1. A method of operating a continuous ink jet printer apparatus, the method comprising the steps of: applying a first voltage pulse to an electrode in order to modify the direction of an ink stream; applying a second voltage pulse to the electrode for a pre-determined period of time in order to detect the phase of the ink stream; measuring the charge carried on the ink stream; and modifying the operation of the printer in response to the charge measured.
2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the timing andor magnitude of the first voltage pulse is modified in response to the charge measured.
3. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the second voltage pulse is positive.
4. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the second voltage pulse negative.
5. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the second voltage pulse is a half width pulse.
6. A continuous ink jet printer apparatus including circuitry for applying a first voltage pulse to an electrode in order to modify the direction of an ink stream, and for applying simultaneously a second voltage pulse to the electrode for a pre-determined period of time for detecting the phase of the ink jet stream.
7. A printer apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said circuitry comprises an electrode driver, a phasing driver and a network comprising diodes and resistors, the drivers being electrically connected to the electrode via the network, the printer apparatus being operable: in a first state in which no signal is sent by either of the drivers and the ink jet stream is allowed to print onto a substrate; in a second state in which the electrode driver applies the first voltage pulse to deflect the ink jet stream into a gutter; and in a third state in which the electrode driver applies the first voltage pulse and the phasing driver applies the second voltage pulse for detecting the phase of the ink jet stream.
8. A printer apparatus comprising an electrode, first and second voltage sources and a resistor network, the electrode being electrically connected to the voltage sources via the resistor network, the printer apparatus being operable: in a first state by applying a low signal from the first and second voltage sources to the electrode; in a second state by applying a low signal from the first voltage source and a high signal from the second voltage source to the electrode; and in a third state by applying a high signal from the first and second voltage sources to the electrode.
9. A printer apparatus according to claim 8 wherein: in the first state an ink jet stream associated with the electrode is allowed to print onto a substrate; in the second state the electrode is charged such that the phase of the ink jet stream can be detected; and in the third state the ink jet stream is deflected into a gutter.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method of producing a virtual topography of a communications network, comprising:
defining a first portion of a communications network having a first plurality of network components that are configured according to a first layer N of the Open System Interconnection model;
defining a second portion of the communications network having a second plurality of network components that are configured according to the first layer N of the Open System Interconnection model;
defining a plurality of communication links between the first plurality and the second plurality of network components that are configured according to the first layer N of the Open System Interconnection model; and
constructing a virtual network having a plurality of virtual network elements that each represent at least one of the plurality of communication links.
2. A method of producing as defined in claim 1, wherein constructing the virtual network further comprises:
constructing a virtual network having a plurality of virtual network elements that each represent at least one of the plurality of communication links, the virtual network elements being configured according to a second layer M of the Open System Interconnection model.
3. A method of producing as defined in claim 1, further comprising:
via a graphical user interface, depicting the virtual network elements of the virtual network on a display device.
4. A method of producing as defined in claim 3, wherein depicting the virtual network elements further comprises
depicting the virtual network elements of the virtual network such that a user can initiate actions for the first and second portions of the communications network.
5. A method of producing as defined in claim 4, wherein the user can initiate actions regarding statistical summaries of the network components of the first and second portions of the communications networks.
6. A method of producing as defined in claim 1, wherein the method is executed in connection with a network analyzer.
7. A method of producing a virtual topography of a communications network, comprising:
defining a first portion of a communications network having a first plurality of network components that are configured according to a first layer N of the Open System Interconnection model;
defining a second portion of the communications network having a second plurality of network components that are configured according to the first layer N of the Open System Interconnection model;
defining a plurality of communication links between the first plurality and the second plurality of network components that are configured according to the first layer N of the Open System Interconnection model; and
constructing a virtual network having a plurality of virtual network elements that each represent at least one of the plurality of communication links, the virtual network elements being configured according to a second layer M of the Open System Interconnection model.
8. A method of producing as defined in claim 7, further comprising:
via a graphical user interface, depicting at least a portion of the virtual network.
9. A method of producing as defined in claim 8, further comprising:
enabling a user to modify properties of the virtual network elements via the graphical user interface.
10. A method of producing as defined in claim 7, wherein the value of layer M is greater than the value of layer N.
11. A method of producing as defined in claim 10, wherein the value of layer M is an integer value \u201c1\u201d greater than the value of layer N.
12. A method of producing as defined in claim 7, wherein defining a first portion further comprises:
defining a first portion of a communications network having a first plurality of network components that are configured according to a first layer N of the Open System Interconnection model, the first plurality including computers, network switches, and storage devices.
13. A method of producing as defined in claim 7, wherein defining a second portion further comprises:
defining a second portion of the communications network having a second plurality of network components that are configured according to the first layer N of the Open System Interconnection model, the second plurality including network monitoring components.
14. A method of producing as defined in claim 7, wherein the virtual network defines a logical path through at least one of the first and second portions of the communications network.
15. A computer program product for implementing a method of producing a virtual topography of a communications network, the computer program product comprising:
a computer readable medium carrying computer executable instructions for performing the method, the method comprising:
defining a first portion of a communications network having a first plurality of network components that are configured according to a first layer N of the Open System Interconnection model;
defining a second portion of the communications network having a second plurality of network components that are configured according to the first layer N of the Open System Interconnection model;
defining a plurality of communication links between the first plurality and the second plurality of network components that are configured according to the first layer N of the Open System Interconnection model;
constructing a virtual network having a plurality of virtual network elements that each represent at least one of the plurality of communication links, the virtual network elements being configured according to a second layer M of the Open System Interconnection model; and
via a graphical user interface, depicting at least a portion of the virtual network.
16. A computer program product as defined in claim 15, wherein the network components of the second portion of the communications network includes a plurality of network monitoring components for monitoring the network components of the first portion.
17. A computer program product as defined in claim 16, wherein properties of the network components of the first and second portions of the communications network can be modified via the graphical user interface that depicts at least a portion of the virtual network.
18. A computer program product as defined in claim 17, wherein the plurality of network monitoring components and network components include hardware and software components.
19. A computer program product as defined in claim 18, wherein defining a plurality of communication links further comprises:
defining a plurality of communication links between the first plurality and the second plurality of network components via the graphical user interface.
20. A computer program product as defined in claim 19, wherein the virtual topography is graphically depicted in a tree structure.