Printer and copier machines are common in offices today. They are heavily relied upon to perform their proper function and their continued operation can be critical. In printing equipment and other office machinery, parts such as rollers, pulleys, stops and belts frequently wear out. At present, the only way to determine if a part is worn out is to wait for the part to start causing problems, or in the alternative, to frequently check each individual part.
For example, in any device that has rotating or moving parts, it is likely for a component to eventually wear out. It is difficult, if not impossible, to check every component in a machine to determine its wear level and remaining life.
When a component of a machine does wear down and break, it can cause the entire machine to stop functioning. A malfunctioning machine can result in the loss of both time and money. It would be desirable to provide a system that continuously monitors a component for wear and which signals a warning when the component has worn to a point near its end of life, preventing malfunctioning of the machine. Replacing a part before failure would result in greater machine up time and lower service costs.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds