US 7,606,761 B2Granted

Data output control apparatus

AssigneeSeiko Epson Corporation

InventorsMikio Aoki, Shinya Taniguchi

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Abstract

The invention provides a data output control apparatus which allows detailed information on a network to be readily obtained, which is advantageous with respect to cost, and which is suitable for specifically notifying the user of the service charge. A data output control terminal is communicatively connected via the Internet to a portable terminal carried by a user, printing apparatuses provided at various locations, and WWW servers. The data output control terminal obtains from a WWW server data associated with a data print request from the portable terminal, selects one of the plurality of printing apparatuses, and outputs the obtained data to the selected printing apparatus. Billing is executed in accordance with the result of use by the portable terminal of the print service provided by the data output control terminal. The billing is executed by summing the service charge and the call charge of the portable terminal.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A data output control apparatus which is communicatively connected, via a network, to a portable terminal which is a portable communications device, carried by a user, that issues a data print request, and to a plurality of output terminals, disposed at various locations, that print data, and which outputs, in response to the data print request from said portable terminal, data associated with the data print request to said output terminals, the data output control apparatus comprising:

a memory storing a charge calculation table;
a computer processor configured:
(1) to select one of the plurality of output terminals, and
(2) to execute billing in accordance with a result of use by the portable terminal of a print service provided by the data output control apparatus, including:
(i) calculating a service charge in accordance with the result of use by the portable terminal according to the charge calculation definition table stored in the memory which defines the service charge as the price of the print service with regard to the result of use by the portable terminal, and (ii) adding the calculated service charge to a communications charge of the portable terminal;
and
a communications interface that outputs the data associated with the data print request to the output terminal selected by the computer processor.

4 more elements

A data output control apparatus which is communicatively connected, via a network, to a portable terminal which is a portable communications device, carried by a user, that issues a data output request, and to a plurality of output terminals, disposed at various locations, that output data, and which outputs, in response to the data output request from said portable terminal, data associated with the data output request to said output terminals, the data output control apparatus comprising:

a memory storing a charge calculation table;
a computer processor configured:
(1) to select one of said plurality of output terminals, and
(2) to execute billing in accordance with a result of use by said portable terminal of an output service provided by said apparatus, including:
(i) calculating a service charge in accordance with the result of use by said portable terminal according to the charge calculation definition table stored in the memory which defines the service charge as the price of the output service with regard to the result of use by the portable terminal, and (ii) adding the calculated service charge to a communications charge of said portable terminal;
and
a communications interface that outputs the data associated with the data output request to the output terminal selected by the computer processor.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/047,605Filed 2 Feb 2005 · continuation
Priority: JP 11-3115991 Nov 1999
Published: US 2005/0131819 A116 Jun 2005
Granted: 20 Oct 2009
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification32 codes

H04M 15/68
Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless…: payment…
G06F 3/122
Reducing or saving of used resources, e.g. avoiding waste of consumables or improving usage of hardware resources: with regard to computing…
G06F 3/1238
Print job management: secure printing, e.g. user identification, user rights for device usage, unallowed content, blanking portions or fields of a…
G06F 3/126
Print job management: job scheduling, e.g. queuing, determine appropriate device

Family

PCT/JP00/07718Parent of this continuation · filed 1 Nov 2000
Application09/892,887Parent of this continuation · filed 28 Jun 2001
US 2005/0131819 A1Pre-grant publication · published 16 Jun 2005
US 7,379,914 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2002/0032652 A1Published application
US 7,606,761 B2This patent

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