Consumption information management apparatus, image formation apparatus, and consumption information management system
US6571071B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 27, 2001 |
| Grant date | May 27, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 27, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N1/34
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An integration density acquiring unit for a consumption information management apparatus acquires integration density from an image signal sent from an image processing section, and an information converting unit calculates a quantity of consumed toner (consumption information) by multiplying the integration density by a specified coefficient to send the quantity to a cumulative consumption information calculating unit. The cumulative consumption information calculating unit temporarily stores the information for the quantity of toner consumption in a memory, and reads out the information from the memory at predetermined timing. Accordingly, it is possible to determine only the cost for developer used by a user or calculate the quantity of developer remaining within an image formation apparatus based on the cumulative consumption information for the unadjusted developer stored in the memory.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.