Equipment management system
US5708909A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 3, 1996 |
| Grant date | Jan 13, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 3, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/2294
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In a management system in which electronic photocopiers are linked through a network with a host computer at a maintenance company that manages the photocopiers and with another host computer at a lease company that performs charging and other tasks related to the use of the photocopiers, registration to the latter host computer and setting thereupon of transmission times of periodical reports can be performed without any inconvenience. Data including the ID number of a copier and the code of the maintenance company are transmitted from a communications control device provided in the copier to the host computer of the lease company. This host computer, when the received ID number and code have not been registered, puts the ID number and code on a list of unregistered copiers, and makes the device transmit data every day until the copier is registered. When the copier is registered, the host computer erases the ID number of the copier and the code of the maintenance company from the list of unregistered copiers. Thus, the lease company's failure to register a copier can be readily detected, so that a lease contract can be fulfilled without delay.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.