The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 27, 2011
Filed:
Feb. 02, 2009
Mirza Sabanovic, Portland, OR (US);
David L. Knierim, Wilsonville, OR (US);
Michael Kenneth Oehl, Beaverton, OR (US);
Mirza Sabanovic, Portland, OR (US);
David L. Knierim, Wilsonville, OR (US);
Michael Kenneth Oehl, Beaverton, OR (US);
Xerox Corporation, Norwalk, CT (US);
Abstract
A method detects the level of ink in a printhead reservoir by monitoring the power drawn by a thermistor positioned within the printhead reservoir. The method includes dissipating power in a thermistor in an ink reservoir, controlling the power dissipated in the thermistor to maintain the thermistor at a temperature that is a fixed differential above a reservoir temperature, measuring a parameter that corresponds to the power dissipated in the thermistor, and comparing the measured parameter to a predetermined value to detect ink in the reservoir contacting the thermistor.