Patent ID: 7207668

Claim:
A method of storing and melting solid ink for a solid ink printer, said method comprising: coupling a removable housing in which a solid ink block is stored to at least one printhead; liquefying with a heater the solid ink block within the housing; transferring the liquefied ink to the printhead through a fluid outlet port attached to said housing; receiving printer operation information from a printer controller external to the housing and storing the printer operation information in an electronic storage device within said housing; providing a plurality of solid ink supply containers; coupling one solid ink supply container in the plurality of ink supply containers to a printhead to provide liquid ink from the ink supply container; automatically detecting a low level of ink in the one solid ink supply container coupled to the printhead; automatically switching from the one solid ink supply container to another one of the solid ink supply containers in the plurality in response to detection of a low ink level in the solid ink supply container coupled to the printhead; applying pressure with a spring-biased ram to the solid ink block to move a portion of the solid ink block into contact with the heater for liquefying the solid ink block; coupling a rheostat to the spring-biased ram; and detecting the low ink level with the rheostat.