Identification system for inks in printing systems
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A printing system comprising:
- a plurality of ink containers, each ink container adapted to be installed in the printing system and comprising an ink and an associated tag, each tag comprising rewritable data that identifies a manufacturing date of the associated ink, each ink comprising an expiration date;
a reader/writer adapted to read data from an identified tag and to write the manufacturing date of the associated ink to the identified tag; and
a controller coupled to the reader/writer, the controller adapted to allow a user to instruct the reader/writer to write the manufacturing date of the associated ink to the identified tag while the ink container is installed in the printing system, and to determine if the expiration date of the ink associated with the identified tag has been exceeded.
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Abstract
A radio frequency (RF) identification system includes a tag for identifying characteristics of an ink, and a reader that receives transmitted RF signals from the tag. The tag includes a memory which stores data, and an RF source which generates RF signals. Selective data are transmitted as the RF signals, identifying characteristics of the ink, such as the color of the ink and the age of the ink. A disabler circuit can be used to shut down printing operations if the identified characteristics of the ink do not meet pre-determined criteria.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A printing system comprising:
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a plurality of ink containers, each ink container adapted to be installed in the printing system and comprising an ink and an associated tag, each tag comprising rewritable data that identifies a manufacturing date of the associated ink, each ink comprising an expiration date; a reader/writer adapted to read data from an identified tag and to write the manufacturing date of the associated ink to the identified tag; and a controller coupled to the reader/writer, the controller adapted to allow a user to instruct the reader/writer to write the manufacturing date of the associated ink to the identified tag while the ink container is installed in the printing system, and to determine if the expiration date of the ink associated with the identified tag has been exceeded. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for use with a printing system that comprises a plurality of ink containers, each ink container comprising an ink that comprises an expiration date, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of tags; uniquely associating each tag with a corresponding one of the containers, each tag comprising rewritable data that identifies a manufacturing date of the associated ink; installing the plurality of ink containers in the printing system; providing a controller that allows a user to instruct a reader/writer to read data from an identified tag and to write the manufacturing date of the associated ink to the identified tag while the ink container is installed in the printing system; and determining if the expiration date of the ink associated with the identified tag has been exceeded. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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Specification