Printer Controller Billing Delay for Residual Ink
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users incur financial losses due to premature billing for residual commercial ink when switching to a contracted ink delivery agreement, as the printer begins billing immediately after the agreement is entered, despite already having paid for the commercial ink remaining in the tank.
Innovation Solution
A consumable consuming device with a controller that switches between contracted and non-contracted states, performing a first determination process to assess the remaining life of consumables in both states, a consumption process, and a billing control process that delays billing until the consumable life reaches a predetermined quantity, ensuring only the commercial ink is billed for in the contracted state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the printer begins billing immediately after the user enters an ink delivery agreement, then the vendor can start generating revenue from the contracted service, but the user incurs financial loss for residual commercial ink already paid for
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary determination of the remaining life of commercial ink in the tank before initiating billing. The controller calculates how much commercial ink remains and uses this information to delay billing until that amount is consumed, preventing user financial loss while maintaining billing efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the remaining life of commercial ink and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust the billing timing. When the remaining life reaches a predetermined threshold, the billing process is initiated, ensuring optimal balance between revenue generation and preventing user loss
2Reliability
If the printer prioritizes using commercial ink first, then the user avoids being charged for already-paid ink, but the system complexity increases due to tracking and managing two types of ink
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the ink supply into two distinct types: commercial ink and contracted ink. Each type is tracked separately with its own remaining life counter, allowing the printer to selectively consume commercial ink first while maintaining clear accounting for billing purposes
Solution Approach 2:
The controller acts as an intermediary that manages the consumption priority between commercial and contracted ink. It automatically determines which ink type to use based on the current state, eliminating the need for user intervention while maintaining billing accuracy
Data Source
AI summary
A consumable consuming device includes a consumable holder and a controller. The controller is switchable between a first state in which no agreement for delivery of a consumable is in effect and a second state in which an agreement for delivery of the consumable is in effect. The controller is configured to perform: a first determination process to determine a first remaining life that is a remaining life of the consumable provided to the consumable holder during a time when no agreement for delivery of the consumable is in effect; a consumption process to perform a prescribed operation while consuming the consumable in the second state; and a billing control process to perform a billing-related process after the first remaining life decreases to a predetermined quantity through execution of the consumption process but does not perform the billing-related process until the first remaining life decreases to the predetermined quantity.