The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 04, 2018
Filed:
Dec. 14, 2016
Konica Minolta, Inc., Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, JP;
Yusuke Shinosaki, Toyokawa, JP;
Hiroaki Sugimoto, Nagoya, JP;
Kazuhiro Tomiyasu, Toyokawa, JP;
Tomoko Maruyama, Toyokawa, JP;
Kazuaki Kanai, Toyokawa, JP;
Konica Minolta, Inc., Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An image forming apparatus capable of exchanging various types of information with at least one image forming apparatus includes a nonvolatile storage unit capable of higher-speed access processing than a hard disk drive of the image forming apparatus and capable of storing amount-of-use information regarding an amount of use of the image forming apparatus by each user, and a management unit configured to manage usage of the image forming apparatus by a user, by using the amount-of-use information stored in the storage unit. On a predetermined condition, the management unit shifts specific amount-of-use information to a shift destination device that is another image forming apparatus different from the image forming apparatus, the specific amount-of-use information being amount-of-use information about a specific user out of a plurality of pieces of amount-of-use information about each of a plurality of users stored in the storage unit.