Supply ordering apparatus
Contents
1. Sheet 7 of 7 Patent Application Publication Apr 7 2005 0s 8 Old Ob pt 9t DIA 1fid1n0 110048 l 101540 104110 li 91 W31SAS 21901 ONY JIVMIJOS 405510044 1N3NOdW0 JIGVWASNOD US 2005 0074246 A1 SUPPLY ORDERING APPARATUS CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 0001 This is a voluntary divisional of U S application Ser No 09 662 198 now allowed filed Sep 14 2000 which is a continuation in part of U S application Ser No 09 397 126 filed Sep 16 1999 0002 Reference is also made to continuation in part application Ser No 09 662 284 entitled METHOD FOR SUPPLY ORDERING The above applications are incorpo rated herein by reference in their entireties FIELD OF THE INVENTION 0003 This invention relates to an intelligent ordering system for replacement consumable components in imaging and marking apparatus BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 0004 Many imaging machines including for example fax copier printer scanner device xerographic device electrostatographic device generally provide user assistance that indicate one or more error conditions For example lights such as small LCD liquid crystal display often indicate a variety of error conditions Typically a user reads an error code from the LCD looks up the error code in a machine s user manual and then calls the manufacturer s toll free help line for an explanation of the code or ins2. browser to access the manufacturer s server or vendor s server at an address defined by the peripheral condition For example the address might be 0042 www manufacturer com product xxx 0043 where product is the peripheral indicia or some thing derivative therefrom and xxx is the peripheral condition i e magenta ink level low code or something derivative therefrom 0044 The browser accesses a web page on the manufac turer s server that is identified by product xxx In this way the information provided is not only specific to the product configuration of the peripheral as it exist in the product s life cycle but is also specific to the particular condition sensed Then the server provides the browser with additional infor mation about the condition which is stored temporarily in the computer s memory step S24 FIG 6 The additional information may be text but preferably includes illustrations and even photographs It may include audio clips e g using wav format and it may include video segments using of the available formats A goal is to make it look to the user as if a technician on the other side of the computer screen is showing the user how to replace the magenta cartridge in the user s specific machine 0045 Audio and video clips require large storage areas While it may be possible to store in the computer s memory a complete audio and video clip for several conditions it is un
3. execute a module that performs online registration The online regis tration system may use a registration server of the manu facturer to provide the user with HTML formatted pages over the Internet for display on the computer 30 These pages include fields to be filled out by the user For example the fields may require the user s name product name model and serial number Later purchased options e g additional paper trays or a document handler may also be registered The HTML formatted pages may also include a send button to be clicked on by the user to send the filled out fields to the registration server in order to complete the online registration 0030 Turning now to FIG 5 the installation process includes the computer 30 sensing an indicia step S11 of machine 10 including the consumable components and reconfigurable parts The machine 10 may include a variety of model numbers part numbers dates of manufacture serial numbers and configuration information In addition the indicia of machine 10 may include information such as the geographic location of the owner or location of the machine 10 Using the geographic information the user may be routed to a particular sales site based on the geographic region For example users may be routed to a specific US 2005 0074246 A1 retailer distributor or company direct sales site depending on the location of the user U S or foreign and regional location within a cer
4. launched onto the Internet backbone The user through his browser may access any site on the Internet based on a URL Everything from the POP to the Internet backbone is covered by the representation of Inter net 36 in FIG 2 Other communication systems and proto cols may also be used to link the system to a user supplier vendor manufacturer or third party For example ISDN integrated services digital network DSL digital sub scriber line and cable telephone systems may be used 0027 In addition a user may communicate with a server 40 that is connected to the Internet through a modem 38 Modem 38 may be connected to the Internet either directly or indirectly through an ISP The server 40 may perform a variety of functions for example a manufacturer may use their server 40 for registration of a new peripheral or publishing information about the peripheral 0028 A peripheral 10 e g fax copier printer and scan ner device may be sold to the user with installation soft ware The user may physically connect peripheral 10 to a computer 30 and then load and execute the installation software In addition the installation software may be loaded on the computer using an application program executed directly by the user to interact with the peripheral and one or more driver modules e g a printer driver may be executed by another application program e g a word processor 0029 In use the installation software may
5. ordered immediately or automatically as dis cussed below The user may use the Show Me button to see how to replace the part when the part arrives 0049 When a user clicks on the Buy Now button either from FIG 4 or from a maintenance screen the application program enters purchase order sequence S3 FIG 7 In FIG 7 when the buy now button is clicked the application program has already sensed the peripheral indi cia S31 as in S11 FIG 5 and the peripheral condition S32 as in S21 FIG 6 Then at S33 the application program launches a browser to access a purchase order page or screen from the manufacturer s server 40 based on the peripheral indicia and the detected peripheral condition The purchase order screen is automatically partially filled out at server 40 with the part number to be ordered based on the peripheral indicia and condition At S34 the browser displays the screen to the user At S35 the user selects such online purchasing options as method of shipment payment on account or by credit card etc For example the user may enter a credit card authorization and request overnight express shipment When the user has filled out the purchase order screen at S36 the browser sends the purchase order to the manufacturer s server 40 FIG 2 Alternatively when the user has filled out the purchase order screen at S36 the application launches an e mail module to send the purchase order data to the manufacturer s serv
6. realized the invention is capable of other and different embodiments and its several details are capable of modification in various obvious respects all without depart ing from the invention Accordingly the drawing and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0017 FIG 1 is a block diagram of a user interface of a known computer peripheral 0018 FIG 2 is a block diagram of a user support system according to the present invention 0019 FIG 3 is a view of a home screen display of an embodiment of the invention 0020 FIG 4 is a view of a status window of a screen display of an embodiment of the invention 0021 FIG 5 is a flow chart of a registration process of the invention 0022 FIG 6 is a flow chart of a user support information update process of the invention 0023 FIG 7 is a flow chart of an online purchase order process of the invention and 0024 FIG 8 is a diagram of a system according to the present invention DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 0025 While the principles and embodiments of the present invention will be described in connection with marking apparatus such as electrostatographic and xero graphic reproduction machines and their associated periph erals it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to that embodiment or to that application There fore it should be
7. 1 2 OUTPUT 34 DEVICE 40 l Patent Application Publication 7 2005 Sheet 1 of 7 US 2005 0074246 A1 FIG 1 Prior Art Patent Application Publication 7 2005 Sheet 2 of 7 wm e OO D 10 E US 2005 0074246 A1 FIG 2 US 2005 0074246 A1 Sheet 3 of 7 Patent Application Publication Apr 7 2005 Old noigqgaaino O 3qino wisn O sanddns Yado L d13H O SONILLIS W31sAS O 3WVN 32123935 AJINDNI YOLVOIGNI SNLVLS d13H 31l3 US 2005 0074246 A1 Sheet 4 of 7 Patent Application Publication Apr 7 2005 3ONVN3INIVW ONILI3S SAS IW MOHS 32 v1d33 MON ana 33330 13 31 INI VIN39W MOGNIM 50115 Patent Application Publication 7 2005 Sheet 5 of 7 SENSE INDICIA REGISTER PERIPHERAL DOWN LOAD PERIPHERAL INFORMATION 21 SENSE PERIPHERAL CONDITION 22 INFORMATION IN MEMORY 23 LAUNCH BROWSER STORE INFORMATION IN MEMORY RETRIEVE INFORMATION FROM MEMORY DISPLAY INFORMATION 524 25 526 US 2005 0074246 A1 FIG Patent Application Publication 7 2005 Sheet 6 of 7 US 2005 0074246 A1 SENSE PERIPHERAL INDICIA SENSE PERIPHERAL CONDITION LAUNCH BROWSER DISPLAY PURCHASE ORDER COMPLETE PERSONAL DATA SEND PURCHASE ORDER FIG 7 3 were 32 33 534 35 36 US 2005 0074246 A1
8. AOU MCE AAT US 20050074246A1 as United States a2 Patent Application Publication Pub No US 2005 0074246 A1 Hayward et al 43 Pub Date Apr 7 2005 54 SUPPLY ORDERING APPARATUS tinuation in part of application No 09 397 126 filed on Sep 16 1999 75 Inventors T dee d Continuation in part of application No 09 662 284 arc J Krolezyk Rochester filed on Sep 14 2000 US Dawn M Marchionda Marlon i NY US Publication Classification Correspondence Address GU ni CEA eese er Sls M UN G03G 15 00 PATENT DOCUMENTATION CENTER CUN ODE ne 52 U S CL ets 399 8 399 24 399 23 399 26 gt 2 399 27 SQUARE 20TH FLOOR ROCHESTER NY 14644 US 73 Assignee Xerox Corporation 57 ABSTRACT 21 Appl No 1077362269 An automatic supply ordering system for electronically 22 Filed Dec 15 2003 ordering a consumable component or replaceable part in a marking machine The system provides electronic identifi Related U S Application Data cation of a condition of a replaceable component and automatically electronically sends an offer to purchase a 60 Division of application No 09 662 198 filed on Sep replacement part upon identification of a threshold condi 14 2000 now Pat No 6 798 997 which is a con tion REMOTE OUTPUT DEVICE P ad n i CONSUMABLE lL 2990905 COMPONENT i PROCESSOR SOFTWARE AND LOGIC SYSTEM ww wow
9. color since the last time the consumable has been replenished The monitor module includes an inventory sub module to recorded each time the consumable has been replenished and to deduct consumption of the consumable as the jobs are printed The monitor module causes an indication of a status condition to be displayed when the consumables are expected to be below a threshold based on the inventory sub module The user can then navigate through the screens to the status screen and order more of the consumable by clicking the Buy Now button 0053 The server 40 may forward an order to a supplier local to the user s location or the server 40 may process the order and ship directly to the user Server 40 knows the address of the user from the purchase order With pre arranged contracts with networks of office supply retailers and mail order houses server 40 is kept aware of the level of inventory on hand at the retailer and can confirm avail ability before sending the shipment order to the retailer 0054 Furthermore using cookie technology developed for browsers the application program examines the cookies for office supply retailers that the user has already used for supplies e g when the user buys supplies online from the retailer Such retailer can become a preferred distributor for the manufacturer s supplies If accounts are established with the retailers that carry the desired part the application program may inquire of th
10. communicate an offer to purchase at least one consumable part prior to an occurrence of the third condi tion 11 The imaging apparatus of claim 8 wherein the imaging apparatus is adapted to request delivery of the at least one consumable part to a specified location 12 The imaging apparatus of claim 10 wherein an accep tance of the offer to purchase the at least one consumable part occurs prior to the third condition 13 The imaging apparatus of claim 8 wherein the at least one consumable part is delivered to the user between about the first condition and about the third condition 14 The imaging apparatus of claim 8 wherein the elec tronic communication includes at least one of 1 a present condition of the at least one consumable part 2 a predic tion of a future condition of the at least one consumable part 3 an inquiry relating to the at least one consumable part and 4 an offer to purchase the at least one consumable part 15 An imaging system comprising a xerographic apparatus including a development station and a replaceable part and a processor and wireless communications link associated with the xerographic apparatus wherein the processor includes logic and is adapted to a monitor a condition of the replaceable part associated with the xerographic apparatus and b automatically initiate an a wireless electronic offer to purchase a replacement part for the replaceable part upon identi fication of a thr
11. dicia includes at least one of a method of shipment shipping address phone number address method of payment authorization code and credit card account number The imaging apparatus automatically electronically communicates an offer to pur chase a replacement part for the replaceable part upon occurrence of a defined threshold condition Additional contact information such as return electronic address and facsimile number may also be included 0015 In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a cartridge for use in an electrostatographic apparatus The cartridge includes a hous ing and a sensor and software system including programmed US 2005 0074246 A1 logic functions The sensor and software system is associ ated with the housing The sensor and software system electronically identifies a present or future condition in the cartridge and electronically communicates information relating to the identified condition to an address defined by the condition The sensor and software system automatically offers to purchase a replacement for the cartridge upon identification of a threshold condition in the cartridge 0016 Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description wherein embodiments are shown and described simply by way of illustration contemplated of carrying out the invention As will be
12. e user at the time the user clicks on the Buy Now button whether the user want to order from the preferred retailer on account 0055 Turning now to FIG 8 is a system for automatic electronic ordering of a consumable component 11 for a marking apparatus 8 Illustrated is an example of a system including a marking apparatus 8 and a remote output device 50 linked together by a communication system The marking apparatus 8 may include an output device 21 such as a monitor or display a consumable component 11 a sensor 12 and a processor software algorithm and logic system 16 The output device 21 may be used to communicate with a user or a remote output device 50 Alternatively communi cations from the marking apparatus 8 may bypass the output device 21 Moreover the output device 21 sensor 12 and processor software algorithms and logic system 16 may be located externally from the marking apparatus 8 for example in an associated device or in a remote configura tion which communicates with the consumable component 11 The marking apparatus 8 or a remote output device 50 may regularly or intermittently interrogate the consumable component 11 for information and then process and com municate such information to another remote output device 50 or server 40 The communication of information may Apr 7 2005 operate via a hard wired connection or a wireless system The information may be in machine readable format or human readable
13. er 40 FIG 2 When the purchase order is received at server 40 the order is confirmed on the user s browser screen or the order is confirmed by a responsive e mail 0050 Alternatively the user personal information e g name address shipment method etc may be automatically entered by the application s program For example this information may be entered and saved in computer 30 during online registration and modified if necessary using the modify settings screen Step S35 automatically enters the user personal information including account or credit card numbers and step S36 is a screen with a single button to confirm the desire to purchase The user click on the buy now button then clicks on the confirm purchase order button US 2005 0074246 A1 step S36 and is e mailed a purchase or confirmation and receives the part the next day depending on shipment instructions 0051 The condition may be used to indicate when a consumable has been exhausted e g paper tray empty or a consumable has reach a predetermined threshold e g magenta ink level low Preferably the condition indicates when the consumable has reached a threshold in time to reorder before the consumable is completely exhausted 0052 In an alternative embodiment the application mod ule has a monitor module that is called each time a job is sent to the printer to track how many pages have been printed and or how much ink has been expended in each
14. eshold condition in the replaceable part 16 Cancel 17 The imaging system of claim 15 wherein the com munication of the offer is made through at least one of a modem Internet and a processor 18 Cancel 19 Cancel 20 Cancel 21 A cartridge for use in an electrostatographic apparatus the cartridge comprising a housing and a sensor and software system associated with the housing the sensor and software system adapted to electroni cally identify a present condition and a predicted future US 2005 0074246 A1 condition in the cartridge and to electronically com municate information relating to the identified condi tion to an address defined by the identified condition the sensor and software system adapted to automati cally electronically offer to purchase a replacement for Apr 7 2005 the cartridge including an electronic signature to authenticate the offer upon identification of a threshold condition in the cartridge
15. format The marking apparatus 8 may include an Internet browser for communication 0056 A modem 34 Internet connection 36 or server 40 may be used to electronically communicate the information from the marking apparatus 8 to the remote output device 50 regarding the condition of the consumable component 11 and automatically initiate an electronic order for a replace ment of the consumable component 11 The threshold con ditions of the consumable component 11 may include a measure timing or data such as 1 supply 2 wear 3 usage 4 rate of depletion 5 rate of wear 5 predicted date of depletion of supply 5 predicted date of need of consumable component 11 6 delivery schedule of con sumable component and 7 statistical data for consumable component 11 0057 The marking apparatus 8 may electronically ini tiate a purchase offer electronically receive an acceptance of the purchase offer and electronically form a contract with a supplier for purchase of the replaceable part or consumable component 11 The electronic transaction may include use of an electronic signature using for example digital technol ogy The system may be used in copy printing xerographic electrostatographic and marking apparatus The consum able part may include a ink ink cartridge toner toner cartridge paper photoreceptor cartridge and printhead 0058 Moreover the marking apparatus 8 device may communicate information relatin
16. g to the condition of the consumable component 11 to a second device supplier user or third party The information may relate to 1 a present condition of the consumable component 11 2 a prediction of a future condition of the consumable component 11 3 an inquiry relating to the consumable component 11 or 4 a purchase order of the consumable component 11 The marking apparatus 8 may predict a future condition of the consumable component 11 prior to sending a signal The marking apparatus 8 may be programmed to communicate an offer to purchase a consumable component 11 and receive an acceptance of an offer to purchase a consumable com ponent 11 prior to occurrence of certain condition The consumable component 11 may be received by the user and installed in the marking apparatus 8 between occurrence of certain conditions The marking apparatus 8 may request delivery of a consumable component 11 to a specified location The marking apparatus 8 may include identified indicia relating to purchase information for the replaceable part such that the logic then automatically initiates an offer to purchase the replaceable part The indicia may includes a method of shipment shipping address phone number address method of payment authorization code and credit card account number 0059 The system advantageously automates ordering of consumable supplies and replaceable parts for a marking apparatus 8 analog or digital An order may be in
17. hic device and marking device 6 The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the electronic offer to purchase is in at least one of a human readable and computer readable format 7 The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the at least one consumable component is at least one of an ink cartridge toner cartridge photoreceptor cartridge paper and print head 8 An imaging apparatus comprising at least one consumable part the at least one consumable part having a first condition upon installation at least Apr 7 2005 one intermediate condition after use and a third con dition when a replacement of the at least one consum able part is substantially necessary and a software and sensor system associated with the at least one consumable part for a electronic monitoring of the condition of the at least one consumable part and b sending a signal relating to the condition of the at least one consumable part to a device wherein the software and sensor system is adapted to wirelessly electronically communicate an offer to pur chase the at least one consumable part at an occurrence of at least one of the first condition intermediate condition and third condition 9 The imaging apparatus of claim 8 wherein the software and sensor system is adapted to predict a future condition of the at least one consumable part prior to electronically conveying the offer to purchase 10 The imaging apparatus of claim 8 wherein the device is adapted to
18. ion 0012 In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided an imaging apparatus including a replaceable part a processor and a communications link The processor includes logic to monitor a condition of the replaceable part and initiates an electronic communication of an offer to purchase a replacement for the replaceable part upon identification of a threshold condition in the replace able part 0013 In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a marking apparatus including a sensor and software system that electronically senses a condition in the device and electronically communicates information relating to the condition to an address URL e mail facsimile telephone mail etc defined by the con dition The sensor and software system includes logic to initiate a purchase order defined by the condition 0014 In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided an imaging apparatus including a development station and replaceable parts A sensor and software system electronically senses a condition in the replaceable part and electronically communicates informa tion relating to the condition to an address defined by the condition The sensor and software system includes identi fied indicia relating to purchase information for the replace able part and the logic then automatically initiates an offer to purchase the replaceable part The in
19. is configuration have been sold However the manufacturer is in possession of actual information on how peripheral of the particular configuration have been Apr 7 2005 sold and thus how old a user help file needs to be to be consider stale A combination of user and manufacturer information may be used to set a stale threshold for deleting a stale user help file A second stale threshold may also be used in step S22 If the information stored in memory is available but regarded stale by according to the second threshold step S22 may proceed to steps 523 526 anyway to download the latest update on the user help information 0048 The user can click on a maintenance button On doing so a maintenance screen appears and the user can select and execute any of several self diagnostic routines The installation software installs a diagnostic module that is more or less and executive that calls very specific sub modules to test each part of the machine The specific diagnostic options depend on the specific configuration of the peripheral and are downloaded from server 40 in the exact same manner as user help information is downloaded The present invention benefits from the use of the indicia and condition to specify a URL address that exactly matches the user s peripheral and condition In this way diagnostics may be performed quicker Then when a failed part is isolated the Buy Now button appears and a replacement part may be
20. itiated based on a condition code indicating that the consumable component 11 has or will soon reach a predetermined threshold Then the system automatically sends an offer to purchase the replacement This system includes sensing or predicting a condition in a marking apparatus sending that condition to a computer or processor and launching a communications to a second device to electronically offer to US 2005 0074246 A1 purchase the replacement part The marking apparatus 8 may include all or part of the features and functions as previously described for FIGS 2 7 0060 While this invention has been described in con junction with various embodiments it is evident that many alternatives modifications and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art Accordingly it is intended to embrace all such alternatives modifications and variations and their equivalents 1 An apparatus comprising at least one consumable component adapted to be replace able in the apparatus at least one sensor in communication with the consumable component at least one processor and software logic system for identifying a condition in the at least one consumable component and at least one wireless communications link associated with the at least one sensor and at least one processor and software logic system wherein at least one of the at least one sensor and the at least one processor and software logic system are ada
21. likely that all possible conditions will be economically storable in the computer s memory although improvements in technology may solve this problem However a manu facturer s server may be much larger and may include clips for all possible conditions for each configuration of each product line that is supported 0046 In step S25 the additional information is retrieved from memory and in step S26 that information is displayed to the user It should be appreciated that the memory of the computer 30 may include an area that is to be used to save the most frequently used Show Me files For example a memory area large enough to store 10 average sized Show Me files may be reserved in the computer s memory e g a disk memory A criteria for managing this memory area is established to fill the memory area when there is sufficient space for a new Show Me file and to delete a past Show Me file to make room for a new Show Me file when needed dependent on the age of the file and the product cycle 0047 The server help database for a product line with a greater number of installed products will mature faster than for a product line with fewer number of installed products The user has available information about the date of manu facture of the particular peripheral configuration that his own peripheral has and this can be used to determine the time elapsed since manufacture as a suggestion of how many peripherals of th
22. ormation at any time 0034 Conditions in the machine 10 may indicate a need to replace a consumable item or part e g paper ink toner cartridge printhead drum Using the sensed indicia from registration an automatic electronic customer direct supply ordering mechanism can advantageously identify a replace ment part or consumable item that is needed and the proper part can then be automatically ordered and sent to the user 0035 For example a particular condition may be deter mined or derived from sensors 12 and machine state 14 via firmware 16 as shown in FIG 2 The peripheral condition is sent by firmware 16 over bus 32 to an application program running in the computer 30 Moreover a particular condition may be determined or derived from sensors 12 and consum able component 11 via processor software and logic system 16 as shown and further described with respect to FIG 8 The applications program may indicate the particular con dition to the user for example on a display screen FIG 3 depicts an example of a display screen for a fax copier printer scanner device Along the top line is the title of the application program for example WorkStation or Device The next line is a drop down menu bar The next line includes information specific to the exemplary work station or device The third line for example includes an X indicator to indicate that a status condition has occurred that should be reviewed and a S
23. pted to wirelessly communicate with the at least one consumable component and automatically electroni cally wirelessly communicate an authorization code and an electronic offer to purchase a replacement of the at least one consumable component 2 The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one processor and software logic system includes instructions for occurrence of threshold conditions relating to the con sumable component the threshold conditions including at least one of 1 supply 2 wear 3 usage 4 rate of depletion 5 rate of wear 5 predicted date of depletion of supply 5 predicted date of need of consumable compo nent 6 delivery schedule of consumable component and 7 statistical data for consumable component 3 The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising an output device adapted to communicate with the at least one wireless communication link and receive a wireless communication relating to at least one of a present condition and a prediction of a future condition of the at least one consumable com ponent for use by at least one of a user supplier manufac turer and third party 4 The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus and electronic order system is adapted to electronically initiate and form a contract with a supplier for purchase of a consumable component using an electronic signature 5 The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the apparatus is at least one of a copy device printing device xerograp
24. r and the processor and software logic system The sensor processor and software logic system and the communications link interrogate the one consumable component and upon identifying a particular condition of Apr 7 2005 the consumable component automatically communicate an electronic inquiry or an electronic offer to purchase a replacement of the consumable component 0010 In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided an imaging apparatus system including a consumable part sensor processor communi cations system and an output device The system identifies and electronically communicates a condition of the consum able part The output device electronically communicates the condition of the consumable part to a user supplier or third party 0011 In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided an imaging apparatus including a consumable part The consumable part has a first condition upon installation at least one intermediate condition after use and a third condition when a replacement of the consumable part is substantially necessary A software and sensor system electronically monitors the condition of the consumable part sends a signal relating to the condition of the consumable part to a device and electronically commu nicates an offer to purchase a consumable part at an occur rence of one of the first condition intermediate condition or third condit
25. tain country 0031 Registering the machine 10 step S12 includes launching a communications link to connect to a registration server The registration page is then displayed on the screen The user fills out the information fields e g the user name and clicks on the send button The completed registration page and the indicia of the peripheral are sent to the registration server This results in information relating to precise configuration and date of the registered product being stored on the registration server 0032 At the end of online registration process 1 a file of additional information directed to the registered machine 10 is downloaded from the server S13 The downloaded information is dependent on the peripheral indicia In this way the latest information on the registered machine 10 may be stored in the computer 30 or the processor software and logic system 16 and the information is directed to the precise configuration and date of the registered product After the initial registration user support information e g frequently asked questions may be sent to the user as support information continues to evolve throughout the product s life cycle 0033 The specific indicia sent during registration may be used to identify user support information in the database most useful to the operation and maintenance of a machine having a particular serial number or configuration This permits a user to update user support inf
26. tatus Inquiry box with button to click on and get more information On the left hand side of the display is a vertical bar with six buttons that is referred to as a service panel The remaining portion of the screen is context sensitive work area that is dependent on the selected service software and user input solution auto matically connects the user to a part supplier a consumable item manufacturer or a consumable item vendor for effi ciency convenience and timely ordering or inquiry Apr 7 2005 0036 The service panel may have any number of buttons In one embodiment six buttons may be incorporated For example the first button may return the operator to the home menu screen The next button accesses a desktop directory used by the present application The next four buttons in succession access a scanner screen a fax screen a copier screen and a printer screen 0037 A variety of menu choices may be depicted in the context sensitive work area of the home screen The first menu entry may access a screen to review or modify system settings The second menu entry accesses a screen to access online help services and user support as described further herein The third menu entry accesses a screen to order supplies and or upgrades from the manufacturer or a manu facturer approved supplier The fourth menu entry accesses a digital user manual with hyperlinked information and help files The fifth menu en
27. truc tions on what to do to fix the error condition 0005 FIG 1 depicts a typical machine 10 connected to a known computer 30 over a bus 32 Machine 10 includes sensors 12 to detect conditions e g paper tray empty Sensors 12 and machine state flags 14 e g warm up or not ready describe the state of the machine Firmware 16 reads the state of the machine and forms an error code number A code handler 22 of user interface 20 receives the error code and causes it to be displayed on status monitor 24 0006 Various monitoring systems and machines are dis closed in U S Pat Nos 6 016 409 6 106 088 6 045 206 6 000 773 5 901 286 5 809 375 5 802 420 5 636 032 5 572 292 5 305 199 5 283 613 5 281 999 5 016 171 4 961 088 and 4 496 237 0007 All documents cited herein including the forego ing are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 0008 The present invention relates to a system for auto matically ordering consumable supplies for a marking appa ratus 0009 In accordance with one aspect of the present inven tion there is provided an automated electronic order system including a consumable component sensor processor and software logic system and communications link The auto mated electronic order system communicates with the con sumable component and predicts a future condition of the consumable component The communications link is asso ciated with the senso
28. try accesses a simplified guided tour and interactive demonstration of the peripherals operation The system setting screen provides for setting up various device settings that would otherwise need hard buttons Preferably a link to maintenance and print driver setup screens is provided 0038 FIG 4 depicts the work area 1 status window of the status screen When the status inquiry button is clicked from a screen the status screen window appears The top of the status screen window includes two areas in the upper half an icon display of the machine and a condition sub window with a Show Me button The icon shows the device in it s current state If there is a problem e g paper jam it will indicate an error state Pressing the Show Me button will run an animation of the icon showing how to clear the jam or correct a different problem The animation data would be streamed from local memory or from a website The user or machine condition can be used to determine which context sensitive help such as text video or audio communication to use from the website A condi tion for example indicated by the X explained as a Magenta Ink Level Low and two action options are given The first option is ordering another magenta ink cartridge using the Buy Now button and the second option is replacing the cartridge using the Show Me button 0039 For example the bottom of the status window may include three areas in the lo
29. understood that the principles of the present invention and embodiments extend to all alterna tives modifications and equivalents thereof 0026 In FIG 2 a computer 30 is connected to a modem 34 to convert computer binary information to analog tele phone signals Computer 30 may be a stand alone device or may be incorporated in a marking device such as a machine or peripheral 10 In addition the marking device user may be connected to the Internet 36 Computer 30 has an Internet browser installed and operating thereon ie a software module that runs on the computer to interface the user to the Internet Internet 36 access may be through an Internet Service Provider ISP Typically an ISP maintains a point Apr 7 2005 of presence POP in the user s local telephone system to give the user a local telephone number to call In this case the modem 34 is a telephone modem and under user control the browser causes modem 34 to place a call to the POP The POP is linked to the IPS s main service center by trunk lines The ISP s main service center has a bank of modems not shown to reconvert the analog telephone signals into com puter binary information and a computer also not shown to connect to the Internet backbone a digital or binary communications system also not specifically shown The Internet backbone includes an Internet pier i e terminal where properly formatted digital signals from the ISPs main service center are
30. wer half a job status sub window an ink level sub window with a Buy Now button and three miscellaneous buttons system settings as a short cut to change settings maintenance button to access a diagnostics screen and a close button The job status sub window shows three jobs as an example showing the portion completed Preferably some indicia of the job such as a file name is displayed under the portion completed Next to each job is a cancel button that enables the user to optionally cancel the job 0040 Itshould be appreciated that the screens depicted in FIGS 3 and 4 are representative screen embodiments and are not meant to limit the invention defined by the claims 0041 When a user accesses the status window and clicks the Show Me button the application program may access replacement instruction information related to replacing a customer replaceable unit for example the magenta ink cartridge FIG 6 depicts this Show Me process as step S2 In step S21 the application program senses the particular peripheral condition The application program running in US 2005 0074246 A1 computer 30 receives the peripheral condition over the bus 32 from the firmware 16 FIG 2 In step S22 FIG 6 the application program checks to see if the information is already present in the memory of computer 30 If the information is not present the application program in step 523 launches an embedded or an external communications
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