JP6209852B2 - Image forming system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system that reduces printing costs.

  Toner (ink) save printing, in which printing processing is performed while suppressing toner and ink consumption compared to normal printing, is effective in reducing printing costs. There is a technology for setting a cost that the user wants to achieve, automatically determining an upper limit of toner consumption per page and realizing toner saving automatically when the upper limit is exceeded.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, in order to make the user recognize the consumption rate of the colorant and achieve the target consumption, the usage amount within a predetermined period is set, and the actual consumption amount is set at a certain interval. From the consumption target value, the toner is automatically saved, and a message prohibiting the printing operation is displayed.

  However, conventionally, when the same cost target value is set for a plurality of image forming apparatuses such as printers, they must be set for each image forming apparatus. Further, when the frequency of use varies depending on the image forming apparatus, there is a problem that the amount of toner saved for the image forming apparatus with a high usage frequency increases, and the image quality is deteriorated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems,
It is an object of the present invention to easily share a cost target value of an image forming apparatus connected to a network and achieve the cost target value while eliminating a difference in image quality due to the frequency of use of a plurality of image forming apparatuses. An image forming system is provided.

In an image forming system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to a network, the present invention provides a cost target set for an image forming apparatus serving as a host among the plurality of image forming apparatuses set with different cost target values. The value is shared by other image forming apparatuses, and the cost target value is characterized in that it is a cost for consumption of toner in a predetermined period or a reduction rate of the cost with respect to the previous predetermined period .

  According to the present invention, the cost target value of a plurality of image forming apparatuses can be easily shared, and the cost target value can be achieved while eliminating the difference in image quality among the image forming apparatuses.

3 shows a toner save UI of the present invention. 1 shows the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating toner save rate recalculation. 4 is a processing flowchart from the initial setting of toner save to the end of a setting period. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing for initial setting of a toner save threshold. 4 is a processing flowchart of toner save threshold recalculation. 6 shows a processing flowchart of toner consumption addition. Show cost targets before and after network sharing. Indicates network sharing with priority on image quality. Shows cost-first network sharing.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The reading device 201 includes a line sensor composed of a CCD photoelectric conversion element, an A / D converter, and a driving circuit thereof. From the density information of the original obtained by scanning the set original, an 8-bit RGB digital image is obtained. Generate and output data.

  The image data processing device 202 performs processing for unifying the digital image data from the reading device 201 to a predetermined characteristic and outputs it. The bus control device 203 is a data bus control device that exchanges various data such as image data and control commands, and also has a bridge function between a plurality of types of bus standards.

  The image data processing unit 204 performs image processing suitable for an output destination designated by the user on the digital image data and the accompanying information whose characteristics predetermined by the image data processing device 202 are unified, and outputs the result. The HDD 205 is a storage device for storing electronic data, and mainly stores digital image data and accompanying information of the digital image data.

  A CPU 206 is a microprocessor that controls the entire image forming apparatus. The memory 207 stores data to be temporarily exchanged in order to absorb a speed difference at the time of bridging between a plurality of types of bus standards and a processing speed difference between the connected components themselves, and the CPU 206 stores the image forming apparatus. It is a volatile memory that temporarily stores programs and intermediate processing data when controlled.

  When the plotter I / F device 208 receives digital image data composed of CMYK sent via the general-purpose standard I / F, the plotter I / F device 208 performs a bus bridge process for outputting to the dedicated I / F of the plotter device 209. When the plotter device 209 receives the digital image data composed of CMYK, the plotter device 209 outputs the received image data on the transfer paper using an electrophotographic process using a laser beam.

  S. B. Reference numeral 213 denotes a general-purpose electronic device called a South Bridge. The ROM 214 is a memory that stores a program when the CPU 206 controls the image forming apparatus.

  The operation display device 210 is a part that performs an interface between the image forming apparatus and the user, and includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and a key switch. Detect switch input. A line I / F device 211 is a device that connects a PCI-Express bus and a telephone line, and can exchange various data via the telephone line. A FAX 215 is a normal facsimile machine that exchanges image data with an image forming apparatus via a telephone line. The external I / F device 212 is a device that connects a PCI-Express bus and an external device, and can exchange various data with the external device.

  The PC 216 is a personal computer, and the user performs various controls and input / output of image data to and from the image forming apparatus via application software and drivers installed in the personal computer.

  FIG. 1 shows a toner save UI (user interface) in the operation display device of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows an example of a toner save setting UI input by a user. The toner save setting screen of the operation display device 210 includes a cost setting unit 101, a reduction rate setting unit 102, a toner save rate recalculation unit 103, a setting period unit 104, a toner save lower limit unit 105, and a network sharing unit 106. . Note that the toner save processing unit of the image data processing unit 204 in FIG. 2 performs the toner save processing of the present invention.

  In the cost setting unit 101, XX yen (monthly cost for consumption of color material that the user wants to achieve during a preset period (target cost)) is stored in the cost setting unit 101, and the reduction rate setting unit 102 is XX% from the previous month. Reduction (setting a reduction target (reduction rate) from the last cost) can be entered. The toner save rate recalculation unit 103 reliably achieves the cost by recalculating the toner save rate from the toner consumption (color material consumption) consumed up to that date on the set date, and more than necessary. This prevents toner saving and satisfies image quality.

  In the setting period unit 104, a period for achieving the cost target is set. In the toner save lower limit unit 105, a lower limit of the target toner consumption is set. By setting the lower limit, the image quality is prevented from being greatly deteriorated by increasing the toner save rate. However, if it is set, the target value of the cost may not be achieved. If the lower limit is reached, the administrator is notified beforehand by e-mail that the set cost may not be achieved. In addition, even when toner save is implemented, by notifying the user at the time of printing, it is possible to raise awareness of printing costs and promote review of flashy document creation and low cost printing (such as aggregate printing). it can.

  In the network sharing unit 106, it is set whether or not the toner save setting is shared by an image forming apparatus (such as a printer) connected to the network.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining toner save rate recalculation. For example, even if toner save is performed, if the number of printed sheets increases, the total toner consumption increases, and the target cost may not be achieved. Therefore, for example, the toner save threshold value is recalculated and updated from the difference between the target toner consumption amount and the actual toner consumption amount every week. The target toner consumption amount can be obtained from the number of days elapsed so far on the recalculation date by obtaining the target toner consumption function y = A (x) at the initial setting. The actual toner consumption amount is obtained by calculating the toner consumption amount every time printing is performed and continuing to add during the toner save period.

  For example, the target toner consumption is obtained by y1 = A (x), and the threshold coefficient p is calculated by y1 / y2 where y2 is the actual toner consumption. Assuming that the currently set toner save threshold is t, an updated new toner save threshold t 'is obtained by t' = t * p.

  As a result, when the amount of toner consumption is larger than the target, the threshold value is decreased to increase the chance of saving toner, and when the amount of toner consumption is small, the threshold value is increased to reduce the chance of toner saving and image quality deterioration can be prevented.

  FIG. 4 shows a process flowchart from the initial setting of toner save to the end of the setting period.

  FIG. 5 shows a processing flowchart of toner save threshold initial setting (step 301). In FIG. 5, the previous month's toner consumption is read (step 401), the last month's number of prints is read (step 402), and if the cost setting is valid (Yes in step 403), the cost target value is read (step 404). Then, the toner consumption amount per job is obtained from the cost target value (converted to the toner amount) / the number of printed sheets of the previous month, and the toner save threshold is obtained (step 406).

  If the reduction rate is valid (No in Step 403), the reduction rate is read (Step 405), and the toner save threshold is obtained from the previous month's toner consumption * reduction rate / the number of printed sheets of the previous month (Step 406). A target toner consumption function is calculated (step 407), and the actual toner consumption is initialized (step 408).

  Step 302 in FIG. 4 is a standby state until each state or command is input. When a print command is input (step 302b), toner consumption addition processing is performed (FIG. 7). When the toner save rate recalculation date is reached (step 302c), toner save threshold recalculation is performed (FIG. 7). 6). When the period set at the initial setting elapses (302a), the process ends.

  FIG. 6 shows a process flowchart of the toner save threshold recalculation method. The target toner consumption is calculated from the toner consumption function and the elapsed days (step 501), the actual toner consumption is read (step 502), and the threshold coefficient is calculated based on the target toner consumption and the actual toner consumption ( Step 503), the toner save threshold is updated (Step 504).

  FIG. 7 shows a processing flowchart of toner consumption addition. The toner save threshold is read (step 601), the toner consumption after toner save is calculated (step 602), and the actual toner consumption is updated (step 603).

  The toner consumption amount per job is calculated by referring to a table that converts the pixel values included in each page of one job into toner consumption amounts. It is assumed that the conversion table is built in the image data processing unit 204.

Next, the network sharing of the present invention will be described. When network sharing “Yes” is set in the network sharing unit 106 of FIG. 1, the cost target value of the image forming apparatus connected to the network is shared.
In an image forming system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to a network, a cost target value of a certain image forming apparatus (host) is set, and the set cost target value is shared by other image forming apparatuses connected to the network. To do.

  FIG. 8A shows the cost target value of each image forming apparatus before network sharing. FIG. 8B shows the cost target value after network sharing. Here, the cost target value A set for the printer A is transmitted to the printers B and C via the network and set in the cost setting unit 101 of the printers B and C. As a result, the cost target value A set for the printer A is shared by the printers B and C. As described above, by sharing the network, it is possible to unify the cost target value for each image forming apparatus, and to save the trouble of setting the cost target value for each image forming apparatus.

  Further, when image quality priority is shared over a network, there is no difference in image quality between image forming apparatuses connected to the network, and higher image quality is achieved.

  That is, (1) a total cost target of the image forming apparatus connected to the network is set, (2) a toner save threshold is determined from the total toner consumption of the image forming apparatus connected to the network, and (3 ) The determined toner save threshold is shared by the image forming apparatuses connected to the network.

FIG. 9A shows network sharing, and FIG. 9B shows network sharing with priority on image quality. For example, in the above (1), it is assumed that the target is a reduction of 10% from the previous month. If the last month's toner consumption amount is 10000 printed sheets, the target toner consumption amount for this month is 9000, and the toner save threshold per page is 9. In the case of network sharing, the printer A is frequently used, and the number of printed sheets is 500 and the toner consumption is 6500 at the recalculation point of toner save. If 500 sheets are printed in half a month, the remaining number of prints is expected to be 500,
Toner save threshold = (target toner consumption 9000−actual toner consumption 6500) / remaining print number 500
Assume that the toner save threshold value is 5. Assuming that the usage frequency of the printer B is average, the toner save threshold is 9, and the usage frequency of the printer C is low, so the toner save threshold is 10. When the amount of toner consumption required to print certain data is 7, since the printer A exceeds the toner save threshold, toner save is applied, but the printers B and C do not exceed the toner save threshold. , Toner Save is not applied. Therefore, only the printer A deteriorates the image quality.

  When three image forming apparatuses are connected in the network and the network sharing gives priority to image quality, the toner save threshold is determined from the total target toner consumption of the three units and the actual toner consumption. As a result, the toner save threshold values of the printers A, B, and C are 8, and even if the previous data is printed, toner save is not applied to all three printers.

  Since the image quality priority for network sharing determines the toner save threshold from the total toner consumption of the image forming apparatuses connected to the network, the image forming apparatus that has been previously saved in toner may not be able to save toner. Cost objectives can be achieved while maintaining image quality.

  Sharing the cost priority over the network eliminates the difference in image quality between the image forming apparatuses connected to the network, thereby further reducing the toner consumption.

  That is, a cost target value of an image forming apparatus (host) connected to the network is set, and the set cost target value is shared by other image forming apparatuses connected to the network, so that the image formation with the highest toner consumption is performed. The toner save threshold of the apparatus is shared by other image forming apparatuses connected to the network.

  FIG. 10A shows network sharing, and FIG. 10B shows cost-prioritized network sharing. The network sharing cost priority is to share the lowest toner save threshold among the image forming apparatuses connected to the network. As in the case of image quality priority, the toner save threshold 5 of the printer A that is used most frequently is shared by other image forming apparatuses. As a result, when printing the required toner consumption 7 data, toner save is applied to all image forming apparatuses, and the difference in image quality can be eliminated regardless of the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus. .

  The network sharing cost priority can be used when the user does not care much about the image quality, eliminates the difference in image quality between image forming apparatuses to be used, and wants to further reduce the toner consumption.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the network-connected image forming apparatus is used, the cost target value is shared, the toner consumption of the network-connected image forming apparatus is totaled, and the toner save is performed. The threshold value is shared by each image forming apparatus. As a result, there is no difference in image quality between image forming apparatuses, and a cost target value can be achieved. Therefore, the cost target values of a plurality of image forming apparatuses can be easily shared, and the difference in image quality between image forming apparatuses can be reduced. In addition, the cost target can be achieved.

101 Cost Setting Unit 102 Reduction Rate Setting Unit 103 Toner Save Rate Recalculation Unit 104 Setting Period Unit 105 Toner Save Lower Limit Unit 106 Network Sharing Unit

JP 2007-175958 A

Claims (11)

In an image forming system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to a network, a cost target value set for an image forming apparatus as a host among the plurality of image forming apparatuses set with different cost target values is changed to another value. Shared by image forming devices ,
The cost target value is a cost for toner consumption in a predetermined period or a cost reduction rate with respect to a previous predetermined period .   In an image forming system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to a network, a toner save threshold is determined based on a cost target value set in the plurality of image forming apparatuses, and the determined toner save threshold is stored in the network. An image forming system that is shared by a plurality of connected image forming apparatuses.   In an image forming system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to a network, a cost target value set for an image forming apparatus as a host among the plurality of image forming apparatuses set with different cost target values is changed to another value. An image forming system that is shared by image forming apparatuses and that shares a toner save threshold of an image forming apparatus that consumes the largest amount of toner with other image forming apparatuses. The image forming system according to claim 2 , wherein the cost target value is a cost for toner consumption in a predetermined period or a cost reduction rate with respect to a previous predetermined period.   The image forming system according to claim 2, wherein the toner save threshold is determined based on a target toner consumption amount based on a cost target value set in the plurality of image forming apparatuses and an actual toner consumption amount. In an image forming system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to a network, the image forming system executes the method,
  Among the plurality of image forming apparatuses in which different cost target values are set, the cost target value set in the image forming apparatus as a host is shared with other image forming apparatuses,
  The cost target value is a cost for toner consumption in a predetermined period or a cost reduction rate with respect to a previous predetermined period. In an image forming system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to a network, the image forming system can execute the program,
  Among the plurality of image forming apparatuses in which different cost target values are set, the image forming system executes a procedure for sharing the cost target value set in the image forming apparatus serving as a host with other image forming apparatuses,
  The cost target value is a cost for consumption of toner in a predetermined period or a cost reduction rate with respect to a previous predetermined period. In an image forming system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to a network, a method executed by the image forming system, wherein a toner save threshold is determined based on a cost target value set in the plurality of image forming apparatuses The determined toner save threshold is shared by a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to the network. In an image forming system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to a network, the program is executable by the image forming system, and a toner save threshold is set based on a cost target value set in the plurality of image forming apparatuses. A program for causing the image forming system to execute a determining procedure and sharing the determined toner save threshold value among a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to the network. In an image forming system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to a network, the image forming system is a method executed by the image, and is an image serving as a host among the plurality of image forming apparatuses set with different cost target values. A cost target value set in a forming apparatus is shared by another image forming apparatus, and a toner save threshold of an image forming apparatus having the largest amount of toner consumption is shared by another image forming apparatus. In an image forming system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to a network, the image forming system is a program that can be executed, and is a host among the plurality of image forming apparatuses having different cost target values set. Causes the image forming system to execute a procedure for sharing the cost target value set in the image forming apparatus with other image forming apparatuses, and shares the toner save threshold of the image forming apparatus with the largest toner consumption amount with other image forming apparatuses The program characterized by doing.