Printing container fill indicator
OwnerJohn Tiedgeinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods and apparatuses are provided for use with printing devices. One apparatus includes a housing forming a reservoir that is suitable for holding a printing material therein, and having an outlet feature configured to allow the printing material to be withdrawn from the reservoir and an inlet feature configured to allow an amount of printing material to be deposited within the reservoir, and a fill indicator operatively coupled to the housing. The fill indicator includes a breach mechanism that is configured to be detectibly altered when the inlet feature is used to deposit the amount of printing material into the reservoir, and an interface that is operatively coupled to the breach mechanism and configured to allow detection of at least one electrical characteristic of the breach mechanism.
Claims34
An apparatus for use in a printing device, the apparatus comprising:
- a housing forming a reservoir that is suitable for holding a printing material therein, and having an outlet feature through which said printing material may be withdrawn from said reservoir and an inlet feature through which an amount of said printing material may be deposited within said reservoir;
- and
- a fill indicator operatively coupled to said housing, said fill indicator comprising:
- a breach mechanism located near said inlet feature and disposed with respect to said inlet feature such that said breach mechanism is detectibly altered when said inlet feature is opened, and
- an interface operatively coupled to said breach mechanism and configured to allow detection of at least one electrical characteristic of said breach mechanism.
A method comprising:
- forming a container configured to receive a printing material through a fill port, hold said printing material, and dispense said printing material through an outlet port;
- providing an initial amount of said printing material within said container;
- and
- operatively coupling a fill indicator to said container, said fill indicator comprising a breach mechanism located near said fill port and disposed with respect to said fill port such that said breach mechanism is detectibly altered when said fill port is opened to deposit an additional amount of said printing material into said reservoir, and an interface operatively coupled to said breach mechanism and configured to allow detection of at least one electrical characteristic of said breach mechanism.
A method comprising:
- providing a container configured to receive a printing material through a fill port, hold said printing material, and dispense said printing material through an outlet port;
- and
- filling said container with an amount of printing material through said fill port to detectably alter a fill indicator associated with said fill port, said fill indicator comprising a breach mechanism located near said fill port and disposed with respect to said fill port such that said breach mechanism is detectibly altered when said fill port is opened, and an interface operatively coupled to said breach mechanism and configured to allow detection of at least one electrical characteristic of said breach mechanism.
A printing device comprising:
- a receptacle for receiving a container, said container comprising a fill port and a fill indicator having a breach mechanism located near said fill port and disposed with respect to said fill port such that said breach mechanism is detectibly altered when said fill port is opened to introduce a printing material into said container, and an interface operatively coupled to said breach mechanism and configured to allow detection of at least one electrical characteristic of said breach mechanism;
- and
- circuitry configured to operatively couple to said interface, detect said electrical characteristic, determine if said fill port has been opened based on said detected electrical characteristic, and output at least one signal corresponding to said determination.
An apparatus comprising:
- means for holding a printing material;
- means for allowing access to said means for holding said printing material such that said printing material can be added;
- and
- means located near said means for allowing for indicating that said means for allowing access to said means for holding said printing material has been opened to add said printing material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.