Print management system and shredder

Abstract

To provide a printed matter management system that manages printed matters, which can improve processing speed for disposal.SOLUTION: An electronic tag application 33 of a PC 2 determines a printed matter ID 17 for each print page, generates a two-dimensional bar code 16 with the printed matter ID 17 encoded therein, and prints the two-dimensional bar code 16 and an image 15 of a page corresponding to the printed matter ID 17 on a printing sheet 14 using a printer 4. A shredding device 7 shreds the printing sheet 14, in a state where a user ID 181 stored in an electronic tag 11 is read out through a receiving part 841, and read out, through a reader 711, the two-dimensional bar code 16 printed on the printing sheet 14 so as to obtain the printed matter ID 17, and transmits a request for rewriting of the printed matter ID 17 to a cloud server 9. Further, in a state where the user ID 181 stored in the electronic tag 11 has not been read out, the shredding device shreds the printing sheet 14, without reading out the two-dimensional bar code 16 through the reader 711.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

Technical Field

[0004] , , , ,

[0005] , , , ,

[0001] The technical field disclosed in this specification relates to a printed matter management system for managing printed matter and a shredder for shredding printed matter.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the spread of telework and the like, the demand for printing outside the company has been increasing. Printing outside the company has safety problems such as information leakage due to loss of printed matter, and as one of the countermeasures, a system for managing printed matter is known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a document management system having a multifunction device, a shredder, and a server. When a document is printed, a printed matter with a two-dimensional code including a document ID is output by the multifunction device, and the document ID is stored by the server. On the other hand, when this printed matter is discarded, the two-dimensional code is read by the shredder, and then the discard process of the printed matter is executed, and the document ID included in the read two-dimensional code is notified to the server.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The shredder used in the system as disclosed in Patent Document 1 reads the two-dimensional code and then executes the discard process of the printed matter. Therefore, compared with a shredder that does not require reading, it takes time to discard the printed matter. The printed matter discarded by the shredder is not necessarily limited to the printed matter to be managed, so there is room for improvement in the process for discarding.

[0005] The technology disclosed herein is a print management system for managing printed materials, and aims to realize a technology that improves the processing speed for disposal. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] This was done with the aim of solving the aforementioned problems, Print management program and Server and Shredder and, A print management system comprising, The aforementioned print management program is The controller of the device into which the aforementioned print management program is incorporated, The process of acquiring print data, Based on the print data acquired in the print data acquisition process, a generation process is performed to determine a print ID for each page of the printout and to generate a code that encodes the determined print ID. A printing process that prints the code generated in the generation process and the image of the page corresponding to the print ID encoded in the code onto the same sheet using a printer. A transmission process that sends a print log containing the aforementioned print ID and first data indicating that disposal is incomplete to the server, The print log sent from the print management program is stored on the server. The aforementioned shredder is, It has an input slot, a cutter, an input interface, and a scanner. It is configured to accept input of specific information via the aforementioned input interface, When the aforementioned specific information is entered, A reading process is performed which involves transporting the printed material inserted from the input port and reading the code printed on the printed material using the scanner, An ID acquisition process to acquire the printed document ID encoded in the code read in the aforementioned reading process, A rewrite request associated with the print ID obtained in the ID acquisition process is sent to the server, and the server is instructed to rewrite the first data contained in the print log corresponding to the print ID associated with the rewrite request among the print logs stored on the server with second data indicating that it has been discarded. A shredding process is performed in which the printed material from which the code has been read in the reading process is shredded using the cutter, It is configured to perform the following actions: If the aforementioned specific information is not entered, The printed material inserted through the input opening is transported, and without performing the reading process, the printed material is shredded using the cutter. It is characterized by being configured in such a way.

[0007] According to the technology disclosed herein, when specific information is entered, the shredder reads the code of the printed document, shreds the document, and sends the document ID indicated by the read code to a server. The server then overwrites the first data (data indicating incomplete disposal) in the print log corresponding to the document ID with second data (data indicating complete disposal), thereby allowing the server to manage whether the document has been disposed of or not. On the other hand, when no specific information is entered, the shredder can be used as a simple shredder by shredding the document without reading the code, allowing for faster disposal of the document compared to managing the disposal of the document. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the technology disclosed herein, a print management system for managing printed materials is realized, which includes a technology to improve the processing speed for disposal. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is an explanatory diagram showing the schematic configuration of the print management system according to this embodiment. [Figure 2]It is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the electrical configuration of a personal computer and a cloud server. [Figure 3] It is an explanatory diagram showing the schematic configuration of print log information. [Figure 4] It is a cross-sectional view showing the schematic configuration of a shredding device. [Figure 5] It is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the electrical configuration of a shredding device. [Figure 6] It is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the electrical configuration of a monitoring device. [Figure 7] It is a sequence diagram showing the procedure of a printing process using a personal computer and a printer. [Figure 8] It is a sequence diagram showing the procedure of a shredding process in automatic mode using a shredding device. [Figure 9] It is a sequence diagram showing the procedure of a shredding process in manual mode using a shredding device.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] (First Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment of a printed matter management system according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0011] Recently, as the need for workstyle reforms aimed at securing human resources and improving productivity has been called for, the number of companies introducing "telework" has rapidly increased. Telework can be divided into "work from home", "satellite office work", and "mobile work" depending on the place of work. Among these, it is considered that many companies introduce "work from home" as "telework". By the way, in "work from home", for example, when an employee works at home, there are cases where a large number of printed matters including company secrets are printed at the employee's home. Such printed matters including company secrets need to be properly managed until they are discarded. The printed matter management system according to this embodiment is, for example, a system for properly managing printed matters printed at an employee's home until they are discarded.

[0012] Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the schematic configuration of the print management system according to this embodiment, and will be described in detail below with reference to the drawing. As shown in Figure 1, the print management system 100 of this embodiment consists of a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as "PC") 2 and a printer 4 installed at a telework location, for example, the employee's home; a management terminal device 5, a printing device 6 and a shredding device 7 installed at the employee's workplace, for example, the office where the employee normally works; a cloud server 9; a monitoring device 10 owned by the employee; and an electronic tag 11. Note that PC 2 is an example of a device and information processing device, shredding device 7 is an example of a shredder, and cloud server 9 is an example of a server.

[0013] Furthermore, PC2 is connected to the cloud server 9 via, for example, the internet connection 12, enabling communication between them. The management terminal 5, the printer 6, and the shredding device 7 are also connected to each other via a local area network (LAN) 13 installed in the office. The LAN 13 is connected to the internet connection 12; therefore, the management terminal 5 and the shredding device 7 are connected to the cloud server 9 via the LAN 13 and the internet connection 12, enabling communication between them.

[0014] In this configuration, the telework location is assumed to be the employee's home, but it is not limited to that. For example, a satellite office, a hotel for extended stays, or a vacation home is also acceptable. Furthermore, in this configuration, the employee's workplace is assumed to be, for example, the office where the employee would normally work, but it is not limited to that. In other words, any location that is connected to the cloud server 9 and has a shredding device 7 installed is acceptable, such as a satellite office provided by the workplace. Also, in this configuration, the cloud server 9 is connected to the internet line 12, but it is not limited to that. For example, a server connected to LAN 13 is also acceptable.

[0015] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the electrical configuration of a personal computer and a cloud server, and will be described in detail below with reference to the diagram. Specifically, as shown in Figure 2, PC2 has a control unit 20 consisting of a CPU 21, ROM 22, and RAM 23, a storage device 24, an operation display unit 26, a network interface 27, and a USB interface 28. ROM 22 stores the startup program for starting PC2, etc. RAM 23 is used as a work area when various processes are executed, or as a storage area for temporarily storing data. Note that CPU 21 is an example of a controller.

[0016] Furthermore, the storage device 24 is composed of, for example, semiconductor memory such as flash memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive). The storage device 24 also incorporates an operating system (hereinafter referred to as "OS") 30, an application program (hereinafter referred to as "app") 31, a printer driver 32, an electronic tag app 33, and a virtual driver 34. The OS 30 is, for example, Windows®, but may also be macOS®, iOS®, Android®, or Linux®.

[0017] App 31 is a program for performing processing for a specific purpose. Specifically, it is a program that, for example, can receive images to be used as image data via the operation display unit 26, accept editing requests for those images, accept print settings, specify the printer 4 to perform printing, and accept instructions to perform printing. App 31 may also include various application programs such as a document creation program, a spreadsheet program, and a web browser.

[0018] The printer driver 32 is a program that corresponds to the model of printer 4 and communicates with printer 4 via the USB interface 28 to control the operation of printer 4. The printer driver 32 is started, for example, when printer 4 is specified in application 31 or the like and an instruction to set the properties of printer 4 is received.

[0019] Furthermore, when the printer driver 32 receives print command information from the OS 30, it acquires the image data specified in the print command information and generates print data based on the acquired image data. The printer driver 32 then sends the print job, including the generated print data and acquired print settings, to the printer 4 via the print queue 301 and output port (not shown) managed by the OS 30.

[0020] The electronic tag application 33 is launched by an employee (user), and once launched, it constantly monitors the status of print jobs in the print queue 301. When a print job is output from the printer driver 32 to the print queue 301, it retrieves that print job.

[0021] Furthermore, the electronic tag application 33 generates two-dimensional barcode print data for printing the two-dimensional barcode 16 shown in Figure 1 onto the printing paper 14, and print item ID print data for printing the print item ID 17 onto the printing paper 14. After generating this two-dimensional barcode print data and print item ID print data, it inserts them into the print data of the acquired print job. Note that the electronic tag application 33 is an example of a print item management program.

[0022] Furthermore, when printing is completed by the printer 4, the electronic tag application 33 generates print log information 18 as shown in Figure 3 and uploads the generated print log information 18 to the cloud server 9.

[0023] The virtual driver 34 is activated by the electronic tag application 33 and sends print jobs generated by the electronic tag application 33 to the printer 4 via the output port.

[0024] The electronic tag application 33 and virtual driver 34 are pre-downloaded from the cloud server 9 to the PC 2 by the employee (user) and stored in the storage device 24. Alternatively, the system may be configured to insert a storage medium containing the electronic tag application 33 and virtual driver 34, such as a USB memory stick or CD-ROM, into the PC 2 and store the virtual driver 34 read from the storage medium in the storage device 24. When the electronic tag application 33 and virtual driver 34 are stored in the storage device 24, the user ID 181 and terminal ID 182 in the print log information 18 shown in Figure 3 are set and stored by the employee (user).

[0025] In this embodiment, the virtual driver 34 is configured separately from the printer driver 32. However, if, for example, the manufacturer of the print management system 100 and the manufacturer of the printer 4 are the same, it is possible to integrate the functions of the virtual driver 34 into the printer driver 32 and make them a single unit. In this embodiment, because the manufacturer of the print management system 100 and the manufacturer of the printer 4 are different, the virtual driver 34 is configured separately from the printer driver 32.

[0026] The CPU 21 executes various processes according to the program read from the ROM 22 and the storage device 24.

[0027] The operation display unit 26 is integrated with the PC2's casing and consists of, for example, a display device and a keyboard. The display device displays necessary information, and the keyboard accepts user input. The keyboard may also be configured as a touch panel integrated onto the display device.

[0028] In this configuration, PC2 is configured as a notebook personal computer, but it may also be configured as a desktop personal computer. In this case, PC2 will be equipped with an interface for connecting devices that realize the functions of the operation display unit 26, specifically a keyboard, mouse, display, etc. Furthermore, PC2 may also be configured as a smartphone, tablet, and printer 4.

[0029] The network interface 27 is an interface that includes a communication circuit for communicating with the cloud server 9 via the internet line 12.

[0030] The USB interface 28 is an interface that includes a communication circuit for communicating with the printer 4 via a USB cable. Therefore, by connecting a USB cable to the USB interface 41 of the printer 4 and the USB interface 28, the PC 2 and the printer 4 can communicate via a wired connection.

[0031] The image forming unit (not shown) of the printer 4 prints an image 15, a two-dimensional barcode 16, and a print ID 17 on the print paper 14, as shown in Figure 1, based on the print data, two-dimensional barcode print data, and print ID print data transmitted from the PC 2. The image forming method of the image forming unit may be a thermal printing method, an electrophotographic method, an inkjet printing method, or any other method. Furthermore, the image forming unit may be an image forming method capable of color printing, or an image forming method that supports only monochrome printing.

[0032] In this configuration, the image forming unit of the printer 4 employs, for example, an inkjet printing method that supports color printing. Furthermore, plain paper and photo paper are used as the printing paper 14.

[0033] As shown in Figure 2, the cloud server 9 includes a CPU 91, ROM 92, RAM 93, storage unit 94, operation display unit 96, and network interface 95. The ROM 92 stores a startup program for starting the cloud server 9. The RAM 93 is used as a work area when various processes are executed, or as a storage area for temporarily storing data.

[0034] The storage unit 94 is composed of, for example, an HDD and flash memory, and stores various processing programs and data such as the print log information 18 shown in Figure 3.

[0035] The CPU 91 executes various processes according to the program read from the ROM 92 and the memory unit 94.

[0036] The operation display unit 96 consists of, for example, a display device and a touch panel placed on the display device. The display device displays necessary information, and the touch panel accepts input from the user.

[0037] In addition, the configuration of the operation display unit 96 may include a separate device for realizing the functions of the operation display unit 96 from the enclosure of the cloud server 9. In this case, the cloud server 9 includes an interface for connecting the device that realizes the functions of the operation display unit 96, specifically a keyboard, mouse, display, etc.

[0038] Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the schematic structure of the print log information 18. The print log information 18 consists of one or more records, each record consisting of a user ID 181, a terminal ID 182, a document ID 183, a page ID 184, a print date 185, discard information 186, and a discard date 187. In addition, the document ID 183 and page ID 184 constitute the print item ID 17. Note that each record constituting the print log information 18 is an example of a print log.

[0039] In this embodiment, the print ID 17 is composed of the document ID 183 and the page ID 184, but it is not limited to this. The print ID 17 only needs to be able to identify the print paper 14, and for example, it may be composed of one or more combinations of the user ID 181, terminal ID 182, document ID 183, page ID 184, and print date 185.

[0040] User ID 181 may be the employee code of the employee (user) at their company. Terminal ID 182 may be the username of PC2, etc. Document ID 183 is assigned as a serial number to each file name in the order of printing for each printed document 14 printed using PC2. Page ID 184 indicates which page of the printed document it is, per file name. Print date 185 indicates the date the document was printed using PC2, and may also include the printing time. Disposal information 186 indicates whether the printed document printed using PC2 has been shredded by the shredding device 7, on a page-by-page basis. Disposal date 187 indicates the date the printed document printed using PC2 was shredded by the shredding device 7, and may also include the disposal time.

[0041] Returning to Figure 1, the management terminal device 5 is composed of a personal computer consisting of a control unit, a memory unit, a user interface, a network interface (none of which are shown), and the like. The network interface of the management terminal device 5 is configured as a wired LAN communication standard interface. Alternatively, the network interface may be a wireless LAN communication standard interface such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or a USB communication standard interface. The network interface is connected to LAN 13 and is connected to the printing device 6 and the shredding device 7 so that they can communicate with each other. The network interface is also connected to the cloud server 9 and the monitoring device 10 so that they can communicate with each other via LAN 13 and the internet line 12.

[0042] Furthermore, the storage unit of the management terminal device 5 stores a printing cost management program (not shown) for managing printing costs based on the printing log information 18 stored in the storage unit 94 of the cloud server 9. Therefore, in this configuration, by executing the printing cost management program on the management terminal device 5, it is possible to manage the printing costs for each employee (user) based on the printing log information 18, according to the number of sheets of printing paper 14 that were shredded by the shredding device 7 out of the printing paper 14 that the employee (user) printed at home using the printer 4. It is also possible to manage the payment of these printing costs to the employees (users).

[0043] The printing device 6 consists of an image forming unit and a network interface (neither of which are shown). The image forming method of the image forming unit may be a thermal printing method, an electrophotographic method, an inkjet printing method, or any other method. The image forming unit may also be an image forming method that is capable of color printing or an image forming method that supports only monochrome printing. The network interface of the printing device 6 is configured as a wired LAN communication standard interface. Alternatively, the network interface may be a wireless LAN communication standard interface such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or a USB communication standard interface. The network interface is connected to LAN 13 and is connected to the management terminal device 5 so that they can communicate with each other.

[0044] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the schematic configuration of the shredding device, and will be described in detail below with reference to the drawing. The shredding device 7 has a mounting section 702 located at the upper part of its housing 701 for placing the printing paper 14 (printed material) to be shredded with the printed side facing upwards. A shredding section 703, composed of two cutters, is located at the lower part of the housing 701. Below the shredding section 703, a storage tray 704 for storing the paper pieces shredded by the shredding section 703 is located and can be removed from the housing 701.

[0045] Furthermore, a first transport path 707 is arranged inside the housing 701, which is partitioned by two first guide plates 705 and 706 that are spaced apart and facing each other. The first transport path 707 extends from the mounting section 702 toward the shredding section 703. In addition, multiple first transport rollers 708 are rotatably arranged along the first transport path 707.

[0046] In this embodiment, the printed paper 14 (printed material) to be shredded is placed on the placement section 702. However, the placement section 702 may also be composed of a tray located on the top or side surface of the housing 701, adjacent to the entrance of the first transport path 707. The placement section 702 is an example of an input opening.

[0047] Furthermore, a pickup roll 709 and a retard roll 710 are rotatably arranged on the mounting section 702 side of the first transport path 707. The mounting section 702 is also configured to allow the mounted printing paper 14 to be raised from below so that the printed paper 14 placed on the mounting section 702 comes into contact with the pickup roll 709.

[0048] Therefore, when the pickup roll 709 and the retard roll 710 rotate while the printing paper 14 is in contact with the pickup roll 709, the uppermost sheet of printing paper 14 placed on the placement section 702 is transported into the first transport path 707. Subsequently, the printing paper 14 is transported towards the shredding section 703 within the first transport path 707 as the first transport roller 708 rotates.

[0049] Furthermore, a reader 711 is positioned adjacent to the pickup roll 709 within the housing 701 of the shredding device 7. The reader 711 is capable of reading the two-dimensional barcode 16 printed on the printed paper 14 being transported along the first transport path 707. Multiple reader devices 711 may be arranged so that the two-dimensional barcode 16 can be read regardless of the orientation (180 degrees apart) in which the printed paper 14 (printed material) to be shredded is placed on the placement section 702. Note that the reader 711 is an example of a scanner.

[0050] A switching claw 712 is positioned along the first transport path 707. An outlet 713 and an outlet tray 714 are provided on the side of the housing 701 of the shredding device 7. Inside the housing 701, a second transport path 717 is positioned, partitioned by two second guide plates 715 and 716 that are spaced apart and facing each other. This second transport path 717 extends from the switching claw 712 towards the outlet 713. Multiple second transport rollers 718 are rotatably positioned along the second transport path 717.

[0051] Therefore, when the switching claw 712 is rotated clockwise from the position shown in Figure 4, the printing paper 14 that has been transported in the first transport path 707 is switched in transport direction toward the second transport path 717 by the switching claw 712. Then, with the transport direction switched, the printing paper 14 is transported further toward the discharge port 713 in the second transport path 717 as the second transport roller 718 rotates, and is then discharged onto the discharge tray 714.

[0052] Furthermore, a receiving unit 841 of the second communication interface 84, which will be described later, is located on the top surface of the housing 701 of the shredding device 7.

[0053] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the electrical configuration of the shredding device, and will be described in detail below with reference to the drawing. The shredding device 7 has a control unit 71. The control unit 71 includes a CPU 72, ROM 73, and RAM 74. The CPU 72 is a central processing unit that executes various control programs. The ROM 73 stores various control programs executed by the CPU 72 and permanent data. The RAM 73 temporarily stores the calculation results of the control programs by the CPU 72. Note that the control unit 71 in Figure 5 is a general term for the hardware and software used to control the shredding device 7, and does not necessarily represent a single piece of hardware actually present in the shredding device 7.

[0054] Furthermore, the shredding device 7 has a storage device 75 connected to the control unit 71. For example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive) can be used as the storage device 75. The storage device 75 has a data storage unit 76.

[0055] Furthermore, the shredding device 7 is equipped with a first communication interface 77 connected to the control unit 71. In this embodiment, the first communication interface 77 is configured as an interface of the wired LAN communication standard. Other network interfaces may be, for example, interfaces of the wireless LAN communication standard such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or interfaces of the USB communication standard. The first communication interface 77 is connected to the LAN 13 and is connected to the management terminal device 5 so as to be able to communicate with each other. In addition, the first communication interface 77 is connected to the cloud server 9 so as to be able to communicate with each other via the LAN 13 and the internet line 12. Therefore, the control unit 71 of the shredding device 7 can upload the information stored in the data storage unit 76 of the storage device 75 to the cloud server 9.

[0056] Furthermore, the shredding device 7 includes a first motor control unit 78 connected to the control unit 71. The first motor control unit 78 can control the rotation of the transport system motors 79 for rotating the pickup roll 709, the retard roll 710, the first transport roller 708, and the second transport roller 718, respectively.

[0057] Furthermore, the shredding device 7 includes a second motor control unit 80 connected to the control unit 71. The second motor control unit 80 can control the rotation of the cutter motor 81, which rotates to drive the cutter of the shredding unit 703.

[0058] Furthermore, the shredding device 7 includes a third motor control unit 82 connected to the control unit 71. The third motor control unit 82 can control the rotation of the switching motor 83 for rotating the switching claws 712.

[0059] Furthermore, the shredding device 7 is equipped with a second communication interface 84 connected to the control unit 71. In this embodiment, the second communication interface 84 is configured as an interface of the NFC (Near Field Communication) short-range wireless communication standard. The second communication interface 84 connects to the receiving unit 841 located on the top surface of the housing 701 of the shredding device 7, enabling communication between the monitoring device 10 and the receiving unit 841 when the monitoring device 10 approaches within a few centimeters. At that time, the information read from the monitoring device 10 is stored in the data storage unit 76 of the storage device 75 via the control unit 71. Note that the second communication interface 84 is an example of an input interface.

[0060] Furthermore, the shredding device 7 is equipped with a user interface 85 connected to the control unit 71. In this embodiment, the user interface 85 is composed of a touch panel having a display function and an operation acceptance function. Alternatively, the user interface 85 may be composed of a combination of a display that displays information, such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display, and a keyboard that accepts user input operations.

[0061] Furthermore, the reader 711 connected to the control unit 71 reads the two-dimensional barcode 16 printed on the printed paper 14 being transported along the first transport path 707. The read information is then stored in the data storage unit 76 of the storage device 75 via the control unit 71.

[0062] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the electrical configuration of the monitoring device, and will be described in detail below with reference to the drawing. The monitoring device 10 is composed of, for example, a smartphone or a tablet, and the smartphone or tablet may be owned by the employee (user) or by the company where the employee works. In this embodiment, it is composed of a smartphone owned by the employee (user).

[0063] In the figure, the monitoring device 10 has a control unit 101. The control unit 101 is the central control unit for the monitoring device 10. The control unit 101 is equipped with a CPU 102, ROM 103, and RAM 104. The CPU 102 is a central processing unit that executes various control programs and is an example of a computer. The ROM 103 stores various control programs executed by the CPU 102 and permanent data. The RAM 104 temporarily stores the calculation results of the control programs by the CPU 102. Note that the control unit 101 in Figure 6 is a general term for the hardware and software used to control the monitoring device 10, and does not necessarily represent a single piece of hardware actually present in the monitoring device 10. Also, the monitoring device 10 is an example of a portable device.

[0064] The monitoring device 10 includes a first communication interface (hereinafter referred to as "first communication IF") 105, a camera 106, a user interface (hereinafter referred to as "user IF") 107, a GPS receiver 108, a second communication interface (hereinafter referred to as "second communication IF") 109, an alerting device 110, and the like.

[0065] The first communication interface 105 is configured with a wireless LAN communication standard interface such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and can connect to the internet line 12. Therefore, the monitoring device 10 is connected to the cloud server 9 in a way that allows them to communicate with each other.

[0066] Camera 106 is connected to the control unit 101 and can capture any subject. Camera 106 also includes hardware with imaging capabilities and may be integrated into the main body of the monitoring device 10, or it may be a separate unit that can be connected to the monitoring device 10.

[0067] The user interface 107 is comprised of a touch panel equipped with both display and operation reception functions, and is connected to the control unit 101. The user interface 107 may also include a combination of a display, such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display, for displaying information, and a keyboard or mouse for receiving user input.

[0068] The GPS receiver 108 receives signals from satellites and provides functions such as detecting the position of the monitoring device 10 and obtaining accurate time information. "GPS" is an abbreviation for "Global Positioning System."

[0069] The second communication interface IF109 is comprised of interfaces for short-range wireless communication standards such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and NFC. The second communication interface IF109 uses Bluetooth communication to establish a communication connection with the electronic tag 11 when the electronic tag 11 approaches the monitoring device 10 within approximately 10m to 20m. In addition, the second communication interface IF109 uses NFC communication to establish a communication connection with the shredding device 7 when the monitoring device 10 approaches the receiving unit 841 of the shredding device 7 within a few centimeters.

[0070] The notification device 110 is composed of a buzzer, speaker, etc., but it may also be composed of optical elements such as LEDs or displays, or a vibrator, etc.

[0071] Furthermore, the monitoring device 10 has a storage device 111. As the storage device 111, for example, semiconductor memory such as flash memory or an HDD can be used. The storage device 111 stores an operating system (hereinafter referred to as "OS") 112 and a monitoring application program (hereinafter referred to as "monitoring app") 113, etc.

[0072] OS112 is iOS®. It could also be any of the following: Windows®, macOS®, Linux®, or Android®.

[0073] The monitoring application 113 becomes available for use, for example, by being downloaded from the cloud server 9 via the internet connection 12 and installed on the monitoring device 10. Alternatively, the download may be performed from the management terminal device 5 instead of the cloud server 9.

[0074] With the monitoring application 113 running on the monitoring device 10, the electronic tag 11 is brought within approximately 10m to 20m of the monitoring device 10, and the monitoring device 10 and the electronic tag 11 are paired using Bluetooth communication. Subsequently, if the distance between the electronic tag 11 and the monitoring device 10 increases and communication between the electronic tag 11 and the monitoring device 10 is lost, the monitoring device 10 emits a warning sound via the notification device 110. This notifies the employee (user) that the electronic tag 11 has moved beyond a predetermined range from the monitoring device 10, i.e., that it is lost.

[0075] In this configuration, the electronic tag 11 is used by being attached to or stored inside a bag 19 containing the printed paper 14 (printed material). Alternatively, the electronic tag 11 may be used by being attached to, for example, a clip that holds the printed paper 14 (printed material).

[0076] Figure 7 is a sequence diagram showing the procedure for printing using a personal computer and printer, and will be described in detail below with reference to the figure. In this specification, the description of OS30 will be omitted when describing the operation of each program. That is, in the following description, a statement to the effect that "Program B controls hardware C" may mean that "Program B controls hardware C using the API of OS41". Also, the processing of CPU21 according to the instructions written in the program may be described using abbreviated language. For example, it may be described as "performed by the CPU" or "performed by the program".

[0077] First, in Figure 7, prior to printing by printer 4, when the electronic tag application 33 is started along with the startup of PC 2, the electronic tag application 33 constantly monitors the status of the print queue 301 (procedure 10 (hereinafter referred to as "T10")).

[0078] Next, the employee (user) issues a print command to application 31 via the operation display unit 26 on PC2 (T11). Then, application 31 generates image data for the image 15 created by the employee (user) using application 31 (T12), and then outputs the generated image data to the printer driver 32 (T13).

[0079] Then, the printer driver 32 generates print data based on the acquired image data (T14). The printer driver 32 then outputs the print job, including the generated print data and acquired print settings, to the print queue 301 managed by the OS 30 (T15).

[0080] Since the electronic tag application 33 constantly monitors the print queue 301 (T10), when a print job is output from the printer driver 32 to the print queue 301, the electronic tag application 33 retrieves the print job from the print queue 301 (T16). The process in T16 is an example of the print data acquisition process.

[0081] Next, the electronic tag application 33 generates a document ID 183 and a page ID 184 as the print ID 17 from the file name and page information extracted from the acquired print job. Then, as shown in Figure 1, it generates two-dimensional barcode print data for printing the two-dimensional barcode 16 encoded with the print ID 17 onto the print paper 14, and print ID print data for printing the print ID 17 onto the print paper 14. After that, it inserts the two-dimensional barcode print data and print ID print data into the print data of the acquired print job (T17). Note that the process in T17 is an example of the generation process.

[0082] In this configuration, the electronic tag application 33 resides on the PC2. The electronic tag application 33 retrieves print jobs output from the printer driver 32 to the print queue 301 before they are output to the printer 4. By controlling the printer 4 to print images, two-dimensional barcodes, and print ID 17 codes on each page of the print paper 14 on the same print paper 14, there is no need to prepare a printer with special specifications for this system. Therefore, this system can be applied to general-purpose printers that are commonly available, improving the applicability and convenience of the system.

[0083] In this embodiment, the processing of T17 generates document ID 183 and page ID 184, but it is not limited to this. For example, in the processing of T17, the user ID 181 entered when the electronic tag application 33 was installed is obtained, and either the user ID 181 alone, or the user ID 181 plus document ID 183 and page ID 184 is used as the print item ID 17, and two-dimensional barcode print data is generated for printing the two-dimensional barcode 16 encoded from the print item ID 17 onto the printing paper 14.

[0084] Furthermore, in the processing of T17, the product name and model number of printer 4 may be obtained from printer 4 and used as the printer ID, and either the printer ID alone, or the printer ID plus document ID 183 and page ID 184 may be used as the print item ID 17, and two-dimensional barcode print data may be generated for printing the two-dimensional barcode 16 encoded from the print item ID 17 onto the print paper 14.

[0085] In this embodiment, a two-dimensional barcode 16 was used as the code to encode the printed material ID 17, but this is not limited to that. For example, a one-dimensional barcode or a QR code could also be used.

[0086] Next, the electronic tag application 33 starts the virtual driver 34 (T18). Once started, the virtual driver 34 sends a print job to the printer 4, which includes the print data generated by the electronic tag application 33, namely the two-dimensional barcode print data and the print ID print data, as well as print settings (T19). Note that the process in T19 is an example of the printing process.

[0087] Next, the printer 4, upon receiving the print job, prints onto the print paper 14 based on the received print job (T20). As a result, as shown in Figure 1, the image 15, the two-dimensional barcode 16, and the print ID 17 are printed on the print paper 14.

[0088] When printing is complete, printer 4 sends a print completion notification to application 31 (T21). This allows employees (users) to recognize that printing is complete via the operation display unit 26 of PC2.

[0089] The printer 4 also sends a print completion notification to the electronic tag application 33 (T22). Upon receiving the print completion notification, the electronic tag application 33 generates print log information 18 (T23), and then sends the generated print log information 18 data to the cloud server 9 via the internet connection 12 (T24). The print log information 18 contains a record for each printed document printed by T20. Note that the process in T24 is an example of a transmission process.

[0090] Next, the cloud server 9, having received the print log information 18 data, stores the received print log information 18 data in the storage unit 94 (T25). In other words, the print log information 18 related to the printed paper 14 (printed material) printed using the printer 4 is stored in the storage unit 94. In addition, the status of the discard information 186 from the print log information 18 received is updated to "Discarding incomplete" (T26). Note that "Discarding incomplete" for discard information 186 is an example of the first data.

[0091] In this configuration, the printer 4 prints an image 15, a two-dimensional barcode 16, and a print ID 17 on the print paper 14. After printing is complete and the electronic tag application 33 receives a print completion notification from the printer 4, it generates print log information 18 and sends it to the cloud server 9 via the internet connection 12. The cloud server 9 stores the received print log information 18 data in its storage unit 94 and is configured to update the status of the discard information 186 in the received print log information 18 to "discard not yet completed". Thus, the cloud server 9 can appropriately manage whether the print paper 14 printed by the printer 4 has been discarded or not.

[0092] Next, in this configuration, printed materials produced by a printer 4 installed at a telework location, for example, an employee's home, may contain confidential company information and need to be properly managed and disposed of. To this end, the employee (user) places the printed paper 14 (printed materials) into a bag 19 equipped with an electronic tag 11, and then transports the bag 19 to the office. After removing the printed paper 14 (printed materials) from the bag 19, it is shredded by the shredding device 7.

[0093] Before transporting the printing paper 14 (printed materials) from their home, the employee (user) activates the electronic tag application 33. Then, they need to connect the monitoring device 10 and the electronic tag 11 and store the user ID 181 in the electronic tag 11. When the monitoring device 10 and the electronic tag 11 are brought within approximately 10m to 20m of each other, they become connected and can communicate with each other. When the employee (user) inputs the user ID 181 via the user interface 107 of the monitoring device 10, the entered user ID 181 is stored in the electronic tag 11. The user ID 181 input via the user interface 107 of the monitoring device 10 is also stored in the storage device 111. The user ID 181 stored in the storage device 111 is an example of specific information.

[0094] In this configuration, the monitoring device 10 is configured to store the user ID 181, but it is not limited to this. For example, the monitoring device 10 may store the terminal ID 182, the printer ID of printer 4 (for example, the product name or model number obtained from printer 4), the document ID 183, the print date 185, etc., either individually or in combination with the user ID 181. The printer ID of printer 4 is obtained in the process of T16 described above.

[0095] Figure 8 is a sequence diagram showing the procedure for shredding in automatic mode using the shredding device, and will be explained in detail below with reference to the diagram. In automatic mode, the shredding device 7 uses the reader 711 to automatically read the two-dimensional barcode 16 printed on the printing paper 14, and then discards (shreds) the printing paper 14. Normally, automatic mode is activated when the power to the shredding device 7 is turned on.

[0096] After the employee (user) turns on the power to the shredding machine 7, they bring the monitoring device 10 close to the receiver 841 of the second communication interface 84 located on the top surface of the housing 701 of the shredding machine 7 (T30). Then, the CPU 72 of the shredding machine 7 reads the user ID 181 stored in the monitoring device 10 via the receiver 841 and the second communication interface 84, and stores it in the data storage unit 76 of the storage device 75. Note that the user ID 181 read from the monitoring device 10 is an example of a first user ID.

[0097] Next, the shredding device 7 transmits the user ID 181 to the cloud server 9 via the first communication interface 77, the LAN 13, and the internet line 12.

[0098] Next, the CPU 91 of the cloud server 9, which has received user ID 181 via the network interface 95, determines whether the received user ID 181 is stored as user ID 181 in the print log information 18 stored in the storage unit 94, and performs user authentication (T32).

[0099] Next, if the received user ID 181 is stored in the print log information 18, the CPU 91 of the cloud server 9 reads the print item ID 17 associated with the received user ID 181, namely the document ID 183 and page ID 184, from the print log information 18 stored in the storage unit 94, and then transmits the authentication completion information, as well as the document ID 183 and page ID 184 as the print item ID 17, to the shredding device 7 via the network interface 95 and the internet line 12 (T33).

[0100] Next, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7, having received the print ID 17 and authentication completion information, stores the received authentication completion information, as well as the document ID 183 and page ID 184 as print ID 17, in the data storage unit 76 of the storage device 75, and activates automatic mode (T34). Subsequently, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 notifies the employee (user) via the user interface 85 that shredding is possible in automatic mode (T35). This notification may be a screen display using the display function of the user interface 85, an audible notification such as a buzzer sound, or a combination of these.

[0101] In this configuration, the user is notified via the user interface 85 whether the system is in automatic mode or not, that is, whether the user ID 181 stored in the monitoring device 10 via the receiving unit 841 and the second communication interface 84 has been entered. This allows the user to accurately understand the mode of the shredding device 7, improving convenience.

[0102] Next, the employee (user) who looks at the user interface 85 places the printed paper 14 (printed material) taken out of the bag 19 onto the placement section 702 of the shredding device 7, and then presses the start button on the user interface 85 (T36).

[0103] Then, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 drives the transport system motor 79 via the first motor control unit 78, thereby rotating the pickup roll 709 and the retard roll 710. As a result, the top sheet of printed paper 14 (printed material) placed on the mounting section 702 is transported toward the first transport path 707 as the pickup roll 709 and the retard roll 710 rotate (T37).

[0104] At that time, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 reads the two-dimensional barcode 16 printed on the printing paper 14 via the reader 711 and obtains the printed document ID 17 printed on the printing paper 14 (T38). Note that the process in T38 is an example of the reading process and ID acquisition process.

[0105] In this embodiment, the printing paper 14 (printed material) is transported after the printing paper 14 (printed material) is placed on the placement unit 702 and the start button on the user interface 85 is pressed. However, the system is not limited to this configuration. For example, after an employee (user) places the printing paper 14 (printed material) on the placement unit 702, the monitoring device 10 is brought close to the receiving unit 841. The shredding device 7 can then be configured to transport the printing paper 14 (printed material) when it reads the user ID 181 stored in the monitoring device 10. In this case, the employee (user) does not have to operate the start button on the user interface 85, which is convenient.

[0106] Next, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 checks whether the print ID 17 obtained via the reader 711 exists among the print IDs 17 stored in the data storage unit 76 of the storage device 75 (T39).

[0107] In this embodiment, the process of T39 is configured to verify whether the print ID 17 obtained via the reader 711, i.e., the document ID 183 and page ID 184, exist in the print ID 17 stored in the data storage unit 76 of the storage device 75, but it is not limited to this configuration.

[0108] For example, in the T17 process described above, if user ID 181 is used alone as print ID 17, or if document ID 183 and page ID 184 are added to user ID 181 to create print ID 17, and a two-dimensional barcode 16 encoded with that print ID 17 is printed on the printing paper 14, then in the T39 process, it is acceptable to configure it to verify whether user ID 181 as print ID 17 obtained via the reader 711 matches user ID 181 obtained in the T30 process. Note that user ID 181 as print ID 17 obtained via the reader 711 is an example of a second user ID.

[0109] In this configuration, the shredder determines whether the user ID of the printed paper 14 (printed material) obtained via the reader 711 is the same as the user ID received by the shredder. If the user IDs are different, the shredder does not shred the paper, thereby preventing the shredding of another user's printed material by mistake.

[0110] Furthermore, for example, in the T17 process described above, if the printer ID is used alone as the print ID 17, or if the document ID 183 and page ID 184 are added to the printer ID to create the print ID 17, and a two-dimensional barcode 16 encoded with the print ID 17 is printed on the printing paper 14, then in the T39 process, it is acceptable to configure it to verify whether the printer ID as the print ID 17 obtained via the reader 711 matches the printer ID obtained in the T30 process. Note that the printer ID obtained in the T30 process is an example of a first printer ID, and the printer ID obtained via the reader 711 is an example of a second printer ID. In this case, it is also necessary to store the printer ID of printer 4 in addition to the user ID 181 in the monitoring device 10.

[0111] In this configuration, the shredder determines whether the printer ID of the printed document matches the printer ID it received, and if the printer IDs are different, it does not shred the document, thus preventing the accidental shredding of documents printed on a different printer.

[0112] Next, if the print ID 17 acquired via the reader 711 is present in the print ID 17 stored in the data storage unit 76 of the storage device 75, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 rotates the first transport roller 708 by driving the transport system motor 79 via the first motor control unit 78. As a result, the printed paper 14 is further transported through the first transport path 707 as the first transport roller 708 rotates. At this time, the switching blade 712 is positioned as shown in Figure 4, and therefore, the printed paper 14 transported through the first transport path 707 is transported toward the shredding unit 703.

[0113] In this process, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 drives the cutter motor 81 via the second motor control unit 80, thereby rotating the cutter of the shredding unit 703. As a result, the printed paper 14 transported along the first transport path 707 is shredded in the shredding unit 703 and accumulated in the storage tray 704 (T40). The process in T40 is an example of the shredding process.

[0114] Next, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 transmits the waste log information to the cloud server 9 via the first communication interface 77, the LAN 13, and the internet line 12. Specifically, the shredding device 7 transmits the print ID 17 of the shredded print paper 14 in the shredding unit 703 to the cloud server 9 as waste log information (T41). In this configuration, the waste log information consists of the print ID 17 obtained via the reader 711 and the waste date 187. Note that the process in T41 is an example of a rewrite process.

[0115] Upon receiving the discard log information, the cloud server 9, in the print log information 18 stored in the storage unit 94, changes the discard information 186 in the print log information 18 that matches the print ID 17 included in the discard log information from "Discarding incomplete" to "Discarded," and updates the discard date 187 (T42). Note that the processing in T41 and T42 is an example of rewriting processing. Also, "Discarded" in the discard information 186 is an example of second data.

[0116] Furthermore, if the print ID 17 acquired via the reader 711 does not exist among the print IDs 17 stored in the data storage unit 76 of the storage device 75, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 rotates the first transport roller 708 by driving the transport system motor 79 via the first motor control unit 78. As a result, the printed paper 14 is further transported along the first transport path 707 as the first transport roller 708 rotates. At this time, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 rotates the switching blade 712 clockwise by driving the switching motor 83 via the third motor control unit 82. As a result, the printed paper 14 that has been transported along the first transport path 707 is transported towards the second transport path 717.

[0117] Furthermore, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 rotates the second transport roller 718 by driving the transport system motor 79 via the first motor control unit 78. As a result, the printing paper 14 guided into the second transport path 717 by the switching blade 712 is further transported within the second transport path 717 as the second transport roller 718 rotates, and then the printing paper 14 is discharged from the discharge port 713 onto the discharge tray 714 (T43).

[0118] Next, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 sends error reporting information to the cloud server 9 via the first communication interface 77, LAN 13, and internet line 12. Specifically, the shredding device 7 sends the print ID 17 of the printed paper 14 that was not present in the print ID 17 stored in the data storage unit 76 of the storage device 75 to the cloud server 9 as error reporting information (T44).

[0119] The cloud server 9, upon receiving the error report information, stores the error report information in the storage unit 94 (T45).

[0120] Next, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 notifies the employee (user) via the user interface 85 that the print ID 17 did not match. In other words, it notifies the employee that a print document printed by someone else was mixed in with the printed paper 14 (print document) placed on the placement section 702 of the shredding device 7 (T46).

[0121] Furthermore, if the reader 711 fails to read the two-dimensional barcode 16 printed on the printing paper 14, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 rotates the first transport roller 708 by driving the transport system motor 79 via the first motor control unit 78. As a result, the printing paper 14 is further transported along the first transport path 707 as the first transport roller 708 rotates. At this time, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 rotates the switching blade 712 clockwise by driving the switching motor 83 via the third motor control unit 82. As a result, the printing paper 14 that has been transported along the first transport path 707 is transported towards the second transport path 717.

[0122] Furthermore, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 rotates the second transport roller 718 by driving the transport system motor 79 via the first motor control unit 78. As a result, the printing paper 14 guided into the second transport path 717 by the switching blade 712 is further transported within the second transport path 717 as the second transport roller 718 rotates, and then the printing paper 14 is discharged from the discharge port 713 onto the discharge tray 714 (T47).

[0123] In this configuration, if the print ID 17 acquired via the reader 711 does not exist among the print IDs 17 stored in the data storage unit 76 of the storage device 75, the printed paper 14 is discharged from the discharge port 713 onto the discharge tray 714. This makes it convenient for employees (users) to easily retrieve, for example, printed documents printed by others.

[0124] Next, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 notifies the employee (user) via the user interface 85 that the reader 711 failed to read the two-dimensional barcode 16 printed on the printing paper 14. (T48)

[0125] The shredding device 7 repeats the processes described above in T37 to T48 until all of the printed paper 14 placed on the mounting section 702 of the shredding device 7 has been transported.

[0126] Furthermore, in this configuration of the shredding device 7, if an employee (user) places the printed paper 14 that has been discharged onto the discharge tray 714 back onto the placement section 702 of the shredding device 7, the device repeats the processes T37 to T48 described above.

[0127] Next, when the shredding device 7 detects that all of the printed paper 14 placed on the loading section 702 has been transported, that is, when a paper sensor (not shown) or the like detects that there is no more printed paper 14 on the loading section 702 of the shredding device 7, the shredding device 7 notifies the employee (user) of the completion of disposal via the user interface 85 (T49). The shredding device 7 transmits the disposal completion information to the cloud server 9 via the first communication interface 77, LAN 13, and internet line 12 (T50). After that, the shredding device 7 exits automatic mode (T51).

[0128] In this configuration, the automatic mode is terminated (T51) when it is detected that all of the printed paper 14 placed on the placement section 702 of the shredding device 7 has been transported. However, the configuration is not limited to this. For example, the automatic mode could be terminated (T51) when the period during which no printed paper 14 has been transported exceeds a threshold time. In either case, the automatic mode terminates automatically, which is convenient for employees (users) who want to use the shredding device 7 as a simple shredder.

[0129] Next, the manual mode of the shredding device will be described. Figure 9 is a sequence diagram showing the procedure for shredding in manual mode using the shredding device, and will be described in detail below with reference to the diagram. Note that manual mode is a mode for shredding printed paper 14 without holding the monitoring device 10 over the receiver 841 of the second communication interface 84 located on the top surface of the housing 701 of the shredding device 7, and the shredding device 7 operates as a general shredder.

[0130] After the employee (user) powers on the shredder 7, they set the manual mode via the user interface 85 (T70). Note that if the initial mode at startup is manual mode, the T70 procedure is unnecessary.

[0131] After T70, the shredding device 7 is started in manual mode (T71) and notifies the employee (user) via the user interface 85 that shredding is possible (72).

[0132] Next, an employee (user) who has been notified via the user interface 85 that shredding is possible places the printed paper 14 to be shredded on the placement unit 702 (T73).

[0133] Next, the employee (user) instructs the start of shredding via the user interface 85 (T74).

[0134] Then, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 drives the transport system motor 79 via the first motor control unit 78, thereby rotating the pickup roll 709, the retard roll 710, and the first transport roller 708. As a result, the printed paper 14 is further transported through the first transport path 707 as the pickup roll 709, the retard roll 710, and the first transport roller 708 rotate. At this time, the image is not read by the reading device 711. The switching blade 712 is positioned as shown in Figure 4, and therefore, the printed paper 14 that has been transported through the first transport path 707 is transported toward the shredding section 703 (T75).

[0135] At this time, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 drives the cutter motor 81 via the second motor control unit 80, thereby rotating the cutter of the shredding unit 703. As a result, the printed paper 14 transported through the first transport path 707 is shredded in the shredding unit 703 and accumulated in the storage tray 704 (T76).

[0136] Furthermore, in this case, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 rotates the transport system motor 79 and the cutter motor 81 via the transport system motor 79 and the second motor control unit 80 via the first motor control unit 78 at a higher speed than in the automatic mode described above. In other words, in manual mode, the CPU 72 of the shredding device 7 does not need to read the two-dimensional barcode 16 printed on the printing paper 14 via the reader 711, so the printing paper 14 is transported at a higher speed compared to the automatic mode.

[0137] Therefore, in the manual mode of the shredding device 7, the time required to shred one sheet of printed paper 14 is shorter than in the automatic mode described above, and even when shredding the entire sheet of printed paper 14, the time can be significantly reduced compared to the automatic mode described above. Consequently, waste can be disposed of more quickly.

[0138] The shredding device 7 repeats the processes described above, T75 to T76, until all of the printed paper 14 placed on the placement section 702 of the shredding device 7 has been transported.

[0139] Next, when the shredding device 7 detects that all of the printed paper 14 placed on the loading section 702 has been transported, that is, when a paper sensor (not shown) or the like detects that there is no more printed paper 14 on the loading section 702 of the shredding device 7, the shredding device 7 notifies the employee (user) of the completion of disposal via the user interface 85 (T77). After that, the shredding device 7 exits manual mode (T78).

[0140] As detailed above, when the user ID 181 stored in the monitoring device 10 is read via the receiving unit 841 and the second communication interface 84, the shredding device 7 reads the two-dimensional barcode 16 printed on the printing paper 14, and in addition to shredding the printing paper 14, sends the printed material ID indicated by the read two-dimensional barcode 16 to the cloud server 9. The cloud server 9 changes the disposal information 186 in the print log information 18 corresponding to the printed material ID to "discarded" and updates the disposal date 187, thereby allowing the cloud server 9 to manage whether or not the printed material has been discarded. On the other hand, when the user ID 181 stored in the monitoring device 10 is not entered, the shredding device can be used as a simple shredder by shredding the printed material without reading the two-dimensional barcode 16, and the printed material can be discarded more quickly compared to when the disposal of printed materials is managed.

[0141] This embodiment is merely illustrative and does not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, the present invention can naturally be improved and modified in various ways without departing from its essence. For example, PC2 is not limited to the storage device 24, but may be equipped with any type of large-capacity storage device.

[0142] Furthermore, the communication method between PC2 and printer4 is not limited to wired communication using a USB cable. For example, it may be wireless communication compliant with the Wi-Fi® standard, or wireless communication based on other standards such as Bluetooth®. It may also have multiple communication functions.

[0143] Furthermore, the two-dimensional barcode 16 and the print ID 17 may be included in the header or footer of the print paper 14, or they may be composited into the image of the page to be printed.

[0144] Furthermore, the rewriting process (T41) and the shredding process (T40), which send print ID 17 to the cloud server 9 as waste log information, can be performed in any order, or simultaneously.

[0145] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the rewriting process (T41) for sending the waste log information to the cloud server 9 is performed each time the shredding process (T40) is executed. However, it is also acceptable to perform the rewriting process (T41) for sending the waste log information to the cloud server 9 all at once when it is detected that all of the printed paper 14 placed on the placement section 702 of the shredding device 7 has been transported, that is, when the paper sensor (not shown) or the like detects that there is no more printed paper 14 on the placement section 702 of the shredding device 7.

[0146] Furthermore, the input of the user ID 181 to the shredding device 7 may be configured to be done by the employee (user) via the user interface 85 of the shredding device 7, without using the monitoring device 10. However, if the system is configured to receive the user ID 181 from the monitoring device 10, the effort required of the employee (user) to input the user ID 181 can be reduced.

[0147] Furthermore, while the user ID 181 was entered into the shredding device 7 using the monitoring device 10, an electronic tag 11 could also be used. In this case, the electronic tag 11 is an example of a portable device.

[0148] Furthermore, the processes disclosed in the embodiments may be executed by a single CPU, multiple CPUs, hardware such as an ASIC, or a combination thereof. Also, the processes disclosed in the embodiments can be implemented in various forms, such as a recording medium or method that stores a program for executing the process. [Explanation of symbols]

[0149] 2 PC 33 Electronic tag app 4 Printers 7 Shredding device 703 Shredding section 711 Reader 841 Receiving Unit 9. Cloud Server 10 monitoring devices 11 Electronic tags 14 Printing paper 16. Two-dimensional barcode 17 Print ID 18 Print Log Information 186 Disposal Information

Claims

1. Print management program and Server and Shredder and, A print management system comprising, The aforementioned print management program is The controller of the device into which the aforementioned print management program is incorporated, The process of acquiring print data, Based on the print data acquired in the print data acquisition process, a generation process is performed to determine a print ID for each page of the printout and to generate a code that encodes the determined print ID. A printing process that prints the code generated in the generation process and the image of the page corresponding to the print ID encoded in the code onto the same sheet using a printer, A transmission process that sends a print log containing the aforementioned print ID and first data indicating that disposal is incomplete to the server, The print log sent from the print management program is stored on the server. The aforementioned shredder is, It has an input slot, a cutter, a specific information input interface, and a scanner. It is configured to accept input of specific information via the aforementioned specific information input interface, When the aforementioned specific information is entered, A reading process is performed which involves transporting the printed material inserted from the input port and reading the code printed on the printed material using the scanner, An ID acquisition process to acquire the printed document ID encoded in the code read in the aforementioned reading process, A rewrite request associated with the print ID obtained in the ID acquisition process is sent to the server, and the server is instructed to rewrite the first data contained in the print log corresponding to the print ID associated with the rewrite request among the print logs stored in the server with second data indicating that it has been discarded. A shredding process is performed in which the printed material from which the code has been read in the reading process is shredded using the cutter, It is configured to perform the following actions: If the aforementioned specific information is not entered, The printed material inserted through the input opening is transported, and without performing the reading process, the printed material is shredded using the cutter. The aforementioned print management program is In the generation process, a user ID is obtained, and based on the print data obtained in the print data acquisition process, a print ID including the obtained user ID is determined for each page of the print, and a code is generated by encoding the determined print ID. The aforementioned shredder is, The system is configured to accept input of the user ID as the aforementioned specific information. When the aforementioned specific information is entered, After performing the reading process and the ID acquisition process, it is determined whether the first user ID, which is the user ID shown in the input specific information, and the second user ID, which is the user ID included in the printed document ID acquired in the ID acquisition process, match. If the first user ID and the second user ID match, the rewrite process and the shredding process are executed. If the first user ID and the second user ID do not match, the rewrite process and the shredding process will not be performed. A print management system configured in such a way.

2. Print management program and Server and Shredder and, A print management system comprising, The aforementioned print management program is The controller of the device into which the aforementioned print management program is incorporated, The process of acquiring print data, Based on the print data acquired in the print data acquisition process, a generation process is performed to determine a print ID for each page of the printout and to generate a code that encodes the determined print ID. A printing process that prints the code generated in the generation process and the image of the page corresponding to the print ID encoded in the code onto the same sheet using a printer, A transmission process that sends a print log containing the aforementioned print ID and first data indicating that disposal is incomplete to the server, The print log sent from the print management program is stored on the server. The aforementioned shredder is, It has an input slot, a cutter, a specific information input interface, and a scanner. It is configured to accept input of specific information via the aforementioned specific information input interface, When the aforementioned specific information is entered, A reading process is performed which involves transporting the printed material inserted from the input port and reading the code printed on the printed material using the scanner, An ID acquisition process to acquire the printed document ID encoded in the code read in the aforementioned reading process, A rewrite request associated with the print ID obtained in the ID acquisition process is sent to the server, and the server is instructed to rewrite the first data contained in the print log corresponding to the print ID associated with the rewrite request among the print logs stored in the server with second data indicating that it has been discarded. A shredding process is performed in which the printed material from which the code has been read in the reading process is shredded using the cutter, It is configured to perform the following actions: If the aforementioned specific information is not entered, The printed material inserted through the input opening is transported, and without performing the reading process, the printed material is shredded using the cutter. The aforementioned print management program is In the generation process, a printer ID that identifies the printer is obtained, and based on the print data obtained in the print data acquisition process, a print ID including the printer ID is determined for each page of the print job, and a code is generated that encodes the determined print ID. The aforementioned shredder is, The system is configured to accept input of the printer ID as the aforementioned specific information. When the aforementioned specific information is entered, After performing the reading process and the ID acquisition process, it is determined whether the first printer ID, which is the printer ID indicated in the input specific information, and the second printer ID, which is the printer ID included in the print ID acquired in the ID acquisition process, match. If the first printer ID and the second printer ID match, the rewriting process and the shredding process are executed. If the first printer ID and the second printer ID do not match, the rewriting process and the shredding process will not be performed. A print management system configured in such a way.

3. A print management system according to claim 1 or claim 2, A portable device electronic tag capable of storing the aforementioned specific information is provided. The aforementioned shredder is, The aforementioned specific information input interface has a wireless communication interface, The system communicates with the portable device electronic tag in which the specific information is stored via the wireless communication interface, and accepts the input of the specific information by receiving the specific information from the portable device electronic tag. A print management system configured in such a way.

4. A print management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The device into which the print management program is incorporated is an information processing device, The aforementioned print management program is In the print data acquisition process, the print queue of the information processing device is monitored, and the print data entered into the print queue is acquired before the print data is output to the printer. A print management system configured in such a way.

5. The opening and A cutter and A specific information input interface, Scanner and A shredder having, The aforementioned shredder is, The system is configured to accept a setting for whether or not it is in automatic mode, and when it is set to automatic mode, it is configured to accept input of specific information via the specific information input interface. When the automatic mode is set and the specific information is entered, The shredder transports the printed material inserted through the input slot and performs a reading process using the scanner to read the code printed on the printed material. The code is generated by a print management program incorporated in a device separate from the shredder. The print management program determines a print ID for each page of print, generates a code that encodes the determined print ID, prints the generated code and an image of the page corresponding to the print ID encoded in the code onto the same sheet using a printer, and sends a print log containing the print ID and first data indicating that disposal is incomplete to the server. The transmitted print log is stored on the server. Furthermore, when set to the automatic mode and the specific information has been entered, An ID acquisition process to acquire the printed document ID encoded in the code read in the aforementioned reading process, A rewrite request associated with the print ID obtained in the ID acquisition process is sent to the server, and the server is instructed to rewrite the first data contained in the print log corresponding to the print ID associated with the rewrite request among the print logs stored in the server with second data indicating that it has been discarded. A shredding process is performed in which the printed material from which the code has been read in the reading process is shredded using the cutter, It is configured to perform the following actions: If the print log corresponding to the print ID obtained in the ID acquisition process is stored on the server, the rewrite process and the shredding process are executed. If the print log corresponding to the print ID obtained in the ID acquisition process is not stored on the server, the rewrite process and the shredding process will not be executed. When not set to the aforementioned automatic mode, The printed material inserted through the input opening is transported, and without performing the reading process, the printed material is shredded using the cutter. A shredder configured in such a way.

6. A shredder according to claim 5, When the automatic mode is set and the specific information is entered, If the print log corresponding to the print ID obtained in the ID acquisition process is not stored in the server, the rewrite process and the shredding process are not performed, and the print document from which the code was read in the reading process is ejected from the machine. A shredder configured in such a way.

7. A shredder according to claim 5 or claim 6, When the automatic mode is set and the specific information is entered, The printed material fed in from the aforementioned input port is transported at a first speed. When not set to the aforementioned automatic mode, The printed material fed in from the input opening is transported at a second speed that is faster than the first speed. A shredder configured in such a way.

8. A shredder according to any one of claims 5 to 7, The system has a notification means for notifying whether or not the automatic mode is set. A shredder configured in such a way.

9. A shredder according to any one of claims 5 to 8, The system is set to the automatic mode, and when it receives input of the specific information via the specific information input interface, it starts executing the reading process. A shredder configured in such a way.

10. A shredder according to any one of claims 5 to 9, When the automatic mode is set and the specific information is entered, After starting the transport of the printed materials, the automatic mode is terminated when the transport of all printed materials has been completed. A shredder configured in such a way.

11. A shredder according to any one of claims 5 to 9, When the system is set to the automatic mode and the specific information has been entered, if the continuous period during which no printed materials are being transported exceeds a threshold time, the automatic mode will be terminated. A shredder configured in such a way.

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