Programmable billing system
First Claim
1. A billing system for use in a copy machine comprising,a binary copy counter for generating different binary codes in response to a series of input pulses, each pulse representing a single copy made from the same copy run,an addressable memory programmed to generate a unique binary billing signal for each different code or group of codes from said copy counter, said billing signals operating as weighting factors representative of the relative cost of each of said copies,means for translating said billing signals into output pulse trains, the number of output pulses in said trains being proportional to the value of said billing signals, andcounting means for counting the total number of said output pulses generated whereby said total number may be multiplied by a unit billing factor to arrive at a billing charge for the copies made.
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Abstract
A programmable billing system for use in an automatic copying machine having wide flexibility in the automatic calculation of total bills using a single meter readout to count pulse trains weighted in proportion to the mode of operation of the machine and the billing rate per copy during operation in the selected mode. The system includes a copy counter for generating a unique binary code for each copy made from the same original. The output of the copy counter addresses a semiconductor memory device which is programmed to generate a set of unique binary billing rate signals for each different input or group of inputs from the copy counter during operation in a particular machine mode. The binary billing rate signals are programmed to be representative of the billing rate for the copy then being processed by the machine and are fed to a count down counter which generates a single pulse or a plurality of pulses or each copy, each pulse being representative of a single billing unit or rate. The total number of output pulses from the count down counter for a given copy is therefore a weighted output proportional to the relative cost of the given copy. An output pulse counter receives and counts the total number of output pulses generated by the count down counter and operates a billing meter. The total bill for operation of the copy machine may be calculated subsequently by simply multiplying the output meter reading by the known billing unit charge.
26 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A billing system for use in a copy machine comprising,
a binary copy counter for generating different binary codes in response to a series of input pulses, each pulse representing a single copy made from the same copy run, an addressable memory programmed to generate a unique binary billing signal for each different code or group of codes from said copy counter, said billing signals operating as weighting factors representative of the relative cost of each of said copies, means for translating said billing signals into output pulse trains, the number of output pulses in said trains being proportional to the value of said billing signals, and counting means for counting the total number of said output pulses generated whereby said total number may be multiplied by a unit billing factor to arrive at a billing charge for the copies made.
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8. A billing arrangement for a copy machine comprising,
means for generating a first train of pulses, each pulse representing a copy made from a single copy run, a first binary counter for generating a different binary output code for each pulse in said first train, a programmable memory, said memory addressable by said binary counter for generating a plurality of binary output billing codes for each output code from said first counter, each binary output code being representative of the billing rate for the copy corresponding thereto, and output means for generating output pulses for each billing code, the number of said output pulses being proportional to the value of said binary billing codes.
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11. A system for generating a weighted total by assigning weighting factors to different events in a series of recurring events comprising,
means for generating a first train of pulses, each pulse representing the occurrence of an event, a binary counter for generating a different binary output code in response to each pulse in said first train, a programmable memory, said memory addressable by said binary counter for generating a binary weighting code in response to each output code from said first counter, and output means coupled to said memory for generating second trains of output pulses, each of said second trains associated with a particular event, the number of pulses in each of said second trains being proportional to the value of said weighting factor corresponding to said event.
- 14. In a machine having a plurality of modes of operation, each mode operable to effect recurring events, apparatus for generating a weighted total of said events by assigning weighting factors to each event in a series of recurring events comprising, counting means for generating an output uniquely identifying each event in said series, weighting means for generating a plurality of sets of weighting factors in response to the output from said counting means, means for selecting one of said sets for application to a totalling means in response to the mode of operation of said machine, and totalling means for generating a total representative of the sum of said weighting factors.
Specification