Method and system for printer suggested upgrades
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of suggesting printer upgrades based upon actual usage, comprising:
- conveying a print job to a printer said printer including at least one functional characteristic, said print job requiring the utilization of said at least one functional characteristic;
assigning a numerical value to the degree of utilization of said at least one functional characteristic;
maintaining said numerical value in a memory of said printer;
accessing information on a selection of upgrades available for said printer;
comparing said information to said numerical value to select a preferred upgrade using inputs of said individual numerical values into a logic protocol to arrive at an output value; and
suggesting said preferred upgrade to a user of said printer for installation on said printer based upon said output value.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
System and methods for printer suggested upgrades using fuzzy logic analysis. A printer tracks printer usage relative to the features of the printer and the type of print jobs performed. Using a fuzzy logic protocol, the printer then selects among possible upgrades to select an appropriate upgrade based upon the tracked usage. A message is then generated sent to a network administrator, or other user, suggesting the selected upgrade.
13 Citations
21 Claims
-
1. A method of suggesting printer upgrades based upon actual usage, comprising:
-
conveying a print job to a printer said printer including at least one functional characteristic, said print job requiring the utilization of said at least one functional characteristic;
assigning a numerical value to the degree of utilization of said at least one functional characteristic;
maintaining said numerical value in a memory of said printer;
accessing information on a selection of upgrades available for said printer;
comparing said information to said numerical value to select a preferred upgrade using inputs of said individual numerical values into a logic protocol to arrive at an output value; and
suggesting said preferred upgrade to a user of said printer for installation on said printer based upon said output value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A method of tracking printer use to suggest an appropriate upgrade, comprising:
-
tracking usage of functional characteristics of a printer in a computer memory;
assigning fuzzy value scores to said usage of each of said functional characteristics of the printer using a logic protocol for such usage of said functional characteristics for an output value;
accessing information on a selection of available upgrades for maintenance of said printer, said information containing individual selection scores for each of said selection of available upgrades for said printer based upon the usage of the functional characteristics of the printer;
comparing said fuzzy value scores having an output value to said selection scores to select a preferred upgrade available for the printer; and
suggesting said preferred upgrade to a user of said printer based on said output value. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. A system for providing user responsive printer maintenance, comprising:
-
a printer including a memory;
a usage record stored within said memory, said usage record including a history of a utilization of functional characteristics of said printer;
a selection database stored within said memory, said selection database containing information on a number of upgrades for improving the functions of said printer;
a microprocessor located within said printer, said microprocessor capable of following a set of instructions to select a preferred upgrade by analyzing said usage record using a fuzzy logic protocol for forming an output value using said fuzzy logic protocol and comparing said analysis to said selection database for selecting an upgrade based upon said output value. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
-
Specification