Electrophotography – Remote monitoring
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-02
2004-09-28
Braun, Fred (Department: 2852)
Electrophotography
Remote monitoring
Reexamination Certificate
active
06798995
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to methods of managing machines which contain a consumable article and associated machine managing systems, and preferably to methods of managing, as well as dispatching and replacing image forming devices, such as copying machines and printers, which need toner, ink, or other consumables.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Copying machines, printers, and other image forming devices relying on toner, ink, and other consumable articles (consumables) for operation require refiling with consumable articles and other maintenance work for their continuous use. Conventionally, for convenience in the maintenance work, toner, ink, etc. are packed in a cartridge (consumable goods) so that a supplemental consumable article can be actually supplied by replacing the cartridge.
In these machines which rely on replacements of consumable goods for continuous use, the user of the machines buys consumable goods in advance and keeps them in stock to avoid running out of them and causing the machine inoperable.
However, managing consumable goods are so complex that, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication 8-315052 (Tokukaihei 8-315052/1996, published on Nov. 29, 1996) and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication 2000-194767 (Tokukai 2000-194767, published on Jul. 14, 2000) disclose methods to reduce the workload of the machine user.
Each of the conventional techniques relates to a system in which there is provided an automatic ordering terminal device which stores inventory information about toner and other consumable articles, calculates the supply quantity of the toner, etc. in reference to the information about the toner, etc. given by the machine, and automatically places orders with a supplier for supplemental supplies for those articles that are running out, by facsimile, email, or the like.
Both methods, nevertheless, work only with the replacing of consumable goods in a machine. Although each of the methods can reduce the workload of the machine user by automating the management of, for example, the remaining amounts and ordering of consumable articles, the machine user still has to replace by him/herself in many cases, which is especially true with consumable goods in an image forming device for general consumer use. The maintenance work is far from automatic.
The user will likely get dirty hands from replacing toner, ink, and other consumable goods and install a wrong cartridge or a correct one, but, in a wrong position, especially when the user has to replace two or more cartridges as in a color copying machine.
Increasing numbers of consumed goods, e.g., ink cartridges, are being recycled by manufacturers. Consumers or machine users' cooperation is necessary on top of that of manufacturers to promote such a recycling system. For example, the manufacturer has prepared collecting boxes, but it is left to the machine user to carry ink cartridges to the collecting boxes. The machine user still has to trouble him/herself a lot, when it is taken into account where the user is located and how often the user uses the machine. Collection services are provided in which a service provider makes a visit to each user's home to ease the inconvenience. No such operations are successfully run in the black, since the products involved are relatively cheap consumable goods. Large financial burdens are borne by manufactures and recycle service providers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has an objective to provide a comprehensive and essential service, covering from sales to continuous use of the machine, by which consumable goods are managed and when used up, replaced and collected without requiring any work done by machine users or any financial burden borne by manufacturers.
A machine managing method in accordance with the present invention, to achieve the objective, is a machine managing method of managing a machine for a service receiver and is characterized in that it causes a programmed computer to execute the steps of:
obtaining unique information on the machine by which the machine is identified and information on a remaining amount of a consumable article used in the machine and subsequently determining whether or not the remaining amount of the consumable article has reached a specified value; and
if the remaining amount has reached the specified value, making an instruction to dispatch a new machine to the service receiver who matches the unique information on the machine.
In the configuration, the present invention is directed not to the management of consumable goods like cartridges filled with toner, ink, etc., but to the management of machines themselves as device main bodies which operate using a consumer article and/or consumable article contained in the consumable goods installed in the machines. For example, the management of the present invention covers copying machines and laser printers which use toner as recording material, ink jet printers which use ink as recording material, and facsimile devices which use a rolled film of heat-sensitive material or heat-sensitive paper as recording material.
With the configuration the machine to be managed is assigned with unique information on the machine by which the machine is identified; therefore, machines are easily managed using the machines' unique information, telling which machine has been delivered to which service receiver. Further, by obtaining the unique information on the machine and the information on the remaining amount of a consumable article used in the machine, it becomes easier to know what the current remaining amount is of the consumable article in any given machine delivered to any given service receiver.
Therefore, the machines to be managed can be arbitrarily managed using the unique information on the machines; if, for example, the machines are manufactured on an OEM basis, and the unique information on the machines is managed without separating those OEM products from internally manufactured products, it becomes easier to service only the internally manufactured ones. It also becomes easier to selectively service only those machines manufactured in a certain period.
The present invention manages machines. Therefore, the unique information assigned to the machines can be constituted by a relatively little information.
Specifically, to manage ink cartridges, toner cartridges, and other consumable articles through unique information assigned to the consumable articles as in conventional cases, a vast amount of unique information needs be managed, since the number of consumable articles far exceeds the number of machines. Even when using a computer to conduct a search for unique information or other information based on the unique information, the process is too resource-intensive and takes an extended period of time for computers with old specifications, which is inconvenient. In addition, increased amounts of data require a memory or the like with large storage space for the data, which leads to increased costs of the consumable articles to which the memory is attached.
Besides, when the consumable article is modified for better performance or other purposes, new numbers need be assigned to distinguish the old version from the new one, which further increases the amount of unique information that has to be managed.
In contrast, the present invention can greatly reduce the amount of the unique information to be managed and requires a memory with far less storage space for the unique information. As a result, machine managing devices having such a memory attached thereto can be manufactured at less costs.
If the consumable article to be installed in the machine is upgraded for better performance, since it is a machine manager (service provider) who installs the consumable article in the machine, by adding information on the installed consumable article to a managing table by which the machine is managed upon, for example, the installation of the consumable article in the machine, the information on the consumable article installed in the machi
Birch, Stewaart, Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Braun Fred
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