CONSUMABLE SUPPLY ITEM WITH FLUID SENSING FOR MICRO-FLUID APPLICATIONS
First Claim
1. A consumable supply item for an imaging device to hold an initial or refillable volume of liquid, comprising:
- a housing defining an interior to retain the volume of liquid;
a pair of opposed electrodes attached to the housing having a capacitance that varies in response to an amount of liquid existing between the opposed electrodes; and
a controller on the housing configured to energize one electrode of the pair of opposed electrodes and receive an output reading from the other electrode of the pair of opposed electrodes, the output reading corresponding to said amount of liquid existing between the opposed electrodes that the controller supplies during use to the imaging device.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A consumable supply item for an imaging device holds an initial or refillable volume of ink. A housing defines an interior having a pair of opposed electrodes. The electrodes have a capacitance that varies in response to an amount of liquid between them. A controller energizes one electrode and receives an output reading from the other. The controller processes the reading on board the housing and supplies it as a digital data stream to the imaging device during use. A memory stores calibration values for an empty and full housing. The controller writes back to the memory present fluid levels obtained from the output reading of the electrode. An enable output allows operation or not of a fluid pump in the imaging device. Materials, construction, modularity, and fluid communication ports are further embodiments, to name a few.
9 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A consumable supply item for an imaging device to hold an initial or refillable volume of liquid, comprising:
-
a housing defining an interior to retain the volume of liquid; a pair of opposed electrodes attached to the housing having a capacitance that varies in response to an amount of liquid existing between the opposed electrodes; and a controller on the housing configured to energize one electrode of the pair of opposed electrodes and receive an output reading from the other electrode of the pair of opposed electrodes, the output reading corresponding to said amount of liquid existing between the opposed electrodes that the controller supplies during use to the imaging device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A consumable supply item for an imaging device to hold an initial or refillable volume of liquid, comprising:
-
a housing defining an interior to retain the volume of liquid; a modular front piece attached to the housing having a pair of opposed electrodes vertically oriented in the interior of the housing to capacitively measure an amount of liquid in the interior existing between the opposed electrodes; and a controller on the modular front piece configured to energize one electrode of the pair of opposed electrodes and receive an output reading from the other electrode of the pair of opposed electrodes, the output reading corresponding to said amount of liquid existing between the opposed electrodes that the controller supplies to the imaging device during use. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
-
-
20. A consumable supply item for an imaging device to hold an initial or refillable volume of liquid, comprising:
-
a housing defining an interior to retain the volume of liquid; a modular front piece attached to the housing having a pair of opposed electrodes vertically oriented in the interior of the housing to capacitively measure an amount of liquid in the interior existing between the opposed electrodes; a controller on the modular front piece configured to energize one electrode of the pair of opposed electrodes and receive an output reading from the other electrode of the pair of opposed electrodes, the output reading corresponding to said amount of liquid existing between the opposed electrodes that the controller supplies to the imaging device during use; and a memory on the modular front piece storing calibration values for said imaging device corresponding to a capacitance reading of said housing being empty and full of said initial or refillable volume of liquid, the controller configured to write back to the memory a present fluid level measured by the pair of opposed electrodes and obtained from the output reading during use.
-
Specification