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:
- an ink reservoir for containing an ink; and
storage unit storing plural pieces of specific information relating to the ink cartridge, and including an input-output terminal and an input-output control unit;
wherein the input-output control unit inputs or outputs a 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 eight 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 eight bits and which is not updated according to use of the ink cartridge.
1 Assignment
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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.
56 Citations
29 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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an ink reservoir for containing an ink; and
storage unit storing plural pieces of specific information relating to the ink cartridge, and including an input-output terminal and an input-output control unit;
wherein the input-output control unit inputs or outputs a 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 eight 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 eight bits and which is not updated according to use of the ink cartridge. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. 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 eight 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 eight bits and which is not updated according to use of the ink cartridge. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. 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 eight 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 eight 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 eight bits and which is not updated according to the use of the ink cartridge. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. 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 eight bits, wherein at least a part of the data has a data size that is a non-integral multiple of eight bits;
an acquisition mechanism acquiring, from the read out data by eight 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 eight 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 eight bits in the storage unit by eight bits.
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15. 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 eight bits, and data to be updated according to use of the ink cartridge and having a data size that is an integral multiple of eight bits, respectively; and
a writing mechanism which writes the data that is updated according to use of the ink cartridge arid having a data size that is an integral multiple of eight bits in the storage unit by eight bits.
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16. An link 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(8) data, where N is a positive integer having a value of at least 1, 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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17. 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 storage element mounted on the cartridge body and comprising;
a memory cell for storing data;
a read/write controller that controls reading of data from and writing of data to the memory cell;
an address counter that counts, in response to a received clock signal, when data is read from or written to the memory cell; and
a plurality of electrical contacts in electrical communication with the storage element, the electrical contacts being arranged for the transfer of data in serial fashion between the storage element and the printer.
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18. A method of storing data in an ink cartridge having a data storage device with plural storage regions, comprising the step of:
storing, in succession, a plurality of data records in the data storage regions, each said data record having a number of bits and being stored in a portion of the data storage regions, the portion having a size measured in bits and which size is equal to the number of bits, so that a minimum required number of bits are allocated to each said data record and each said data record occupies a location in the data storage device immediately after a preceding data record without vacancy therebetween.
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19. A method of reading data from an ink cartridge, comprising the steps of:
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providing a printer having mounted thereon an ink cartridge having a data storage device having plural storage regions that contain a plurality of data records in succession, each said data record having a number of bits and being stored in a portion of the data storage regions, the portion having a size measured in bits, and which size is equal to the number of bits, so that a minimum required number of bits are allocated to each said data record and each said data record occupies a location in the data storage device immediately after a preceding data record without vacancy therebetween;
obtaining a read-out data by reading at least one of the data records contained in the data storage device, by bit unit, from a beginning address to an end address, the read-out data being serial data expressed by the bit unit; and
converting the read-out data to byte data which is parallel data.
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20. An ink cartridge configured to be detachably mountable on a printer, the ink cartridge comprising:
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an ink reservoir for containing an ink;
enda storage unit including an input-output terminal and an input-output control unit, the storage unit containing an updated data corresponding to a changing property of the ink cartridge, and which is updated according to use of the ink cartridge, and a non-updated data that is not updated according to use of the ink cartridge, wherein the non-updated data includes at least one of a manufacture year data with a predetermined number of bits, a manufacture month data with a predetermined number of bits, and a manufacture date data with a predetermined number of bits. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification