Patent ID: 6360174
Filing Date: 2002-03-19
Classification: B41J,G01F

Abstract:
An ink level detecting apparatus comprising:an ink cartridge, which is to be mounted in a printer, having an ID including cartridge type information and an identifying code; a fundamental data storing section for previously storing cartridge type information and ink capacity information associated therewith of ink cartridges which are to be mounted in the printer; a counting section for counting the number of ink dots jetted from the ink cartridge; an ink quantity storing section for storing residual ink quantities in ink cartridges mounted on the printer in association with identifying codes thereof; an ink quantity calculating section for reading the ID of the ink cartridge mounted in the printer to read out the residual ink quantity from the ink quantity storing section based on the identifying code in the ID, to read out the ink capacity from the fundamental data storing section based on the type information in the ID when the residual ink quantity associated with the identifying code is absent in the ink quantity storing section, and to thus calculate new residual ink quantity based on the number of ink dots counted by the counting section and one of the residual ink quantity read from the ink quantity storing section and the ink capacity read from the fundamental data section; and an ink quantity memory control section for storing the new residual ink quantities calculated by the ink quantity calculating section into the ink quantity storing section in an updating manner.