Job execution apparatus, billing and refunding method thereof and recording medium

• US 8,600,258 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2009
• Issued: 12/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Kamei, Nobuo, Okamoto, Tomoyuki, Takeuchi, Yasuji, Tsuboi, Tomo
• Primary Examiner(s): Gart, Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): MAICHER, MICHAEL D
• Application Number:
  US12/433,453
• Publication Number:
  US 20090313154A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,678 Days
• Field of Search: 339/79, 339/34, 399/79, 399/34
• US Class Current: 399/79
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 21/02 Counting the number of copies; Billing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/26 for printing, stamping, franking, typing or teleprinting apparatus ticket printing or the like apparatus G07F17/42

Abstract

A job execution apparatus having the function of billing and refunding by electronic money, determines before job execution, an amount of money required for job execution, and bills before job execution, the determined amount of money to a payment medium having the payment function, which is set to a billing apparatus. And the job execution apparatus can transfer a refund to the payment medium set to the billing apparatus if a refund needs to be transferred. The job execution apparatus also can transfer a refund by a method other than the method of refunding to the payment medium by using the billing apparatus.

Claims

1. A job execution apparatus capable of accessing an electronic money management server configured to have a function to give a refund electronically, the job execution apparatus configured to have billing and refunding functions utilizing electronic money, comprising:

a determination portion that determines before job execution, an amount of money required for job execution;

a billing apparatus that is capable of detecting that a payment medium having a payment function has been set to the billing apparatus itself, billing before job execution the determined amount of money to the set payment medium, and performing a first refund function comprising transferring to the set payment medium a refund equal to an unused amount of money obtained by subtracting an amount of money actually used for job execution from the determined amount of money;

a refunding portion that is capable of performing a second refund function comprising transferring a request for the refund equal to the unused amount of money, to the electronic money management server;

a judgment portion that judges whether or not a predetermined period of time, only for which the billing apparatus is allowed to refund to the payment medium using the first refund function, has elapsed after job execution; and

a controller configured to;

make the billing apparatus transfer to the payment medium the refund equal to the unused amount of money using the first refund function, if the billing apparatus detects that the payment medium has been set to the billing apparatus itself before the judgment portion judges that the predetermined period of time has elapsed after job execution; and

make the refunding portion transfer to the electronic money management server the request for the refund equal to the unused amount of money using the second refund function, if the judgment portion judges that the predetermined period of time has elapsed after job execution before the billing apparatus detects that the payment medium has been set to the billing apparatus itself.

2. The job execution apparatus recited in claim 1, wherein the determination portion determines an amount of money required for job execution, according to a calculation result or a user instruction.

3. The job execution apparatus recited in claim 1, wherein the refunding portion transfers to the electronic money management server the request to the refund to the payment medium if the payment medium is configured to be in communication with the refunding portion.

4. The job execution apparatus recited in claim 3, wherein a user is allowed to select a preferable method to receive a refund.

5. The job execution apparatus recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a storage that stores in itself, refund information including a refund amount that is related to identification information uniquely given to the payment medium.

6. The job execution apparatus recited in claim 5, wherein:

a copy job or a print job is executed,

and further comprising;

a calculator that subtracts an amount of money used for one sheet from the refund amount included in the refund information, every time one sheet is fed, and adds an amount of money used for some sheets to the refund amount included in the refund information, if the sheets are not normally discharged.

7. The job execution apparatus recited in claim 5, further comprising:

a comparator that compares the amount of money supposed to be billed to the payment medium set to the billing apparatus and the refund amount that is included in the refund information and related to the identification information uniquely given to the payment medium, before the billing apparatus bills to the payment medium

wherein the controller makes the billing apparatus to bill to the payment medium a difference between those amounts if the amount of money supposed to be billed for job execution is larger than the refund amount;

the controller makes the billing apparatus to refund to the payment medium a difference between those amounts if the amount of money supposed to be billed for job execution is smaller than the refund amount;

the controller makes the billing apparatus neither bill nor refund to the payment medium if the amount of money supposed to be billed for job execution is equivalent to the refund amount, and then, after any of the events above, the controller initializes the value of the refund amount included in the refund information, to zero.

8. A billing and refunding method implemented by a job execution apparatus capable of accessing an electronic money management server configured to have a function to give a refund electronically, the job execution apparatus comprising a billing apparatus and being capable of billing and refunding to a payment medium having a payment function by electronic money with use of the billing apparatus, comprising:

determining before job execution, an amount of money required for job execution;

detecting that the payment medium has been set to the billing apparatus and billing before job execution, the determined amount of money to the payment medium set to the billing apparatus;

judging whether or not a predetermined period of time, only for which the billing apparatus is allowed to refund to the payment medium using the first refund function, has elapsed after job execution; and

transferring to the payment medium a refund equal to an unused amount of money obtained by subtracting an amount of money actually used for job execution from the determined amount of money, if the billing apparatus detects that the payment medium has been set to the billing apparatus itself before it is judged that the predetermined period of time has elapsed after job execution; and

transferring to the electronic money management server a request for the refund equal to the unused amount of money, if it is judged that the predetermined period of time has elapsed after job execution before the billing apparatus detects that the payment medium has been set to the billing apparatus.

9. A non-transitory recording medium having a billing and refunding program recorded therein to make a computer of a job execution apparatus capable of accessing an electronic money management server configured to have a function to give a refund electronically, the job execution apparatus comprising a billing apparatus and being capable of billing and refunding to a payment medium having a payment function by electronic money with use of the billing apparatus, execute:

determining before job execution, an amount of money required for job execution;

detecting that the payment medium has been set to the billing apparatus and billing before job execution, the determined amount of money to the payment medium set to the billing apparatus;

judging whether or not a predetermined period of time, only for which the billing apparatus is allowed to refund to the payment medium using the first refund function, has elapsed after job execution; and

transferring to the payment medium a refund equal to an unused amount of money obtained by subtracting an amount of money actually used for job execution from the determined amount of money, if the billing apparatus detects that the payment medium has been set to the billing apparatus itself before it is judged that the predetermined period of time has elapsed after job execution; and

transferring to the electronic money management server a request for the refund equal to the unused amount of money, if it is judged that the predetermined period of time has elapsed after job execution before the billing apparatus detects that the payment medium has been set to the billing apparatus.