Supply ordering apparatus
Contents
1. Digital Signature Standard DSS U S Department of Com 52 U S CL 12 3 P 7 50 3 d 94 merce National Institute of Standards and Technology Jan 27 2000 74 pages 58 Field of Search 705 26 24 399 24 Fips Pub 186 Digital Signature Standard DSS US 399 12 Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards 56 References Cited and Technology May 19 1994 18 pages U S PATENT DOCUMENTS A E a ssistant Examiner ado 4 496 237 A 1 1985 Schron 355 14 C 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Andrew 13 Ryan 4 961 088 A 10 1990 Gilliland et al 355 206 5 016 171 A 5 1991 Connolly et al 364 406 57 ABSTRACT 5 281 999 A 1 1994 Edmunds 355 202 5 283 613 A 2 994 355 205 automatic supply ordering system for electronically 5 305 199 A 4 1994 LoBiondo et al 364 403 ordering a consumable component or replaceable part in a 5 572 292 A 11 1996 Chatani et al 399 25 marking machine The system provides electronic identifi 5 636 032 A 6 1997 Springett 358 296 cation of a condition of a replaceable component and 5 794 094 8 1998 Boockholdt et al 399 27 automatically electronically sends an offer to purchase a 5 799 157 A 8 1998 Escallon 395 227 replacement part upon identification of a threshold condi 52. 10 12 16 14 U S Patent Sep 28 2004 Sheet 2 of 7 US 6 798 997 81 FIG 2 10 le 14 US 6 798 997 1 Sheet 3 of 7 Sep 28 2004 U S Patent 060010301623 O Jains 336 O 3114415 83080 O 4134 3NIT NO O SONILI3S 3185 5 3 331 935 MINONI YOLVDIGNI SNLVLS 31 3114 US 6 798 997 81 Sheet 4 of 7 Sep 28 2004 U S Patent y l4 3ONVN31NIVW ONILI3S SAS MOHS 33 103 MON ANg 8308 13 31 VINZOWW X 009 SNLVLS U S Patent Sep 28 2004 SENSE INDICIA REGISTER PERIPHERAL DOWN LOAD PERIPHERAL INFORMATION Sheet 5 of 5 12 is 513 21 SENSE PERIPHERAL CONDITION 5 INFORMATION IN MEMORY LAUNCH BROWSER STORE INFORMATION IN MEMORY RETRIEVE INFORMATION FROM MEMORY DISPLAY INFORMATION 22 YES 523 24 25 26 7 US 6 798 997 B1 FIG 5 2 FIG 6 U S Patent Sep 28 2004 Sheet 6 of 7 US 6 798 997 1 31 3 SENSE PERIPHERAL a INDICIA 32 SENSE PERIPHERAL CONDITION 33 LAUNCH BROWSER 534 DISPLAY PURCHASE ORDER 35 COMPLETE PERSONAL DATA 36 SEND PURCHASE ORDER FIG 7 US 6 798 997 81 Sep 28 2004 U S Patent 8 Old 9 DIA 104110 310039 0s 0
3. monitor a condition of the replaceable part associated with the xerographic apparatus and b automatically wirelessly initiate an authorization code for authenti cation and an electronic offer to purchase a replacement part for the replaceable part upon identification of a threshold condition in the replaceable part to at least one of an electronic address and a URL address defined by a condition of the at least one replaceable part for a replacement of the at least one replaceable part 16 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 17 A peripheral apparatus comprising a marking apparatus including a sensor and software system to electronically sense a condition in the periph 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 12 eral apparatus and to electronically communicate infor mation relating to the sensed condition to an address defined by the condition the sensor and software system including logic adapted to initiate a purchase offer defined by the condition and provide an electronic signature to authenticate the purchase offer to at least one of an electronic address and a URL address defined by a condition of at least one consumable component for a replacement of the at least one consumable component 18 An imaging apparatus comprising development station at least one replaceable part in the imaging ap
4. Jndln0 W3ISAS 21901 7 05 0 ININOdWO JTaVWNSNOD US 6 798 997 131 1 SUPPLY ORDERING APPARATUS This application is a continuation in part of U S appli cation Ser No 09 397 126 filed Sep 16 1999 the disclo sure of which is totally incorporated by reference FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an intelligent ordering system for replacement consumable components in imaging and mark ing apparatus Reference is also made to co pending continuation in part application Ser No 09 662 284 entitled METHOD FOR SUPPLY ORDERING filed con currently herewith The present application also relates to U S application Ser No 09 397 125 filed Sep 16 1999 The above applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many imaging machines including for example fax copier printer scanner device xerographic device electros tatographic 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 instructions on what to do to fix the error condition FIG 1 depicts a typical machine 10 connected to a known compu
5. 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 US 6 798 997 B1 11 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 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 wirelessly associated with the at least one consumable part for a electronic monitoring of the condition of the at least one consum able 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 communicating an electronic signature and an offer to purchase a replacement of the at least one consumable part at an occurrence of at least one of the first condition intermediate condition and third condition to at least one of an electronic address and a URL address defined by a condition of the at least one consumable part for a replacement of the at least one consumable part 9 The imaging apparatus of claim 8 wherein the softw
6. 50 regard ing the condition of the consumable component 11 and automatically initiate an electronic order for a replacement of the consumable component 11 The threshold conditions 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 consum able component 11 6 delivery schedule of consumable component and 7 statistical data for consumable compo nent 11 The marking apparatus 8 may electronically initiate 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 Moreover the marking apparatus 8 device may commu nicate information relating to the condition of the consum able 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 in
7. 802 420 9 1998 Garr et al 399 27 tion 5 809 375 A 9 1998 Owens et al 399 111 5 828 864 A 10 1998 Danknick et al 395 500 5 835 817 A 11 1998 Bullock et al 399 25 23 Claims 7 Drawing Sheets STATUS WINDOW JOB STATUS zn 69 MAGENTA INK LEVEL LOW ORDER BUY NOW REPLACE SHOW ME SYS SETTING MAINTENANCE v9 CLOSE BUY NOW US 6 798 997 81 Page 2 6 023 593 6 045 206 6 065 824 6 106 088 6 141 507 6 158 837 6 170 007 6 177 948 6 233 408 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 2 2000 4 2000 5 2000 8 2000 10 2000 12 2000 1 2001 1 2001 5 2001 A A A A A A 81 Tomidokoro Igval Bullock et al Wafler Sawada Hilton et al Venkatraman Estabrooks et al 347 29 Allen 399 8 6 233 409 6 264 301 6 271 928 6 289 371 6 293 144 6 295 423 6 302 527 6 312 106 6 333 790 cited by examiner 5 2001 7 2001 6 2001 9 2001 9 2001 9 2001 10 2001 11 2001 12 2001 Haines et al 399 10 Helterline et al 347 19 Bullock et al 358 1 16 Kumpf et al 709 203 Froger et al 73 304 Haines et al 399 24 Walker 347 50 Walker 347 50 Kageyama 358 1 15 U S Patent Sep 28 2004 Sheet 1 of 7 US 6 798 997 81 30 32 FIG 1 Prior Art
8. 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 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 While this invention has been described in conjunction 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 What is claimed is 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 adapted to wirelessly communicate with the at least one consumable component and automatically wirelessly electronically communicate an authorization code for authentication and an electronic offer to purchase to a thi
9. a context sensitive work area that is dependent on the selected service A software and user input solution auto matically connects the user to a part supplier a consumable item manufacturer or a consumable item vendor for efficiency convenience and timely ordering or inquiry 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 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 manufacturer approved supplier The fourth menu entry accesses a digital user manual with hyperlinked information and help files The fifth menu entry accesses a simplified guided tour and interactive demonstration of the peripheral s 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 setu
10. and upon identifying a particular condition of the consumable component automatically communicate an electronic inquiry or an electronic offer to purchase a replacement of the consumable component 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 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 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 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 condition In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided an imaging apparatus including a
11. possible conditions for each configuration of each product line that is supported In step S25 the additional information is retrieved from memory and in step 526 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 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 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 manufacture 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 use
12. United States Patent US006798997B1 12 10 Patent No US 6 798 997 1 Hayward et al 45 Date of Patent Sep 28 2004 54 SUPPLY ORDERING APPARATUS 5 896 497 A 4 1999 Halstead 395 186 5 901 286 5 1999 Danknick et al 395 200 33 75 Inventors Ken Hayward Brockport NY US 5 999 761 12 1999 Binder et al 399 49 Marc J Krolezyk Rochester NY Mory et a i on 003 odimer et al 7 oe Marchlonda Marion 6 016 409 A 1 2000 Beard et al 399 33 6 018 719 1 2000 Rogers et al 705 24 73 Assignee Xerox Corporation Stamford CT List continued on next page US US FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this EP 0 838 768 A2 4 1998 patent is extended or adjusted under 35 0 843 229 2 5 1998 G03G 15 00 U S C 154 b by 173 days EP 0 838 768 A2 5 1999 G06F 17 30 WO WO 99 06910 2 1999 21 Appl No 09 662 198 WO WO 99 17210 4 1999 22 Filed Sep 14 2000 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Related U S Application Data ICOC s Linking the worlds of print and electronic media Sep 11 1998 63 Continuation in part of application No 09 397 126 filed on IBM technical disclosure Disk drive with embedded hyper Sep 16 1999 text markup language server vol 38 No 12 Dec 12 E 1995 c P vs 3 99 12 705
13. are 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 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 the first condition and 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 A xerographic imaging system comprising a xerographic apparatus including a development station and at least one replaceable part and a processor and wireless communications link associated with the xerographic apparatus wherein the processor includes logic and is adapted to a
14. 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 10 14 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 adapted to wirelessly communicate with the at least one consumable component and automatically electroni cally communicate an electronic offer and an electronic signature to at least one of an electronic address and a URL address defined by a condition of the at least one consumable component for a replacement of the at least one consumable component
15. ion systems and proto cols may also be used to link the system to a user supplier vendor manufacturer or third party For example ISDN 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 integrated services digital network DSL digital sub scriber line and cable telephone systems may be used 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 infor mation about the peripheral A peripheral 10 e g fax copier printer and scanner device may be sold to the user with installation software The user may physically connect peripheral 10 to a com puter 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 In use the installation software may execute a module that performs online registration The online registration system may use a registration server of the manufacturer to provide the user with HTML formatted pages over the In
16. ll without departing 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 FIG 1 is a block diagram of a user interface of a known computer peripheral FIG 2 is a block diagram of a user support system according to the present invention FIG 3 is a view of a home screen display of an embodiment of the invention FIG 4 is a view of a status window of a screen display of an embodiment of the invention FIG 5 is a flow chart of a registration process of the invention FIG 6 is a flow chart of a user support information update process of the invention FIG 7 is a flow chart of an online purchase order process of the invention and FIG 8 is a diagram of a system according to the present invention DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION While the principles and embodiments of the present invention will be described in connection with marking apparatus such as electrostatographic and xerographic repro duction machines and their associated peripherals it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to that embodiment or to that application Therefore it should be understood that the principles of the present invention and embodiments extend to all alternatives modifications and equivalents thereof In FIG 2 a computer 30 is connected to a modem 34 to convert computer binary inf
17. n 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 con figuration and date of the registered product being stored on the registration server At the end of online registration process S a file of additional information directed to the registered machine 10 is downloaded from the server S13 The downloaded infor mation 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 US 6 798 997 B1 5 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 information at any time 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 aut
18. ng derivative therefrom and xxx is the peripheral condition 1 magenta ink level low code or something derivative therefrom The browser accesses a web page on the manufacturer 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 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 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 unlikely that all possible conditions will be economically US 6 798 997 B1 7 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
19. nicate information relating to an identified condition to an address defined by the identified condition the sensor and software system adapted to automatically electronically offer to purchase a replacement for the cartridge including an electronic signature to authenti cate the offer upon identification of a threshold identi fied condition in the cartridge to at least one of an electronic address and a URL address defined by a condition of the cartridge for a replacement of the cartridge 21 An electrostatographic apparatus comprising a photoreceptor adapted to be replaceable in an electros tatographic apparatus at least one sensor in communication with the photore ceptor at least one processor and software logic system for identifying a condition in the photoreceptor and at least one 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 adapted to communicate with the photoreceptor and automatically electronically communicate an electronic US 6 798 997 B1 13 offer to purchase to a URL address defined by an occurrence of a threshold condition of wear in the photoreceptor for replacement of the photoreceptor 22 The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the at least one communications link is wireless 23 An apparatus comprising at least one consumable
20. nted 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 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 con tracts 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 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 Turning now to FIG 8 is a system for automatic electronic ordering of a consumable component 11 for a marking ap
21. omatic 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 For example a particular condition may be determined 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 consumable 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 condition 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 Status 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
22. ormation to analog telephone 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 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 1 6 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 net 36 in FIG 2 Other communicat
23. p screens is provided FIG 4 depicts the work area ie status window of the status screen When the status inquiry button is clicked from 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 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 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 condition 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 For example the bottom of the status window may include three areas in the lower 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 diagno
24. paratus and a sensor and software system adapted to electronically sense a condition in the at least one replaceable part and to electronically communicate information relating to the condition to an address defined by the condition the sensor and software system including a indicia relat ing to at least one of 1 method of shipment 2 shipping address 3 phone number 4 address 5 method of payment 6 authorization code 7 credit card account number and 8 return electronic address for the at least one replaceable part and b logic to automatically initiate an offer to purchase wherein the imaging apparatus is adapted to automatically elec tronically communicate to a third party an offer to purchase and an electronic signature to at least one of an electronic address and URL address defined by the condition for a replacement part for the at least one replaceable part upon occurrence of the defined condi tion 19 The imaging apparatus of claim 18 wherein the at least one replaceable part is at least one of ink ink cartridge toner toner cartridge photoreceptor cartridge and print head 20 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 condition in the cartridge and to electronically com mu
25. paratus 8 Illustrated is an example of a system including a marking apparatus 8 and a remote output device 50 linked US 6 798 997 B1 9 together by a communication system The marking appara tus 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 communications 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 operate via a hard wired connection or a wireless system The information may be in machine readable format or human readable format The marking apparatus 8 may include an Internet browser for communication Amodem 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
26. quiry relating to the consumable component 11 or 4 a purchase order of the consumable component 11 The marking appa ratus 8 may predict a future condition of the consumable component 11 prior to sending a signal The marking appa ratus 8 may be programmed to communicate an offer to purchase a consumable component 11 and receive an accep tance of an offer to purchase a consumable component 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 10 15 20 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 10 The system advantageously automates ordering of con sumable supplies and replaceable parts for a marking appa ratus 8 analog or digital An order may be initiated 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
27. r 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 522 may proceed to steps 523 526 anyway to download the latest update on the user help information 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 instal lation 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 15 isolated the Buy Now button appears and a replacement part may be ordered immediately or automatically as discussed below The user may use the Show Me button to see how to replace the part when the part arrives When a user clicks on the Buy Now button either from FIG 4 or from a maintenance screen the application program enters p
28. rd party for a replacement of the at least one con sumable component to at least one of an electronic address and a URL address defined by a condition of the at least one consumable component for a replace ment 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 1 further comprising an output device adapted to communicate with the at least one com munication link and receive a communication relating to at least one of a present condition and a prediction of a future condition of the at least one consumable component for use by at least one of a user supplier manufacturer and third party 4 The apparatus of claim 3 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 xerographic device
29. 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 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 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 indicia includes at least one of a method of shipment shipping address phone number address method of payment authorization code and credi
30. sonal 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 step S36 and is e mailed a purchase or confirmation and receives the part the next day depending on shipment instructions 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 consum able has reached a threshold in time to reorder before the consumable is completely exhausted In an alternative embodiment the application module 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 pri
31. stics 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 It should be appreciated that the screens depicted in FIG 3 and 4 are representative screen embodiments and are not meant to limit the invention defined by the claims 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 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 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 www manufacturer com product xxx where product is the peripheral indicia or somethi
32. t 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 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 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 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 contem US 6 798 997 131 3 plated of carrying out the invention As will be realized the invention is capable of other and different embodiments and its several details are capable of modification in various obvious respects a
33. ter 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 Various monitoring systems and machines are disclosed 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 All documents cited herein including the foregoing are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a system for automati cally ordering consumable supplies for a marking apparatus In accordance with one aspect of the present invention 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 sensor and the processor and software logic system The sensor processor and software logic system and the communications link interrogate the one consumable component
34. ternet 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 registra tion Tuming 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 retailer distributor or company direct sales site depending on the location of the user U S or foreign and regional location within a certain country Registering the machine 10 step 512 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 informatio
35. urchase order sequence 3 FIG 7 In FIG 7 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 5525 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 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 Altematively when the user has filled out the purchase order screen at 536 the application launches an e mail module to send the purchase order data to the manufacturer s server 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 respon sive e mail Alternatively the user per
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