Patent ID: 8397543

Claim:
A physical resource consuming apparatus comprising: a physical resource consuming system operating according to a cycle of operation requiring a consumption of a physical resource; a physical resource dispensing system coupled to the physical resource consuming system to dispense the physical resource coupled to the physical resource dispensing system and comprising: a removable component removably coupled to the physical resource dispensing system and defining a reservoir containing a physical resource; a graphic provided on the removable component; a composite defined by overlying portions of the graphic, the removable component and the physical resource, respectively, the composite having a thickness ranging between the graphic and the physical resource, the composite having optically encoded information regarding a characteristic of the physical resource contained in the reservoir at least at a first depth and a second depth of the thickness, with the first depth being different than the second depth; an optical reading system comprising: an illumination source selectively providing illumination to the first depth and the second depth; a reflectance reader configured to read a first reflectance when the composite is illuminated by the illumination source at the first depth and a second reflectance when the composite is illuminated by the illumination source at the second depth and provide an output indicative of the first reflectance and the second reflectance; and a controller configured to receive the output and determine at least one operating parameter of the physical resource consuming apparatus as a function of the output.