Patent Application for Control Device with Shipping Service Integration

ChangeBridge: Patent Apps - Business Methods (G06Q)

Published September 18th, 2025

Detected March 26th, 2026

Summary

The USPTO has published a new patent application (US20260087441A1) for a control device that integrates with shipping services for consumable articles. The application, filed on September 18, 2025, describes a system that displays different shipping service options based on whether the device is registered with a specific service.

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What changed

This document is a publication of a patent application filed with the USPTO, specifically application US20260087441A1, titled 'NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM STORING COMPUTER-READABLE INSTRUCTIONS FOR CONTROL DEVICE, SYSTEM AND METHOD'. The application, filed on September 18, 2025, by inventor Megumi Hata, details a control device that manages user interaction with shipping services for consumable articles related to an image processing device. The system's interface dynamically adjusts to permit or restrict access to specific shipping services based on the device's registration status.

As this is a patent application, it does not impose immediate regulatory obligations or penalties on businesses. However, companies involved in developing or manufacturing control devices, image processing devices, or related software should be aware of this potential intellectual property. Companies may wish to review the application to understand the scope of the claimed technology and assess any potential impact on their own product development or existing patents. No compliance deadline or specific action is required at this stage, as it is a preliminary filing.

Source document (simplified)

← USPTO Patent Applications

NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM STORING COMPUTER-READABLE INSTRUCTIONS FOR CONTROL DEVICE, SYSTEM AND METHOD

Application US20260087441A1 Kind: A1 Mar 26, 2026

Inventors

Megumi HATA

Abstract

A control device may include a controller configured to cause a terminal device to display a predetermined screen related to an image processing device communicable with the terminal device, wherein in a case where the image processing device has not registered for any of a plurality of shipping services for shipping a consumable article used in the image processing device, the predetermined screen is displayed in a first mode capable of receiving operation use of any the plurality of shipping services by a user of the terminal device, and in a case where the image processing device has registered for a specific shipping service among the plurality of shipping services, the predetermined screen is displayed in a second mode that permits use of the specific shipping service by the user and restricts use of other shipping services than the specific shipping service among the plurality of shipping services.