Patent ID: 6019461
Filing Date: 2000-02-01
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
A printer apparatus, comprising:a printer; anda print cartridge coupled to the printer;wherein the print cartridge includesa reactor having a reactance value indicative of a kind of the print cartridge; andfirst terminals connected to the reactor for coupling to the printer; andwherein the printer includesmemory in which reference data is stored, the reference data indicating a kind of print cartridge suitable for use with the printer;second terminals coupled to the first terminals;circuit elements, connected to said second terminals, which are electrically connected to said reactor through said first terminals, wherein the circuit elements and the reactor together form a circuit that produces cartridge data indicative of the kind of the print cartridge, based on the reactance value; anda controller for receiving the cartridge data and the reference data and for carrying out a printing operation only when the cartridge data corresponds to said reference data;wherein said circuit is an oscillator that generates a signal having a frequency corresponding to said reactance value to identify the kind of the print cartridge indicated by the reactance value.