JP7707780B2 - Information processing device, information processing system, and information processing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing system, and an information processing method.

The Cloud Gateway is a device that connects edge devices, which are devices in the middle layer of various edge devices, to the cloud, and is a device that provides new value to customers.

As more and more people work from home, there are cases where a printer installed at a personal home will be connected to a Cloud Gateway and used for business purposes. In such cases, the printer usage must be separated into business use and personal use, and the printer usage costs must be shared between the company and the individual.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for allocating charges to multiple users for one print job. Patent Documents 2 and 3 disclose a technique for specifying a billing code to distinguish billing destinations.

However, with the technology described in Patent Document 1, when the same individual prints, it is difficult to automatically allocate the billing recipient depending on the purpose of use (e.g., company use, personal use). Also, with the technology described in Patent Documents 2 and 3, the user has to manually input the billing recipient, which is time-consuming.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide an information processing device, information processing system, and information processing method that allows a printer to be divided into company use and personal use, and the cost of using the printer to be shared between a company and an individual.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the present invention includes a user authentication unit that authenticates a user when document data is printed by a printing unit of an edge device, a usage purpose determination unit that determines the usage purpose of printing the document data, determines a billing destination for printing the document data based on the result of the usage purpose determination, and transmits billing information including the determined billing destination to a cloud, and a print relay unit that relays the printing of the document data. Also, the usage purpose determination unit determines the usage purpose as personal use or company use based on at least one of whether the document data is stored in the cloud, the IP address of the sender of the document data, and whether the information processing device is connected to a VPN.

The present invention has the effect of enabling companies and individuals to share the cost of using a printer by dividing it into company use and personal use.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information processing system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the information processing system according to the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a flow of a management process of billing information in the information processing system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a flow of a process for managing billing information in the information processing system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a flow of a process for managing billing information in the information processing system according to the third embodiment. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an information processing system according to the fifth embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the flow of a process for managing billing information in the information processing system according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an information processing system according to the sixth embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of a process for managing billing information in the information processing system according to the sixth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an information processing system according to the seventh embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the flow of a process for managing billing information in the information processing system according to the seventh embodiment.

Embodiments of an information processing device, an information processing system, and an information processing method are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings.

(First embodiment)
Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of an information processing system according to a first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the information processing system according to the present embodiment includes a cloud 10, a plurality of PCs (Personal Computers) 20, a relay 30, a printer 40, and the like. The company PC 20 transmits a print instruction to the relay 30. When a print instruction is transmitted from the company PC 20, the cloud 10 transmits print data (an example of document data) to the relay 30. The personal PC 20 transmits print data to the relay 30.

The relay 30 transmits a print request for print data received from the cloud 10 or the company PC 20 to the printer 40. The printer 40 prints the print data in response to the print request received from the relay 30. In this embodiment, the cloud gateway serves as the relay 30, but this is not limited thereto, and the PC 20, the printer 40, the cloud 10, etc. may serve as the relay 30.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an information processing system according to the first embodiment. Next, an example of the functional configuration of an information processing system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 2.

First, an example of the functional configuration of the relay 30 will be described. In this embodiment, the relay 30, which is an example of an information processing device, has a user authentication unit 301, a usage purpose determination unit 302, and a print relay unit 303.

The user authentication unit 301 is an example of a user authentication unit that authenticates the user of the relay device 30 when, for example, the print data is printed by the print unit 402 of the printer 40. The print relay unit 303 is an example of a print relay unit that relays the printing of the print data. Specifically, the print relay unit 303 relays the transmission and reception of print data between the cloud 10, the PC 20, and the printer 40.

The usage purpose determination unit 302 is an example of a usage purpose determination unit that determines the usage purpose (e.g., company use, personal use) of printing of print data. In this embodiment, the usage purpose determination unit 302 may determine the usage purpose based on whether the print data is stored in the cloud 10. For example, if the print data is stored in the cloud 10, the usage purpose determination unit 302 determines the usage purpose to be company use. Also, for example, if the print data is stored in the PC 20, the usage purpose determination unit 302 determines the usage purpose to be personal use.

In addition, in this embodiment, the usage purpose determination unit 302 may determine the usage purpose based on the IP address of the sender of the print data. For example, if the IP address of the sender of the print data is the IP address of a personal PC 20, the usage purpose determination unit 302 determines the usage purpose to be personal use. Also, for example, if the IP address of the sender of the print data is the IP address of a company PC 20, the usage purpose determination unit 302 determines the usage purpose to be company use.

In addition, in this embodiment, the usage purpose determination unit 302 may determine the usage purpose based on whether or not the PC 20 is connected to a VPN. For example, when the PC 20 is connected to a VPN, the usage purpose determination unit 302 determines the usage purpose to be company use. Also, for example, when the PC 20 is not connected to a VPN, the usage purpose determination unit 302 determines the usage purpose to be personal use. In this case, the usage purpose determination unit 302 may determine the usage purpose based on a billing code that is automatically added to the document data based on whether or not the PC 20 is connected to a VPN.

The usage purpose determination unit 302 also determines who will be charged for printing the print data based on the result of the usage purpose determination, and transmits billing information including the determined billing destination to the cloud 10. This makes it possible to determine who will be charged for printing depending on the usage purpose of the printing of the print data. As a result, it becomes possible to share the usage costs of the printer between a company and an individual by dividing it into company use and personal use. In addition, by reusing the existing repeater 30, it becomes possible to share the usage costs of the printer 40 between a company and an individual. Furthermore, since the printer 40 is not connected to the cloud 10, the security risk of the printer 40 can be reduced.

Next, an example of the functional configuration of the printer 40 will be described. In this embodiment, the printer 40, which is an example of an edge device, has a user authentication unit 401, a printing unit 402, and a device information management unit 403.

The user authentication unit 401 authenticates the user of the printer 40. The printing unit 402 is an example of a printing unit that prints print data received from the repeater 30 on a recording medium such as paper. The device information management unit 403 manages (e.g., stores) device information related to the printer 40 (e.g., the remaining amount of supplies in the printer 40). In this embodiment, the device information management unit 403 manages device information including at least one of the remaining amount of toner in the printing unit 402 and the remaining amount of recording medium in the printing unit 402.

Next, an example of the functional configuration of the cloud 10 will be described. In this embodiment, the cloud 10 has a user authentication unit 101, a document management unit 102, a billing management unit 103, and a supply management unit 104.

The user authentication unit 101 authenticates users of the cloud 10. The document management unit 102 manages (e.g., stores) print data. The billing management unit 103 is an example of a billing management unit that manages (e.g., stores) billing information received from the repeater 30. The supply management unit 104 manages (e.g., stores) equipment information (e.g., supply status) of edge devices such as the printer 40.

Figure 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of billing information management processing in the information processing system according to the first embodiment. Next, an example of the flow of billing information management processing in the information processing system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 3.

First, the process of managing billing information when the printer 40 is used in a company will be described. First, the company PC 20 transmits print data (document data), user information, etc. to the document management unit 102 of the cloud 10, and the document data is stored in the document management unit 102 (step S311). Next, the user authentication unit 101 of the cloud 10 authenticates the user of the cloud 10 (step S312).

After that, when a print instruction is sent from the company PC 20 to the print relay unit 303 of the repeater 30 (step S313), the print relay unit 303 of the repeater 30 requests the user authentication unit 301 to authenticate the user (step S314). Here, the print instruction includes user information indicating the user of the company PC 20 and document information indicating the print data. After the user authentication unit 301 authenticates the user, the print relay unit 303 of the repeater 30 sends the user information included in the print instruction to the document management unit 102 of the cloud 10 and acquires the print data indicated by the document information included in the print instruction (step S315). The document management unit 102 of the cloud 10 requests the user authentication unit 101 to authenticate the user indicated by the received user information (step S316).

The print relay unit 303 of the relay 30 also transmits a print instruction including the user information of the user of the company PC 20 and the acquired print data to the print unit 402 of the printer 40, which is an example of an edge device (step S317). The print unit 402 of the printer 40 requests the user authentication unit 401 to authenticate the user indicated by the user information included in the received print instruction (step S318). Furthermore, the print unit 402 prints the print data included in the received print instruction.

The repeater 30's usage purpose determination unit 302 also determines the usage purpose of the acquired printing of the print data (step S319). If the usage purpose of the printing of the print data is for business use, the usage purpose determination unit 302 transmits (notifies) billing information including user information, print results, usage purpose (business use), etc. to the billing management unit 103 of the cloud 10 (step S320).

Next, the management process of billing information when the printer 40 is used for personal use will be described. First, the personal PC 20 sends a print instruction including user information, print data, etc. to the print relay unit 303 of the repeater 30 (step S321). The print relay unit 303 of the repeater 30 requests the user authentication unit 301 to authenticate the user indicated by the user information included in the print instruction (step S322). The print relay unit 303 also sends the received print instruction to the print unit 402 of the printer 40 (step S323). The print unit 402 requests the user authentication unit 401 to authenticate the user included in the received print instruction (step S324). Furthermore, the print unit 402 prints the print data included in the received print instruction.

The repeater 30's usage determination unit 302 also determines the usage of the printing of the print data included in the received print instruction (step 325). If the usage of the printing of the print data is personal use, the usage determination unit 302 determines that the individual is to be charged for the printing of the print data, and transmits (notifies) the charging information including the user information, the print result, the usage (personal use), etc. to the charging management unit 103 of the cloud 10 (step S326).

In this way, the information processing system according to the first embodiment can determine who is to be charged for printing depending on the purpose of printing the print data. As a result, it is possible to divide the printer into business use and personal use, and share the printer usage costs between the company and the individual.

Second Embodiment
In this embodiment, the toner consumption and recording medium consumption in printing print data are calculated based on the device information of the edge device, and billing information including the calculated toner consumption and recording medium consumption is transmitted to the cloud. In the following description, the same configuration as in the first embodiment is omitted.

In this embodiment, the print relay unit 303 of the relay device 30 acquires device information from the device information management unit 403 of the printer 40. The usage purpose determination unit 302 then calculates the toner consumption amount and recording medium consumption amount in the print unit 402 based on the acquired device information, and includes the calculated toner consumption amount and recording medium consumption amount together with billing information.

In this embodiment, the billing management unit 103 of the cloud 10 determines the amount to be charged for printing the print data based on the amount of toner and recording medium consumed included in the billing information received from the repeater 30, and includes the amount in the billing information. This allows the amount to be determined for printing the print data using the amounts of toner and recording medium consumed.

Figure 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of billing information management processing in an information processing system according to the second embodiment. Next, an example of the flow of billing information management processing in an information processing system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 4. In the following description, processing similar to the billing information management processing shown in Figure 3 will not be described.

In this embodiment, the print relay unit 303 of the relay 30 obtains device information (e.g., remaining amounts of supplies such as toner and recording media) from the device information management unit 403 of the printer 40 before and after printing by the printing unit 402 of the printer 40 (steps S411 and S412).

Then, based on the acquired device information, the usage purpose determination unit 302 acquires the amount of toner and recording medium consumed by printing the print data in the printing unit 402 (hereinafter referred to as supply consumption). Next, the usage purpose determination unit 302 transmits billing information including user information, print results, usage purpose (personal use), supply consumption, etc. to the billing management unit 103 of the cloud 10 (step S413). The billing management unit 103 of the cloud 10 determines the amount to be charged for printing the print data based on the supply consumption included in the billing information received from the print relay unit 303.

In this way, according to the information processing system of the second embodiment, the amount of toner and recording medium consumed in printing print data is calculated, and billing information including the calculated amount of toner and recording medium consumed is sent to the cloud, so that the amount of toner and recording medium consumed can be used to determine the amount of charge for printing the print data.

Third Embodiment
In the present embodiment, when a supply shortage occurs in an edge device, a notification of the shortage is automatically sent. In the following description, the same configuration as in the second embodiment will not be described.

In this embodiment, when the remaining amount of supplies such as toner and recording media indicated in the device information obtained from the device information management unit 403 of the printer 40 falls below a preset remaining amount, the print relay unit 303 of the relay 30 transmits the device information obtained from the device information management unit 403 to the supply management unit 104 of the cloud 10. This makes it possible to automatically notify the cloud 10 that the printer 40 is running low on supplies, making it possible to purchase supplies for the printer 40 in advance.

Figure 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of the billing information management process in the information processing system according to the third embodiment. Next, an example of the flow of the billing information management process in the information processing system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 5. In the following description, processes similar to the billing information management process shown in Figure 4 will be omitted. In addition, the following description will be given of a case where the printing of print data is for company use, but the same applies when the printing of print data is for personal use.

In this embodiment, before or after printing by the printing unit 402 of the printer 40, if the remaining amount of the supply indicated by the device information acquired from the device information management unit 403 of the printer 40 is equal to or less than a preset remaining amount, the print relay unit 303 transmits the acquired device information to the supply management unit 104 of the cloud 10 (steps S511 and S512).

In this way, according to the information processing system of the third embodiment, it is possible to automatically notify the cloud 10 of a shortage of supplies for the printer 40, making it possible to purchase supplies for the printer 40 in advance.

(Fourth embodiment)
This embodiment is an example in which, when an edge device breaks down, the repair cost burden for the edge device is determined based on the ratio of the supply consumption of the edge device. In the following description, the same configuration as the above embodiment will not be described.

In this embodiment, when a printer 40 breaks down, the billing management unit 103 of the cloud 10 calculates the ratio of the supply consumption of the user of the printer 40 based on the supply information. Then, the billing management unit 103 determines the amount of the repair cost to be borne by the user of the printer 40 based on the calculated ratio.

In this way, according to the information processing system of the fourth embodiment, when the printer 40 breaks down, it is possible to easily determine the respective repair cost burdens of the company and the individual.

Fifth embodiment
In this embodiment, a print relay unit and a usage purpose determination unit are realized by a PC application or driver. In the following description, the same configuration as in the above embodiment will not be described.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an information processing system according to the fifth embodiment. In the information processing system according to the present embodiment, as shown in Fig. 6, the usage purpose determination unit 302 and the print relay unit 303 are realized by the application and driver of the PC 20, rather than the relay 30. As a result, even if a relay is not introduced into the information processing system, it is possible to realize the management processing of billing information according to the usage purpose of printing the print data.

Figure 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of billing information management processing in an information processing system according to the fifth embodiment. Next, an example of the flow of billing information management processing in an information processing system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 7.

In this embodiment, the usage purpose determination unit 302 and the print relay unit 303 provided in the PC 20 execute steps S315, S317, S319, S320, S323, S325, and S326 shown in FIG. 7.

In this way, according to the information processing system of the fifth embodiment, even if a repeater is not introduced into the information processing system, it is possible to realize management processing of billing information according to the intended use of printing of print data.

Sixth embodiment
In the present embodiment, an edge device is provided with a print relay and a usage purpose determination unit. In the following description, the same configuration as in the above embodiment will not be described.

Figure 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an information processing system according to a sixth embodiment. In the information processing system according to this embodiment, as shown in Figure 8, a usage purpose determination unit 302 and a print relay unit 303 are provided in the printer 40, not in the relay 30. This makes it possible to realize management processing of billing information according to the usage purpose of printing print data, even if a relay is not introduced in the information processing system. In addition, it is no longer necessary to install applications, drivers, etc., or to perform various settings on the PC 20. Furthermore, when the number of PCs 20 and edge devices increases, it is no longer necessary to install applications, etc., and perform various settings on the PC 20, thereby improving convenience.

Figure 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of billing information management processing in an information processing system according to the sixth embodiment. Next, an example of the flow of billing information management processing in an information processing system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 9.

In this embodiment, the usage determination unit 302 and the print relay unit 303 provided in the printer 40 execute steps S314, S315, S317, S319, S320, S323, S325, and S326 shown in FIG. 9.

In this way, according to the information processing system of the sixth embodiment, even if a repeater is not introduced into the information processing system, it is possible to realize management processing of billing information according to the intended use of printing of print data.

Seventh embodiment
In the present embodiment, a print relay and a usage purpose determination unit are provided in the cloud. In the following description, the same configuration as in the above embodiment will not be described.

Fig. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an information processing system according to the seventh embodiment. In the information processing system according to the present embodiment, as shown in Fig. 10, a usage purpose determination unit 302 and a print relay unit 303 are provided in the cloud 10, not in the relay 30. This makes it possible to realize management processing of billing information according to the usage purpose of printing print data, even if a relay is not introduced in the information processing system. In addition, it becomes unnecessary to install applications, drivers, etc., or to perform various settings on the PC 20. Furthermore, when the number of PCs 20 and edge devices increases, it becomes unnecessary to install applications, etc., and to perform various settings on the PC 20, thereby improving convenience.

Figure 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of billing information management processing in an information processing system according to the seventh embodiment. Next, an example of the flow of billing information management processing in an information processing system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 11.

In this embodiment, the usage purpose determination unit 302 and the print relay unit 303 provided in the cloud 10 execute steps S315, S317, S319, S320, S323, S325, and S326 shown in FIG. 11.

In this way, according to the information processing system of the seventh embodiment, even if a repeater is not introduced into the information processing system, it is possible to realize management processing of billing information according to the intended use of printing of print data.

Each function of the embodiments described above can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Here, the term "processing circuit" in this specification includes a processor programmed to execute each function by software, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, and devices such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), DSP (Digital Signal Processor), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and conventional circuit modules designed to execute each function described above.

The devices described in the examples are merely illustrative of one of multiple computing environments for implementing the embodiments disclosed herein. In one embodiment, cloud 10 includes multiple computing devices, such as a server cluster. The multiple computing devices are configured to communicate with each other over any type of communication link, including a network, shared memory, etc., to perform the processes disclosed herein. Similarly, PC 20, repeater 30, and printer 40 may include multiple computing devices configured to communicate with each other.

10 Cloud 20 PC
30 relay device 40 printer 101, 301, 401 user authentication unit 102 document management unit 103 billing management unit 104 supply management unit 302 usage purpose determination unit 303 print relay unit 402 printing unit 403 device information management unit

JP 2010-224167 A Patent No. 4883117 JP 2018-045324 A Patent No. 6690480

Claims (6)

An information processing device,
a user authentication unit that authenticates a user when the document data is printed by a printing unit of the edge device;
a usage purpose determination unit that determines a usage purpose of printing the document data, determines a billing destination for the printing of the document data based on a result of the usage purpose determination, and transmits billing information including the determined billing destination to a cloud;
a print relay unit that relays printing of the document data ,
The information processing device, wherein the usage determination unit determines the usage to be personal use or company use based on at least one of whether the document data is stored in the cloud, the IP address of the sender of the document data, and whether the information processing device is connected to a VPN . The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the information processing device is included in any one of a PC, the edge device, and the cloud. The usage purpose determination unit is
When the document data is stored in the cloud, the purpose of use is determined to be the company use, and when the document data is stored in a PC, the purpose of use is determined to be the personal use;
If the IP address of the sender of the document data is the IP address of a personal PC, the purpose of use is determined to be the personal use, and if the IP address of the sender of the document data is the IP address of a company PC, the purpose of use is determined to be the company use,
3. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein, when the PC from which the document data is sent is connected to a VPN, the intended use is determined to be company use, and when the PC from which the document data is sent is not connected to a VPN, the intended use is determined to be personal use. the print relay unit acquires device information including a remaining amount of toner in the printing unit and a remaining amount of recording medium in the printing unit from the edge device;
4. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the usage determination unit calculates the amount of toner consumed and the amount of recording medium consumed based on the device information, and transmits the billing information including the calculated amount of toner consumed and the amount of recording medium consumed to the cloud. An information processing system having an information processing device, an edge device, and a cloud,
The information processing device includes:
a user authentication unit that authenticates a user when printing document data;
a usage purpose determination unit that determines a usage purpose of printing the document data, determines a billing destination for the printing of the document data based on a result of the usage purpose determination, and transmits billing information including the determined billing destination to the cloud;
a print relay unit that relays printing of the document data,
The edge device includes:
a printing unit that prints the document data on a recording medium;
a device information management unit that manages device information related to the edge device,
The cloud includes:
a document management unit for managing the document data;
a billing management unit that manages the billing information transmitted from the information processing device;
a supply management unit that manages a supply status of the edge device;
Equipped with
An information processing system, wherein the usage determination unit determines the usage to be personal use or company use based on at least one of whether the document data is stored in the cloud, the IP address of the sender of the document data, and whether the information processing device is connected to a VPN . An information processing method executed by an information processing device,
a step of a user authentication unit authenticating a user when the document data is printed by a printing unit of the edge device;
a usage determination unit determining a usage of the printing of the document data, determining a billing destination for the printing of the document data based on a result of the determination of the usage, and transmitting billing information including the determined billing destination to a cloud;
a print relay unit relaying printing of the document data;
Including,
An information processing method in which the usage determination unit determines the usage to be personal use or company use based on at least one of whether the document data is stored in the cloud, the IP address of the sender of the document data, and whether the information processing device is connected to a VPN .