Ink cartridge and printer using the same
First Claim
1. An ink cartridge configured to be detachably mountable on a printer, the ink cartridge comprising:
- a storage unit for storing electronically a plurality of pieces of information relating to the ink cartridge, each piece of information comprising a respective number of data bits and at least two said pieces having different numbers of data bits;
wherein the storage unit comprises a memory division for each of said pieces of information, the storage capacity of each said memory division being equal to the number of data bits of the respective said piece of information such that said pieces of information are stored in a bit serial manner.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An ink cartridge of the present invention has a storage element, in which plural pieces of specific information relating to an ink cartridge are stored at specific addresses that respectively occupy minimum bits required for storage. Namely the storage capacities required for storing the respective pieces of specific information are different from one another. For example, a piece of information on the year of manufacture is registered in a data length of 7 bits, a piece of information on the month of manufacture is registered in a data length of 4 bits, and a piece of information on the date of manufacture is registered in a data length of 5 bits. A piece of information on the time (hour) of manufacture is registered in a data length of 5 bits, and a piece of information on the time (minute) of manufacture is registered in a data length of 6 bits. A piece of information on the validity term of ink is registered in a data length of 6 bits, and a piece of information on the after-unsealed validity term is registered in a data length of 5 bits. This arrangement enables the specific information relating to the ink cartridge, for example, pieces of information on the manufacture of the ink cartridge and those on remaining quantities of the respective inks, to be stored efficiently into the storage element, while reducing the manufacturing cost of the ink cartridge.
58 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An ink cartridge configured to be detachably mountable on a printer, the ink cartridge comprising:
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a storage unit for storing electronically a plurality of pieces of information relating to the ink cartridge, each piece of information comprising a respective number of data bits and at least two said pieces having different numbers of data bits;
wherein the storage unit comprises a memory division for each of said pieces of information, the storage capacity of each said memory division being equal to the number of data bits of the respective said piece of information such that said pieces of information are stored in a bit serial manner. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A storage unit provided with an ink cartridge that is configured to be detachably mountable on a printer, the storage unit being written or read specific information by the printer, the storage unit comprising:
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an input-output terminal via which a serial data signal is input or output; and
an input-output control unit that inputs or outputs the serial data signal via the input-output terminal, and wherein the serial data signal contains data that is updated according to use of the ink cartridge and which having a data size that is an integral multiple of a predetermined number of bits and to be updated according to use of the ink cartridge, and data that is not updated according to use of the ink cartridge and at least a part of which having a data size of a non-integral multiple of the predetermined number of bits and which is not updated according to use of the ink cartridge.
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16. A storage unit provided with an ink cartridge that is configured to be detachably mountable on a printer, the storage unit being written or read specific information by the printer, the storage unit comprising:
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an input-output terminal via which a serial data signal is input or output; and
an input-output control unit that inputs or outputs the serial data signal by a predetermined number of bits via the input-output terminal, and wherein the serial data signal contains data that is updated according to use of the ink cartridge and which having a data size that is an integral multiple of the predetermined number of bits and which is updated according to use of the ink cartridge, and data that is not updated according to use of the ink cartridge and at least a part of which having a data size that is a non-integral multiple of the predetermined number of bits and which is not updated according to the use of the ink cartridge.
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17. A printer used with an ink cartridge, the ink cartridge having a storage unit that stores plural pieces of specific information relating to the ink cartridge and an input-output terminal, the printer comprising:
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a read out mechanism reading out data that is not updated according to use of the ink cartridge by a predetermined number of bits, wherein at least a part of the data has a data size that is a non-integral multiple of the predetermined number of bits;
an acquisition mechanism acquiring, from the read out data by the predetermined number of bits, the data not to be updated according to use of the ink cartridge and having the data size that is a non-integral multiple of the predetermined number of bits; and
a writing mechanism which writes the data that is updated according to use of the ink cartridge and having a data size that is an integral multiple of the predetermined number of bits in the storage unit by the predetermined number of bits.
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18. A printer used with an ink cartridge, the ink cartridge having a storage unit that stores plural pieces of data relating to the ink cartridge, and has an input-output terminal, the printer comprising:
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a read out mechanism reading out the plural pieces of data relating to the ink cartridge from the storage unit via the input-output terminal;
an acquisition mechanism acquiring, from the read out data, data which is not updated according to use of the ink cartridge and at least a part of which having a data size that is a non-integral multiple of a predetermined number of bits, and data to be updated according to use of the ink cartridge and having a data size that is an integral multiple of the predetermined number of bits, respectively; and
a writing mechanism which writes the data that is updated according to use of the ink cartridge and having a data size that is an integral multiple of the predetermined number of bits in the storage unit by the predetermined number of bits.
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19. An ink cartridge for mounting on a printer, comprising:
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a cartridge body defining an ink chamber to hold an ink;
a data storage device mounted on the cartridge body, the data storage device containing data including an updated data, the updated data being N(Y) data, where N is a positive integer having a value of at least 1, and Y is a predetermined number of bits, and at least one of the following;
a manufacture year data, the manufacture year data being 7 bit data, a manufacture month data, the manufacture month data being 4 bit data, a manufacture date data, the manufacture date data being 5 bit data, a manufacture hour data, the manufacture hour data being 5 bit data, a manufacture minute data, the manufacture minute data being 6 bit data, and a validity term data, the validity term data being 6 bit data; and
a plurality of electrical contacts in electrical communication with the data storage device, the electrical contacts being arranged for the transfer of data in serial fashion between the data storage device and the printer.
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Specification