Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A method for monitoring performance and determining the maintenance needs of an electromechanical system comprising the steps of:monitoring a plurality of predetermined system conditions;collecting monitored values of the plurality of said predetermined system conditions over time by steps including recording a plurality of monitored values representing each monitored predetermined system condition and the time of occurrence for each said recorded monitored value;calculating system maintenance needs from said collected monitored values by steps including comparing said collected monitored values representing a monitored system condition with a predetermined threshold value for said monitored system condition and determining whether a maintenance procedure is necessary to maintain the mechanical performance of said monitored system condition within predetermined limits; andwhere determined to be necessary initiating a maintenance procedure to maintain the mechanical performance of said monitored system condition within predetermined limits. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of calculating includes the steps of:summing said recorded monitored values representing a monitored system condition; andcomparing a resulting sum of said recorded monitored values representing a monitored system condition against said predetermined threshold value for said monitored system condition to determine whether a maintenance procedure is necessary to maintain the mechanical performance of said monitored system condition within predetermined limits. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of summing uses said recorded monitored values in accordance with their respective time of occurrence. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein said step of summing includes weighting said recorded monitored values in accordance with their respective predetermined system condition. 5. The method of claim 3, wherein said step of comparing includes weighting either said resulting sum or said threshold value in accordance with said respective time of occurrence. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein said recorded monitored values having a more recent time of occurrence are given a higher weight than said recorded monitored values having a less recent time of occurrence. 7. The method of claim 2 wherein said step of summing uses said recorded monitored values in accordance with their respective predetermined system condition. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein said step of summing includes weighting said recorded monitored values in accordance with their respective time of occurrence. 9. The method of claim 7, wherein said step of comparing includes weighting either said resulting sum or said threshold value in accordance with said predetermined respective system condition. 10. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of summing uses said recorded monitored values which indicate an error in their respective monitored system condition. 11. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of calculating uses recorded monitored values from a predetermined amount of most recent operation of said electromechanical system. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein said step of calculating divides said predetermined amount of most recent operation into sequential segments and weights recorded monitored values from more recent segments higher than recorded monitored values from less recent segments. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein said step of calculating substantially excludes periods of inactivity of said electromechanical system from said predetermined amount of most recent operation. 14. A system for monitoring performance and determining the maintenance needs of an electromechanical system having a plurality of monitored system conditions, comprising:a recording apparatus adapted for collecting and recording over time, a plurality of monitored values for each of the plurality of monitored system conditions along with a time of occurrence for each recorded value;a calculating system adapted for calculating system maintenance needs from said plurality of recorded monitored values representing each monitored system condition and their respective time of occurrence; andan output signal generating system for initiating a maintenance procedure to maintain the mechanical performance of said monitored system within predetermined limits. 15. The system of claim 14, wherein said calculating system includes:an adder adapted for summing said recorded monitored values representing a monitored system condition; anda comparator adapted for comparing a resulting sum of said monitored values representing a monitored system condition from said adder against a predetermined threshold value to determine whether to generate an output signal to initiate a maintenance procedure. 16. The system of claim 15, wherein said recorded monitored values are selected in accordance with their respective times of occurrence, and further wherein said resulting sum or said threshold value is weighted in accordance with said respective time of occurrence. 17. The system of claim 16, further comprising a multiplier adapted for weighting said recorded monitored values in accordance with their respective system conditions prior to summing by said adder. 18. The system of claim 14, wherein the electromechanical system is a printing apparatus. 19. A system for determining maintenance needs of a printer apparatus having a plurality of monitored conditions, comprising:a recording process adapted for collecting and recording over time, a plurality of monitored values for each of the plurality of monitored conditions along with a time of occurrence for each recorded value;a calculating process adapted for using said plurality of recorded monitored values and the time of occurrence of said values for calculating system maintenance needs by steps including comparing said collected monitored values representing a monitored condition with a predetermined threshold value for said monitored condition and determining whether a maintenance procedure is necessary to maintain the mechanical performance of said monitored condition within predetermined limits; andan output signal generating process adapted to generate an output signal to initiate a maintenance procedure to maintain the mechanical performance of said monitored condition of said printing apparatus within predetermined limits. 20. The system of claim 19, wherein said calculating process includes:an adder process adapted for summing selected types of said recorded values; anda comparator process adapted for comparing a resulting sum from said adder process against a predetermined threshold value to determine maintenance needs of said printing apparatus. 21. The system of claim 20, wherein said recorded values are selected for said adder process in accordance with their respective times of occurrence, and further wherein said resulting sum or said threshold value is weighted in accordance with said respective time of occurrence. 22. The system of claim 21, further comprising a multiplier process adapted for weighting the selected recorded values in accordance with their respective monitored conditions prior to summing by said adder process. 23. The system of claim 20, wherein said recorded values are selected for said adder process in accordance with their respective monitored conditions, and further wherein said resulting sum or said threshold value is weighted in accordance with said respective monitored condition. 24. The system of claim 23, further comprising a multiplier process adapted for weighting the selected recorded values in accordance with their respective time of occurrence prior to summing by said adder process. 25. The system of claim 19, wherein said calculating process is adapted for using recorded values which indicate an error with their respective monitored conditions. 26. The system of claim 19, wherein said calculating process is adapted to use recorded values from a predetermined amount of most recent operation of said printing apparatus. 27. The system of claim 26, wherein said calculating process divides said predetermined amount of most recent operation of said printing apparatus into sequential segments and weights recorded values from more recent segments higher than recorded values from less recent segments. 28. The system of claim 27, wherein said calculating process substantially excludes periods of inactivity of said printing apparatus from said predetermined amount of most recent operation.