Supply ordering apparatus
Contents
1. 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 7 013 092 B2 7 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 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 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 fil2. 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 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 registra tion 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 o
3. 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 S23 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 something derivative therefrom and is the peripheral condition i e 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
4. 45 50 55 60 65 10 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 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 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 alterna tives 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 adated to be
5. 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 inquiry 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 consumable component 11 to a specified location The marking apparatus 8 may include identified indicia relating 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
6. least one of 1 supply 2 wear 3 usage 4 rate of depletion 5 rate of wear 6 predicted date of depletion of supply 7 predicted date of need of consumable component 6 delivery 12 schedule of consumable component and 8 statistical data for consumable component and 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 consumable component for use by at least one of a user supplier manufacturer and third party wherein the electronic offer to purchase is in at least one of a human readable and computer readable format 5 The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the at least one consumable component is at least one of an ink cartridge toner cartridge photoreceptor cartridge paper and print head 6 The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the apparatus is adapted to request delivery of the at least one consumable part to a specified location 7 The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the communication link is at least one of hardwired and wireless 8 The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the communication of the offer is made through at least one of a modem Internet and a processor
7. of the present inven tion 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 inven tion 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 In accordance with another aspect of the present inven tion 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
8. of the registered product After the initial registration user support information e g US 7 013 092 B2 5 frequently asked questions may be sent to the user as support information continues to evolve throughout the product s life cycle 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 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 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
9. 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 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 It should 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 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
10. 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 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 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 Furtherm
11. ordering system for replacement consumable components in imaging and mark ing apparatus 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 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 Various monitoring systems and machines are disclosed in US 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 refer
12. 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 appli cation 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 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 effi ciency 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 suc cession 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 hom
13. 4 pages 6 264 301 B1 7 2001 Helterline et al 347 19 e 4 m 6 271 928 B1 8 2001 Bullock et al 358 1 1 Pub 186 Digital Signature Standard DSS U S 6 289 371 B1 9 2001 Kumpf et al lt 709 203 Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards 6 295 423 B1 9 2001 Haines et al 399 24 and Technology May 19 1994 18 pages 6 302 527 B1 10 2001 Walker 347 50 Linking the worlds of print and electronic media 6 312 106 B1 11 2001 Walker 347 50 PN102059 01 Sep 11 1998 6 333 790 B1 12 2001 Kageyama 5 Decision on Appeal Appeal No 2004 0212 U S Appl No 6 629 134 B1 9 2003 Hayward et al 399 24 X 09 397 126 6 798 997 B1 9 2004 Hayward et al 399 24 X 2001 0019343 A1 9 2001 Walker et al 347 9 cited by examiner U S Patent Mar 14 2006 Sheet 1 of 7 US 7 013 092 B2 FIG 1 Prior Art 10 12 ee E 6 14 U S Patent Mar 14 2006 Sheet 2 of 7 ga TUTTI 0 it 10 E 0 FIG 2 US 7 013 092 B2 Sheet 3 of 7 Mar 14 2006 U S Patent Old O jaino wisn O sanddns Yado O dl3H 3NIT NO O SONILLIS W31sAS O 3WVYN JOIAS AAINONI YOLVDIANI SNLVLS J114 US 7 013 092 B2 Sheet 4 of 7 Mar 14 2006 U S Patent 9l JONVN3INIVW ONILLIS SAS AW MOHS 32v1d33
14. 5 28 OUTPUT DEVICE 5 445 295 A 8 995 Brown 221 3 5 572292 A 11 1996 Chatani et al 399 25 5 636 032 A 6 1997 Springett 358 296 5 794 004 A 8 1998 Boockholdt et al 399 27 5 799 157 A 8 1998 Escallon 705 27 5 802 420 A 9 1998 Garr et 399 27 5 809 375 A 9 1998 Owens Jr et al 399 111 5 828 864 A 10 1998 Danknick et al 703 24 5 835 817 A 11 1998 Bullock et al 399 25 5 896 497 A 4 1999 Halstead 713 200 5 901 286 A 5 1999 Danknick et al 709 203 5 999 761 A 12 1999 Binder et al 399 49 6 000 773 A 12 1999 Murray et al 347 7 6 003 078 A 12 1999 Kodimer et al 709 224 6 016 409 A 1 2000 Beard et al 399 33 Continued FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS EP 838 768 A2 4 1998 Continued OTHER PUBLICATIONS Disk Drive With Embedded Hyper Text Markup Language Server IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin IBM Corp New York U S vol 38 No 12 Dec 1 1995 p 479 Continued Primary Examiner Sophia S Chen 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Andrew D Ryan 57 ABSTRACT An automatic supply ordering system for electronically ordering a consumable component or replaceable part in a marking machine The system provides electronic identifi cation of a condition of a replaceable component and automatically
15. MON Ang 333330 HATDINI VINJOWW MOGNIM 1 1 U S Patent 14 2006 Sheet 5 of 7 US 7 013 092 B2 i PERIPHERAL FIG 5 13 L2 DOWN LOAD PERIPHERAL INFORMATION 21 2 SENSE PERIPHERAL CONDITION 22 INFORMATION IN MEMORY 23 LAUNCH BROWSER STORE INFORMATION IN MEMORY RETRIEVE INFORMATION FROM MEMORY DISPLAY INFORMATION 524 525 526 U S Patent 14 2006 Sheet6 of 7 US 7 013 092 B2 SENSE PERIPHERAL 53 INDICIA x SENSE PERIPHERAL CONDITION LAUNCH BROWSER DISPLAY PURCHASE COMPLETE PERSONAL DATA SEND PURCHASE FIG 7 US 7 013 092 B2 14 2006 U S Patent 8 Old 9t DIA INdLNO 310038 0s 101540 104110 IZ 9 W31SAS 21901 ONY JIVMIJOS YOSSIIONd 1N3NOdW0 JI8vVWfISNO US 7 013 092 B2 1 SUPPLY ORDERING APPARATUS CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is a voluntary divisional of U S application Ser No 09 662 198 now U S Pat No 6 798 997 filed Sep 14 2000 which is a continuation in part of U S application Ser No 09 397 126 filed Sep 16 1999 now abandoned Reference is also made to continuation in part applica tion Ser No 09 662 284 entitled METHOD FOR SUP PLY ORDERING The above applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an intelligent
16. 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 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 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 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 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
17. a United States Patent Hayward et al US007013092B2 10 Patent No 45 Date of Patent US 7 013 092 B2 Mar 14 2006 54 75 73 21 Q2 65 60 51 52 G8 56 4 496 237 A SUPPLY ORDERING APPARATUS Inventors Ken Hayward Brockport NY US Marc J Krolezyk Rochester NY US Dawn M Marchionda Marion NY US Assignee Xerox Corporation Stamford CT US Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 124 days Appl No 10 736 269 Filed Dec 15 2003 Prior Publication Data US 2005 0074246 A1 Apr 7 2005 Related U S Application Data Division of application No 09 662 198 filed on Sep 14 2000 now Pat No 6 798 997 which is a con tinuation in part of application No 09 397 126 filed on Sep 16 1999 now abandoned Int CI G03G 15 00 2006 01 US Gl etes 399 24 399 8 399 27 705 27 709 224 Field of Classification Search 399 24 399 25 26 28 29 30 See application file for complete search history References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 1 1985 Schron 399 81 4 961 088 A 10 1990 Gilliland et al z 399 25 5 016 171 A 5 1991 Connolly et al ees 714 1 5 281 999 A 1 1994 Edmunds 399 119 5 283 613 A 2 1994 Midgley Sr 399 9 5 305 199 A 4 1994 LoBiondo et al 70
18. a purchase order defined by the condition In accordance with another aspect of the present inven tion 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 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 In accordance with another aspect of the present inven tion there is provided a cartridge for use in an electros tatographic apparatus The cartridge includes a housing and a sensor and software system including programmed logic functions The sensor and software system is associated with the housing The sensor and software system electronically identifies a present or future condition in the cart
19. ble component for use by at feast one of a user supplier manufacturer and third party 2 The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus is adapted to electronically initiate and form a contract with a supplier for purchase of a consumable component using an electronic signature 3 The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus is at least one of a copy device printing device xerographic device and marking device US 7 013 092 B2 11 4 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 adapted to identify 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 electroni cally wireless communicate an authorization code and an electronic offer to purchase a replacement of the at least one consumable component wherein the at least one processor and software logic system includes 10 15 instructions for occurrence of threshold conditions 20 relating to the consumable component the threshold conditions including at
20. e 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 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 S23 S26 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 configura
21. e 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 setup screens is provided FIG 4 depicts the work area 1 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 10 15 20 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 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
22. electronically sends an offer to purchase a replacement part upon identification of a threshold condi tion 8 Claims 7 Drawing Sheets REMOTE OUTPUT DEVICE US 7 013 092 B2 Page 2 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 6 018 719 A 1 2000 Rogers et al 705 24 EP 0 843 229 A2 5 1998 6 023 593 A 2 2000 Tomidokoro 399 8 WO WO 99 06910 2 1999 6 045 206 A 4 2000 Igval 347 2 WO WO 99 17210 4 1999 6 065 824 A 5 2000 Bullock et al we 347 19 6 106 088 A 8 2000 Wafler 347 7 OTHER PUBLICATIONS 113208 A 92000 Benjamin el al 347 7 M2 PRESSWIRE Lexmark extends powerful printerman 6 141 507 A 10 2000 Sawada 399 8 agement capabilities to printers from all major brands Sep 6 158 837 A 12 2000 Hilton et al 34719 30 1998 M2 Communications Ltd World reporter 6 170 007 B1 1 2001 Venkatraman et al 709 218 U S Appl No 09 662 284 filed Sep 14 2000 6 177 948 B1 1 2001 Estabrooks et al 347 29 EPO Search Report mailed May 6 2002 for Application No 6 204 763 B1 3 2001 SONG ees 340 568 1 00307969 6 1238 4 pages 6 209 048 3 2001 Wolff 710 62 Digital Signature Standard DSS U S Department of Com 6 233 408 B1 5 2001 Allen Aarets titer E 399 8 merce National Institute of Standards and Technology Jan 6 233 409 B1 5 2001 Haines et al 399 10 27 2000 7
23. ence 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 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 10 15 20 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 In accordance with another aspect of the present inven tion there is provided an imaging apparatus system includ ing a consumable part sensor processor communications system and an output device The system identifies and electronically communicates a condition of the consumable part The output device electronically communicates the condition of the consumable part to a user supplier or third party In accordance with another aspect
24. f manufacture serial num bers and configuration information In addition the indicia of machine 10 may include information such as the geo graphic 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 distribu tor 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 12 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 con figuration and date of the registered product being stored on the registration server At the end of online registration process S1 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
25. h 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 communicate such infor mation 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 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 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
26. nline 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 information 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
27. ore 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 US 7 013 092 B2 9 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 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 proces sor 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 configuration which com municates wit
28. ptions 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 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 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 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
29. replace able in the apparatus at least one sensor in communication with the consumable component at least one processor and software logic system adapted to identity a condition in the at least one consumable component and at least one wireless communication 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 lagic system are adapted 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 wherein the at least one processor and software logic system includes instructions for occurrence of threshold conditions relating to the consumable component the threshold conditions including at least one of 1 supply 2 wear 3 usage 4 rate of depletion 5 rate of wear 6 predicted date of depletion of supply 7 predicted date of need of consumable component 8 delivery schedule of consumable component and 9 statistical data for consumable component and 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 consuma
30. ridge 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 US 7 013 092 B2 3 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 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 all 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 o
31. tion 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 pro gram enters purchase 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 SU 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 manufac turer s server 40 based on the peripheral indicia and the detected peripheral condition The purchase order screen is 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 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 o
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