Imaging device with click count fragmentation
AssigneeSharp Laboratories of America, Inc.
InventorsRabindra Pathak, Charles E. Pierson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An imaging device utilizes click count fragmentation to provide separate click counts for service and billing purposes. Click count fragmentation maintains uninterrupted service counts and derives from service counts billing counts that more accurately reflect the number of pages generated that are usable by a customer. Billing counts may be paused, resumed, reset and displayed by authorized personnel via a local or remote imaging device interface. Accesses of billing counts by authorized personnel may be recorded in an audit trail.
Claims16
An imaging device, comprising:
- an interface;
- a memory;
- and
- a processor communicatively coupled with the interface and the memory, wherein in response to a pause indication received on the interface and under control of the processor the imaging device transitions from a normal mode to a service mode and in response to a resume indication received on the interface and under control of the processor the imaging device transitions from the service mode to the normal mode, wherein while in the normal mode and under control of the processor a service count and a billing count stored in the memory are increased in response to generation of a page by an imaging function, wherein while in the service mode and under control of the processor the service count is increased whereas the billing count is unchanged in response to generation of a page by the imaging function, wherein while in the service mode and under control of the processor an out-of-sync count is increased in response to generation of a page by an imaging function, and wherein in response to a reset indication received on the interface and under control of the processor a last sync count is set to the service count and the out-of-sync count is set to zero.
A method for click count fragmentation on an imaging device, comprising the steps of:
- receiving a pause indication on the imaging device;
- entering a service mode by the imaging device in response to the pause indication wherein pages generated by an imaging function increase a service count and an out-of-sync count and leave a billing count unchanged;
- receiving a resume indication on the imaging device;
- entering a normal mode by the imaging device in response to the resume indication wherein pages generated by the imaging function increase the service count and the billing count;
- receiving a reset indication on the imaging device;
- and
- setting a last sync count to the service count and the out-of-sync count to zero by the imaging device in response to the reset indication.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.