WO2005017800A2 - Method of providing inkjet cartridge refill services - Google Patents
Method of providing inkjet cartridge refill services Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2005017800A2 WO2005017800A2 PCT/US2004/024170 US2004024170W WO2005017800A2 WO 2005017800 A2 WO2005017800 A2 WO 2005017800A2 US 2004024170 W US2004024170 W US 2004024170W WO 2005017800 A2 WO2005017800 A2 WO 2005017800A2
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- ink jet
- cartridges
- ink
- depleted
- distribution infrastructure
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
- G06Q10/08—Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
- B41J2/01—Ink jet
- B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
- B41J2/175—Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
- B41J2/17503—Ink cartridges
- B41J2/17506—Refilling of the cartridge
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a method of providing ink jet cartridge refilling services and more specifically, a method of providing refilled ink jet cartridges to a consumer, and for collecting reuseable ink-depleted cartridges and delivering the collected cartridges to a commercial refiller using a single designated distribution infrastructure.
- BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Over the past few years, consumer use of desktop ink jet printers has increased. Many of these printers use replacable ink jet cartridges to provide an assortment of ink solutions. The cost of these ink jet cartridges is typically high and often far exceed the cost of the actual ink solution they are supplying. Therefore, consumers have increasingly sought to repair cartridges by refilling them once the initial ink supply is exhausted.
- Refill kits are commercially available for this purpose. However, such kits are somewhat difficult to use, and may be messy.
- Commercial ref ⁇ llers have stepped into the market and have greatly enhanced the process by using large-scale techniques to refill reusable ink- depleted cartridges for resale.
- Such commercial refillers receive reusable ink- depleted cartridges from several sources, including directly from consumers, from collection sites, and from professional cartridge brokers.
- Refilled cartridges are resold to consumers either directly or through retail establishments. If the latter, the refiller supplies the retail establishment either directly, or more commonly through a network of distributors.
- Such commercial refillers face a number of supply and distribution problems.
- the present invention provides an efficient method for collecting reuseable ink-depleted cartridges from a retail establishment that deals in ink jet cartridges and delivering the collected cartridges to a commercial refiller using the same single designated distribution channel as is used for providing refilled ink jet cartridges to a consumer via the retail establishment.
- This inventive method provides a steady supply to the refiller of ink-depleted cartridges in numbers corresponding to the demand. A high percentage of ink-depleted cartridges are useable because of minimization of third-party handling.
- commercial refillers have access to already-established distribution infrastructure to reach retailers and ultimately consumers.
- At least one ink jet cartridge depleted of ink is received by a designated distribution infrastructure and is transported and delivered by said designated distribution infrastructure to a commercial refiller.
- the designated distribution infrastructure receives an outer container having at least one processed ink jet cartridge therein from the commercial refiller; and transports the processed ink jet cartridge to the retail outlet for sale to consumers.
- the method is carried out by a distribution infrastructure which is a total service provider who follows ink jet cartridges through its entire distribution process between the retail outlet and the commercial refiller, both as a depleted cartridge to be refilled and as a processed cartridge for sale.
- a method for using a designated distribution infrastructure to collect reuseable ink-depleted cartridges, deliver the collected cartridges to a commercial refiller, and provide refilled ink jet cartridges to a consumer includes receiving from a retail establishment, by a designated distribution infrastructure, an ink jet cartridge which has been depleted of ink.
- the received ink jet cartridge is transported and delivered, by the designated distribution infrastructure, to a commercial refiller.
- the processed ink jet cartridge is received, by the designated distribution infrastructure, from the commercial refiller and transported and delivered, by the designated distribution infrastructure, to the retail outlet for sale to consumers.
- the drawing shows a method for collecting reuseable ink-depleted cartridges from a retail establishment, delivering the collected cartridges to a commercial refiller using the same single designated distribution channel as is used for providing refilled ink jet cartridges to a consumer via the retail establishment.
- DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings, the present invention provides for a system or method for collecting and delivering reuseable ink-depleted cartridges to a commercial refiller and for providing refilled ink jet cartridges to a retail establishment, using a single designated distribution infrastructure. As shown in the drawing, a consumer 10 is presumed to have enjoyed the use of an ink jet printer, copier, etc.
- consumer 10 delivers, via path 12, the ink-depleted cartridge to a retail establishment 14 which deals in ink jet cartridges.
- the retail establishment may be a conventional store, a mail order business, an internet business, or other similar outlet dealing in ink jet cartridges.
- the consumer may, as illustrated by dotted path 16, purchase a new cartridge or a refilled cartridge, or the consumer may agree to take delivery of the same cartridge as he or she delivered to the retail establishment etc., after refilling, as explained herein below.
- Retail establishments are often supplied by companies having distribution infrastructures; either owned by the supplier or by way of designated distributors. Other forms of distribution include public and private package delivery concerns.
- the present invention relates to those suppliers who distribute products to retail establishments byway of designated distribution infrastructures.
- reuseable ink- depleted cartridges are collected via path 20 from consumers by retail establishments 14.
- the collected cartridges are picked up from the retail establishment by a designated distributor 18 while making deliveries of various commodities to the retail establishment.
- distributor 18 is in the business of distribution imaging supplies such as for example ink jet paper, photographic film, cameras, etc.
- the distributor may also pick up imaged photographic film for delivery to and from photographic processing labs.
- Distributor 18 has an infrastructure for reliably interfacing between one or more suppliers and various retail establishments, preferably on a regular schedule.
- One such supplier includes one or more companies 22 that refill reuseable ink-depleted cartridges.
- Company 22 processes the cartridges such as by filling, testing, packaging, etc. Cartridges that do not pass quality tests are discarded, as illustrated at 23.
- Distributor 18 may receive additional reuseable ink-depleted cartridges from collection sites, brokers, etc., as represented at 24, and delivers the collected cartridges to refiller company 22 via a path 26. While at the refiller company, distributor 18 may pick up already refilled in cartridges, as represented by path 28, for transportation and delivery to retail establishments 14 (path 30).
- the consumer does not necessarily purchase the same cartridge as he or she delivers to the retail establishment; but rather would be expected to buy a refilled cartridge at the same time that the reuseable ink-depleted cartridge was left at the retail establishment.
- the consumer delivers a reuseable ink-depleted cartridge to retail establishment 14 and returns later to receive the same cartridge after it has been refilled by company 22.
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP04779296A EP1652144A1 (en) | 2003-08-07 | 2004-07-26 | Method of providing inkjet cartridge refill services |
JP2006522601A JP2007501978A (en) | 2003-08-07 | 2004-07-26 | Method for providing inkjet cartridge refill service |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US10/636,411 | 2003-08-07 | ||
US10/636,411 US20050029157A1 (en) | 2003-08-07 | 2003-08-07 | Method of providing ink jet cartridge refill services |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2005017800A2 true WO2005017800A2 (en) | 2005-02-24 |
Family
ID=34116423
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2004/024170 WO2005017800A2 (en) | 2003-08-07 | 2004-07-26 | Method of providing inkjet cartridge refill services |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20050029157A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP1652144A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2007501978A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2005017800A2 (en) |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7344215B2 (en) | 2004-09-28 | 2008-03-18 | E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company | Inkjet cartridge refilling machine and method |
US8956308B2 (en) | 2008-09-29 | 2015-02-17 | Bayer Healthcare Llc | Integrated-testing system |
Families Citing this family (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7303249B2 (en) * | 2005-03-11 | 2007-12-04 | Tonerhead, Inc. | Method and apparatus for a printer cartridge tester |
US7665819B2 (en) * | 2005-04-21 | 2010-02-23 | Tonerhead, Inc. | Method and apparatus for a printer cartridge tester |
Family Cites Families (11)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6247803B1 (en) * | 1983-10-13 | 2001-06-19 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Ink jet recording apparatus and method for replenishing ink in the tank cartridge |
US7249831B2 (en) * | 1995-04-27 | 2007-07-31 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Ink container refurbishment system |
EP1215611A4 (en) * | 2000-02-14 | 2003-01-29 | Canon Kk | Collecting method by information processor, and ordering method or sale method |
EP1193196A4 (en) * | 2000-03-07 | 2002-08-07 | Seiko Epson Corp | Expendable supply managing system |
JP3890204B2 (en) * | 2000-04-28 | 2007-03-07 | キヤノン株式会社 | Data processing apparatus, method thereof, and program thereof |
US7343298B2 (en) * | 2000-10-20 | 2008-03-11 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Method and system for supply of expendables |
JP2002269178A (en) * | 2001-03-12 | 2002-09-20 | Canon Inc | Commodity managing system, server, terminal, commodity managing method, commodity managing program and computer readable recording medium having commodity managing program recorded thereon |
US6520693B2 (en) * | 2001-03-30 | 2003-02-18 | Eastman Kodak Company | Method of providing photoprocessing services |
CN1444164A (en) * | 2001-12-20 | 2003-09-24 | 株式会社理光 | Article ordering receiving and transporting system, method and recording medium |
US6729360B2 (en) * | 2002-09-04 | 2004-05-04 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Ink cartridge refilling station |
US7207667B2 (en) * | 2003-06-24 | 2007-04-24 | Tonerhead, Inc. | Apparatus and method for refurbishing used cartridges for ink jet type imaging devices |
-
2003
- 2003-08-07 US US10/636,411 patent/US20050029157A1/en not_active Abandoned
-
2004
- 2004-07-26 WO PCT/US2004/024170 patent/WO2005017800A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2004-07-26 EP EP04779296A patent/EP1652144A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2004-07-26 JP JP2006522601A patent/JP2007501978A/en active Pending
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7344215B2 (en) | 2004-09-28 | 2008-03-18 | E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company | Inkjet cartridge refilling machine and method |
US8956308B2 (en) | 2008-09-29 | 2015-02-17 | Bayer Healthcare Llc | Integrated-testing system |
US9877677B2 (en) | 2008-09-29 | 2018-01-30 | Ascensia Diabetes Care Holdings Ag | Integrated-testing system |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US20050029157A1 (en) | 2005-02-10 |
JP2007501978A (en) | 2007-02-01 |
EP1652144A1 (en) | 2006-05-03 |
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