Methods and apparatus for managing pre-paid printing system accounts
First Claim
Patent Images
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 for which the corresponding customer has previously paid, andcurrent 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;
upon a request from a customer of a specified account via a portal, using a computer processor, adding credits to the specified account at a current rate and adding a number corresponding to a paid amount of new credits to the available credits value for the specified account if customer payment is verified;
upon a request from the customer of the specified account via the portal, using the computer processor, applying 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; and
upon a request from a customer of a specified account via a portal, converting a number of print units previously applied to a first specified document processing device associated with the specified account into a number of account credits available to the specified account 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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Abstract
Methods and systems are presented for managing document processing device usage in which a customer accesses a management system to buy and pay for account credits, and to apply print units to specific managed device by conversion of account credits based on current pricing information for the specified account and the particular device at the time of the request.
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Citations
33 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 for which the corresponding customer has previously paid, and 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; upon a request from a customer of a specified account via a portal, using a computer processor, adding credits to the specified account at a current rate and adding a number corresponding to a paid amount of new credits to the available credits value for the specified account if customer payment is verified; upon a request from the customer of the specified account via the portal, using the computer processor, applying 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; and upon a request from a customer of a specified account via a portal, converting a number of print units previously applied to a first specified document processing device associated with the specified account into a number of account credits available to the specified account according to the specified document processing device and the current pricing information for the specified account at the time of the request. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A non-transitory computer readable medium with computer executable instructions 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 computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions for:
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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 for which the corresponding customer has previously paid, and 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, upon a request from a customer of a specified account via a portal, adding credits to the specified account at a current rate and adding a number corresponding to a paid amount of new credits to the available credits value for the specified account if customer payment is verified; upon a request from the customer of the specified account via the portal, applying 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; and upon a request from a customer of a specified account via a portal, converting a number of print units previously applied to a first specified document processing device associated with the specified account into a number of account credits available to the specified account according to the specified document processing device and the current pricing information for the specified account at the time of the request. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. 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 for which the corresponding customer has previously paid, and 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; and an account management component operatively coupled with the data store and the server 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; 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; wherein the account management component is operative upon a request from a customer of a specified account via the portal, to convert a number of print units previously applied to a first specified document processing device associated with the specified account into a number of account credits available to the specified account according to the specified document processing device and the current pricing information for the specified account at the time of the request. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification