JP2007264479A - Information management system, information managing method, information managing program, and consumption article container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information management system, an information managing method, and an information managing program that can provide better services related to information regarding actual consumption articles, and a consumption article container used therefor. <P>SOLUTION: A toner bottle 30 is provided with an ID chip 31 having a memory. This memory has a device number data area for specifying information equipment in which the toner bottle 30 is loaded and used. Once the toner bottle 30 is newly loaded in the information equipment, the information equipment stores device number data etc., on itself in the device number data area of the memory of the ID chip 31. When the toner 30 is used and collected, from the memory of the ID chip 31, a managing computer 51 of the information management system stores the device number data on the information equipment wherein the toner bottle 30 were loaded in an integrated data storage section 56. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information management system, an information management method, an information management program, and a consumable container for managing information in association with information on consumables used in an electronic device.

  Generally, an image forming apparatus performs print processing using a consumable material such as toner or paper. In order to effectively use resources, toner stored in a container may be replenished with consumed toner. Here, in order to efficiently replace a consumed portion, there is a memory provided with a memory for storing information (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In the invention described in Patent Document 1, toner information such as toner color and characteristics, toner filling model information for filling a replenishing toner, and the like are stored in a memory provided in the toner container. In Patent Document 1, the toner filling model information stored in the memory is used for determining the suitability of the toner filling device used during the refilling operation. The toner can be newly filled only when the toner filling device is suitable. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce mistakes when a toner container that has become empty is newly filled with toner.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-263013 (FIG. 5)

  The invention described in Patent Document 1 described above is a technique used for effectively using a used toner container. Further, as a method of effectively using the consumable container, the container may be collected and recycled. For example, for consumables such as toner containers and ink cartridges, used consumable containers are collected by manufacturers that manufacture these consumables. In this case, the used consumable container provided with the memory may be returned to the manufacturer. However, there has been no technique for obtaining data from a memory provided in a used container and making it useful for improving the service.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information management system, an information management method, an information management program, and a consumable used for the information management system that can provide a better service in association with information about the actual consumable. To provide a container.

  In order to solve the above problems, the invention described in claim 1 is connected to a device information data storage unit that stores device specifying data for specifying a device and device information data related to the device in association with each other. An information management system for managing information about consumables using a management computer capable of acquiring data from an information storage medium attached to the container of the consumables, wherein the management computer From the information storage medium of the container, in order to identify the device that uses the consumable, recording means for acquiring and recording the device identification data written when the consumable is mounted, and based on the acquired device identification data, A device for identifying device information of the device from the device information data storage unit, and associating means for associating the device information with information on the consumables. It is the gist of.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the information management system according to the first aspect, information relating to a customer who purchases or uses the device is recorded as the device information in the device information data storage means. It is a summary.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the information management system according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, the information storage medium may have another consumable that is consumed while the consumable to which the information storage medium is attached is mounted on the device. The gist is that information about consumables is recorded.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the information management system according to any one of the first to third aspects, the management computer includes integrated data storage means for storing at least device information related to devices and information related to consumables Connected to a browsing terminal for browsing data, and the management computer stores in the integrated data storage unit the device information and the information on the consumables associated by the associating unit, and the browsing The gist of the present invention is to further include transmission means for acquiring data of items specified based on attribute information of a person in charge browsing from a terminal from the integrated data storage means and transmitting the data to the browsing terminal.

  The invention according to claim 5 is an information storage connected to a device information data storage means for storing device specifying data for specifying a device and device information data related to the device in association with each other, and attached to a consumable container. A method for managing information about consumables using a management computer capable of acquiring data from a medium, wherein the management computer uses the consumables from an information storage medium of a collected consumable container In order to identify the device, the recording stage for acquiring and recording the device identification data written when the consumable is mounted, and the device information data storage means from the device information data storage means based on the acquired device identification data The gist is to identify the information and execute an associating step for associating the device information with the information on the consumables.

  The invention according to claim 6 is an information storage connected to a device information data storage means for storing device specifying data for specifying a device and device information data relating to the device in association with each other, and attached to a consumable container. A program for managing information on consumables using a management computer capable of acquiring data from the medium, wherein the management computer uses the consumables from the information storage medium of the collected consumables container In order to identify the device, the recording means for acquiring and recording the device specifying data written when the consumable is mounted, and the device information data storage means from the device information data storage means based on the acquired device specifying data. The gist is to specify information and to function as an associating means for associating the device information with information on the consumables.

  The invention according to claim 7 is a consumable container for storing the consumable material, and an information storage medium having a data area for writing device specifying data for specifying the device on which the consumable container is mounted is affixed. This is the summary.

(Function)
According to the invention described in claim 1, 5 or 6, the management computer acquires and records the device specifying data written when the consumable is mounted from the information storage medium of the collected consumable container. . Further, the management computer specifies the device information of the device from the device information data storage unit based on the acquired device specifying data, and associates the device information with information on the consumable item. For this reason, information related to consumables and the device information of the devices where these consumables were actually used can be associatively grasped, so a service reflecting the actual consumables and the usage status of the devices can be provided. It becomes possible to provide.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, information relating to a customer who purchases or uses a device is recorded as device information in the device information data storage means. For this reason, the information regarding the consumable item and the information regarding the customer who uses the consumable item can be associated with each other via the device specifying data. Therefore, based on the information regarding the consumables actually used by the customer, a more suitable service can be provided to the customer.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the information storage medium records information related to other consumables consumed while the collected consumables are mounted on the device. For this reason, the management computer can acquire actual information regarding other consumables consumed while the consumables are mounted on the device from the information storage medium attached to the collected consumables container. it can. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a service after grasping actual consumption information of other consumables from the collected consumables.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, the management computer extracts only the data of the item specified from the attribute information of the person in charge from the various data stored in the integrated data storage means and transmits it to the viewing terminal. . For this reason, since the person in charge can browse the data except the data of unnecessary items among the data of many items via the browsing terminal, the data can be grasped more efficiently.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a consumable container to which an information storage medium having a data area for writing device specifying data for specifying a mounted device is attached. For this reason, since the device identification data of the device to which the consumable item is actually mounted can be stored in the information storage medium of the consumable item container, the information regarding the consumable item can be grasped in association with the device identification data. Therefore, for example, when there is a device information data storage means in which device information including device specifying data is stored, these device information and information about the collected consumables are associated via the device specifying data, It is possible to provide a service using the information.

  According to the present invention, since information about used consumables and device information of the electronic device in which the consumables are actually used can be grasped in association with each other, the actual consumables and use of the devices can be obtained. Services that reflect the situation can be provided.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a case where the present invention is applied to a toner bottle 30 attached to the information device 20 is assumed.

  In the present embodiment, the toner bottle 30 as a consumable item contains toner as a consumable material in a container. An ID chip 31 is affixed to the container of the toner bottle 30. The ID chip 31 includes a memory as an information storage medium for storing data. This memory is, for example, a nonvolatile memory, and data can be read and written by the information device 20. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, this memory relates to the machine number, serial number, consumable code, mounting date, replacement date, mounting counter, replacement counter, area counter, toner remaining amount, etc. A data area for storing data is provided.

  In the machine number data area, data relating to the machine number (machine number) of the information equipment 20 used with the toner bottle 30 attached is stored. This machine number data functions as device specifying data and is stored in the memory when it is attached to the information device 20.

  Data relating to the serial number (manufacturing number) of the toner bottle 30 is stored in the serial number data area. Using this serial number, each toner bottle 30 can be specified.

In the consumable item code data area, data relating to an identifier for specifying the consumable type (toner bottle type) of the toner bottle 30 is stored. In this embodiment, the model number of the toner bottle is used as the consumable code data. This consumable code data is stored in the memory together with the serial number data when the toner bottle 30 is manufactured.

In the mounting date data area, data related to the date on which the toner bottle 30 is mounted on the information device 20 is stored.
In the replacement date data area, data relating to the date when the toner bottle 30 is removed from the information device 20 and replaced is stored.

  In the mounting counter data area, counter data when the toner bottle 30 is mounted on the information device 20 is stored. This counter data is data relating to the number of prints performed by the information device 20 until the data is written. The mounting counter data is stored in the memory together with the mounting date data when the toner bottle 30 is mounted on the information device 20.

  In the replacement counter data area, counter data when the toner bottle 30 is removed from the information device 20 is stored. This exchange counter data is stored in the memory together with the exchange date data when it is removed from the information device 20.

  In the area counter data area, area counter data relating to the number of printouts converted into paper of a predetermined area using the toner bottle 30 is stored. By using this area counter, the amount of printout can be grasped regardless of the size of the printout paper.

  Data related to the remaining amount of the toner bottle 30 is stored in the toner remaining amount data area. This toner remaining amount data is updated every time the toner contained in the toner bottle 30 is used.

  The toner bottle 30 described above is used by being mounted on the information device 20 shown in FIG. The information device 20 is, for example, a printer or a multifunction device, and performs output processing such as print processing and copy processing. The information device 20 includes a reader / writer 21, and reads / writes data in the memory of the ID chip 31 using the reader / writer 21. Further, the information device 20 measures the toner consumption amount and the number of sheets used in the output process, and calculates an area counter based on the toner consumption amount.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an aggregation computer 40 having a reader 41 is installed at the collection center where the toner bottle 30 is used and collected. The aggregation computer 40 acquires data stored in the memory from the memory of the ID chip 31 of the toner bottle 30 via the reader 41. The aggregation computer 40 includes a collection data storage unit 45 and accumulates data acquired from the memory of the ID chip 31 in the collection data storage unit 45. Further, the aggregation computer 40 is connected to the information management system 50 and transmits the collected data stored in the collected data storage unit 45 to the information management system 50 at a predetermined time.

  The information management system 50 includes a management computer 51. The management computer 51 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like (not shown), and performs processing described later (processing including a recording stage, an association stage, a storage stage, a transmission stage, and the like). By executing the information management program for this purpose, the management computer 51 functions as a recording unit, an association unit, a storage unit, a transmission unit, and the like.

Further, the management computer 51 includes a device management data storage unit 52 as a device information data storage unit, a type data storage unit 53, a maintenance result file data storage unit 54, an integrated data storage unit 56 as an integrated data storage unit, and a display (not shown). It is connected to the item data storage unit.

  The device management data storage unit 52 stores device data related to the sold information device 20. This device data is registered in the device management data storage unit 52 via a registration terminal 60 described later when the information device 20 is sold. This device data includes data relating to the machine number, sales department code, customer code, customer name, and end user code of the information device 20.

In the machine number data area, data related to the machine number (machine number) of the information equipment 20 is stored.
In the sales department code data area, data for specifying the sales department of the information device 20 is stored.

  In the customer code data area, identifier data specifying the customer sold by the information device 20 is stored. As the customer data, when the information device 20 is sold through a sales agent, data for specifying the sales agent is used.

In the customer name data area, data relating to the name of the customer specified by the customer code data is stored.
In the end user code data area, identifier data specifying an end user who uses the information device 20 is stored.

  The type data storage unit 53 stores type data for specifying the type of consumables and devices. This type data is stored when each consumable or device sold is registered. This type data includes type specifying data for specifying types of various consumables and various devices, and name data relating to these names. When the type data is data related to the type of device, the type data includes model identifier data as type specifying data and main unit type name data of the device main body as name data. In the present embodiment, this model identifier constitutes a part of the machine number code of the information device 20, for example. For example, the series name of the information device 20 is used as the main body type name. The type data related to the type of consumables includes consumable item identifier data as type specifying data and consumable type alias data as name data. In the present embodiment, for example, the consumable item identifier data is a consumable item model number, and the consumable item alias data is a consumable item series name, for example.

  The maintenance result file data storage unit 54 stores maintenance result data related to the information device 20 that has performed maintenance. This maintenance result data includes data relating to the contents of the maintenance, comments from customers in the maintenance, and the like in association with the machine number data of the information device 20.

  The integrated data storage unit 56 stores integrated data 560 related to the consumables collection data. The integrated data 560 is stored when the management computer 51 acquires the collected data from the aggregation computer 40. As shown in FIG. 4, the integrated data 560 includes a machine number, a main body type name, a serial number, a consumable code, a consumable product alias, a sales department code, a customer code, a customer name, an end user code, an installation date. It includes data regarding date, replacement date, mounting counter, replacement counter, and area counter.

In the machine number data area, data relating to the equipment number (machine number) of the information equipment 20 that has been used with the collected toner bottle 30 is stored.
Data relating to the main body type name of the information device 20 is stored in the main body type name data area.

Data relating to the serial number (manufacturing number) of the toner bottle 30 is stored in the serial number data area.
In the consumable item code data area, data relating to an identifier for specifying the consumable type (toner bottle type) of the toner bottle 30 is stored.

In the consumable product alias data area, data related to the name of the consumable product of the toner bottle 30 is stored.
In the sales department code data area, data specifying the sales department of the information device 20 that has been used with the toner bottle 30 is stored.

In the customer code data area, identifier data for specifying the customer from whom the information device 20 is sold is stored.
In the customer name data area, data relating to the name of the customer specified by the customer code data is stored.

In the end user code data area, identifier data specifying an end user who uses the information device 20 is stored.
In the mounting date data area, data related to the date on which the toner bottle 30 is mounted on the information device 20 is stored.

In the replacement date data area, data relating to the date when the toner bottle 30 is removed from the information device 20 and replaced is stored.
In the mounting counter data area, counter data when the toner bottle 30 is mounted on the information device 20 is stored.

In the replacement counter data area, counter data when the toner bottle 30 is removed from the information device 20 is stored.
In the area counter data area, area counter data relating to the number of printouts converted into paper of a predetermined area using the toner bottle 30 is stored.

  The display item data storage unit stores data related to items to be displayed on the browsing terminal 70 described later in the integrated data 560. In this embodiment, this display item is determined for each department to be browsed, and each display item data includes department identifier data for specifying each department and item specifying data for specifying the display item. Including.

  A registration terminal 60 and a browsing terminal 70 are connected to the information management system 50 having the above-described configuration. The registration terminal 60 and the browsing terminal 70 are computer terminals and include a display, a keyboard, and a mouse. The registration terminal 60 is used to register various data stored in each data storage unit (52, 53, 54). The browsing terminal 70 is used to display data stored in the integrated data storage unit 56.

  Next, management processing using the above-described information management system 50 will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, this management processing will be described in the order of data processing on the memory until the toner bottle 30 is collected, data processing when the toner bottle 30 is collected, integrated data generation processing, and browsing processing.

(Data processing for memory until it is collected)
As shown in FIG. 2, when the toner bottle 30 is manufactured in the factory, data relating to the serial number and the consumable code is written into the ID chip 31 of the toner bottle 30. As a result, the serial number data and the consumable code data are stored in the memory of the ID chip 31.

  Thereafter, when the sales destination of the toner bottle 30 is determined, the data relating to the sales destination is stored in the maintenance result file data storage unit 54. Specifically, using the registration terminal 60, data relating to the sales department code, customer code, and customer name is registered in the maintenance result file data storage unit 54 in association with the serial number of the toner bottle 30. If the end user is known, data related to the end user code is also registered.

  The sold toner bottle 30 is mounted on the information device 20 of the end user. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the information device 20 sends its own device number data, the date (installation date) at this time, and a counter (equipment counter at the time) through the reader / writer 21. ) Is stored in the memory of the ID chip 31.

  Thereafter, when the information device 20 is used by an output process such as a print process or a copy process, the toner in the toner bottle 30 is used accordingly. Each time it is used, the remaining toner data and the area counter stored in the memory of the ID chip 31 are updated. Specifically, the information device 20 calculates the toner consumption used by the output process. The information device 20 acquires the remaining toner data stored in the memory of the ID chip 31. Further, the information device 20 calculates a new toner remaining amount by subtracting the toner consumption amount from the toner remaining amount. Then, the new toner remaining amount data is written into the memory via the reader / writer 21. Further, the information device 20 calculates the number of sheets (counter) converted into paper of a predetermined area by this output processing based on the calculated toner consumption. Then, the area counter data stored in the memory of the ID chip 31 is acquired, and a new area counter is calculated using the area counter and the calculated counter. Then, it is written into the memory as new area counter data via the reader / writer 21.

  Thereafter, when the toner in the toner bottle 30 is used up, the used toner bottle 30 is removed from the information device 20 in order to replace it with a new toner bottle 30. Here, when the information device 20 detects the removal of the toner bottle 30, the data on the date (exchange date) at this time and the counter (counter at the time of replacement) at this time is ID-received via the reader / writer 21. Store in the memory of the chip 31. Then, the toner bottle 30 removed from the information device 20 is returned to the collection center as shown in FIG.

(Data processing when toner bottle 30 is collected)
In the collection center that has received the collected toner bottle 30, the aggregation computer 40 acquires data stored in the memory of the ID chip 31 through the reader 41 as collection data (step S1-1). Here, the collection data includes data relating to the machine number, serial number, consumable code, mounting date, replacement date, mounting counter, replacement counter, area counter, and the like.

  Next, the aggregation computer 40 converts the collected data into a predetermined format (step S1-2). Specifically, the aggregation computer 40 converts the acquired collected data into a decimal number and rearranges each data so as to be arranged in a predetermined format. Then, the aggregation computer 40 stores the converted collection data in the collection data storage unit 45 (step S1-3).

  The aggregation computer 40 collects the data stored in the memory of the ID chip 31 of each toner bottle 30 by repeating the above-described steps S1-1 to S1-3 for each toner bottle 30. The data is stored in the data storage unit 45.

  Thereafter, the aggregation computer 40 transmits the collected data stored in the collected data storage unit 45 to the information management system 50 at a predetermined time (step S1-4). When the collection computer 40 transmits the collection data to the information management system 50, the collection computer 40 deletes the collection data stored in the collection data storage unit 45.

(Integrated data generation process)
The information management system 50 stores the collected data acquired from the aggregation computer 40 in the integrated data storage unit 56 (step S2-1). Specifically, the management computer 51 of the information management system 50 includes the machine number, serial number, consumable code, installation date, replacement date, installation counter, replacement counter, and area acquired from the aggregation computer 40. Data relating to a counter or the like is stored in the integrated data storage unit 56 as integrated data 560.

  Next, the information management system 50 stores customer data in the integrated data storage unit 56 (step S2-2). Specifically, the management computer 51 of the information management system 50 identifies the device data stored in the device management data storage unit 52 based on the machine number data stored in the integrated data storage unit 56, and this device data Data relating to the sales department code, customer code, customer name and end user code are extracted. The management computer 51 stores the extracted data as data relating to the sales department code, customer code, customer name, and end user code of the integrated data 560 including the machine number code used for extraction.

  And the information management system 50 memorize | stores classification data (step S2-3). Specifically, the management computer 51 of the information management system 50 extracts the type data related to the information device 20 in which the toner bottle 30 is mounted from the type data storage unit 53 using the machine number data. Then, the management computer 51 stores the main body type name data of this type data as the integrated data 560 in the main body type name data area of the integrated data storage unit 56. Further, the management computer 51 extracts the type data related to the toner bottle 30 from the type data storage unit 53 using the consumable code. Then, the management computer 51 stores the consumable product alias data of this type data as the integrated data 560 in the consumable product alias data area of the integrated data storage unit 56.

As described above, the integrated data 560 is generated and stored in the integrated data storage unit 56 in the information management system 50.
(Browsing process)
Next, processing for browsing the integrated data 560 stored in the integrated data storage unit 56 will be described. First, the browsing terminal 70 is connected to the information management system 50. Then, the browsing terminal 70 makes a data transmission request to the information management system 50 (step S3-1). This transmission request includes identifier data for specifying the department to which the person in charge of browsing belongs.

  Next, the information management system 50 specifies the output contents (step S3-2). Specifically, when the management computer 51 of the information management system 50 browses the person in charge of this department from the display item data storage unit of the information management system 50 based on the identifier data acquired from the browsing terminal 70. Specify the item data to be displayed on the screen.

  Next, the information management system 50 extracts corresponding data (step S3-3). Specifically, the management computer 51 of the information management system 50 acquires data corresponding to the item specified in step S3-2 from the integrated data 560.

Then, the information management system 50 transmits the extracted data to the viewing terminal 70 that has requested transmission (step S3-4). The browsing terminal 70 displays data on the display based on the received data (step S3-5).

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
In this embodiment, the toner bottle 30 is provided with an ID chip 31 including a memory. In this memory, the serial number of the toner bottle 30 is stored, and when the toner bottle 30 is attached to the information device 20, the device number data of the information device 20 and the like are stored. When the used toner bottle 30 is collected, the data stored in the memory of the ID chip 31 is read via the reader 41 and stored in the collected data storage unit 45 of the aggregation computer 40. The aggregation computer 40 transmits the collected data to the information management system 50. The management computer 51 of the information management system 50 is connected to a device management data storage unit 52 that stores device data including data relating to the machine number, sales department code, customer code, customer name, and end user code of the information device 20. ing. The management computer 51 stores the received collection data in the integrated data storage unit 56, specifies device data based on the machine number data, and stores it in the integrated data 560. For this reason, it is possible to grasp the information related to the collected toner bottle 30 and the data related to the customer who used the toner bottle 30 attached to the information device 20 in association with each other. Therefore, it is possible to provide a service reflecting the usage status of the toner bottle 30 and the information device 20 actually used by the customer.

  In the present embodiment, the memory of the ID chip 31 of the toner bottle 30 also stores data related to the number of sheets (counter) consumed while the toner bottle 30 is attached to the information device 20. Therefore, the management computer 51 can acquire information regarding the number of consumed paper while the toner bottle 30 is mounted on the information device 20 from this memory. Therefore, based on this information, it is possible to promote sales of consumables such as paper and information devices according to the usage status of customers.

  In this embodiment, the management computer 51 of the information management system 50 stores the collected data in the integrated data storage unit 56 (step S2-1). The management computer 51 stores customer data based on the machine number data stored in the integrated data storage unit 56 (step S2-2), and stores type data (step S2-3). When the information management system 50 receives the transmission request including the identifier data for identifying the department to which the person in charge belongs from the browsing terminal 70, the information management system 50 identifies the output contents from the display item data storage unit of the information management system 50. (Step S3-2). The information management system 50 extracts the corresponding data (step S3-3), transmits this data to the viewing terminal 70 that made the transmission request (step S3-4), and displays the data on the display (step S3-4). S3-5).

  For this reason, for example, the information management system 50, for the browsing terminal 70 of the consumables sales department, is a consumable product alias, a mounting date or a replacement date for each customer (customer or end user), etc. Can be displayed. As a result, it is expected that the consumables sales department can grasp the use time and replacement frequency of the consumables of the customer, and promote the sales of the consumables. Also, the information management system 50 displays, for example, a consumable product alias and a mounting counter, a replacement counter and an area counter for each customer (customer or end user) in a maintenance management department or the like. As a result, the maintenance management department can grasp the number of consumables actually used and the area counter. Therefore, since the person in charge can browse the data excluding the data of unnecessary items among the data of many items via the browsing terminal 70, the data can be grasped more efficiently.

In the present embodiment, the management computer 51 is connected to the maintenance result file data storage unit 54. The maintenance result file data storage unit 54 stores maintenance result data including data related to the contents of the maintenance and comments from customers in the maintenance in association with the machine number data of the information device 20. When the browsing terminal 70 transmits the machine number data of the displayed information device 20 to the information management system 50, the management computer 51 extracts maintenance result data having the received machine number data from the maintenance result file data storage unit 54. To the viewing terminal 70. For this reason, it is possible to obtain a maintenance record associated with the information device 20 to which the toner bottle 30 displayed on the browsing terminal 70 is attached. For example, it is assumed that there is a comment from a customer that the used toner bottle 30 can output only a much smaller number than the specified number. In this case, the toner bottle 30 is specified based on the use time and the customer data calculated from the use time (mounting date and replacement date), and the integrated data 560 related to the toner bottle 30 is browsed to determine the cause. It is also possible to analyze. Accordingly, it is possible to analyze the data related to the consumables such as the information device 20 and the toner bottle 30 using the customer's comment at the time of maintenance, and provide a service reflecting these.

  In the present embodiment, the integrated data storage unit 56 uses the machine number data and the consumable code to store the information device 20 in which the toner bottle 30 is mounted and the type name of the toner bottle 30 in the integrated data storage unit 56. Remembered. For this reason, the management computer 51 can extract the data including the type name that can be easily grasped by the viewer from the integrated data storage unit 56 and transmit the data to the browsing terminal 70 for display.

  Furthermore, the management computer 51 of the information management system 50 is connected to a type data storage unit 53 in which type data for specifying the type of consumables and devices is stored. When storing the collected data in the integrated data storage unit 56, the management computer 51 uses the model number data and the consumable code to store the type name of the information device 20 and the toner bottle 30 in which the toner bottle 30 is mounted. Obtained from the unit 53 and stored in the integrated data storage unit 56. As a result, the integrated data storage unit 56 can store the data related to the type names together with the machine number data and the consumable codes. Therefore, even when data including a type name that is easy for the viewer to understand is transmitted to the viewing terminal 70 together with other data, the management computer 51 uses the integrated data 560 stored in the integrated data storage unit 56. If extracted, it is not necessary to access the type data storage unit 53.

Moreover, you may change the said embodiment as follows.
In the above embodiment, when the used toner bottle 30 is removed from the information device 20, data regarding the replacement date and the replacement counter is stored in the memory of the ID chip 31. Not limited to this, every time the information device 20 performs output processing and uses the toner bottle 30, the date and counter at that time may be stored and updated as data relating to the replacement date and counter at the time of replacement. Good. Thus, even when the toner bottle 30 is suddenly removed from the information device 20, the replacement date and the data of the replacement counter at that time can be acquired more accurately.

  In the above-described embodiment, data relating to the number of sheets used (attachment) while being attached to the information device 20 as information relating to consumables other than the toner bottle 30 in the memory of the ID chip 31 of the toner bottle 30 Hour counter and exchange counter). Not only consumables other than paper, but also information on consumables (for example, photoreceptor units) consumed while the toner bottle 30 is mounted on the information device 20 is stored in the memory of the ID chip 31 of the toner bottle 30. May be stored. As a result, information on other consumables can be more reliably acquired from the memory in association with the information device 20 to which the toner bottle 30 is attached, and therefore sales of the information device 20 and the consumables used therefor can be performed. Promotion can be performed more efficiently.

In the above embodiment, the toner bottle 30 attached to the information device 20 has been described as a consumable item provided with a memory for storing data. The consumable provided with the memory is not limited to this, and any consumable may be used as long as it is attached to the main body and can exchange data with the main body and is collected for recycling after use. May be. For example, it may be a battery or other replacement part attached as a consumable to a device body such as a digital camera or a mobile phone.

1 is a schematic diagram of a system in an embodiment. Explanatory drawing for demonstrating the write-in and read-out state of ID chip. Explanatory drawing of the data memorize | stored in the memory of ID chip. Explanatory drawing of the data memorize | stored in the integrated data storage part. Explanatory drawing for demonstrating the data processing after collect | recovering a toner bottle.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Information equipment as equipment, 30 ... Toner bottle as consumable, 50 ... Information management system, 51 ... Management computer, 52 ... Equipment management data storage section as equipment information data storage means, 56 ... As integrated data storage means Integrated data storage unit 70... Browsing terminal.

Claims (7)

Connected to the device information data storage means for storing the device specifying data for specifying the device and the device information data related to this device in association with each other,
An information management system for managing information about consumables using a management computer capable of acquiring data from an information storage medium attached to a consumable container,
The management computer is
Recording means for acquiring and recording the device identification data written when the consumable is mounted in order to identify the device using the consumable from the information storage medium of the collected consumable container,
Information management comprising: an association unit that identifies the device information of the device from the device information data storage unit based on the acquired device identification data, and associates the device information with information about the consumables system.   The information management system according to claim 1, wherein information related to a customer who has purchased or used the device is recorded as the device information in the device information data storage unit.   The information according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the information storage medium records information about other consumables that are consumed while the consumables to which the information storage medium is attached are mounted on the device. Management system. The management computer is connected to integrated data storage means for storing at least device information about the device and information about consumables, and a browsing terminal for browsing the data,
The management computer is
Storage means for storing in the integrated data storage means the device information and the information on the consumables associated by the association means;
The data processing apparatus further comprises transmission means for acquiring, from the integrated data storage means, data of items specified based on attribute information of a person in charge browsing from the browsing terminal and transmitting the data to the browsing terminal. Item 4. The information management system according to any one of Items 1 to 3. Connected to the device information data storage means for storing the device specifying data for specifying the device and the device information data related to this device in association with each other,
A method for managing information about consumables using a management computer capable of acquiring data from an information storage medium attached to a consumable container,
The management computer is
In order to identify the device that uses the consumable from the information storage medium of the collected consumable container, a recording stage for acquiring and recording the device identification data written when the consumable is mounted,
Information management characterized in that, based on the acquired device identification data, device information of the device is identified from the device information data storage means, and an associating step for associating the device information with information on the consumables is executed. Method. Connected to the device information data storage means for storing the device specifying data for specifying the device and the device information data related to this device in association with each other,
A program for managing information about consumables using a management computer capable of acquiring data from an information storage medium attached to the consumable container,
The management computer,
Recording means for acquiring and recording the device identification data written when the consumable is mounted in order to identify the device using the consumable from the information storage medium of the collected consumable container, and the acquired device An information management program characterized by specifying device information of the device from the device information data storage unit based on specific data and functioning as an association unit for associating the device information with information on the consumables.   A consumable container for storing a consumable material, wherein an information storage medium having a data area for writing device specifying data for specifying a device in which the consumable container is mounted is attached. .

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