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US 6,714,744 B2Granted
Printing apparatus, and informing method in printing apparatus
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorKazunori Arima
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The remaining amount of expendables such as paper sheets or the like is computed (step S202), and it is checked after completion of a print process if the remaining amount is smaller than a threshold value which is set in advance (step S204). If it is determined that the remaining amount is smaller than the threshold value, the user is alerted to that determination result (step S205). As a result, the user can take a measure before expendables completely run out.
Claims36
A printing apparatus comprising:
- recognition means for recognizing either a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable;
- accessing means for accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on a recognition result of said recognition means and acquiring the expendable supplier information from the external database;
- display control means for displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information;
- and
- a storage unit storing search conditions, wherein said accessing means requests the external database to search for the expendable supplier information on the basis of the search conditions stored on said storage unit and acquires the expendable supplier information from the external database.
2 more elements
A printing apparatus comprising:
- recognition means for recognizing either a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable;
- accessing means for accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on a recognition result of said recognition means and acquiring the expendable supplier information from the external database;
- and
- display control means for displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information;
- wherein the expendable supplier information includes a URL, and said printing apparatus further comprises a browser for browsing the Web page indicated by the URL.
2 more elements
A printing apparatus comprising:
- recognition means for recognizing either a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable;
- accessing means for accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on a recognition result of said recognition means and acquiring the expendable supplier information from the external database;
- display control means for displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information;
- and
- calculating means for calculating the running-out speed of the expendable and calculating a remaining period for which the expendable in use will completely run out based on the running-out speed, wherein said accessing means accesses the external database at a timing determined based on the remaining period.
2 more elements
An external apparatus connected to a printing apparatus comprising:
- receiving means for receiving information indicating that a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable reaches a predetermined amount from the printing apparatus;
- accessing means for accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on the received information and acquiring the expendable supplier information from the external database;
- display control means for displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information;
- and
- a storage unit storing search conditions, wherein said accessing means requests the external database to search for the expendable supplier information on the basis of the search conditions stored on said storage unit and acquires the expendable supplier information from the external database.
2 more elements
An external apparatus connected to a printing apparatus comprising:
- receiving means for receiving information indicating that a remaining amount or a use amount of predetermined expendable reaches a predetermined amount from the printing apparatus;
- accessing means for accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on the received information and acquiring the expendable supplier information from the external database;
- and
- display control means for displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information;
- wherein the expendable supplier information includes a URL, and said external apparatus further comprises a browser for browsing the Web page indicated by the URL.
2 more elements
An external apparatus connected to a printing apparatus comprising:
- receiving means for receiving information indicating that a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable reaches a predetermined amount from the printing apparatus;
- accessing means for accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on the received information and acquiring the expendable supplier information from the external database;
- displaying control means for displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information;
- and
- calculating means for calculating the running-out speed of the expendable and calculating a remaining period for which the expendable in use will completely run out based on the running-out speed, wherein said accessing means accesses the external database at a timing determined based on the remaining period.
2 more elements
A method for a printing apparatus comprising:
- recognition step of recognizing either a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on a recognition result of said recognition step and acquiring the expendable supplier information for the external database;
- display control step of displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information;
- and
- storing step of storing search conditions, wherein said accessing step requests the external database to search for the expendable supplier information on the basis of the search conditions stored in said storing step and acquires the expendable supplier information from the external database.
2 more elements
A method for a printing apparatus comprising:
- recognition step of recognizing either a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on a recognition result of said recognition step and acquiring the expendable supplier information from the external database;
- and
- display control step of displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information, wherein the expendable supplier information includes a URL, and said method further comprises browsing step of browsing the Web page indicated by the URL.
1 more element
A method for a printing apparatus comprising:
- recognition step of recognizing either a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on a recognition result of said recognition step and acquiring the expendable supplier information from the external database;
- display control step of displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information;
- and
- calculating step of calculating the running-out speed of the expendable and calculating a remaining period for which the expendable in use will completely run out based on the running-out speed, wherein said accessing step accesses the external database at a timing determined based on the remaining period.
2 more elements
A method for an external apparatus connected to a printing apparatus comprising:
- receiving step of receiving information indicating that a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable reaches a predetermined amount from the printing apparatus;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on the received information and acquiring the expendable supplier information from the external database;
- display control step of displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information;
- and
- storing step of storing search conditions, wherein said accessing step requests the external database to search for the expendable supplier information on the basis of the search conditions stored in said storing step and acquires the expendable supplier information from the external database.
2 more elements
A method for an external apparatus connected to a printing apparatus comprising:
- receiving step of receiving information indicating that a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable reaches a predetermined amount from the printing apparatus;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on the received information and acquiring the expendable supplier information from the external database;
- and
- display control step of displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information, wherein the expendable supplier information includes a URL, and said method further comprises browsing step of browsing the Web page indicated by the URL.
1 more element
A method for an external apparatus connected to a printing apparatus comprising:
- receiving step of receiving information indicating that a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable reaches a predetermined amount from the printing apparatus;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on the received information and acquiring the expendable supplier information from the external database;
- display control step of displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information;
- and
- calculating step of calculating the running-out speed of the expendable and calculating a remaining period for which the expendable in use will completely run out based on the running-out speed, wherein said accessing step accesses the external database at a timing determined based on the remaining period.
2 more elements
A program for making a printing apparatus execute the steps of:
- recognition step of recognizing either a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on a recognition result of said recognition step and acquiring the expendable supplier information from the external database;
- display control step of displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information;
- and
- storing step of storing search conditions, wherein said accessing step requests the external database to search for the expendable supplier information on the basis of the search conditions stored in said storing step and acquires the expendable supplier information from the external database.
2 more elements
A program for making a printing apparatus execute the steps of:
- recognition step of recognizing either a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on a recognition result of said recognition step and acquiring the expendable supplier information from the external database;
- and
- display control step of displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information, wherein the expendable supplier information includes a URL, and said method further comprises browsing step of browsing the Web page indicated by the URL.
1 more element
A program for making a printing apparatus execute the steps of:
- recognition step of recognizing either a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on a recognition result of said recognition step and acquiring the expendable supplier information from the external database;
- display control step of displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information;
- and
- calculating step of calculating the running-out speed of the expendable and calculating a remaining period for which the expendable in use will completely run out based on the running-out speed, wherein said accessing step accesses the external database at a timing determined based on the remaining period.
2 more elements
A program for making an external apparatus connected to a printing apparatus execute the steps of:
- receiving step of receiving information indicating that a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable reaches a predetermined amount from the printing apparatus;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on the received information and acquiring the expendable supplier information from the external database;
- display control step of displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information;
- and
- storing step of storing search conditions, wherein said accessing step requests the external database to search for the expendable supplier information on the basis of the search conditions stored in said storing step and acquires the expendable supplier information from the external database.
2 more elements
A program for making an external apparatus connected to a printing apparatus execute the steps of:
- receiving step of receiving information indicating that a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable reaches a predetermined amount from the printing apparatus;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on the received information and acquiring the expendable supplier information from the external database;
- and
- display control step of displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information, wherein the expendable supplier information includes a URL, and said method further comprises browsing step of browsing the Web page indicated by the URL.
1 more element
A program for making an external apparatus connected to a printing apparatus execute the steps of:
- receiving step of receiving information indicating that a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable reaches a predetermined amount from the printing apparatus;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing expendable supplier information based on the received information and acquiring the expendable supplier information from the external database;
- display control step of displaying one or more suppliers based on the acquired expendable supplier information;
- and
- calculating step of calculating the running-out speed of the expendable and calculating a remaining period for which the expendable in use will completely run out based on the running-out speed, wherein said accessing step accesses the external database at a timing determined based on the remaining period.
2 more elements
A printing apparatus comprising:
- recognition means for recognizing either a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable;
- accessing means for accessing an external database storing information relevant to the expendable based on a recognition result of said recognition means and acquiring the information from the external database;
- display control means for displaying one or more information based on the information acquired by said accessing means;
- and
- a storage unit storing search conditions including plural kinds of search items which are used in each accessing of the external database by said accessing means, wherein said accessing means requests the external database to search for the information relevant to the expendable on the basis of the search conditions stored in said storage unit.
2 more elements
An external apparatus connected to a printing apparatus comprising:
- receiving means for receiving information indicating that a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable reaches a predetermined amount from the printing apparatus;
- accessing means for accessing an external database storing information relevant to the expendable based on the received information and acquiring the information from the external database;
- display control means for displaying one or more information based on the information acquired by said accessing means;
- and
- a storage unit storing search conditions including plural kinds of search items which are used in each accessing of the external database by said accessing means, wherein said accessing means requests the external database to search for the information relevant to the expendable on the basis of the search conditions stored in said storage unit.
2 more elements
A method for an external apparatus connected to a printing apparatus comprising:
- receiving step of receiving information indicating that a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable reaches a predetermined amount from the printing apparatus;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing information relevant to the expendable based on the received information and acquiring the information from the external database;
- display control step of displaying one or more suppliers based on the information acquired by said accessing step;
- and
- storing step of storing search conditions including plural kinds of search items which are used in each accessing of the external database by said accessing step, wherein said accessing step requests the external database to search for the information relevant to the expendable on the basis of the search conditions stored in said storing step.
2 more elements
A recording medium which records a program for making an external apparatus connected to a printing apparatus execute the steps of:
- receiving step of receiving information indicating that a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable reaches a predetermined amount from the printing apparatus;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing information relevant to the expendable based on the received information and acquiring the information from the external database;
- display control step of displaying one or more suppliers based on the information acquired by said accessing step;
- and
- storing step of storing search conditions including plural kinds of search items which are used in each accessing of the external database by said accessing step, wherein said accessing step requests the external database to search for the information relevant to the expendable on the basis of the search conditions stored in said storing step.
2 more elements
A program for making an external apparatus connected to a printing apparatus execute the steps of:
- receiving step of receiving information indicating that a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable reaches a predetermined amount from the printing apparatus;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing information relevant to the expendable based on the received information and acquiring the information from the external database;
- display control step of displaying one or more suppliers based on the information acquired by said accessing step;
- and
- storing step of storing search conditions including plural kinds of search items which are used in each accessing of the external database by said accessing step, wherein said accessing step requests the external database to search for the information relevant to the expendable on the basis of the search conditions stored in said storing step.
2 more elements
A printing apparatus comprising:
- recognition means for recognizing either a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable;
- accessing means for accessing an external database storing information relevant to the expendable based on a recognition result of said recognition means and acquiring the information from the external database;
- display control means for displaying one or more information based on the information acquired by said accessing means;
- and
- a storage unit storing a search condition relevant to price, wherein said accessing means requests the external database to search for the information relevant to the expendable on the basis of the search condition stored on said storage unit.
2 more elements
An external apparatus connected to a printing apparatus comprising:
- receiving means for receiving information indicating that a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable reaches a predetermined amount from the printing apparatus;
- accessing means for accessing an external database storing information relevant to the expendable based on the received information and acquiring the information from the external database;
- display control means for displaying one or more information based on the information acquired by said accessing means;
- and
- a storage unit storing a search condition relevant to price, wherein said accessing means requests the external database to search for the information relevant to the expendable on the basis of the search condition stored in said storage unit.
2 more elements
A method for an external apparatus connected to a printing apparatus comprising:
- receiving step of receiving information indicating that a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable reaches a predetermined amount from the printing apparatus;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing information relevant to the expendable based on the received information and acquiring the information from the external database;
- display control step of displaying one or more information based on the information acquired by said accessing step;
- and
- storing step of storing a search condition relevant to price, wherein said accessing step requests the external database to search for the information relevant to the expendable on the basis of the search condition stored in said storing step.
2 more elements
A recording medium which records a program for making an external apparatus connected to a printing apparatus execute the steps of:
- receiving step of receiving information indicating that a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable reaches a predetermined amount from the printing apparatus;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing information relevant to the expendable based on the received information and acquiring the information from the external database;
- display control step of displaying one or more information based on the information acquired by said accessing step;
- and
- storing step of storing a search condition relevant to price, wherein said accessing step requests the external database to search for the information relevant to the expendable on the basis of the search condition stored in said storing step.
2 more elements
A program for making an external apparatus connected to a printing apparatus execute the steps of:
- receiving step of receiving information indicating that a remaining amount or a use amount of a predetermined expendable reaches a predetermined amount from the printing apparatus;
- accessing step of accessing an external database storing information relevant to the expendable based on the received information and acquiring the information from the external database;
- display control step of displaying one or more information based on the information acquired by said accessing step;
- and
- storing step of storing a search condition relevant to price, wherein said accessing step requests the external database to search for the information relevant to the expendable on the is of the search condition stored in said storm step.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.