초록 ▼

Upon particular occurrences, such as a page being printed, a printer job done, an error event or a passing of a day, data is recorded to non-volatile memory (NVRAM) to record data over time. Once a trigger event occurs such as an error, a pattern of occurrences of printer conditions, a passage of a

Upon particular occurrences, such as a page being printed, a printer job done, an error event or a passing of a day, data is recorded to non-volatile memory (NVRAM) to record data over time. Once a trigger event occurs such as an error, a pattern of occurrences of printer conditions, a passage of a certain amount of time, a number of pages printed, a POSTSCRIPT snippet sent, a user command or a command via the World Wide Web (WWW), an email is automatically sent to a number of email addresses selected by the user. The email contains specially formatted encoded data that was previously recorded over time upon an occurrence as described above.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.]1. A method for tracking and communicating printer failures and usage profile aspects comprising the steps of:detecting when a first predetermined amount of time has passed;writing printer consumable usage data and printer condition data to non-volatile memory;detecting an

[ What is claimed is:] [1.]1. A method for tracking and communicating printer failures and usage profile aspects comprising the steps of:detecting when a first predetermined amount of time has passed;writing printer consumable usage data and printer condition data to non-volatile memory;detecting an occurrence of a printer condition;writing the printer consumable usage data and the printer condition data pertaining to the printer condition detected to non-volatile memory;repeating the steps of detecting when a first predetermined amount of time has passed, writing printer consumable usage data and printer condition data to non-volatile memory, detecting an occurrence of a printer condition and writing the printer consumable usage data and the printer condition data pertaining to the printer condition detected to non-volatile memory, until either a second predetermined amount of time has passed, a predetermined number of pages have been printed, a predetermined command has been entered, a printer error has occurred or a pattern of occurrences of printer conditions has occurred;sending an email message showing the printer consumable usage data and printer condition data written over the predetermined amounts of time, thereby communicating patterns of printer usage over time.