JP2006126900A - Expendable data management system and method, and service providing device using expendable item - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To retain, in a case of distributing an expendable item provided with a wireless tag and packaged with a packaging material hardly transmitting radio wave, information generated in a distribution stage in the wireless tag up to the use of the expendable item. <P>SOLUTION: A second wireless tag 18 storing identification information of the expendable item 10 is provided on an individual packaging box 16 on the outside of a packaging bag 14 hardly transmitting radio wave. Information generated in a storehouse 1 in the distribution stage is made to correspond to identification information of the expendable item read from the second wireless tag 18 of the individual packaging box 16 by a reader device 20 and registered in an expendable information server 45. When the expendable item 10 is delivered to a customer office 2 and installed to a device body 30, a control part 32 of the device body 30 transmits the identification information of the expendable item 10 to the expendable information server 45 to download registration information corresponding to the expendable item 10, and writes this information in a first wireless tag 12 installed to the expendable item 10 by a reader/writer 34 in the device body 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to information management of consumables in a service providing apparatus that reads data from a wireless tag included in a mounted consumable and performs a predetermined processing operation for providing a service based on the data. The present invention relates to a technology for providing a consumable wireless tag with data generated in a distribution stage when it is packaged with a packaging material that is difficult to transmit radio waves.

  For example, in an image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine or a multifunction peripheral, conventionally replaceable consumables (replacement parts) such as toner cartridges and photosensitive drum cartridges and replaceable apparatuses such as fixing devices and sorter devices (exchange devices). ) (Hereinafter, these replacement parts and replacement devices are collectively referred to as consumables), and an appropriate image forming operation can be performed by reading / writing data from / to the storage medium from the image forming apparatus. I can do it. For example, in the consumable storage medium, data on the amount of consumption of the consumable is written from the image forming apparatus. In order to allow the consumable to operate under appropriate conditions, for example, identification information of the consumable, the code of the destination country of the consumable, the code of the OEM manufacturer, and the consumable are attached. A model code of the image forming apparatus, various parameters for optimally functioning the consumables, and the like are also written in advance in a storage medium in a consumables manufacturing factory or the like.

  In recent years, with the development of wireless tag (also referred to as RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tag) technology, an example of using a wireless tag as a storage medium attached to a consumable item is increasing. Since the wireless tag can read and write data without contact, there is an advantage that restrictions on the structure of the device are relaxed compared to reading and writing with a wired connection method. Patent Documents 1 to 3 disclose that a wireless tag is provided on a consumable item and data is read from and written to the wireless tag of the consumable item on which the image forming apparatus main body is mounted.

JP 2003-270920 A JP 2004-020910 A JP 2001-022230 A

  Consumables for image forming apparatuses such as toner cartridges are often housed in individual packaging boxes made of cardboard or the like after being housed in a packaging bag made of a metal-deposited film in order to maintain quality. Moreover, it may be packaged by a box made of a conductive material such as metal. In any case, such packaging is performed in a factory that manufactures consumables. Therefore, since the consumable wireless tag shipped from the factory is inside such a package, it is difficult to communicate with the outside by radio waves, and it is difficult to read and write data.

  However, there is a case where the information to be given to the wireless tag is determined on the distribution route until the consumable is actually mounted on the apparatus after shipment from the factory. For example, assuming a distribution format in which the consumable destination country is not determined at the time of shipment from the factory, but is determined according to demand at the warehouse or distribution center, the destination country code or a specific destination country can be selected. Consumable parameters are determined at the warehouse shipment stage. Thus, it is difficult to write the information determined in the distribution stage into the consumable wireless tag in the bag or box of conductive material. In addition, even when the communication method of the wireless tag used on the distribution channel is different, it is difficult to write in the consumable wireless tag.

  However, on the other hand, some of the information generated in the distribution stage is necessary when the consumable is mounted on the image forming apparatus and used. For example, if the destination country code and the parameters according to the destination country are not included in the consumables wireless tag, the image forming apparatus cannot use such information. It can no longer be demonstrated.

  In any of the above prior art documents, the issue of how to make the wireless tag attached to the consumables contained in the packaging container of the conductive material have the information generated in the distribution stage. It doesn't even show the perception, nor can it show the solution to it.

  The image forming apparatus and its consumables have been described above as examples. However, similar problems can occur in other types of apparatuses.

  The present invention provides a mechanism for providing information generated in the distribution stage of consumables to consumables packaged with a packaging material that is difficult to transmit radio waves used for reading and writing to a wireless tag.

  The present invention provides a service providing apparatus that reads data from a wireless tag included in a mounted consumable and performs a predetermined processing operation for providing a service based on the data, and the point in time when the consumable is mounted and used in the service providing apparatus. A consumable data management system for providing data generated in the distribution stage up to the service providing device to the outer surface of a packaging material that wraps the consumable or the consumable packaged with the packaging material A second wireless tag that is provided in the outer box and stores consumable item identification information for identifying the consumable item, reads out consumable item identification information from the second wireless tag, and uses the data generated in the distribution stage as the consumable item. A distribution stage information registration device that registers with an information server on a network in association with product identification information; and Read consumable item identification information from a line tag or a wireless tag included in the consumable item, and obtain information generated in the distribution stage corresponding to the consumable item from the information server on the network using the consumable item identification information as a key And a consumable data management system including an information writing device for writing the acquired information to a wireless tag included in the consumables taken out from the packaging material.

  In a preferred aspect, the read / write device for the service providing device to read / write data from / to the wireless tag included in the consumable product attached to the service providing device is the consumable product in the information writing device. Also used for writing information to the wireless tag.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this figure, a warehouse 1 of a supplier that provides consumables 10, a customer office 2 to which the consumables 10 are delivered, and a data center 3 in which a consumable information server 45 that manages consumable information is installed. It is shown schematically.

  The consumables 10 are shipped at the manufacturing factory after the first wireless tag 12 is mounted, packed in a packaging bag 14 deposited with aluminum, and packed in an individual packaging box 16. The first wireless tag 12 has a tag identification number uniquely assigned to the tag itself, a consumable item identification number uniquely assigned to the consumable item 10 (the tag identification number is also used as a consumable item identification number). In addition, information already determined at the time of factory shipment, such as a code indicating the type of consumables, is written. In addition, the mounting form of the first wireless tag 12 with respect to the consumables may be those disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

  However, at the distribution stage after factory shipment, for example, information determined in the warehouse 1 is difficult to write in the first wireless tag 12 in the packaging bag 14 that is difficult to transmit radio waves. Therefore, in this embodiment, the information generated in the distribution stage is registered in the consumable information server 45 of the data center 3 existing on the data communication network such as the Internet, and the consumable 10 is delivered to the customer office 2. At this stage, information corresponding to the consumable 10 is downloaded from the consumable information server 45 and written to the first wireless tag 12 of the consumable 10.

  When such a method is adopted, it is necessary to associate information registered in the consumable information server 45 with each consumable 10. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the second wireless tag 18 storing the unique identification information is attached to the individual packaging box 16 that covers the outside of the packaging bag 14, and the consumable 10 is a base on the distribution route, for example, Information generated while in the warehouse 1 is registered in the consumables information server 45 in association with the identification information read by the reader device 20 from the second wireless tag 18. The second wireless tag 18 functions on the distribution channel, and may be a wireless tag of a type different from that of the first wireless tag 12, for example, the carrier frequency and the communication protocol. The reader device 20 may read the second wireless tag 18 when the first wireless tag 12 cannot read.

  For example, the destination country of the consumables 10, the OEM manufacturer, the model of the target device, etc. are not determined at the consumable 10 manufacturing factory, but the actual demand information is stored in the warehouse 1 which is the distribution base of the consumable 10 manufacturer. Consider the case of deciding them on the basis. In this case, the destination country code, the OEM destination code, the model code, or the usage parameters of the consumable 10 according to the destination country, the OEM destination manufacturer, and the target model are stored in the warehouse 1 by the consumable 10. It will be decided at the stage. Therefore, in the present embodiment, of the information to be held by the first wireless tag 12 attached to the consumable 10 itself, the information determined on the distribution base such as the warehouse 1 is the consumable information server. It is registered in 45 so that it can be downloaded and used later.

  The registration information registered in the consumable information server 45 and the individual consumables 10 may be associated with each other when, for example, the consumables 10 are shipped in the warehouse 1 or during sorting before shipping.

  More specifically, if the destination country of the consumables 10, the OEM manufacturer, the model to be installed, etc. are not determined at the manufacturing factory, the destination of the consumables 10 stocked in the warehouse 1 is determined as such. In other words, it is a common product that does not depend on the destination. In such a warehouse, the management computer 22 determines the number of consumables 10 that need to be shipped to each destination country, each OEM manufacturer, and each target model based on demand information. Instruct to ship. The consumables 10 are shipped from the warehouse 1 in accordance with this instruction. At the time of this shipment, the consumables 10 to be sent to each shipping destination are associated with information such as a destination country code corresponding to the shipping destination. It is. Since the required number for each shipping destination is calculated based on demand, for example, the necessary number 10 for each shipping destination is selected for each consumable 10 flowing through the transport line, and information on the destination country according to the shipping destination is selected. You can link to.

  More specifically, for example, the reader device 20 is provided on the transfer line from the shelf of the warehouse 1 to the shipping gate, and the identification of the second wireless tag 18 attached to the individual packaging box 16 of the consumable 10 flowing through the line is provided. Read information. At the time of reading, the management computer 22 determines the shipping destination of the consumables 10 based on information such as demand, so information such as the destination country code corresponding to the shipping destination is also determined at this time. ing. Therefore, the management computer 22 associates the information such as the destination country code with the identification information read from the second wireless tag 18 and registers it in the consumable information server 45 via the network 40.

  Thus, after the data registration to the consumables information server 45 is completed, in the subsequent distribution process, the delivery person or the like accesses the server 45 and uses the identification information read from the second wireless tag 18 of the individual packaging box 16. By searching the registration information of the server 45 as a key, the information of the consumable 10 can be acquired.

  If the identification information to be given to the second wireless tag 18 is unique in the system of the present embodiment, the identification information for the consumables information server 45 is sufficient for use. The first wireless tag 12 attached to the consumable 10 in the individual packaging box 16 stores identification information (consumable ID) of the consumable 10 itself at the manufacturing factory. Of course, the product ID may be stored in the second wireless tag 18 and used as identification information of the second wireless tag 18. In this case, in the consumable information server 45, information determined at the stage of the manufacturing factory is first registered for the consumable 10 in association with the consumable ID, and then determined at each stage of the distribution route. Information will be added and registered sequentially. The second wireless tag 18 may store other information stored in the first wireless tag 12 in addition to such identification information.

  Now, after information necessary for each distribution stage is registered in the server 45 in this way, the consumables 10 are delivered to the customer office 2 which is the final destination in a boxed state. In the customer office 2, after unpacking the consumable 10, the information registered in the consumable information server 45 is written in the first wireless tag 12 attached to the consumable 10.

  In the example of FIG. 1, this writing process is performed using a reader / writer 34 provided in the apparatus main body 30 of a service providing apparatus (for example, a digital multifunction peripheral). That is, the apparatus main body 30 includes the reader / writer 34 for reading / writing data from / to the first wireless tag 12 originally mounted on the consumable 10.

  The control unit 30 that controls the apparatus main body 30 is connected to a network 40 such as the Internet, downloads necessary information from the consumables information server 45 via the network 40, and is consumed in the apparatus main body 30. The information is written to the wireless tag 18 of the product 10 via the reader / writer 34.

  Here, for this writing, it is necessary to download the correct information corresponding to the consumable 10 from the consumable information server 45. For this reason, in this embodiment, the identification information of the second wireless tag 18 is read by the reader device 36 provided in the apparatus main body 30. The antenna of the reader device 36 is provided on the outer surface of the apparatus main body 30, for example, in the vicinity of a console panel for display and instruction input, and reads data of the second wireless tag 18 held toward the antenna. Note that the reader device 36 provided in the apparatus main body 30 may be used for, for example, reading and writing of an RFID card held by a user other than the purpose of reading the second wireless tag 18 of the individual packaging box 16. The control unit 32 sends an inquiry using the identification information read in this way as a key to the consumables information server 45. In response to this, the consumable information server 45 searches for registration information corresponding to the identification information, and returns the obtained registration information to the control unit 32. The control unit 32 writes the information acquired in this way to the first wireless tag 12.

  A processing procedure of the control unit 32 at the time of the writing process is shown in FIG. In this procedure, when the customer or customer engineer first opens the lid of the apparatus main body 30 and takes out the old consumables, newly installs the consumable 10 taken out from the individual packaging box 16 and the packaging bag 14 and closes the lid, the control is performed. The unit 32 executes a consumable information collection process (S10). In this process, information necessary for the proper use of the consumable 10, for example, consumable identification information, destination country code, OEM destination code, model code, and various use parameters are first sent via the reader / writer 34. Read from the wireless tag 12. If all necessary information is obtained by this processing (the determination result of S12 is affirmative (Y)), it is determined that the consumable 10 can be properly used, and the consumable 10 managed by the control unit 32. The use permission state flag is set (S14). If all the consumables are in the use permission state, the control unit 32 permits the normal operation of the apparatus main body 30. On the other hand, if there is a consumable that is not in a use-permitted state, the control unit 32 prohibits or partially restricts the service processing operation (for example, copying and printing in the case of an image forming apparatus) of the apparatus main body 30 and corrects it. A message prompting the user to set a consumable is displayed on a display screen of a UI (user interface) unit (for example, a console panel).

  If the determination result in S12 is negative (N), that is, if the information obtained from the wireless tag 12 of the newly installed consumable 10 is insufficient in S10, the second wireless tag 18 is set. A guidance display prompting the user to hold the reader device 36 in the vicinity thereof is displayed on the display screen of the UI unit of the device main body 30 (S16). When the customer or customer engineer holds the second wireless tag 18 over the antenna in accordance with this display, the identification information held by the second wireless tag 18 is read by the reader device 36. The control unit 32 waits until the identification information is read from the reader device 36 until a predetermined timeout time (S18), and if read, accesses the consumables information server 45 and downloads registration information corresponding to the identification information. (S20) The downloaded information is written into the first wireless tag 12 via the reader / writer 34 (S22). Thereafter, the process returns to S10, data is read from the first wireless tag 12, and it is checked whether all necessary information has been read (S12). If the second wireless tag 18 of the individual packaging box 16 containing the consumable 10 is read, all appropriate information can be downloaded from the server 45. If it can be confirmed that all necessary information is present, the consumable 10 is allowed to be used (S14).

  According to the mechanism as described above, the information generated at the distribution stage or the updated information among the information that must be held by the first wireless tag 12 at the start of use of the consumables 10 is stored at the start of use. The wireless tag 12 can be provided.

  In addition, since new information may not be generated in the distribution stage, the control unit 32 does not store any information stored in the first wireless tag 12 in the information downloaded from the server 45. Omission process is omitted. Further, in this case, when a flag indicating whether or not information newly generated in the distribution stage exists is provided in the storage unit of the second wireless tag 18, and information generated in the distribution stage is registered in the server 45, If the flag of the wireless tag 18 is set to ON, if the flag read by the reader device 36 during the writing process is OFF, the subsequent download from the server 45 or the first Processing such as writing to the wireless tag 12 can be omitted.

  In the embodiment as described above, until the information generated in the distribution stage is written to the second wireless tag 18, the consumable 10 is a common product that does not depend on the destination country, the OEM manufacturer, the target model, or the like. There is a consumable item in which the destination country is specified by writing information to the second wireless tag 18. If such a mechanism is adopted, the manufacturing plant does not need to ship consumables for each destination or target model separately, and the warehouse 1 individually manages consumables having different destinations. Since it is not necessary, the overall management cost can be reduced. Further, since the warehouse 1 can be shipped as consumables 10 corresponding to a demanded destination by writing necessary information for the common consumables 10 in the second wireless tag 18, the destination is different. The amount of inventory can be reduced compared to the case where consumables are managed individually.

  In the above example, the registration information of the server 45 is searched based on the identification information of the second wireless tag 18, but the identification information is also stored in the first wireless tag 12 attached to the consumable 10. In the case where the second wireless tag 18 is provided with the consumable ID that is stored, the identification information can be read from the first wireless tag 12 of the mounted consumable 10. Therefore, in this case, the reader body 36 for reading the second wireless tag 18 is not necessary for the apparatus main body 30. In this case, the unpacked consumable 10 is simply set in the apparatus main body 30, and thereafter the control unit 32 automatically supplies identification information (consumable ID) via the reader / writer 34 to the first wireless tag 12. The registration information corresponding to the identification information is downloaded from the server 45 and written in the wireless tag 12. Even in this case, the second wireless tag 18 associates the registration information to the server 45 generated in the distribution stage with the actual consumable 10 or acquires information on the consumable on the distribution path from the server 45. Used to do.

  Further, the above system configuration is based on the premise that the apparatus main body 30 can communicate with the server 45 via the network 40. However, there are cases where the apparatus main body 30 is not actually connected to the network. A system configuration corresponding to such a case will be described with reference to FIG. 3, the same components as those shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the example of FIG. 3, a portable reader / writer 50 and a mobile phone 52 are used. The portable reader / writer 50 is connected to the mobile phone 52 and connected to the network 40 via the mobile phone 52. Then, the identification information of the second wireless tag 18 of the individual packaging box 16 (if the consumable ID is used as the identification information, the first wireless tag 12 may be used) is read by the portable reader / writer 50, and the reader An inquiry using the identification information as a key is sent from the writer 50 to the server 45 via the mobile phone 52, and registration information corresponding to the identification information is downloaded from the server 45. Then, the downloaded information is written into the first wireless tag 12 of the unpacked consumable 10 by the portable reader / writer 50. Then, the consumable item 10 on which the information has been written is mounted on the consumable item mounting portion 33 of the apparatus main body.

  According to such a mechanism, even when the apparatus main body 30 cannot be connected to the network 40, necessary information can be written in the first wireless tag 12.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above. In the above embodiment, the second wireless tag 18 attached to the individual packaging box 16 may be attached to the outer surface of the individual packaging box 16, but considering the possibility of damage during transportation, the inner surface of the individual packaging box 16 It is preferable to attach to. In this case, if the mounting location of the wireless tag 18 is displayed on the outer surface of the individual packaging box 16, when writing data to the second wireless tag 18 in the warehouse 1 or the like, there is a portion where the antenna of the writer device is directed. The work is easy to understand. When the individual packaging box 16 itself is made of a material that does not allow radio waves to pass through, the second wireless tag 18 needs to be provided outside the individual packaging box 16.

  In each of the above embodiments, the second wireless tag 18 is provided in the individual packaging box 16 that covers the outside of the packaging bag 14 that is difficult to transmit radio waves, but this is only an example. The second wireless tag 18 may be outside the packaging material that is difficult to transmit radio waves in the packaging of the consumable 10 at the distribution stage. Therefore, the second wireless tag 18 may be attached to the outside of the packaging material itself that is difficult to transmit radio waves.

Now, according to each embodiment as described above, the wireless tag 12 attached to the consumable 10 can have necessary information. By applying this invention, the stolen consumable can be obtained. Effective handling can be performed even in cases such as abuse.
.

  For example, in a general operation mode, a certain number of consumables are ordered together so that the customer can replenish and replace them when necessary, and the delivered items are stored in the vicinity of the apparatus main body 30. There are many. Here, generally, if the consumables are of the same manufacturer and the same model number, they can be used in other devices of the same model. For this reason, the consumable item may be stolen. In this case, when it is necessary to use the consumable item on the side of the apparatus main body 30, it is considered that there is no necessary consumable item. . Here, in the configuration in which the information on the destination country, the OEM manufacturer, and the model code stored in the wireless tag 18 of the consumable 10 is checked by the apparatus main body 30, the consumable 10 can be found in countries, regions, and other companies other than the destination. Although it can be prevented from being diverted, it cannot be prevented from being diverted to a device of the same manufacturer installed in the same destination, so it is not sufficient in terms of solving the theft problem.

  A system configuration example that addresses such problems will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, the same components as those shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.

  In the example of FIG. 4, a wireless tag 60 that holds a machine ID (identification information) uniquely assigned to the device main body 30 is provided for the device main body 30 of the customer. When the delivery person (or customer engineer) delivers the consumable 10 to the customer, the machine ID of the wireless tag 60 is read by the portable reader / writer 50 possessed by the delivery person (or customer engineer). In association with the identification information (or consumable ID) read from the second wireless tag 18 provided in the individual packaging box 16, the information is registered in the consumable information server 45 via the mobile phone 52 and the network 40. .

  After that, the consumables 10 are stored in the customer office 2 in a boxed state, unpacked when it becomes necessary to use the consumables 10, and attached to the consumables mounting portion of the apparatus main body 30. is there. At this time, as in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the identification information of the second wireless tag 18 is read by the reader device 36 (not shown in FIG. 4) of the apparatus body, and the registration information corresponding to the identification information is read as consumable information. Download from server 45. By this download, the machine ID registered in association with the identification information at the time of delivery is acquired, and the control unit 32 compares the machine ID with the machine ID of the apparatus main body 30 stored by itself, and the two do not match. In this case, the use permission flag of the consumable 10 is turned off. As a result, the apparatus main body 30 becomes unusable, or a message prompting the user to attach a correct consumable item is displayed on the UI unit.

  According to this example, since the machine ID of the apparatus main body 30 to which the consumable 10 is delivered is registered in the consumable information server 45, a third party temporarily holds the consumable 10 stored by the customer. Even if it is going to use the consumable 10 by the third party device, the machine ID registered in the server 45 is different from the machine ID of the third party device, so the consumable 10 cannot be used. .

  As described above, according to the system configuration shown in FIG. 4, the consumable 10 and the apparatus main body 30 can be associated with each other at the time of delivery, and the consumable 10 is used in another apparatus main body that is not associated. Can be prevented.

  In the example of FIG. 4, the consumable 10 can be used only in the apparatus main body 30 associated by the delivery person. However, in practice, there are many cases where there are a plurality of apparatus main bodies 30 that can use common consumables in the customer's office. A system configuration example that assumes such a case will be described below.

  In this example, the portable reader / writer 50 possessed by the delivery person is provided with data of a group information table as shown in FIG. In the group information table, the machine ID of the apparatus main body 30 belonging to the group is registered in association with the group ID of each group. One group is a group of apparatus main bodies 30 that allow the same consumable 10 to be shared. For example, the case where the apparatus main body 30 of the same customer is registered in one group is typical. In this case, the customer ID can be used as the group ID. Since the service center that dispatches the delivery staff has information on each group, the portable reader / writer 50 may have this information.

  When the delivery person reads the machine ID from the wireless tag 60 of the apparatus body 30 with the portable reader / writer 50, the portable reader / writer 50 searches the group information table for the group to which the machine ID belongs. All machine IDs belonging to the group are registered in the consumable information server 45 in association with the identification information read from the second wireless tag 18. The machine ID group registered in the server 45 is downloaded to the apparatus main body 30 when the consumable 10 is mounted, and is checked by the control unit 32 of the apparatus main body 30 to which the consumable 10 is mounted. In this case, if the device main body 30 to which the consumable is mounted is the same group as the device main body 30 that has read the machine ID at the time of delivery, the check is successful. According to such a mechanism, the consumable 10 can be used in any device main body 30 belonging to the group.

  In the above example, the group information table is provided in the portable reader / writer 50, but it may be provided in the consumables information server 45 instead. In this case, if the portable reader / writer 50 associates the read machine ID with the identification information of the second wireless tag 18 and sends it to the server 45 at the time of delivery, the server 45 sends all of the groups to which the machine ID belongs. Is obtained from the group information table and stored in association with the identification information of the second wireless tag 18. The server 45 provides a machine ID group registered corresponding to the identification information in response to an inquiry from the apparatus main body 30 when the consumable 10 is mounted.

  Further, if the group ID of the group to which the own device belongs is registered in the control unit 32 of the device body 30, the device body registered at the time of delivery from the consumable information server 45 to the device body 30 to which the consumables are mounted What is necessary is just to send the group ID of the group instead of all the machine ID groups of the group to which 30 machine IDs belong. The apparatus main body 30 that has received this group ID can determine whether or not the mounted consumable 10 can be used by comparing the group ID with the group ID stored by itself.

  Note that the method described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 can also be applied when there is nothing that does not allow radio waves to pass through the packaging material of the consumable 10. In this case, it is only necessary to use the first wireless tag 12 attached to the consumable 10 instead of the second wireless tag 18 in the above-described method.

  In the embodiment described above, the apparatus main body 30 acquires information from the server 45 based on information read from the second wireless tag 18 when the first wireless tag 12 does not have information such as a machine ID. Information may be acquired from the server 45 based on information read from the second wireless tag 18 at all times.

  In addition, the apparatus main body 30 acquires information from the server 45 based on the information read from the first wireless tag 12, and reads out from the second wireless tag 18 when the acquired information does not include information such as a machine ID. Information may be acquired from the server 45 based on the information.

  The determination when there is no information such as the machine ID may be made based on the presence or absence of specific data that means the end of the recording data.

  In addition, when the reader device 20 records information of the server 45 in association with information read from one or both of the first wireless tag 12 and the second wireless tag 18 on the distribution route, Information about consumables associated with the information of the first wireless tag 12 and the information of the second wireless tag 18 is acquired. In this case, by attaching the information type, version number, writing date, etc. to the information written on the distribution route, the version number and the writing date of each version are the latest from the acquired information. In addition to information on the distribution route and data to be added, a part or all of the data written in the first wireless tag 12 at the time of factory shipment is used for distribution until the consumables are attached. In this process, the update can be performed based on the information stored in the server 45 in association with the first or second wireless tag.

  In addition, one or both of the first wireless tag 12 and the second wireless tag 18 have correspondence information such as an identification number of the partner wireless tag, and the apparatus main body 30 performs the first processing based on the correspondence information. It is determined whether or not the wireless tag 12 and the second wireless tag 18 are of a valid combination, and when the wireless tag 12 is of a valid combination, the information of the second wireless tag 18 is read and the first wireless tag is read. You may make it transfer to 12. In this way, it is possible to prevent information on other consumables from being transferred to the first wireless tag 12 due to an erroneous operation or an unauthorized operation.

  Furthermore, the information read from the server 45 is written to the first wireless tag 12 based on the information read from the second wireless tag 18, but part or all of the information read from the server 45 is stored in the apparatus main body 30. You may make it memorize.

It is a figure which shows typically the system configuration | structure of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement performed when the apparatus main body in a customer side is mounted | worn with a consumable. It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure of a modification typically. It is a figure which shows typically the system configuration | structure of another modification. It is a figure which shows the example of the data content of a group information table.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Warehouse, 2 Customer office, 10 Consumables, 12 1st radio | wireless tag, 14 Packaging bag, 16 packaging boxes, 18 2nd radio | wireless tag, 20 Reader apparatus, 22 Management computer, 30 Apparatus main body, 32 Control part, 34 reader / writer, 36 reader device.

Claims (9)

Distribution stage until the time when the consumable is mounted on the service providing device and used in the service providing device that reads out data from the wireless tag included in the mounted consumable and performs a predetermined processing operation for providing the service based on the data A consumable data management system for providing the service providing apparatus with data generated in
A second wireless tag for storing consumables identification information for identifying the consumables, provided on an outer surface of a packaging material for wrapping the consumables or an outer box for housing the consumables packaged with the packaging material;
A distribution stage information registration device that reads consumables identification information from the second wireless tag, associates the data generated in the distribution stage with the consumables identification information, and registers it in an information server on a network;
At the place where the service providing apparatus is installed, the consumable item identification information is read from the second wireless tag or the wireless tag provided in the consumable item, and the consumable item identification information is used as a key from the information server on the network An information writing device that acquires information generated in the distribution stage corresponding to a product, and writes the acquired information to a wireless tag included in the consumables taken out from the packaging material;
Consumable data management system.   For the wireless tag included in the consumables attached to the service providing device, the reading / writing device for the service providing device to read and write data is changed to the wireless tag included in the consumables in the information writing device. 2. The consumable data management system according to claim 1, wherein the consumable data management system is also used for writing the information.   3. The consumable data management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the packaging material is made of a material that is difficult to transmit radio waves. Distribution stage until the time when the consumable is mounted on the service providing device and used in the service providing device that reads out data from the wireless tag included in the mounted consumable and performs a predetermined processing operation for providing the service based on the data A consumable data management method for providing the service providing apparatus with data generated in
Reading out consumable identification information from a second wireless tag provided on an outer surface of a packaging material for packaging the consumables or in an outer box for housing the consumables packaged with the packaging material in the distribution stage; ,
Registering the data generated in the distribution stage with a server provided on the network in association with the identification information of the consumables read from the second wireless tag;
When the consumable is mounted on the service providing apparatus, the consumable is registered in association with the consumable identification information read from the server on the network from the second wireless tag or the wireless tag included in the consumable. Downloading information and writing the downloaded information to the consumables wireless tag;
A consumable data management method.   5. The consumable data management method according to claim 4, wherein the packaging material is made of a material that is difficult to transmit radio waves. In a service providing apparatus that reads data from a wireless tag included in a worn consumable and performs a predetermined processing operation for providing a service based on the data,
Means for reading data from the first wireless tag provided in the worn consumable;
When all the necessary information is not included in the data read from the first wireless tag, the outer surface of the packaging material packaging the consumables or the exterior housing the consumables packaged with the packaging materials Means for reading data from a server provided on the network based on information read from the second wireless tag provided in the box;
Service providing device using consumables having The service providing apparatus according to claim 6,
A service providing apparatus using consumables, comprising means for writing data read from the server to the first wireless tag. The service providing apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein
Consumable having display means for instructing an operation to read information for accessing the server from the second wireless tag when the data read from the first wireless tag does not contain all necessary information Service providing equipment using goods.   The service providing apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the packaging material is made of a material that is difficult to transmit radio waves.

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