US 10,245,872 B2Granted

Printing amount management apparatus and method

AssigneesKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorKeisuke Shimada

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Abstract

A printing amount management apparatus according to an embodiment communicates with an image processing apparatus which prints an image on a sheet and a decoloring apparatus which decolors an image formed on the sheet with a decolorable toner. A storage unit stores, in correspondence with each of a plurality of user records, a printing amount that sets a maximum number of times of printing in the image processing apparatus in association with the corresponding user record. A processor receives, from the decoloring apparatus via the communication interface, a number of sheets decolored by the decoloring apparatus according to an operation of a user corresponding to one of the plurality of user record. The processor increases, based on the received number of decolored sheets, the printing amount stored in the storage unit in correspondence with the one of the plurality of user record.

Claims5

Dependent claims

An image processing apparatus comprising:

a user interface that receives user information and image formation execution information;
an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet;
a communication interface;
and
a processor configured to:
authenticate a user based on the received user information,
control the communication interface to receive, from a server, a printing amount that indicates a number of times of printing in the image processing apparatus in association with the received user information and that is updated based on a number of sheets decolored by a decoloring apparatus,
determine whether the received printing amount is greater than zero,
if the received printing amount is greater than zero, control the image forming unit to form an image on the sheet in accordance with the input image formation execution information, and
if the received printing amount is not greater than zero, control the image forming unit to not form an image on the sheet in accordance with the received image formation execution information.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/720,674Filed 29 Sep 2017
Priority: JP 2017-04618610 Mar 2017
Published: US 2018/0257418 A113 Sep 2018
Granted: 2 Apr 2019
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification14 codes

B41M 7/0009
After-treatment of prints, e.g. heating, irradiating, setting of the ink, protection of the printed stock: obliterating the printed matter;…
G03G 15/50
Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern: machine control of apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern,…
G03G 15/5091
Remote control machines, e.g. by a host: for user-identification or authorisation
G03G 15/6585
Special processing for irreversibly adding or changing the sheet copy material characteristics or its appearance, e.g. stamping, annotation…: by…

Family

US 2018/0257418 A1Pre-grant publication · published 13 Sep 2018
US 10,245,872 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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