JP7769907B2 - Printing authority purchase management program and printing authority purchase management system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printing rights purchase management program and a printing rights purchase management system for managing the purchase of printing rights that guarantee a specified amount of printing.

Prepaid fee systems are sometimes used in printing services where users of printing devices pay a fee to the service provider based on the content of the print job. For example, as described in Patent Document 1, a technology has been known in the past where users purchase printing rights for a fee and are allowed to print up to a certain amount guaranteed by that printing right.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-68372

In the above-mentioned prior art, multiple users purchase printing authorizations, and the guaranteed print volume guaranteed by each printing authorization is accumulated, and the accumulated value of the guaranteed print volume is stored in the printing device. Each user can print up to the accumulated value.
Let us now consider a new case where a user's purchase history of printing rights is displayed. In this case, if multiple users can display not only their own purchase history but also the purchase histories of other users, it would be convenient to prevent overlapping purchases with other users and to prevent the inability to continue printing by purchasing printing rights themselves when the guaranteed print volume is running low.

The object of the present invention is to provide a printing rights purchase management program and printing rights purchase management system that can display the printing rights purchase history of all users to each of multiple users who use a printing device, preventing duplicate purchases by other users and preventing a shortage of guaranteed printing volume.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a terminal device configured to communicate with an information processing device capable of communicating with a printing device, the terminal device having a user-operable operation unit, a display unit, and a calculation unit. The calculation unit executes the following steps: an acquisition application acceptance step for accepting, via the operation unit, an application for purchasing printing rights that guarantees printing of a predetermined guaranteed print volume on the printing device; an identification information acquisition step for acquiring identification information of the printing device; a printing device identification step for identifying the printing device to be processed using the identification information acquired in the identification information acquisition step; a payment information acquisition step for acquiring from the information processing device payment information associated with the purchase of printing rights for the specific printing device identified in the printing device identification step; a first payment information display step for displaying only first payment information by the terminal device on the display unit; and a second payment information display step for displaying, on the display unit, second payment information for all terminal devices out of the payment information acquired in the payment information acquisition step.

In the present invention, a terminal device is configured to be able to communicate with an information processing device that can communicate with a printing device. When a user of the printing device applies for the purchase of printing authority via the operation unit of the terminal device, the application is accepted in an acquisition application acceptance step executed by the calculation unit of the terminal device. The user can print a specified guaranteed print volume guaranteed by the purchased printing authority on the printing device. If there are multiple users of the printing device, the guaranteed print volumes of the printing authorities purchased by each of the multiple users are accumulated, and each user can print up to the accumulated guaranteed print volume.

The calculation unit of the terminal device executes an identification information receiving step, a printing device identification step, a first payment information display step, and a second payment information display step. When a user who wants to view the purchase history of printing rights for a desired printing device inputs the identification information of that printing device on the operation unit of the terminal device, the input is accepted in the identification information receiving step. In the printing device identification step, the printing device to be processed is identified and specified using the input and accepted identification information. Once a specific printing device is identified, first payment information related to payments executed on that terminal device among the payment information related to payments executed for the purchase of printing rights for that specific printing device is displayed on the display unit in the first payment information display step. Second payment information related to payments executed on all terminal devices, including that terminal device and other terminal devices, among the payment information related to payments executed for the purchase of printing rights for the specific printing device, is displayed on the display unit in the second payment information display step.

According to the present invention, in the second payment information display step, the purchase history of printing rights for all users can be displayed to each of multiple users using the printing device, thereby preventing duplicate purchases by other users and preventing a shortage of guaranteed printing volume.

Furthermore, to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a terminal device configured to be capable of communicating with an information processing device capable of communicating with a printing device, and having a user-operable operation unit, a display unit, and a calculation unit. The calculation unit of the terminal device executes the following steps: an acquisition application acceptance step for accepting, via the operation unit, an application for purchasing printing rights that guarantees printing of a predetermined guaranteed print volume on the printing device; an identification information acquisition step for acquiring identification information of the printing device; a printing device identification step for identifying the printing device to be processed using the identification information acquired in the identification information acquisition step; a payment information acquisition step for acquiring from the information processing device payment information associated with the purchase of printing rights for the specific printing device identified in the printing device identification step; a third payment information display step for displaying, on the display unit, only third payment information for which the operator of the terminal device is the authorizer, out of the payment information acquired in the payment information acquisition step; and a fourth payment information display step for displaying, on the display unit, fourth payment information for all authorizers, out of the payment information acquired in the payment information acquisition step.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a printing authorization purchase management system having an information processing device capable of communicating with a printing device, and a terminal device configured to be able to communicate with the information processing device and equipped with a user-operable operation unit, display unit, storage unit, and control unit, wherein the control unit of the terminal device performs an acquisition request acceptance process that accepts, via the operation unit, an application for purchasing printing authorization that guarantees printing of a predetermined guaranteed print volume on the printing device, an identification information acceptance process that accepts, via the operation unit, input of identification information for the printing device, and The system performs a printing device identification process that identifies the printing device to be processed using the identification information; a first payment information display process that displays on the display unit only the first payment information by the terminal device that was stored in the storage unit out of the payment information at the time of payment execution associated with the purchase of printing rights for the specific printing device identified in the printing device identification process; and a second payment information display process that obtains from the information processing device and displays on the display unit second payment information, which is payment information from all terminal devices at the time of payment execution associated with the purchase of printing rights for the specific printing device identified in the printing device identification process.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective, the present invention provides a printing authority purchase management system that includes an information processing device capable of communicating with a printing device, and a terminal device configured to communicate with the information processing device and equipped with a user-operable operation unit, display unit, and control unit. The control unit of the terminal device executes the following operations: an acquisition request acceptance process that accepts, via the operation unit, an application to purchase printing authority that guarantees printing of a predetermined guaranteed print volume on the printing device; an identification information acquisition process that acquires identification information of the printing device; a printing device identification process that identifies the printing device to be processed using the identification information acquired in the identification information acquisition process; a payment information acquisition process that acquires from the information processing device payment information associated with the purchase of printing authority for the specific printing device identified in the printing device identification process; a third payment information display process that displays, on the display unit, only third payment information for which the operator of the terminal device is the authorizer, out of the payment information acquired in the payment information acquisition process; and a fourth payment information display process that displays, on the display unit, fourth payment information for all authorizers, out of the payment information acquired in the payment information acquisition process.

According to this invention, by displaying the purchase history of all users' printing rights to each of multiple users who use a printing device, it is possible to prevent overlapping purchases with other users and prevent a shortage of guaranteed printing volume.

1 is a functional block diagram illustrating an overall schematic configuration of a print service providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a mobile terminal. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration of an entire print service providing system. 10 is a diagram showing a manner of information transmission and reception when one user uses a plurality of multifunction peripherals; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a manner of information transmission and reception when one multifunction peripheral is used by a plurality of users; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing how information is sent and received when a user changes the mobile terminal they use due to a model change or other reason. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an all-event management table stored in the management server. 10A to 10C are diagrams showing screen transitions when displaying various event histories on a mobile terminal. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control procedure executed by a CPU of a mobile terminal. 10A to 10C are diagrams showing screen transitions when displaying various event histories on an operation terminal.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 shows the system configuration of a print service providing system relating to a printing rights purchase management system, which is one embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is an embodiment of a print service providing system 1 that can provide a prepaid print service in which customer users pay a fee in advance to use the printing functions of the multifunction device 200.

<Outline of the printing service provision system>
1, the printing 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 a mobile phone communication line and are capable of communicating with each other. The management server 100 is an example of an information processing device, the multifunction peripheral 200 is an example of a printing device, and the mobile terminal 300 is an example of a terminal device.

<Management Server>
The management server 100 is a server installed and managed by, for example, the manufacturer of the multifunction peripheral 200, and includes a processor 110, a storage device 115, and an interface 190. The processor 110, the storage device 115, and the interface 190 are connected to one another via a bus 105.

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.
Various programs are stored in the program storage area 131. The data storage area 132 stores, for example, an all-event management table, as shown in FIG. 7 (described later), which stores all information related to various events that all users have previously performed with respect to the prepaid printing service as a history.

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 of this embodiment, stored in the program storage area 131. The processor 110 performs various processes, including data communication with the mobile terminal 300, multifunction device 200, and transaction server 400, which are connected to the network NT. The processor 110 cooperates with the mobile terminal 300 to execute event history processing by the printing service providing system 1 of this embodiment.

Interface 190 is a wired LAN interface or a wireless interface for communicating with other devices and is connected to network NT.

The storage device 115 is not limited to being configured with the above-mentioned device elements, but may also be configured with, for example, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, HDD, portable recording media such as a USB memory that can be attached to or detached from the mobile terminal 300, 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. Furthermore, non-transitory media are also tangible media.
The same applies to the storage device 215 of the multifunction peripheral 200, which will be described later.

<Multifunction device>
The multifunction device 200 is owned, for example, by a printing service provider that provides the prepaid printing service or by a user. The multifunction device 200 has a scanner unit 280, a printing unit 290, a processor 210, a storage device 215, a display unit 240, an operation unit 250, a communication unit 285, and a communication interface 270. The scanner unit 280, printing unit 290, processor 210, storage device 215, display unit 240, operation unit 250, communication unit 285, and communication interface 270 are connected to one another via a bus 205.

The storage device 215 includes a volatile storage device 220 and a non-volatile storage device 230. The volatile storage device 220 is, for example, DRAM, and includes an image data storage area 222 that stores image data to be printed. The non-volatile storage device 230 is, for example, flash memory, and includes a program storage area 232. Various programs are stored in the program storage area 232, for example, as firmware.

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

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. By operating the operation unit 250, the user can input various instructions into the multifunction device 200. The communication interface 270 is a wired or wireless network interface for communicating with other devices, and is connected to the network NT.

The scanner unit 280 optically reads the original document, which is the object to be read, using a photoelectric conversion element such as a CCD or CMOS, and generates scan data representing the read image.

The printing unit 290 uses a transport mechanism (not shown) to retrieve and transport paper from a paper feed tray, printing an image on the transported paper using a predetermined method. The following explanation uses an example of inkjet printing. The printing unit 290 forms an image on the paper using ink from an ink cartridge that is removably attached to a cartridge holder (not shown), in accordance with a print job sent from the mobile terminal 300 or a print job that the printing unit 290 itself generates based on operations on the operation unit 250.

The communication unit 285 is, for example, a terminal, and is electrically connected to the cartridge memory (IC chip) of the ink cartridge attached to the cartridge holder.

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

The mass storage device 350 is, for example, a flash memory, and includes a program storage area 351 and a data storage area 352. Various programs are stored in the program storage area 351, for example, as firmware. These programs include various programs related to the execution of history display related to the prepaid printing service of this embodiment based on the flowchart of Figure 9, which will be described later. The data storage area 352 stores a user event management table, which stores, as a history, all information related to various events that have been executed in the past for the prepaid printing service only by the user who owns the mobile terminal 300, as will be described later. The CPU 310 executes the program related to the prepaid printing service of this embodiment stored in the program storage area 351. The CPU 310 cooperates with the management server 100 to execute the history display process, which will be described later, including data communication with the management server 100 connected to the network NT.

The mobile terminal 300 also displays various information and accepts various operations by the user on a touch panel 340 that integrally combines a liquid crystal display and a touch pad. The user can input various instructions to the mobile terminal 300 by operating the touch panel 340. Examples of the display content of the touch panel 340 will be described later.
It should be noted that other information terminals, such as a tablet computer, may be used instead of mobile terminal 300. Hereinafter, these information terminals will be collectively referred to simply as "mobile terminals" as appropriate. It should be noted that data storage area 352 is an example of a storage unit, the liquid crystal display of touch panel 340 is an example of a display unit, the touchpad of touch panel 340 is an example of an operation unit, and CPU 310 is an example of a calculation unit.

<Transaction Server>
The transaction server 400 is installed, for example, at a company that provides various online services for online settlement, and has a processor, a storage device, and an interface for connecting to the network NT (not shown).

<Features of the embodiment>
In the above configuration, a feature of this embodiment is the processing of displaying only the history of events, such as purchasing printing rights and printing, performed by the user who owns the mobile terminal 300 for the prepaid printing service on the mobile terminal 300. Furthermore, the event history of all users is displayed to the system administrator of the printing service providing system 1.

<About prepaid printing services and event history management>
The following describes a prepaid printing service and its event history in an example of this embodiment. As described above, in the printing service providing system 1 of this embodiment, the management server 100, multifunction peripherals 200, mobile terminals 300, and transaction server 400 are connected via a network NT so that they can send and receive information. As shown in Figure 3, the information is sent and received in such a manner that multiple mobile terminals 300 owned by multiple users and multiple multifunction peripherals 200 installed at various locations all send and receive information individually to and from the management server 100, which centrally manages events that have occurred on all of the mobile terminals 300 and all of the multifunction peripherals 200.

The prepaid printing service provided by the printing service providing system 1 is a service in which a user purchases in advance the right to print a specified number of pages on a specific multifunction device 200 designated by the user via the mobile terminal 300. In other words, it is a pre-paid system in which the user is allowed to print on the target multifunction device 200 up to the specified guaranteed print volume purchased as printing authority. In this case, the management server 100 directly accepts the purchase application for printing authority from the mobile terminal 300, and the printing authority is applied to the specified individual multifunction device 200. The processing procedure for accepting the purchase application for printing authority on the mobile terminal 300 at this time is an example of an acquisition application acceptance step and acquisition application acceptance process.

In such prepaid printing services, the printing authority that a user can purchase for each individual multifunction device 200 is referred to as a charge number, and can be selected from multiple charge services, such as 100 sheets = 100 yen, 300 sheets = 250 yen, etc. The charge number repeatedly purchased by the user for the multifunction device 200 can be accumulated as the number of printable sheets, and each time a print process instructed via a mobile terminal 300 is executed on the multifunction device 200, the number of printable sheets decreases until it reaches 0. For this reason, the management server 100 sequentially records all event information, such as which mobile terminal 300 instructed which multifunction device 200 to purchase and print how many sheets, and manages this history (see Figure 8 described below). Note that the above-mentioned number of printable sheets is one example of the allowable printing amount.

In addition, in this embodiment, the printable page count managed for each multifunction device 200 can be shared by multiple users, i.e., multiple mobile terminals 300. For example, in a multifunction device 200 installed in an environment where only a limited number of users can use it, such as an office, all of those users purchase printing rights for that individual multifunction device 200 via their respective mobile terminals 300, and the printable page count calculated as a result of the printing event is shared use. Note that the user who performs the event to purchase printing rights is an example of a paying user.

In a print service providing system 1 based on the above-described usage patterns, each user may wish to check the history of events they have performed in the past on their mobile terminal 300. In contrast, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, if one user uses multiple multifunction devices 200, the event history for each of these multifunction devices 200 is displayed separately on the mobile terminal 300. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, if multiple users use one multifunction device 200, only the event history performed by each user is displayed. Also, as shown in FIG. 6, even if a user changes their mobile terminal 300, for example, due to a model change, the event history continues to be displayed without requiring new settings to be registered. Although not specifically shown, the event history of all users is displayed only to the system administrator of the print service providing system 1 and the installation manager of the multifunction device 200.

In this embodiment, to enable the display of event history in the above manner, the management server 100 stores the all-event management table shown in Figure 7. This all-event management table records, in the order in which the events are executed, the "event content" of the executed event, the "date" of the executed event, the "user identification information" of the user who instructed the execution of the event, the "target multifunction device ID" (an example of identification information) which is the ID of the multifunction device 200 on which the event is executed, the "product" and its "price" indicating the specific charge amount if the event is a purchase, the "increase/decrease" in the number of printable sheets on the multifunction device 200 for each purchase and print event, and the "current" which indicates the cumulative number of printable sheets on the multifunction device 200 at that time calculated by adding or subtracting the above items. Note that this information for each event is an example of payment information, and in particular the entire contents of the all-events management table is an example of second payment information, of which information for at least one of the items "product", "price", and "increase/decrease" in the case of a purchase is an example of purchase history information, and information for at least one of the items "event content", "increase/decrease", and "current" in the case of a print is an example of print history information.

In this embodiment, the user's email address, which has been registered in advance for purposes such as sending receipts, is used as the user's identification information. An email address is information that can uniquely identify an individual user, and since the same email address is often continued to be used even when the mobile terminal 300 is changed, the same user can be identified based on the email address even if the mobile terminal 300 is changed due to a model change as described above. Also, although the all-event management table in the illustrated example collectively records all events executed for all target multifunction device IDs, it is also possible to create separate event management tables for each target multifunction device ID (not shown).

Each mobile terminal 300 also stores in advance in the data storage area 352 of its mass storage device 350 a user event management table (not shown) that is limited to events previously instructed or executed by the user of that mobile terminal 300, among all the events in the above-mentioned event management table. While not shown, this user event management table can be stored and managed by the mobile terminal 300 alone, as long as it contains only items related to purchase and printing events previously instructed or executed by the user (date, user identification information, target multifunction device ID, product, price). The contents of the user event management table in this case are an example of first payment information. However, since only the management server 100 stores the number of printable sheets for the target multifunction device 200 at that time, if such a printable sheet item is to be included in and stored in the user event management table, it is automatically downloaded from the management server 100 and stored at an appropriate time, such as after each event is executed. The payment information, first payment information, and second payment information may consist only of information related to purchase events, without including information related to printing events.

<Specific display format of event history>
In this embodiment, the user can display their own event history through a screen transition such as that shown in Figure 8 by performing appropriate instruction operations on the event information managed as described above via a dedicated application on the mobile terminal 300.

When the dedicated application is first launched, the touch panel 340 first displays a device list screen, as shown in Figure 8(a) in the upper left of the figure, in which multiple multifunction devices 200 that the user can specify are listed as icons. Note that the figure shows an example in which the names of the multifunction devices 200 that the user can specify are displayed as "Device A," "Device B," and "Device C." However, supplementary information such as the manufacturer, model, installation location, and installation number of each multifunction device 200 may also be added to allow the user to more clearly distinguish between them.

When the user selects a device by pressing the icon of the device to be specified on the touch panel 340, the function selection screen shown in Figure 8(b) is then displayed. The illustrated example shows the case where device A is selected. On this function selection screen, multiple functions that can be executed by the multifunction device 200 of the selected device A are displayed as icons, respectively. In the illustrated example, three functions are displayed: "scan," "print," and "display history." If the user selects the "print" function, the user can receive the prepaid printing service described above. In this case, the user can instruct the execution of events such as printing up to the maximum number of pages that can be printed on device A at that time, or purchasing printing rights via the transaction server 400 as necessary (not illustrated).

If the user presses the "Display History" icon on the function selection screen, the history screen shown in Figure 8(c) will then be displayed. At this time, the mobile terminal 300 displays on the history screen a list of events that the user has previously instructed the target multifunction peripheral 200 (device A) to execute, based on the user event management table previously stored in the data storage area 352 of the mass storage device 350. In the example shown, the date, event content, and increase/decrease in the number of printable sheets are displayed in the order in which the events were executed. Note that if the display area of the touch panel 340 is large, or by using an appropriate scrolling display, other items such as the number of printable sheets at that time may also be displayed (not shown).

Furthermore, an icon labeled "Show all history" is displayed below this history screen; pressing this icon displays the PIN code confirmation screen shown in FIG. 8(d). This PIN code confirmation screen is used to enter a four-digit PIN code that is known in advance only to the system administrator of the printing service providing system 1 or the installation manager of the multifunction peripheral 200 (device A). If an incorrect PIN code is entered on this PIN code confirmation screen, the screen returns to the history screen described above; if a correct PIN code is entered, it is considered to be an instruction from a legitimate administrator, and the full history screen shown in FIG. 8(e) is displayed. Note that the PIN code is an example of verification information. Furthermore, verification information is not limited to a PIN code; it may also be a password known only to the administrator. Note that the full history screen is shown enlarged in FIG. 8(e) to make the displayed content easier to see.

When displaying the full history screen, the mobile terminal 300 accesses the management server 100 and downloads the entire contents of the above-mentioned event management table, and then searches for and displays a list of only the event information executed corresponding to the ID of the multifunction device 200 (device A). Alternatively, the ID of the multifunction device 200 may be transmitted when accessing the management server 100, and only the corresponding event information may be received from the management server 100.

This full history screen displays a list of all purchase and print event information in the order in which they were performed, including not only the user of the mobile terminal 300 but also other users using the multifunction device 200. The full history screen also displays email addresses, which are user identification information, so that it is possible to see which events were performed by which users. In the example shown, events performed by other users are displayed in a different format (in the example shown, bold and underlined) so that they can be particularly distinguished. This allows only authorized administrators to view all of the event history of other users on the full history screen, even if it should not be viewed by general users.

<Control procedure>
An example of a control procedure executed by the CPU 310 of the mobile terminal 300 to realize the processing method for displaying the history in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 9. Note that the CPU 310 starts executing this flow when the dedicated application program described above is started in the mobile terminal 300.

First, in S5, the device list screen shown in Figure 8(a) above is displayed on the LCD display of the touch panel 340, and identification information for the target multifunction device 200 (device) is received via a user's pressing operation on the touchpad (abbreviated as "operation unit" in the figure) of the touch panel 340. Next, in S10, the ID of the corresponding multifunction device 200 is identified from the received identification information. Note that the correspondence between such identification information and the ID of the multifunction device 200 is determined based on a correlation stored in advance in a correspondence table (not shown).

Next, in S15, it is determined whether the user pressed the history display icon on the function selection screen of Figure 8(b) displayed on the touch panel 340. If an icon other than the history display icon was pressed, the condition is not met (S15: NO), and the MFP operation process of S20 is executed to operate the MFP 200 using other scan or print functions, and then the process proceeds to S40. On the other hand, if the history display icon was pressed, the condition is met (S15: YES), and the process proceeds to S25.

In S25, only the event information corresponding to the ID of the multifunction device 200 selected as the target of the instruction is obtained from the user event management table pre-stored in the data storage area 352 of the mass storage device 350 of the mobile terminal 300.

Next, the process proceeds to S30, where the event information obtained from the user event management table is displayed on the history screen shown in Figure 8(c). In S35, it is determined whether the user has pressed the "Show all history" button on the history screen. If the button has not been pressed, the condition is not met (S35: NO), and the process proceeds to S40. In S40, it is determined whether the user has performed a specified termination operation for the dedicated application. If the termination operation has been performed, the condition is met (S40: YES), and the flow ends. On the other hand, if the termination operation has not been performed, the condition is not met (S40: NO), and the process returns to S30.

On the other hand, if the user presses the "Show all history" button on the history screen in the determination of S35 above, the condition is satisfied (S35: NO), and the process proceeds to S45. In S45, a loop is performed to wait until the user enters a four-digit PIN code on the PIN code confirmation screen of FIG. 8(d) displayed on the touch panel 340, and when input is detected, the process proceeds to S50. In S50, it is determined whether the entered PIN code is valid, and if it is not valid, the condition is not satisfied (S50: NO), and the process returns to S30. On the other hand, if the entered PIN code is valid, the condition is satisfied (S50: YES), and the process proceeds to S55.

In S55, the mobile terminal 300 accesses the management server 100 and downloads the entire contents of the above-mentioned all-event management table, searches for and acquires only the event information corresponding to the ID of the multifunction device 200 selected as the target of the instruction, and in S60 displays the acquired event information on the all-history screen shown in Figure 8(e) above. In the next S65, a loop waits until the "Back" button on the all-history screen is pressed by the user, and when such a back operation is detected, the process proceeds to S40.

In the above, the overall processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 is an example of a printing authority purchase management program, the procedure of S5 is an example of an identification information acquisition step and identification information acquisition process, the procedure of S10 is an example of a printing device identification step and printing device identification process, the procedure of S55 is an example of a payment information acquisition step and payment information acquisition process, the procedure of S30 is an example of a first payment information display step and first payment information display process, the procedure of S60 is an example of a second payment information display step and second payment information display process, and the procedure of S45 is an example of a verification information reception step.

<Effects of this embodiment>
As described above, the print service providing system 1 of this embodiment is configured so that the mobile terminal 300 can communicate with the management server 100, which can communicate with the multifunction device 200. When a user of the multifunction device 200 applies for the purchase of printing authority via the touch panel 340 of the mobile terminal 300, the application is accepted by a process executed separately by the CPU 310 of the mobile terminal 300. The user can print the number of printable sheets on the multifunction device 200 as a predetermined guaranteed print volume guaranteed by the purchased printing authority. If there are multiple users of the multifunction device 200, the guaranteed print volumes of the printing authorities each purchased by the multiple users are accumulated, and each user can print up to the accumulated value of the guaranteed print volume.

The CPU 310 of the mobile terminal 300 executes steps S5, S10, S30, and S60. When a user who wishes to view the purchase history of printing rights for a desired multifunction device 200 inputs identification information for that multifunction device 200 on the touch panel 340 of the mobile terminal 300, the input is accepted in step S5. In step S10, the input and accepted identification information is used to identify and specify the multifunction device 200 to be processed. Once a specific multifunction device 200 has been identified, information in the user event management table related to payments made on the mobile terminal 300, from among the event information related to payments made in connection with the purchase of printing rights for that specific multifunction device 200, is obtained in step S25 and displayed on the touch panel 340 in step S30. Of the event information related to payments made to purchase printing rights for a specific multifunction device 200, information from the all event management table related to payments made on all mobile terminals 300, including the mobile terminal 300 in question and other mobile terminals 300, is displayed on the touch panel 340 in step S60.

According to this embodiment, in step S60, the purchase history of printing rights for all users can be displayed to each of multiple users using the multifunction device 200, thereby preventing duplicate purchases by other users and preventing a shortage of guaranteed printing volume.

In particular, in this embodiment, the mobile terminal 300 is a portable information terminal such as a smartphone that is unlikely to be shared by multiple users, and user event management table information related to the payment executed on the mobile terminal 300 when purchasing printing rights for a specific multifunction device 200 is stored in the data storage area 352 of the mobile terminal 300. According to this embodiment, by displaying the user event management table information stored in the data storage area 352 in step S30, the user event management table information can be displayed quickly and easily without communicating with the management server 100.

In particular, in this embodiment, when a user enters identification information for a specific multifunction device 200 via the touch panel 340, information in the user event management table related to the payment executed on that mobile terminal 300 when purchasing printing rights for that multifunction device 200 is displayed on the touch panel 340. If the user wants to view information in all event management tables related to payments made on all mobile terminals 300, including those other than the specific mobile terminal 300, the user can enter the correct PIN code via the touch panel 340 while the information in the user event management table is displayed on the touch panel 340. This causes information in all event management tables stored in the management server 100 to be acquired and displayed on the touch panel 340. According to this embodiment, information in the user event management table is first displayed on the touch panel 340, and then information in all event management tables is acquired and displayed by performing further operations. This allows information in the user event management table and information in the all event management table to be displayed with easy-to-understand and smooth operations.

In particular, in this embodiment, information on all event management tables from all mobile terminals 300 executed when purchasing printing rights for a specific multifunction device 200 is stored in the management server 100. When a user enters a PIN code via the touch panel 340, it is accepted in step S45. If the correct PIN code is accepted, information on all event management tables stored in the management server 100 is obtained in step S55 and displayed on the touch panel 340 in step S60. According to this embodiment, information on all event management tables is obtained from the management server 100 and displayed only when the user enters the correct PIN code, making it possible to make information on all event management tables visible only to a limited number of users.

In particular, in this embodiment, when information from the user event management table or the all event management table is displayed on the touch panel 340, a user identification indicator, such as the email address used by the user at the time of payment, is also displayed. According to this embodiment, the user identification indicator is displayed along with the information from the user event management table or the all event management table, so the user can reliably confirm who made the payment at the time of each payment. Note that the user identification information may be any identification information other than the email address described above that can identify the user, and for example, the device ID or IP address of the mobile terminal 300 may also be used.

In particular, in this embodiment, the multifunction device 200 can print up to the maximum number of printable pages as the allowable print volume. If there are multiple users of the multifunction device 200, the cumulative value of the guaranteed print volumes for the printing authorizations each user has purchased becomes the allowable print volume, and each user can print up to that allowable print volume. When printing authorization is purchased, the guaranteed print volume guaranteed by that printing authorization is added, thereby increasing the allowable print volume. According to this embodiment, information on at least one of the items "product," "price," and "increase/decrease" is displayed along with information from the user event management table and the total event management table, allowing the user to reliably confirm the increase in the allowable print volume as the printing authorization is purchased.

In particular, in this embodiment, the multifunction device 200 can print up to the allowable print volume. If there are multiple users of the multifunction device 200, the cumulative value of the guaranteed print volumes for the printing authorizations each user has purchased becomes the allowable print volume, and each user can print up to that allowable print volume. When printing is performed, the allowable print volume decreases by the amount consumed in that execution. According to this embodiment, information on at least one of the following items is displayed: "Event Content," "Increase/Decrease," and "Current," along with information from the user event management table and the total event management table. This allows the user to reliably check how the allowable print volume decreases as printing is performed after purchasing printing authorization.

<Modification>
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and technical concept of the present invention. Such modifications will be described in order. The same reference numerals will be used to designate parts equivalent to those in the above-described embodiment, and descriptions will be omitted or simplified as appropriate.

<Viewing event history on a general-purpose personal computer>
In the above embodiment, the mobile terminal 300 was used as the terminal device for viewing the event history. However, the present invention is not limited to this; the event history may also be viewed using an operation terminal configured as a general-purpose personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a general-purpose PC), not shown. In this case, since a sufficient display area can be secured on the display unit 540, such as a display, all item information can be displayed on the screen ( FIG. 10( c) ) when displaying the event history limited to the user himself/herself, as shown in the screen transition in FIG. 10 . The operation terminal in this case is an example of a terminal device.

Furthermore, since an operation terminal configured as a general-purpose PC like this may be shared by multiple users, it is not appropriate to store in its storage device a user event management table that manages only event information previously executed by a specific user. Therefore, when viewing only the user's own event history on the operation terminal, user identification information such as an email address is entered when launching the dedicated application, and all event information in the entire event management table is obtained from the management server 100. Only the information in the entire event management table corresponding to the user identification information is then displayed. In other words, a separate procedure for entering user identification information is performed before step S5 in the flowchart of Figure 9 above, and all event information in the entire event management table is obtained from the management server 100 in step S25. Only the event information in the user event management table corresponding to the user identification information is displayed in step S30. In this case, step S55 is unnecessary. Alternatively, only the information corresponding to the user event management table corresponding to the user identification information may be obtained from the entire event management table of the management server 100 in step S25, and then displayed in step S30.

As described above, in this modified example of the print service providing system 1, the operating terminal is a terminal such as a general-purpose PC that may be shared by multiple users, and information equivalent to the user event management table related to the payment executed on that operating terminal when purchasing printing rights for a specific multifunction device 200 is stored in the management server 100. According to this modified example, information equivalent to the user event management table is obtained from the management server 100 in step S25, and the information equivalent to the user event management table is displayed in step S30, allowing for smooth processing via communication with the management server 100 to display information equivalent to the user event management table.

In particular, in this modified example, even if one user can use multiple terminal devices such as a mobile terminal 300 and an operation terminal, the user can view only the event history of that user's own past use of the target multifunction device 200 via user identification information. Furthermore, by entering a valid PIN code, the event history of all users for the target multifunction device 200 can be viewed. Note that in this case, one user is an example of a settler, all users are examples of all settlers, the event history information of one user is an example of third payment information, the procedure of S30 is an example of a third payment information display step and a third payment information display process, the event history information of all users is an example of fourth payment information, and the procedure of S60 is an example of a fourth payment information display step and a fourth payment information display process. Note that the third payment information may consist only of information related to purchase events, excluding information related to printing events.

Furthermore, the flowcharts shown in Figure 9 and elsewhere above do not limit the present invention to the procedures shown in those flowcharts, and steps may be added, deleted, or the order changed within the scope of the spirit and technical concept of the invention.

In addition to the methods already described above, the methods of the above embodiments and their variations may be used in appropriate combinations.

In addition, although not specifically illustrated, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications within the scope of its spirit.

1. Printing service provision system (an example of a printing rights purchase management system)
100 Management server (an example of an information processing device)
200 Multifunction device (an example of a printing device)
300 Mobile terminal (an example of a terminal device)
310 CPU (an example of a calculation unit)
352 Data storage area (an example of a storage unit)
340 Touch panel (an example of an operation unit or display unit)
400 Transaction Server NT Network

Claims (11)

A terminal device is configured to be able to communicate with an information processing device that can communicate with a printing device, and has an operation unit that can be operated by a user, a display unit, and a calculation unit,
an acquisition application acceptance step of accepting, via the operation unit, an application to purchase printing authority that guarantees printing of a predetermined guaranteed print volume in the printing device;
an identification information acquisition step of acquiring identification information of the printing device;
a printing device identification step of identifying the printing device to be processed by using the identification information acquired in the identification information acquisition step;
a payment information acquisition step of acquiring, from the information processing device, payment information associated with the purchase of a printing right for the specific printing device identified in the printing device identification step;
a first payment information display step of displaying only the first payment information on the display unit by the terminal device;
a second payment information display step of displaying, on the display unit, second payment information for all terminal devices among the payment information acquired in the payment information acquisition step;
A print rights purchase management program that allows you to: the terminal device further includes a storage unit;
2. The printing authority purchase management program according to claim 1, wherein the first payment information display step displays the first payment information stored in the storage unit. The printing authority purchase management program of claim 2, wherein the calculation unit executes the payment information acquisition step while the first payment information is displayed in the first payment information display step. The calculation unit further
2. The printing authority purchase management program according to claim 1, wherein the first payment information display step displays the first payment information among the payment information acquired in the payment information acquisition step. The calculation unit further
a verification information receiving step of receiving input of verification information via the operation unit; and in the payment information obtaining step, if correct verification information is input in the verification information receiving step, obtaining the payment information from the information processing device.
5. The printing authority purchase management program according to claim 1, wherein the second payment information display step displays the second payment information among the payment information acquired in the payment information acquisition step. and displaying a user identification mark related to a paying user at the time of executing payment for purchasing a printing right for the specific printing device in at least the second payment information display step of the first payment information display step and the second payment information display step.
6. The printing authority purchase management program according to claim 1. the printing device is configured to be able to print up to an allowable print volume;
and at least the second payment information display step of the first payment information display step and the second payment information display step further displays purchase history information including an increase in the allowable printing volume associated with the purchase of the printing authority related to the specific printing device.
7. The printing authority purchase management program according to claim 1. the printing device is configured to be able to print up to an allowable print volume;
and at least the second payment information display step of the first payment information display step and the second payment information display step further displays print history information including a decrease in the allowable print volume resulting from printing execution in the specific printing device.
8. The printing authority purchase management program according to claim 7. A terminal device is configured to be able to communicate with an information processing device that can communicate with a printing device, and has an operation unit that can be operated by a user, a display unit, and a calculation unit,
an acquisition application acceptance step of accepting, via the operation unit, an application to purchase printing authority that guarantees printing of a predetermined guaranteed print volume in the printing device;
an identification information acquisition step of acquiring identification information of the printing device;
a printing device identification step of identifying the printing device to be processed by using the identification information acquired in the identification information acquisition step;
a payment information acquisition step of acquiring, from the information processing device, payment information associated with the purchase of a printing right for the specific printing device identified in the printing device identification step;
a third payment information display step of displaying, on the display unit, only third payment information for which the operator of the terminal device is the settler, among the payment information acquired in the payment information acquisition step;
a fourth payment information display step of displaying fourth payment information for all the settlers on the display unit from among the payment information acquired in the payment information acquisition step;
A print rights purchase management program that allows you to: an information processing device capable of communicating with a printing device;
a terminal device configured to be able to communicate with the information processing device and including an operation unit operable by a user, a display unit, a storage unit, and a control unit;
A printing authority purchase management system having:
The control unit of the terminal device
an acquisition application acceptance process for accepting, via the operation unit, an application to purchase printing authority that guarantees printing of a predetermined guaranteed print volume in the printing device;
an identification information acquisition process for acquiring identification information of the printing device;
a printing device identification process for identifying the printing device to be processed based on the identification information acquired in the identification information acquisition process;
a payment information acquisition process for acquiring, from the information processing device, payment information associated with the purchase of a printing right for the specific printing device identified in the printing device identification process;
a first payment information display process for displaying only the first payment information by the terminal device on the display unit;
a second payment information display process for displaying, on the display unit, second payment information for all terminal devices among the payment information acquired in the payment information acquisition process;
A print rights purchasing management system that runs an information processing device capable of communicating with a printing device;
a terminal device configured to be able to communicate with the information processing device and including an operation unit, a display unit, and a control unit operable by a user;
A printing authority purchase management system having:
The control unit of the terminal device
an acquisition application acceptance process for accepting, via the operation unit, an application to purchase printing authority that guarantees printing of a predetermined guaranteed print volume in the printing device;
an identification information acquisition process for acquiring identification information of the printing device;
a printing device identification process for identifying the printing device to be processed based on the identification information acquired in the identification information acquisition process;
a payment information acquisition process for acquiring, from the information processing device, payment information associated with the purchase of a printing right for the specific printing device identified in the printing device identification process;
a third payment information display process for displaying, on the display unit, only third payment information for which the operator of the terminal device is the authorizer, among the payment information acquired in the payment information acquisition process;
a fourth payment information display process for displaying, on the display unit, fourth payment information for all the approvers among the payment information acquired in the payment information acquisition process;
A print rights purchasing management system that runs