Printer with automatic paper sheet count discovery

• US 9,505,572 B1
• Filed: 01/06/2016
• Issued: 11/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2016
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Asaro, Alessandra, Carnevale, Giulia, Gianfico, Marco, Ragusa, Roberto
• Primary Examiner(s): BANH, DAVID H
• Application Number:
  US14/988,872
• Time in Patent Office: 328 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 1/04 adapted to support articles substantially horizontally, e.g. for separation from top of pile
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/01 indicating an entity as a function of which control, adjustment or change is performed, i.e. input
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/03 indicating an entity which is measured, estimated, evaluated, calculated or determined but which does not constitute an entity which is adjusted or changed by the control process per se
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/30 Numbers, e.g. of windings or rotations
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2515/10 Mass, e.g. mass flow rate; Weight; Inertia
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 7/20 Controlling associated apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 85/00 Recirculating articles, i.e. feeding each article to, and delivering it from, the same machine work-station more than once
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 17/02 for weighing material of filamentary or sheet form
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/16 Means for paper feeding or form feeding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/4065 Managing print media, e.g. determining available sheet sizes feeding means G06K15/16

Abstract

Aspects provide for a printer with automatic paper sheet count discovery, via determining an initial weight of printer paper sheets within a printer paper feeder tray. A single sheet is removed from the paper feeder tray to a staging area of the printer, and a revised weight is determined for the sheets within the paper feeder tray while the single sheet of paper is removed to the staging area. The single sheet is fed back into the paper feeder tray via a printing path bypass of the printer. The weight of the single sheet determined as a function of the difference between the initial weight and the revised weight. A quantity of printer paper sheets currently loaded within the paper feeder tray and available to satisfy a print job is determined as equal to the initial weight divided by the weight of the single sheet.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for a printer with automatic paper sheet count discovery, the method comprising executing on a computer processor the steps of:

in response to a paper loading input, activating a controller of a paper tray scale that is positioned and configured to determine an initial weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets that are located within a paper feeder tray of the printer;

at lapse of a stability time period from a time of the paper loading input, initiating via the controller a paper sheet counting input;

in response to the paper sheet counting input, determining an initial weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets that are located within the paper feeder tray of the printer;

removing a single sheet of the plurality of printer paper sheets from the paper feeder tray to a staging area of the printer;

determining a revised weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets that are located within the paper feeder tray while the single sheet of paper is removed from the paper feeder tray to the staging area;

feeding the single sheet of paper back into the paper feeder tray via a printing path bypass of the printer;

determining a weight value for the single sheet of paper as a function of a difference between the initial weight and the revised weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets; and

determining a quantity of the plurality of printer paper sheets that are currently loaded within the paper feeder tray and available to satisfy a print job as equal to the initial weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets divided by the weight value determined for the single sheet of paper.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

integrating computer-readable program code into a computer system comprising a processor, a computer readable memory in circuit communication with the processor, and a computer readable storage medium in circuit communication with the processor; and

wherein the processor executes program code instructions stored on the computer-readable storage medium via the computer readable memory and thereby performs the steps of activating the controller of the paper tray scale in response to the paper loading input, initiating via the controller the paper sheet counting input at the end of the stability period lapse of time from the time of the paper loading input, determining the initial weight in response to the paper sheet counting input, removing the single sheet from the paper feeder tray to the printer staging area, determining the revised weight while the single sheet of paper is removed from the paper feeder tray to the staging area, feeding the single sheet of paper back into the paper feeder tray via the printing path bypass of the printer, determining the weight value for the single sheet of paper, and determining the quantity of the plurality of printer paper sheets that are currently loaded within the paper feeder tray and available to satisfy the print job as equal to the initial weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets divided by the weight value determined for the single sheet of paper.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the paper loading input signifies action of a user physically engaging the printer to load paper into the paper feeder tray;

and

wherein an end time of the stability period lapse of time is a time at which motion signals are no longer received from a motion sensor located on the printer and in communication with the controller.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a length of time of the stability period is determined from historical data to be sufficiently long as to allow vibrations from loading activities associated with the paper loading input to dissipate.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a measured weight of the single sheet of paper while it is in the staging area, via a staging area scale that is located to engage the staging area; and

wherein the step of determining the weight value for the single sheet of paper is a function of the difference between the initial weight and the revised weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets, and of the measured weight of the single sheet of paper.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of determining the weight value for the single sheet of paper comprises averaging values of the difference between the initial weight and the revised weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets, and of the measured weight of the single sheet of paper.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of averaging the values of the difference between the initial weight and the revised weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets and of the measured weight of the single sheet of paper comprises weighting one of the values different than another of the values.

8. A system, comprising:

a paper tray scale that is positioned and configured to determine an initial weight of a plurality of printer paper sheets that are located within a paper feeder tray of a printer;

a controller in communication with the paper tray scale that, in response to a paper loading input, activates the paper tray scale and initiates a paper sheet counting input at lapse of a stability time period from a time of the paper loading input, wherein in response to the paper sheet counting input, the paper tray scale determines an initial weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets that are located within the paper feeder tray of the printer, and determines a revised weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets that are located within the paper feeder tray while a single sheet of paper is removed from the paper feeder tray to a staging area of the printer;

a printing path bypass that feeds the single sheet of paper back into the paper feeder tray from the staging area after the scale determines the revised weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets; and

a processor in circuit communication with a computer readable memory processor and a computer readable storage medium, wherein the processor executes program instructions stored on the computer-readable storage medium via the computer readable memory and thereby;

determines a weight value for the single sheet of paper as a function of a difference between the initial weight and the revised weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets; and

determines a quantity of the plurality of printer paper sheets that are currently loaded within the paper feeder tray and available to satisfy a print job as equal to the initial weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets divided by the weight value determined for the single sheet of paper.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

a motion sensor located on the printer and in communication with the controller; and

wherein an end time of the stability period lapse of time is a time at which motion signals are no longer received by the controller from the motion sensor.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor determines a length of time of the stability period from historical data to be sufficiently long as to allow vibrations from loading activities associated with the paper loading input to dissipate.

11. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

a staging area scale that is located to engage the staging area; and

wherein the processor executes the program instructions stored on the computer-readable storage medium via the computer readable memory and thereby further;

determines, via the staging area scale, a measured weight of the single sheet of paper while it is in the staging area; and

determines the weight value for the single sheet of paper as a function of the difference between the initial weight and the revised weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets, and of the measured weight of the single sheet of paper.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor executes the program instructions stored on the computer-readable storage medium via the computer readable memory and thereby determines the weight value for the single sheet of paper by averaging values of the difference between the initial weight and the revised weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets, and of the measured weight of the single sheet of paper.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor executes the program instructions stored on the computer-readable storage medium via the computer readable memory and thereby averages the values of the difference between the initial weight and the revised weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets and of the measured weight of the single sheet of paper by weighting one of the values different than another of the values.

14. A computer program product for a printer with automatic paper sheet count discovery, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, wherein the computer readable storage medium is not a transitory signal per se, the computer readable program code comprising instructions for execution by a processor that cause the processor to;

in response to a paper loading input, activate a paper tray scale that is in communication with the processor;

at lapse of a stability time period from a time of the paper loading input, initiate a paper sheet counting input;

in response to a paper sheet counting input, determine, via the paper tray scale that is in communication with the processor, an initial weight of a plurality of printer paper sheets that are located within a paper feeder tray of a printer;

determine a revised weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets that are located within the paper feeder tray while a single sheet of paper is removed from the paper feeder tray to a staging area of the printer;

determine a weight value for the single sheet of paper as a function of a difference between the initial weight and the revised weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets; and

in response to a printing path bypass feeding the single sheet of paper back into the paper feeder tray from the staging area, determine a quantity of the plurality of printer paper sheets that are currently loaded within the paper feeder tray and available to satisfy a print job as equal to the initial weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets divided by the weight value determined for the single sheet of paper.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the paper loading input signifies action of a user physically engaging the printer to load paper into the paper feeder tray;

and

wherein an end time of the stability period lapse of time is a time at which motion signals are no longer received from a motion sensor located on the printer and in communication with the paper tray scale.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer readable program code instructions for execution by the processor further cause the processor to determine a length of time of the stability period from historical data to be sufficiently long as to allow vibrations from loading activities associated with the paper loading input to dissipate.

17. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer readable program code instructions for execution by the processor further cause the processor to:

determine a measured weight of the single sheet of paper while it is in the staging area, via a staging area scale that is located to engage the staging area; and

determine the weight value for the single sheet of paper as a function of averaging a value of the difference between the initial weight and the revised weight of the plurality of printer paper sheets, and a value of the measured weight of the single sheet of paper.