System, method and print cartridge for signaling user replacement of fuser wiper

US7463836B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Lexmark International, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Douglas Anthony Able · Shelbyville, US
• Thomas Neal Barnes · Versailles, US
• Patrick O. Bischel · Paris, US
• Rickey Carter Brown · Bardstown, US
• William Keith Richardson · Salvisa, US
• Louann Behymer Samuels · Georgetown, US
• Kevin Dean Schoedinger · Lexington, US
• Gregory Scott Tigges · Frankfort, US

Key dates

• Filing date: May 20, 2005
• Grant date: Dec 9, 2008
• Expiry date: May 25, 2025

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G03G2215/20
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A printing device (10) such as a laser printer includes a fuser assembly (200) with a fuser wiper (210) that can be removed and replaced by a user during normal maintenance to extend the useful life of the fuser assembly (200). Indicators (b0, b1) stored in a memory device (144) can be read by a print engine (36) of a printer (10) either when a print cartridge (100) is first inserted into the printer (10) or at specified times thereafter. Depending on the contents of the memory device (144), the print engine (36) may send a notification message to the printer's raster image processor (150) to cause a message to be displayed on the printer's operational/display panel (254) that informs a user the fuser wiper (210) should be replaced.