ORDER MANAGEMENT FOR REPLACING CONSUMABLES

摘要

A printer (21a) has a toner cartridge (30a) with a toner level detector (30b). A comparator (31) can detect when toner level is low, and a signaller (32) signals this to a PC (22) over a LAN. In the PC, signals from multiple printers (21a, 21b) are aggregated by an aggregator (34), which compiles a composite order. Automatic or manual filtering may be used before compiling the composite order. A signal constituting an order for replacement components is then sent by a messenger (39) over the internet (24) to a supplier website or e-mail address (26).