Permissible print volume management device and management program

Abstract

The present invention allows a user to set, as desired, a condition of not permitting and a condition of permitting printing which causes a permissible print volume to become a negative quantity, and improves convenience.　A multi-function device 200 is configured to be capable of performing printing up to a permissible number of printable sheets. The permissible number of printable sheets increases according to a prescribed charged number of sheets that is guaranteed by a purchased printing authority which is purchased via a financial cost to a user and decreases according to the volume of printing which has been performed. A CPU 310 of a mobile terminal 300 performs: a process for increasing the permissible number of printable sheets of the multi-function device 200; a process for permitting addition of a permissible number of printable sheets which has not been purchased with respect to the shortage of the permissible number of printable sheets when a prescribed negative charge process application condition is satisfied and for prohibiting addition of a permissible number of printable sheets which has not been purchased with respect to the shortage of the permissible number of printable sheets when the application condition is not satisfied; and a process for setting a negative charge process application condition.

Description

Allowable print volume management device and management program

[0001] The present invention relates to an allowable print volume management device and a management program for managing an allowable print volume that indicates an upper limit of printing by a printing device.

[0002] A system is already known in which a management server adds a guaranteed print volume corresponding to a printing authorization purchased based on a user's manual operation to a printing device's allowable print volume, and the printing device then prints up to the allowable print volume after the addition. In such a system, as described in Patent Document 1, for example, a technology has been disclosed that allows exceptional printing within a predetermined range based on the user's usage history, even if a printing instruction is given for a print volume that exceeds the allowable print volume, resulting in a shortage of the allowable print volume.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2023-125561

[0004] With the above technology, when the printing process within the aforementioned exceptional predetermined range is completed, the allowable print volume, which is the upper limit of the printable volume, becomes negative. In this case, the user can purchase additional printing authority, or so-called charging, to add the guaranteed print volume guaranteed by the purchased printing authority, thereby increasing the allowable print volume and allowing printing to continue.

[0005] However, if printing results in a negative allowable print volume, the financial burden on the user increases. On the other hand, if the allowable print volume is never allowed to become negative, printing will be stopped even when the user wants to print, which is inconvenient. In other words, there are conditions under which it is better not to allow printing that results in a negative allowable print volume, and conditions under which it is better to allow printing that results in a negative allowable print volume, and these conditions vary depending on the user. The above technology does not take into account the conditions under which it is better not to allow printing that results in a negative allowable print volume, and the conditions under which it is better to allow it.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an allowable print volume management device and management program that enable users to set conditions for not allowing and allowing printing that results in a negative allowable print volume according to their preferences, thereby improving convenience.

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an allowable printing volume management device that manages the allowable printing volume of a printing device, wherein the printing device is configured to be able to perform printing up to the allowable printing volume, and the allowable printing volume of the printing device increases according to a predetermined guaranteed printing volume guaranteed by purchased printing authority purchased at the user's financial expense, and decreases according to the amount of printing performed, and the allowable printing volume management device is equipped with a control unit that is configured to execute an allowable printing volume increase process that increases the allowable printing volume of the printing device, a non-purchased printing volume increase allowance process that, in the allowable printing volume increase process, allows adding an unpurchased allowable printing volume to make up for the shortfall in the allowable printing volume if a predetermined first condition is met, and prohibits adding an unpurchased allowable printing volume to make up for the shortfall in the allowable printing volume if the first condition is not met, and a first condition setting process that sets the first condition.

[0008] In the present invention, the allowable print volume of a printing device is configured to increase according to a predetermined guaranteed print volume guaranteed by the purchased print authority purchased with the user's financial burden, and to decrease according to the amount of print actually performed. To this end, the control unit of the allowable print volume management device executes an allowable print volume increase process to increase the allowable print volume of the printing device.

[0009] In the present invention, when a print instruction is given for a print amount exceeding the allowable print amount, resulting in a shortage of the allowable print amount, the allowable print amount can be increased by adding the allowable print amount that has not been purchased, and when the printing process is completed, the allowable print amount becomes negative.

[0010] When allowing a decrease in the allowable print volume by adding the unpurchased allowable print volume as described above, a first condition for allowing a decrease in the allowable print volume is set in the first condition setting process, rather than always allowing a decrease in the allowable print volume. Then, in the non-purchased print volume increase allowance process, adding the unpurchased allowable print volume is allowed if the first condition is met, and adding the unpurchased allowable print volume to make up for the shortfall in the allowable print volume is prohibited if the first condition is not met.

[0011] According to the present invention, the conditions under which the allowable print volume is not allowed to decrease and the conditions under which it is allowed to decrease can be set as desired by the user, thereby improving convenience.

[0012] According to the present invention, the conditions under which printing that results in a negative allowable print volume is not permitted and the conditions under which printing is permitted can be set as desired by the user, thereby improving convenience.

[0013] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the system configuration of a printing service providing system according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a mobile terminal; FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of information transmission and reception in a printing service providing system for a prepaid printing service; FIG. 4 is a diagram explaining specific parameter processing executed inside the multifunction peripheral for the prepaid printing service; FIG. 5 is a diagram explaining specific parameter processing executed inside the multifunction peripheral when a negative charge is applied; FIG. 6 is a diagram explaining problems with specific parameter processing executed inside the multifunction peripheral when printing by fax; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a negative charge setting screen displayed on the touch panel of a mobile terminal; FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing in detail the procedure executed by the processor of the multifunction peripheral when a print task is executed; and FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a negative charge setting screen displayed when the negative charge setting cannot be changed.

[0014] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] <Overview of Print Service Providing System> FIG. 1 shows an example of the system configuration of a print service providing system according to one embodiment of the present invention. The print service providing system 1 provides a prepaid printing service in which a customer user pays a fee in advance to use the printing function of a multifunction peripheral 200. In FIG. 1, the print service providing system 1 includes a management server 100, a multifunction peripheral 200, a mobile terminal 300, and a transaction server 400. The management server 100, the multifunction peripheral 200, the mobile terminal 300, and the transaction server 400 are connected to a network NT including telephone communication lines and mobile phone communication lines and are capable of communicating with each other. In this embodiment, the multifunction peripheral 200 is an example of a printing device, and the mobile terminal 300 is an example of an allowable print volume management device.

[0016] <Management Server> The management server 100 is a server installed and managed by, for example, the manufacturer of the multifunction peripheral 200. As shown in Fig. 1, the management server 100 has a processor 110, a storage device 115, and a communication interface 190. The processor 110, the storage device 115, and the communication interface 190 are connected via a bus 105 so as to be able to send and receive data to and from each other.

[0017] The storage device 115 includes a volatile storage device 120 and a non-volatile storage device 130. The volatile storage device 120 is, for example, a DRAM, and stores various programs and data to be processed. The non-volatile storage device 130 is, for example, a hard disk drive or a solid state drive, and includes a program storage area 131 and a data storage area 132.

[0018] Various programs, including those related to the prepaid printing service, are stored in the program storage area 131. Various information related to users who have subscribed to the prepaid printing service and the multifunction peripherals 200 they are using is stored in the data storage area 132.

[0019] The processor 110 is a device that performs data processing, such as a CPU, and executes various programs, including programs related to the prepaid printing service, stored in the program storage area 131. The processor 110 performs various processes, including data communication with the mobile terminal 300, the multifunction peripheral 200, and the transaction server 400, which are connected to the network NT. The processor 110 executes the purchase of printing authority by the printing service providing system 1 of this embodiment.

[0020] The communication interface 190 is a wired LAN interface or a wireless interface for communicating with other devices, and is connected to the network NT.

[0021] The storage device 115 is not limited to the configuration of the device elements described above, and may be configured, for example, by RAM, ROM, EEPROM, HDD, portable recording medium such as a USB memory that is detachably attached to the management server 100, a buffer provided in the processor 110, or a combination thereof. The storage device 115 may be a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium is a non-transitory medium. In addition to the above examples, non-transitory media also include recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs. A non-transitory medium is also a tangible medium. The same applies to the storage device 215 of the multifunction peripheral 200, which will be described later.

[0022] <Multifunction Device> The multifunction device 200 is owned, for example, by a user who receives the prepaid printing service. As shown in Fig. 1, the multifunction device 200 has a processor 210, a storage device 215, a display unit 240, an operation unit 250, a communication interface 270, and a printing unit 290. The processor 210, storage device 215, display unit 240, operation unit 250, communication interface 270, and printing unit 290 are connected via a bus 205 so that they can send and receive data with each other. In this embodiment, the multifunction device 200 also has a document reading unit 260 that reads documents, a fax communication unit 280 that can send and receive faxes, and an email processing unit 285 that can send and receive emails.

[0023] The storage device 215 includes a volatile storage device 220 and a nonvolatile storage device 230. The volatile storage device 220 is, for example, a DRAM and includes an image data storage area 221 for storing image data to be printed. The nonvolatile storage device 230 is, for example, a flash memory and includes a program storage area 232 and a data storage area 233. The program storage area 232 stores, for example, firmware, a program based on the flowchart of FIG. 8 (described below). The data storage area 233 stores various information related to the prepaid printing service, such as various parameters such as the total number of prints, the total number of printable sheets, and the allowable number of prints (described below). The parameter information related to the prepaid printing service will be described in detail in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 (described below).

[0024] The processor 210 is a device that performs data processing, such as a CPU, and executes various programs stored in the program storage area 232.

[0025] The display unit 240 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and is capable of displaying various types of information. The operation unit 250 is a device that accepts operations by the user. The user can input various instructions to the multifunction peripheral 200 by operating the operation unit 250. The communication interface 270 is a wired or wireless network interface for communicating with other devices, and is connected to the network NT and the mobile terminal 300.

[0026] The printing unit 290 prints an image on the transported paper using a predetermined method while removing and transporting paper from a paper feed tray using a transport mechanism (not shown). The printing method is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, an inkjet or laser printing method. The printing unit 290 forms an image on the paper using ink from an ink cartridge or toner from a toner cartridge (not shown) in accordance with a print job sent from the mobile terminal 300 or a print job generated by the printing unit 290 itself based on operations on the operation unit 250. The multifunction peripheral 200 of this embodiment is also capable of handling a variety of print jobs, such as fax printing via a fax communication received from an external device via a telephone communication line using the fax communication unit 280, and automatic printing of emails received via the network NT using the email processing unit 285.

[0027] <Mobile Terminal> Fig. 2 shows an example of the system configuration of the mobile terminal 300. The mobile terminal 300 is, for example, a portable terminal such as a smartphone owned by a user, and is connected to the network NT and the multifunction device 200 via wireless communication. As shown in Fig. 2, the mobile terminal 300 has a CPU 310, a memory 320, a communication control unit 330 for connecting to the network NT and the multifunction device 200 via wireless communication, a touch panel 340, and a large-capacity storage device 350.

[0028] The mass storage device 350 is, for example, a flash memory, and includes a program storage area 351 and a data storage area 352. The CPU 310 executes various programs stored in the program storage area 351. The CPU 310 executes various processes, including data communication with the management server 100 connected to the network NT. The CPU 310 also executes various processes, including data communication with the multifunction peripheral 200 connected via wireless communication, such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark). The data storage area 352 stores a user ID and other information issued based on the programs or the printing service, for identifying the user corresponding to the mobile terminal 300.

[0029] Mobile terminal 300 also displays various information and accepts various operations by the user on touch panel 340, which is an integrated combination of a liquid crystal display and a touch pad. The user can input various instructions to mobile terminal 300 by operating touch panel 340. Note that CPU 310 and the programs stored in program storage area 351 are an example of a control unit, and touch panel 340 is an example of an operation unit.

[0030] Instead of a portable terminal, the mobile terminal 300 may be another information terminal such as a tablet computer or a desktop PC.

[0031] 1, the transaction server 400 is a server for performing online settlement via the network NT. The transaction server 400 has a processor, a storage device, and a communication interface for connecting to the network NT (not shown).

[0032] <Prepaid Printing Service During Normal Use> FIG. 3 shows a specific example of a prepaid printing service provided by the printing service providing system 1 of this embodiment during normal use.

[0033] In this embodiment, the printing service provided by the printing service providing system 1 is a prepaid printing service. The prepaid printing service is a service in which the number of pages charged, guaranteed for the printing authority purchased in advance by the user through a purchase request by charging, is added to the number of pages allowed to be printed by each target multifunction device 200, and printing processing can be performed on the multifunction device 200 up to the number of pages allowed to be printed.

[0034] The addition of the charge number to the allowable printable number is performed, for example, by the processor 110 of the management server 100 by updating the allowable printable number stored in the data storage area 132 for each individual multifunction device 200. Furthermore, this addition information is also sent to the multifunction device 200 via the network NT, and the allowable printable number stored separately in the data storage area 233 is synchronously updated.

[0035] Each time printing is performed on the multifunction device 200 side, the processor 210 reduces the value of the allowable number of prints in the data memory area 233 by the number of prints, and this value is sent to the management server 100 via the network NT, for example, at regular intervals, and the allowable number of prints in the data memory area 132 is updated synchronously.

[0036] In the prepaid printing service described above, when the multifunction device 200 completes printing based on the allowable number of pages and the allowable number of pages, which is the upper limit of the number of pages that can be printed, reaches zero or falls below this limit, the user can recharge by completing a new purchase procedure. This adds up the purchased recharge number, increasing the allowable number of pages, and allows the user to continue printing.

[0037] In the printing service providing system 1 of this embodiment, the printing authority can be purchased based on a user's purchase request. The purchase of printing authority based on a user's purchase request is executed when a charge command, which is a purchase request for the printing authority, is sent from the mobile terminal 300 to the management server 100 in response to the user's charge operation and accepted by the management server 100. The purchase of printing authority is executed at any timing desired by the user. At this time, the user selects one of several charge plans with different purchase quantities and purchase amounts, such as a charge quantity of 50 sheets = 500 yen, 100 sheets = 900 yen, or 250 sheets = 2000 yen, and purchases the corresponding printing authority. The specific electronic payment process at the time of purchase is performed by the transaction server 400 in cooperation with the management server 100.

[0038] An example of specific parameter processing executed within the multifunction peripheral 200 for the prepaid printing service will now be described with reference to FIG. 4. First, as shown in FIG. 4A, the multifunction peripheral 200 stores parameters for the total number of prints and the total number of printable sheets in the data storage area 233. The total number of prints is a parameter that represents the total cumulative number of sheets actually printed by the user of the multifunction peripheral 200 since subscribing to and starting use of the prepaid printing service. It is an important parameter for management purposes as it represents the absolute usage of the multifunction peripheral 200 by the user. The total number of printable sheets is a parameter that represents the total cumulative number of sheets actually purchased by the user of the multifunction peripheral 200 since subscribing to and starting use of the prepaid printing service. The difference between the total number of prints and the total number of printable sheets corresponds to the allowable number of prints. The user can continue printing as long as the value of this allowable number of prints does not reach zero.

[0039] On the other hand, if the user is charged under a charge plan that purchases a charge amount A, the charge amount A is added to the original total number of printable sheets as shown in FIG. 4(b) to update it as the new total number of printable sheets, and the new allowable number of printable sheets is calculated as the difference between the total number of printable sheets at that time.

[0040] The allowable number of prints is an example of the allowable print volume, the charged number is an example of the guaranteed print volume, and the process of adding the charged number to the total printable number is an example of the allowable print volume increase process. Also, instead of the difference between the total printable number and the total printed number, the allowable number of prints may be the number added by the charged number and subtracted by the number of sheets actually printed.

[0041] <Negative Charges and Conditions for Applying The Negative Charges and the ... In the prepaid printing service during normal use described above, it is assumed that printing cannot be performed when the total number of prints exceeds the total number of printable pages, i.e., printing where the allowable number of prints becomes a negative value is not possible. However, there are cases where it is better to allow the processing of negative charges as an exception to ensure that printing can continue even in situations where the allowable number of prints cannot be charged due to unavoidable reasons such as the network NT going offline or the server going down.

[0042] Specifically, this negative charge process temporarily allows the total number of prints to exceed the total number of printable sheets. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 5, this process temporarily increases the allowable number of prints by allowing the allowable number of prints to a negative value. In other words, this process post-charges the excess of the increased total number of prints over the total number of printable sheets without updating the total number of printable sheets originally stored in the multifunction device 200. In this case, the allowable number of prints is increased and updated by a negative temporary charge amount a corresponding to the excess of the total number of prints.

[0043] However, allowing such negative charge processing unconditionally and without any upper limit would lead to an increase in the financial burden on users that would far exceed their budget.On the other hand, completely disallowing negative charge processing would cause printing to stop even when the user really wants to print, which would be inconvenient.

[0044] For example, the need for negative charges for fax printing varies greatly depending on the user. In other words, with normal fax printing, the number of pages to be printed cannot be determined in advance at the start of printing; the number of pages printed is ultimately determined once all printing is completed. Therefore, if negative charges were not allowed at all, as shown in Figure 6, the number of pages currently allowed for fax printing would likely be insufficient, resulting in the fax not being able to print all pages and resulting in missed faxes. In contrast, users who regularly receive large numbers of important documents via fax communication would likely want to at least allow a temporary negative charge to ensure that all pages of fax printing are printed.

[0045] As such, the necessity for negative charge processing varies greatly depending on the user's circumstances and on various conditions such as task content. For this reason, it is desirable for users to be able to freely set whether or not to apply negative charge processing depending on conditions such as print tasks.

[0046] In contrast to this, in this embodiment, a setting screen 340A regarding negative charges as shown in Figure 7 is displayed on an application program (or a web program) running on the mobile terminal 300, and the user can arbitrarily set the conditions for whether or not to apply negative charges by operating this setting screen 340A.

[0047] 7 displays individual information 341 of the target device (the multifunction peripheral 200 in this example), and displays a master setting item (a "negative charge allowed" setting item 342 in the example shown in FIG. 7) that sets whether or not negative charge processing is permitted in the prepaid printing service in the form of a check box so that it can be set. Furthermore, subordinate to this master setting item, setting items corresponding to the task-specific conditions for fax printing ("Fax Reception" 343 in the figure), immediate email printing ("Email Print Reception" 344 in FIG. 7), and a regular print job ("Regular Print Job in Progress" 345 in FIG. 7) are similarly displayed in the form of check boxes so that they can be set.

[0048] 7, simply by setting the master setting item 342 to allow negative charge processing (by checking the checkbox), all other task-specific condition setting items 343, 344, and 345 are automatically set to allow negative charge processing, and these can then be individually canceled (not shown). However, the master setting item 342 and the task-specific condition setting items 343, 344, and 345 may be set independently.

[0049] When the user presses the settings confirmation button on the settings screen (the "Apply Settings" button 346 in FIG. 7), the confirmed setting information is sent to the multifunction device 200 via the management server 100 (see the "Charge Settings" transmission path in FIG. 3). The multifunction device 200 then allows negative charge processing as needed only when the master setting item 342 is set to allow negative charge processing and only during the execution of a print task with task-specific conditions for which negative charges are allowed. In other words, this allows an increase in the allowable number of prints that have not been purchased.

[0050] In the above, the negative charge setting process in which the CPU 310 of the mobile terminal 300 displays the negative charge setting screen 340A on the touch panel 340 and sets each setting item 342 to 345 in accordance with input from the user is an example of a first condition setting process and a condition input acceptance process, and the above master setting item 342 and setting items 343, 344, and 345 corresponding to the task-specific conditions of fax printing, instant email printing, and normal print jobs are examples of first conditions, ``fax reception'' and ``email print reception'' are examples of print data-related factors included in the first conditions, and ``in the middle of a normal print job'' is an example of a print execution-related factor included in the first conditions, and a program (application program) for executing the negative charge setting process on the CPU 310 of the mobile terminal 300 or a program (web program) of the management server 100 for executing the negative charge setting process on the touch panel 340 of the mobile terminal 300 is an example of a management program.

[0051] <Control Procedure> An example of the control procedure executed by the processor 210 of the multifunction device 200 to realize the above-described processing in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 8. After the multifunction device 200 receives negative charge setting information from the mobile terminal 300, the flow in Fig. 8 starts when the multifunction device 200 executes a printing task.

[0052] First, in step S5, the total number of printed sheets and the total number of printable sheets counted at that time are obtained from the data storage area 233. Next, the process proceeds to step S10, where the next sheet of paper is printed in the print task being executed at that time, and in step S15, the value of the total number of printed sheets is incremented by one corresponding to the one printed sheet.

[0053] Next, in step S20, it is determined whether the value of the total number of printed sheets at that time is equal to or greater than the value of the total number of printable sheets, in other words, whether the value of the allowable number of printed sheets calculated by subtracting the value of the total number of printed sheets from the value of the total number of printable sheets at that time is equal to or less than 0. If the value of the total number of printed sheets is less than the value of the total number of printable sheets, in other words, if the value of the allowable number of printed sheets is greater than 0, the condition is not satisfied (S20: NO), and the process proceeds to step S25. In step S25, it is determined whether printing of the print task has been completed, and if it has not been completed, the condition is not satisfied (S25: NO), and the process returns to step S10.

[0054] On the other hand, if the determination in step S20 above indicates that the value of the total number of prints is equal to or greater than the value of the total printable number of sheets, in other words, if the value of the allowable number of prints is equal to or less than 0, the determination is made that the condition is met (S20: YES), and the process proceeds to step S30. In step S30, the received negative charge setting information is referenced to determine whether the master setting item 342 is set to allow negative charges. If the setting is such that negative charges are allowed, the determination is made that the condition is met (S30: YES), and the process proceeds to the next step, S35. In step S35, the process determines whether the print task currently being executed is a print task set to allow negative charges. If the print task being executed corresponds to a print task set to allow negative charges for fax printing, email immediate printing, or a normal print job, the determination is made that the condition is met (S35: YES), and the process proceeds to step S25. The process of allowing negative charges in steps S30 and S35 is an example of a process for allowing an increase in the amount of non-purchased prints.

[0055] On the other hand, if the master setting item 342 is set to not allow negative charges in the determination of step S30, the condition is not satisfied (S30: NO), and the process proceeds to step S40. Also, if the determination of step S35 is that the setting to allow negative charges for the currently running print task is not satisfied (S35: NO), and the process proceeds to step S40. In step S40, the currently running print task is interrupted, and an error notification is issued to inform the user that printing has been interrupted because the value of the allowable number of prints has reached 0, and the process proceeds to step S45.

[0056] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S25 that printing of the print task has been completed, the determination is satisfied (S25: YES), and the process proceeds to step S45.

[0057] In step S45, the allowable number of prints is calculated by subtracting the total number of prints from the total number of printable sheets at that time, and in the next step S50, this value of the allowable number of prints is sent to the management server 100, ending this flow. After this, the management server 100 synchronously updates the allowable number of prints stored therein, and if the received value of the allowable number of prints is a negative value (<0, minus), it charges the user a charge equivalent to the negative charge (not shown).

[0058] As described above, in the mobile terminal 300 included in the printing service providing system 1 of this embodiment, the allowable number of prints of the multifunction device 200 is configured to increase according to a predetermined charge number guaranteed by the purchase printing authority purchased at the user's expense, and to decrease according to the amount of printing actually performed. To this end, the CPU 310 of the mobile terminal 300 executes a negative charge setting process to set the allowable number of prints of the multifunction device 200 to increase.

[0059] In this embodiment, when a print instruction is given for a print volume that exceeds the allowable number of prints, resulting in a shortage of the allowable number of prints, the allowable number of prints can be increased by adding the allowable number of prints that have not been purchased, and when the printing process is completed, the allowable number of prints becomes negative.

[0060] When the allowable number of prints is allowed to decrease by adding the allowable number of prints that have not been purchased as described above, a decrease in the allowable number of prints is not always allowed, but predetermined conditions for allowing this are set in the negative charge setting process of the mobile terminal 300. Then, in the negative charge setting process, if the conditions are met, adding the allowable number of prints that have not been purchased is allowed, and if the conditions are not met, adding the allowable number of prints that have not been purchased to make up for the shortfall in the allowable number of prints is prohibited.

[0061] According to this embodiment, the conditions under which the allowable number of prints is not allowed to decrease and the conditions under which it is allowed to decrease can be set as desired by the user, thereby improving convenience.

[0062] Furthermore, this embodiment in particular has a touch panel 340 that accepts input operations from the user, and the CPU 310 further accepts inputs via the touch panel 340 for setting master setting items 342 for allowing negative charge processing, as well as inputs for setting task-specific conditions for fax printing, email immediate printing, and normal print jobs. This allows the user to set the conditions for not allowing or allowing a decrease in the allowable number of prints as desired, in accordance with the operation input on the touch panel 340.

[0063] The setting information set by the mobile terminal 300 may be sent directly to the multifunction device 200 via wireless communication such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark), without going through the network NT or the management server 100.

[0064] Furthermore, the negative charge setting process may not be performed by the mobile terminal 300, but may be performed by the processor 210 of the multifunction device 200 itself via the display unit 240 or operation unit 250. In this case, the multifunction device 200 itself is an example of an allowable print volume management device, and the program that executes the setting process is an example of a management program. Furthermore, the management server 100 may function as a web server and send and receive data to perform the negative charge setting process. This is executed via the browser of the mobile terminal 300. In this case, the management server 100 is an example of an allowable print volume management device, and the program of the management server 100 that executes the setting process is an example of a management program.

[0065] In the above embodiment, specific conditions for allowing the negative charge process were shown for fax printing, immediate e-mail printing, and the task-specific conditions for normal print jobs, but other conditions may also be set when these conditions are met (not shown). For example, for a print task that is set to allow the negative charge process, it may be possible to set conditions that represent the range of execution for adding the allowable number of unpurchased prints, such as a deadline condition corresponding to the time range or a print quantity condition corresponding to the print volume range.

[0066] For example, the above-mentioned time limit condition may be set to a specific time (in seconds, minutes, or hours) after the initial shortage of the allowable number of prints occurs for which a print task can be continued with a negative charge, or a specific number of days for which a print task can be repeated with a negative charge, etc. Also, for example, the print quantity condition may be set to a specific number of prints after the initial shortage of the allowable number of prints occurs for which printing can be continued with a negative charge.

[0067] The above-mentioned deadline conditions and print count conditions are examples of second conditions, and the process in which the CPU 310 of the mobile terminal 300 sets these deadline conditions and print count conditions is an example of second condition setting processing.

[0068] As described above, the CPU 310 of the mobile terminal 300 may set a condition that indicates the range within which the unpurchased allowable number of prints can be added. In this case, when a predetermined print task condition that is the target of the negative charge process is met and the unpurchased allowable number of prints is added, the addition is not allowed to be performed without restriction, but is limited to a certain extent. The condition that indicates the range within which the unpurchased allowable number of prints can be added, which imposes this restriction, is set by the CPU 310 of the mobile terminal 300. This allows the range within which the unpurchased allowable number of prints can be added to suit the user's preferences, further improving convenience.

[0069] In particular, a time limit condition, which is a time range from when the allowable number of prints falls short, can be set as a condition indicating the range of execution for adding up the unpurchased allowable number of prints. This allows the addition to be executed only within a certain time range when the print task condition is met and the unpurchased allowable number of prints is to be added up.

[0070] In particular, a print quantity condition, which is a range of the unpurchased allowable print quantity, can be set as a condition indicating the range within which the unpurchased allowable print quantity is to be added. This allows the addition to be performed only within a certain range of the allowable print quantity when the print task condition is met and the unpurchased allowable print quantity is to be added.

[0071] In the above embodiment, "fax reception" and "email print reception" are shown as examples of print data-related factors included in the conditions for applying the negative charge process, and "in the middle of a normal print job" is shown as an example of a print execution-related factor included in the conditions for applying the negative charge process. In this way, the conditions for not allowing or allowing a decrease in the allowable number of prints can be set in detail to suit the user's wishes using print data-related factors, print execution-related factors, user consent factors, etc.

[0072] As described above, examples of print data-related factors include when print data is received by fax or email, when the print data is a photo print or a text document, and when the print data has relatively high coverage. Examples of print execution-related factors include when the allowable number of prints becomes negative during a print job, when printing is performed in high-resolution mode, monochrome mode, or color mode, and so on. An example of a user consent factor is when the user agrees to pay a surcharge to allow a decrease in the allowable number of prints. These detailed condition settings can also be configured by the user as desired through input operations on the touch panel 340 (not shown).

[0073] Other factors included in the conditions for applying the negative charge process may be user attribute factors, user payment-related factors, user reliability factors, service provision-related factors, and maintenance-related factors, and may be set in detail according to the user's wishes.

[0074] Examples of user attribute factors include whether the user is a heavy user who uses the service frequently or a light user infrequently, the usage history of the multifunction device 200, the number of times printing authority has been purchased, etc. Examples of user payment-related factors include whether automatic purchase of printing authority is set, whether there is a history of unpaid bills after purchase, etc. At least some of the user attribute factors and user payment-related factors can be replaced with user reliability factors that indicate the reliability of the user.

[0075] An example of a service provision related factor is whether or not the delivery service of consumables for the multifunction peripheral 200 is behind schedule. An example of a maintenance related factor is whether or not a maintenance operation that reduces the allowable print volume during printing, such as printing a test page, has been performed. These detailed condition settings may be configured by the user as desired by inputting an operation on the touch panel 340 (not shown).

[0076] Furthermore, for users who own multiple devices, such as the multifunction peripheral 200 and printers, and who receive prepaid printing services for all of them under the same contract, the conditions for applying the negative charge process can be set on a contract-by-contract basis. Specifically, as shown in the negative charge setting screen 340B in Figure 9, if payment has not been completed for even one of the devices covered by the contract, the conditions for negative charge processing cannot be set for the other devices. (In the illustrated example, the entire range 347 of checkbox setting items 342 to 345 is grayed out and inoperable.) This encourages users to strictly manage charges across the entire contract.

[0077] Furthermore, in the above, the flowchart shown in Figure 8 does not limit the present invention to the procedures shown in the flowchart, and procedures may be added, deleted, or the order may be changed within the scope that does not deviate from the intent and technical idea of ​​the invention.

[0078] In addition to the above, the methods according to the above embodiments and modifications may be used in appropriate combination.

[0079] Although not specifically illustrated, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications within the scope of the invention.

[0080] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Print service providing system 100 Management server 200 Multifunction peripheral (an example of a printing device) 300 Mobile terminal (an example of an allowable print volume management device) 310 CPU (an example of a control unit) 340 Touch panel (an example of an operation unit) 400 Transaction server NT Network

Claims

1. An allowable printing volume management device that manages the allowable printing volume of a printing device, wherein the printing device is configured to be able to perform printing up to the allowable printing volume, and the allowable printing volume of the printing device increases according to a predetermined guaranteed printing volume guaranteed by purchased printing authority purchased at the user's financial expense, and decreases according to the amount of printing performed, the allowable printing volume management device having a control unit that is configured to execute: an allowable printing volume increase process that increases the allowable printing volume of the printing device; a non-purchased printing volume increase allowance process that, in the allowable printing volume increase process, allows the addition of unpurchased allowable printing volume to make up for a shortage of the allowable printing volume if a predetermined first condition is met, and prohibits the addition of unpurchased allowable printing volume to make up for a shortage of the allowable printing volume if the first condition is not met; and a first condition setting process that sets the first condition.

2. The allowable printing volume management device of claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to execute a second condition setting process that sets a second condition representing the range within which the unpurchased allowable printing volume is to be added.

3. The allowable print volume management device according to claim 2, wherein the execution range of the second condition is a time range from when the allowable print volume shortage occurs.

4. The allowable print volume management device according to claim 2, wherein the range in which the second condition is implemented is the range of the quantity of the allowable print volume that has not been purchased.

5. An allowable printing volume management device as described in claim 1, further comprising an operation unit, wherein the control unit is further configured to execute a condition input reception process that receives input for setting the first condition via the operation unit.

6. An allowable print volume management device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first condition includes at least one of a print data related factor, a print execution related factor, and a user consent factor.

7. An allowable printing volume management device as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first condition includes at least one of a user attribute factor, a user payment-related factor, a user reliability factor, a service provision-related factor, and a maintenance-related factor.

8. A management program executed by an allowable printing volume management device that manages the allowable printing volume of a printing device, wherein the printing device is configured to be able to execute printing up to the allowable printing volume, and the allowable printing volume of the printing device increases according to a predetermined guaranteed printing volume guaranteed by purchased printing authority purchased at the user's financial expense, and decreases according to the amount of printing executed, and the management program is configured to cause a calculation unit of the allowable printing volume management device to execute: an allowable printing volume increase process that increases the allowable printing volume of the printing device; an allowable printing volume acquisition process that acquires the allowable printing volume that has decreased due to printing executed on the printing device; a non-purchased printing volume increase allowance process that, in the allowable printing volume increase process, allows the addition of an unpurchased allowable printing volume to make up for a shortage of the allowable printing volume if a predetermined first condition is met, and prohibits the addition of an unpurchased allowable printing volume to make up for a shortage of the allowable printing volume if the first condition is not met; and a first condition setting process that sets the first condition.

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