JPH034908B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a copy number management device for a copying machine that manages the number of copies made by a copying machine for each department using a recording medium (hereinafter referred to as a card) on which department information is recorded.

In conventional copying machines, there is a so-called key counter as a device for obtaining information about the usage status of the copying machine. This key counter is inserted into a predetermined part of the copying machine to make the copying machine ready for copying, receives a signal from the copying machine indicating that the copying machine has made copies, and sequentially counts the number of copies. It has an adding function (for example, using an electromagnetic counter).

Each department that uses a copying machine has its own dedicated key counter, and when making copies, the department's key counter is inserted into the copying machine. In this way, you can know information about the accumulated number of copies in your own department. In addition, the copying machine manager can collect the key counters from each department, know the number of copies for each department, all departments, etc., and use the information for budget management and the like. However, if this key counter is used to tally the number of copies, all key counters must be gathered at the management site at one time, or if this is not possible, the person in charge of tallying at the management site will ask each department about the number of copies. It was necessary to match. Furthermore, the person in charge of counting takes a lot of time to transcribe and tally the number of copies. Further, the key counters are expensive, and as the number of departments using the copying machine increases, a corresponding number of key counters are required, resulting in a large expense.

From this perspective, a device has been proposed in which each department in use has a card storing department information, which enables the copying operation by using that card when copying, and which cumulatively stores the number of copies for that department. There is. While such a device is convenient for managing the number of copies to be made for each department, it has the disadvantage that the copying machine can be used without limit due to unauthorized use of the card. Also, depending on the department, the budget may be determined in advance.
Each time an operator makes a copy, he or she must consider the cumulative number of copies to be made and the number of copies to be made, and must be careful not to exceed the budget.

The present invention aims to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and its purpose is to read department information from a recording medium on which department information is recorded, judge the read department information, and operate the copying machine according to the judgment result. In a copy number management device for a copying machine that enables a copying operation and further rewrites information based on the number of copies of the copying machine already stored in a storage means in accordance with the copying operation of the copying machine and stores it again in the storage means. , a first determining means for determining whether a reading error has occurred when the recording medium is inserted and the department information is read; and a first determining means for determining whether or not a reading error occurs when the recording medium is inserted and the department information is read; When it is determined that no reading error has occurred, the first step is to determine whether or not an upper limit error has occurred, which occurs when the upper limit of the number of copies of the copier, which is set in advance for each department, has been reached. 2, a display means for displaying the content of the error, and a control means for controlling the copying machine to enable or disable the copying operation of the copying machine according to the determination result of the discrimination means, and controlling the display means. and when the control means determines by the first and second determining means that either a reading error or an upper limit error has occurred when the recording medium is inserted, the control means copies the recording medium. controlling the copying machine to disable the copying operation of the machine and controlling the display means to display error details; and on the other hand, controlling the display means to display error details, and on the other hand, when the recording medium is inserted, the first and second determining means If it is determined that neither a reading error nor an upper limit error has occurred, the copying machine is controlled to enable the copying operation, and the upper limit of the number of copies of the copying machine is set for each department. An object of the present invention is to provide a copy number management device for a copying machine, which is characterized by being able to set the number of copies.

Examples of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a copy information processing apparatus according to the present invention. In Figure 1, card 1 (meaning a general term for magnetic cards, punch cards, mark cards, etc.) has an ID that confirms the authenticity of the card.
(IDentify) information and department information (generally represented by a code number) representing the department in which the copying machine is used are recorded in advance.

Next, by transporting the card 1 in the direction of arrow A, the information recorded on the card is read by the card reader 2 (transfer of the card 1 at the time of reading is carried out manually or by using an elastic device such as a spring). Semi-automatic feeding using force or automatic feeding using driving force of a motor or the like may be considered, but any feeding method may be used).Furthermore, the card 1 is transferred and held in the card holder 4. The information read by the card reader 2 is output to the collation determining section 3 from the signal line 2a. The verification/determination unit 3 uses the signal input from the signal line 2a and the ROM 10.
The judgment is made by comparing the ID information (input from signal line 10a) stored in Outputs a "reject" signal. A signal that detects the holding of a card in the card holding section 4 is transmitted from the signal line 4a to the control section 6 and the storage section (ROM1).
0, RAM11) and is output to the counter 12.

In addition, the verification determination unit 3 also sends a signal indicating whether or not the card reader 2 has inputted information from the card 1 to the signal line 3a.
The signal is output to the control unit 6 through.

Therefore, the control section 6 compares the output of the collation and judgment section 3 inputted from the signal line 3a with the output of the card holding section 4 inputted from the signal line 4a.
It is determined whether or not the card reaches the card holding section 4 and is held within a predetermined time. Then, the control section 6 processes the above-mentioned signal inputted from the collation determining section 3 and sends out a signal indicating whether copying is possible through the signal line 6a. In other words,
If the card reader 2 does not read the information or the card 1 does not reach the card holder 4 from the card reader 2 within a predetermined time, the signal line 6a prevents the copying machine 7 from operating, and the signal line At step 6b, the display section 8 displays (for example, a blinking display) to that effect. This makes it possible to prevent unauthorized card usage and point out operational errors.

The storage unit is RAM (Random Access) for storing copy size, cumulative number of copies, price, etc.
Memory) 11 and ROM that stores ID information
(Pead Only Memory) Consists of 10 pieces. and,
The verification/judgment unit 3 sends and receives signals to and from the RAM 11 through the signal line 3b, and the card reader 2 reads the card 1.
The various kinds of information read from the above are stored in the RAM 11 through the verification/judgment section 3, and furthermore, the information stored in the RAM 11 is sent to the verification/judgment section 3. Also
When the RAM 11 detects that the card 1 is held through the signal line 4a, it can output the contents of the RAM (such as the cumulative number of copies) from the signal line 11b and display it on the display 8. Furthermore, while card 1 is being held, even if card reader 2 reads information from another card (regardless of whether it is a valid card or not), it will refuse to store that information, and furthermore, it will not be able to collate or judge the information. It is possible to send information to the unit 3 to prevent the other card from operating the copying machine 7.

The detection member 5 provided in the card holder 4 detects the card 1
When the separation is detected, the detected signal is outputted to the control unit 6, RAM 11, and counter 12 from the signal line 4b. As a result, the control unit 6 stops the operation of the copying machine 7, and the contents stored in the RAM 11 are displayed on the display 8 by the signal output from the signal line 11a.
Display it on the printer 9, record it on the printer 9, and record it on the counter 1.
In 2, the counted contents can be returned to "0".

The counter 12 inputs and counts information such as the copy size and the number of copies output from the signal line 7a when the copying machine 7 executes copying. The counted information can be displayed on the display 8 through the signal line 12a, and furthermore, the counted information can be displayed on the display 8 through the signal line 12b.
11 can be used to accumulate the counted values. Then, the accumulated count value is transferred to the signal line 3 as necessary.
It is possible to output the data from b to the verification/judgment section 3.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the collation determining section 3. In FIG. 2, if the card 1 is a management card (referring to a "total card" that tallies and prints the number of copies for all departments or an "erase card" that erases the contents of the RAM), routes 13 to 18 , 39 and 40, and in the case of a normal card (which controls the operation of the copying machine 7), it passes through routes 13, 19-38. The details of the flowchart route will be described later.

Next, the display section 8 shown in FIG.
e. Displays shown in FIGS. 4a to 4d can be performed. In other words, if you use a normal card, the second
In the flowchart shown in the figure, go through routes 13 and 19 and check the "copy machine ID", "department code ID", and "set number of copies exceeded", and if there is an error, route 3
The error details are displayed on the display section 8 through steps 2, 33, and 34.

That is, FIG. 3a shows the initial state of the display section 8,
In the state before the card 1 is read by the card reader 2, all digits are lit as "-".

In the case of an inappropriate card or an inappropriate card as described above, a warning can be given by flashing a "-" display by means of a signal via the signal line 6b shown in FIG. When the information on the card 1 is read by the card reader 2 and held in the card holder 4,
In the flowchart shown in the figure, after passing through routes 20, 21, and 22, routes 23 and 24 are further reached, and the copying machine 7 becomes ready to start.

The display in this case is as shown in FIG. 3b.
In FIG. 3b, the department information is shown as "1234" on the left side, and the cumulative number of copies to date for that department is shown as "02468" on the right side.

This is because the verification/judgment section 3 in Fig. 1 determines that the code information of card 1 is "1234" and stores it in the RAM 11.
This is because the cumulative number of copies "02468" stored in is output to the display section 8 from the signal line 11b.

In the flowchart of Fig. 2, routes 25 and 2 are further shown.
6, the user performs the "copying operation" and passes through route 27, as shown in FIG. 3c, which indicates that the current copying has started and that the first copy has been completed. In FIG. 1, the output of the copying machine 7 is output from the signal line 7a, counted by the counter 12, and the result is sent to the signal line 12a.
This is because the data is output from and displayed on the display 8. Thereafter, the displayed value on the right side increases as the number of copies increases. Figure 3d shows the display when the current copying process has finished at the 37th page. In the flowchart of FIG. 2, "calculating the cumulative number of sheets used and storing it in the RAM" via path 28 means outputting a signal from the signal line 12b of FIG. Then, via route 29, the card is "taken out from the holding means", and via route 38, the department code, date, number of copies, price, etc. are recorded by the printer 9, and via route 30, the cumulative number of copies is displayed for a certain period of time. . As shown in Figure 3e, the display on the right side indicates the number of copies made up to the previous time, which is 2468.
This means that the value obtained by adding the current number of copies, 37, is ``2505''. Note that the display in Figure 3e disappears after a certain period of time and returns to the display in Figure 3a, but
If another card is inserted even within the predetermined time period, the process immediately returns to FIG. 3a, and displays as shown in FIGS. 3b, c, . Then, in the flowchart of FIG. 2, after passing through route 31, all operations are terminated with "copying machine stop".

In FIG. 1, the cumulative number of copies is stored in the RAM 11 in correspondence with the department information, so that the display can be made in accordance with the department information recorded on the card as described above. In addition, when the copying machine manager tallies the number of copies for each department or the number of copies for all departments, the cumulative number of copies for each department or all departments is calculated from the RAM 11 using the above-mentioned tally card prepared by the manager. The data can be output and sequentially output from the display unit 8 or printer 9. If the aforementioned tally card is used, the process goes to path 39 after passing through path 14 in the flowchart of FIG.

Then, the copy machine code, department code, copy size, cumulative number of copies, price, etc. are displayed or recorded, and the operation is "stopped" via path 40. still,
The above-mentioned sequential outputs may be switched depending on the content to be output at predetermined time intervals, or may be switched each time the manual switch _S2 shown in FIG. 1 is turned on. .

Furthermore, the management source uses an erase card to erase RAM1.
It is also possible to erase all or part of the memory contents of 1. This is used when the number of copies is newly counted from the next time after completing the above-mentioned counting. When using the above erasing card, RAM11 due to erroneous operation
In order to prevent the memory contents from being erased, for example, the erasure is performed when the manual switch _S1 shown in FIG. (These are referred to as erroneous erasure prevention operations). This ``erases the contents of RAM'' via paths 14, 15, and 16 and ``stops'' operation via path 17 in the flowchart of FIG. Although the above explanation shows an example in which the display value increases as the number of copies increases, it is also possible to subtract the value from a predetermined value and display it. For example, set a budget for each department at the beginning of the period and set a limit on the total number of copies.
When stored in the RAM 11, the remaining number of copies that can be made is reduced as the number of copies increases. It is also possible to prevent the copying machine from operating when the number of copies that has been set at the beginning is reached.

On the other hand, when providing the above-mentioned copying service, it is desirable that the purpose can be achieved only by the customer's operation, such as with a vending machine. To do this, a customer purchases a magnetic card from a specific store that has information recorded on it that allows them to make copies for a predetermined fee or for a predetermined number of copies of a predetermined size. can be operated.

(The card has ID information unique to the store with which you contracted, and cannot be used with copiers at other stores.) The card records the charge (unit price for each copy size) set by the contracted store, and each store can set its own price. In FIG. 1, when the information recorded on the card is read by the card reader 2, the copying machine 7 is operated according to the same procedure as described above, and the display section 8
can be made to display a predetermined display.

That is, in Figure 4a, all digits are displayed as "-",
It lights up or flashes in the same way as in Figure 3a.

In FIG. 4b, all digits are displayed as "0", indicating that the information on the card can be read and copied.

Figure 4c shows the display on the display section 8 when the customer inputs, for example, to the input section K of the copying machine 7 to make 12 copies of A4 size, and also shows that the unit price for A4 size is 35 yen. There is. Then, when copying starts, the number display decreases to 12, 11, 10, etc. to show the remaining number of copies, and the charge display increases to 35, 70, 105, etc. to show the value obtained by multiplying the number of copies by the unit price. show.

FIG. 4d shows a state in which a predetermined number of copies (12 copies) have been completed, and the price displayed is "420 yen".

Next, when the customer inputs another size into the input section K, it is displayed on the size display sections shown in FIGS. 4c and 4d, and operations can be performed in the same manner as described above.

Additionally, ID information and the unit price for each copy size are recorded on the card, and the number of copies and charges can be added and displayed using the operations described above, and the charges can be paid in arrears, contrary to the method described above. .

In FIG. 1, when all the copies are completed and the card 1 is removed from the card holder 4, the detection member 5 detects the removal of the card, and the information stored in the RAM 11 (using the removed card All or a portion of the information (size of copied paper, number of copies, size-specific charges, total charges) can be displayed on the display section 8, recorded on the printer 9, and taken out.

The information stored in the RAM 11 can be deleted each time, but if it is accumulated over a certain period of time, the total amount for that store can be obtained. In this case as well, the cumulative value can be read by using the tally card. In addition, when removing the card 1 from the card holder 4, the card information changing part E provided in the card holder 4
To prevent unauthorized use, erase the ID information recorded on the card or record stop information that prevents reuse.

The card removed in this way is returned to the front desk of the store, where new ID information is recorded or the suspension information is erased, and new information (rate, paper size, number of cards, etc.) is recorded. Then, it can be made available for use by the next customer.

In this way, the management device according to this embodiment can be used to manage various types of information related to copying when each department in a company, factory, etc. shares a copying machine, or when providing copying services to general customers. It is also possible to check the number of copies and compile charges in an extremely rational manner. Since the information recorded on the card is changed when the card is removed from the card holding means, no new device or operation is required to prevent unauthorized use of the card.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the copying machine is disabled when the number of copies reaches a preset upper limit, so even if the recording medium is used illegally, the copying machine can be used without limit. This can be prevented. Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is determined whether or not an error in the upper limit of the number of copies has occurred after reading the department information, so budget management for each department can be performed accurately and the operator can control the use of the copier. There is no longer any need to be careful not to exceed the budget for the number of copies.

Further, the present invention has a configuration in which an upper limit value for the number of copies of a copying machine can be set, so that use of the copying machine in a specific department can be prohibited or the prohibition can be canceled.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, when a recording medium is inserted and either a reading error or an upper limit error occurs, the error details are displayed, so that the operator can immediately check the error details before using the copying machine. can be dealt with.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the electric circuit in the management device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the collation judgment section shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3 a to 3e are A plan view of the first embodiment showing the display of each mode on the display section shown in the configuration diagram of FIG. 1, and FIGS. The second display shows the
A plan view of an example. In the figure, 1...Card, 2...Card reader, 3...Verification determination section, 4...Card holding section, 6...Control section, 7...Copying machine, 8...Display section, 9...Recording section, 1
0...ROM, 11...RAM, 12...counter, S ₁ ,
S ₂ ...manual switch, K...input section, E...card information change section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Read the department information from a recording medium in which department information is recorded, determine the read department information, enable the copying operation of the copying machine according to the determination result, and further store the department information in the storage means. A copy number management device for a copy machine that rewrites information based on a copy number of a copy machine according to a copy operation of the copy machine and stores it again in the storage means, wherein the recording medium is inserted and the department information is read. a first determining means for determining whether or not a reading error has occurred when the recording medium is inserted; and a first determining means for determining whether or not a reading error has occurred when the recording medium is inserted When the determination is made, a second determining means determines whether an upper limit error has occurred when the upper limit of the number of copies of the copying machine preset for each department has been reached, and a display that displays the details of the error. and a control means for controlling the copying machine to enable or disable the copying operation of the copying machine according to the discrimination result of the discrimination means and for controlling the display means, the control means for controlling the display means, and the control means for controlling the display means. When the first and second determining means determine that either a reading error or an upper limit error has occurred when the copying machine is inserted, the copying machine is configured to disable the copying operation of the copying machine. and controlling the display means to display error details, and on the other hand, when the recording medium is inserted, the first and second determining means determine whether either a reading error or an upper limit error has occurred. The copying machine is characterized in that the copying machine is controlled to enable the copying operation when the copying machine determines that there is no copying machine, and further characterized in that an upper limit value of the number of copies of the copying machine can be set for each department. copy number management device.