Image forming devices and methods of assisting with maintenance of image forming device consumables

• US 20020171860A1
• Filed: 05/18/2001
• Published: 11/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Parry, Travis J., Christiansen, Robert D.
• Granted Patent: US 7,773,240 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.14
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5079 for maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/55 Self-diagnostics; Malfunction or lifetime display
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/553 Monitoring or warning means for exhaustion or lifetime end of consumables, e.g. indication of insufficient copy sheet quantity for a job
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing

Abstract

Image forming devices and methods of assisting with maintenance of image forming device consumables are described. According to one aspect, an image forming device includes: an image engine configured to utilize a consumable to form hard images; an interface adapted to communicate with a network comprising a plurality of network devices external of the image forming device; and processing circuitry coupled with the image engine and configured to forward a search request to the interface for communication to the network, to receive information regarding the consumable from the plurality of network devices via the interface responsive to the search request, to generate a message including information received from at least one of the network devices, and to control communication of the message.

Claims

1. An image forming device comprising:

an image engine configured to utilize a consumable to form hard images;

an interface adapted to communicate with a network comprising a plurality of network devices external of the image forming device; and

processing circuitry coupled with the image engine and configured to forward a search request to the interface for communication to the network, to receive information regarding the consumable from the plurality of network devices via the interface responsive to the search request, to generate a message including information received from at least one of the network devices, and to control communication of the message.

2. The image forming device in accordance with claim 1 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to select information received from one of the network devices, to disregard information received from another of the network devices, and to generate the message not including the disregarded information.

3. The image forming device in accordance with claim 2 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to compare the received information comprising price information for the consumable from the one network device and the another network device and to disregard the information from the another network device comprising price information greater than the price information received from the one network device.

4. The image forming device in accordance with claim 1 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to forward a search request to the network at a predetermined moment in time.

5. The image forming device in accordance with claim 1 further comprising a sensor coupled with the processing circuitry and configured to indicate a status of the consumable, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to forward the search request to the network responsive to the indicated status of the consumable.

6. The image forming device in accordance with claim 1 further comprising memory configured to store identifiers of the network devices, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to forward the search request to the network using the identifiers.

7. The image forming device in accordance with claim 1 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to forward the message to the image engine, and the image engine is configured to generate a hard image comprising the message.

8. The image forming device in accordance with claim 1 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to generate the message comprising an electronic message, and to forward the message to the interface for communication externally of the image forming device.

9. The image forming device in accordance with claim 1 wherein the image engine comprises a print engine configured to print hard images upon media.

10. The image forming device in accordance with claim 1 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive the information comprising price information and to generate the message identifying at least one of the network devices having the lowest price information.

11. The image forming device in accordance with claim 1 wherein the interface is configured to communicate with the network comprising the Internet, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured as an embedded web server configured to communicate with the Internet.

12. The image forming device in accordance with claim 1 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to generate the message including information received from a plurality of the network devices.

14. The method in accordance with claim 13 further comprising:

selecting information received from one of the network devices using the image forming device; and

disregarding information received from another of the network devices, and wherein the communicating the message comprises communicating the message not including the disregarded information.

15. The method in accordance with claim 13 wherein the receiving comprises receiving price information of the consumable, and the selecting and the disregarding comprise comparing the price information from the one network device with the price information from the another network device and disregarding the price information from the another network device greater than the price information from the one network device.

16. The method in accordance with claim 13 further comprising detecting a predetermined moment in time, and wherein the communicating the search request is responsive to the detecting.

17. The method in accordance with claim 13 further comprising receiving a status of the consumable, and wherein the communicating the search request is responsive to the receiving the status.

18. The method in accordance with claim 13 further comprising storing a plurality of identifiers of the network devices, and wherein the communicating the search request comprises communicating the search request to the network using the identifiers.

19. The method in accordance with claim 13 wherein the communicating the message comprises communicating the message as an electronic message externally of the image forming device.

20. The method in accordance with claim 13 wherein the communicating comprises printing the message upon media.

21. The method in accordance with claim 13 wherein the receiving comprises receiving price information, and the communicating the message comprises communicating the message identifying at least one the network devices having the lowest price information.

13. A method of assisting with maintenance of image forming device consumables comprising:

providing an image forming device configured to use a consumable to form a plurality of hard images;

communicating a search request regarding the consumable to a network including a plurality of network devices using the image forming device;

receiving information regarding the consumable within the image forming device from the network devices responsive to the communicating; and

communicating a message including information regarding the consumable received from at least one of the network devices, wherein the communicating comprises communicating using the image forming device.

22. A method of assisting with maintenance of image forming device consumables comprising:

providing a printer configured to use a consumable to print a plurality of hard images;

storing a plurality of identifiers within the printer;

formulating a search request regarding the consumable;

communicating the search request to a network including a plurality of network devices using the image forming device, the communicating the search request comprising using the identifiers;

receiving price information regarding the consumable within the image forming device from the network devices responsive to the communicating;

selecting information received from one of the network devices and disregarding information received from another of the network devices using the image forming device, the selecting and the disregarding comprise comparing the price information from the one network device with the price information from the another network device and disregarding the price information from the another network device greater than the price information from the one network device; and

communicating a message including the price information regarding the consumable received from the one network device and an identifier of the one network device having the lowest price information, and wherein the communicating the message comprises communicating the message not including the disregarded information.