Apparatus and method for determining a characteristic of a consumable

A physical resource consuming apparatus comprising:

• a physical resource consuming system operating according to a cycle of operation requiring the consumption of at least a portion of a physical resource;
• a physical resource dispensing system coupled to the physical resource consuming system to dispense a physical resource coupled to the physical resource consuming system and comprising:
• a removable component removably coupled to the physical resource dispensing system and defining a reservoir configured to hold the physical resource;
• and
• a graphic provided on the removable component and having optically encoded information regarding a characteristic of the physical resource contained in the reservoir;
• an optical reading system comprising:
• an illumination source selectively providing illumination at a first intensity and a second intensity onto the graphic when the removable component is coupled to the physical resource dispensing system;
• and
• a reflectance reader configured to read the reflectance from the graphic when illuminated by the illumination source at the first and second intensity and provide an output indicative of the read reflectance during illumination at the first and second intensities;
• and
• a controller operably coupled to the optical reading system to receive the output and determine at least one operating parameter of the physical resource consuming apparatus as a function of the output.

A method of operating a physical resource consuming apparatus operable according to a cycle of operation and having a removable component supplying the physical resource, and on which is provided a graphic, with the graphic, removable component and physical resource defining a multiple layer composite, the method comprising:

• applying a first intensity of light to the composite and determining a corresponding first reflectance;
• and
• applying a second intensity of light to the composite and determining a corresponding second reflectance, wherein the intensity of the second intensity light is greater than the intensity of the first intensity light and penetrates a surface of the composite;
• determining at least one characteristic of the physical resource from the first and second reflectances;
• and
• determining at least one operating parameter for the physical resource consuming apparatus as a function of the at least one characteristic.