JP7206655B2 - Information processing device and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device and program.

In Patent Document 1, each time a device is replaced, information indicating the usage status of the device before replacement and information indicating the device after replacement are stored in association with each other, and in response to a device replacement request, among the stored information, An information output device is described that selects any replacement from , and outputs information indicative of the stored replacement device for the selected replacement.

Japanese Patent No. 6171682

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to obtain an estimated usage amount for each user assuming that there is no device replacement.

The invention according to claim 1 manages track record information indicating usage records for each user of a plurality of users who use a first device before replacement, a second device after replacement, and a third device different from the two devices. and from the usage ratio for each user of the first device and the third device before replacement and the usage amount for each user of the second device and the third device after replacement, which are included in the performance information, and means for deriving an estimated usage amount for each user assuming that the first device is not replaced with the second device, wherein the first device, the second device, and the second device. The third device is an information processing apparatus characterized by being an image output device having at least one of a print function, a scanner function, a copy function, and a facsimile function .

The invention according to claim 2 is the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the estimated value of the usage amount for each user when it is assumed that the first device is not replaced with the second device, the The information processing apparatus further includes means for deriving an assumed value of a total usage charge for the first device and the third device by the plurality of users assuming no replacement.

The invention according to claim 3 is the information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the total usage fee for the second device and the third device by the plurality of users when the first device is replaced with the second device is and the assumed value of the total usage fee of the first device and the third device by the plurality of users assuming that there is no such replacement. It is a device.

In the invention according to claim 4, the computer displays the usage records for each user of a plurality of users who use the first device before replacement, the second device after replacement, and the third device different from the two devices. A function of managing information, a usage ratio for each user of the first device and the third device before replacement included in the performance information, and a usage amount of the second device and the third device after replacement for each user. a function of deriving an estimated usage amount for each user assuming that the first device is not replaced with the second device from the above , and realizing the first device, the second device, and , the third device is an image output device having at least one of a print function, a scanner function, a copy function, and a facsimile function .

According to the first aspect of the invention, an estimated usage amount for each user can be obtained assuming that there is no device replacement.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, an assumed value of the total usage fee for a plurality of users can be obtained assuming that there is no device replacement.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain information indicating the actual value of the total usage fee when the device is replaced and the estimated value of the total usage fee when it is assumed that the device is not replaced.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a program for obtaining an estimated usage amount for each user assuming that there is no device replacement.

It is a figure which shows the specific example of an information processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of performance information. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a specific example of report creation processing; It is a figure which shows the example of inferred information. It is a figure which shows the example of a report.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a specific embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a specific example of an information processing apparatus 100. As shown in FIG. The information processing apparatus 100 processes information about usage records of users who use multiple devices. FIG. 1 illustrates a plurality of image output devices 200 as a specific example of the plurality of devices.

In the specific example shown in FIG. 1, an information processing apparatus 100 and a plurality of image output devices 200 are connected via a communication line 300 such as a local area network to exchange data (information). Note that the communication line 300 may be a public network such as the Internet.

The information processing apparatus 100 of the specific example shown in FIG. 170 and a user information management unit 180 .

The usage history collection unit 110 collects the usage history of the plurality of image output devices 200 . The usage record collection unit 110 collects usage record information (data) from each of the plurality of image output devices 200 via the communication line 300, for example. For example, the usage history collection unit 110 may go to obtain usage history information of a plurality of image output devices 200, or the plurality of image output devices 200 may notify the usage history collection unit 110 of the usage history information. may

Note that the usage history collected by the usage history collection unit 110 may be, for example, a performance for each process (one image output process), or a total value for each user identification information (user may be the total value of a plurality of image output processes by

The usage record management unit 120 manages the usage records of the plurality of image output devices 200 collected by the usage record collection unit 110 . For example, performance information indicating usage performance of a plurality of image output devices 200 is stored in the data storage unit 130 and managed by the usage performance management unit 120 .

The data storage unit 130 stores track record information managed by the use track record management unit 120 . Various data used by the information processing apparatus 100 may be stored in the data storage unit 130 . The data storage unit 130 may be implemented using a storage device such as a hard disk drive or semiconductor memory.

The usage amount estimator 140 derives an estimated usage amount for each user from performance information indicating the usage history of the plurality of image output devices 200 . Further, the usage fee estimation unit 150 derives an estimated total usage fee for a plurality of users from the estimated usage amount for each user. Then, the report creation unit 160 outputs information indicating actual values and expected values of the total usage fees for multiple users. The report creation unit 160 creates and outputs, for example, a report that is a specific example of information indicating the actual value and expected value of the total usage fee.

The device management unit 170 manages the correspondence between devices before and after replacement. For example, when a specific image output device 200 (pre-replacement device) is replaced with another image output device 200 (post-replacement device), replacement information indicating the correspondence relationship between the devices before and after the replacement is managed. section 170 manages. Note that the correspondence between the devices before and after replacement may be input by a person involved in the replacement (for example, the administrator of the image output device 200). The device management unit 170 may determine the correspondence relationship between the devices before and after replacement according to whether or not.

The user information management unit 180 manages identification information of users who use a plurality of image output devices 200 . The user information management unit 180 manages unique identification information assigned to each user, for example, in order to uniquely distinguish a specific user from among multiple users. For example, when the same user (one user) has multiple pieces of identification information, the user information management unit 180 manages that the pieces of identification information correspond to the same user. Also, the user information management unit 180 manages that, for example, when the identification information of the same user (one user) is changed, the identification information before and after the change corresponds to the same user.

The information processing apparatus 100 of the specific example shown in FIG. 1 may be implemented using, for example, one or more computers. The computer includes computing devices such as CPUs, storage devices such as memories and hard disks, communication devices that use communication lines such as the Internet, devices that read and write data from storage media such as optical discs, semiconductor memories, card memories, etc., and displays. and hardware resources such as a display device and an operation device for receiving an operation from a user.

Then, for example, a program (software) corresponding to the functions of at least a part of the plurality of parts with reference numerals provided in the information processing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. At least part of the functions of the information processing apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. For example, the program may be provided to the computer (information processing apparatus 100) via a communication line such as the Internet, or may be stored in a storage medium such as an optical disc, a semiconductor memory, or a card memory and stored in the computer (information processing apparatus 100). ) may be provided.

Further, the image output device 200 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a device having an image output function. One of the specific examples of the image output device 200 is a composite device having a plurality of image output functions (at least some functions among print function, scanner function, copy function, facsimile function, etc.). Note that the image output device 200 may be a device having only one of a plurality of image output functions.

The overall configuration of the specific example illustrated in FIG. 1 is as described above. Next, a specific example of processing implemented by the information processing apparatus 100 of FIG. 1 will be described in detail. 1 are used in the following description for the configuration (portion) shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a specific example of performance information. FIG. 2 shows a specific example of performance information stored in the data storage unit 130 and managed by the usage performance management unit 120. As shown in FIG. The performance information exemplified in FIG. It shows the usage record of Z in January and February. In the specific example shown in FIG. 2, device A and device B are used in January, then device A is replaced by device C, and device C and device B are used in February.

The usage history collection unit 110 collects, for example, from each of device A, device B, and device C, information in which user identification information and usage history of the user are associated with each other. Then, the usage history management unit 120 generates and manages the performance information illustrated in FIG. 2, for example, from the information collected by the usage history collection unit 110 .

For example, when user X uses device A, device B, and device C with identification information X, information corresponding to identification information X among the information collected by the usage history collection unit 110 is user X's usage history. , the usage history management unit 120 generates and manages performance information indicating the usage history of the user X. FIG.

In the specific example shown in FIG. 2, for example, the user X may use the device A with the identification information X1 and use the device B with the identification information X2. Thus, when one user X has identification information X1 and identification information X2, the user information management unit 180 manages that the identification information X1 and the identification information X2 correspond to the same user X. back. Then, the usage history management unit 120 obtains from the user information management unit 180 information indicating that the identification information X1 and the identification information X2 correspond to the same user X. Assuming that the usage history of device A corresponding to identification information X1 and the usage history of device B corresponding to identification information X2 are the usage history corresponding to user X, who is the same user, user X uses device A and device B. You may make it obtain the performance information which shows the utilization performance.

Further, for example, when the identification information of the same user (one user) is changed, the user information management unit 180 manages that the identification information before and after the change corresponds to the same user. The management unit 120 may obtain performance information indicating the usage history of the user, assuming that the identification information before and after the change corresponds to the same user.

A report is created by the report creation unit 160 from the performance information managed by the usage record management unit 120 .

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of report creation processing. First, the report creation unit 160 acquires performance information managed by the usage history management unit 120 (S301). For example, if the usage record management unit 120 manages the record information illustrated in FIG. 2, the report creation unit 160 calculates the current month ( (February) and last month (January).

Next, the report creation unit 160 acquires replacement information managed by the device management unit 170, and checks whether or not there is replacement of the device (S302). In the case of the specific example illustrated in FIG. 2, it is confirmed that device A was replaced with device C between last month (January) and this month (February).

If there is no device replacement, the estimation of the amount of usage and the estimation of the usage fee are omitted, and the report creation unit 160 creates a report from the performance information managed by the usage history management unit 120 (S307). On the other hand, when the device is replaced, the usage amount estimation unit 140 acquires the performance information from the report generation unit 160 and derives an estimated usage amount for each user.

The usage amount estimation unit 140 first calculates the usage ratio for each user before the device is replaced (S303). For example, in a specific example of performance information shown in FIG. number of sheets to be output) is calculated as follows.

Usage ratio of user X (device A:device B)=100:100=1:1
Usage ratio of user Y (device A:device B)=0:200=0:1
Usage ratio of user X (device A:device B)=250:40=25:4

Next, the usage amount estimation unit 140 calculates the usage amount for each user after the device is replaced (S304). For example, in the specific example of performance information shown in FIG. ) is calculated as follows.

Usage amount of user X (device C + device B) = 150 + 50 = 200 (sheets)
Usage amount of user Y (device C + device B) = 200 + 100 = 300 (sheets)
Usage amount of user Z (device C + device B) = 180 + 120 = 300 (sheets)

Based on the usage rate for each user before replacement obtained in S303 and the usage amount for each user after replacement obtained in S304, the usage amount estimation unit 140 determines the usage rate for each user when it is assumed that there is no device replacement. An estimated usage amount for each is calculated (S305).

For example, the usage amount estimating unit 140 allocates the usage amount of each user after replacement to the device before replacement at the usage ratio of each user before replacement. get an estimate of the usage of

For example, in the specific example of performance information shown in FIG. By assigning to device A and device B, an estimated usage amount for each user is calculated as follows.

Estimated value of user X (device A: device B) = 100 (sheets): 100 (sheets)
Estimated value of user Y (device A: device B) = 0 (sheets): 300 (sheets)
Estimated value of user Z (device A: device B) = 259 (sheets): 41 (sheets)

When the usage amount estimating unit 140 derives the estimated usage amount for each user, the usage charge estimation unit 150 derives an estimated total usage fee for a plurality of users (S306). The usage fee estimation unit 150 derives an estimated total usage fee for a plurality of users from the estimated usage amount for each user derived by the usage amount estimation unit 140, for example.

In this way, estimated information including the estimated usage amount for each user and the estimated total usage fee for a plurality of users is obtained.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of inferred information. FIG. 4 illustrates the estimated information for February obtained when it is assumed that there is no replacement of device A and device C in the specific example illustrated in FIG. FIG. 4 exemplifies the total usage amount (10,207 yen) assumed from the estimated usage amount for each user and the total usage amount (9,971 yen) of a comparative example obtained from the ratio of the total value for each device. there is

The usage amount estimation value for each user is derived by the usage amount estimation unit 140 . As already explained, in the case of the specific example of the performance information illustrated in FIG. 2, the estimated usage amount for each user is calculated as follows.

Estimated value of user X (device A: device B) = 100 (sheets): 100 (sheets)
Estimated value of user Y (device A: device B) = 0 (sheets): 300 (sheets)
Estimated value of user Z (device A: device B) = 259 (sheets): 41 (sheets)

The usage fee estimation unit 150 derives an estimated total usage fee for a plurality of users from the usage amount estimated value for each user derived by the usage amount estimation unit 140 . For example, the amount for each user is calculated by multiplying the number of output sheets, which is an estimated usage amount for each user, by the unit price per sheet, and the total amount is calculated by adding the amounts for multiple users for each device. be. Furthermore, by summing up the total charges for the multiple devices, an assumed value for the total usage fee is calculated.

For example, in the case of the specific example of the estimated information in FIG. 4 obtained from the actual performance information illustrated in FIG. 2, the total usage amount assumed from the estimated usage amount for each user is calculated as 10,207 yen. The result of replacing with device C is a total amount of 8290 yen as shown in FIG. That is, it can be seen that the usage fee of 10,207 yen (assumed value) without replacement is reduced to 8,290 yen (actual value) with replacement.

On the other hand, in the comparative example, the total usage amount is calculated from the ratio of the total value for each device. For example, in the specific example of performance information illustrated in FIG. A: Device B)=350:340, the estimated number of devices A and B is calculated as follows.

Estimated number of devices A = 800*350/(350+340) = 406 (sheets)
Estimated number of devices B = 800*340/(350+340) = 394 (sheets)

Then, by multiplying the estimated number of sheets by the unit price per sheet, the amount for each device is calculated, and by summing up the total amount for a plurality of devices, the total usage fee of the comparative example is calculated as 9971 yen.

In the comparative example, since the total usage amount is calculated from the ratio of the total value for each device, changes in usage ratio and usage amount for each user cannot be correctly reflected. As a result, in the specific example of FIG. 4, the total usage fee is calculated as 9,971 yen, and the effect of reducing the total usage fee by replacement (reduction from 9,971 yen to 8,290 yen) is underestimated.

On the other hand, the total usage amount assumed from the estimated usage amount for each user is 10,207 yen, and as a result of reflecting changes in the usage ratio and usage amount for each user, the amount is assumed to be higher than in the comparative example. , the effect of reducing the total usage amount by replacement (reduction from 10,207 yen to 8,290 yen) is more properly evaluated than in the case of the comparative example.

Returning to FIG. 3, when the estimated information including the estimated usage amount for each user and the estimated total usage fee for multiple users is obtained, the report creation unit 160 converts the performance information and the estimation information obtained from the performance information. Based on this, a report is created (S307).

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of a report created by the report creation unit 160. As shown in FIG. When a device is replaced, the report generation unit 160 generates a report based on performance information managed by the usage history management unit 120 and estimation information derived from the performance information by the usage amount estimation unit 140 and the usage charge estimation unit 150. create a report.

The report exemplified in FIG. 5 shows performance information (total performance of one or more users using one or more devices) for each month from September 2017 to February 2018. In other words, the number of monochrome (black and white) image outputs, the number of color image outputs, the total number of images output, and the year-on-year change (comparison with the same month of the previous year) for each month are shown numerically. Also, in the report illustrated in FIG. 5, the number of monochrome image outputs and the number of color image outputs for each month are indicated by a bar graph.

Further, in the specific example shown in FIG. 5, for example, by operating the "Display Estimates" button displayed in the report, the estimated information for February 2018 derived from the performance information is displayed as numerical values and a bar graph. shown. The report illustrated in FIG. 5 is displayed on a display device, for example, and presented to a user (eg, an administrator of multiple devices subject to the report).

Note that if there is no device replacement, a report showing only the performance information may be created and displayed on the display device.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above-described embodiments are merely examples in every respect and do not limit the scope of the present invention. The present invention includes various modifications without departing from its essence.

100 information processing device, 110 usage history collection unit, 120 usage history management unit, 130 data storage unit, 140 usage amount estimation unit, 150 usage charge estimation unit, 160 report creation unit, 170 device management unit, 180 user information management unit, 200 image output equipment;

Claims (4)

means for managing track record information indicating usage records for each user of a plurality of users who use a first device before replacement, a second device after replacement, and a third device different from the two devices;
From the usage ratio for each user of the first device and the third device before replacement and the usage amount for each user of the second device and the third device after replacement, which are included in the performance information, means for deriving an estimated usage amount for each user assuming that there is no replacement with the second device;
has
The first device, the second device, and the third device are image output devices having at least one function of a print function, a scanner function, a copy function, and a facsimile function,
An information processing device characterized by: In the information processing device according to claim 1,
From the estimated value of the usage amount for each user when it is assumed that there is no replacement from the first device to the second device, the first device and the second device by the plurality of users when it is assumed that there is no replacement A means for deriving an assumed value of the total usage fee for the three devices;
An information processing device further comprising: In the information processing apparatus according to claim 2,
Actual value of the total usage fee of the second device and the third device by the plurality of users when the first device is replaced with the second device, and the above by the plurality of users assuming that there is no such replacement means for outputting information indicating the assumed value of the total usage fee of the first device and the third device;
An information processing device further comprising: to the computer,
a function of managing track record information indicating usage records for each user of a plurality of users who use a first device before replacement, a second device after replacement, and a third device different from the two devices;
From the usage ratio for each user of the first device and the third device before replacement and the usage amount for each user of the second device and the third device after replacement, which are included in the performance information, A function of deriving an estimated usage amount for each user assuming that there is no replacement with the second device;
to realize
The first device, the second device, and the third device are image output devices having at least one function of a print function, a scanner function, a copy function, and a facsimile function,
A program characterized by

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