Postage meter system having a controlled level of ink
A method of disabling operation of a disposable print module that has an ink reservoir and a plurality of ink ejection nozzles including unused nozzles, and that serves to be mounted on a base of a postage meter, the method including the following steps: forming, in a prior step, a residual ink level counter using a determined first group of the unused nozzles; determining the volume of ink consumed; destroying one of the unused nozzles of the residual ink level counter every time the print module is mounted on a different postage meter base; destroying one of the unused nozzles of ink consumed exceeds a predetermined ink level; and disabling operation of the print module when all of the unused nozzles of the residual ink level counter have been destroyed.
1. A method of disabling operation of a disposable print module that has an ink reservoir and a plurality of ink ejection nozzles including unused nozzles, and that serves to be mounted on a base of a postage meter, the method comprising:
forming a residual ink level counter using a determined first group of said unused nozzles;
determining a volume of ink consumed;
destroying one of said unused nozzles of said residual ink level counter every time said print module is mounted on a different postage meter base;
destroying one of said unused nozzles of said residual ink level counter every time said volume of ink consumed exceeds a predetermined ink level; and
disabling operation of the print module when all of said unused nozzles of said residual ink level counter have been destroyed.
2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein determining the volume of ink consumed is performed by counting the droplets of ink ejected by said plurality of ink ejection nozzles.
3. A method according to claim 1 , wherein said predetermined level of ink is equal to (100/n)% of the total volume of said ink reservoir, the number n corresponding to the number of said unused nozzles forming said first determined group of said unused nozzles.
4. A method according to claim 1 , wherein other information relating to the disposable print module, such as a color code or a date of manufacture, is formed on the basis of another determined group of said unused nozzles.
5. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
forming a secure message authentication code on the basis of a second determined group of said unused nozzles;
reading said secure message authentication code;
comparing said secure message authentication code with a check code; and
disabling operation of the print module when the two codes are not identical.
6. A method according to claim 5 , wherein said comparison of said secure authentication code with said check code takes place at a remote computer server to which said postage meter base is connected.
7. A postage meter implementing a method according to claim 1 .