STATUS INDICATOR @ lsglggliY IE
Contents
1. Patent Application Publication Jan 30 2003 Sheet 6 of 6 US 2003 0023703 A1 53 3 SENSE PERIPHERAL piece INDICIA 532 SENSE PERIPHERAL CONDITION 33 LAUNCH BROWSER 534 DISPLAY PURCHASE ORDER 35 COMPLETE PERSONAL DATA 536 SEND PURCHASE ORDER FIG 7 US 2003 0023703 A1 CONTEXT SENSITIVE WEB BASED USER SUPPORT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 0001 1 Field of the Invention 0002 The present invention relates to web based user support for a computer peripheral In particular the inven tion relates to a computer program that responses to a particularized sensed condition in a peripheral by accessing a corresponding particularized URL universal resource locator address 0003 2 Description of Related Art 0004 Personal computers and their peripherals are now affordable to small offices and home offices SOHO result ing in a large number of computers and computer peripherals installed at diverse locations The operators of these SOHO computers in general are less experienced in the repair and maintenance of computers and peripherals than they are in the practice their particular trade or business e g carpet installer accountant etc Therefore many manufacturers of computers and peripherals provide toll free hot line tele phone numbers e g 800 numbers so a SOHO computer operator can call for help This is an economic burden on the manufacturer 0005 Manufacturers typically m2. error code from the LCD looks up the error code in a peripheral user s manual and then calls the manufacturer s toll free help line for an explanation of the code or instructions on what to do to fix the problem 0008 FIG 1 depicts a typical known peripheral 10 connected to a known computer 30 over a bus 32 Peripheral 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 Jan 30 2003 16 reads the state of the machine and forms an error code number Code handler 22 of user interface 20 receives the error code and causes it to be displayed on status monitor 24 of user interface 20 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 0009 It is an object to the present invention to provide enhanced user support information It is a further object of the present invention to automatically access the enhanced user support information using a server address defined by a peripheral indicia and by a peripheral condition 0010 These and other objects are achieved in a method that provides support to a user of a computer peripheral that includes sensing a peripheral indicia and a peripheral con dition at a computer and registering the peripheral and downloading from a server additional information about the peripheral based on the peripheral indicia and the peripheral condition The peripheral indicia includes any of a model number a
3. model number a part number a serial number a date of manufacturer and a configuration indicia
4. when the buy now button is clicked the application program has already sensed the peripheral indicia 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 536 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 server 40 FIG 2 When the pur chase 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 0052 Alternatively the user personal information e g name address shipment method etc may be automatically entered by the application s program For exa
5. wherein the first module includes logic to sense one of a model number a part number a serial number a date of manufacturer and a configuration indicia 21 Acomputer readable media for controlling a processor and having modules stored thereon the media comprising first module to sense a peripheral condition at the processor and second module to launch a communications browser module to access a server at an address defined by the peripheral condition the server providing the browser module with additional information about the periph eral condition 22 The media of claim 21 wherein the second module includes test logic to launch the communications browser Jan 30 2003 module when information stored in the processor does not inform about the peripheral condition 23 The media of claim 21 further comprising a third module to store the additional information in the processor for subsequent access without subsequently launching the browser module 24 The media of claim 21 wherein the additional infor mation includes a flag to indicate whether the peripheral has been reported stolen the machine further comprising a third module to disable the peripheral when the flag indicates that the peripheral has been reported stolen 25 The media of claim 21 wherein the first module includes logic to sense one of an error code and a code indicative of a consumable reaching a predetermined thresh old 26 computer rea
6. US 20030023703A1 a2 Patent Application Publication Pub No US 2003 0023703 A1 United States HAYWARD et al 43 Pub Date Jan 30 2003 54 CONTEXT SENSITIVE WEB BASED USER SUPPORT 76 Inventors KEN HAYWARD BROCKPORT NY US MARC J KROLCZYK ROCHESTER NY US DAWN M MARCHIONDA MARION NY US Correspondence Address PATENT DOCUMENTATION CENTER XEROX CORPORATION 100 CLINTON AVENUE SOUTH XEROX SQUARE 20A ROCHESTER NY 14644 US Notice This is a publication of a continued pros ecution application CPA filed under 37 CFR 1 53 d 21 Appl No 09 397 125 22 Filed Sep 16 1999 STATUS INDICATOR Publication Classification 51 Int CI GO6F 15 16 52 U S 709 217 57 ABSTRACT A method of providing support to a user of a computer peripheral includes sensing a peripheral indicia at a com puter and registering the peripheral and downloading from a server additional information about the peripheral based on the peripheral indicia The peripheral indicia includes any of a model number a part number a serial number a date of manufacturer and a configuration indicia Registering the peripheral is performed by launching a communications browser to connect to the server The method also senses a peripheral condition at the computer where the peripheral condition includes either an error code or a code indicative of a consumable reaching a predetermine
7. aintain a database of information to support the repair and maintenance of their products ASOHO computer operator or even a professional computer technician can call a help line to speak to an operator that accesses the database to answer particularized questions e g how do I change an ink cartridge Manufacturers have prepared user friendly computer inter faces so their help line operators can easily access the requested information e g by product type detected error condition etc 0006 Some manufactures have built their database in an HTML format hypertext markup language format that may be accessed over the Internet by a browser in a computer HTML is a format that is widely used to present information at Internet web sites However finding the correct HTML formatted page still requires a skilled operator Some web sites are designed with better navigation aids 1 linking buttons than other sites However a minimum familiarity with web pages and links is still required 0007 Known computer peripherals e g a combination fax copier printer and scanner workstation provide some user assistance as part of the peripheral itself At a minimum the peripheral will have some lights e g light emitting diodes known as LEDs or equivalent that indicates one or more error conditions More common is a small LCD liquid crystal display that indicates a wider variety of error conditions Typically a user reads an
8. and preferably includes a link to maintenance and print driver setup screens The second menu entry in the home screen accesses a screen to access toll free online help services and user support as described further herein The third menu entry of the home screen accesses a screen to order supplies and or upgrades from the manufacturer or an manufacturer approved supplier The fourth menu entry of the home screen accesses a digital user manual with hyper linked information and help files The fifth menu entry in the home screen accesses a simplified guided tour and interac tive demonstration of the peripheral s operation 0038 FIG 4 depicts the work area 1 status window of the status screen When the status inquiry button is clicked Jan 30 2003 from home screen or any other screen the status window appears The top of the status window includes two areas in the upper half an icon display of the peripheral so the user has a comfort feeling that the status is about his peripheral and a peripheral condition sub window with a show me button between As depicted in FIG 4 a peripheral condi tion is indicated by the X the condition explained as a Magenta Ink Level Low condition and two 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 The bottom of the status window includes thre
9. ccess the manufacturer s server at an address defined by the peripheral condition For example the address might be 0042 0043 where product is the peripheral indicia or some thing derivative therefrom and is the peripheral condition 1 magenta ink level low or something deriva tive therefrom www manufacturer com product xxx 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 peripheral con dition sensed Then the server provides the browser with additional information about the peripheral condition which is stored temporarily in the computer s memory step S24 FIG 6 The additional information may be text but pref erably includes illustrations and even photographs It may include audio clips e g using wav format and it may include video segments using any 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 US 2003 0023703 A1 0045 Audio and video clips require large storage areas While it may be possible to store in the computer s memory complete audio and video clip for several c
10. copier printer scanner work station Along the top line is the title of the application program for example SOHO WorkStation The next line is a known type of drop down menu bar The next line includes information specific to the present exemplary work station The first three lines are common to all screen displays of the application program The third line for example includes an X indicator to indicate that a status condition has occurred that should be reviewed and a Status Inquiry box with button to click and get more status information On the left hand side is a vertical bar with six buttons that is referred to as a service panel and it appears in most of the screens of the application program The remaining portion of the screen is a work area that is context sensitive and dependent on the selected service 0036 In the service panel there are six buttons The first button always returns to the home menu screen The next button accesses desktop directory for use by the present application The next four buttons in succession access the scanner screen the fax screen the copier screen and the printer screen 0037 Five menu choices are depicted in the context sensitive work area of the home screen The first menu entry accesses a screen to review or modify system settings The system setting screen provides for setting up all device settings that would otherwise need to set up with hard buttons
11. d threshold or both This method accesses the server at an address defined by the peripheral condition and the server provides the browser with additional information about the peripheral condition STATUS INQUIRY m SERVICE NAME SYSTEM SETTINGS C ON LINE HELP ORDER SUPPLIES LD USER GUIDE GUIDED TOUR Patent Application Publication Jan 30 2003 Sheet 1 of 6 US 2003 0023703 A1 FIG 1 Prior Art 10 17 MEE 14 Patent Application Publication 30 2003 Sheet 2 of 6 US 2003 0023703 A1 L1 III FIG 2 FIRM WARE 30 2003 Sheet 3 of 6 US 2003 0023703 A1 Patent Application Publication El AJINONI SNIVLS 014 4noiaaaino LJ Jans wisn OF 53119405 30 2003 Sheet 4 of 6 US 2003 0023703 A1 Patent Application Publication SNLVLS gor IW MOHS 32v1d33 MON 13 31 VIN3OvW X Patent Application Publication 30 2003 Sheet 5 of 6 US 2003 0023703 A1 511 SENSE ID REGISTER PERIPHERAL DOWN LOAD PERIPHERAL INFORMATION 12 x FIG 5 13 21 SENSE PERIPHERAL CONDITION IS INFORMATION IN MEMORY LAUNCH BROWSER STORE INFORMATION IN MEMORY RETRIEVE INFORMATION FROM MEMORY DISPLAY INFORMATION 52 522 523 54 FIG 6 25 526
12. dable media for controlling a processor and having modules stored thereon the media comprising a first module to sense a peripheral indicia at the proces sor a second module to register the peripheral by launching a communications browser module to connect to a server and a third module to download from the server additional information about the peripheral based on the periph eral indicia 27 The media of claim 26 further comprising a fourth module to sense a peripheral condition at the processor and a fifth module to launch a communications browser module to access the server at an address defined by the peripheral condition the server providing the browser with updated information about the peripheral condi tion 28 The media of claim 26 further comprising fourth module to sense a peripheral condition at the processor and a fifth module to display the downloaded additional information when the downloaded additional informa tion informs about the peripheral condition 29 The media of claim 26 further comprising a fourth module to sense a peripheral condition at the processor and a fifth module to display the downloaded additional information when the downloaded additional informa tion informs about the peripheral condition and the downloaded information is dated within a predeter mined period of a current date 30 The media of claim 26 wherein the first module includes logic to sense one of a
13. de indicative of a consumable reaching a predetermined thresh old 16 A computing machine comprising processor controlled by modules a first module to sense a peripheral indicia at the proces sor a second module to register the peripheral by launching communications browser module to connect to a server and third module to download from the server additional information about the peripheral based on the periph eral indicia 17 The machine of claim 16 further comprising fourth module to sense a peripheral condition at the processor and a fifth module to launch a communications browser module to access the server at an address defined by the peripheral condition the server providing the browser with updated information about the peripheral condi tion 18 The machine of claim 16 further comprising a fourth module to sense a peripheral condition at the processor and a fifth module to display the downloaded additional information when the downloaded additional informa tion informs about the peripheral condition 19 The machine of claim 16 further comprising a fourth module to sense a peripheral condition at the processor and a fifth module to display the downloaded additional information when the downloaded additional informa tion informs about the peripheral condition and the downloaded information is dated within a predeter mined period of a current date 20 The machine of claim 16
14. e areas in the lower half a job status sub window an ink level sub window with a Buy Now button and three miscella neous 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 Pref erably some indicia of the job such as a file name would be displayed under the portion completed Next to each job is a cancel button to permit the user to optionally cancel the job 0040 It should be appreciated that the screens depicted in FIGS 3 and 4 are representive of a best mode of the screen embodiments but these screen formats do not limit in any way the invention defined by claims 0041 When a user accesses the status window and clicks the show me button the application program will access replacement instruction information related to replacing 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 computer 30 receives the peripheral condition over bus 32 from firmware 16 FIG 2 In step 522 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 S23 launches an embedded or an external communications browser to a
15. eletion may vary during the product cycle For example at product launch any file over two weeks old may be regarded as stale and a year after product launch any file over two months old may be regarded as stale The theory is as users ask questions of help line operators these questions are used as a basis to update the help files provided by server 40 As the peripheral product line become more mature fewer new questions arise and the information on server 40 does not change as often The threshold of what is considered stale may be set by the user in a settings screen or it may be set by the manufacturer during a down load from server 40 0048 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 this configuration have been sold However the manufacturer is in possession of actual information on how peripheral of the particular configuration have been 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 the stale threshold for deleting a stale user help file 0049 second s
16. eral condition and the downloaded informa tion is dated within a predetermined period of a current date 10 The method of claim 6 wherein the step of sensing senses one of a model number a part number a serial number a date of manufacturer and a configuration indicia 11 A computing machine comprising a processor controlled by modules a first module to sense a peripheral condition at the processor and a second module to launch a communications browser module to access a server at an address defined by the peripheral condition the server providing the browser module with additional information about the periph eral condition 12 The machine of claim 11 wherein the second module includes test logic to launch the communications browser module when information stored in the processor does not inform about the peripheral condition 13 The machine of claim 11 further comprising a third module to store the additional information in the processor for subsequent access without subsequently launching the browser module 14 The machine of claim 11 wherein the additional information includes a flag to indicate whether the periph eral has been reported stolen the machine further compris ing a third module to disable the peripheral when the flag indicates that the peripheral has been reported stolen US 2003 0023703 A1 15 The machine of claim 11 wherein the first module includes logic to sense one of an error code and a co
17. f a successful peripheral product the frequently asked questions or other support information may become quite large 0030 Some of this information may be published on an Internet web site but this means the information is broad casted to the general public as well as new and old customers who bought the peripheral but with different configurations Potential new customers will need only information about the most recent configuration of the product although sup port could be provided for a used equipment market Cus tomers who recently bought the peripheral will have an updated product that will not need access to some or all of the frequently asked questions that apply to older versions of the peripheral Many customers who are buying a product under a stable product name may not be aware that there may be revisions and upgrades made to the product during the product cycle and that there is often a significant configuration evolution during the product s life cycle A single web site for the product by product name does not address these configuration changes during the product s life cycle 0031 However using the present invention the specific peripheral indicia is used to identify the specific user support information that is useful to the operation and maintenance of the particular peripheral having the particular serial number or configuration 0032 Even so after the initial registration of the periph eral the user supp
18. mple this information may be entered and saved in computer 30 during online registration and modified if necessary using the modify settings screen In this alternative variant 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 That is to say the user click on the buy now button then clicks on the confirm purchase order button step S36 and is e mailed a purchase or confirmation and receives the part the next day depending on shipment instructions 0053 The peripheral condition is 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 peripheral condition indicates when the consumable has reached a threshold in time to reorder before the consumable is completely exhausted US 2003 0023703 A1 0054 In 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 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 cau
19. net 30 in FIG 2 0021 Other communications protocols may be used and are equivalent For example ISDN integrated services digital network is a widely used high speed communication protocol DSL digital subscriber line is a newer protocol that is still growing in acceptance Cable telephone systems are establishing special cable modems as an alternative to a telephone modem A cable modem communicates with a headend of a cable system where the communication is routed through a trunk to an Internet pier either directly or indirectly through an ISP These or other protocols may be used to link modem 34 FIG 2 to the Internet 0022 Separate and apart from the Internet a peripheral manufacturer owns or leases server 40 connected to the Internet through modem 38 Modem 38 connects to the Internet either directly or indirectly through an ISP Server 40 performs a variety of functions for the manufacturer from registering a new purchaser of a peripheral to publishing information about the peripheral 0023 peripheral e g combination fax copier printer and scanner workstation is sold to the user with installation software The user physically connects periph eral 10 to computer 30 then loads and executes the instal lation software The installation software loads on the com puter an application program that may be executed directly by the user to perform tasks with the peripheral and one or more driver modules e g a p
20. onditions it is unlikely that all possible conditions will be economically storable in the computer s memory However the manufac turer s server server 40 in FIG 2 is much larger and may include clips for all possible conditions for each configu ration of each product line that is supported 0046 In step S25 the additional information is retrieved from memory and in step 526 displayed to the user It should be appreciated that the memory of 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 past show me files to make room for a new show me file when needed 0047 Since the provision of timely user support infor mation is one of the benefits of the present invention a preferred criteria for selecting a file to delete is to delete stale user support information Stale may defined by the differ ence between the current date from the operating system and the date of the information file stored in the memory area from the file entry in the appropriate directory or folder For example it may be acceptable to delete any downloaded user support file that is over one year old The threshold for d
21. ort information e g frequently asked questions may be amplified For example early in the US 2003 0023703 A1 product s life cycle an unanticipated and large number of calls may be received on the toll free help line dealing with particular issue Help line operators respond to the user inquiries and report the issue to persons who maintain databases for user support A person maintaining the data bases may add one or more frequently asked questions and reply In this way the user support information continues to evolve throughout the product s life cycle 0033 The present invention permits a user to update the user support information stored in computer 30 at any time Using the peripheral indicia ensures that only the support information needed to support the particular product is downloaded from the manufacturer s server 40 FIG 2 0034 During the operation of the peripheral error con ditions may occur or peripheral conditions may occur that indicate a need to replace a consumable e g paper tray empty or out of ink A peripheral condition is derived from sensors 12 and machine state 14 in firmware 16 The peripheral condition is sent by firmware 16 over bus 32 to an application program running in computer 30 The applica tions program will indicate the condition to the computer user for example with an X on the display screen 0035 FIG 3 depicts a generalized display screen for the exemplary combination fax
22. part number a serial number a date of manufac turer and a configuration indicia and the peripheral condition includes either an error code or a code indicative of a consumable reaching a predetermined threshold or both Registering the peripheral is performed by launching a communications browser to connect to the server This method accesses the server at an address defined by the peripheral condition and the server provides the browser with additional information about the peripheral condition BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 0011 The invention will be described in detail in the following description of preferred embodiments with refer ence to the following figures wherein 0012 FIG 1 is a block diagram of a user interface of a known computer peripheral 0013 FIG 2 is a block diagram of a user support system according to the present invention 0014 FIG 3 is a view of a home screen display of an embodiment of the invention 0015 FIG 4 is a view of a status window of a screen display of an embodiment of the invention 0016 FIG 5 is a flow chart of a registration process of the invention 0017 FIG 6 is a flow chart of a user support information update process of the invention and 0018 FIG 7 is a flow chart of a online purchase order process of the invention DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 0019 In FIG 2 SOHO computer 30 includes modem 34 to convert computer binary informa
23. rinter driver that may be executed by another application program e g a word processor to perform tasks for the for example word processor 0024 The installation software may include and execute a module to perform online registration Online registration systems use a registration server at the manufacturer s plant to provide the user with HTML formatted pages over the Internet for display on computer 30 These pages include blank fields to be filled out by the user For example the fields may require the user s name and the product name and model The HTML formatted page also includes 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 0025 Uniquely the present invention senses a peripheral indicia at computer 30 step S11 of FIG 5 The indicia includes any of a model or part number a date of manufac ture a serial number and even configuration information for peripherals that may have diverse reconfigurable parts Jan 30 2003 0026 Then the process of registering the peripheral step 512 FIG 5 launches a communications browser to connect to the registration server The registration page is displayed on the screen and the user fills out the information fields e g the user name and clicks on the send button The user filled out fields and the exact peripheral indicia are sent to the registration server Thi
24. s results in a precise configuration and date of the registered product being stored on the registration server 0027 At the end of online registration process 51 a file of additional information directed to the registered periph eral is downloaded from the server The downloaded infor mation is dependent on the peripheral indicia In this way the latest information on the registered peripheral may be stored in computer 30 and the information is directed to the precise configuration and date of the registered product 0028 At product launch the manufacture prepares user support information in either printed form to ship with the product or in an electronic data file to be installed with the installation software to be later accessed from a help menu In either case the manufacturer uses its best judgement of what information is needed by the users There is a balance between providing too much information taking up memory space or requiring big printed books and too little informa tion making it necessary for a user to call the manufacturer s help line too often 0029 Even with the best judgement at product launch users ask questions after product launch The manufacture tracks the help line inquires and prepares a list of frequently asked questions with their answers However the manufac turer needs an efficient way to published this information to the registered users in a timely manner After many months or years of sales o
25. ses 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 0055 extension the manufacturer s server 40 may send a shipping order to a supplier local to the user s location 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 availability before sending the shipment order to the retailer In this way server 40 performs like a salesman of the retailer and as such earns a commission 0056 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 the user at the time the user clicks on the buy now button whether the user want to order from the preferred retailer on account 0057 Having described preferred embodiments of a novel sy
26. stem and method for context sensitive web based user support and instruction which are intended to be illustrative and not limiting it is noted that modifications and variations can be made by persons skilled in the art in light of the above teachings It is therefore to be understood that changes may be made in the particular embodiments of the invention disclosed which are within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims 0058 Having thus described the invention with the details and particularity required by the patent laws what is claimed and desired protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims What is claimed is 1 Amethod of providing support to a user of a peripheral comprising steps of sensing a peripheral condition at a computer and launching a communications browser to access a server at an address defined by the peripheral condition the server providing the browser with additional informa tion about the peripheral condition 2 The method of claim 1 wherein the step of launching launches the communications browser when information stored in the computer does not inform about the peripheral condition 3 The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of storing the additional information in the computer for sub sequent access without subsequently launching the browser Jan 30 2003 4 The method of claim 1 wherein the additional infor mation includes a flag
27. tale threshold may be used in step S22 If the information stored in memory is available but regarded stale by according to the second threshold step S2 may proceed to step S23 anyway to download the latest update on the user help information 0050 As discussed above with respect to FIG 4 the user can click on a maintenance button On doing so a main tenance screen appears and the user can select to execute Jan 30 2003 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 diagnotic options depends 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 peripheral indicia and peripheral 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 ordered immediately as discussed below The user may use the show me button to see how to replace the part when the part arrives 0051 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
28. tion to analog telephone signals In this way the SOHO user may be connected to Internet 36 Computer 30 has installed and operating thereon an Internet browser 1 a software module that runs on the SOHO computer to interface the user to the Internet 0020 Internet 30 as depicted in FIG 2 is any suitable communications system Presently Internet access services are often provided by Internet Service Providers ISPs US 2003 0023703 A1 Typically an ISP maintains a point of presence POP in the users local telephone system to give the user a local telephone number to call In this case modem 30 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 in one form or another The ISP s main service center has a bank of modems not shown to reconvert the analog telephone signals into computer binary information and a computer also not shown in one form or another to connect to the Internet backbone a digital or binary communications sys tem also not specifically shown The Internet backbone includes an Internet pier ie terminal where properly formatted digital signals from the ISPs main service center are 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
29. to indicate whether the peripheral has been reported stolen the method further comprising a step of disabling the peripheral when the flag indicates that the peripheral has been reported stolen 5 The method of claim 1 wherein the step of sensing senses one of an error code and a code indicative of a consumable reaching a predetermined threshold 6 A method of providing support to a user of a computer peripheral comprising steps of sensing a peripheral indicia at a computer registering the peripheral by launching a communications browser to connect to a server and downloading from the server additional information about the peripheral based on the peripheral indicia 7 The method of claim 6 further comprising steps of sensing a peripheral condition at the computer and launching a communications browser to access the server at an address defined by the peripheral condition the server providing the browser with updated information about the peripheral condition 8 The method of claim 6 further comprising steps of sensing a peripheral condition at the computer and displaying the downloaded additional information when the downloaded additional information informs about the peripheral condition 9 The method of claim 6 further comprising steps of sensing a peripheral condition at the computer and displaying the downloaded additional information when the downloaded additional information informs about the periph
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