Image Forming Apparatus Billing via Document Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Image forming apparatuses lack the capability to determine whether a source document is a chargeable item, leading to improper charging of usage fees to users instead of the employing company.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus includes a reading device and controller that analyze image data for specific charging information, such as a two-dimensional barcode, to identify chargeable items and authorize users, enabling proper fee charging to the employing company.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the image forming apparatus charges the user directly for document printing, then the charging process is simple, but the employing company cannot be properly billed for business-related documents
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a management center server as an intermediary between the image forming apparatus and the billing system. The server receives usage information from the apparatus, determines whether the document is for business use by checking against company information databases, and handles the charging to the employing company. This intermediary resolves the contradiction by maintaining simple operation at the apparatus level while ensuring accurate billing through centralized business logic.
2Reliability
If the image forming apparatus analyzes image data to identify chargeable items, then accurate billing to the employing company is enabled, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex image analysis and billing determination functions from the image forming apparatus and relocates them to the management center server. The apparatus only needs to capture the document image and transmit it to the server, which then performs the complex analysis to determine if it's a chargeable business document. This extraction maintains billing accuracy while preventing the apparatus from becoming overly complex.
3Reliability
If the user identification information is stored in a user database at the management center, then proper charging to the employing company is achieved, but the loss of information increases due to additional data transmission
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by having users register their identification information and employing company details in advance in the management center's user database. When a document is printed, the apparatus only needs to transmit the pre-configured user ID, and the server can immediately retrieve the associated company information to determine billing. This preliminary data setup reduces real-time data transmission requirements while maintaining accurate charging.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes a reading device and a controller. The reading device reads an image of a source document, and generates image data. The controller receives an input of the image data generated by the reading device. Further, the controller decides that the source document is a chargeable item, when image information indicating that the source document is the chargeable item, for which charging a usage fee corresponding to the source document to a predetermined third party is permitted, is included in the image data.