Patent Description:
Documents <CIT> and <CIT> disclose printing systems comprising means to control the dryer.

For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the present disclosure is described by referring mainly to an example thereof. As used herein, the terms "a" and "an" are intended to denote at least one of a particular element, the term "includes" means includes but not limited to, the term "including" means including but not limited to, and the term "based on" means based at least in part on.

Additionally, it should be understood that the elements depicted in the accompanying figures may include additional components and that some of the components described in those figures may be removed and/or modified without departing from scopes of the elements disclosed herein. It should also be understood that the elements depicted in the figures may not be drawn to scale and thus, the elements may have different sizes and/or configurations other than as shown in the figures.

Disclosed herein are printing systems and methods for operating printing components of printing systems. The printing systems and methods disclosed herein enable the printing components to continue to print under a reduced throughput mode following a determination that a component of a dryer has failed or is otherwise functioning improperly. The printing systems and methods disclosed herein also, or as another example, track input voltage levels supplied into a printing system and may cause the printing components to print under the reduced throughput mode following a determination that the input voltage level is outside of a predetermined voltage level range. Under the reduced throughput mode, the printing components may print at a reduced rate and/or may insert pauses between printing onto media sheets.

Through implementation of the apparatuses and methods disclosed herein, printing systems may continue to generate printed media even though conditions for generating the printed media may be less than nominal.

<FIG> are block diagrams depicting respective example printing systems <NUM> and <NUM>. It should be understood that the printing systems <NUM> and <NUM> depicted in <FIG> may include additional components and that some of the components described herein may be removed and/or modified without departing from a scope of the printing systems <NUM> and <NUM> disclosed herein.

Referring first to <FIG>, the example printing system <NUM> includes printing components <NUM>, an input voltage engine <NUM>, and a printing components engine <NUM>. The printing components <NUM> may represent mechanical parts of the printing system <NUM>, electrical parts of the printing system <NUM>, or combinations thereof. The printing system <NUM> may be an inkjet printing system, a laser printing system, a 3D printing system, or the like. An example inkjet printing system may include components such as a fluid ejection assembly (e.g., a printhead assembly), a fluid supply assembly, a carriage assembly, a print media transport assembly, a service station assembly, and an electronic controller to facilitate control of the any number of components. The printing components <NUM> may also include a print bar, a paper guide, a separator pad, a pinch roller, an alignment roller, a starwheel, a drum, a clamp, a servo, a pick tire, a fan, a tray, a bail, a power control unit, alignment devices, a stapler device, a hole punch device, a saddle stitching device, and the like. Example laser (e.g. toner) printing systems and/or example 3D printing systems may contain similar components, related components, or different components that may be adjustable (e.g., able to change to different operational states, such as two or more operational states).

Generally speaking, the printing components engine <NUM> controls the printing components <NUM> to operate in one of a normal mode and a reduced throughput mode based upon various factors including, for instance, determinations made by the input voltage engine <NUM>. As particular non-limiting examples, under the normal mode, the printing components engine <NUM> may control the printing components <NUM> to print at a rate of about <NUM> per second (<NUM> inches per second (ips)) under low density printing and at a rate of about <NUM> per second (<NUM> ips) under medium-high density printing. In contrast, under the reduced throughput mode, the printing components engine <NUM> may control the printing components <NUM> to print at a rate of about <NUM> per second (<NUM> ips) under low density printing and at a rate of about <NUM> per second (<NUM> ips) under medium-high density printing. In addition or as another example, under the normal mode, the printing components engine <NUM> may control the printing components <NUM> to print consecutive sheets of media continuously. However, under the reduced throughput mode, the printing components engine <NUM> may control the printing components <NUM> to insert a pause between consecutive sheets of printed media. Under the reduced throughput mode, therefore, the printing components <NUM> may continue to print but at a slower rate than under the normal mode.

Examples of the media may include any type of suitable sheet material, such as paper, card stock, transparencies, fabric, packaging material, and the like. Examples of marking material may include ink, toner, or other type of marking material having one or multiple colors. The print data may include information pertaining to a rasterized version of the image and may identify locations, e.g., pixels, at which marking material having different colors is to be applied as well as the densities at which the marking material(s) are to be deposited.

The input voltage engine <NUM> and the printing components engine <NUM> may be processing components of the printing system <NUM> and may be provided on a circuit board, a motherboard, a main printed circuit assembly (MPCA), or the like, of the printing system <NUM>. The input voltage engine <NUM> may represent any circuitry or combination of circuitry and executable instructions to determine an input voltage level of the printing system <NUM>. For instance, the input voltage engine <NUM> may receive a detected input voltage from a power supply or other component of the printing system <NUM>. The input voltage engine <NUM> may also represent any circuitry or combination of circuitry and executable instructions to determine whether the determined input voltage is outside of a predetermined voltage level range. The predetermined voltage level range may be an acceptable range of voltage levels at which the printing system <NUM> may be properly (and/or safely) operated. The predetermined voltage level range may vary for different printing systems and may be determined through testing and/or may be user-defined.

The input voltage to the printing system <NUM> may vary for any number of reasons. For instance, the printing system <NUM> may be connected to a wall outlet to receive power and the voltage level of the power from the wall outlet may vary over time due to, for instance, fluctuations in the power supply from a power source of the wall outlet, power drain caused by other electronics drawing power from the power source, etc..

The printing components engine <NUM> may represent any circuitry or combination of circuitry and executable instructions to control the printing components <NUM> to operate in one of a normal mode and a reduced throughput mode based upon whether the accessed input voltage level is outside of the predetermined voltage level range. That is, the input voltage engine <NUM> may inform the printing components engine <NUM> that the determined input voltage is outside of the predetermined voltage level range. In response, the printing components engine <NUM> controls the printing components <NUM> to operate in the reduced throughput mode instead of the normal mode.

According to various examples, instead of controlling the printing components <NUM> to operate in the reduced throughput mode immediately in response to receipt of information from the input voltage engine <NUM> that the input voltage is outside of the predetermined voltage level range, the printing components engine <NUM> may wait to do so until the printing components engine <NUM> has received a predetermined number of the indications. These examples are described in greater detail herein below.

Turning now to <FIG>, the printing system <NUM> includes printing components <NUM>, an input voltage engine <NUM>, and a printing components engine <NUM>, which have been described above with respect to <FIG>. The printing system <NUM> may also include a power supply <NUM> through which an input voltage <NUM> may be received into the printing system <NUM>, and a counter <NUM>. The printing system <NUM> also includes a dryer <NUM>, and a dryer engine <NUM>. The power supply <NUM> may receive power supplied into the printing system <NUM> and may determine the voltage level of the power being received. The power supply <NUM> may forward that information to the input voltage engine <NUM>. The counter <NUM> may be a hardware and/or software device that may be implemented to track the number of times the input voltage has been determined to be outside of the predetermined voltage level range as discussed in greater detail herein.

The dryer <NUM> may equivalently be termed a fuser, a heating element, or the like, and may be a component of the printing system <NUM>, <NUM> that dries marking material onto a media. Thus, for instance, the dryer <NUM> may become heated to apply heat onto media after the media has received marking material or other marking material from the printing components <NUM>.

The dryer engine <NUM> may represent any circuitry or combination of circuitry and executable instructions to control activation and deactivation of the dryer <NUM>. For instance, the dryer engine <NUM> may instruct or otherwise control the dryer <NUM> to become activated to reach a target temperature. The dryer engine <NUM> determines whether components of the dryer <NUM> are functioning properly and may determine whether the dryer <NUM> is functioning as expected, e.g., becoming heated according to a predetermined time frame. The dryer engine <NUM> may inform the printing components engine <NUM> when the components of the dryer <NUM> are not functioning properly and/or are not functioning as expected. In response, the printing components engine <NUM> controls the printing components <NUM> to operate in the reduced throughput mode. Various manners in which printing components <NUM> may be operated in the reduced throughput mode in response to the dryer <NUM> operations are discussed in greater detail herein.

Turning now to <FIG>, there is shown a block diagram of another example printing system <NUM>. The example printing system <NUM> may include a processor <NUM> and a computer readable medium <NUM>, in which the computer readable medium <NUM> is operatively coupled to the processor <NUM>. The computer readable medium <NUM> may contain a set of instructions that are executable by the processor <NUM>. The printing system <NUM> may also include a data store <NUM> on which the processor <NUM> may store various information, such as print data, predetermined voltage level ranges, counter limits, expected dryer functions, etc. The printing system <NUM> may further include a counter <NUM>, which may be equivalent to the counter <NUM> shown in <FIG>.

The set of instructions may cause the processor <NUM> to perform operations of the printing system <NUM> when the processor <NUM> executes the set of instructions. The set of instructions stored on the computer readable medium <NUM> may be represented as an input voltage module <NUM>, a printing components module <NUM>, a dryer module <NUM>, and a counter module <NUM>. The modules <NUM>-<NUM> may represent machine readable instructions and/or firmware. In addition, the modules <NUM>-<NUM> may represent machine readable instructions that when executed function as the input voltage engine <NUM>, the printing components engine <NUM>, and the dryer engine <NUM> depicted in <FIG>, respectively. The counter module <NUM> may increment a count responsive to various conditions occurring with respect to the printing system <NUM> as discussed herein.

The processor <NUM> may carry out a set of instructions to execute the modules <NUM>-<NUM>, and/or any other appropriate operations among and/or associated with the modules of the printing system <NUM>. Although modules <NUM>-<NUM> are illustrated and discussed in relation to <FIG> and other example implementations, other combinations or sub-combinations of modules may be included within other implementations. Stated differently, although the modules illustrated in <FIG> and discussed in other example implementations may perform specific functionalities in the examples discussed herein, these and other functionalities may be accomplished, implemented, or realized at different modules or at combinations of modules. For example, two or more modules illustrated and/or discussed as separate may be combined into a module that performs the functionalities discussed in relation to the two modules. As another example, functionalities performed at one module as discussed in relation to these examples may be performed at a different module or different modules.

The processor <NUM> may be any appropriate circuitry that is to process (e.g., computing) instructions, such as one or multiple processing elements that may retrieve instructions from the computer readable medium <NUM> and executing those instructions. For example, the processor <NUM> may be a central processing unit (CPU) that enables operational adjustment by fetching, decoding, and executing the modules <NUM>-<NUM>. Example processors <NUM> may include at least one CPU, a semiconductor-based microprocessor, a programmable logic device (PLD), and the like. Example PLDs may include an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable array logic (PAL), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and an erasable programmable logic device (EPLD). The processor <NUM> may include multiple processing elements that are integrated in a single device or distributed across devices. The processor <NUM> may process the instructions serially, concurrently, or in partial concurrence.

The computer readable medium <NUM> may represent a medium to store data utilized and/or produced by the printing system <NUM>. The computer readable medium <NUM> may be any non-transitory medium or combination of non-transitory mediums able to electronically store data, such as the modules <NUM>-<NUM> and/or data used by the printing system <NUM>. For example, the computer readable medium may be distinct from a transitory transmission medium, such as a signal. As used herein, a non-transitory computer readable medium may refer to any storage medium with the exclusion of a signal. The computer readable medium may be an electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical storage device that may contain (i.e., store) executable instructions. The computer readable medium <NUM> may store program instructions that when executed by the processor <NUM> cause the processor <NUM> to implement functionality of the printing system <NUM>. The computer readable medium <NUM> may be integrated in the same device as the processor <NUM> or may be separate but accessible to that device and the processor <NUM>. The computer readable medium <NUM> may also be distributed across devices.

In the discussions above, the engines <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> shown in <FIG> have been described as circuitry or a combination of circuitry and executable instructions. Such components may be implemented in a number of fashions. With reference to <FIG>, the executable instructions (modules <NUM>-<NUM>) may be processor-executable instructions, such as program instructions, stored on the computer readable medium <NUM>, which may be a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and the circuitry may be electronic circuitry, such as processor <NUM>, for executing those instructions. The instructions residing on the computer readable medium <NUM> may include any set of instructions to be executed directly (such as machine code) or indirectly (such as a script) by the processor <NUM>.

In some examples, the printing system <NUM> may include the executable instructions or may be part of an installation package that when installed may be executed by the processor <NUM> to perform operations of the printing system <NUM>, such as the methods described with regard to <FIG> and <FIG> below. In that example, the computer readable medium <NUM> may be a portable medium such as a compact disc, a digital video disc, a flash drive, or memory maintained by a computer device, such as a server, from which the installation package may be downloaded and installed. In another example, the executable instructions may be part of an application or applications already installed. The computer readable medium <NUM> may be a non-volatile memory resource such as read only memory (ROM), a volatile memory resource such as random access memory (RAM), a storage device, or a combination thereof. Example forms of a computer readable medium <NUM> may include static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, or the like. The computer readable medium <NUM> may include integrated memory such as a hard drive (HD), a solid state drive (SSD), or an optical drive.

Various manners in which the engines <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and the processor <NUM> may be implemented are discussed in greater detail with respect to the methods <NUM> and <NUM> respectively depicted in <FIG> and <FIG>. Particularly, <FIG> and <FIG>, respectively, depict flow diagrams of example methods <NUM> and <NUM> for operating a printing system. It should be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the methods <NUM> and <NUM> may represent generalized illustrations and that other operations may be added or existing operations may be removed, modified, or rearranged without departing from the scopes of the methods <NUM> and <NUM>. Generally speaking, the engines <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> depicted in <FIG> and/or the processor <NUM> (including the modules <NUM>-<NUM>) depicted in <FIG> may implement various features of either or both of the methods <NUM> and <NUM>.

The descriptions of the methods <NUM> and <NUM> are made with reference to the printing systems <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>, and <FIG> for purposes of illustration. It should, however, be clearly understood that printing systems having other configurations may be implemented to perform either or both of the methods <NUM> and <NUM> without departing from the scopes of the methods <NUM> and <NUM>.

With reference first to the method <NUM> depicted in <FIG>, at block <NUM>, a determination is made as to whether components of a dryer <NUM> of a printing system <NUM> are functioning properly. The components of the dryer <NUM> may include an MPCA thermistor circuit, a thermal fuse, cabling for a thermistor, dryer connectors, an alternating current control mode (ACCM), etc. For instance, a determination may be made as to whether any one or more of: a reading from a dryer temperature sensor is being received, a reading from an ambient temperature sensor is being received, communication with a triode for alternating current (TRIAC) controller is available (e.g., a signal in a bit stream from the TRIAC controller has been missed), an AC voltage is present, the dryer is heating up according to a predetermined ramp rate, power is being directed to the dryer correctly, the dryer fan is spinning at the correct speed (e.g., revolutions per minute (RPM)), or the like. A determination may be made that a component of the dryer is not functioning properly if any of the above-cited features is negative. As particular examples, a determination may be made that a component of the dryer is not functioning properly if there is a blown thermal fuse, if there is a broken heating element wire, if there is no AC power to the ACCM, if there is no control signal to the ACCM, if there is a defective relay in the ACCM, if there is a bad connector to the dryer <NUM>, or the like.

At block <NUM>, in response to a determination that a component of the dryer <NUM> is not functioning properly, printing components <NUM> of the printing system <NUM> are instructed to generate printed media under a reduced throughput mode. As discussed above, the reduced throughput mode may be a mode in which the printing system generates printed media at a relatively slower rate as compared with a normal mode in which the printing system generates printed media at a nominal rate. The slower rate may be achieved through slower printing of marking material onto sheets of media and/or through providing gaps between sheets of printed media.

Through implementation of the method <NUM>, a printing system <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> may continue to operate, albeit in a reduced throughput mode, even in instances where components of the printer dryer <NUM> are not functioning properly. According to an example, however, in response to a determination that the fan of the dryer is not spinning at the correct speed, printing operations by the printing system <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> may be stopped instead of being operated at the reduced throughput mode.

Turning now to <FIG>, at block <NUM>, a print job may be accessed. Access of a print job may cause a printing system <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> to initiate a printing operation of print data corresponding to the print job. Initiation of the printing operation may include an attempt to heat up a dryer <NUM>.

At block <NUM>, a determination is made as to whether components of the dryer <NUM> are functioning properly. Block <NUM> may be equivalent to block <NUM> in <FIG>.

In response to a determination that a component of the dryer <NUM> is not functioning properly, the printing system <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> is operated under a reduced throughput mode as indicated at block <NUM>. For instance, in response to a determination that any of an MPCA voltage comparator has malfunctioned, a cable has failed, a thermal fuse has broken, etc., the printing components <NUM> of the printing system <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> may be operated to generate printed media under a reduced throughput mode.

In response to a determination at block <NUM> that the dryer components are functioning properly, a determination is made as to whether an input voltage level of the printing system <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> is within a predetermined voltage level (PVL) range as indicated at block <NUM>. The predetermined voltage level range may be an acceptable range of voltage levels at which the printing system <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> may be properly (and/or safely) operated. The predetermined voltage level range may vary for different printing systems and may be determined through testing and/or may be user-defined.

In response to a determination at block <NUM> that the input voltage <NUM> level is outside of the predetermined voltage level range, a counter <NUM>, <NUM> may be incremented as indicated at block <NUM>. In addition, at block <NUM>, a determination may be made as to whether a counter limit has been reached. The counter limit may be user-defined and maybe any value of about between <NUM> and <NUM>,<NUM>. The counter limit may also be tracked over a period of time, such as over one week, over two weeks, etc., after which time the counter limit may be reset. In response to a determination that the counter limit has not been reached at block <NUM>, block <NUM> may be repeated. In addition, blocks <NUM>-<NUM> may be repeated until a determination is made that the input voltage range is within the predetermined voltage level range at block <NUM> or that the counter limit has been reached at block <NUM>. According to an example, blocks <NUM>-<NUM> may be repeated until the counter limit is reached to account for fluctuations in the input voltage as may occur due to intermittent draw by other electronic equipment of power from commonly shared power lines.

In response to a determination that the counter limit has been reached at block <NUM>, the printing components <NUM> of the printing system <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> may be operated at the reduced throughput mode as indicated at block <NUM>. In response to a determination at block <NUM> that the input voltage is within the predetermined voltage level range, an attempt is made to turn on the dryer <NUM> as indicated at block <NUM>. In addition, at block <NUM>, a determination is made as to whether the dryer <NUM> is functioning as expected. By way of example, the dryer <NUM> may be determined as functioning as expected if the temperature of the dryer <NUM> is ramping up according to a predetermined schedule. In response to a determination at block <NUM> that the dryer <NUM> is not functioning as expected, the printing components <NUM> of the printing system <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> are operated at the reduced throughput mode as indicated at block <NUM>.

However, in response to a determination at block <NUM> that the dryer <NUM> is functioning as expected, a determination may be made as to whether the input voltage <NUM> level is within a predetermined voltage level range at block <NUM>. The predetermined voltage level range used at block <NUM> may be the same range used to determine voltage level range used at block <NUM>. In other examples, however, the predetermined voltage level range used at block <NUM> may be a different range from the predetermined voltage level range used at block <NUM>. For instance, the predetermined voltage level range used at block <NUM> may be a relatively narrower range or larger range than the predetermined voltage level range used at block <NUM>. By way of example, the predetermined voltage level range used at block <NUM> may be between about <NUM> volts and about <NUM> volts and the predetermined voltage level range used at block <NUM> may be between about <NUM> volts and about <NUM> volts on a 1XX nominal voltage circuit.

In response to a determination at block <NUM> that the input voltage <NUM> level is within the predetermined voltage level range, the printing components <NUM> may be operated under the normal mode as indicated at block <NUM>. However, in response to a determination at block <NUM> that the input voltage <NUM> range is outside of the predetermined voltage level range, the dryer <NUM> may be turned off as indicated at block <NUM>. At block <NUM>, instead of turning off the dryer <NUM>, e.g., a fan and a heating element, the heating element may be turned off while the fan remains running. In addition, blocks <NUM> and <NUM> may be implemented. As shown in <FIG>, the same counter <NUM>, <NUM> may be incremented following block <NUM> such that the determination as to whether the counter limit has been reached may be cumulative following both blocks <NUM> and <NUM>. In other examples, however, a different counter (not shown) may be incremented following block <NUM> and a different counter limit may be determined. In those examples, following a determination that the counter limit has been reached, the printing components <NUM> may be operated under the reduced throughput mode at block <NUM> and following a determination that the counter limit has not been reached, the method <NUM> may continue at block <NUM>.

Through implementation of the method <NUM>, a failure in or with respect to a dryer <NUM> may not result in a shutdown of a printing system <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>. Instead, for many component failure scenarios, the printing system <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> may continue to print media at reduced throughput levels, e.g., at reduced speeds.

Some or all of the operations set forth in the methods <NUM> and <NUM> may be contained as utilities, programs, or subprograms, in any desired computer accessible medium. In addition, the methods <NUM> and <NUM> may be embodied by computer programs, which may exist in a variety of forms both active and inactive. For example, they may exist as machine readable instructions, including source code, object code, executable code or other formats. Any of the above may be embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium. Examples of non-transitory computer readable media include computer system RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, and magnetic or optical disks or tapes. It is therefore to be understood that any electronic device capable of executing the above-described functions may perform those functions enumerated above.

Claim 1:
A printing system (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) comprising:
printing components (<NUM>);
a dryer (<NUM>) having components;
a dryer engine (<NUM>) configured to determine whether the components of the dryer (<NUM>) are functioning properly,
an input voltage engine (<NUM>) configured to determine whether an input voltage (<NUM>) level is outside of a predetermined voltage level range in response to a determination that the components of the dryer (<NUM>) are functioning properly; and
a printing components engine (<NUM>) configured to control the printing components (<NUM>) to operate in one of a normal mode and a reduced throughput mode based upon whether the input voltage (<NUM>) level is outside of the predetermined voltage level range;
wherein, in response to a determination that the input voltage (<NUM>) level is within the predetermined voltage level range, the dryer engine (<NUM>) is to:
attempt to activate the dryer (<NUM>);
determine whether the dryer (<NUM>) is functioning as expected; and
wherein, in response to a determination that the dryer (<NUM>) is not functioning as expected, the printing components engine (<NUM>) is to control the printing components (<NUM>) to operate in the reduced throughput mode.