Information processing system, information processing device, information processing method and program

Abstract

To calculate printer usage for private purposes.SOLUTION: An information processing system includes: a first reception unit that receives usage of a printer, the usage being related to a print job that is transmitted to the printer for a predetermined period by a relay device that relays the print job from a terminal to the printer; a second reception unit that receives a counter value of the printer at the start and end of the predetermined period, the counter value being updated by the printer for each of printing processes based on a print job relayed by the relay device and based on a print job not relayed by the relay device; and a calculation unit that subtracts a part or the whole of the usage from a difference between the counter value at the end time and the counter value at the start time and thereby calculates usage of the printer for private purposes for the predetermined period.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] When working from home, employees may be loaned personal computers (PCs) and printers owned by the company. Employees can work from home using these devices located at home.

[0003] Equipment loaned by a company is expected to be used for business (official) purposes. However, if employees pay for personal use, there is no particular disadvantage to the company.

[0004] Conventionally, technologies have been proposed that identify the billing party for the fee for using a printer installed in a company's office, etc., based on information about the user who used the printer and a code entered when using the printer (for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, with the prior art, it was difficult to distinguish whether a user's use of a printer was for public or private purposes, making it difficult to charge an employee for the private use of a printer loaned to them for telecommuting.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to make it possible to calculate the amount of use of a printer for private use. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problem, the information processing system has a first receiving unit that receives the printer usage amount related to print jobs sent to the printer during a specified period by a relay device that relays print jobs from a terminal to the printer; a second receiving unit that receives, at the start and end of the specified period, the printer's counter values ​​that the printer updates for printing based on print jobs relayed by the relay device and printing based on print jobs not relayed by the relay device; and a calculation unit that calculates the printer usage amount for private use during the specified period by subtracting part or all of the usage amount from the difference between the counter value at the end and the counter value at the start. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] It is possible to calculate the amount of printer usage for personal use. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a configuration of an information processing system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a cloud server 10 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an information processing system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure executed in the information processing system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a first example of updating the usage amount storage unit 13. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a job execution screen. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a second example of updating the usage amount storage unit 13. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a third example of updating the usage amount storage unit 13. [Figure 9]FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure executed in an information processing system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an error screen display. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system in a first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a printer 30, a company terminal 40a, a personal terminal 40b, and a relay device 20 are installed in the home of a user of the information processing system (hereinafter referred to as the "user home"). The company terminal 40a and the personal terminal 40b are connected to the relay device 20 via a network within the user home. The relay device 20 and the personal terminal 40b are connected to the printer 30 via the network within the user home. The relay device 20 is further connected to a cloud server 10 via a network such as the Internet.

[0011] Printer 30 is a printer loaned to a user by a workplace (such as a company) for telecommuting. For example, supplies for printer 30 (consumables such as toner and paper) are also provided by the workplace. However, printer 30 may also be a printer personally owned by the user.

[0012] The company terminal 40a is a terminal such as a personal computer (PC), a tablet terminal, or a smartphone that is loaned to the user from the workplace for telecommuting. The user uses the company terminal 40a when performing work.

[0013] The private terminal 40b is a terminal such as a personal computer (PC), a tablet terminal, or a smartphone that is personally owned by the user.

[0014] Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the company terminal 40a and the private terminal 40b, they will simply be referred to as "user terminal 40."

[0015] Relay device 20 is a computer that relays a print job from office terminal 40a or private terminal 40b to printer 30. A print job from office terminal 40a is sent to printer 30 via relay device 20. On the other hand, a print instruction from private terminal 40b may be sent via relay device 20, or may be sent directly from private terminal 40b to printer 30. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is assumed that a user will perform printing using the following three routes (1) to (3). (1) Company terminal 40a → relay device 20 → printer 30 (2) Private terminal 40b → Relay device 20 → Printer 30 (3) Private terminal 40b → Printer 30

[0016] Here, the purpose of printing (1) (hereinafter referred to as "printing purpose") is public (business). The purposes of printing (2) and (3) are private. Therefore, the amount of printing used for (1) is the amount of official printing used, and the amount of printing used for (2) plus the amount of printing used for (3) is the amount of private use used.

[0017] The relay device 20 can grasp the usage amount of printing (1) and (2) based on the print job of the printing. On the other hand, the relay device 20 cannot grasp the usage amount of printing (3) because the printing does not go through the relay device 20.

[0018] Therefore, in this embodiment, the counter value of printer 30 relating to usage is acquired at a predetermined cycle (the 25th of each month in this embodiment). The usage amount ((2) + (3)) for a period corresponding to a certain cycle is calculated by subtracting the usage amount (1) for that period from the increase in the counter value of printer 30 for that period. In this way, the usage amounts for official and private printing for that period can be determined. In other words, the usage amount for official printing for that period is the usage amount (1) for that period. The usage amount for private printing for that period is the usage amount (2) + the usage amount (3) for that period.

[0019] In this way, route (3) is determined to be printing for personal use, and therefore the user himself would suffer a disadvantage if a print job were sent directly from the company terminal 40a to the printer 30. This provides an incentive for the user to use the relay device 20 when printing using the company terminal 40a.

[0020] Cloud server 10 is one or more computers that provide a cloud printing service. In this embodiment, the company to which the user belongs uses the cloud printing service provided by cloud server 10 for official printing. For example, when company terminal 40a receives a print instruction from the user, it presents a virtual printer compatible with the cloud printing service as an option for the print destination in addition to printer 30. When the user selects the virtual printer and issues a print instruction, a print job related to the document to be printed is sent (uploaded) to cloud server 10. The user can input a print instruction for the print job uploaded to cloud server 10 by accessing cloud server 10 using company terminal 40a.

[0021] The cloud server 10 also manages information necessary for billing users for their use of the printer 30 .

[0022] Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of cloud server 10 in the first embodiment. Cloud server 10 in Fig. 2 includes a drive device 100, an auxiliary storage device 102, a memory device 103, a CPU 104, and an interface device 105, which are all interconnected via a bus B.

[0023] A program that realizes processing on the cloud server 10 is provided by a recording medium 101 such as a CD-ROM. When the recording medium 101 storing the program is set in the drive device 100, the program is installed from the recording medium 101 to the auxiliary storage device 102 via the drive device 100. However, the program does not necessarily have to be installed from the recording medium 101, but may be downloaded from another computer via a network. The auxiliary storage device 102 stores the installed program as well as necessary files, data, etc.

[0024] When an instruction to start a program is received, the memory device 103 reads the program from the auxiliary storage device 102 and stores it. The CPU 104 executes functions related to the cloud server 10 in accordance with the program stored in the memory device 103. The interface device 105 is used as an interface for connecting to a network.

[0025] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information processing system according to the first embodiment. In Fig. 3, the relay device 20 includes a print relay unit 21, an authentication unit 22, and a print purpose determination unit 23. Each of these units is realized by a process executed by the CPU of the relay device 20 of one or more programs installed in the relay device 20.

[0026] The print relay unit 21 sends the print job included in the print instruction from the user terminal 40 to the printer 30. The authentication unit 22 authenticates the user for the print job. The print purpose determination unit 23 determines the purpose of the print (whether it is for public or private use) based on the print instruction. The print purpose determination unit 23 notifies the billing management unit 12 of the cloud server 10 of the determination result and the usage amount of the printer 30 based on the print job. The print purpose determination unit 23 also acquires the counter value of the printer 30 at that time from the printer 30 at a predetermined period (the 25th of each month) and notifies the supply management unit 11 of the cloud server 10 of the counter value. The counter value is the cumulative value of the printer usage amount.

[0027] The printer 30 has a printing unit 31 and a device information management unit 32. These units are realized by the processing of one or more programs installed in the printer 30, which the CPU of the printer 30 executes. The printing unit 31 receives a print job and executes printing based on the print job. The device information management unit 32 manages supply information and counter values. For example, the device information management unit 32 updates the counter value by the amount of printing that has been executed.

[0028] The cloud server 10 has a supply management unit 11 and a billing management unit 12. Each of these units is realized by processing of one or more programs installed in the cloud server 10 that are executed by the CPU 104. The cloud server 10 also uses a usage amount storage unit 13. The usage amount storage unit 13 can be realized using, for example, an auxiliary storage device 102 or a storage device connectable to the cloud server 10 via a network.

[0029] The supply management unit 11 receives the counter value of the printer 30 sent from the print purpose determination unit 23 at a predetermined cycle, and records the counter value in the usage amount storage unit 13 .

[0030] The billing management unit 12 receives the use of the print job and the usage amount related to the print job sent from the print use determination unit 23, and records the results of accumulating the usage amount by use in the usage amount memory unit 13.

[0031] The processing procedure executed in the information processing system will be described below. Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of the processing procedure executed in the information processing system according to the first embodiment.

[0032] When a predetermined date and time (a specific time on the 25th of each month) arrives, the print purpose determination unit 23 acquires the counter value at that time from the device information management unit 32 of the printer 30 (S101). Here, it is assumed that February 25th has arrived. Also, it is assumed that the acquired counter value is 500. Next, the print purpose determination unit 23 notifies the supply management unit 11 of the counter value (S102). At this time, the print purpose determination unit 23 also notifies the supply management unit 11 of the user ID corresponding to the printer 30 from which the counter value was acquired. In this embodiment, there is a one-to-one correspondence between printers 30 and users, so the user ID can be identified based on the printer 30. The supply management unit 11 records the notified counter value in the usage amount storage unit 13 corresponding to the notified user ID.

[0033] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a first example of updating the usage amount storage unit 13. As shown in FIG. 5, the usage amount storage unit 13 stores values ​​for each predetermined period (one month in this embodiment) for the counter value, the official usage amount, and the private usage amount. The counter value is a counter value acquired from the printer 30. The counter value is a cumulative value of the usage amount of the printer 30, and is therefore the value at the time of step S102. The official usage amount is the usage amount related to printing via the relay device 20 within one period that is determined to be official use by the print purpose determination unit 23. The private usage amount is the usage amount related to printing via the relay device 20 within one period that is determined to be private use by the print purpose determination unit 23.

[0034] For convenience, Figure 5 shows records corresponding to the values ​​for February and March. At this point, an example is shown in which 500 is recorded as the counter value for February. Note that the counter value and the usage amount have the same unit, but the unit is not limited to a predetermined one. For example, the unit may be the number of print jobs or the number of printed pages.

[0035] In this embodiment, February 25th corresponds to the start of a predetermined period.

[0036] Thereafter, steps S111 to S117 or steps S121 to S122 are executed every time printing is performed.

[0037] In the case of printing via the relay device 20 (in the case of printing via the above route (1) or (2)), steps S111 to S117 are executed.

[0038] In step S111, the print relay unit 21 receives a print instruction sent from the user terminal 40 (the company terminal 40a or the private terminal 40b). The print instruction includes a print job (data to be printed (hereinafter referred to as "print data"), printing conditions, etc.).

[0039] In the case of a print instruction from the office terminal 40a, the user uses the office terminal 40a to access the cloud server 10. As a result, a job execution screen including a list of print jobs that have already been uploaded to the cloud server 10 (hereinafter referred to as the "job list") is displayed on the office terminal 40a.

[0040] 6 is a diagram showing an example of a job execution screen display. A job execution screen 510 includes an execution button 511 and the like in addition to a job list.

[0041] When the user selects one or more print jobs from the job list and selects the execute button 511, in step S111, the company terminal 40a downloads the selected print jobs from the cloud server 10 and sends a print instruction including the print jobs to the print relay unit 21.

[0042] On the other hand, in the case of a print instruction from private terminal 40b, the user selects document data stored on private terminal 40b or on a computer (not shown) connected to private terminal 40b via the network, and instructs to execute printing. In this case, in step S111, private terminal 40b transmits a print instruction including a print job related to the selected document data to print relay unit 21.

[0043] When the print relay unit 21 receives a print instruction, it requests the authentication unit 22 to authenticate the authentication information included in the print job related to the print instruction (S112). The authentication information is, for example, a user ID and a password. The authentication unit 22 performs authentication by comparing the authentication information with correct authentication information stored in the relay device 20 for one user who is authorized to use the relay device 20 (i.e., one user to whom the relay device 20 has been loaned). If the authentication by the authentication unit 22 is successful, steps S113 and subsequent steps are executed. If the authentication by the authentication unit 22 fails, steps S113 and subsequent steps are not executed.

[0044] In step S113, the print relay unit 21 requests the print purpose determination unit 23 to determine the print purpose (official or private) for the print job (S113). At this time, the print relay unit 21 notifies the print purpose determination unit 23 of the print usage amount for the print job and the print job itself. The usage amount can be calculated by applying known technology to the print data and printing conditions included in the print job. Alternatively, the usage amount for the print job may be obtained by inquiring of the printer 30 that executed the print job.

[0045] Next, the print purpose determining unit 23 determines the print purpose related to the print instruction based on the print job notified from the print relay unit 21 (S114).

[0046] For example, the print purpose determination unit 23 may determine the print purpose based on the IP address of the sender of the print job. In this case, the print job only needs to include the IP address of the sender of the print job. Also, the IP addresses of the company terminal 40a, the private terminal 40b, or both of the user terminals 40, need only be stored in advance in the relay device 20. The print purpose determination unit 23 can determine whether the sender of the print job is the company terminal 40a or the private terminal 40b by comparing the IP address included in the print job with the pre-stored IP addresses. If the sender is the company terminal 40a, the print purpose determination unit 23 determines the print purpose to be official, and if the sender is the private terminal 40b, the print purpose determination unit 23 determines the print purpose to be private.

[0047] Alternatively, the print purpose determination unit 23 may determine the print purpose based on whether the print job was downloaded from the cloud server 10. In this case, the print job may include information indicating whether the print job was downloaded from the cloud server 10. If the print job was downloaded from the cloud server 10, the print purpose determination unit 23 determines that the print purpose is public, and if not, determines that the print purpose is private.

[0048] Alternatively, if the user terminal 40 is connected to the workplace via a VPN (Virtual Private Network) while the user is at work, the user terminal 40 may include information indicating whether or not it is connected to the VPN in the print job when sending a print instruction. The print purpose determination unit 23 determines that the print purpose is official if it is connected to the VPN, and determines that the print purpose is private if it is not connected to the VPN. In this case, it is possible to use the company terminal 40a for private purposes and the private terminal 40b for official purposes (i.e., one user terminal 40 can be used for both official and private purposes).

[0049] Next, the print relay unit 21 transmits the print job to the printer 30 (S115). The printing unit 31 of the printer 30 controls the execution of printing based on the print job, and updates the counter value in accordance with the execution of printing (S116).

[0050] Next, the print purpose determination unit 23 transmits the user ID included in the print job, the print purpose determination result (official or private), and the usage amount notified by the print relay unit 21 to the billing management unit 12 of the cloud server 10 (S117). The billing management unit 12 updates the value for the current month (March) according to the print purpose in the usage amount storage unit 13 corresponding to the user ID. At this time, the current usage amount is added to the corresponding value already stored.

[0051] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a second example of updating the usage amount storage unit 13. Fig. 7 shows an example in which the public usage amount for March is updated to 40, and the private usage amount for March is updated to 20. Note that Fig. 7 corresponds to an example of updating the usage amount storage unit 13 when printing is performed two or more times.

[0052] On the other hand, in the case of printing that does not go through the relay device 20 (in the case of printing via the above route (3)), steps S121 to S122 are executed.

[0053] In step S121, private terminal 40b directly transmits a print job to printer 30. Printing unit 31 of printer 30 controls the execution of printing based on the print job, and requests device information management unit 32 to update the counter value in response to the execution of printing (S122). Device information management unit 32 increments the counter value by the amount corresponding to the current printing. Therefore, in this case, usage amount storage unit 13 is not updated.

[0054] Thereafter, when a predetermined time arrives on March 25th, the same processing procedures as steps S101 and S102 are executed, and the latest counter value of the printer 30 is reflected in the usage amount storage unit 13 (S131, S132).

[0055] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a third example of updating the usage amount storage unit 13. Fig. 8 shows an example in which 570 is recorded as the counter value for March.

[0056] Next, the supply management unit 11 transmits the information stored in the usage amount storage unit 13 (hereinafter referred to as "usage amount information") to the billing management unit 12 (S133). The usage amount information includes the contents of Fig. 8. Specifically, the usage amount information includes the counter values ​​("500" and "570") for the previous month (February) and the current month (March), the public usage amount for the current month (40), and the private usage amount for the current month (20).

[0057] In this embodiment, March 25th corresponds to the end of the predetermined period.

[0058] Next, the charge management unit 12 calculates the amount of private use of the printer 30 for the current month (S134).

[0059] Specifically, the billing management unit 12 subtracts the official usage amount (40) for the current month from the difference (70) between the counter value for the current month (570) and the counter value for the previous month (500), and calculates the result (30) as the usage amount of printer 30 for private use for the current month. Therefore, if all printing via relay device 20 was for official use, the total usage amount related to printing via relay device 20 is subtracted from the difference in counter values, and if only some of the printing via relay device 20 was for official use, the usage amount related to some of the printing via relay device 20 is subtracted from the difference in counter values.

[0060] By calculating the amount of personal use for the current month, the ratio of expenses shared between the company and the user (company:user) is determined to be 40:30. The company can allocate expenses related to the use of printer 30 to the user based on this ratio.

[0061] In this embodiment, it is assumed that there is a route (2) from private terminal 40b via relay device 20, but if there is no route (2), print purpose determination unit 23 does not have to determine the print purpose. In this case, all print jobs that pass through relay device 20 are print jobs related to official use. Therefore, in usage amount storage unit 13, the official use amount and private use amount are not distinguished from each other and are integrated into the official use amount, and the usage amounts related to all print jobs that pass through relay device 20 may be added to the official use amount.

[0062] The billing management unit 12 may also calculate the amount to be charged to the user based on the public usage amount (40) and the private usage amount (30). In this case, the billing amount may be calculated based on a combination of the amount of toner consumed and the amount of paper consumed. In this case, parameters including the amount of toner consumed and the amount of paper consumed may be included in the counter value and the amount of usage.

[0063] Although the above describes an example in which the relay device 20 is independent from other devices, the cloud server 10, the office terminal 40a, or the printer 30 may include the relay device 20 as software. In other words, the cloud server 10, the office terminal 40a, or the printer 30 may also have the function of the relay device 20.

[0064] As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to calculate the amount of usage of the printer 30 for personal use. At this time, the user is not required to input a billing code or the like. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in the burden placed on the user in calculating the amount of usage for personal use.

[0065] Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be described. Therefore, unless otherwise specified, the second embodiment may be the same as the first embodiment.

[0066] Fig. 9 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of a processing procedure executed in the information processing system according to the second embodiment. In Fig. 9, the same steps as those in Fig. 4 are assigned the same step numbers, and their explanations will be omitted. For convenience, the processing procedure executed on the 25th of every month (steps S101, S102, and S131 to S134 in Fig. 4) is omitted in Fig. 9.

[0067] In the second embodiment, steps S201 to S203 are executed following step S114 (ie, before the print job is sent to the printer 30).

[0068] In step S201, the print relay unit 21 sends a request to the billing management unit 12 of the cloud server 10 to determine whether printing is possible, along with the user ID included in the print job, the determination result of the print purpose (public or private), and the usage amount related to the print job.

[0069] In response to the determination request, the billing management unit 12 determines whether printing is permitted by comparing the total of the usage amount corresponding to the printing purpose (public usage amount or private usage amount) stored in the usage amount storage unit 13 corresponding to the user ID and the usage amount for the print job with a preset upper limit (threshold) (S202). That is, the billing management unit 12 determines that printing is not permitted (hereinafter referred to as "printing is not permitted") if the total exceeds the upper limit, and determines that printing is permitted (hereinafter referred to as "printing is permitted") if the total is equal to or less than the upper limit. Next, the billing management unit 12 transmits the determination result of whether printing is permitted to the print relay unit 21 (S203).

[0070] If the determination result is that printing is permitted, steps S115 to S117 are executed.

[0071] If the determination result is that printing is not possible, the print relay unit 21 sends an error message indicating that the usage amount exceeds the upper limit to the user terminal 40 (S211). When the user terminal 40 receives the error message, it displays an error screen, such as that shown in Fig. 10, to notify the user of the error. Therefore, in this case, printing is not performed.

[0072] As described above, according to the second embodiment, the information stored in the usage amount storage unit 13 can be used to manage the upper limit for printing.

[0073] The functions of the above-described embodiments can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Here, the term "processing circuit" in this specification includes a processor programmed to execute each function by software, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, as well as devices such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and conventional circuit modules designed to execute each of the above-described functions.

[0074] The charge management unit 12 is an example of a first receiving unit, a calculation unit, and a printability determination unit. The supply management unit 11 is an example of a second receiving unit. The cloud server 10 is an example of an information processing device.

[0075] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention as set forth in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 10 Cloud Server 11 Supply Management Department 12. Billing Management Department 13 Usage amount storage section 20 Relay device 21 Printing Relay Department 22 Authentication Section 23 Printing purpose determination section 30 Printers 31 Printing Department 32 Device information management department 40a Company terminal 40b Private Terminal 100 Drive device 101 Recording media 102 Auxiliary storage device 103 Memory Device 104 CPU 105 Interface Device B Bus [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0077] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-224167 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-045324

Claims

1. a first receiving unit that receives a usage amount of the printer related to print jobs transmitted to the printer by a relay device that relays print jobs from a terminal to the printer during a predetermined period; a second receiving unit that receives, at the start and end of the predetermined period, counter values ​​of the printer that are updated by the printer for printing based on a print job relayed by the relay device and printing based on a print job not relayed by the relay device; a calculation unit that calculates the amount of usage of the printer for personal use during the predetermined period by subtracting a part or all of the amount of usage from the difference between the counter value at the end and the counter value at the start; An information processing system comprising:

2. The relay device is included, The relay device a print purpose determination unit that determines whether printing based on a print job relayed by the relay device is for public or private purposes, the first receiving unit receives usage amounts related to print jobs determined to be for public use by the print purpose determining unit during the predetermined period; the calculation unit calculates the usage amount of the printer for private use during the predetermined period by subtracting the usage amount of the print job determined to be for public use from the difference.

2. The information processing system according to claim 1.

3. a print permission determination unit that determines whether or not a total of a usage amount related to the print job and a usage amount received by the first receiving unit during the predetermined period exceeds a threshold before the relay device transmits the print job to the printer; 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, further comprising:

4. a first receiving unit that receives a usage amount of the printer related to print jobs transmitted to the printer by a relay device that relays print jobs from a terminal to the printer during a predetermined period; a second receiving unit that receives, at the start and end of the predetermined period, counter values ​​of the printer that are updated by the printer for printing based on a print job relayed by the relay device and printing based on a print job not relayed by the relay device; a calculation unit that calculates the amount of usage of the printer for personal use during the predetermined period by subtracting a part or all of the amount of usage from the difference between the counter value at the end and the counter value at the start; An information processing device comprising:

5. a first receiving step in which a relay device that relays print jobs from a terminal to a printer receives a usage amount of the printer related to print jobs transmitted to the printer during a predetermined period; a second receiving procedure for receiving, at the start and end of the predetermined period, counter values ​​of the printer that are updated by the printer for printing based on a print job relayed by the relay device and printing based on a print job not relayed by the relay device; a calculation step of calculating the amount of usage of the printer for personal use during the predetermined period by subtracting part or all of the amount of usage from the difference between the counter value at the end and the counter value at the start; An information processing method characterized by the above being performed by a computer.

6. a first receiving step in which a relay device that relays print jobs from a terminal to a printer receives a usage amount of the printer related to print jobs transmitted to the printer during a predetermined period; a second receiving procedure for receiving, at the start and end of the predetermined period, counter values ​​of the printer that are updated by the printer for printing based on a print job relayed by the relay device and printing based on a print job not relayed by the relay device; a calculation step of calculating the amount of usage of the printer for personal use during the predetermined period by subtracting part or all of the amount of usage from the difference between the counter value at the end and the counter value at the start; A program characterized by causing a computer to execute the above.

Images