Granted Patent B2

US 7,478,060 · App. 09/943,613 · Granted Jan 13, 2009

Abstract

Claims (26)

1. A method to order parts for a machine being serviced within an e-commerce environment comprising:

connecting a machine to a local processing device via a communication link, the machine comprising a large-scale printer, copier or other machine;

gathering diagnostic data used for diagnosing malfunctions in the operation of the machine by the local processing device, wherein the diagnostic data is stored in a memory device that communicates with the local processing device;

determining a machine identifier within the local processing device, wherein the determining a machine identifier comprises at least one of:

(i) entering the machine identifier into the local processing device by a user; and

(ii) reading the machine identifier from the machine when the machine identifier is hard-wired into the machine;

transmitting, by the local processing device, the machine identifier and the diagnostic data to a host computing device via a network;

processing the diagnostic data by the host computing device, wherein the processing the diagnostic data comprises at least one of:

(i) running tests, by the host computing device, using the diagnostic data to determine if any parts of the machine are not functioning as expected; and

(ii) inspecting the parts of the machine, by the user, to identify parts that are in need of replacement;

determining a part of the machine to be replaced, the part to be replaced comprising one of the parts not functioning as expected or one of the parts in need of replacement;

determining a part identifier of the part to be replaced, wherein the part to be replaced is identified by viewing a graphical representation of the machine on a display device, the determining a part identifier of the part to be replaced comprising:

pointing by the user, via a pointing device, to an area on the display device displaying a section of the machine including the part to be replaced;

when the pointing device is positioned over an appropriate section of the displayed section of the machine, magnifying, by the user, that portion of the machine, and repeating the pointing and magnifying process until the part to be replaced is magnified to a predetermined threshold level for showing a predetermined level of detail;

when the part to be replaced is magnified to a predetermined level on the display device, selecting, by the user, the part to be replaced with the pointing device; and

when the part to be replaced is selected, viewing the part identifier, wherein the part identifier is included within machine data for the graphical representation of the machine, and wherein the machine data is stored in at least one of:

(i) the memory device that communicates with the local processing device; and

(ii) in the host computing device;

transmitting the identifier of the part to be replaced from the local processing device to the host computing device;

maintaining retrofit information for each of the parts of the machine on a storage device which communicates with the host computing device, as a function of the machine identifier, wherein the retrofit information represents updated information for determining if the part identifier of the part to be replaced has become obsolete;

updating the part identifier of the part to be replaced as a function of the retrofit information, by a host processing device in communication with the host computing device, to determine whether any updated information is available for the part identifier, wherein the part identifier determined in the step of determining the part identifier of the part to be replaced may or may not be replaced with an updated part identifier; and

transmitting the updated part identifier from the host computing device to an order processing device, wherein, if a part corresponding to the updated part identifier is available at a distribution center, the part corresponding to the updated part identifier is shipped to a location of the machine, and wherein, if a part corresponding to the updated part identifier is not available at a distribution center, an order for the part corresponding to the updated part identifier is automatically forwarded to at least one of a regional and a national distribution center.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the updated information maintained on the host computing device also identifies other parts that are to be replaced along with the part to be replaced, and wherein replacing the part to be replaced precipitates changing at least one additional part of the machine, and any additional parts of the machine to be replaced are identified within the retrofit information as a function of the part identifier of the part to be replaced.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein:

if the part to be replaced is a replaceable component within the machine, wherein the part to be replaced is replaceable as a discrete element, the part identifier of the part to be replaced represents the replaceable component; and

if the part to be replaced is a non-replaceable component within a sub-replaceable sub-assembly, wherein the part to be replaced cannot be removed and/or replaced within the machine without removing and/or replacing an entire assembly, the part identifier represents the entire sub-assembly including the part to be replaced.

Assignments (10)