Patent ID: 6685296
Filing Date: 2004-02-03
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
An ink tank for holding ink, which is supplied to a recording head for recording information by applying the ink on a medium for recording information thereon, in an ink containing chamber substantially surrounded by a wall, whereinsaid ink tank includes a solid semiconductor element, comprising: information acquiring means for acquiring environmental information of the outside of said solid semiconductor element; information storing means for storing information to be compared with the information acquired by said information acquiring means; discriminating means for comparing the information acquired by said information acquiring means and information stored in said information storing means, which corresponds to the acquired information, to determine the necessity of communicating information; and information communicating means for displaying the information acquired by said information acquiring means or communicating the information to the outside of said ink tank if said discriminating means determines that it is necessary to communicate information, wherein said solid semiconductor element is embedded in said wall such that a part of said solid semiconductor element is exposed from a side of said wall contacting the ink so that said exposed part directly contacts the ink, and said information acquiring means is disposed in the exposed part which directly contacts the ink, wherein said solid semiconductor element is exposed from both sides of said wall; and wherein said wall is an inner wall dividing the inside of said ink tank into a plurality of ink containing chambers, and said information acquiring means is independently disposed in parts of said solid semiconductor element exposed from one side and the other side of said inner wall, respectively.