performs user authentication, a billing unit that performs preparatory processing for billing the user for the use of a printing service that prints print data to a printing device associated with the authenticated user via the information processing device, and a print control unit that, once the preparatory processing is complete, receives a print request to the printing device associated with the user and causes the printing device to execute printing. The billing unit differentiates the billing method for the user according to the amount of printing performed by the printing device. The printing device executes the printing requested by the information processing device.

[0007] A printing method to solve the above problems includes user authentication, processing to prepare for charging the user for the use of a printing service that prints print data to a printing device associated with the authenticated user via an information processing device, and, once the preparation process is complete, causing the printing device to execute printing in response to receiving a print request from the printing device associated with the user, and varying the billing method for the user depending on the amount of printing by the printing device. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] A block diagram showing the configuration of the printing system. [Figure 2] A diagram illustrating examples of how cloud printing services are used. [Figure 3]A diagram showing an example of printer information stored in an information processing device. [Figure 4] A sequence diagram showing an example of an authorization sequence. [Figure 5] A diagram showing an example of screen transitions on a device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Here, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order. (1) Configuration of the printing system: (1-1) Printer configuration: (1-2) Server configuration: (2) Authorization sequence: (3) Other embodiments:

[0010] (1) Configuration of the printing system: Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration including a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printing system includes a server 100 as an information processing device and at least one of printers 200, 600, or 900 as printing devices. The server 100 provides a printing service, i.e., a cloud printing service, which causes a designated printer to print print data via the server 100. The server 100 can communicate with printers 200, 600, and 900 available for use with the cloud printing service via a network N such as the Internet.

[0011] In this embodiment, terminal 300 is a terminal operated by user A, who owns the printer 200. Terminal 300 is a smartphone, PC, tablet, etc. Terminal 300 includes a communication unit for communicating with other devices, a UI unit that displays various information to the user and accepts various user operations, a non-volatile memory for storing various programs and data, a processor, etc.

[0012] Terminal 300 can communicate with server 100 and app servers 400, 700, etc., via network N. User A uses terminal 300 when registering for the cloud printing service and registering printers to be used with the cloud printing service. User A may own multiple printers that can be used with the cloud printing service. Figure 1 shows one of them.

[0013] App servers 400 and 700 are servers that provide various services using cloud printing services. Examples of services using cloud printing services include print sales services and content distribution services. A print sales service using cloud printing services could be, for example, a service where photos such as class photos or event photos of a school are made available to members on the App server, and the company prints the requested number of photos on its own printer. A content distribution service using cloud printing services would be a service where various content is printed from the App server to printer 200 owned by user A. More specifically, for example, a service could be envisioned where the company that created the newspaper page data prints it to the printer owned by the newspaper reader. Alternatively, a service could be envisioned where a cram school or learning content creation company prints assignment data for students to the printer owned by the student.

[0014] In this embodiment, we will continue the explanation assuming that App Server 400 is operated by User B and App Server 700 is operated by User C. Users B and C can also be described as partners who use the cloud printing service provided by Server 100. A partner refers to, for example, a person or a company. User A is a general user who uses the content distribution service of App Server 400 and the content distribution service of App Server 700, etc. We will continue the explanation assuming that the content distribution service provided by App Server 400 and the content distribution service provided by App Server 700 are services that distribute different content.

[0015] User A registers with server 100 in advance to use a content distribution service that utilizes such a cloud printing service. During the cloud printing service registration, User A registers their user identification information, password, and the identification information of their owned printer. Here, user identification information is, for example, an email address. If user registration is required for the content distribution service, User A also registers with App servers 400 and 700 in advance.

[0016] Terminal 500 is a terminal under the management of User B, who operates the App Server 400. A terminal is, for example, a smartphone, PC, or tablet. Printer 600 is a printing device under the management of User B, who operates the App Server 400. Although only one printer is shown in Figure 1, there may be multiple printers under the management of User B. In this embodiment, Printer 600 may be used as an output printer for test prints to trial the content distribution service by App Server 400, or to print various documents at Printer 600 installed at each of User B's locations. Alternatively, it may also be used as an output printer for a print sales service by App Server 400.

[0017] That is, the App server 400 makes a printing request to the printer using the WebAPI provided by the server 100. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the output destination printer may be a printer 200 owned by another person (user A) with respect to user B, or a printer 600 or the like owned by the user himself (user B). In order for the App server 400 to be able to make a printing request to various printers using the WebAPI, user B performs user registration for WebAPI users in advance using the terminal 500. Hereinafter, the user registration performed by user B is called partner registration. In partner registration, the email address, password, identification information of the owned printer, and payment information are registered with the server 100 as user identification information. The registration of payment information is included in the preparation process for charging described later. Payment information is information for making a payment by the payment method selected by the user. For example, when it is selected to pay by credit card, it is the credit card number, name of the cardholder, expiration date, security code, etc.

[0018] The terminal 800 is a terminal under the management of user C who operates the App server 700. The terminal is, for example, a smartphone, a PC, a tablet, or the like. The printer 900 is a printing device under the management of user C who operates the App server 700. The printer 900 is used for test printing of the content distribution service by the App server 700, printing of various documents for internal use of the company, a printing sales service, and the like. Similar to user B, user C also performs user registration for WebAPI users in advance using the terminal 800. Hereinafter, the user registration performed by user C is called partner registration. In this embodiment, the printer that is the output destination of the printing request by the App server 700 may also be a printer 200 owned by another person (user A) with respect to user C, or a printer 900 or the like owned by the user himself (user C) as shown in FIG. 2.

[0019] (1-1) Configuration of the printer: In this embodiment, the printer 200 is a printing device that performs printing on a printing medium in response to a printing request from the server 100. Note that the printers 600 and 900 also have the same configuration as the printer 200. The printer 200 includes a processor 210, a storage medium 220, a communication unit 230, a UI unit 240, and a printing unit 250. The printer 200 also includes a RAM and a ROM (not shown). The processor 210 controls the printer 200 by executing various programs stored in the ROM, the storage medium 220, etc. The processor 210 may be composed of a single chip or multiple chips. In this embodiment, the processor 210 is assumed to be a CPU, but it may be composed of an ASIC or the like, or may be composed of a CPU and an ASIC. When each device in this embodiment includes a processor, the processor can be realized in various modes similar to the processor 210.

[0020] The storage medium 220 stores various programs such as a control program for controlling the execution of printing and printing data transmitted from the server 100. The communication unit 230 includes a circuit used for communication according to various wired or wireless communication protocols with other devices. The UI unit 240 includes a touch panel display, keys, etc. for displaying various information to the user and inputting the user's operations.

[0021] The printing unit 250 includes an actuator, drive components, mechanical components, sensors, etc. for ejecting ink onto the printing medium to execute printing. The processor 210 controls the printing unit 250 based on the printing data to execute printing.

[0022] (1-2) Configuration of the server: Server 100 comprises a processor 110, a storage medium 120, and a communication unit 130. The processor 110 includes a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and can execute various programs stored in the storage medium 120. The programs that the processor 110 can execute include a cloud printing control program for realizing a cloud printing service.

[0023] The storage medium 120 stores a cloud print control program (not shown) and printer information 121. In the printer information 121, as shown in Figure 3, the user's email address, which serves as the user's identification information, is associated with the identification information of the printer owned by the user. If an access token, described later, has already been issued for the printer, the access token and the application to which it was issued are stored, associated with the printer's identification information. In addition, information indicating whether or not the user is a registered partner, i.e., a user registered to use the Web API, is stored, associated with the user's email address, which serves as the user's identification information.

[0024] The communication unit 130 includes a communication interface for communicating with other devices based on various communication protocols. The server 100 can communicate with App servers 400, 700, terminals 300, 500, 800, and printers 200, 600, 900 via the network N using the communication unit 130. The server 100 can also communicate with devices such as keyboards, mice, and displays via the communication unit 130.

[0025] The cloud print control program implements a function to differentiate the billing method for users who own each printer according to the amount of printing for each printer, when providing the cloud printing service. By executing the cloud print control program, the processor 110 functions as an authentication unit 111, an authorization unit 112, a billing unit 113, and a print control unit 114. Through the function of the authentication unit 111, the processor 110 performs user authentication. That is, the processor 110 performs authentication processing to determine whether the user who is trying to register a printer to be used for the cloud printing service is a legitimate user who has completed user registration. In this embodiment, the user's email address and password are managed by an ID provider (not shown). Therefore, the server 100 requests the ID provider to perform user authentication processing. In this embodiment, the server 100 cooperates with the App server 400, the ID provider (not shown), and the billing infrastructure (not shown), which will be described later. The terminal 300 operated by the user and the device that exchanges various data move between the App server 400, the server 100, the ID provider, and the billing infrastructure depending on the content of the processing. Here, "various types of data" refer to, for example, screen display data and data indicating user input and operations.

[0026] Server 100 charges users who own printers as a fee for using the cloud printing service. Specifically, the processor 110 performs preparatory processing for charging authenticated users for the usage fee, based on the functions of the billing unit 113. Preparatory processing for billing is the process of making it possible to charge users for the usage fee at a predetermined time, and includes explaining the usage fee, obtaining payment information from the user, and authentication related to the payment information. In this embodiment, Server 100 requests preparatory processing for billing from a billing infrastructure (not shown). In this embodiment, the billing infrastructure is a server that performs preparatory processing for billing and billing based on payment information at a predetermined time after the preparatory processing.

[0027] In this embodiment, the processor 110 differentiates the billing method for the user depending on the amount of printing performed by the printing device. Specifically, the processor 110 uses a pay-per-use system when the amount of printing is expected to exceed a certain threshold, and uses a flat-rate system when the amount of printing is expected to fall below that threshold. Providing a cloud printing service requires various costs for setting up and maintaining the server 100. For example, there are costs for managing user information and printer information, and costs that increase as the amount of printing increases. The former costs include, for example, the cost of maintaining storage to store various information for each user and each printer. The latter costs include, for example, the cost of maintaining storage to store print data for a certain period of time when a print request is received.

[0028] If many printers handle large volumes of printing, it may be possible to make a profit even if the price per unit of printing is lowered and all printers are charged on a pay-per-use basis. However, if there are many printers that handle small volumes of printing, it may not be profitable to charge a low pay-per-use basis for all printers. Raising the price per unit increases the likelihood of profitability, but it does not encourage the use of cloud printing services. Therefore, it is conceivable to charge a fee per printer that is sufficient to cover management costs. On the other hand, for printers that handle large volumes of printing, the management costs are the same as for printers that handle small volumes of printing, but a per-printer charge that only covers management costs is insufficient to cover the costs incurred depending on the amount of printing. Therefore, by implementing pay-per-use charges when the amount of printing is expected to exceed a certain threshold, and a fixed-rate charge when the amount of printing is expected to fall below that threshold, it is possible to prevent the promotion of cloud printing services from being suppressed and to increase the likelihood of profitability.

[0029] In this embodiment, the fixed-rate charge when the print volume is expected to be below a certain threshold means that the charge per printer authorized for printing in the printing service is a fixed amount. In other words, in this embodiment, if multiple printers are authorized and are expected to have a print volume below a certain threshold, i.e., if they are registered as printers to be used in the cloud printing service, the charge will be the amount obtained by multiplying the per-printer charge by the number of registered printers. This increases the likelihood that even printers used for small-volume printing can be profitable.

[0030] In this embodiment, a situation in which the print volume is assumed to exceed a certain threshold occurs when a device associated with the user who owns a printer makes a print request to a printer authorized to print in the cloud printing service, and the user retrieves the printed material from the printer based on that print request. In other words, this is the case when the App server that makes the print request using a Web API and the printer that prints in response to that print request are under the management of the same user (referred to as Case 1). For example, as shown in Figure 2, the configuration in which print data from an App server 400 under the management of user B is printed to printers 600 and 601 under the management of user B via server 100 corresponds to Case 1. In this case, usage-based billing is performed according to the total print volume for a predetermined period at user B's printers 600 and 601. Similarly, the configuration in which print data from an App server 700 under the management of user C is printed to printer 900 under the management of user C via server 100 also corresponds to Case 1, and user C is charged usage-based billing according to the print volume for a predetermined period at printer 900. When printing is initiated via a Web API, it is assumed that the printing request mechanism is automated on the requesting side, and the motivation for automation is assumed to be high print volume or frequency, for example, for business use. In Case 1, where the output printer for the print request is a printer under the management of the requesting party, it has been statistically proven that the print volume is often above a certain threshold, so a pay-per-use model is adopted in Case 1.

[0031] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a situation in which the print volume is assumed to be below the standard occurs when a device associated with a user other than the user makes a print request to print data to a printer authorized for printing in the printing service, and the user retrieves the printed material from the printer based on that print request. In other words, this is the case when the App server that makes the print request using WebAPI and the printer that prints in response to that print request are under the management of different users (referred to as Case 2). For example, as shown in Figure 2, the configuration in which print data from an App server 400 under the management of user B is printed to user A's printer 200 via server 100 corresponds to this Case 2. In this case, a fixed fee is charged for one of user A's printers 200. Therefore, user A will be charged a fixed fee for one printer 200. If user A had registered, i.e., authorized two printers to be used with the cloud printing service, user A would be charged a fixed fee for two printers. In Case 2, the printer users are ordinary users who use cloud printing services in order to access specific content distribution services provided by others. Statistically, it has been found that the print volume in this case is often below a certain threshold, therefore, a flat-rate fee per printer is adopted in Case 2.

[0032] In order to charge each user according to these differences in usage patterns, in Case 1, when a WebAPI user registers as a partner, the processor 110 of server 100 performs the aforementioned preparatory processing for pay-per-use billing. That is, when a user registering as a partner makes a print request using the WebAPI to a printer they own, the preparatory processing includes explaining that pay-per-use billing will apply and obtaining the payment information of the user registering as a partner. The processor 110 also prompts the user registering as a partner to select their own printer to which to make a print request using the WebAPI. For example, in the example in Figure 2, user B selects printers 600 and 601.

[0033] In Case 2, when the user selects their own printer to use with the cloud printing service, the processor 110 performs preparatory processing for fixed-rate billing. Specifically, this preparatory processing includes explaining that a fixed rate will be charged for each printer selected by the user, and obtaining the user's payment information.

[0034] The processor 110 obtains an access token corresponding to a printer when the user authorizes a printer to be used with the cloud printing service, based on the functions of the authorization unit 112. In this embodiment, the processor 110 identifies the printer associated with the authenticated user by referring to the printer information 121 (see Figure 2). The processor 110 displays a list of the identified printers on the terminal operated by the user and obtains an access token corresponding to the printer selected by the user from the list. That is, the processor 110 displays a printer selection screen on the terminal 300 that lists the identification information of printers owned by the user, i.e., printers stored in association with the user's email address as identification information, and allows the user to select one of them. When the user selects one printer to be used with the cloud printing service from the list of printers, the processor 110 obtains the identification information of the selected printer from the terminal 300. Having obtained the identification information of the printer selected by the user, the processor 110 considers that the user has authorized the use of that printer with the cloud printing service.

[0035] The authorization unit 112 enables the processor 110 to pass an access token to the App server. The access token is information generated to allow the server 100 to uniquely identify the printer, such as a combination of random alphanumeric characters, but it is generated separately from the printer's identification information. The access token is information assigned to the App server that has the authority to execute printing on the user's printer. Upon obtaining the access token, the App server stores the access token in a storage medium and, when making a print request to the printer corresponding to that access token, specifies that access token in the Web API for the print request. In other words, the App server 400 sends the print request and the access token to the server 100.

[0036] The function of the print control unit 114 causes the processor 110 to execute printing when it receives a print request for a printer associated with a user, after the preparatory processing for billing has been completed. For example, in Case 1, as shown in Figure 2, when the App server 400 makes a print request to printer B1, the App server 400 makes a print request to the server 100 by specifying the print data, the access token of printer B1, and the print settings in the Web API. The processor 110 of the server 100 compares the data specified as the access token in the Web API of the print request with the access token stored in the storage medium 120 and identifies the printer corresponding to the matching access token. The processor 110 converts the print data into a format suitable for printing on the identified printer and sends the print data to the printer to request printing. The printer that receives the request executes printing based on the print data.

[0037] In this embodiment, if the printer corresponding to the access token specified to the App server in the print request is the printer corresponding to the registered partner user, the processor 110 records the print volume requested via the server 100 at that printer for a predetermined period. Here, print volume refers to the number of pages printed in this embodiment. When the predetermined period ends, the processor 110 obtains the total number of pages printed during the predetermined period. If there are multiple printers authorized by the registered partner user, the processor 110 adds up the total number of pages printed at each printer for the predetermined period to calculate the total number of pages printed during the predetermined period. The processor 110 calculates the amount of usage-based billing for the predetermined period by multiplying the price per page by the total number of pages printed. The processor 110 notifies the billing infrastructure of the calculated amount and requests billing processing for the user.

[0038] Furthermore, if the printer corresponding to the access token specified to the App server in the print request is a printer for a user who is not registered as a partner, the processor 110 notifies the billing platform of the amount of the fixed-rate charge for that printer for the predetermined period when the predetermined period has ended, and requests the billing process for the user.

[0039] As described above, according to this embodiment, the usage fee for the cloud printing service, which prints to a printer via the server 100, can be charged in a manner that corresponds to the amount of printing done by the user's printer.

[0040] Furthermore, if the amount of print volume is expected to be below a certain threshold, and the preparatory processing for obtaining a printout based on print data transmitted from a device associated with a first other user from an authorized printing device has been completed, the processor 110 will not perform any additional preparatory processing for obtaining a printout based on print data transmitted from a device associated with a second other user from an authorized printing device.

[0041] For example, printer A3, shown in Figure 2, is a printer that performs printing in response to print requests from App Server 400, as well as printers that perform printing in response to print requests from App Server 700. For example, if user A registers printer A3 in order to use the content distribution service of App Server 400, then the printer A3 is preparatory for billing. Subsequently, if user A registers printer A3 in order to use the content distribution service of App Server 700, then the printer A3 has already been preparatory, so the processor 110 does not perform any further preparatory processing. Therefore, the processor 110 will not charge user A the fixed monthly fee for printer A3 twice after the predetermined period has ended. Whether or not the billing preparatory processing has been completed can be determined by, for example, whether or not there is a history of an access token already being generated and issued for the target printer (see printer A3 in Figure 2), or whether or not the billing infrastructure holds authenticated payment information for the target printer. In this way, it is possible to prevent duplicate billing of a single printer.

[0042] (2) Authorization sequence: Figure 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the general sequence for printer authorization and billing preparation in Case 2. Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of the general screen transitions on user A's terminal 300 in the sequence shown in Figure 4.

[0043] Screen g1 is an example of a screen that prompts the user to register a printer in the cloud printing service provided by server 100, within the content distribution service provided by the App server (for example, 400). Screen g1 is displayed on terminal 300 based on display data generated by App server 400.

[0044] App server 400 displays screen g1 prompting the user to register a printer to connect with the cloud printing service (step S100). When the printer registration button b1 is pressed on screen g1, terminal 300 sends information to App server 400 indicating that the printer registration button b1 has been pressed. Upon receiving this information, App server 400 sends an authorization processing request to server 100 (step S102). When server 100's processor 110 receives the authorization processing request from App server 400, the authentication unit 111 requests authentication processing from the ID provider (step S105). Upon receiving the authentication processing request, the ID provider displays a login screen as shown on screen g2 on terminal 300 and performs authentication processing (step S110). That is, the ID provider sends display data to terminal 300 to display screen g2. Upon receiving this display data, terminal 300 displays screen g2.

[0045] Screen g2 includes an email address input field f1, a password input field f2, and a login button b2. When a user enters the email address and password they registered when registering for the cloud printing service into the email address input field f1 and password input field f2, respectively, and presses the login button b2, terminal 300 sends the entered email address and password to the ID provider. The IP provider compares the email address and password sent from terminal 300 with the email address and password combination stored on the storage medium and performs user authentication. If authentication is successful, the ID provider notifies the server 100 of the successful authentication (step S115).

[0046] Upon receiving notification of successful authentication, the processor 110, using the functions of the authorization unit 112, searches for the user's owned printer, displays screen g3, and accepts the printer selection (step S120). That is, the processor 110 identifies the printer associated with the user who was successfully authenticated in step S115 by referring to the printer information 121 (see Figure 2). The processor 110 then sends display data to the terminal 300 to display the printer selection screen g3, which contains information indicating the identified printer.

[0047] Screen g3 displays a list of printers associated with the authenticated user, along with radio buttons br corresponding to each printer and an OK button b3. When the user selects one printer from the list using the radio buttons br and presses the OK button b3, terminal 300 sends information indicating the selected printer to server 100. In Figure 5, screen g3 shows that printer A3 has been selected.

[0048] Upon obtaining information indicating the selected printer, the processor 110, using the functions of the authorization unit 112, obtains regional information indicating the region of access, i.e., location information (step S125). Specifically, the processor 110 obtains the access source information, such as the IP address, used when the terminal 300 communicates with the server 100, as the user's location information. If the access source is a billing area, i.e., corresponds to a predetermined area, and billing preparation processing has not been completed, the processor 110 sends a billing preparation processing request to the billing infrastructure (step S130). Before S130, the processor 110 may perform the processing in step S130 if it has obtained from the terminal 300 that it has displayed an explanation of the contract details, such as charges and billing dates, on the user's terminal 300 and obtained the user's consent. Here, "region" refers to a country. Furthermore, it is not limited to a country; it may also refer to a region that includes multiple countries, or a region within a country, such as an administrative division.

[0049] Upon receiving a billing preparation processing request, the billing infrastructure performs the billing preparation processing (step S135). Specifically, the billing infrastructure sends display data to the terminal 300 to display screen g4. Screen g4 includes buttons for selecting a payment method, a payment information input section, and a confirmation button b4. An example of screen g4 shows a state where a credit card has been selected as the payment method, and the card number, expiration date, and security code have been entered. When the confirmation button b4 on screen g4 is selected, the terminal 300 sends this information to the billing infrastructure. The billing infrastructure authenticates the user's payment information sent, saves the payment information to a storage medium, and notifies the server 100 that the billing preparation processing is complete (step S140).

[0050] If the access source region information in step S125 does not indicate a billing region, or if billing preparation processing has already been completed, the processing in steps S130 to S140 is skipped. Therefore, after the completion of step S125 or step S140, the processor 110 notifies the App server 400 of the completion of the authorization process using the function of the authorization unit 112 (step S145).

[0051] Upon receiving notification that the authorization process is complete, the App server 400 sends an access token request to the server 100 for the authorized printer (step S150). Upon receiving the access token request, the processor 110 of the server 100 generates an access token for the authorized printer using the function of the authorization unit 112 and stores it in the storage medium 120 in association with the printer's identification information (step S155). The processor 110 then sends the generated access token to the App server 400 (step S160). Upon receiving the access token from the server 100, the App server 400 sends the display data for screen g5 to the terminal 300 and displays screen g5 (step S165).

[0052] As described above, server 100 can issue access tokens to App server 400 that are associated with individual printers that the user has authorized to use with the cloud printing service. App server 400 stores the issued access tokens in association with the user. In step S160, a refresh token used to refresh the access token may also be issued. In that case, the refresh token is also stored in App server 400 in association with the user along with the access token.

[0053] When the App server 400 sends a print request to a user's printer using the Web API, it specifies the printer's access token, the print data to be printed, and the print settings. The processor 110 of the server 100 identifies the printer recorded on the storage medium 120 in association with the specified access token. If the printer associated with the specified access token is identified, the processor 110, using the functions of the print control unit 114, converts the print data so that it can be printed on the identified printer according to the print settings, and sends a print request for the converted print data to the printer 200.

[0054] The printer 200's processor 210 controls the printing unit 250 based on the print data received from the server 100 and executes printing. When printing is complete, the printer 200 sends a print completion notification to the server 100. Upon receiving the print completion notification from the printer 200, the server 100 sends a print completion notification to the App server 400.

[0055] In Case 1, for example, before selecting a printer to be used with the cloud printing service (see step S120 in Figure 4 and screen g3 in Figure 5), a billing preparation process for usage-based billing is performed (see steps S130-S140 in Figure 4 and screen g4 in Figure 5). After that, the printer to be used with the cloud printing service is selected (see step S120 in Figure 4 and screen g3 in Figure 5), and then an access token is issued (see steps S150-S160 in Figure 4).

[0056] If the printer corresponding to the access token specified to the App server in the print request is the printer corresponding to the registered partner user, the processor 110 aggregates the number of prints requested via the server 100 at that printer for a predetermined period, and after the predetermined period ends, calculates the usage-based charge amount according to the number of prints and notifies the billing platform to request billing processing for the user.

[0057] Furthermore, if the printer corresponding to the access token specified to the App server in the print request is a printer for a user who is not registered as a partner, the processor 110 notifies the billing platform of the fixed-rate charge amount per printer for the predetermined period when the predetermined period has ended, and requests billing processing for the user.

[0058] (3) Other embodiments: The embodiments described above are merely examples for carrying out the present invention, and various other embodiments can be adopted. For example, the server 100 may be composed of multiple server computers, and each of the following parts may be implemented on a different server computer: for example, the authentication unit 111, the authorization unit 112, the billing unit 113, and the print control unit 114. Also, the processing performed by the ID provider and the billing infrastructure in the above embodiments may be performed on the server 100. Furthermore, for example, in the above embodiments, the server 100 was responsible for generating the access token, but it may be configured to request the generation from another server and then obtain the generated access token.

[0059] The print volume can be estimated based on factors such as the number of sheets printed on a cut sheet, the length of a roll of paper, or the size of the print data.

[0060] The billing unit is configured to differentiate the billing method for users of the printing device according to the amount of printing done by the printing device. For example, the billing unit may record the printing volume history for each printer and be configured to charge a fixed rate until a certain threshold is exceeded, at which point it may switch to pay-per-use billing. Cases where the print volume is expected to be above a certain threshold and cases where it is expected to be below a certain threshold can be distinguished as follows: Server 100 records the print volume history of each printer in advance using the cloud printing service, and identifies the most common usage pattern for printers that will exceed the threshold and the most common usage pattern for printers that will fall below the threshold. In the above embodiment, Server 100 uses a pay-per-use system for the former and a flat-rate system for the latter.

[0061] In addition to the above embodiment, another example of a scenario where the print volume is expected to exceed a certain threshold is that the system may be configured to allow the user to select in advance whether the expected print volume is above or below the threshold when authorizing the printer. If the user selects that the volume is below the threshold, the system may be configured not to print in response to print requests after the threshold is exceeded, or the system may be configured to switch to pay-per-use billing as described above if the user is notified and agrees to switch to pay-per-use billing after the threshold is exceeded.

[0062] Furthermore, in cases where the print volume is expected to be below a certain threshold, the flat-rate billing may be configured such that the charge is a flat rate per authorized printing device in the printing service, and if multiple devices are authorized, the charge is calculated by multiplying the per-device charge by the number of devices. Alternatively, for example, the charge for the N+1th device may be lower than the charge for the Nth device.

[0063] Furthermore, if the printer in Case 1 is also the printer in Case 2, that is, if another partner's App Server makes a print request to the printer of a registered partner user, for example, in the example in Figure 2, if the App Server 700 makes a print request specifying the access token for printer B1, then if the user B has already been set up for pay-per-use billing, the system may be configured not to charge a fixed fee for printer B1. Alternatively, the system may be configured to charge both in Case 1 and Case 2.

[0064] Furthermore, the present invention is also applicable as a printing system comprising the above-described information processing device and printing device. The present invention is also applicable as a program executed by a computer and a printing method. The printing method includes user authentication, preparation processing for charging the user a fee for using a printing service that prints print data to a printing device associated with the authenticated user via the information processing device, and, once the preparation processing is complete, causing the printing device to execute printing in response to receiving a print request to the printing device associated with the user, and varying the billing method to the user according to the amount of printing by the printing device.

[0065] Furthermore, the systems, programs, and methods described above may be implemented as a single device or by utilizing components from multiple devices, encompassing various forms. They can also be modified as needed, with some being software and others hardware. Moreover, the invention also functions as a recording medium for a program that controls the system. Of course, this recording medium could be a magnetic recording medium, a semiconductor memory, or any recording medium developed in the future; the same principle applies. [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] 100…Server, 110…Processor, 111…Authentication Unit, 112…Authorization Unit, 113…Billing Unit, 114…Print Control Unit, 120…Storage Medium, 121…Printer Information, 130…Communication Unit, 200…Printer, 210…Processor, 220…Storage Medium, 230…Communication Unit, 240…UI Unit, 250…Printing Unit, 300…Terminal, 400…App Server, 500…Terminal, 600…Printer, 700…App Server, 800…Terminal, 900…Printer

Claims

1. The authentication unit performs user authentication, A billing unit performs preparatory processing for billing a user for the use of a printing service that prints print data to a printing device associated with the authenticated user via an information processing device, When the above preparation process is performed, a print control unit, which causes the printing device to perform printing in response to receiving a print request for the printing device associated with the user, Equipped with, The billing unit shall differentiate the billing method for the user according to the amount printed by the printing device. Information processing device.

2. The aforementioned billing section is, If the aforementioned printing volume is expected to exceed the standard, a pay-per-use charge will be applied. If the amount of printing is expected to be less than the aforementioned standard, a fixed fee will be charged. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned billing section is, If the amount of printing is expected to be less than the standard, a fixed-rate charge will be applied, where the charge per authorized printing device in the printing service is a fixed amount. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

4. If the amount of printing is expected to exceed the standard, the device associated with the user makes a print request to the printing device authorized to print in the printing service to print the print data, and the user obtains the printed material based on the print request from the printing device. If the amount of printing is expected to be less than the standard, a device associated with a user other than the user makes a print request to print the print data to the printing device authorized to print in the printing service, and the user obtains the printed material based on that print request from the device. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

5. The aforementioned billing section is, If the amount of printing is expected to be less than the standard, and the preparatory process for obtaining printed materials based on print data transmitted from the first device associated with the other user from the authorized printing device has been completed, then the preparatory process for obtaining printed materials based on print data transmitted from the second device associated with the other user from the authorized printing device will not be performed again. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4.

6. A printing system comprising an information processing device and a printing device, The aforementioned information processing device is The authentication unit performs user authentication, A billing unit performs preparatory processing for billing a user for the use of a printing service that prints print data to a printing device associated with an authenticated user via the information processing device, The billing unit has, when the preparation process is performed, a print control unit that, upon receiving a print request to the printing device associated with the user, causes the printing device to execute printing, and the billing unit differentiates the billing method to the user according to the amount printed by the printing device. The printing device performs the printing requested by the information processing device. Printing system.

7. Perform user authentication, The system performs preparatory processing to charge the user a fee for using a printing service that prints print data to a printing device associated with the authenticated user via an information processing device. When the above preparation process is performed, the printer is instructed to perform printing in response to receiving a print request from the user associated with the printer. The billing method for the user is varied according to the amount of printing done by the printing device. Printing method.

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