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:
Jul. 21, 1998
Filed:
Jun. 23, 1997
Hidenobu Nakamura, Toyokawa, JP;
Tomokazu Kato, Toyokawa, JP;
Tomoyuki Atsumi, Toyohashi, JP;
Hiroyuki Asai, Okazaki, JP;
Minolta Co., Ltd., Osaka, JP;
Abstract
A copier supervisory control system in which a plurality of copiers are connected to each other over a network is provided. Each of the plurality of copiers has a structure that compares a user identifier inputted by a user with a registered identifier. If the user identifier and the registered identifier are identical, the user is permitted to make copies by the copier. If the two compared identifiers are not identical, the user is prohibited from making copies. More specifically, a first copier receives a user identifier and compares it with its registered identifier. If the user identifier and the registered identifier of the first copier are not identical, the copier inquires of a second copier whether it has a registered identifier identical to the user identifier over the network. Upon receipt of the inquiry, the second copier compares the user identifier with its own identifier, and if the two identifiers are identical, it informs the first copier of the result over the network. Upon receipt of the information, the first copier permits the user to make copies.