COMMUNICATION APPARATUS, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM

• US 20150268906A1
• Filed: 03/06/2015
• Published: 09/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: KAMIYA, Satoshi, ANDO, Hiromoto, OHARA, Chie, UEZU, Yoshimi
• Application Number:
  US14/640,843
• Publication Number:
  US 20150268906A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00832 Recording use, e.g. counting number of pages copied
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/344 Accounting or charging based on type of function or service used, e.g. copying, faxing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/346 Accounting or charging based on a number representative of the service used, e.g. number of operations or copies produced
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception

Abstract

A communication apparatus includes a communication unit, a first storage unit, a second storage unit, and a permitting unit. The communication unit communicates with a communication line for which a charge amount is changed in accordance with use of the communication line. The first storage unit stores operation information about an operational condition of the communication apparatus. The second storage unit stores charge information about the charge amount according to the use of the communication line. The permitting unit permits the communication unit to transmit the operation information, on the basis of a result obtained by comparing the charge information with predetermined charge limit information.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus comprising:

a communication unit that communicates with a communication line for which a charge amount is changed in accordance with use of the communication line;

a first storage unit that stores operation information about an operational condition of the communication apparatus;

a second storage unit that stores charge information about the charge amount according to the use of the communication line; and

a permitting unit that permits the communication unit to transmit the operation information on a basis of a result obtained by comparing the charge information with predetermined charge limit information.

16. An image forming apparatus comprising:

the communication apparatus according to claim 1; and

an image forming section that forms an image on a medium,

wherein the operation information includes information about an operational condition of the image forming section.

2. A communication apparatus comprising:

a communication unit that communicates with a communication line for which a charge amount is changed in accordance with use of the communication line;

a first storage unit that stores operation information about an operational condition of the communication apparatus;

a second storage unit that stores charge information about the charge amount according to the use of the communication line;

a receiving unit that determines reception of a permission signal from the communication unit; and

a permitting unit that, in the case where the charge information exceeds a predetermined charge limit, after the permission signal is received, permits the communication unit to transmit the operation information.

3. A communication apparatus comprising:

a first storage unit that stores operation information about an operational condition of the communication apparatus;

a second storage unit that stores schedule information indicating a schedule for transmitting the operation information, an upper-limit traffic volume indicating an upper limit of traffic volume available in a predetermined unit period, and a cumulative traffic volume used from a start date and time of the unit period to a current date and time;

a first transmitting unit that transmits the operation information to a management apparatus according to the schedule indicated by the schedule information;

a first adding unit that adds a traffic volume used by the first transmitting unit, to the cumulative traffic volume;

a specifying unit that, when an instruction is supplied to transmit the operation information at a timing different from the schedule indicated by the schedule information, specifies a traffic volume to be used in the transmission;

a calculating unit that calculates a scheduled traffic volume scheduled to be used in the case where the operation information is transmitted in a period from the current date and time to an end date and time of the unit period according to the schedule indicated by the schedule information;

a second transmitting unit that, when a subtraction result obtained by subtracting the cumulative traffic volume and the scheduled traffic volume from the upper-limit traffic volume is equal to or more than the specified traffic volume, transmits the operation information whose transmission is specified in the instruction, to the management apparatus; and

a second adding unit that adds a traffic volume used by the second transmitting unit to the cumulative traffic volume.

4. The communication apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein, when a period from a latest timing at which the operation information was transmitted by the second transmitting unit to a transmission timing according to the schedule indicated by the schedule information is equal to or less than a predetermined period, the first transmitting unit does not transmit the operation information at the transmission timing.

5. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising:

an instructing unit that, when the subtraction result is less than the specified traffic volume, instructs the first transmitting unit to stop transmission of the operation information at one or more timings according to the schedule,

wherein, when the subtraction result is less than the specified traffic volume, the second transmitting unit transmits the operation information whose transmission is specified in the instruction, to the management apparatus.

6. The communication apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:

an instructing unit that, when the subtraction result is less than the specified traffic volume, instructs the first transmitting unit to stop transmission of the operation information at one or more timings according to the schedule,

wherein, when the subtraction result is less than the specified traffic volume, the second transmitting unit transmits the operation information whose transmission is specified in the instruction, to the management apparatus.

7. The communication apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the instructing unit specifies the number of transmissions to be stopped on a basis of the specified traffic volume, and instructs the first transmitting unit to stop transmissions of the operation information, the number of which is equal to the specified number.

8. The communication apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein the instructing unit specifies the number of transmissions to be stopped on a basis of the specified traffic volume, and instructs the first transmitting unit to stop transmissions of the operation information, the number of which is equal to the specified number.

9. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising:

a notifying unit, when the subtraction result is less than the specified traffic volume, notifies a user of a message that the transmission of the operation information is to incur an additional charge, the transmission of the operation information being specified in the instruction.

10. The communication apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:

a notifying unit, when the subtraction result is less than the specified traffic volume, notifies a user of a message that the transmission of the operation information is to incur an additional charge, the transmission of the operation information being specified in the instruction.

11. The communication apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a notifying unit, when the subtraction result is less than the specified traffic volume, notifies a user of a message that the transmission of the operation information is to incur an additional charge, the transmission of the operation information being specified in the instruction.

12. The communication apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

a notifying unit, when the subtraction result is less than the specified traffic volume, notifies a user of a message that the transmission of the operation information is to incur an additional charge, the transmission of the operation information being specified in the instruction.

13. The communication apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

a notifying unit, when the subtraction result is less than the specified traffic volume, notifies a user of a message that the transmission of the operation information is to incur an additional charge, the transmission of the operation information being specified in the instruction.

14. The communication apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

a notifying unit, when the subtraction result is less than the specified traffic volume, notifies a user of a message that the transmission of the operation information is to incur an additional charge, the transmission of the operation information being specified in the instruction.

15. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising:

a third transmitting unit that, when the subtraction result is less than the specified traffic volume, transmits information to the management apparatus, the information indicating that the transmission of the operation information is to incur an additional charge, the transmission of the operation information being specified in the instruction.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a process, the computer including a first storage unit and a second storage unit, the first storage unit storing operation information about an operational condition of a communication apparatus, the second storage unit storing charge information about a charge amount according to use of a communication line, the process comprising:

communicating with the communication line for which the charge amount is changed in accordance with the use of the communication line;

permitting transmission of the operation information on a basis of a result obtained by comparing the charge information with predetermined charge limit information.