Xerox Corporation

Amy B Thornton

Larry Eugene Hindman

Amin M Godil

A method and system for detecting an ink stick jam in a solid liquid ink phasing delivery system for supplying ink to a printer. The phasing system includes a heater plate disposed to engage a solid ink stick and heat an engaging portion of the ink stick to a liquid phase. A temperature sensing device associated with the heater plate detects the temperature thereof. A control system selectively supplies power to the heater plate. The method comprises supplying a predetermined amount of power through the control system to the heater plate intended to achieve the desired melt rate of the ink stick during a phase change from solid to liquid. The desired melt rate is associated with the predetermined desired temperature of the heater plate. The temperature of the heater plate is sensed with the sensing device during the supply of power thereto. When a sensed temperature of the heater plate varies from the predetermined desired temperature by a selected amount, the supply power is interrupted, whereby heater damage and printer ink starvation can be avoided.

Real time detection of ink stick jams in phasing printing systems

A method and system is provided for more accurately determining ink in-flow and out-flow to a reservoir in a solid-to-liquid ink phasing delivery system for supplying ink to a printer. The printer throughput is safely maximized with a software algorithm that measures the ink available in the printer reservoir for printing. The algorithm is based on the known amount of ink in the reservoir when a level sensor probe is tripped and then calculates additional changes in ink volume. The process is done until the algorithm determines the reservoir volume is below a predetermined minimum level when the level sense probe senses ink. The algorithm calculates the ink leaving the reservoir using an out-flow model based on pixel counting and calculates ink entering the reservoir using an in-flow model based on a minimum guaranteed amount of ink delivered from the melt heater. A time out period is further calculated in which the reservoir should be refilled, and if not, the system is checked for an ink stick jam.

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Tigard, OR, United States of America

Amy B Thornton