Information processing device and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing device and program capable of using an apparatus on the basis of a contract between an organization to which a user belongs and a contract source if the user belongs to the organization contracted with the same contract source even in the case that a processing request to an apparatus from the user does not correspond to a use condition based on the contract with the contract source.SOLUTION: A control part of an apparatus 3 receives a processing request to an apparatus from a user, acquires a second use condition based on a contract with the same contract source on the basis of information showing a relation between an organization to which the user belongs and the contract source in the case that the received processing request does not correspond to a first use condition based on the contract with the contract source about the apparatus, and controls the apparatus 3 so as to process the processing request on the basis of the acquired second use condition.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, an image forming system has been proposed that enables easy and reliable switching, operation, and management of an image forming apparatus in response to a change in maintenance contract type (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] The image forming system described in Patent Document 1 is composed of a firmware update module that updates the firmware of the image forming device in accordance with a maintenance contract for the image forming device, a profile instruction module that instructs the image forming device to set setting items and corresponding setting values ​​corresponding to the maintenance contract, and an image forming device that reads the firmware update module to update the firmware, and also reads the profile instruction module and sets the setting items and corresponding setting values ​​corresponding to the maintenance contract for the image forming device based on the instructions of the profile module. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-56771 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The objective of the present invention is to provide an information processing device and a program that enable the use of a device based on a contract between an organization to which the user belongs and a contracting party, even if a processing request from a user for a device does not comply with the usage conditions based on a contract with a contracting party for the device, if the user belongs to an organization that has a contract with the same contracting party. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] [1] A processor, The processor receives a processing request for a selected function from a user's terminal among a plurality of functions of the device; When the received processing request does not correspond to a first condition of use based on a contract regarding available functions of the device between a contracting party and an organization to which the user belongs that manages and uses the device, acquiring information indicating a relationship between the organization to which the user belongs and the contracting party from a storage unit; acquiring, from the user's terminal, second conditions of use based on a contract between the same contracting party and an organization to which the user belongs that does not manage the device but uses the device, based on the acquired information; The information processing device controls the device so as to process the processing request based on the acquired second usage condition. [2] The information processing device according to [1], wherein the second usage conditions are obtained based on the processing request. [3] the processing request includes the second condition of use; The information processing device according to [2], wherein the second usage conditions are acquired from the processing request. [4] The processing request includes information associated with the second condition of use, The information processing device according to [2], wherein the second usage conditions are acquired by acquiring the information from the processing request and acquiring the second usage conditions from the acquired information. [5] The information processing device according to [4], wherein the information indicates a source from which the second terms of use are obtained. [6] The information processing device according to [1], further comprising a storage means for storing the processing performed based on the second usage conditions as history information. [7] The information processing device according to [6], wherein when the processor acquires the second usage conditions, the processor stores the second usage conditions in the storage means. [8] The information processing device according to [1], wherein the processing request is a processing request related to image processing. [9] The information processing device according to [8], wherein the image processing-related processing includes color printing, a maximum number of pages to be printed, or transfer of scanned images.

[10] The information processing device according to [8], wherein the image processing-related processing includes security-related processing.

[11] When the processing request is received from a user who does not have a contract with the contracting party, the processing of the received processing request is performed on the user as a guest user. 10 ] An information processing device according to the present invention.

[12] The information processing device according to

[11] , wherein the guest user has more limited functions available than those available under the first conditions of use.

[13] The information processing device according to

[12] , wherein the functions to be restricted include color printing, a maximum number of pages that can be printed, or transfer of scanned images.

[14] The information processing device according to

[11] , wherein the guest user is provided with more limited functions than those available under the first terms of use, except for the processing related to security.

[15] The information processing device according to [1], wherein the processor does not execute the accepted processing request if it cannot comply with the acquired second terms of use.

[16] To the computer, receiving a processing request for a selected function from a user's terminal among a plurality of functions possessed by the device; When the received processing request does not correspond to a first condition of use based on a contract regarding available functions of the device between a contracting party and an organization to which the user belongs that manages and uses the device, acquiring information indicating a relationship between the organization to which the user belongs and the contracting party from a storage unit; acquiring, from the user's terminal, second conditions of use based on a contract between the same contracting party and an organization to which the user belongs that does not manage the device but uses the device, based on the acquired information; A program for controlling the device so as to process the processing request based on the acquired second usage conditions. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the inventions of claims 1, 15, and 16, even if a processing request from a user to a device does not correspond to the usage conditions based on the contract with the contracting party for the device, if the user belongs to an organization that has a contract with the same contracting party, the device can be used based on the contract between the organization to which the user belongs and the contracting party. According to the invention as set forth in claim 2, the second usage condition can be acquired by analyzing the processing request. According to the invention as set forth in claim 3, the second usage condition can be directly acquired from the processing request. According to the invention as set forth in claim 4, the second usage conditions can be acquired by accessing the information included in the processing request. According to the invention as set forth in claim 5, the second use condition can be acquired by accessing the acquisition destination included in the processing request. According to the invention as set forth in claim 6, it is possible to carry out the billing process based on the history information. According to the invention as set forth in claim 7, at the time of the next processing request, it is possible to omit the determination as to whether or not the user belongs to an organization that has a contract with the same contracting party. According to the invention as set forth in claims 8 and 9, the user can use a device having an image processing function based on a contract between the organization to which the user belongs and the contracting party. According to the invention as set forth in claim 10, security-related processing can be performed in accordance with the second usage condition. According to the invention as defined in claim 11, even guest users can use the device. According to the invention as defined in claims 12 to 14, even guest users can use the device within the scope of restricted functions. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the server. [Diagram 3]FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a certificate information table held by the server. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a job history information table held by the server. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a device configuration. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a contract information table held by the device. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user terminal. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a print job. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the information processing system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, components having substantially the same functions are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations will be omitted.

[0010] [Summary of the embodiment] An information processing device according to this embodiment includes a processor, which receives a processing request for a device from a user, and if the received processing request does not correspond to first usage conditions based on a contract with a contracting party for the device, obtains second usage conditions based on a contract with the same contracting party based on information indicating the relationship between the organization to which the user belongs and the contracting party, and controls the device to process the processing request based on the obtained second usage conditions.

[0011] A "contract" refers to a contract concluded between the contracting party (e.g., Company F) that provides the equipment and the party that uses the equipment (e.g., Company A or Company B) that stipulates the terms of use of the equipment and the terms of maintenance and support. The party that uses the equipment (e.g., Company A) may manage the equipment by installing it in a shared space. A shared space is a space where users belonging to different organizations (e.g., Company A or Company B) can share and use equipment. Examples of shared spaces include shared offices, rental offices, and coworking spaces. The party that manages the equipment may also be the contracting party.

[0012] "First terms of use" refer to the terms of use of the equipment based on a contract between the contracting party (e.g., Company F) and the party that manages and uses the equipment (e.g., Company A). Second terms of use refer to the terms of use of the equipment based on a contract between the contracting party (e.g., Company F) and the party that uses the equipment (e.g., Company B). The party that provides, uses or manages the equipment is usually an organization. In this specification, an organization refers to, for example, a company, a university, a sole proprietor, etc.

[0013] When the processing request "does not comply with the first usage condition", for example, there are the following cases. (a) When the restrictions on the functions of the device differ between the first and second conditions of use, and the processing request is a process related to the restrictions on the functions. For example, the case may be where the processing request is for color printing, transfer of a scanned image, or processing related to security, and the first usage conditions prohibit color printing, transfer of a scanned image, and processing related to security, while the second usage conditions permit these. Here, color printing, transfer of a scanned image, and processing related to security are examples of processing related to image processing. (b) When the upper limit of the number of uses is different between the first and second terms of use, and the processing request is for processing related to the upper limit of the number of uses. For example, a first usage condition may have a maximum print count of 50 sheets, whereas a second usage condition may have a maximum print count of 100 sheets. Here, the maximum print count is an example of a process related to image processing. (c) If the billing unit differs between the first and second terms of use For example, under the first usage conditions, "N-up printing," in which N images are printed on one side of a sheet of paper, is charged the same as single-sided printing, while under the second usage conditions, the charge is based on the number of N images.

[0014] The user of the device is not limited to a user who belongs to an organization that has a contract with the contracting party, but may be a user who has no contract with the contracting party (including a user who belongs to an organization that has no contract with the contracting party). In the case of a user who has no contract with the contracting party, security-related processing may be performed even if security-related processing is not requested.

[0015] [Embodiment Mode] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] This information processing system 1 has a server 2, a device 3, and multiple user terminals 4A, 4B (collectively referred to as "user terminals 4") used by users (also referred to as users) of the device 3. The server 2, the device 3, and the user terminal 4 are connected to each other via a network 5. Note that while one device 3 is illustrated in the figure, there may be multiple devices. The user terminal 4 may also be connected to the network 5 when using the device 3. A control unit 30 of the device 3, which will be described later, is an example of an information processing device.

[0017] The device 3 and multiple user terminals 4 are installed in a shared space 6. Fig. 1 shows, for example, a case where an employee Pa belonging to company A uses a user terminal 4A, and an employee Pb belonging to company B uses a user terminal 4B. Companies A and B are examples of organizations. Employees Pa and Pb are examples of users and users.

[0018] The server 2 manages the usage of the device 3 and performs billing processing according to the usage of the device 3. Here, the "billing processing" refers to, for example, a process of deducting the number of points according to the usage of the device 3 from the number of points owned by the user.

[0019] The device 3 is, for example, a multifunction peripheral having multiple functions such as a print function, a scan function, a copy function, an email function, a facsimile function, etc. The multifunction peripheral is an example of an image forming apparatus.

[0020] When a job is transmitted from the user terminal 4 or when a job is requested by operating the operation display unit 32 described later, the device 3 executes the requested job. Furthermore, when the device 3 completes execution of a job, the device 3 records the job in a job history information table 311 described later and transmits the job history information to the server 2. The device 3 may transmit the job history information to the server 2 periodically (for example, at 6 p.m. every day).

[0021] The user terminal 4 is an information processing terminal such as a personal computer (PC). The user terminal 4 may be a portable information processing terminal such as a notebook computer or a tablet terminal, or a mobile communication terminal such as a multi-function mobile phone (smartphone).

[0022] The network 5 is, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), an intranet, the Internet, etc., and may be either wired or wireless.

[0023] (Server configuration) 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the server 2. The server 2 includes a control unit 20, a storage unit 21, and a communication unit 22 connected to the network 5.

[0024] The control unit 20 is composed of a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an interface, etc. The processor of the control unit 20 manages the usage status of the device 3 and performs billing processing according to the usage of the device 3 by executing a program 210 stored in the storage unit 21. In the billing processing performed by the control unit 20, the number of print points corresponding to the printing of a document is subtracted from the number of print points owned by the user based on the job history information table 212 (see FIG. 4), and the result is recorded in the billing information table 213.

[0025] The storage unit 21 is composed of a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a hard disk, etc., and stores various information such as a program 210, a contract information table 211 (see FIG. 3), a job history information table 212 (see FIG. 4), and an accounting information table 213. The accounting information table 213 records the number of points owned by a user for each user ID.

[0026] The communication unit 22 communicates with the device 3 and the user terminals 4A and 4B via the network 5.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the contract information table 211 held by the server 2. The contract information table 211 has a number of items such as "Device ID", "Contractor's Name", "User's Company Name", "Contract Data", "Security Settings", "Job History Information Description", and "Main Unit". The contract information consisting of these items is recorded by the control unit 20 of the server 2 based on the contents of a contract such as a maintenance contract, or based on an instruction from an administrator based on the contract. The contract information indicates that the company to which the user belongs has concluded a maintenance contract with the company that provides the device 3. The "Contract Data" and "Security Settings" are items related to the terms of use 211a, but are not limited to these. The control unit 20 extracts information related to the terms of use 211a from the contents of the maintenance contract, and records it in the "Contract Data" and "Security Settings".

[0028] Here, the usage conditions 211a based on a contract between a contracting party (e.g., Company F) and an organization (e.g., Company A) that manages the device 3 is an example of a first usage condition. Also, the usage conditions 211a based on a contract between a contracting party (e.g., Company F) and an organization (e.g., Company B) that does not manage the device 3 but uses it is an example of a second usage condition.

[0029] In "Device ID", a device ID for identifying the device 3 is recorded. In "Contractor Name", the name of the contracting company (hereinafter referred to as "Company Name") is recorded. In "User Company Name", the name of the company using the device 3 is recorded. In "Contract Data", setting items related to the processing conditions executed by the device in the maintenance contract are recorded. "Black and White" in the figure means that only black and white printing is permitted, and color printing is prohibited. In "Security Settings", setting items related to security are recorded. In the figure, "UUID" stands for Universally Unique Identifier, and means a setting to print an ID that identifies a job for each job. In "Job History Information Description", a format for recording "User Company Name" in the job history information table 212 is recorded. In "Body", the substance of the contract information data is recorded. The contract information data is data corresponding to each item of the device ID, contractor name, user company name, contract data, security settings, and job history information description.

[0030] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a job history information table 212 held by the server 2. The job history information table 212 has a number of items such as "device ID," "user company name," "user ID," "job type," "number of pages," and "meter type." Job history information consisting of these items is transmitted from the device 3 periodically (for example, at 6 p.m. every day) or after a job is executed, and is recorded by the control unit 20.

[0031] "Device ID" records the device ID that identifies device 3. "User company name" records the name of the company that uses device 3. "User ID" records the user ID that identifies the user. "Job type" records the type of job, and "Number of pages" records the number of pages of the document executed in the job. "Meter type" records the type of meter that differs in charges (for example, meter 1 for black and white printing, meter 2 for color printing).

[0032] (Equipment configuration) 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the device 3. The device 3 has a control unit 30 that controls each unit of the device 3, and a storage unit 31, an operation display unit 32, an image reading unit 33, an image forming unit 34, and a communication unit 35 are connected to the control unit 30.

[0033] The control unit 30 is composed of a processor such as a CPU, an interface, etc. The processor of the control unit 30 executes a program 310 stored in the storage unit 31 to execute jobs such as a print job, a scan job, a copy job, and a scan image transfer job. The print job and the copy job are also called print jobs. The print job, the scan job, and the copy job are examples of processing requests.

[0034] A print job is a job in which print data included in a job transmitted from a user terminal 4 is printed on paper by the image forming unit 34 and output. A print job 10 includes attribute information 11 such as a user ID requesting the job, certificate information 12, print setting information 13, and print data 14, as shown in Fig. 7 described later.

[0035] A scan job is a job in which image data (also called a scanned image) is read from a document by the image reading unit 33. A copy job is a job in which the scanned image obtained by the scan job is printed on paper by the image forming unit 34 and output.

[0036] The scanned image transfer job is a job for transferring a scanned image obtained by reading an original document with the image reading unit 33 to a designated transfer destination.

[0037] The storage unit 31 is composed of a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk, etc., and stores various information such as a program 310, a job history information table 311, and a contract management table 312 (see FIG. 6). In the job history information table 311, job history information related to the own device 3 among the job history information table 212 shown in FIG. 4 is recorded.

[0038] The operation display unit 32 is used for inputting and displaying information. The operation display unit 32 is, for example, a touch panel display, and has a configuration in which a touch panel is arranged over a display such as a liquid crystal display.

[0039] The image reading unit 33 includes an automatic document feeder provided on the document table, and a scanner that optically reads a scanned image from a document placed on the document table or a document fed by the automatic document feeder.

[0040] The image forming unit 34 creates a print by forming an image on paper fed from a paper feed cassette, for example, by an electrophotographic method, an inkjet method, etc. As shown in Fig. 8, the image forming unit 34 converts print data 14 described in PDL (Page Description Language) into image data consisting of raster data, and prints the image data on paper according to print setting information 13 included in the print job 10.

[0041] The communication unit 35 is connected to the server 2 , the device 3 and the user terminal 4 via the network 5 .

[0042] The communication unit 35 is equipped with a network interface card (NIC), a modem, etc., and communicates with the server 2, user terminals 4A, 4B, and external devices via the network 5 using the NIC, and modulates and demodulates signals required for facsimile communication using the modem, and performs facsimile communication with external communication devices via the network 5.

[0043] 6 is a diagram showing an example of a contract management table 312 held by the device 3. The contract management table 312 has fields for "user ID," "name of company to which the user belongs," and "name of contracting party." Contract information consisting of these fields is recorded by the control unit 30 based on an operation by an administrator. Note that a field for the name of the company that manages the device 3 (for example, Company A) may also be provided.

[0044] In "User ID," a user ID that identifies the user is recorded, and in "Name of company to which the user belongs," the name of the company to which the user belongs (e.g., Company B) is recorded. In "Contractor," the name of the company that provides the device 3 that has a maintenance contract with the company to which the user belongs (e.g., Company F) is recorded.

[0045] The control unit 30 receives a processing request from a user and determines whether the received processing request corresponds to the use conditions (hereinafter also referred to as first use conditions) included in the certificate information 12 based on a maintenance contract between a contracting party (e.g., Company F) and an organization (e.g., Company A) that manages the device 3 for the device 3. If the received processing request does not correspond to the first use conditions, the control unit 30 acquires the use conditions (hereinafter also referred to as second use conditions) included in the certificate information 12 based on a maintenance contract between the same contracting party (e.g., Company F) and an organization to which the user belongs (e.g., Company B) based on the contract management table 312, and controls the device 3 to process the processing request based on the acquired second use conditions.

[0046] (User terminal configuration) 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the user terminal 4. The user terminal 4 is provided with a control unit 40 realized by a processor such as a CPU, an interface, etc., and controls each unit of the user terminal 4, a storage unit 41 storing various information such as a processor program 410, certificate information 411, and a document 412 to be printed, a display unit 42 realized by a liquid crystal display or the like, an input unit 43 realized by a keyboard, a mouse, etc., and a communication unit 44 that communicates with the server 2 and the device 3 via the network 5.

[0047] The program 410 stored in the storage unit 41 includes a printer driver, etc. The certificate information stored in the storage unit 41 is for verifying a user or an organization to which the user belongs, and is generated and issued by the server 2 in correspondence with the user or the organization to which the user belongs, and is acquired and stored by the user terminal 4.

[0048] The control unit 40 generates various jobs such as a print job 10 (see FIG. 7) based on a user's operation.

[0049] 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a print job 10. The print job 10 includes attribute information 11, certificate information 12, print setting information 13, and print data 14. The attribute information 11 includes the user ID who instructed the print job 10. The certificate information 12 is obtained by reading out the certificate information 411 stored in the storage unit 41 of the user terminal 4 and adding it to the print job 10. The print data 14 is a document described by the printer driver in a page description language (PDL) that can be interpreted by the device 3.

[0050] (Operation of information processing system) Next, an example of the operation of the information processing system 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the information processing system 1. Below, a case where a print job is executed as a processing request will be described.

[0051] (1) Creating a print job When a user operates the input unit 43 of the user terminal 4 to select a document 412 to be printed and instructs execution of a print job, the control unit 40 converts the document 412 into print data 14 in PDL, reads out certificate information 411 from the storage unit 41, and generates a print job 10. As shown in Fig. 8, the print job 10 includes a user ID, certificate information 12, print setting information 13, and print data 14. Note that a request for verification of the certificate information 411 is made to the server 2, and once the verification is completed, contract information may be obtained from the server 2. In this case, the contract information itself may be included in the print job 10 instead of the certificate information 411.

[0052] (2) Executing a print job A print job 10 is sent from a user terminal 4 to a device 3. When a control unit 30 of the device 3 accepts the print job 10 from the user terminal 4 (S1), it interprets the print job 10 (S2) and determines whether or not the print job 10 includes certificate information 12 (S3).

[0053] If the print job 10 includes certificate information 12 (S3: Yes), the certificate information 12 is read out and a request is made to the server 2 for verification. At this time, the certificate information is sent to the server 2 together with the user ID. The server 2 verifies the certificate information and obtains the contract information described in the contract information table 211 corresponding to the certificate information. The server 2 references this obtained contract information and determines whether the contracting party of the obtained contract information is the same company as the company that provides the device 3 that the user is trying to use by referring to the contract management table 312 (S4).

[0054] For example, if the user is an employee Pb of Company B (user ID User002), the name of the contracting party included in the contract management table 312 of the acquired contract information is Company F, so it is determined that this is the same company that provides the device 3 that the user is trying to use.

[0055] If the contract origin is the same (S4: Yes), it is determined whether information regarding the terms of use included in the contract information that can be obtained when verifying the certificate information 12 included in the print job 10 is stored in the memory unit 31 (S5).

[0056] If the usage conditions are stored in the storage unit 31 (S5: Yes), the control unit 30 determines that the print job 10 requested by, for example, an employee Pb of company B complies with the usage conditions 211b based on the contract of company B, which has a contracting party (for example, company F) and a company (for example, company A) that manages the device 3, and executes the print job 10 so as to comply with the usage conditions 211a (S6). For example, if the process permitted by the contract data of the usage conditions 211a of company B is black and white printing and color printing is prohibited, black and white printing is executed even if color printing is included in the print setting information 13.

[0057] In step 3 above, if the print job 10 does not include the certificate information 12 or the verification by the server 2 fails (S3: No), the control unit 30 displays an error on the operation display unit 32 or the display unit 42 of the user terminal 4 (S8).

[0058] In the above step 4, if the contract origin is different (S4: No), the print job 10 accepted as a guest user is processed under the usage conditions set for the guest user by the device administrator (S10). Note that if the contract origin is different (S4: No), an error message may be displayed without executing the print job.

[0059] In step S5 above, if information regarding the terms of use is not stored in the memory unit 31 (S5: No), the control unit 30 sends the certificate information to the server 2 to request verification, and stores the contract information obtained based on the verification in the memory unit 31 (S9).

[0060] The print job 10 is executed (S6) so as to comply with the usage conditions 211a included in the certificate information 12 newly stored in the storage unit 31. For example, even if color printing is not permitted by company A, if color printing is permitted by the contract data of the usage conditions 211a of company B, if black and white printing is specified in the print setting information 13, black and white printing is executed, and if color printing is specified, color printing is executed.

[0061] (3) Job history recording process When the execution of the print job 10 is completed, the control unit 30 transmits the job history information to the server 2. The server 2 records the received job history information (S7). The server 2 performs a billing process according to the print job 10.

[0062] (Variation 1) In the above embodiment, the case has been described where the control unit 30 of the device 3 functions as an information processing device, but the server 2 may function as an information processing device. That is, when the server 2 receives a processing request for the device 3 from a user and the received processing request does not correspond to the first usage conditions based on the contract with the contracting party for the device 3, the server 2 may obtain the second usage conditions based on the contract with the same contracting party based on information indicating the relationship between the organization to which the user belongs and the contracting party, and control the device 3 to process the processing request based on the obtained second usage conditions.

[0063] (Variation 2) In the above embodiment, the print job 10 includes the certificate information 12. However, instead of the certificate information 12, information (e.g., a URL) indicating the source from which the contract information is obtained (e.g., the server 2) may be recorded, and the control unit 30 of the device 3 may access the URL, send user information and request authentication, and obtain the contract information from the server 2 by being authenticated using the user information.

[0064] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and implementations are possible.

[0065] Each means of the processor may be configured in part or in whole by a hardware circuit such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0066] In the above embodiments, the processor refers to a processor in a broad sense, and includes general-purpose processors (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit, etc.) and dedicated processors (e.g., GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC, FPGA, programmable logic device, etc.).

[0067] In addition, the operations of the processor in the above embodiment may be performed not only by one processor but also by multiple processors located at physically separate locations working together. The order of the operations of the processor is not limited to the order described in the above embodiment, and may be changed as appropriate.

[0068] In addition, some of the components of the above-described embodiments may be omitted or modified. In addition, in the flow of the above-described embodiments, steps may be added, deleted, modified, or replaced. In addition, the programs used in the above-described embodiments may be provided by recording them on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, or may be stored in an external server such as a cloud server and used via a network. [Explanation of symbols]

[0069] 1...information processing system, 2...server, 3...device, 4, 4A, 4B...user terminal, 5...Network, 6...Shared space, 10...Print job, 11...Attribute information, 12: Certificate information, 13: Print setting information, 14: Print data, 20: Control unit, 21: storage unit, 22: communication unit, 30: control unit, 31: storage unit, 32: operation display unit, 33: image reading unit, 34: image forming unit, 35: communication unit, 40: control unit, 41: memory unit, 42: display unit, 43: input unit, 44: communication unit, 210: program, 211...contract information table, 211a...usage conditions, 212: job history information table; 213: billing information table; 310: program; 311: job history information table; 312: contract management table, 410: program, 411: certificate information, 412...Documents

Claims

1. A processor is provided. The processor receives a processing request for a selected function from a user's terminal among a plurality of functions of the device; When the received processing request does not correspond to a first condition of use based on a contract regarding available functions of the device between a contracting party and an organization to which the user belongs that manages and uses the device, acquiring information indicating a relationship between the organization to which the user belongs and the contracting party from a storage unit; acquiring, from the user's terminal, second conditions of use based on a contract between the same contracting party and an organization to which the user belongs that does not manage the device but uses the device, based on the acquired information; controlling the device so as to process the processing request based on the acquired second usage condition; Information processing device.

2. the second usage condition is obtained based on the processing request; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. the processing request includes the second condition of use, The second usage condition is acquired from the processing request. The information processing device according to claim 2 .

4. the processing request includes information associated with the second condition of use, The acquisition of the second use condition includes acquiring the information from the processing request, and acquiring the second use condition from the acquired information. The information processing device according to claim 2 .

5. the information indicates a source from which the second usage condition is obtained, The information processing device according to claim 4.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a storage means for storing the process performed based on the second usage condition as history information.

7. When the processor acquires the second condition of use, the processor stores the second condition of use in the storage means. The information processing device according to claim 6.

8. the processing request is a processing request related to image processing, The information processing device according to claim 1 .

9. The image processing includes color printing, a maximum number of pages printed, or transfer of a scanned image. The information processing device according to claim 8.

10. The image processing includes a security processing. The information processing device according to claim 8.

11. When the processing request is received from a user who has no contract with the contracting party, the processing of the received processing request is performed by treating the user as a guest user. The information processing device according to claim 10.

12. The guest user is provided with more limited functions than the first usage condition. The information processing device according to claim 11.

13. The restricted functions include color printing, a maximum number of pages printed, or transfer of scanned images. The information processing device according to claim 12.

14. The guest user is provided with more limited functions than those available under the first usage conditions, except for the security-related process. The information processing device according to claim 11.

15. if the processor cannot comply with the acquired second usage condition, the processor does not execute the accepted processing request. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

16. On the computer, receiving a processing request for a selected function from a user's terminal among a plurality of functions possessed by the device; When the received processing request does not correspond to a first condition of use based on a contract regarding available functions of the device between a contracting party and an organization to which the user belongs that manages and uses the device, acquiring information indicating a relationship between the organization to which the user belongs and the contracting party from a storage unit; acquiring, from the user's terminal, second conditions of use based on a contract between the same contracting party and an organization to which the user belongs that does not manage the device but uses the device, based on the acquired information; A program for controlling the device so as to process the processing request based on the acquired second usage condition.

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