JOB EXECUTION APPARATUS, BILLING AND REFUNDING METHOD THEREOF AND RECORDING MEDIUM

• US 20090313154A1
• Filed: 04/30/2009
• Published: 12/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: TSUBOI, Tomo, KAMEI, Nobuo, TAKEUCHI, Yasuji, OKAMOTO, Tomoyuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,600,258 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/34
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 21/02 Counting the number of copies; Billing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/26 for printing, stamping, franking, typing or teleprinting apparatus ticket printing or the like apparatus G07F17/42

Abstract

A job execution apparatus having the function of billing and refunding by electronic money, determines before job execution, an amount of money required for job execution, and bills before job execution, the determined amount of money to a payment medium having the payment function, which is set to a billing apparatus. And the job execution apparatus can transfer a refund to the payment medium set to the billing apparatus if a refund needs to be transferred. The job execution apparatus also can transfer a refund by a method other than the method of refunding to the payment medium by using the billing apparatus.

Claims

1. A job execution apparatus having the function of billing and refunding by electronic money, comprising:

a determination portion that determines before job execution, an amount of money required for job execution;

a billing apparatus that is capable of being set to a payment medium having the payment function, and billing before job execution the determined amount of money to the payment medium set thereto, and then transferring a refund to the payment medium set thereto if an amount of money practically used for job execution is smaller than the determined amount of money; and

a refunding portion that is capable of transferring a refund by a method other than the method of refunding to the payment medium by using the billing apparatus.

2. The job execution apparatus recited in claim 1, wherein the determination portion determines an amount of money required for job execution, according to a calculation result or a user instruction.

3. The job execution apparatus recited in claim 1, wherein the refunding portion transfers a refund to a receiving account if the receiving account has the communication function, or alternatively, transfers a refund to an administration server that administers refunding operations if the receiving account does not have the communication function.

4. The job execution apparatus recited in claim 3, wherein a user is allowed to select a preferable method to receive a refund.

5. The job execution apparatus recited in claim 1, wherein the billing apparatus transfers a refund to the payment medium if the payment medium is set to the billing apparatus within a predetermined period of time after job execution, or alternatively, the refunding portion transfers a refund if the payment medium is not set to the billing apparatus within a predetermined period of time after job execution.

6. The job execution apparatus recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a storage that stores in itself, refund information including a refund amount that is

related to identification information uniquely given to the payment medium.

7. The job execution apparatus recited in claim 6, wherein:

a copy job or a print job is executed, and further comprising;

a calculator that subtracts an amount of money used for one sheet from the refund amount included in the refund information, every time one sheet is fed, and adds an amount of money used for some sheets to the refund amount included in the refund information, if the sheets are not normally discharged.

8. The job execution apparatus recited in claim 6, further comprising:

a comparator that compares the amount of money supposed to be billed to the payment medium set to the billing apparatus and the refund amount that is included in the refund information and related to the identification information uniquely given to the payment medium, before the billing apparatus bills to the payment medium; and

a controller that makes the billing apparatus to bill to the payment medium a difference between those amounts if the amount of money supposed to be billed for job execution is larger than the refund amount, makes the billing apparatus to refund to the payment medium a difference between those amounts if the amount of money supposed to be billed for job execution is smaller than the refund amount, or alternatively, makes the billing apparatus not to bill or refund to the payment medium if the amount of money supposed to be billed for job execution is equivalent to the refund amount, and then, after any of the events above, initializes the value of the refund amount included in the refund information, to zero.

9. A billing and refunding method implemented by a job execution apparatus having the function of billing and refunding by electronic money, comprising:

determining before job execution, an amount of money required for job execution;

billing before job execution, the determined amount of money to a payment medium having the payment function, which is set to a billing apparatus; and

transferring a refund by a method other than the method of refunding to the payment medium set to the billing apparatus, if an amount of money practically used for job execution is smaller than the determined amount of money.

10. A recording medium having a billing and refunding program recorded therein to make a computer of a job execution apparatus having the function of billing and refunding by electronic money, execute:

determining before job execution, an amount of money required for job execution;

billing before job execution, the determined amount of money to a payment medium having the payment function, which is set to a billing apparatus; and

transferring a refund by a method other than the method of refunding to the payment medium set to the billing apparatus, if an amount of money practically used for job execution is smaller than the determined amount of money.