Xerox Corporation

Tuan A Nguyen

Anthony M Federico

Wayne A Buchar

Ernest L Legg

Craig S Lippolis

Michael T Dugan

Ronald T Sosinski

Dennis E Miazga

Randy Sherry

The present invention is a pair of counters associated with the control elements in a complex control system, in particular, counters associated with the intelligent processors in a multiprocessor control. Preferably, the counters are maintained in nonvolatile memory and one of the counters for each remote records software crashes experienced in both standby and run mode. The other counter records total software crashes during normal machine operation. These counters provide information on the location and type of software crashes. In another aspect of the invention, a procedure is provided for the Tech Rep to force the machine into a software crash. The Tech Rep can then interrogate the content of RAM locations before the RAM locations are initialized by the machine reset. The contents of various RAM locations can be selectively displayed for diagnosis.

Control crash diagnostic strategy and RAM display

The present invention is concerned with the automatic adjustment of the optical components in an optical scanning system after the tech rep has visually inspected sample copies with a test pattern and entered adjustment numbers at the control console. The control determines the optimum relative position of the optical components for a focus and various magnification ratios and stores these relationships as reference numbers in memory for reference at the selected magnification ratios. These reference numbers can be altered as future copies are inspected by the tech rep and appropriate evaluation numbers are entered into the control. In a specific embodiment, one sample copy is compared by the tech rep with the test pattern to adjust the magnification setting and a sequence of five set copies are produced to coarse adjust and fine adjust focus.

Automatic scanning optics alignment

To facilitate servicing of xerographic type reproduction machines or printers, diagnostic routines are used (1) to operate the machine in a predetermined copy run while recording the clock count on a global counter on the arrival of a copy sheet at a first selected jam station in the paper path and the count on arrival of the same copy sheet at the next jam station, and then display the clock count difference on the machine display console for comparison by the Tech Rep with a master clock count; (2) to operate the machine in a present copy run while fetching the current timing parameter of a machine subassembly from memory, displaying the timing parameter to the Tech Rep on the machine display console, and permitting the Tech Rep to use the machine control panel keyboard to reset the timing parameter while watching the effect of the timing change on the copies as they are produced; and (3) to delay the arrival of the copy sheet at the machine image transfer station so that the normally unprinted interdocument area wherein process control images are formed is printed out to enable the process control images to be visually examined.

Servicing system for reproduction machines

To facilitate servicing of xerographic type reproduction machines or printers, diagnostic routines are used (1) to operate the machine in a predetermined copy run while recording the clock count on a global counter on the arrival of a copy sheet at a first selected jam station in the paper path and the count on arrival of the same copy sheet at the next jam station, and then display the clock difference on the machine display console for comparison by the Tech Rep with a master clock count; (2) to operate the machine in a preset copy run while fetching the current timing parameter of a machine subassembly from memory, displaying the timing parameter to the Tech Rep on the machine display console, and permitting the Tech Rep to use the machine control panel keyboard to reset the timing parameter while watching the effect of the timing change on the copies as they are produced; and (3) to delay the arrival of the copy sheet at the machine image transfer station so that the normally unprinted interdocument area wherein process control images are formed is printed out to enable the process control images to be visually examined.

The present invention is monitoring the control, in particular, software crashes in a multiprocessor machine control system to prevent machine malfunctions. Benchmarks or key operations tracked include, for example, monitoring that the number of tasks to be completed by the control is not beyond the capacity of the control to respond. These recorded benchmarks enable one or both of two paths of progressively more complex analysis. In particular, there is a diagnostic path that leads first to the isolation of a particular control element in a multi-element control that contains a fault and then to a more comprehensive recording of the fault history for each individual control element. There is also a path for maintaining machine operation. In this path, a first level of response is to merely reset the various control elements. Progressively more comprehensive responses include isolating a fault in an individual control element to maintain machine operation and the full recovery of the job in progress after a software crash.

Control fault detection for machine recovery and diagnostics prior to

A reproduction machine incorporating self test routines to test the machine operating logic, particularly at start up, to insure the integrity and operability of the component parts of the operating logic. The tests include routines for initially checking the machine master control module logic and memory. A display panel on the master control module visually identifies any fault in the event the communication link to the machine main display has failed. Once the operability of the master control module is established, self tests of the various machine remote control modules are carried out followed by a test of the communication channel between all modules. Any fault found is visually identified to facilitate repair and servicing.

Growing community of inventors

Webster, NY, United States of America

Tuan A Nguyen