JP2001243699A - Information recording system and information recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To record, copy and print out the information while keeping the security, even at the time and place distant from the issue of job. SOLUTION: The job addressed to each user transmitted to the information recording system is once stored, and the job is filtered by the user specified through the authentication of user and displayed with listing on the screen as the object of the recording service such as printing, etc. The job to be actually executed on the screen displayed with listing is selected further for adopting or rejecting. On the screen displayed with listing, the job of the selected or selection released state is displayed by adding the contrast. When the environment for executing the job is unfitted for the existing state of the system, the display is made at the selection released state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system and method for providing services such as recording, duplication, and printing of information for a fee, and more particularly to distribution, transmission, distribution, and distribution from a remote location.
The present invention relates to a system and a method for providing an information recording service for recording a conveyed information for a fee.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a system for providing an information recording service for providing a recording service for one or more print jobs issued from a plurality of clients connected via a communication medium, for a fee. According to the method, in particular, even when each client issues a plurality of print jobs and accumulates them in the system, the user can select only a desired print job and request information recording. The present invention relates to a system and a method for performing an information recording service.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Various OA (Office Automation) devices have been actively developed and manufactured, and are widely used in offices of companies and research institutes. In particular, in a modern society where documentation is regarded as the most important, an image forming apparatus capable of reproducing an image with high resolution and high quality has penetrated deeply into an office. The "image forming apparatus" referred to here includes a PSTN (Public Switch) in addition to a "copier" for reading a document image and reproducing it on printing paper.
hed Telephone Network) or ISDN (Integrated Serv)
facsimile, which outputs image data received via a public telephone line such as ices Digital Network), LA
Includes a "printer" that prints computer-readable data and content received via a network such as N (Local Area Network) or the Internet, or a "multifunction machine" that has two or more of these image output functions It is.

An image forming apparatus generally includes an image input unit that optically scans a document to read an image, and a predetermined process such as color coordinate conversion, digital filtering, and T / I separation for input image data. An image processing unit for performing
An image output unit that reproduces an input image on printing paper based on image data that has undergone image processing. The image output unit employs, for example, an electrophotographic process method. The electrophotographic process involves charging, developing,
This is achieved by repeating the cleaning. That is, after uniformly charging the surface of the photoconductor by a charger, the surface of the photoconductor is exposed according to image data to form an electrostatic latent image,
After the developing unit converts the electrostatic latent image into a toner image, the toner image is transferred onto a predetermined printing sheet. After that, the toner image is fixed on the printing paper by the heat melting / compression bonding operation, and is discharged out of the image forming apparatus. After the transfer, the photoreceptor surface is used for the next developing process after the residual toner is removed by the cleaner.

[0005] The need for documentation is ever-increasing. On the other hand, an image forming apparatus of high print quality is expensive and has a large floor area, and it is still difficult for individual consumers to purchase the image forming apparatus at their own expense. For this reason, there are cases where copying machines and facsimile machines are installed in open spaces such as university co-ops and convenience stores to provide paid copying services and facsimile transmission services. In the copying service, a fee is inserted in a coin kit in advance, and the number of copies output according to the inserted fee is permitted to the customer (or a prepaid card is inserted into a card reader and the balance of the prepaid card is paid). Copy output is permitted according to the number of copies). In a facsimile transmission service, it is common that after a facsimile transmission, a usage fee corresponding to the transmission amount is settled at a cash register in the same store.

[0006] Such a charge service of a copying machine or a facsimile can provide a general consumer who uses the service the benefits of a high-function and high-quality device without a device purchase cost. In addition, for store managers who provide services, simply installing such a device allows the customer to operate the device without permission, accumulate usage charges naturally, and attract customers to the store. There are advantages. For example, if the above-mentioned "multifunction machine" is installed in a store, various pay services for information recording, such as copying, facsimile, and printing out of computer data, can be realized with only one device. it can.

However, fee-based services for printing out received information, such as a facsimile reception service and a print job of various types of content received via a network, have not yet been developed on a commercial basis.

In copying or facsimile transmission, a user himself sets a copy document or a transmission document on an apparatus and directly performs an image output operation on the spot. In such a case, the time and place of job issuance and job execution almost completely match, so that the store providing the service can easily identify the person to be charged, and the user needs to manage the security of the document. It is very easy to operate because there is no such thing.

On the other hand, in facsimile reception and printout via a network, there is a considerable time and space gap between job generation and job execution. For example, since the timing of facsimile reception is determined by the sender, the user of the reception service cannot always specify the reception time. In the case of a print service, a single printer is shared by a large number of users via a network, so that multiple print jobs may occur simultaneously and in parallel. It becomes difficult to identify the person to be charged. In addition, the security of received data for each user must be managed.

[0010] To realize a fee-based service such as facsimile reception and printout, there are great barriers in terms of charge management and security management.

In addition, a client user may issue a plurality of print jobs from home to a print server (for example, a multifunction peripheral installed in a store) that performs print services for a fee. . In such a case, the user may want to go to the store after issuing the job, look at the billing amount, and select a job to actually print out.

[0012] Further, in an environment where devices are installed in a convenience store or other public places, there is a demand or psychology that each user wants to occupy the devices as short as possible. Therefore, the print
It is necessary to consider the usability of the operation screen so that the operation time required for selecting a job can be shortened as much as possible.

[0013] Even in a conventional print server system,
In order to select only a job of a specific user from a plurality of transmission jobs, there are some which can display a file name, a transmission source terminal name, a job issue date and time, and the like. However, when the number of target jobs increases, it takes a certain amount of time to select a job accurately. As a result, this is contrary to the user's feeling that the user wants to complete the operation quickly and shorten the time for which the user occupies the device.

In the case of a printer having a mail bin function, output jobs can be sorted for each predetermined person such as a user or a group. However, there is a risk that a job of another person of the same group is mixed and output in one bin, or another person can see the output result before receiving the job.

Some printers have an authentication function such as password input. In such a case, it is possible to temporarily stop the job in the output enabled state, and wait for the user to complete the password input and collation processing to actually output the job. However, the number of target jobs in one authentication process was limited to one.
Instructions could not be given to multiple jobs at once.

In the case of performing a paid print service, it is conceivable to issue a print job addressed to another person to a multifunction peripheral in a store, instead of sending mail or electronic mail. However, no mechanism is provided for communicating the intention and intention of the sender to the print job.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-336375 discloses that a print job can be obtained at an arbitrary time by adding a storage instruction and a control instruction based on a password to a job and transmitting the job to a printer. An enabled composite terminal device is disclosed. However, on the composite terminal device, only one job is targeted in one job selection / authentication process. Therefore, 1
If a large number of print jobs are stored on a multi-function terminal by one user, the desired jobs must be sequentially selected and printed, and a plurality of print jobs are collectively selected. It is not possible to print out or charge further.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-24640 discloses that the environment on the printer side and the execution environment of a job are compared, and if there is a difference between them, the execution of the job is temporarily interrupted, such as canceling the execution of the job. An enabled image forming system is disclosed. However, in the image forming system described in the publication, there is only one job to be canceled. For this reason, when a plurality of jobs are issued to the image forming system, or when a plurality of stored jobs are executed by one operation, it cannot be dealt with.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-88821 discloses that
There is disclosed an online printer capable of adding message data to a print data body and transmitting the print data, and displaying print data with message data when the print data is received. However, the message data referred to in this publication is
This means a command issued by the system, and cannot be used in a job issued to another person by the sender to describe the reason or purpose of transmission.

[0020]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an excellent system and method capable of providing services such as recording, duplication and printing of information for a fee.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system and method for performing an excellent information recording service capable of recording a large amount of information transmitted from a remote place for a fee.

It is a further object of the present invention to execute a job while recording, duplicating, and printing information while maintaining security even at a time and place separated from the occurrence of a job, and to pay for services such as recording. It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and a method for performing an excellent information recording service, which can accurately charge the user.

A further object of the present invention is that each user can issue a plurality of jobs from a remote place, select his or her job in a short operation time, and print attributes or executions for a plurality of jobs. It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for performing an excellent information recording service that can set an environment collectively.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for providing an excellent information recording service, which can transmit a job to another person and also transmit a message describing the reason for transmitting the job. To provide.

[0025]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and a first aspect of the present invention is to transmit data to each user from one or more host devices connected via a communication medium. An information recording system for recording received information, a storage unit for storing received information, a recording unit for recording information, a user interface capable of interactive input via a screen, and a user authentication for authenticating a user Means, and control means for controlling the recording operation of the information by the recording means, wherein the control means responds to the success of the user authentication by the user authentication means, and stores the information stored in the storage means. A list of information transmitted to the authenticated user on the screen of the user interface to select whether or not to record each information. Receiving the operation, an information recording system characterized by allowed to perform the recording operation of the selected information.

[0026] The information recording system according to the first aspect of the present invention may further include charging means for charging a user for a fee according to the recording processing by the recording means.

Further, the control means may distinguish a display form of each information on the user interface screen between a selected state and a deselected state. In such a case, the default state of each piece of information extracted from the storage unit may be set to the selected state.

[0028] Further, the information transmitted from the host device may include an attribute value defining a recording operation by the recording means. In such a case, the control means may also display the attribute values of each piece of information on the list display screen in the user interface.

Further, the control means compares the attribute value of each piece of information retrieved from the storage means with the current state of the recording means, and sets the information whose attribute value is not permitted to the deselected state. It may be. Further, the control means may receive a change in the attribute value via the user interface screen, and may return information in which the changed attribute value is permitted to a selected state.

The information transmitted from the host device may be accompanied by a message by the transmission source. In such a case, the control means may display the presence / absence of attachment of a message on the list display screen, or may further include a button for activating the message on the list display screen. Good.

The recording means may visually print out the information on a printing paper, or may record the information on a recording medium in a computer readable format.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information recording method for recording information transmitted from one or more host devices connected via a communication medium to each user,
(A) storing the received information; (b) authenticating the user; and (c) storing the information in step (a) in response to the successful user authentication in step (b). (D) displaying a list of information transmitted to the authenticated user from among the received information on a screen, and (d) receiving a user operation for selecting whether or not to record each information; e) recording the selected information.

[0033] The information recording method according to the second aspect of the present invention may further include a step of charging a user for a fee according to the recording processing in step (e).

In the step (c), the display form of each information on the list display screen may be distinguished between the selected state and the deselected state. In such a case,
The default state of each extracted information may be set to the selected state.

Further, the information transmitted from the host device may include an attribute value defining the recording operation in the step (e). In such a case, in the step (c), the attribute value of each information may be displayed together on the list display screen.

In the step (c), the attribute value of each piece of extracted information is compared with the current state in the step (e), and the information whose attribute value is not allowed is set to the deselected state. Or you can
The change of the attribute value may be accepted, and the information in which the changed attribute value is permitted may be returned to the selected state.

Further, a message by a transmission source may be attached to information transmitted from the host device. In such a case, in the step (c), whether or not a message is attached may be displayed on the list display screen, and a button for activating the message may be provided on the list display screen. You may do so.

In the step (e), the information may be visually printed out on printing paper, or
The information may be recorded on a recording medium in a computer-readable format.

[0039]

The information recording system according to the present invention has an authentication function for authenticating a user. Jobs addressed to each user transmitted to the information recording system are temporarily stored, and cannot be taken out of the system unless user authentication is successful.

Then, only the job is filtered by the user (or user group) specified through the user authentication, and a list is displayed on the screen as a target of printing and other recording services. On such a list display screen, the user can further select a job that actually requires the recording service.

Also, by performing job filtering via personal authentication, only the relevant job is displayed as a list for the user who issued the job (or another person whose authority has been duly delegated from the user). be able to.
Therefore, there is no danger that the contents of the job can be seen by others without permission. Further, since only the job of the person is displayed in the list, an erroneous operation that inadvertently prints the job of another person or saves the job on another medium can be eliminated.

On the list display screen, for example, each job is displayed by its thumbnail. In addition, the user can grasp the current selection status at a glance by giving a contrast such as highlighting the selected job on the list display screen and graying out the unselected or deselected job. Can be.

On the list display screen, each job may be set to a selected state, that is, a highlight display as a default state. In this way, when it is desired to request execution of all jobs, the trouble of sequentially selecting jobs can be omitted, and the time for operating the device by the user can be shortened.

Further, depending on the environment of the information recording system designated as the job transmission destination and the state of the recording media, some jobs cannot be executed in the first place. Such a job may be displayed as a deselected state on the list display screen. By setting a job having a problem in execution to the deselection state, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience that the user performs unintended job output and receives a useless charge. Further, it is possible to prompt the user to perform maintenance work such as appropriate change of the job execution environment and replenishment of consumables such as printing paper, toner, and recording media.

Further, with respect to the information recording system according to the present invention, not only the user himself / herself can issue a job but also transmit a job addressed to another person. Furthermore, in the latter case, the reason and purpose of submitting the job (for example,
A message describing “confidential transmission” or the like can be transmitted together. Therefore, by confirming the message, the transmission destination user can understand the contents of the job and determine whether or not to actually execute the job after paying a fee.

Still other objects, features and advantages of the present invention are:
It will become apparent from the following more detailed description based on the embodiments of the present invention and the accompanying drawings.

[0047]

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

FIG. 1 schematically shows the entire configuration of a network which can be used for implementing the present invention and which can charge information recording services and charge for the recording services.

The "recording of information" referred to in this embodiment is basically to print out digitized information contents such as computer readable data as visible image information on printing paper. May include storing digital content, i.e., computer readable form on a recording medium. Further, the information recording service according to the present invention and the billing for the recording service are embodied by the illustrated information recording system 100. The information recording system 100 is an open space where a large number of people seeking information recording, duplication, and printing output gather, such as a convenience store or a university co-op (in other words, the recording service provider Service space where security cannot be managed).

The information recording system 100 of this embodiment is an image forming apparatus for forming a visible image on a printing paper, and more preferably, scans an original image and duplicates substantially the same image on the printing paper. It has multiple image forming functions, such as a copier function, a printer function to print out computer data in response to a print request from an external host device, and a facsimile function to exchange image information via a public telephone line. Preferably, it is a “multifunction machine”.

The information recording system 100 can perform information recording services such as copying and billing even in a stand-alone environment in a store. Preferably, the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) is used.
ork) or ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Netwo
rk) and other public switched telephone lines, LAN (Loca
(lArea Network) or connected to a distributed computing network such as the Internet.

The information recording system 100 is interconnected with a plurality of host devices 200, 500,... Via a computer network such as a LAN or the Internet. The term “host device” here refers to a computer or a computer that operates as a server or a client on a network.
It means the generic name of the system. The information recording system 100 is also one of the host devices that operates on the network. Therefore, the information recording system 100
Can operate as a print server on a network.

Each host device 500 can create and edit a document file in a predetermined format using an application such as a word processor or a spreadsheet. Further, on the network, each host device 500 can issue a print request for a document file or other digital content to the information recording system 100 operating as a file server. In this case, the print requesting host device 500
Transmits a file (described later) in which user information and the like are added to the document and encapsulated therein, to the information recording system 100. The user information referred to here may be any information, such as a user ID and a password, that can uniquely specify a user account (user qualification).

In this embodiment, the user of the host device 500 can issue a print job not only to himself / herself but also to another person. Particularly in the latter case, a message can be attached to the job, and the user can describe the purpose and reason of the transmission to the sender as a message. However, message transmission will be described later in detail.

Upon receiving the encapsulated file, the information recording system 100 temporarily spools the print job as a print job (SPOOL: simultaneous peripheral).
l operation online)

When the network is the Internet, the information recording system 100 and each host device 20
., For example, TCP / IP (Transmission C
ontrolProtocol / Internet Protocol). As is well known in the art,
On the Internet, various wide-area information content providing services represented by the WWW (World Wide Web) are being developed. In the WWW information space, URL (Unif
orm Resource Locator) are scattered. Each server and client on the WWW information space is based on HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer).
r Protocol), a service request and service provision of each information content can be performed.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the host device 200
“Web” that provides information content on the WWW information space
A computer system that operates as a "server." The other host device 500 is a PC (Personal Computer) for general users that operates as a Web client that requests access to information contents.
The Web server 200 publishes information contents for a fee or free of charge. Also, if the content is paid,
The information usage fee may be uniform and fixed, or may be different for each information content.

The information recording system 1 according to the present embodiment
00 has an aspect as a Web client connected to a network, and can request the Web server 200 to provide information contents. Of course, the information recording system 100 may function as a Web server and provide information content provision services over the Internet.

In the present embodiment, the W
The web client can issue a request for printing information content on the WWW space to the information recording system 100. In this case, the Web server 200 that is the distribution source of the information content may transfer the file obtained by adding the user information to the information content and encapsulating the file to the information recording system 100. The user information is information that can uniquely specify a user account (as described above). When the information recording system 100 receives the encapsulated file, it is temporarily spooled as a print job.

The information recording system 100 is connected to another facsimile apparatus 300 via an exchange-connected public telephone line.
And can receive facsimile data to be recorded. In the present embodiment, the transmission source facsimile apparatus 300 performs facsimile transmission to the information recording system 100 in a file format in which user information is added to facsimile data and encapsulated. When the information recording system 100 receives the encapsulated file, it is spooled once. User information is
Information that can uniquely identify an account (ibid.). At the time of facsimile reception, for example, the telephone number of the transmission source can be used as user information.

The information recording system 100 is a CD-ROM.
An external storage device for recording / reproducing data to / from a portable storage medium such as a ROM drive or MO drive is provided (described later). A user, that is, a user of the recording service, can load a storage medium into the information recording system 100 and make a print request for data stored in the storage medium. In this case, the information recording system 100 reads the data file from the storage medium, adds user information to the data file, and encapsulates the data file.
Once spooled as a print job. User information is information that can uniquely specify a user account (as described above).

As shown in FIG. 1, the information recording system 10
0 is connected to a network or a public telephone line, and can receive and spool print jobs one after another from a plurality of users in various forms, and further provide recording services such as print output for a fee. That's how it works.

The information recording system 100 permits each user to execute only the corresponding job, and provides print output and other recording services for a fee. For this reason, the information recording system 100 further includes a user information input device for user authentication, and a charging device for collecting a usage fee.

The billing device has a function similar to a device called “coin kit” or “dispenser”. The billing device of the present embodiment calculates a fee amount as a consideration for the information recording system 100 to provide a recording service such as printing out information, charges the service requesting user, and saves the cash paid by the user. It is a device for storing. The billing device accepts the user's fee payment by inserting cash such as coins and bills,
Various forms of fee payment may be supported, such as prepaid card payment, credit card debit from bank account, and debit card instant payment from bank account. Further, the billing device may manage the billing information and the fee information paid by the user for each user. Alternatively, the user may settle the charge at a cash register (POS terminal) in the same store where the information recording system 100 is installed, instead of settingtle the charge with the charging device.

The user information input device is a device for receiving input of user information required for user authentication and performing user authentication, that is, identification of a user account which is a service request source and verification of its authenticity. . For example I
User authentication information can be input using the C card. In this case, the user information input device may be an IC card reader. For user authentication, for example, DDSA (Digital Document Security Architecture)
^{/ * /} Can be used. Alternatively, a user ID, a password, a telephone number, or the like composed of an alphanumeric character string can be used as the user authentication information. In this case, the user information input device can be replaced by a computer console including a keyboard and a display.

The data content spooled in the information recording system 100 is encapsulated by adding user information. FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the data structure of the encapsulated file.

In the document field of this data structure, a document body to be recorded is stored. The term “recording” used here means not only copying on a printing paper, that is, outputting an image, but also CD-R, MO, DVD
Means to record digital information as it is. Document body is PDL (Page Description Languag
e) and printable formats such as PDF (Portable Document Format) ^{/ ** /}
JPEG, BMP), video (MPEG), audio (AIF
F, WAV, ACC). Further, the document may be data encrypted by an encryption method that supports a decryption process in the information recording system 100.

The name of the document body is written in the document name field. The document name is used, for example, when displaying a print job filtered according to user information. Instead of the document name, the date and time when the information recording system 100 receives the document may be used.

In the document provider information field, the provider of the document body is written. If the document body is the information content sent from the Web server 200, the server name or the content provider or the content creator is written in the field. For example, when an information usage fee (or an equivalent fee) is imposed on the document body, the charging device connected to the information recording system 100 calculates the sum of the recording service fee and the information usage fee. It can be collected from each user, and the information usage fee can be distributed to each document provider again later.

In the fee information field, information (for example, a fee system) for calculating a fee required for performing a recording service of the document body is written. For example, when “recording” by the information recording system 100 is a printout, the number of pages of the document, color information, and the like are required for the charge calculation (the page unit price may differ between monochrome and color pages). is there). If an information usage fee is imposed on the document itself, the usage fee is also required for the fee calculation.

In the user information field, information for identifying or filtering a job spooled in the information recording system 100 for each user and for performing user authentication is written. As the user information, for example, a user ID, a password, and a telephone number (particularly in the case of facsimile reception) can be used.

However, in the data structure shown in FIG. 2, the definition of the data field with (Option) in the title is arbitrary in the file. These fields are used to identify users who use the file, authenticate users, calculate fees, distribute fees, etc.
If unnecessary, the field can be omitted to reduce the file communication load.

In this embodiment, a message can be attached to a job as described later. This message can be used to describe the reason and purpose of transmission for a transmission job addressed to another person. The message is preferably placed outside the capsule to allow the user to view the message before decryption or toll collection.

FIG. 3 schematically shows an external configuration of the information recording system 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the information recording system 100 includes a display device 11,
Media box 12 and user information input device 13
, A control device 14, a billing device 15, and a multifunction device 16.

The control unit 14 controls the information recording system 100
This is a device for comprehensively controlling from input to output of a recording request to the computer. The control device 14 of the present embodiment has a spool function of temporarily storing a document or the like (usually encapsulated as shown in FIG. 2) requested to be recorded by each user. The control device 14 can be configured using, for example, a general computer system called a “workstation” or a “personal computer”.

The display device 11 can be provided as a peripheral device of a computer system as the control device 14, and its display screen is provided with a GUI (Graphical User Interface) environment supporting a bitmap display format. .

The display device 11 according to the present embodiment includes, for example,
It can be used for displaying a list of the results of filtering the jobs in the spool in accordance with the user information, displaying the charge and input amount of the recording service calculated in the charging device 15, and the like. Generally, a user inputs a command such as a job selection using a keyboard or a pointing device such as a mouse. Further, the display device 1
By pasting a transparent touch panel on the display screen of the first, the user can easily and intuitively perform an input operation. However, details of the operation screen when the user selects a job and other details will be described later.

The media box 12 has a CD-ROM
And CD-R, MO (magneto Opticaldisc), DVD (D
It comprises one or more drive units that load a portable recording medium such as an digital versatile disc) and read and / or write computer-readable data to the recording medium. Media box 12
Are connected as peripheral devices of a computer system as the control device 14. The interface standard for connecting a media drive to a computer system is:
For example, SCSI (Small Computer System Interface)
It is.

For example, a computer program such as an application executed on the control device 14 is transferred to a plurality of computer programs via these portable recording media.
It can be distributed and moved between systems. Also, a CD-ROM or MO on which a document for recording is written
The information content for recording can be supplied to the information recording system 100 by loading the content into a drive unit in the media box 12. Alternatively, a writable medium loaded in the media box 12 can be designated as an output destination of a job spooled in the information recording system 100. In this sense, the media box 12
It constitutes the “recording means” referred to in each claim described in the section of “Claims”.

The user information input device 13 is a device for inputting user information. In this embodiment, the user information input device 13 is an IC card reader capable of accessing user information recorded on the IC card. As the user information, for example, a user ID, a password, and a telephone number can be used. However, the input of the user information does not necessarily have to be made via an IC card. For example, the user information may be input by a keyboard on the display screen of the display device 11.

The user information acquired by the user information input device 13 is used for managing the billing information and fee payment information for each user in the billing device 15 and the information recording system 10.
Used for filtering jobs spooled to zero.

The billing device 15 is a device for calculating a fee as a consideration for the recording service, presenting and billing the fee to the user, and accepting the payment of the fee of the user (described above). The charging device 15 of the present embodiment can manage charging information and fee payment information for each user.

The "presentation" of the charge performed by the charging device 15 is as follows.
For example, digital display of charges using an LED panel (not shown), dialogue display on the display screen of the display device 11, or teaching by voice output. Alternatively, the billing amount can be converted into a bill (or invoice) in a predetermined format.
It may be printed out on a form.

The billing device 15 is capable of not only inserting cash such as coins and bills, but also performing settlement using a prepaid card,
Credit card debit from bank account,
Such as instant payment from a bank account with a debit card,
Various forms of payment may be supported. Alternatively, in addition to paying the fee with the billing device 15, the user
In accordance with the printed statement, the cashier (PO
(S terminal). Alternatively, a nonvolatile storage device (for example, a hard disk, a flash memory, an SDRAM (Std
Recording of logs (user information, fee information, and content provider information) in an atic DRAM) also enables post-payment settlement based on credit.

The multifunction device 16 reads a document image and reproduces it on printing paper, or a PSTN (Public Switch).
tched Telephone Network) or ISDN (Integrated Se
facsimile, which outputs image data received via public telephone lines such as rvices Digital Network)
It is a "printer" for printing computer data received via a network such as an AN (Local Area Network) or the Internet, or a multifunctional device having two or more image output functions.

In the present embodiment, the multi-function device 16 prints the print data transmitted from the Web server 200 or the host device 500.
It operates as a printer that prints out jobs and / or a facsimile device that outputs facsimile data transmitted from facsimile device 300 as an image. In this sense, the multifunction device 16 constitutes a “recording unit” described in each claim described in the “Claims” section.

The multifunction device 16 is not only connected to the LAN via the control device 14 (described later), but also directly connected to the LAN via a NIC (network interface card: not shown) provided by itself. It may be. In the latter case, the multifunction device 16 can directly receive a document in a printable format such as PDL or PDF via the LAN without the control device 14 and print out the document as it is.

The image output function of the multifunction device 16 includes an image reading unit that optically reads a document image, an image processing unit that converts the read image into a printable format, and an image that copies the converted image on printing paper. It comprises an output section and a transport section for sequentially transporting the printing paper inside the device. Multifunction machine 1
Reference numeral 6 denotes a paper feed tray and a paper discharge tray for storing sheets before and after printing, and an automatic document feeder (AD) for sequentially feeding read documents.
Other devices such as F) may be provided. However, existing multifunction peripheral products can be applied, and the internal structure of the equipment itself is not directly related to the gist of the present invention, and thus will not be described further in this specification.

FIG. 4 schematically shows the internal hardware configuration of the control device 14 for controlling the operation of the information recording system 100. As already mentioned, the control device 14
It is designed based on the architecture of a general computer system. That is, the control device 14
Connects a peripheral device to a connector (not shown) provided on a printed wiring board on which a main circuit component called a "mother board" (not shown) is mounted, or provides a peripheral device on the board. Various adapter cards (interface cards) are installed in one or more bus slots (not shown).
An example of a computer system is a PC /
It is an AT (Personal Computer / Advanced Technology) compatible machine or its successor. Hereinafter, each unit in the control device 14 will be described.

CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51
Is a main controller that comprehensively controls the operations of the control device 14 and the entire recording service system 100, and executes various application programs under an operating environment provided by an operating system (OS).

The OS may be, for example, UNIX or "Windows NT" of Microsoft Corporation, but may be a bitmap display format or a GUI (Graphical User Interface).
More preferably, it has a window system that supports the environment.

The application started by the CPU 51 executes, for example, the following processing. That is,

(1) The information content received from another host device via the network or the facsimile device 30
Spool a plurality of jobs such as facsimile data received from 0. (2) Processing such as user authentication is performed based on the user information input from the user information input device 13. (3) The billing device 15 manages the billing information and fee payment information of each user, and controls the print output by the MFP 16 (for example, the fee structure of the recording service, the fee for using the information content, the number of pages, and the color). It acquires page information and the like, calculates a total charge including an information usage fee and a print service, and externally outputs a calculation result in a form of display or print).

The main memory 52 is a writable volatile memory used for loading an execution program code of the CPU 51 and writing work data of the execution program, and usually includes a plurality of DRAMs (Dynami
c RAM) chip. ROM (Read Only)
The memory 53 is a read-only memory that permanently stores a self-diagnosis program (POST) executed when the control device 14 is powered on and a basic input / output system (BIOS) for hardware operation. The ROM 53 is, for example, an EEPROM capable of electrically erasing and rewriting.
(Electrically Erasable and Programmable ROM).

The CPU 51 communicates with the device 14 via the bus 65.
It is interconnected with each part in. The bus 65 is a common signal transmission path including an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like.
ponent Interconnect) bus corresponds to this.

The display interface 54
An interface controller that controls the screen display of the display device 11 in accordance with a drawing command from the CPU 51, and includes a frame memory (not shown) for temporarily storing drawing information. Note that, in order to suitably implement the present invention, the display interface 54
Is a bitmap drawing capability equal to or higher than VGA (Video Graphics Array) (for example, SVGA (Super video Graphics
Array) or XGA (eXtended Graphics Array).

Hard Disk Drive (HDD) 55
Is an external storage device for storing programs and data in a file format of a predetermined format.
It has a storage capacity of about B or more. In this embodiment,
The hard disk drive 55 is also used for spooling, that is, for temporarily storing received jobs.

The HDD 55 is connected to a bus 65 via a hard disk interface 56. Hard Disk Drive in Computer System 14
The interface standard for connecting to, for example, IDE (In
integrated Drive Electronics).

Keyboard / Mouse Controller (KM
C) 57 is a key input from the keyboard 72 or the mouse 7
3 is a dedicated controller for processing a user input such as a coordinate instruction input from a pointing device such as 3.

In this embodiment, a touch panel 71 is provided as a pointing device other than the mouse 73. The touch panel 71 is affixed on the display screen of the display device 11, and the user can intuitively input commands while visually following the GUI-format operation screen provided on the display screen. The touch panel 71 is attached to the control device 14 via the serial input / output interface 63.

As described above, the information recording system 100 according to the present embodiment includes a billing device 15 for performing processing such as billing and acceptance of fee payment, and a multifunction device 16 as recording means.
It has. These billing device 15 and multifunction device 16
It is connected to the computer system 14 via the S422 interface 58. Note that "RS422" is
A standard for electrical characteristics of a high-speed interface for data communication defined by the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA).

Further, the information recording system 100 is provided with the media box 12 as one of the sources of the information contents for performing the recording service or as another recording means.
(Described above). In the present embodiment, the media box 12 includes a CD-ROM (CD-R) drive 81,
MO (Magneto Optical disc) drive 82, DVD
(Digital Versatile Disc) It comprises one or more media drive units, such as a drive 83, for recording and / or reproducing data by loading a portable recording medium. SCSI (Small Computer System Interfac
e) The interface 59 can connect a plurality of such media drives 81, 82,... in a daisy chain system.

When a recording service is provided for information content distributed via a portable recording medium, the information content read from the medium is encapsulated (see FIG. 2) and spooled as a job in the HDD 55. .

The network interface card (NIC) 60 is a device for connecting the computer system 14 to an external network. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, the NIC 60 connects the control device 14 to one LAN (Local Area Network) segment. On this LAN segment, the controller 14 can operate as a print server. However, as described above, the MFP 16 can also be directly connected to the LAN segment by equipping the NIC itself. In the latter case, the multifunction device 16 transmits a document in a printable format such as PDL or PDF to the control device 1.
4 can be received via the LAN and printed out as it is without intervention.

One of the host devices on the LAN segment is a router, which is also connected to the Internet via the router.

A plurality of host devices are scattered on the LAN and the Internet. A part of the host device is a Web server 20 that publishes information contents for a fee or free of charge.
0. Each of the information contents on the Internet can be specified by a URL and is accessible according to the HTTP protocol. Note that the Web server 200 does not necessarily need to store the provided information content on its own local disk, and may provide the information content appropriately extracted from another server (content server) on the network.

The Web server 200 encapsulates and transfers the information content to the recording service system 100 (see FIG. 2). The control device 14 spools the received information content in the HDD 55 as a job.

The other host devices 500A, 500B
... acts as a client. These clients 500A are, for example, W
HTML (Hyper Text Marku
p Language) Requests the provision of contents and other information contents. The client 500A issues a print job such as a document to the control device 14. In this case, the clients 500...
0 (see FIG. 2). The host devices 500A, 500B...
Jobs can be submitted. A message can be attached to the print job, the details of which will be described later. The control device 14 spools the received print job in the HDD 55.

The modem 61 is a device for modulating and demodulating transmission data on an analog telephone line, and can be exchange-connected to the facsimile device 300 via a public telephone line. The control device 14 spools the received facsimile data in the HDD 55 as a job.

The extension device interface 62 is a device for connecting an IC card reader as a user information input device to the computer system 14. The user information obtained by the IC card reader is transferred to the CPU 51 and used for user authentication processing and filtering of spooled jobs. For example, DDSA (described above) can be applied to the user authentication process.

FIG. 5 schematically shows the internal configuration of the charging device 15. The billing device 15 is a device that handles billing for the user, storage of paid cash, and the like.
Also called "coin kit" or "dispenser".
As shown in the figure, the charging device 15 is interconnected with the control device 14 via the RS422 interface 58 (described above).

The charge calculation section 32 holds a charge system for the recording service, such as the page unit price of the print service. When the usage fee of the information content, the number of pages, and the page color information are acquired, the total fee including the information usage fee and the print service fee is calculated, and the calculated fee is displayed on the display unit 31 and the fee payment management unit 38. Output.

The display unit 31 is a device for presenting a fee to the user, and is composed of a display panel such as an LED. Alternatively, in addition to visually displaying the fee, the user may be notified of the fee by voice output. Alternatively, the fee may be printed out on printing paper of a predetermined form such as a bill.

The user inserts cash such as coins and bills into the cash input unit 35 in response to the imposed fee.
Fees may be paid. In this case, the cash counting unit 3
6 counts the inserted amount, outputs the total inserted amount to the fee payment management unit 38, and stores the inserted cash in the cash storage unit 37.

Alternatively, the user can pay the fee based on credit in other forms, such as settlement by prepaid card, debit from a bank account by credit card, and immediate settlement from a bank account by debit card. . When using a prepaid card, insert the card into the prepaid card reader 34, and when using a credit card or debit card,
Insert the card into the credit / debit card reader 33. The prepaid card reader 34 and the credit / debit card reader 33 notify the fee payment management unit 38 of the fee payment information for each card.

[0116] The fee payment management unit 38 is
, And the fee payment information by the cash input unit 35 and the card reader 33/34 can be managed for each user. The payment information for each user is transmitted to the control device 1 via the RS422 interface 58.
4 is transmitted.

Note that complicated calculations such as the charge calculation unit 32 and the charge payment management unit 38 do not necessarily need to be provided in the charging device 15, but are computer resources in the control device 14, that is, the processing capacity of the CPU 51. An equivalent function can be provided by using. The display unit 3
1 does not necessarily need to be included in the billing device 15, and the fee can be displayed using the GUI screen of the display device 12. In such a case, it is sufficient for the display unit 31 to simply digitally display the inserted amount.

FIG. 6 shows an outline of a printing process when the information recording system 100 according to the present embodiment operates as a print server on a network. In the example shown in the figure, a plurality of clients are scattered on the network, and the information recording system 100 as a server can receive a print job from each client.

The client referred to here corresponds to a PC such as the host device 500 shown in FIG. The client includes an application, a print control unit, and a printer connection control unit.

The application is, for example, a document creation tool such as "Word" of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, and particularly preferably has a printing function for instructing printing of a document.

The print control unit converts the print document sent from the application into a format that can be interpreted by the printer (in this case, it corresponds to the multifunction device 16 in the information recording system 100), and transfers the format to the printer connection unit. Issue a print job.

The print control unit is, for example, a GDI (Graphics
Display Interface), a printer driver, and a spooler. That is, abstract GDI commands such as “draw a character” and “draw a straight line” issued by an application are converted into printer control commands by a printer driver, temporarily held by a spooler, and then transmitted to the printer. Is done.

The print control unit according to the present embodiment displays an interactive screen (not shown in FIG. 6) as a “print dialog” to the user in response to a print instruction from the application. On the other hand, the user selects the information recording system 100 in the column of the printer name in the dialog and selects OK.
By clicking the button, the job issue destination can be specified to the information recording system 100. The information recording system 100 can provide a “secure print” function for a print job requested by each client, in which the contents of the job are not leaked to another person or used without permission. The operation of specifying the printer by the client will be described later in detail.

The printer connection control unit is one of the components of the print control unit, such as a port monitor, and controls the connection of the printer. The connection destination is URL (Un
iform Resource Locator).

When a printer that supports the secure print function such as the information recording system 100 is designated, the printer connection control unit displays a dialog (not shown in FIG. 6) for “secure print” on the screen. . On this secure print dialog, the user can make various settings related to secure print, such as certificate selection and message designation. The print document is encapsulated according to the settings on the dialog. The printer connection control unit transmits the encapsulated file to the information recording system 100 as the connection destination.
Send to

The other information recording system 100 includes a print job receiving unit, a print job management unit, and a GUI.

Upon receiving print jobs from each client via the network, the print job receiving unit registers them in the print job management unit.

The print job management section accumulates each received print job, assigns identification information such as a job ID to each job, and centrally manages information such as jobs and messages accompanying the jobs. I do.

The GUI displays a list of print jobs being stored to the user. At this time,
The "Secure Print" function is to display the list only when the user is successfully authenticated, and to filter the stored jobs by user information and display the list to prevent the contents of the job from being leaked to others. Can be provided. The user can appropriately select a necessary job by looking at such a job list display screen. Further, the GUI acquires information such as a message relating to the designated job from the job management unit and displays the acquired information. G in the information recording system 100
The configuration and operation characteristics of the UI will be described later in detail.

FIG. 7 schematically shows the flow of a print job via a network.

The print jobs issued by the users A, B,... On the client are transmitted to the information recording system 100 in a form encapsulated together with their own user information. The client machine is usually installed at a place separated from the information recording system 100, such as a user's home.

On the information recording system 100 side, a large number of print jobs received from a plurality of users A, B,... Can be stored.

The user goes to the installation location of the information recording system 100 at a convenient time and inputs his / her user information to perform user authentication. For user authentication, an IC card or the like carrying user information can be used.

If the user authentication succeeds, the information recording system 100 filters the print job being stored using the user information. Then, a list of only the jobs corresponding to the authenticated user is displayed on the GUI screen.
The user can appropriately select a desired job by looking at such a list display screen.

The information recording system 100 calculates a fee corresponding to a fee for a recording service such as print output for the selected job, and charges the user.

When the accounting process is completed, the information recording system 100 transfers the selected job to a printer (in the present embodiment, the multifunction device 16) and executes printout.

FIG. 8 schematically shows a processing procedure from issuance of a print job by a client to execution of the job on the information recording system 100 in the form of a flowchart. Hereinafter, each step of this flowchart will be described.

The user issues one or more print jobs to the information recording system 100 via the home PC terminal 500 or the like (step S1), and the information recording system 100 stores each job (step S1). Step S2).

A user can visit a store or the like where the information recording system 100, which is the job issuance destination, is installed at a convenient time and request execution of a job.
On the other hand, the information recording system 100 requests the user for an authentication process (step S3). That is, when the user information is input to the user information input device via an IC card or the like and the authentication is successful, the print job in the spool is filtered by the user information,
A print job corresponding to the user is extracted (step S4). As described above, the information recording system 10
Since the file received by 0 is a capsule format to which user information is added, filtering can be performed by opening the capsule and extracting the user information.

Each print job extracted by the filtering is displayed as a list on the GUI screen (step S5). For example, each job may be displayed as an icon using a thumbnail or the like. The user can interactively select a print job to be actually printed out using a keyboard or a coordinate pointing device such as a mouse or a touch panel (step S).
6).

FIG. 11 schematically shows an example of a job list display window displayed on the GUI screen of the information recording system 100 after the job filtering. As shown in the figure, only jobs belonging to the authenticated user are listed in the window together with check boxes.

Checking the check box means that the print output of the corresponding job is specified. Immediately after job filtering, default values are set so that all check boxes are checked as shown in the figure. Therefore, when the user wants or plans to print out all the jobs, the user only needs to click the “OK” button on the window, and the GUI operation is simplified. In addition, since the user transmits a print job to the information recording system 100 on the assumption that the user prints out, it is considered that setting of such default values does not go against the intention of most users.

The display of each job may be a display of a job name in a text format (for example, a document name) as shown in FIG. 11, or a display using icons or thumbnails.

FIG. 12 schematically shows another example of the job list display window displayed on the GUI screen of the information recording system 100 after the job filtering. This drawing differs from the case of FIG. 11 in that a "commented" button is prepared for a job to which a message is attached. When the user clicks this button, the corresponding message is extracted from the print job management unit, and a message display window (described later) pops up.

Returning to FIG. 8, the description will be continued. Billing device 15
Calculates the fee as the price of the print service according to the selection of the print job, and presents the calculation result to the user (step S7). The presentation here may be, for example, digital display of charges using an LED panel, dialog display on a computer (GUI: Graphical User Interface) screen, or teaching by voice output. Alternatively, the billing amount may be printed out on a predetermined form of printing paper (for example, a bill).

The user can pay the fee directly to the charging device 15. As described above, in addition to the insertion of cash such as coins and banknotes, the billing device 15 performs payment by a prepaid card, debit from a bank account by a credit card, instant payment from a bank account by a debit card, etc. Various forms of payment may be supported. Alternatively, the user can
The fee may be settled at a cash register (POS terminal) in the same store according to the bill printed out in step 5 (step S8).

When the charge is settled or the payment of the charge equivalent to the charge is confirmed, the selected print job is printed out (step S9).
If the fee paid by the user is insufficient, the printout may be limited to the amount corresponding to the paid fee.

Note that "recording" by the information recording system 100 is basically printing out on printing paper, but may be in any other recording form. For example,
CD-R (Compact Disc-Recordable) and MO (Magneto
Optical disc), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)
A recording form in which digital information, that is, computer-readable data can be written on a portable storage medium such as a hard disk of a requesting host device or the like.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for a user to issue a print job on the client, that is, the host device 500. This processing procedure corresponds to a further breakdown of step S1 in FIG. Hereinafter, each step of this flowchart will be described.

In response to the print instruction being issued from the application (step S11), the print control unit displays a "print dialog" (not shown) on the screen (step S12).

The user can select a desired printer on the print dialog and make various settings (step S13). Hereinafter, a description will be given assuming that the information recording system 100 that supports the secure print function is designated as a printer.

Note that the setting items for the printer include the following. That is,

[0153]

[Equation 1] ● Color / monochrome printing ● Paper size ● Paper orientation ● Paper type (paper quality) or recording media designation ● Number of copies ● Single / double-sided printing ● Finisher designation (staples, punches, etc.)

When the "cancel" button is clicked on this print dialog, the dialog is closed and the entire processing routine is stopped. On the other hand, if the "OK" button is clicked on the dialog, the process proceeds to the next step (step S14).

In the next step S15, the printer connection control section displays a "secure print dialog", and the user can perform various settings on the dialog. The setting items here include, for example, the public key to be used.
Includes security related items such as selecting ^{/ *** /} .

When the "cancel" button is clicked on the secure print dialog, the dialog is closed and the process returns to step S13 to start over from the designation of the printer. On the other hand, if the "OK" button is clicked on the dialog, the process proceeds to the next step (step S17).

In a succeeding step S18, it is determined whether or not to add a message.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a dialog presented to the user when a print job is issued. The dialog box includes a printer designation area for designating a printer as a job transmission destination, an item setting area for setting various items, and a comment input area for inputting a message.

In the printer designation area, printer names registered in advance in the printer connection control section are listed together with radio buttons, and radio names of desired printers are listed.
By clicking the button, one printer is exclusively designated.

In the comment input area, there is provided a check box "Add a comment" for designating whether or not a message, ie, a comment is to be attached to a job, and a text input area for key inputting a message text. ing.

If no message is added, that is, if the check box in the comment input area is not checked, the flow directly proceeds to the next step S19. On the other hand, if the check box is checked, the process jumps to step S22, and the user key-inputs the message text into the text input area. In the message, for example, when transmitting a job to another person, the purpose and reason for transmission can be written. Of course, the message may be used for other purposes, or the message may be attached to a job addressed to the user.

When the "cancel" button is clicked on this dialog, it is determined that message attachment is unnecessary, and the dialog is closed. At the same time, the process returns to step S16 to perform the setting on the secure print dialog again. If the user clicks the "OK" button on the dialog, the process proceeds to step S19 (step S19).
23).

In step S19, the print control unit converts the print document passed from the application into data in a format that can be interpreted by the designated printer.

Next, the print control unit encapsulates the document file converted into the printer interpretable format together with the setting information and user information set in the preceding step (step S20). The data structure of the encapsulated file is as already described with reference to FIG. It is preferable that the message be placed outside the capsule since the message needs to be viewed at the destination printer before the user authentication process.

Next, the print control unit transmits the encapsulated file to the printer (the information recording system 100 in this embodiment) designated as the connection destination,
A print job is issued (step S21).

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for displaying a list of print jobs on the GUI screen on the information recording system 100. This processing procedure corresponds to a further breakdown of step S5 in FIG. Hereinafter, each step of this flowchart will be described.

According to the user information obtained by the user authentication,
After completing the job filtering, it is first determined whether or not the power of the printer is turned on (step S3).
1). In the present embodiment, the printer corresponds to, for example, the MFP 16. If the power has not been turned on, a message or warning indicating that output is not possible is displayed on the GUI screen (step S32).

Next, it is determined whether or not there is a consumable shortage that makes the printing process itself impossible (step S3).
3). For example, when no printing paper or recording medium is loaded, or when the toner of all colors is insufficient (or the process cartridge has reached the end of its life), the printing operation is disabled. In such a case,
A consumable item replacement message is displayed on the GUI screen (step S34).

Next, it is determined whether there is a shortage of other consumables (the printing process itself is executable) (step S35). For example, when color printing is designated and color toner is exhausted but black toner still remains, or paper other than the designated size still remains (or recording media other than the designated recording media still remains). ) Corresponds to this.

If the result of determination block S35 is affirmative, it is further determined whether the shortage of consumables affects job execution (step S36). If the job execution is not affected, all jobs are set to a default value, that is, a selected state, and a job list display window is opened.

If there is a job in which the shortage of consumables affects the job execution, it is determined whether it is possible to change the attribute of the job, that is, various setting contents (step S39). More specifically, the user is inquired on the GUI screen whether there is an attribute that can be changed. If the job attribute change is not effective, the job that cannot be output due to a shortage of consumables is changed to a deselected state and a job list display window is opened (step S40). At this time, a consumables replacement message or a warning may be displayed at the same time.

If it is determined in the decision block S39 that the attribute of the job can be changed, it is determined whether or not the changed attribute affects the job execution (step S4).
1). If there is an effect on job execution, step S3
9, the same processing as described above is repeated. If it is determined that there is no effect on the job execution, the job that has become executable by changing the attribute is selected and a job list display window is opened (step S4).
2).

On the other hand, if no shortage of consumables is detected in the decision block S35, the job list display window is opened with all the jobs left in the selected state, which is the default value (step S38).

FIG. 14 shows the G of the information recording system 100.
9 schematically shows an example of a job list display window displayed on a UI screen. The GUI screen shown in FIG. 11 lists, in addition to the job names and check boxes, indicators indicating the attributes of each job.
12 is different from the example shown in FIG.

In the example shown in FIG. 14, the presence or absence of color printing,
An indicator is displayed for each of the paper size and single-sided / double-sided printing designation. In the list display window, the first and fourth jobs from the top are in the default selection state, and the check boxes are marked. On the other hand, the second and third jobs are changed to the deselected state because the toner is insufficient (yellow toner is insufficient) or the paper of the designated size is insufficient (no B5 size), and the check box is not checked. Have been.
In addition, by displaying a job in the deselected state in gray and giving a contrast with the job in the selected state, it is possible to more clearly express that the job is not selected.

As described above, by automatically changing the setting of a job having a problem in execution to the deselected state, the user can output a job unintentionally, thereby avoiding the inconvenience of receiving unnecessary charges. Can be. Further, it is possible to prompt the user to perform an appropriate change of the job execution environment and maintenance work such as replenishment of consumables such as paper, recording media, and toner.

[0177] At the bottom of the job list display window, a message indicating a shortage of consumables may be described. In the example of the screen, two types of messages, "no yellow toner" and "no B5 paper" are displayed.

It should be understood that the fifth job was selected in the initial state, but has been unchecked by a user operation.

In step 39 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 13, the user changes the attribute, so that the job that has been deselected due to the lack of consumables can be returned to the selected state. In the example shown in FIG. 14, by switching the attribute of the second job from color printing to monochrome printing, the second job is returned to the selected state as shown in FIG.

<< Notes >> *: DDSA (Digital Document Security Architecture) is a digital content distribution technology that incorporates the concept of "usage right".
The contents are encrypted and distributed by public key encryption such as SA or DSA, and the data is decrypted only when the user is authenticated as the purchaser of the usage right. The DDSA basically adopts a method of distributing the content itself in a copyable state and selling a secret key for decrypting the content as a usage right. However, in order to eliminate the risk that the user illegally circulates the private key (usage right), the “access ticket” issued to the purchaser of the use right and the identification card “token” distributed in advance to the user Each time, a secret key is generated. Each access ticket corresponds to a specific token only, and the token is provided in the form of a non-reproducible IC card, etc., so that a private key required for decryption can only be obtained by an authorized purchaser. Become.

**: PDL (Page Description Languag)
e) is a description language for instructing the page printer to print images. PDF (Portable Doc)
umentFormat) is a file format that can be displayed and printed on a document viewer “Acrobat” developed by Adobe Systems, Inc. of the United States.

***: A public key is a method of encrypting a combination of two keys having the property that encrypted information encrypted with one key can be decrypted only with the other key. Refers to a key that is used in public. The other key is used as a "secret key" that is kept private by the user. For example, a secret document can be securely transmitted to the owner of a private key by encrypting with a public key, and a recipient can sign with the public key by transmitting a signature encrypted with the private key. Can be authenticated.

[Supplement] The present invention has been described in detail with reference to the specific embodiments. However, it is obvious that those skilled in the art can modify or substitute the embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention. That is, the present invention has been disclosed by way of example, and should not be construed as limiting. In order to determine the gist of the present invention, the claims described at the beginning should be considered.

[0184]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention,
An excellent information recording service that records, duplicates, and prints out information while maintaining security, and accurately charges for services such as recording, even at times and places separated from job issuance. And a system for performing the method.

Further, according to the present invention, each user can issue a plurality of jobs from a remote place, select his / her own job in a short operation time, and print attributes or execution of a plurality of jobs. It is possible to provide a system and method for performing an excellent information recording service that can set an environment collectively.

The information recording system according to the present invention has an authentication function for authenticating a user. The job addressed to each user transmitted to the information recording system is temporarily stored.
Then, the job is filtered by the user (or user group) specified through the user authentication, and is listed on the screen as a target of printing and other recording services. On such a list display screen, the user can further select a job that actually requires the recording service.

On the list display screen, for example, each job is displayed by its thumbnail. In addition, the user can grasp the current selection status at a glance by giving a contrast such as highlighting the selected job on the list display screen and graying out the unselected or deselected job. Can be.

Further, depending on the environment of the information recording system designated as the job transmission destination and the state of the recording media, some jobs cannot be executed in the first place. By displaying such a job as a deselected state on the list display screen, it is possible to prohibit the user from selecting the job, or to urge the user to change the job execution environment or replenish the recording medium. .

In addition, to the information recording system according to the present invention, not only the user himself / herself can issue a job but also send a job addressed to another person. Further, in the latter case, a message describing the reason for transmitting the job and the like can be transmitted together. Therefore, by confirming the message, the transmission destination user can understand the contents of the job, and can determine whether or not to actually execute the job before printing.

[0190]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of an information recording service provided for implementing the present invention and a system for charging a fee for the recording service.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a data structure of an encapsulated file.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating an external configuration of the information recording system 100 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating an internal hardware configuration of the information recording system 100 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of a billing device 15;

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating an outline of a printing process when the information recording system 100 according to the present embodiment operates as a print server on a network.

FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically illustrating a flow of a print job via a network.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart schematically showing a processing procedure from issuance of a print job on the client side to execution of a job on the information recording system 100.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure for a user to issue a print job on a client, that is, a host device 500.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a secure print dialog presented to a user on a client, that is, a host device 500.

11 is a diagram showing an example of a GUI screen display in the information recording system 100. FIG.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a GUI screen display in the information recording system 100.

13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for displaying a list of print jobs on a GUI screen on the information recording system 100. FIG.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a GUI screen display in the information recording system 100.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a GUI screen display in the information recording system 100.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Display device, 12 ... Media box 13 ... User information input device, 14 ... Control device 15 ... Billing device, 16 ... Multifunction machine 31 ... Display part, 32 ... Charge calculation part 33 ... Credit / debit card reader 34 ... Prepaid card reader 35 ... Cash input unit, 36 ... Cash counting unit 37 ... Cash storage unit, 38 ... Charge payment management unit 51 ... CPU, 52 ... Main memory, 53 ... ROM 54 ... Display interface 55 ... Hardware・ Disk drive (HDD), 56 ... H
DD interface 57 keyboard / mouse controller 58 RS422 interface 59 SCSI interface 60 network interface card 61
Modem 62: Expansion device interface, 63: Serial input / output interface 71: Touch panel, 72: Keyboard, 73: Mouse 81: CD-ROM drive, 82: MO drive, 8
3 DVD drive 100 Information recording system 200 Host device (Web server) 300 Facsimile device 500 Host device (client)

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tadamitsu Miyawaki 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa KSP R & D Business Park Building Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5D044 AB01 AB07 HL01 HL07 HL07 JJ07

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. An information recording system for recording information transmitted to each user from one or more host devices connected via a communication medium, comprising: storage means for storing received information; and information recording. Recording means; a user interface capable of interactively inputting via a screen; a user authentication means for authenticating a user; and a control means for controlling an information recording operation by the recording means. In response to the successful user authentication by the user authenticating means, among the information stored in the storing means, a list of information transmitted to the authenticated user is displayed on the screen of the user interface, An information recording method for receiving a user operation for selecting whether or not to record each information, and executing a recording operation of the selected information; Stem. 2. The information recording system according to claim 1, further comprising charging means for charging a user for a fee according to a recording process by said recording means. 3. The information recording system according to claim 1, wherein said control means distinguishes a display form of each information on said user interface screen between a selected state and a deselected state. 4. The information recording system according to claim 3, wherein said control means sets a default state of each piece of information retrieved from the storage means to a selected state. 5. The information transmitted from the host device includes an attribute value defining a recording operation by a recording unit, and the control unit includes an attribute value of each information on the list display screen in the user interface. The information recording system according to claim 1, further comprising: 6. The information transmitted from the host device includes an attribute value that defines a recording operation by a recording unit, and the control unit determines the attribute value of each piece of information extracted from the storage unit and the attribute value of the recording unit. 4. The information recording system according to claim 3, wherein information in which an attribute value is not allowed is set to a deselected state by comparing with a current state. 7. The control means receives a change of an attribute value via the user interface screen,
7. The information recording system according to claim 6, wherein the information in which the changed attribute value is allowed is returned to a selected state. 8. The information transmitted from the host device may be accompanied by a message by a transmission source, and the control means displays the presence or absence of the message on the list display screen. The information recording system according to claim 1. 9. The information recording system according to claim 8, wherein said control means includes a button for activating a message on said list display screen. 10. The information according to claim 1, wherein said recording means prints out the information visually on a printing paper or records the information on a recording medium in a computer readable format. Recording system. 11. An information recording method for recording information transmitted to each user from one or more host devices connected via a communication medium, comprising: (a) storing received information; ) Authenticating the user; (c)
Displaying, on a screen, information transmitted to the authenticated user from among the information stored in step (a) in response to the successful user authentication in step (b); (D) receiving a user operation for selecting whether or not to record each information; and (e) recording the selected information.
An information recording method, comprising: 12. The information recording method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of charging a user for a fee according to the recording processing in said step (e). 13. The information recording method according to claim 11, wherein in the step (c), a display form of each information on the list display screen is distinguished between a selected state and a deselected state. 14. The information recording method according to claim 13, wherein in step (c), a default state of each piece of information taken out is set to a selected state. 15. The information transmitted from the host device,
12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: an attribute value defining a recording operation in the step (e); and the step (c) displaying the attribute value of each piece of information together on the list display screen. Information recording method. 16. The information transmitted from the host device includes:
In the step (c), the attribute value of each piece of the extracted information is compared with the current state in the step (e). 14. The information recording method according to claim 13, wherein information that is not allowed is set to a deselected state. 17. The information recording method according to claim 16, wherein in the step (c), the change of the attribute value is received, and the information in which the changed attribute value is permitted is returned to the selected state. . 18. The information transmitted from the host device may be accompanied by a message by a transmission source. In the step (c), the presence or absence of the message is displayed on the list display screen. Claim 1
2. The information recording method according to 1. 19. The information recording method according to claim 18, wherein in the step (c), a button for activating a message is provided on the list display screen. 20. The method according to claim 11, wherein in the step (e), the information is visually printed out on a printing paper, or the information is recorded on a recording medium in a computer readable format. Information recording method.