Print management device, printing system

Abstract

Conventional print sales management systems made users wait until printing and binding were complete, which indicated room for improvement. [Solution] The print management device includes a receiving unit that receives information related to books to be purchased from an external terminal operated by the user, a decision unit that determines the processing to be performed based on the information received by the receiving unit, and an instruction unit that instructs the printing device to perform the processing related to printing the books based on the decision of the decision unit. The receiving unit includes pre-purchase information, which includes information for identifying the book selected by the user via an external terminal, and purchase processing information, which includes information related to the user's book purchase process. The system is capable of receiving information, and the decision unit decides to perform the preparation for printing the book based on the receipt of pre-purchase information, and decides to print the book based on the receipt of purchase processing information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a print management apparatus that manages printing of books, and a printing system.

Background Art

[0002] As a countermeasure when a bookstore is out of stock of a book, as shown in Patent Document 1, on-demand printing is known, in which printing and bookbinding are performed using a print and bookbinding apparatus installed in the bookstore, and the result is delivered to the purchasing user. Further, in the printed matter sales management system described in Patent Document 1, in view of the fact that a user has to wait for printing and bookbinding, the restriction on viewing content on a viewing terminal during the waiting time is lifted, so that the user can freely view the content.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] As described above, the printed matter sales management system described in Patent Document 1 allows the user to view content on the viewing terminal during the waiting time for printing and bookbinding, but makes the user wait until printing and bookbinding are completed, and there is room for improvement in this respect.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a print management device comprising: a receiving unit that receives information relating to a book to be purchased from an external terminal operated by a user; a decision unit that determines the processing to be performed based on the information received by the receiving unit; and an instruction unit that instructs a printing device to perform the processing relating to printing the book based on the decision of the decision unit, wherein the receiving unit is capable of receiving pre-purchase information including information for identifying the book selected by the user via the external terminal, and purchase processing information including information relating to the user's purchase process of the book, and the decision unit determines to perform the execution of printing preparation for the book based on the receipt of the pre-purchase information, and determines to print the book based on the receipt of the purchase processing information.

[0006] Furthermore, the printing system of the present invention is characterized by comprising a print management device and a printing device. Furthermore, the printing system of the present invention is characterized by comprising a print management device and an external terminal. Furthermore, the printing system of the present invention is characterized by comprising a print management device and an external terminal and a printing device. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] A diagram showing the overall configuration of the printing system. [Figure 2] A block diagram showing the configuration of the bookstore server. [Figure 3] A block diagram showing the configuration of a user-operated terminal. [Figure 4] A block diagram showing the configuration of a printing device. [Figure 5] A flowchart illustrating the processing flow in a printing system. [Figure 6] An illustration showing an example of a book cover displayed in a bookstore. [Figure 7] This diagram shows an example of a user interface (UI) implemented on a user-operated terminal. [Figure 8] This diagram shows an example of a user interface (UI) implemented on a user-operated terminal. [Figure 9] A flowchart illustrating the processing flow in a printing system. [Figure 10]A flowchart showing the process for canceling the print preparation. [Figure 11] A flowchart illustrating the processing flow when pre-purchase information is received from multiple user terminals. [Figure 12] A flowchart illustrating the processing flow when pre-purchase information is received from multiple user terminals. [Figure 13] A flowchart illustrating the process flow when printing using multiple printing devices. [Figure 14] A flowchart illustrating the processing flow when pre-purchase information is received from multiple user terminals. [Figure 15] A flowchart illustrating the process of combining parts of multiple books. [Figure 16] A block diagram showing the configuration of a bookstore server equipped with a pre-trained model. [Figure 17] A flowchart illustrating the processing flow using a pre-trained model. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] The present invention will be described in general terms below. The printing apparatus according to the first embodiment comprises a receiving unit that receives information relating to a book to be purchased from an external terminal operated by a user, a decision unit that determines a process to be executed based on the information received by the receiving unit, and an instruction unit that instructs the printing apparatus to perform a process relating to printing the book based on the decision of the decision unit, wherein the receiving unit is capable of receiving pre-purchase information including information for identifying the book selected by the user via the external terminal, and purchase process information including information relating to the user's purchase process of the book, and the decision unit determines to perform printing preparation for the book based on the receipt of the pre-purchase information, and determines to print the book based on the receipt of the purchase process information.

[0009] According to this aspect, the determination unit determines execution of print preparation for the book based on reception of the pre-purchase information, so that compared with the conventional method in which print preparation for the book is started and then printing is performed after the user actually performs a purchase operation for the book, the user's waiting time until the book is completed can be shortened.

[0010] A second aspect is an aspect dependent on the first aspect, wherein the print preparation includes generation of print data. According to this aspect, since the print preparation includes generation of print data, printing can be started promptly after the user actually performs the purchase operation for the book, and the waiting time can be effectively shortened.

[0011] A third aspect is an aspect dependent on the first aspect, wherein in the print management device described, the print preparation includes a preparation operation in a printing apparatus. According to this aspect, since the print preparation includes the preparation operation in the printing apparatus, the time from when the user actually performs the purchase operation for the book until printing is started can be shortened, and the waiting time can be effectively shortened. Note that this aspect is not limited to the above first aspect, and may be dependent on the above second aspect.

[0012] A fourth aspect is an aspect dependent on the first aspect, wherein the pre-purchase information includes information indicating that the content of the book is being previewed at the external terminal, and the determination unit determines execution of print preparation for the book when the content of the book is previewed at the external terminal.

[0013] When the user is previewing the content of the book at the external terminal, it can be said that the user tends to have a high possibility of purchasing the book. According to this aspect, the determination unit determines execution of print preparation for the book when the content of the book is previewed at the external terminal, so that waste of the print preparation can be suppressed, and the user's waiting time until the book is completed can be shortened. Furthermore, this embodiment is not limited to the first embodiment described above, but may also be dependent on the second or third embodiment described above.

[0014] A fifth aspect is an aspect dependent on the first aspect, characterized in that the decision unit, after deciding to perform the printing preparation, decides to cancel the printing preparation if predetermined conditions are met. According to this embodiment, after the decision unit decides to perform the print preparation, if predetermined conditions are met, it decides to cancel the print preparation, thereby suppressing problems associated with continuing the print preparation. Furthermore, this embodiment is not limited to the first embodiment described above, but may be dependent on any of the second to fourth embodiments described above.

[0015] The sixth aspect is an aspect dependent on the fifth aspect, characterized in that the predetermined conditions include information relating to user actions on the external terminal, which is received from the external terminal.

[0016] For example, if a user views information about a first book and then views information about a second book, the probability of them purchasing the first book tends to be low. According to this embodiment, since the predetermined conditions include information received from the external terminal regarding the user's actions toward the external terminal, it is possible to prevent the cancellation of the print preparation from becoming an inappropriate process.

[0017] The seventh aspect is an aspect dependent on the fifth aspect, characterized in that the predetermined conditions include information relating to the status of the printing preparation. For example, if a long time elapses between the completion of print preparation and the user deciding whether or not to proceed with the purchase of the book, the printing device may experience unnecessary power consumption, and the print management device may encroach on the storage area for print data, potentially leading to various problems. However, according to this embodiment, since the predetermined conditions include information related to the execution status of the print preparation, the above-mentioned problems can be suppressed. Furthermore, this embodiment is not limited to the fifth embodiment described above, but may also be dependent on the sixth embodiment described above.

[0018] The eighth aspect is an aspect dependent on the first aspect, wherein the print preparation includes the generation of print data, the receiving unit is capable of receiving the pre-purchase information from a second external terminal different from the first external terminal, with the external terminal being the first external terminal, and the decision unit determines to perform the print preparation with respect to first partial book information, which is a part obtained by dividing the information relating to the first book, based on the reception of the pre-purchase information relating to the first book selected by the first external terminal, and determines to perform the print preparation with respect to second partial book information, which is a part obtained by dividing the information relating to the second book, based on the reception of the pre-purchase information relating to the second book selected by the second external terminal.

[0019] According to this embodiment, when multiple users select a book, the convenience of multiple users can be improved by preparing the print settings for each user. Furthermore, by preparing only a portion of the book for printing rather than the entire book, the data generation load can be reduced, and the use of data storage space can be reduced. Furthermore, this embodiment is not limited to the first embodiment described above, but may be dependent on any of the second to seventh embodiments described above.

[0020] The ninth aspect is an aspect dependent on the eighth aspect, characterized in that when the receiving unit receives the purchase processing information for the second book following the purchase processing information for the first book, the decision unit decides to perform printing based on the second partial book information following printing based on the first partial book information.

[0021] According to this embodiment, when multiple users purchase a book, compared to a method where the entire first book is printed for the user who first decides to purchase it, and then the entire second book is printed for the user who next decides to purchase it, the convenience for the user who makes the purchase can be improved. That is, since a portion of the book can be provided to the user who first decides to purchase it and the user who makes the purchase next before the entire book is printed, each user can view a portion of the book while waiting.

[0022] The tenth aspect is an aspect dependent on the ninth aspect, characterized in that the range of the first partial book information when the number of waiting jobs that have not been printed by the printing device is a first number is defined as the first range, and the range of the first partial book information when the number of waiting jobs is a second number greater than the first number is defined as the second range, and the determination unit expands the second range from the first range.

[0023] As the number of pending jobs increases, the user's waiting time also increases. However, according to this embodiment, since the determination unit expands the second range compared to the first range, the printable area that the user can view increases when the user's waiting time increases, thereby improving user convenience.

[0024] The eleventh aspect is an aspect dependent on the eighth aspect, wherein the printing apparatus is a first printing apparatus, and a printing apparatus different from the first printing apparatus is a second printing apparatus, and the decision unit decides to perform the printing preparation for the first partial book information in the first printing apparatus, and decides to perform the printing preparation for the second partial book information in the second printing apparatus.

[0025] According to this embodiment, when multiple users are viewing a book, the convenience for each user can be further improved by preparing the printout for each user using separate printing devices.

[0026] The twelfth aspect is an aspect dependent on the first aspect, characterized in that the receiving unit is capable of receiving the pre-purchase information from a second external terminal different from the first external terminal, with the external terminal being the first external terminal; the instruction unit is capable of instructing a second printing device different from the first printing device to perform printing of the book, with the printing device being the first printing device; and the decision unit is capable of deciding to perform the printing preparation for the first book with the first printing device based on the reception of the pre-purchase information relating to the first book selected by the first external terminal, and deciding to perform the printing preparation for the second book with the second printing device based on the reception of the pre-purchase information relating to the second book selected by the second external terminal.

[0027] According to this embodiment, when multiple users select books, the convenience of multiple users can be improved by preparing the print for each user on a separate printing device. Furthermore, this embodiment is not limited to the first embodiment described above, but may be dependent on any of the second to seventh embodiments described above.

[0028] A thirteenth embodiment is an embodiment dependent on the first embodiment, wherein the instruction unit can instruct a second printing device, which is different from the first printing device, to perform the printing process of the book, with the printing device being designated as the first printing device, the decision unit decides to perform the printing preparation for a first part, which is part of the book, with the first printing device, and further decides to perform printing for the first part with the first printing device when the receiving unit receives the purchase processing information, and to perform printing for a second part, which is part of the book but is not the first part, with the second printing device.

[0029] According to this embodiment, the printing time for printing a single book can be reduced by printing it using multiple printing devices. Furthermore, this embodiment is not limited to the first embodiment described above, but may be dependent on any of the second to seventh embodiments described above.

[0030] A fourteenth aspect is an aspect dependent on the thirteenth aspect, characterized in that the decision unit decides to print the first portion with the first printing device and the second portion with the second printing device if the number of external terminals that have transmitted the pre-purchase information is less than the number of printing devices that the instruction unit can instruct to perform the printing process of the book.

[0031] If the number of external terminals that have transmitted the pre-purchase information is less than the number of printing devices that the instruction unit can instruct to perform the printing process for the book, the printing time for printing a single book can be shortened by printing the book using multiple printing devices.

[0032] The 15th aspect is an aspect dependent on the first aspect, characterized in that the determination unit is capable of executing a mode in which a composite book, which is formed by combining a part of a first book as the book and a part of a second book different from the first book, is the target of the printing preparation and printing by the printing device.

[0033] According to this embodiment, the determination unit can execute a mode in which a composite book, formed by combining a part of a first book as the book and a part of a second book different from the first book, is the target of the printing preparation and printing by the printing device, thereby improving user convenience. Furthermore, this embodiment is not limited to the first embodiment described above, but may be dependent on any of the second to fourteenth embodiments described above.

[0034] The sixteenth aspect is an aspect dependent on the first aspect, characterized in that, if the number of external terminals that have transmitted the pre-purchase information is greater than the number of printing devices on which the instruction unit can instruct the printing process for the book, the receiving unit decides to print using the printing device with the fewest pending jobs that have not yet been completed, in the order in which the purchase processing information is received.

[0035] According to this embodiment, if the number of external terminals that have transmitted the pre-purchase information is greater than the number of printing devices that the instruction unit can instruct to perform the printing process for the book, the decision unit will decide to print using the printing device with the fewest pending jobs that have not yet been completed, in the order in which the receiving unit receives the purchase processing information, thereby minimizing the user's waiting time. Furthermore, this embodiment is not limited to the first embodiment described above, but may be dependent on any of the second to fifteenth embodiments described above.

[0036] The 17th aspect is an aspect dependent on the first aspect, wherein the receiving unit can receive the pre-purchase information from a second external terminal different from the first external terminal, with the external terminal being the first external terminal; the instruction unit can instruct the second printing device, different from the first printing device, to perform the printing process for the book, with the printing device being the first printing device; the decision unit decides to perform the printing preparation for the first book selected by the first external terminal and the printing preparation for the second book selected by the second external terminal using the first printing device; and the receiving unit, If the purchase processing information for the second book is received after the purchase processing information for the first book has been received, the decision unit compares a first estimated time until the first book is printed in the first printing device with a second estimated time if the second printing device is to perform the printing preparation for the second book. If the first estimated time is longer than the second estimated time, the decision unit discards the printing preparation for the second book in the first printing device and decides to perform the printing preparation and printing for the second book in the second printing device.

[0037] According to this embodiment, if the first estimated time is longer than the second estimated time, it is decided to discard the printing preparation for the second book in the first printing device and to perform the printing preparation and printing for the second book in the second printing device. By efficiently utilizing multiple printing devices, the user's waiting time can be effectively reduced.

[0038] The 18th embodiment is a print management device for instructing a printing device to print a book, comprising: a receiving unit that receives information relating to a user action on an operation terminal for purchasing the book from the operation terminal; an estimation unit that estimates the probability that a user will purchase the book based on the user action using a trained model produced by machine learning based on training data; and a decision unit that determines whether or not to prepare the book for printing based on the probability estimated by the estimation unit, wherein the training data includes a combination of information relating to the user action and whether or not the user has purchased the book, and the device decides to perform the printing preparation if the probability estimated by the estimation unit exceeds a predetermined value.

[0039] According to this embodiment, the probability that a user will purchase the book can be estimated with high accuracy using the trained model. Then, by having the decision unit decide to perform the print preparation based on the probability, it is possible to prevent the print preparation from being wasted.

[0040] The 19th aspect is characterized in that, in the 18th aspect, the user action includes the time spent viewing information related to the book on the operating terminal.

[0041] The longer the user spends viewing information related to the book on the aforementioned operating terminal, the more likely they are to purchase the book. According to this embodiment, since the user action includes the time spent viewing information related to the book on the operating terminal, the probability of the user purchasing the book can be estimated with high accuracy.

[0042] The 20th embodiment is characterized by comprising the print management device according to any of the first to 19 embodiments, and the printing device. According to this embodiment, the printing system can obtain any of the effects of the first to 19 embodiments described above.

[0043] The 21st embodiment is characterized by comprising the print management device according to any of the first to 19 embodiments and the external terminal. According to this embodiment, the printing system can obtain any of the effects of the first to 19 embodiments described above.

[0044] The 22nd embodiment is characterized by comprising the print management device according to any of the 1st to 19th embodiments, the external terminal, and the printing device. According to this embodiment, the printing system can obtain any of the effects of the first to 19 embodiments described above.

[0045] The present invention will be described in detail below. In Figure 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a bookstore, and the bookstore 11 has a printing system 1. In this embodiment, the printing system 1 comprises a bookstore server 12, a first user operation terminal 22A, a second user operation terminal 22B, and a printing device 21. Hereafter, when the first user operation terminal 22A and the second user operation terminal 22B are not distinguished, they will be collectively referred to as user operation terminal 22. The bookstore server 12 is connected to the Internet 10. The publisher server 3, which is located outside the bookstore 11, is also connected to the Internet 10. In Figure 1, one bookstore server 12, two user terminals 22, one printing device 21, and one publisher server 3 are shown as an example, but the number of each device is not limited to these.

[0046] The printing system 1 includes at least one print management device. In this embodiment, the print management device is comprised of a bookstore server 12. The printing system 1 is a system for so-called on-demand printing, which prints books that are not in stock at the bookstore using a printing device 21 and sells them to users. Users operate a user operation terminal 22, which is an example of an external terminal, to purchase the desired book, and the bookstore server 12 instructs the printing device 21 to print the book based on the information transmitted from the user operation terminal 22. The bookstore server 12 may also instruct the printing device 21 to prepare for printing, but this will be explained later.

[0047] In this embodiment, the bookstore server 12 is a general server device and comprises the following functional parts: a receiving unit 13, a decision unit 14, a generation unit 15, and an instruction unit 16. The receiving unit 13 receives information related to the book to be purchased from the user operation terminal 22. This information includes pre-purchase information and purchase processing information, which will be described later. The decision unit 14 determines the processing to be performed based on the information received by the receiving unit 13. The generation unit 15 generates print data. The instruction unit 16 instructs the printing device 21 to perform the processing related to printing the book, based on the decision of the decision unit 14. The instructions for the processing related to printing the book include instructions for print preparation and instructions for print execution, which will be described later. Each of the above functional components focuses on the functions of the bookstore server 12 and is realized when the bookstore server 12 executes a program. Therefore, each functional component is not necessarily realized by a separate program; multiple or all functional components may be realized by a single program. Furthermore, the functional unit comprising the receiving unit 13, the determination unit 14, the generation unit 15, and the instruction unit 16 may also be referred to as the print control unit.

[0048] The printing device 21 is a printing device that prints on a medium based on print data transmitted from the bookstore server 12. In this embodiment, it is an inkjet printer that prints by ejecting ink, an example of a liquid, onto paper, an example of a medium. The printing device 21 also has a post-processing function that performs post-processing after printing, and can perform saddle-stitching using a stapler as an example. Post-processing can also be called bookbinding. However, post-processing is not limited to saddle-stitching, and may include other processes such as perforation, which punches holes in the medium, or shift discharge, which alternately shifts the discharge position of the medium bundle before discharge. The device may also be capable of performing multiple of these processes.

[0049] Next, in this embodiment, the publisher server 3 is a general server device having a CPU, memory, storage, etc. (not shown), and has a book database 4. In the figures and subsequent descriptions, the term "database" will be abbreviated as "DB". The book DB 4 contains books purchased by users via the user terminal 22 as electronic data. The bookstore server 12 requests the publisher server 3 to send book data based on the book-related information transmitted from the user terminal 22, and the publisher server 3 sends the book data to the bookstore server 12 in response to this request. Furthermore, some or all of the book database 4 may be located on the bookstore server 12.

[0050] The configuration of the bookstore server 12 will be explained below with reference to Figure 2. The bookstore server 12 comprises an operation unit 12e, a display unit 12a, a CPU 12b, RAM 12c, ROM 12d, a communication interface 12f, and storage 12g. In the diagram and subsequent explanations, the term "interface" will be abbreviated as "I / F". Storage 12g consists of information storage devices such as HDDs (hard disk drives) and SSDs (solid-state drives). Storage 12g stores various programs and data, including the operating system 12h, system control program 12j, printer driver 12k, printer monitoring program 12m, and customer database 12n. In the diagram and subsequent explanations, the term "operating system" will be abbreviated as "OS".

[0051] The system control program 12j is the program that controls the entire printing system 1. Unless otherwise specified, the various processes performed by the bookstore server 12 described below are realized by the execution of the system control program 12j, and in particular the functions of the decision unit 14 (see Figure 1) are realized by the system control program 12j. The printer driver 12k and the printer monitoring program 12m are used for printing using the printing device 21. When preparing for printing as described later, the OS 12h starts the printer driver 12k, and the printer driver 12k starts the printer monitoring program 12m. The printer driver 12k generates print data based on the book data. In other words, the function of the generation unit 15 (see Figure 1) is realized by the printer driver 12k. The generated print data is sent to the printing device 21 via a spooler (not shown).

[0052] The printer monitoring program 12m, sometimes called a status monitor, has the basic function of communicating with the printing device 21 to detect abnormalities such as paper jams, ink depletion, and cover open. When such an abnormality occurs, the printer monitoring program 12m displays the details of the abnormality on the display unit 12a and notifies the administrator of the bookstore server 12, for example, the staff of the bookstore 11. The customer database 12n contains various information that allows users to log in to the printing system 1 using the user terminal 22.

[0053] CPU12b loads various programs stored in ROM12d and storage12g into volatile memory RAM12c and executes them. The control unit 12e consists of a keyboard (not shown) and a pointing device such as a mouse or touchpad. The display unit 12a is composed of a liquid crystal display or the like. The communication interface 12f includes a communication interface for connecting the bookstore server 12 to the internet 10 and an interface for communicating with the user terminal 22. Furthermore, the bookstore server 12 may be located outside the bookstore 11. For example, the bookstore server 12 may be connected to the bookstore 11 via the internet 10.

[0054] The configuration of the user terminal 22 will be described below with reference to Figure 3. The user terminal 22 is equipped with a touch panel 22a, CPU 22b, RAM 22c, ROM 22d, communication I / F 22f, storage 22g, camera 22m, motion sensor 22n, and position sensor 22p. Storage 22g consists of information storage devices such as flash memory. Storage 22g stores various programs and data, including the operating system 22h and the UI control program 22j.

[0055] The UI control program 22j is a program that controls the display of the touch panel 22a, specifically the display of the user interface. Unless otherwise specified, the various processes performed by the user operation terminal 22 described below are realized by the execution of the UI control program 22j. In this specification and in the drawings, the term "user interface" will be abbreviated as "UI". The CPU22b loads various programs stored in the ROM22d and storage22g into the volatile memory RAM22c and executes them. The touch panel 22a displays various information and accepts various operations from the user. The communication interface 22f includes a communication interface for connecting the user terminal 22 to the bookstore server 12. Camera 22m is primarily used for reading barcodes, which will be discussed later. The motion sensor 22n detects the movement, tilt, etc., of the user operation terminal 22. The position sensor 22p is a sensor for detecting the position of the user operating terminal 22, and may consist of multiple sensors such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor, and GPS.

[0056] The configuration of the printing device 21 will be described below with reference to Figure 4. The printing device 21 includes an operation unit 21b, a display unit 21a, a control unit 21c, a recording unit 21h, a paper transport unit 21j, and a post-processing unit 21k. The control unit 21c also includes a CPU 21d, RAM 21e, non-volatile memory 21f, and a communication interface 21g. In the control unit 21c, the CPU 21d loads various control programs and the like stored in the non-volatile memory 21f into the volatile memory RAM 21e and executes them.

[0057] The control unit 21b consists of a numeric keypad (not shown), a directional pad, a select button, a back button, and the like. The display unit 21a is composed of a liquid crystal display or the like. This display unit 21a displays a user interface (UI) for performing various settings and operations of the printing device 21. The communication interface 21g includes a communication interface for connecting the printing device 21 to the bookstore server 12 and the internet 10. The recording unit 21h includes an inkjet recording head (not shown). The paper transport unit 21j includes paper transport rollers (not shown), etc. The post-processing unit 21k includes a binding mechanism (not shown). In other words, the post-processing unit can also be called a bookbinding device. Furthermore, the printing device 21 is not limited to an inkjet printer; it may also be configured to perform printing using other methods, such as a laser printer. Furthermore, the printing device 21 may not have a post-processing unit 21k, and the printing device 21 and the post-processing unit 21k may be configured as separate units.

[0058] Next, an example of the processing flow when printing a book using printing system 1 will be explained with reference to Figure 5. First, the user performs a login operation to identify themselves using the user terminal 22 at the bookstore 11 (step S101). In response, the user terminal 22 sends a login request to the bookstore server 12. The bookstore server 12 then performs a data verification based on the customer DB 12n (see Figure 2) (step S121), and if the verification is successful, it grants permission to log in. Note that various operations on the user terminal 22, as described below, may be performed without performing a login operation.

[0059] Next, the user reads the barcode on the cover of a book displayed in bookstore 11 using the camera function of the user terminal 22 (step S102). The cover 51 shown in Figure 6 is an example of a book cover. Bookstore 11 displays such covers, but only the covers are displayed; the actual books are not present. For this reason, bookstore 11 does not need to keep books in stock. The cover 51 has a barcode 52. The barcode 52 is used to identify the book and contains the book title and ISBN code in barcode format. The data read from the barcode 52 is an example of information used to identify the book selected by the user via the user terminal 22, and constitutes pre-purchase information. In Figure 5, when the user performs a barcode 52 scanning operation on the user terminal 22 (step S102), the scanned data is transmitted to the bookstore server 12. This scanned data is an example of information related to the book the user is purchasing. The receiving unit 13 (see Figure 1) in the bookstore server 12 is responsible for receiving the scanned data.

[0060] In response, the bookstore server 12 decides to prepare for printing (step S122). This decision process may also be a decision process to proceed to step S123, which will be described later. Specifically, if there is a decision process that returns Yes when the above read data is received, the fact that the above decision process returns Yes may be considered as a decision to prepare for printing.

[0061] The bookstore server 12 then requests book data from the publisher server 3. In response, the publisher server 3 performs a data match based on the book database 4 (see Figure 1) (step S141), and if the corresponding book exists in the data, it sends the book data to the bookstore server 12. This book data includes all the data necessary to print the entire book. In response, the bookstore server 12 sends the bibliographic data to the user terminal. Note that the bibliographic data here includes the book title, publisher, price, book summary, etc., but does not include data on the book's content. The bibliographic data may also include data for previewing, for example, the first few pages of the book. Furthermore, if the book data is large and communication takes time, the publisher server 3 may send the bibliographic data and book data separately; that is, the bibliographic data may be sent first, followed by the book data. Also, the bibliographic data may be stored in the bookstore server 12's storage 12g, or both the bibliographic data and book data may be stored in the bookstore server 12's storage 12g.

[0062] When the user terminal 22 receives bibliographic data, it displays the bibliographic information on the touch panel 22a (see Figure 3), and the user views it (step S103). The UI 30A shown in Figure 7 is a UI displayed on the user terminal 22, and shows an example of a state in which the bibliographic information 30b is displayed. UI30A displays the cover image 30a, and next to it, bibliographic information 30b including the title, price, publisher, and summary is displayed.

[0063] Furthermore, UI30A is equipped with a search window 30h, and instead of scanning a barcode, the user can also obtain bibliographic information by entering text into the search window 30h and tapping the search button 30j. In this case, the user terminal 22 sends the search information to the bookstore server 12, and the bookstore server 12 requests a query from the publisher server 3. The publisher server 3 then sends the search results to the bookstore server 12, and the bookstore server 12 sends the search results to the user terminal 22, which displays the search results in a list on the touch panel 22a. The user tapping one of the displayed search results is equivalent to scanning the cover barcode (step S102).

[0064] UI30A displays the following buttons: account management button 30c, "Proceed to purchase" button 30d, "Add to favorites" button 30e, "Scan cover barcode" button 30f, and "Preview" button 30g. When a user taps the account management button 30c, they are taken to an account management UI (not shown), where they can configure various account settings, such as their user ID, password, and default payment method. When a user taps the "Proceed to Purchase" button 30d, they are taken to a purchase processing UI (not shown), where they can specify their payment method and confirm the purchase of the book. When a user taps the "Add to Favorites" button 30e, the currently displayed book is added to their favorites list. When the user taps the "Read cover barcode" button 30f, the barcode is read by the camera function of the user terminal 22. When the user taps the "Preview" button 30g, the user transitions to UI30B shown in Figure 8, where they can preview a portion of the book. In Figure 8, the symbol 30k represents the preview image. When the user taps the "Stop Preview" button 30m in Figure 8, the user returns to UI30A shown in Figure 7. The UI control in the user operation terminal 22 is performed by the UI control program 22j (see Figure 3).

[0065] Returning to Figure 5, when the bookstore server 12 receives book data from the publisher server 3, it generates print data (step S123). At this point, it is not yet determined whether the user will actually purchase the book. However, if the user scans the book's barcode (step S102), it can be said that the likelihood of purchasing the book has increased, so the bookstore server 12 starts generating print data. This generation of print data is handled by the generation unit 15 (see Figure 1).

[0066] As mentioned above, when the user taps the "Preview" button 30g (see Figure 7) (step S104), the user terminal 22 requests the necessary preview data from the bookstore server 12, and in response, the bookstore server 12 sends the preview data to the user terminal 22. The user terminal 22 then displays the preview image 30k (see Figure 8). This preview data may be, for example, data for previewing the first few pages of the book, or data for previewing the entire book. If the preview data is for previewing the entire book, certain restrictions may be imposed, such as setting a time limit for the preview.

[0067] Next, when the user performs the purchase operation for a book (step S105), the user terminal 22 sends purchase processing information to the bookstore server 12. The purchase processing information includes book information and, for example, card information if the payment method is a credit card. In response, the bookstore server 12 performs the purchase process (step S124). This purchase process includes, for example, sending card information and purchase details to the credit card company if the payment method is a credit card, and receiving payment completion information from the credit card company. The fact that the book has been purchased is also sent to the publisher server 3. The bookstore server 12 then instructs the printing device 21 to execute printing (step S125), and the printing device 21, in response, executes printing of the book (step S131). The instruction unit 16 (see Figure 1) is responsible for issuing the printing instruction to the printing device 21. Furthermore, the printing device 21 may be provided with multiple paper output slots, and each customer may be assigned a specific paper output slot. This helps to prevent the mixing of printed materials between customers. Furthermore, the printing paper could be user-selectable. This would allow users to choose, for example, plain paper for paperback books, or photo paper if there are many photos.

[0068] When the printing is complete, the printing device 21 notifies the bookstore server 12, and the bookstore server 12, in turn, notifies the user terminal 22 that the printing is complete. Furthermore, the user terminal 22 may display the subsequent processing flow on the UI of the touch panel 22a. For example, if the cover page 51 in Figure 6 is to be used as is, instructions on how to set the cover page 51 on the completed printout may be displayed.

[0069] Here, we will explain one of the features of printing system 1. As explained with reference to Figures 1 and 5, the receiving unit 13 of the bookstore server 12 receives information related to the books to be purchased from the user's operating terminal 22. The decision unit 14 determines the processing to be performed based on the information received by the receiving unit 13. The instruction unit 16 instructs the printing device 21 to perform the processes related to printing the book, based on the decision made by the decision unit 14. The receiving unit 13 is capable of receiving pre-purchase information, which includes information for identifying the book selected by the user via the user operation terminal 22, and purchase processing information, which includes information related to the user's book purchase process. The decision unit 14 then decides to perform the preparation for printing the book (step S122) based on the receipt of pre-purchase information, and decides to print the book (step S124) based on the receipt of purchase processing information.

[0070] With this type of printing system 1, the decision unit 14 prepares for printing even before the user actually purchases the book. Therefore, compared to the conventional method where the printing preparation starts and printing is executed only after the user has actually purchased the book, the waiting time for the user until the book is completed can be reduced. In this embodiment, the decision by the decision unit 14 to execute print preparation means that print preparation is actually performed in at least one of the bookstore server 12 and the printing device 21 before the user actually performs the book purchase operation.

[0071] In the above embodiment, the print management device of the printing system 1 is configured by the bookstore server 12, but the printing device 21 may also be equipped with the functions of the print management device, i.e., the bookstore server 12. Specifically, at least one or all of the receiving unit 13, determination unit 14, generation unit 15, and instruction unit 16 shown in Figure 1 may be provided in the printing device 21. Alternatively, the user terminal 22 may be equipped with the functions of a print management device, i.e., a bookstore server 12. Specifically, at least one or all of the receiving unit 13, determination unit 14, generation unit 15, and instruction unit 16 shown in Figure 1 may be provided on the user terminal 22, meaning that each function may be realized by the execution of an application installed on the user terminal 22. Furthermore, the user terminal 22 is not limited to a terminal owned by the bookstore 11, but may also be a personal information terminal owned by the user. Furthermore, the purchase operation (step S105) on the user operation terminal 22 shown in Figure 5 may also be performed on other terminals owned by the bookstore, such as a cash register. In that case, user information will be entered on the other terminal.

[0072] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the determination unit 14 used the barcode 52 (see Figure 6) reading data as pre-purchase information and decided to prepare for printing upon receiving said pre-purchase information (step S122 in Figure 5). However, it is not limited to this, and the decision to prepare for printing may also be made based on other user actions to the user operation terminal 22. For example, in the UI 30A shown in Figure 7, the decision unit 14 may decide to prepare for printing based on whether the "Proceed to Purchase" button 30d or the "Add to Favorites" button 30e is tapped. This is because the tapping of such buttons indicates a high probability that the selected book will be purchased. In this case, the tapping of each button is notified from the user terminal 22 to the bookstore server 12. Such notifications are an example of pre-purchase information sent from the user terminal 22 to the bookstore server 12. By preparing for printing based on user actions that indicate a high probability of purchasing the book, it is possible to reduce wasted printing preparation time and shorten the user's waiting time until the book is completed.

[0073] Furthermore, in the UI30A shown in Figure 7, the decision unit 14 may decide to prepare for printing based on the tapping of the "Preview" button 30g. This is because the tapping of the "Preview" button 30g indicates a high probability that the selected book will be purchased. In this case, the tapping of the "Preview" button 30g is notified from the user terminal 22 to the bookstore server 12. Such a notification is an example of information indicating that the contents of the book are being previewed on the user terminal 22, and is an example of pre-purchase information sent from the user terminal 22 to the bookstore server 12. By preparing for printing based on user actions that indicate a high probability of purchasing the book, it is possible to reduce wasted printing preparation time and shorten the user's waiting time until the book is completed.

[0074] In addition, other user actions that are considered to indicate a high probability of book purchase may be used in the decision to prepare for printing. For example, if the book preview time is long, it is considered that the book is likely to be purchased, so printing preparation may be initiated after a predetermined time has elapsed since the book preview began. Also, if the page turning speed during preview is slow, specifically if the time between opening one page and opening the next page is longer than predetermined, it is considered that the book is likely to be purchased, so printing preparation may be initiated. When such user actions occur, the user terminal 22 notifies the bookstore server 12 of this fact.

[0075] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the print preparation includes the generation of print data (step S123). This allows printing to start quickly after the user actually purchases a book, effectively reducing waiting time.

[0076] Next, a modified example of the above embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 9. The difference in Figure 9 from the flowchart shown in Figure 5 is that when the bookstore server 12 makes a decision to prepare for printing in step S122, the bookstore server 12 instructs the printing device 21 to prepare for printing. In response, the printing device 21 prepares for printing (step S130). The printing preparations performed by the printing device 21 include, for example, waking from sleep mode, removing the cap, cleaning the print head before printing, and feeding paper. Since the printing preparations in the printing system 1 include the preparation operations in the printing device 21, the time from when the user actually purchases a book until printing begins can be shortened, effectively reducing the user's waiting time.

[0077] Sleep mode is a mode in which the power supply is suppressed when the printer 21 does not operate for a predetermined period of time and there is no user input. It takes a certain amount of time to return from sleep mode to normal mode. Furthermore, cap release refers to the action of separating the cap (not shown) that covers the inkjet recording head (not shown) from the inkjet recording head, and cap release takes a certain amount of time. Pre-print head cleaning involves wiping the ink ejection surface of the inkjet recording head (not shown) with a wiper (not shown), or creating negative pressure inside the cap while the cap covers the inkjet recording head (not shown) to draw in the ink. Such head cleaning takes a certain amount of time. Furthermore, the paper feeding operation involves feeding paper from the paper cassette (not shown) and sending it to the printing position. Furthermore, if the printing device 21 is a laser printer, printing preparation may include, for example, powering on the heater and turning on the charger drum. These operations take a certain amount of time.

[0078] Next, we will describe modified examples of each of the above embodiments with reference to Figure 10. When the decision unit 14 of the bookstore server 12 decides to proceed with print preparation (step S122 in Figures 5 and 9), the bookstore server 12, or in addition to it, the printing device 21, starts print preparation (step S201). However, if the decision unit 14 meets a predetermined condition (Yes in step S202), it decides to cancel the print preparation (step S203). This helps to suppress problems that may occur when continuing the print preparation process.

[0079] Furthermore, canceling print preparation means, for example, if print preparation involves generating print data and the generation of print data is in progress, stopping the generation of print data and discarding the print data generated up to that point. If the generation of print data has already begun, it means discarding all completed print data. However, this does not have to be limited to such cancellations of print preparation; even interrupting print preparation, for example, if the generation of print data is in progress, allows the printer to retain the print data generated up to that point. Examples of problems that may arise from continuing the preparation for printing include the fact that generating print data consumes the capacity of the data storage area of ​​the bookstore server 12, such as RAM 12c and storage 12g, and this consumption of data storage area is one example of such a problem. In addition, if the printing device 21 is left uncapped for a long period of time, clogging may occur in the ink ejection nozzle, and this clogging is another example of the above-mentioned problem.

[0080] The above-mentioned specified conditions are described below. The specified conditions include information received from the user operation terminal 22 regarding user actions on the user operation terminal 22. For example, if a user views information about a first book and then views information about a second book, the probability of them purchasing the first book tends to be low. A user viewing information about a first book and then viewing information about a second book is one example of the above user action. When such a user action occurs, the user terminal 22 notifies the bookstore server 12 of this fact, and the decision unit 14 of the bookstore server 12 decides to cancel the printing preparation based on the notification. By canceling the print preparation based on the above user actions, it is possible to prevent the cancellation of print preparation from being treated as an inappropriate action.

[0081] Other examples of the above user actions include cases where no change is detected in the motion sensor 22n (see Figure 3) or position sensor 22p (see Figure 3) of the user terminal 22. Further examples of the above user actions include cases where the camera 22m is an in-camera that captures the user's face and the camera fails to recognize the user's face, or when the user terminal 22 becomes inactive for a predetermined period of time and the screen locks. These user actions are considered to indicate that the user has moved away from the user terminal 22 and is unlikely to purchase a book. Furthermore, if the user-operated terminal 22 is a personal information terminal owned by the user, examples of the above-mentioned user actions include cases where the terminal's movement detected by the motion sensor 22n (see Figure 3) is vigorous, or when the terminal's position, based on the position sensor 22p (see Figure 3), is outside the bookstore 11. In such cases, the likelihood of purchasing a book is considered low.

[0082] Furthermore, the above-mentioned conditions may include information related to the status of the print preparation process. For example, if a long time elapses between the completion of print preparation and the user deciding whether or not to proceed with the book purchase, it may lead to various problems, such as unnecessary power consumption in the printing device 21 or encroachment on the storage area of ​​the print data in the bookstore server 12. Therefore, by including information related to the execution status of print preparation in the above-mentioned predetermined conditions, the above-mentioned problems can be suppressed. The status of print preparation here includes the time elapsed since the completion of print data generation, the level of pressure on the data storage area of ​​the bookstore server 12, and the power consumption of the printing device 21 after it has woken up from sleep mode. These print preparation statuses can cause problems in each device.

[0083] Next, we will describe modified examples of each of the above embodiments with reference to Figure 11. As explained with reference to Figure 1, the receiving unit 13 of the bookstore server 12 is capable of receiving pre-purchase information from the first user operation terminal 22A and the second user operation terminal 22B. In Figure 11, when the decision unit 14 of the bookstore server 12 receives pre-purchase information for the first book selected by the first user operation terminal 22A and pre-purchase information for the second book selected by the second user operation terminal 22B (step S301), it proceeds to step S302. In step S302, the determination unit 14 divides the information relating to the first book, i.e., the data of the first book, and generates first partial book information. Next, in step S303, the determination unit 14 divides the information relating to the second book, i.e., the data of the second book, and generates second partial book information. Here, the first partial book information is, for example, the initial data obtained by dividing the data of the first book, and the second partial book information is, for example, the initial data obtained by dividing the data of the second book.

[0084] Next, the decision unit 14 decides to perform print preparation with respect to the first partial book information and generates print data (step S304). The decision unit 14 also decides to perform print preparation with respect to the second partial book information and generates print data (step S305). This type of processing improves convenience for multiple users by preparing the printout for each user when multiple users have selected a book. Furthermore, by preparing only a portion of the book for printing rather than the entire book, the data generation load and the use of data storage space can be reduced.

[0085] Furthermore, the data for a book can be divided into multiple equal parts as a whole, or it can be divided into chapters. Furthermore, restrictions may be placed on the first and second parts of the book information according to the specifications of the printing device 21. For example, the maximum number of sheets that can be loaded into the processing tray (not shown) of the post-processing unit 21k (see Figure 8) may be set as the maximum number of pages.

[0086] Next, in Figure 11, if the decision unit 14 receives purchase processing information for the second book following the purchase processing information for the first book (Yes in step S306), it decides to print based on the first partial book information and instructs the printing device 21 to perform the printing, and the printing device 21 performs the printing (step S307). Furthermore, following the decision to print based on the first partial book information, the decision unit 14 decides to perform printing based on the second partial book information and instructs the printing device 21 to perform the printing, and the printing device 21 performs the printing (step S308). This processing method improves convenience for subsequent users when multiple users purchase a book, compared to printing the entire first book for the first user who decided to purchase it, and then printing the entire second book for the next user. Specifically, since the first and second users can be provided with a portion of the book before the entire book is printed, each user can view a portion of the book while waiting.

[0087] Furthermore, if multiple printing devices 21 are installed, for example, one of them may be designated as the first printing device 21A and the other as the second printing device 21B, the decision unit 14 may decide to perform the printing preparation for the first partial book information at the first printing device 21A, and to perform the printing preparation for the second partial book information at the second printing device 21B, and then execute these decisions. This type of processing allows for further improvement of convenience for multiple users when multiple users are viewing a book, by preparing the printout for each user on a separate printing device.

[0088] Furthermore, the ranges of the first and second partial book information may be changed according to the number of waiting jobs that have not yet been printed by the printing device 21. For example, the range of the first partial book information when the number of waiting jobs is a first number is defined as the first range, and the range of the first partial book information when the number of waiting jobs is a second number greater than the first number is defined as the second range, and the determination unit 14 expands the second range compared to the first range. As a specific example, suppose the first book consists of chapters 1 through 10. If the number of pending jobs is 1 to 4, only chapter 1 will be considered as the first partial book information. If the number of pending jobs is 5 to 19, chapters 1 through 3 will be considered as the first partial book information. If the number of pending jobs is 20 or more, chapters 1 through 5 will be considered as the first partial book information. If the number of pending jobs is zero, all chapters may be considered as the first partial book information. By processing in this manner, the following effects can be obtained. As the number of pending jobs increases, the user's waiting time also increases, but since the determination unit 14 expands the second range compared to the first range, the printable area that the user can view increases when the user's waiting time increases, thereby improving user convenience. Furthermore, although the above describes the first part of the book information, the range of the second part of the book information may also be changed according to the number of waiting jobs.

[0089] Next, another embodiment in which multiple printing devices 21 are installed will be described with reference to Figure 12. Here again, one of the multiple printing devices 21 will be designated as the first printing device 21A, and the other as the second printing device 21B. Based on receiving pre-purchase information for the first book selected by the first user terminal 22A (step S401), the decision unit 14 decides to prepare the first book for printing using the first printing device 21A and instructs the first printing device 21A to do so (step S402). Also, based on receiving pre-purchase information for the second book selected by the second user terminal 22B (step S402), the decision unit 14 decides to prepare the second book for printing using the second printing device 21B and instructs the second printing device 21B to do so (step S404). This type of processing improves convenience for multiple users by preparing each user's book for printing on a separate printer when multiple users have selected books.

[0090] Furthermore, another embodiment in which multiple printing devices 21 are installed will be described with reference to Figure 13. Here again, one of the multiple printing devices 21 will be designated as the first printing device 21A, and the other as the second printing device 21B. The decision unit 14 decides to prepare the first part, which is part of the book, for printing using the first printing device 21A, and instructs the first printing device 21A (step S501). Furthermore, if the receiving unit 13 receives purchase processing information (Yes in step S502), the decision unit 14 decides to print the first part using the first printing device 21A, and instructs the first printing device 21A (step S503), and decides to print the second part, which is part of the book but not part of the first part, using the second printing device 21B, and instructs the second printing device 21B (step S504).

[0091] In other words, this embodiment involves dividing a book and printing different sections using multiple printing devices. This process reduces the printing time required to print a single book. In the above embodiment, an example was described in which a single book is divided into two and different sections are printed using two printing devices. However, if there are three or more printing devices, a single book may be divided into three or more sections and different sections may be printed using each printing device. Furthermore, regarding the print preparation (step S130 in Figure 9), instructions may be given only to the first printing device 21A, and if there are no waiting jobs on the second printing device 21B when the actual print execution is instructed, the second printing device 21B may be used to perform the print. Alternatively, print preparation may be instructed to both the first printing device 21A and the second printing device 21B from the outset.

[0092] Furthermore, if the number of user terminals 22 that have transmitted pre-purchase information is less than the number of printing devices 21 that the instruction unit 16 can instruct to perform the printing process for the book, the decision unit 14 may decide to print the first part using the first printing device 21A and the second part using the second printing device 21B. This type of processing can reduce the printing time required to print a book.

[0093] Furthermore, if the number of user terminals 22 that have sent pre-purchase information is greater than the number of printing devices 21 that the instruction unit 16 can instruct to perform the printing process for the book, the decision unit 14 may decide to print using the printing device 21 with the fewest pending jobs that have not yet been completed, in the order in which the receiving unit 13 receives the purchase processing information. This type of processing can minimize user waiting time.

[0094] Furthermore, another embodiment in which multiple printing devices 21 are installed will be described with reference to Figure 14. Here again, one of the multiple printing devices 21 will be designated as the first printing device 21A, and the other as the second printing device 21B. When the receiving unit 13 receives pre-purchase information regarding the first book selected by the first user operation terminal 22A (step S601), the decision unit 14 decides to prepare the first book for printing using the first printing device 21A and instructs the first printing device 21A to do so (step S602). Also, when the receiving unit 13 receives pre-purchase information regarding the second book selected by the second user operation terminal 22B (step S603), the decision unit 14 decides to prepare the second book for printing using the first printing device 21A and instructs the first printing device 21A to do so (step S604).

[0095] Next, if the receiving unit 13 receives purchase processing information for the second book after receiving purchase processing information for the first book (Yes in step S605), the decision unit 14 calculates a first estimated time until printing of the first book is completed in the first printing device 21A (step S606). Next, the decision unit 14 calculates a second estimated time if the second printing device 21B is to perform printing preparations for the second book (step S607). Then, if the first estimated time is longer than the second estimated time (Yes in step S608), the decision unit 14 decides to discard the printing preparations for the second book in the first printing device 21A and to perform the printing preparations and printing of the second book in the second printing device 21B, and instructs the second printing device 21B (step S610). This type of processing allows for efficient use of multiple printing devices 21, thereby effectively reducing user waiting times.

[0096] We will also describe other examples of how to print books. The determination unit 14 may be capable of executing a mode in which a composite book, formed by combining a part of a first book and a part of a second book different from the first book, is to be prepared for printing and printed by the printing device 21. Here, "first book" and "second book" describe the relationship between two books when multiple books are combined, and are not limited to the case of combining two books; it is of course possible to combine three or more books. To select a portion of a book, for example, in UI30A shown in Figure 7, a button (not shown) labeled "Make this portion of this book part of the composite book" can be provided. Tapping this button transitions to a selection UI (not shown), where the portion can be selected. The portion of a book can be selected from, for example, any page or chapter of a given book. Figure 15 shows the processing flow after transitioning to the selection UI. The decision unit 14 displays a UI prompting the user to select a purchase section (step S701), and when the user selects a purchase section, it retrieves the book data for the selected section (step S702). If the user selects the next book (Yes in step S703), it returns to step S701. When the user has completed all selections (No in step S703), the decision unit 14 synthesizes the book data (step S704). The above processing may start before the user completes the purchase operation. The above-described process improves user convenience. Furthermore, when performing the above processing, the price of the book is calculated by the determination unit 14 summing up the prices of the selected parts.

[0097] Next, we will describe an example of using a machine learning model. The bookstore server 12 shown in Figure 16 differs from the above-described embodiment in that it includes a pre-trained model 12p in its storage 12g. The pre-trained model 12p consists of a combination of a program and pre-trained parameters. As described above, in the UI30A shown in Figure 7, tapping the "Proceed to Purchase" button 30d, tapping the "Add to Favorites" button 30e, tapping the "Preview" button 30g, a long preview time, and slow page turning speed during preview are all considered user actions that indicate a high probability of purchasing a book. Therefore, by using a trained model obtained by machine learning with training data that takes such user actions as input information and whether or not the user actually purchased the book as output information, it is possible to estimate the probability of a user purchasing a book with high accuracy. Furthermore, the input information above may include all of the user actions mentioned above, or it may include one or any combination of these user actions. In particular, the book preview time is an example of the time spent viewing information related to a book, and a longer viewing time indicates a greater tendency for the user to purchase the book.

[0098] Figure 17 shows an example of processing using the trained model 12p. When the decision unit 14 of the bookstore server 12 (see Figure 1) receives information related to user actions from the user operation terminal 22 (step S801), it estimates the probability that the user will purchase a book using the trained model 12p (step S802). By executing the trained model 12p, the bookstore server 12 realizes an estimation unit that estimates the probability that the user will purchase a book.

[0099] Here, after the user performs a login operation (step S101 in Figure 5), the user terminal 22 sends information related to the user action to the bookstore server 12 at predetermined intervals. The predetermined interval can be set to an appropriate time, such as 10 to 60 seconds. Furthermore, the transmission of information related to the user action from the user terminal 22 to the bookstore server 12 may be performed only when a new user action occurs.

[0100] Then, the decision unit 14 of the bookstore server 12 decides to prepare for printing if the probability estimated by the estimation unit exceeds a predetermined value Tha (step S804). This decision to prepare for printing corresponds to step S122 in Figure 5. By using the pre-trained model 12p in this way to estimate the probability that a user will purchase a book, and then preparing for printing based on the results, printing preparations can be avoided and user convenience can be improved.

[0101] Machine learning algorithms such as logistic regression analysis, decision trees, deep neural networks, convolutional neural networks, and recurrent neural networks can be used. The pre-trained model 12p is generated in advance based on a predetermined number of training data, but it may be further trained based on information received from the user terminal 22, i.e., information related to the user actions described above.

[0102] In the embodiment described above, the bookstore server 12 decides to prepare for printing when the estimated probability exceeds a predetermined value Tha, but it may also instruct the printing device 21 to execute printing based on the above probability. For example, if the above probability is between 50% and 80%, it may only prepare for printing, and if the above probability exceeds 80%, it may instruct the printing device 21 to execute printing, or it may decide what to do based on the above probability. Therefore, after deciding to prepare for printing in step S804, it may return to step S801 and continue to execute steps S801 and S802.

[0103] Furthermore, if the printing device 21 has started printing and it determines that the user has not purchased the book, the bookstore server 12 may decide to stop printing and instruct the printing device 21 to do so. The determination that the user has not purchased the book may be made by adopting, for example, the predetermined conditions in step S202 shown in Figure 10. In this case, the already produced printed materials may be treated as work-in-progress inventory. In this case, it is preferable for the bookstore server 12 to generate and maintain inventory data that includes book information and printed page information. The bookstore server 12 may then refer to the above inventory data when it decides to print because the probability of another user purchasing the same book has increased, and instruct the printing device 21 to print the remaining pages. In this way, the printing of the book can be completed. This process prevents waste of printed materials, and allows users who decide to purchase the book later to obtain it more quickly.

[0104] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments and modifications described above, and it goes without saying that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention as described in the claims, and these are also included within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0105] 1…Printing system, 3…Publisher server, 4…Book database, 10…Internet, 11…Bookstore, 12…Bookstore server, 12a…Display unit, 12b…CPU, 12c…RAM, 12d…ROM, 12e…Operation unit, 12f…Communication interface, 12g…Storage, 12h…OS, 12j…System control program, 12k…Printer driver, 12m…Printer monitoring program, 12n…Customer database, 13…Receiver unit, 14…Decision unit, 15…Generation unit, 16…Instruction unit, 17…Transmission unit, 21…Printing device, 21A…First printing device, 21B…Second printing device, 21a…Display unit, 21b…Operation unit, 21c…Control unit, 21d…CPU, 21e…RAM, 21f…Non-volatile memory, 21g…Communication interface, 21h…Recording unit, 21j…Paper transport unit, 21k…Post-processing unit, 22…User operation terminal, 22A…First user operation terminal, 22B…Second user operation terminal, 22a…Touch panel, 22b…CPU, 22c…RAM, 22d…ROM, 22f…Communication I / F, 22g…Storage, 22h…OS, 22j…UI control program, 22m…Camera, 22n…Motion sensor, 22p…Position sensor, 30A, 30B…UI, 30a…Cover image, 30b…Bibliographic information, 30c…Account management button, 30d…"Proceed to purchase" button, 30e…"Add to favorites" button, 30f…"Scan cover barcode" button, 30g…"Preview" button, 30h…Search window, 30j…Search button, 30k…Preview image, 30m…"Stop preview" button, 51…Cover, 52…Barcode

Claims

1. A receiving unit that receives information related to books purchased from an external terminal operated by the user, A decision unit that determines the processing to be performed based on the information received by the receiving unit, Based on the determination of the aforementioned determination unit, an instruction unit instructs the printing device to perform the processes related to printing the book, Equipped with, The receiving unit is Pre-purchase information including information for identifying the book selected by the user via the external terminal, Purchase processing information including information related to the user's purchase process of the aforementioned book, It is possible to receive, The aforementioned determination unit, Based on the receipt of the aforementioned pre-purchase information, the decision is made to proceed with the preparation for printing the aforementioned book. Based on the receipt of the aforementioned purchase processing information, it is decided to print the aforementioned book. A print management device characterized by the following features.

2. In the print management device according to claim 1, The aforementioned print preparation includes the generation of print data, A print management device characterized by the following features.

3. In the print management device according to claim 1, The aforementioned printing preparation includes preparation operations in the printing apparatus. A print management device characterized by the following features.

4. In the print management device according to claim 1, The aforementioned pre-purchase information includes information that the contents of the book are being previewed on the external device. When the contents of the book are previewed on the external terminal, the decision unit decides to proceed with preparing the book for printing. A print management device characterized by the following features.

5. In the print management device according to claim 1, After deciding to perform the print preparation, the decision unit decides to cancel the print preparation if predetermined conditions are met. A print management device characterized by the following features.

6. In the print management device according to claim 5, The aforementioned predetermined conditions include information received from the external terminal relating to user actions on the external terminal, A print management device characterized by the following features.

7. In the print management device according to claim 5, The aforementioned predetermined conditions include information relating to the status of the print preparation, A print management device characterized by the following features.

8. In the print management device according to claim 1, The aforementioned print preparation includes the generation of print data, The receiving unit is capable of receiving the pre-purchase information from a second external terminal, which is different from the first external terminal, with the external terminal being designated as the first external terminal. The aforementioned determination unit, Based on the reception of the pre-purchase information relating to the first book selected by the first external terminal, the system decides to perform the print preparation with respect to the first partial book information, which is a part obtained by dividing the information relating to the first book. Based on the receipt of the pre-purchase information relating to the second book selected by the second external terminal, the system decides to perform the print preparation with respect to the second partial book information, which is a part obtained by dividing the information relating to the second book. A print management device characterized by the following features.

9. In the print management device according to claim 8, When the receiving unit receives the purchase processing information for the second book following the purchase processing information for the first book, the decision unit decides to perform printing based on the second partial book information following printing based on the first partial book information. A print management device characterized by the following features.

10. In the print management device according to claim 9, The range of the first partial book information when the number of waiting jobs that have not yet been printed by the printing device is a first number is defined as the first range, and the range of the first partial book information when the number of waiting jobs is a second number greater than the first number is defined as the second range. The determination unit expands the second range compared to the first range. A print management device characterized by the following features.

11. In the print management device according to claim 8, The aforementioned printing apparatus shall be designated as the first printing apparatus, and a printing apparatus different from the first printing apparatus shall be designated as the second printing apparatus. The aforementioned determination unit, It is decided that the printing preparations for the first partial book information will be carried out in the first printing apparatus. It is decided that the printing preparations for the second partial book information will be carried out in the second printing apparatus. A print management device characterized by the following features.

12. In the print management device according to claim 1, The receiving unit is capable of receiving the pre-purchase information from a second external terminal, which is different from the first external terminal, with the external terminal being designated as the first external terminal. The instruction unit can instruct a second printing device, which is different from the first printing device, to perform the printing process of the book, with the printing device being the first printing device. The aforementioned determination unit, Based on the receipt of the pre-purchase information relating to the first book selected by the first external terminal, it is decided to perform the printing preparation for the first book using the first printing device. Based on the receipt of the pre-purchase information relating to the second book selected by the second external terminal, it is decided that the second printing device will perform the printing preparations for the second book. A print management device characterized by the following features.

13. In the print management device according to claim 1, The instruction unit can instruct a second printing device, which is different from the first printing device, to perform the printing process of the book, with the printing device being the first printing device. The decision unit decides to perform the printing preparation for the first part, which is part of the book, using the first printing device. Furthermore, when the receiving unit receives the purchase processing information, the decision unit decides to print the first portion with the first printing device, and decides to print the second portion of the book, which is a part of the book other than the first portion, with the second printing device. A print management device characterized by the following features.

14. In the print management device according to claim 13, The determination unit determines if the number of external terminals that have transmitted the pre-purchase information is less than the number of printing devices that the instruction unit can instruct to perform the printing process of the book. It is decided to print the first portion using the first printing apparatus. It is decided to print the second portion using the second printing device. A print management device characterized by the following features.

15. In the print management device according to claim 1, The determination unit is capable of executing a mode in which a composite book, formed by combining a part of a first book as the book and a part of a second book different from the first book, is the target of the printing preparation and printing by the printing device. A print management device characterized by the following features.

16. In the print management device according to claim 1, The determination unit, if the number of external terminals that have transmitted the pre-purchase information is greater than the number of printing devices that the instruction unit can instruct to perform the printing process for the book, determines that the receiving unit will print using the printing device with the fewest pending jobs that have not yet been completed, in the order in which the purchase processing information is received. A print management device characterized by the following features.

17. In the print management device according to claim 1, The receiving unit is capable of receiving the pre-purchase information from a second external terminal, which is different from the first external terminal, with the external terminal being designated as the first external terminal. The instruction unit can instruct a second printing device, which is different from the first printing device, to perform the printing process of the book, with the printing device being the first printing device. When the decision unit decides to perform the printing preparation for the first book selected by the first external terminal and the printing preparation for the second book selected by the second external terminal using the first printing device, and the receiving unit receives the purchase processing information for the second book after receiving the purchase processing information for the first book, The determination unit compares a first estimated time until the first book is completed in the first printing apparatus with a second estimated time when the second printing apparatus is performing the printing preparations for the second book. If the first estimated time is longer than the second estimated time, it is decided to discard the printing preparation for the second book in the first printing device and to perform the printing preparation and printing for the second book in the second printing device. A print management device characterized by the following features.

18. The print management device according to any one of claims 1 to 17, The aforementioned printing apparatus, A printing system characterized by comprising the following features.

19. The print management device according to any one of claims 1 to 17, The aforementioned external terminal, A printing system characterized by comprising the following features.

20. The print management device according to any one of claims 1 to 17, The aforementioned external terminal, The aforementioned printing apparatus, A printing system characterized by comprising the following features.

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