METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING CREDIT CARD USAGE IN PRE-PAID PRINTING SYSTEM ACCOUNTS
First Claim
1. A method for managing prepaid usage of at least one document processing device configured to allow customer initiated operation based on available print units applied to the device, the method comprising:
- storing account information in a data store for a plurality of accounts, the individual accounts being associated with a corresponding customer, the account information for individual accounts comprising;
an available credits value indicating an amount of account credits currently available to the account,current pricing information including at least one conversion factor for converting account credits available to the account to print units for specific document processing devices registered to the account,automated buy information including an automatic buy amount of account credits authorized by a customer to be purchased automatically, andautomated apply information including an automatic apply amount of print units to be automatically applied to a specified document processing device registered to the account;
using a computer processor at a first predetermined time, automatically adding a number of credits corresponding to the automatic buy amount in the automated buy information to a given account at a current rate and adding a corresponding number of credits to the available credits value for the given account; and
using the computer processor at a second predetermined time, automatically applying a number of print units corresponding to the automatic apply amount in the automated apply information to a document processing device specified in the automated apply information by converting a number of credits currently available to the account to which the device is registered into a number of print units according to the specified document processing device and the current pricing information for the specified account at the second predetermined time.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems are presented for managing prepaid usage of document processing devices, in which an account manager system (104) automatically purchases prepaid account credits for customer accounts and applies print units to document processing devices registered to customer accounts periodically and according to preset top off thresholds (123, 128) subject to predefined limits (124, 129), and in which customer computer agents (360) allow just in time printing using devices with job-based application of print units to selected devices.
105 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for managing prepaid usage of at least one document processing device configured to allow customer initiated operation based on available print units applied to the device, the method comprising:
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storing account information in a data store for a plurality of accounts, the individual accounts being associated with a corresponding customer, the account information for individual accounts comprising; an available credits value indicating an amount of account credits currently available to the account, current pricing information including at least one conversion factor for converting account credits available to the account to print units for specific document processing devices registered to the account, automated buy information including an automatic buy amount of account credits authorized by a customer to be purchased automatically, and automated apply information including an automatic apply amount of print units to be automatically applied to a specified document processing device registered to the account; using a computer processor at a first predetermined time, automatically adding a number of credits corresponding to the automatic buy amount in the automated buy information to a given account at a current rate and adding a corresponding number of credits to the available credits value for the given account; and using the computer processor at a second predetermined time, automatically applying a number of print units corresponding to the automatic apply amount in the automated apply information to a document processing device specified in the automated apply information by converting a number of credits currently available to the account to which the device is registered into a number of print units according to the specified document processing device and the current pricing information for the specified account at the second predetermined time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An account manager system for managing prepaid usage of at least one document processing device configured to allow customer initiated operation based on available print units applied to the device, the system comprising:
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a server operatively coupled with a network to communicate and exchange data with one or more customer networks; a data store operatively coupled with the server to store account information for a plurality of accounts, the individual accounts being associated with a corresponding customer, the account information for individual accounts comprising; an available credits value indicating an amount of account credits currently available to the account, current pricing information including at least one conversion factor for converting account credits available to the account to print units for specific document processing devices registered to the account, automated buy information including an automatic buy amount of account credits authorized by a customer to be purchased automatically, and automated apply information including an automatic apply amount of print units to be automatically applied to a specified document processing device registered to the account; an account management component operatively coupled with the data store and the server to automatically add a number of credits corresponding to the automatic buy amount in the automated buy information to a given account at a current rate and adding a corresponding number of credits to the available credits value for the given account; the account management component being further operative to automatically apply a number of print units corresponding to the automatic apply amount in the automated apply information to a document processing device specified in the automated apply information by converting a number of credits currently available to the account to which the device is registered into a number of print units according to the specified document processing device and the current pricing information for the specified account at the second predetermined time; the account management component being further operative to add, upon a request from a customer of a specified account via a portal, credits to the specified account at a current rate and to add a number corresponding to a paid amount of new credits to the available credits value for the specified account if customer payment is verified; and the account management component being further operative upon a request from the customer of the specified account via the portal, to apply print units to a specified document processing device associated with the specified account by converting a number of credits currently available to the specified account into a number of print units according to the specified document processing device and the current pricing information for the specified account at the time of the request.
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23. A method for facilitating prepaid usage of at least one document processing device configured to allow customer initiated operation based on available print units applied to the device, the method comprising:
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using a computer processor of a user computer coupled with a network, submitting a document processing job to a document processing device operatively coupled with the network; using the computer processor, receiving a job cost value in terms of print units from the document processing device; using the computer processor, sending an authorization request including the job cost to an account manager system via the network and a portal; and using the computer processor, forwarding an authorization message from the account manager system to the document processing device to apply a number of print units to the device corresponding to the job cost value and to authorize the device to perform the document processing job.
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Specification