Patent Abstract:
A recording liquid container for containing liquid for recording to be supplied to recording means, said recording liquid container being detachably mountable to a mounting portion of a recording device, said recording liquid container includes an information memory medium storing predetermined information; and wireless sending means which is capable of sending the predetermined information stored in said information memory medium within a predetermined limited range.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a recording liquid container for storing the recording liquid to be supplied to a recording head. It also relates to an ink jet recording apparatus in which a recording liquid container in the form of a cartridge is removably mountable.  
           [0002]    There are various apparatuses, a single or plurality of parts of which are in the form of a cartridge which can be removably mountable in the main assembly of the apparatus. For example, an ink jet printer is structured so that a single or plurality of ink cartridges are removably mountable in its main assembly.  
           [0003]    Referring to FIG. 9, an example of a conventional ink jet printer structured as described above will be described. Hereafter, the upward, downward, forward, and rearward directions mean the directions indicated by the arrow marks in FIG. 9. This ink jet printer  1  comprises the main assembly (unshown) and an ink cartridge  2 . The ink cartridge  2  is removably mountable in the main assembly of the printer  2 .  
           [0004]    The ink cartridge  2  has a box-shaped main structure  4 . This main structure  4  contains ink (unshown). The main structure  4  also has an ink outlet  5 , which is attached to the front portion of the bottom wall, that is, the wall which will be at the bottom after the proper mounting of the ink cartridge  2  in the main assembly of the printer  2 . The main structure  4  of the cartridge  2  also has a projection  7  and a lever  8  for locking the ink cartridge  2  in the predetermined position in the main assembly of the printer  2 . The projection  7  protrudes from the bottom front edge of the cartridge main structure  4 , and the locking lever  8  protrudes diagonally upward from the bottom rear edge of the cartridge main structure  4 . The locking lever  8  can be elastically bent toward, or away from, the cartridge main structure  4 , and has a locking claw  9 , which protrudes from a predetermined location on the rear surface of the locking lever  8 .  
           [0005]    The printer main assembly is provided with a carriage  11 , as a cartridge holder, which has a recess  12  in which the ink cartridge  2  is removably mountable. The recess  12  has a projection  13  and a projection  14 . The projection  13  protrudes from the bottom portion of the front surface of the recess  12 , and the projection  14  projects from a predetermined location on the rear surface of the recess  12 . With the front projection  13  of the carriage  11 , the projection  7  of the ink cartridge  2  engages, whereas with the rear projection  14 , the locking claw  9  of the ink cartridge  2  engages.  
           [0006]    The carriage  11  has an ink inlet  15 , which is attached to the front portion of the bottom wall of the recess  12  of the carriage  11 . The ink inlet  15  and the ink outlet  5  of the ink cartridge  2  can be connected or disconnected.  
           [0007]    With the provision of the above described structural arrangement, as the ink cartridge  2  is mounted onto the carriage  11  of the printer main assembly, ink is supplied from the ink cartridge  2  to the main assembly of the ink jet printer  1 . The ink cartridge  2  is mounted onto the carriage  11  in the following manner: first, the ink cartridge  2  is to be held tilted so that its rear side becomes higher than the front side, as shown in FIG. 9( a ). Then, the ink cartridge  2  is to be lowered into the recess  12  of the carriage  11  so that the projection  7  of the ink cartridge  2  engages with the projection  13  of the carriage  11  diagonally, from behind, as shown in FIG. 9( b ).  
           [0008]    Next, the rear side of the ink cartridge  2  is to be pushed down, while elastically bending the locking lever  8 , which is in contact with the projection  14  of the carriage, as shown in FIG. 9( c ), until the locking claw  9  of the locking lever  8  locks with the projection  14  of the carriage  11 , as shown in FIG. 9( d ).  
           [0009]    The moment the locking claw  9  of the ink cartridge  2  locks with the projection  14  of the carriage  11 , the person who is mounting the ink cartridge  2  can feel and hear a “click”, which assures that the ink cartridge  2  has just been properly mounted on the carriage  11 .  
           [0010]    The ink cartridge  2  properly mounted on the carriage  11  can be removed from the carriage  11  by pushing the top end portion of the locking lever  8  frontward with a finger (unshown) so that the locking claw  9  becomes disengaged from the projection  14 .  
           [0011]    The above described structural arrangement for the ink jet printer I is very simple, and yet, makes it easy to removably mount the ink cartridge  2  onto the carriage  11 . Further, when the locking claw  9  properly engages with the projection  14 , it generates the “clicking” sound while providing a user with the feel of “click”, informing the user that the ink cartridge  2  has just been properly mounted.  
           [0012]    However, these feel of the “click” and sound of the “click” are very subtle. Therefore, when, for example, a user who is not familiar with these “clicking” phenomena mounts the ink container  2 , the user sometimes fails to push down the ink container all the way into the recess of the carriage  11 , causing the ink cartridge  2  to end up in the state shown in FIG. 9( c ).  
           [0013]    When the ink cartridge  2  is in the above described state shown in FIG. 9( c ), the ink outlet  5  of the ink cartridge  2  and the ink inlet  15  of the carriage  2  are improperly connected, which sometimes may prevent ink from being supplied to the printer main assembly. At a glance, however, the ink cartridge  2  appears to be property mounted on the carriage  11 . Therefore, it is difficult for the user unfamiliar with the above described structural arrangement to recognize that the ink cartridge  2  has not been properly mounted on the carriage  11 .  
           [0014]    If the ink jet printer  1 , in which the ink container is in the above described condition, is made to carry out a printing operation, printing paper is wastefully consumed. In addition, air is sucked, along with ink, into the ink jet head, making it necessary to carry out an operation for removing the air from the ink jet head. In some cases, it is too difficult to remove such air from the ink jet, making it necessary to replace the ink jet head itself.  
           [0015]    In order to solve the above described problem, it is possible to attach a single or plurality of electrical terminals on the rear portion of the bottom surface of the bottom wall of the ink cartridge  2  and the rear portion of the top surface of the bottom wall of the recess  12  of the carriage  11 , so that it becomes possible for the printer main assembly to electrically confirm whether or not the electrical terminal on the ink cartridge side is in contact with the electrical terminal on the carriage side (unshown).  
           [0016]    Japanese Laid-open Patent Application 2000-037880, for example, discloses a printing apparatus (unshown), which employs an ink cartridge having an information storage medium, making it possible for information to be supplied from the ink cartridge to the printer main assembly. The ink cartridge  2  and carriage  11 , however, are sometimes contaminated by ink. Therefore, the electrical terminals such as the above described ones are highly likely to be poorly connected, making it difficult to always accurately determine whether or not the ink cartridge  2  has been properly mounted on the carriage  11 .  
           [0017]    Further, if the electrical terminals such as those described above become shorted, it is possible that the information storage medium is subjected to a large amount of electrical load, resulting in the erasure of the information stored therein, or the destruction thereof.  
           [0018]    The same patent application also discloses the wireless transmission of information from an ink cartridge to the printer main assembly, with the use of radio waves. This arrangement, however, has not taken into consideration the relationship between the mounting of an ink container onto the printer main assembly and the wireless communication. Therefore, it is possible that even if an ink cartridge has been improperly mounted in the printer main assembly, the wireless communication between the printer main assembly and ink cartridge may be satisfactory, making it difficult to accurately judge whether or not the ink cartridge has been properly mounted in the printer main assembly.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0019]    The present invention was made in consideration of the above described problem. Thus, its primary object is to provide a combination of an apparatus which employs a cartridge, and a cartridge therefor, which makes it possible to accurately determine whether or not the cartridge has been properly mounted into the main assembly of the apparatus.  
           [0020]    According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording liquid container for containing liquid for recording to be supplied to recording means, said recording liquid container being detachably mountable to a mounting portion of a recording device, said recording liquid container comprising an information memory medium storing predetermined information; and wireless sending means which is capable of sending the predetermined information stored in said information memory medium within a predetermined limited range.  
           [0021]    According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container wherein said mounting portion is capable of mounting a plurality of such recording liquid containers mounted adjacent to each other, and wherein the predetermined limited range is such that wireless sending means is incapable of sending the predetermined information to the adjacent one.  
           [0022]    According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container wherein said mounting portion is provided with receiving means for wirelessly receiving the predetermined information from said wireless sending means when said recording liquid container is substantially completely mounted to the mounting portion.  
           [0023]    According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container wherein said recording device includes electric power supplying means for supplying electric power through electromagnetic induction, and said recording liquid container has electric power generating means for generating electric power by said electromagnetic induction and supplying the electric power to said wireless sending means.  
           [0024]    According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container wherein said information memory medium renewably stores the predetermined information and has information accommodating means, and wherein said wireless communicating means wirelessly receives radio wave and converts the radio wave to information, which is accommodated in said information accommodating means.  
           [0025]    According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus having an ink cartridge mounting portion for mounting an ink cartridge for containing ink to be supplied to an ink jet head, said ink cartridge is detachably mountable to said ink jet head, wherein said ink cartridge includes an information memory medium storing predetermined information, and wireless sending means which is capable of sending the predetermined information stored in said information memory medium within a predetermined limited range; wherein said mounting portion of said recording device is provided with wireless communicating means for wirelessly receiving the information sent from said wireless sending means of said ink cartridge; and wherein said wireless communicating means is disposed in said predetermined limited range when said ink cartridge is mounted properly to said mounting portion.  
           [0026]    According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus further comprising electric power supplying means for supplying electric power to said ink cartridge through electromagnetic induction, and said ink cartridge includes electric power generating means for generating electric power through the electromagnetic induction and supplying the electric power to said wireless sending means.  
           [0027]    According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus further comprising electric power control means for permitting supply of the electric power to said electric power supplying means at predetermined timing, and error discriminating means for discriminating mounting error upon failure of wireless reception of t information by said wireless communicating means when the electric power is supplied thereto.  
           [0028]    According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus wherein said wireless communicating means is positioned outside the predetermined limited range before said ink cartridge is mounted to said mounting portion, and is positioned inside the predetermined limited range after said ink cartridge is mounted to said mounting portion.  
           [0029]    According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus wherein said mounting portion is capable of mounting a plurality of such ink cartridges, and there are provided a plurality of such wireless communicating means which are capable of communication with respective ink cartridges.  
           [0030]    According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cartridge mounting device for detachably moounting a cartridge, wherein an apparatus in accordance with the present invention, which comprises the main assembly and a single or plurality of cartridges, is such an apparatus that comprises: the main assembly in which a single or plurality of cartridges are removably mountable; and a single or plurality of cartridges which are removably mountable in the main assembly. Each cartridge comprises: an information storage means which stores information of a predetermined type; and a wireless transmitting means capable of at least wirelessly transmitting information a specified distance. The apparatus main assembly comprises: a cartridge holding means in which a single or plurality of the cartridges are removably mountable; a wireless communicating means capable of wirelessly receiving information from the cartridge; and a wireless communicating means holding means capable of assuring that the wireless communicating means will be within the wireless communication range of the wireless transmitting means of the cartridge only after the proper mounting of the cartridge in the cartridge holding means.  
           [0031]    The printing apparatus in accordance with the present invention, which comprises the main assembly and a single or plurality of ink cartridges, is such a printing apparatus that comprises: the main assembly in which a single or plurality of ink cartridges are removably mountable; and a single or plurality of ink cartridges which are removably mountable in the main assembly. Each ink cartridge comprises: the main structure which stores ink; an ink supplying means for supplying the ink stored in the main structure to the printer main assembly; an information storage means which stores information of a predetermined type; and a wireless transmitting means capable of at least wirelessly transmitting information a specified distance. The printer main assembly comprises: an ink cartridge holding means in which a single or plurality of the ink cartridges are removably mountable; an ink receiving means to be connected to the ink supplying means of an ink cartridge on the cartridge holding means in order to receive ink; a wireless communicating means capable of wirelessly receiving information from the ink cartridge; and a wireless communicating means holding means capable of assuring that the wireless communicating means will be within the wireless communication range of the wireless transmitting means of the ink cartridge only after the proper mounting of the ink cartridge in the ink cartridge holding means.  
           [0032]    In the case of a printing apparatus in accordance with the present invention, as an ink cartridge is mounted in the cartridge holding means of the printer main assembly, the ink supplying means of the ink cartridge becomes connected to the ink receiving means of the printer main assembly, allowing ink to be supplied from the ink cartridge to the printer main assembly.  
           [0033]    In addition, the information stored in the information storage means of each ink cartridge is wirelessly transmitted to the wireless communicating means of the printer main assembly by the wireless transmitting means of the ink cartridge. The wireless transmitting means of the ink cartridge, however, wirelessly transmits the information only a specified distance. Further, the communicating means holding means of the printer main assembly holds the wireless communicating means of the apparatus main assembly in such a manner that the wireless communicating means will be within the range of the wireless transmitting means of the ink cartridge only after the proper mounting of the ink cartridge in the cartridge holding means. Therefore, the information from the ink cartridge is wirelessly received by the wireless communicating means of the printer main assembly only after the proper mounting of the ink cartridge in the cartridge holding means.  
           [0034]    Further, it is possible to provide each ink cartridge with a power generating means in which the electric power to be supplied to the wireless transmitting means of the ink cartridge is electromagnetically induced, and to provide the printer main assembly with a power supplying means for electromagnetically inducing electric power in the electric power generating means of the ink container. In such a case, the printer main assembly supplies its power supplying means with electric power, with a predetermined timing, through the power controlling means, and if the wireless communication is not established between the wireless communicating means of the printer main assembly and wireless transmitting means of the ink cartridge while the power is supplied, it is determined by an error detecting means that the ink cartridge has not been properly mounted.  
           [0035]    The information in the form of radio waves, which are received by the wireless communicating means of an ink cartridge may be converted into electrical signals and stored in the information storage means of the ink cartridge. Further, it is possible to design the wireless communicating means holding means of the printer main assembly so that before the connection of the ink supplying means and ink receiving means, the wireless communicating means will remain outside the range of the wireless transmitting means, and only after the completion of the proper connection of the ink supplying means and ink receiving means, the wireless communicating means will be within the range of the wireless transmitting means.  
           [0036]    Further, it is possible to design the printer main assembly so that a plurality of ink cartridges can be mounted in the cartridge holding means, and also so that the printer main assembly is provided with a plurality of wireless communicating means for wirelessly communicating one for one with the plurality of ink cartridges in the cartridge holding means.  
           [0037]    Regarding the various means mentioned in the above description of the present invention, all that is required of them is to be able to function as described above. Thus, they may be in the form of, for example, a dedicated hardware capable of performing predetermined functions, a computer programmed to perform predetermined functions, predetermined functions realized in a computer with the use of programs, or the combinations thereof, etc.  
           [0038]    Further, it is not mandatory that they are independent from each other. For example, two or more of the above described various means may be integrated into a single component. One means may be formed as a part of another means. A part of one means may constitutes a part of another means. In other words, they may be configured in an optimum fashion.  
           [0039]    These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0040]    [0040]FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of the first embodiment of a cartridge mounting apparatus in accordance with the present invention, showing the steps followed when an ink container in the form of a cartridge is mounted into the main assembly of a printer.  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of an ink cartridge.  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the ink cartridge, showing the internal structure thereof.  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of the circuitry chip.  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of a printing apparatus, showing the internal structure thereof.  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 6 is a front plan view of the carriage, as a cartridge holding means, holding a plurality of ink cartridges.  
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the initialization process of the printing apparatus.  
         [0047]    [0047]FIG. 8 is a schematic vertical sectional view of the ink container and its adjacencies, at a plane parallel to the front surface of the printing apparatus, during the mounting of the ink container into the main assembly of the printing apparatus, showing the steps followed during the mounting of the ink container into the main assembly of the printing apparatus.  
         [0048]    [0048]FIG. 9 is a schematic vertical sectional of the combination of an ink container in accordance with the prior art, and a printing apparatus in accordance with the prior art, showing the steps followed during the mounting of the former into the latter. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0049]    [Embodiment 1] 
         [0050]    First, referring to FIGS.  1 - 7 , the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. Hereafter, the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the directions with respect to the ink cartridge  2 , that is, the front, rear, right, and left directions of the ink cartridge  2 . The usage of the ink container  2  as the directional reference is for the simplification of the description, and has nothing to do with the positioning of the ink cartridge  2  during the production, usage, etc., of the apparatuses in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0051]    Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, this embodiment of a cartridge  100  in accordance with the present invention is an ink cartridge, and is removably mountable in the main assembly  201  of a printing apparatus  200  as an example of an apparatus which employs a cartridge system.  
         [0052]    Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the main assembly  101  of this ink cartridge  100  is in the form of a flat box, and is molded of a resinous substance. Referring to FIG. 3, the internal space of the main assembly  101  comprises an ink storage chamber  102 , and a negative pressure generation chamber  103 , which are separated by a partition. The ink storage chamber  102  is in connection with the negative pressure generation chamber  103 , at their bottom ends, and contains ink  104  in the liquid form.  
         [0053]    The negative pressure generation chamber  103  has an ink outlet  106  and an air vent  107 . The ink outlet  103  is attached to the bottom portion of the negative pressure generation chamber  103 , whereas the air vent  107  is in the top wall of the negative pressure generation chamber  103 . Further, the negative pressure generation chamber  103  is filled with a porous member  108 , and the ink outlet is filled with a porous member  109 . In the case of this cartridge main assembly  101 , the ink in the ink storage chamber  102  is supplied to the printer main assembly  201  through the ink outlet  106  after going through the negative pressure generation chamber  103 .  
         [0054]    Referring to FIGS.  1 - 3 , the cartridge main assembly  101  has a projection  111 , which is an integral part of the cartridge main assembly  101  and protrudes from the bottom front edge of the cartridge main assembly  101 . The cartridge main assembly  101  also has a cartridge locking lever  112 , which also is an integral part of the cartridge main assembly  101  and protrudes diagonally (up and backward) from the rear bottom edge of the cartridge main assembly  101 . The cartridge locking lever  112  is elastically movable in the frontward or backward of the cartridge main assembly  101 , and has a cartridge locking claw  113 , which is on a predetermined portion of the rear surface of the cartridge locking lever  112 .  
         [0055]    This embodiment of an ink cartridge  100  in accordance with the present invention has a circuitry chip  130 , in the form of a piece of sheet, which is embedded in the rear portion of the bottom wall of the cartridge main assembly  101 . Referring to FIG. 4, this circuitry chip  130  has a flash memory  135  as an information storage means, a wireless communication circuit  136  as both a wireless transmitting means and an information storing means, and a power source circuit  137  as a part of the power generating means.  
         [0056]    The flash memory  135  stores in an updatable fashion, the cartridge identification information (unshown) regarding the cartridge type, types of the compatible printers, production date, expiration date, remaining amount of ink, etc.  
         [0057]    Referring to FIG. 4, to the power source circuit  137 , an induction coil  138  as a part of the power generating means is connected. This induction coil  138  constitutes, for example, the bottom layer of the circuitry chip  130 . The combination of the induction coil  138  and power source circuit  137  generates electric power, based on electromagnetic induction. The generated electric power is supplied from the power source circuit  137  to the wireless communication circuit  136 , which uses the electric power to transmits the predetermined type of information in the flash memory  135 , in the form of radio waves, and also to receive radio waves, extract predetermined type of information carried by the received radio waves, and store the information in the slash memory  135 .  
         [0058]    This ink cartridge  100 , however, is not provided with an antenna (unshown) for extending the communication range R of the wireless communication circuit  136 . Therefore, the communication range R (radius of the sphere in which radio waves from wireless transmitting means are receivable) of the wireless communication circuit  136  is limited to “0.3 (mm)”, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. It should be noted here that the communication range R can be adjusted to an optimal value with the use of an antenna.  
         [0059]    Referring to FIG. 6, the printing apparatus  200  is a full-color ink jet printer, and employs one carriage  202 , and four ink cartridges  100 . The carriage  202  functions as both a cartridge holding means and a communicating means holding means. The four ink cartridges  100  are different in the color of the ink therein (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black), and are arranged in the left-right direction, on the carriage  100 .  
         [0060]    Referring to FIG. 1, the carriage  202  is provided with a recess  203 , which has a projection  204  and a locking claw  205 . The projection  204  protrudes rearward from the bottom portion of the front surface of the recess  203 . The locking claw  205  is for locking an ink container in the proper position, and projects frontward from a predetermined point on the rear surface of the recess  203 . With the projection  204 , which is on the front side of the carriage  202 , the projection  111  of the ink cartridge  100  engages, whereas with the locking claw  205 , the locking claw  113  of the ink cartridge  100  engages.  
         [0061]    The carriage  202  is also provided with an ink inlet  206  as an ink receiving means, which is attached to the rear portion of the bottom wall of the recess  203 , and to which the ink inlet  106  of the ink cartridge  100  is removably connectible. More specifically, in the case of this printing apparatus  200 , a porous member, that is, a piece of porous substance (unshown), is also disposed in the ink inlet  206 . Thus, as the ink cartridge  100  is properly mounted into the recess  203  of the carriage  202 , the porous member  109  in the ink outlet  106  of the ink cartridge  100  comes into contact with, and is compressed by, the porous member in the ink inlet  206  of the carriage  202 , creating a state in which the ink  104  can be supplied to the printer main assembly  201  from the ink cartridge  100 .  
         [0062]    Referring to FIG. 5, to the bottom surface of the carriage  202 , an ink jet head  211  is attached. This combination of the carriage  202  and ink jet head  211  is supported by a primary scan mechanism (unshown) as a cartridge moving means so that the combination can be freely moved in the left-right direction. The primary scan mechanism comprises a single or plurality of guide rails, a driver motor, etc.  
         [0063]    In the bottom portion of the internal space of the printer main assembly  201 , there is disposed a secondary scan mechanism (unshown) comprising a feed roller  212 , a driving motor  213 , etc. A sheet of printing paper P is conveyed frontward so that it opposes the ink jet head  211  from underneath.  
         [0064]    Next, referring to FIG. 6, four communication units  214 , as both a power supplying means and a wireless communicating means, are attached to the rear portion of the bottom surface of the carriage  202 , in alignment, one for one, with the four locations of the carriage  202 , to which the four ink cartridges  100  different in the color of the ink therein are mounted.  
         [0065]    Although not shown, not only does each of the four communication units  214  electromagnetically induce electric current in the corresponding induction coil  138  of the ink cartridge  100 , but also it wirelessly exchanges predetermined types of information with the corresponding wireless communication circuit  136  of the ink cartridge  100 .  
         [0066]    However, the radius of the communication range R of the circuitry chip  130  of the ink cartridge  100  employed by this printing apparatus  200  in accordance with the present invention is “0.3 mm”. Thus, each communication unit  214  is disposed so that when the ink cartridge  100  is in the proper position in the printing apparatus  200 , the distance between the communication chip  214  and the corresponding circuitry chip  130  is “0.2 mm”, for example.  
         [0067]    Referring to FIG. 5, in the rear portion of the internal space of the printer main assembly  201 , there is disposed a circuitry substrate  215 , which is connected to the primary scan mechanism, secondary scan mechanism, ink jet head  211 , communication units  214 , etc. The circuitry substrate  215  has a microcomputer (unshown), which integrally controls each of the above listed sections.  
         [0068]    Next, the usage of this ink cartridge  100  in accordance with the present invention, which is structured as described above, will be concretely described. In the final stage of ink cartridge production, various types of information, for example, data for identifying ink cartridge type, is stored in the circuitry chip  130  of each ink cartridge  100 . The ink cartridge  100  is mounted into the printer main assembly  201  by an end user, in the following manner, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 8.  
         [0069]    First, referring to FIG. 1( a ), the ink cartridge  100  is to be held tilted so that the rear portion is higher than the front portion, as in the case of the printing apparatus  1  in accordance with the prior arts. Then, the ink cartridge  100  is to be mounted into the carriage  202  diagonally downward from the rear side so that the projection  111  of the ink cartridge  100  is engaged with the projection  204  of the carriage  202 , as shown in FIG. 1( b ).  
         [0070]    Next, referring to FIG. 1( c ), the rear portion of the ink cartridge  100  is to be pushed down, while elastically bending the locking lever  112  of the ink cartridge  100 , in contact with the locking claw  205  of the carriage  202 , until the locking claw  113  of the locking lever  112  engages with the locking claw  205  of the carriage  202 , as shown in FIG. 1( d ).  
         [0071]    Referring to FIGS.  1 ( a )- 1 ( c ), in the case of this embodiment of the present invention, that is, the printing apparatus  200 , however, the communication unit  214  of each ink cartridge  100  does not enter the communication range R of the corresponding circuitry chip  130  until the final stage of the proper mounting of the ink cartridge  100  into the carriage  202 ; the communication unit  214  of each ink cartridge  100  is in the communication range of the corresponding circuitry chip  130  only during and after the final stage of the proper and complete mounting of the ink cartridge  100  into the carriage  202 .  
         [0072]    In other words, only as the ink cartridge  100  is properly mounted into the carriage  202 , it becomes possible for the printer main assembly  201  to wirelessly communicate with the ink cartridge  100 ; unless the ink cartridge  100  is properly mounted into the carriage  202 , the printer main assembly  201  cannot communicate with the ink cartridge  100 .  
         [0073]    Referring to FIG. 7, as an end user, for example, mounts the four ink cartridges  100  into the printing apparatus  200  connected to a host computer (unshown), and turns on the printing apparatus  200 , the four communication units  214  of the printing apparatus  200  begin sequentially and wirelessly communicating with the four ink cartridges  100 , one for one (Steps S 1 -S 4 ).  
         [0074]    If a given communication unit  214  does not receive radio waves (Step S 5 ), the printing apparatus  200  determines that there is no ink cartridge in the location corresponding to the given communication unit  214 , and sends signals to the host computer, informing it of the ink cartridge mount error (Step S 8 ).  
         [0075]    As the given communication unit  214  receives radio waves from an ink cartridge  100  (Step S 5 ), it is confirmed, based on the data carried by the received radio waves, whether or not the ink cartridge  100  on the specific location of the carriage  202 , corresponding to the given communication unit  214 , is proper in various aspects and properties, for example, the color of the ink therein, amount of the ink remaining therein, expiration date, etc. (Step S 6 ). If a single or plurality of improprieties are detected in this step, error messages corresponding to the improprieties are sent to the host computer (Step S 8 ).  
         [0076]    On the other hand, if the printing apparatus  200  determines that the four ink cartridges  100  all have been properly mounted, it sends a ready signal indicating the completion of the preparatory process to the host computer (Step S 10 ). Recognizing this signal, the host computer sends printing data to the printing apparatus  200 , and the printing apparatus  200  begins to carry out a printing operation. Incidentally, each time a printing operation is completed, the printing apparatus  200  calculates the amount of the ink  104  consumed for the operation, and updates the information regarding the remaining amount the ink  104  in the ink cartridge  100 .  
         [0077]    In the case of this embodiment of the present invention, that is, the printing apparatus  200 , the communication unit  214  of each ink cartridge  100  does not enter the communication range R of the corresponding circuitry chip  130  until the final stage of the proper mounting of the ink cartridge  100  into the carriage  202 , as described above. In other words, the communication unit  214  of the printer main assembly is in the communication range of the corresponding circuitry chip  130  only during and after the final stage of the proper and complete mounting of the ink cartridge  100  into the carriage  202 . Therefore, whether or not the ink cartridge  100  has been properly mounted can be confirmed through the wireless communication between the circuitry chip  130  and communication unit  214 .  
         [0078]    In addition, since the circuitry chip  130  and communication unit  214  wirelessly communicate with each other, with the use of radio waves, it is assured that even if the surface of the ink cartridge  100  and/or carriage  202  is contaminated with, or damaged by, the ink  104 , it is always satisfactorily confirmed whether or not the ink cartridge  100  is in the proper position in the carriage  202 .  
         [0079]    Further, the carriage  202  of the printing apparatus  200  is enabled to hold four ink cartridges  100 , and is provided with four communication units  214  disposed so that they will be within the communication ranges R of the four ink cartridges  100 , one for one, only when the four ink cartridges  100  are in the proper locations in the carriage  202 . Therefore, whether or not each of the four ink cartridges  100  is in the proper location in the carriage  202  can be confirmed, independently from the other ink cartridges  100 .  
         [0080]    Further, the radius of the communication range R of the wireless communication circuit  136  of this ink cartridge  100  in accordance with the present invention is limited to “0.3 mm” by not connecting it to a radio antenna. In other words, the communication range R is limited to a desired value with the use of the simple structural arrangement.  
         [0081]    As described above, each ink cartridge  100  is limited in the communication range R. Therefore, even if four ink cartridges  100  are disposed on a single carriage  202 , there is no interference among the communications between the four ink cartridges  100  and the corresponding communication units  214 .  
         [0082]    Moreover, not only can the above described wireless communication be used to confirm whether or not a given ink cartridge  100  is in the proper location of the carriage  202 , but also it can be used for the various data communication between the printer main assembly  201  and the given ink cartridge  100 . In other words, the above described structural arrangement for the combination of the ink cartridge  100  and apparatus main assembly  201  offers a plurality of functions in spite of its simplicity.  
         [0083]    Even though the present invention was described above with reference to the embodiments of the present invention in the form of the combination of an ink cartridge and an ink jet printer, the application of the present invention is not limited to the above described embodiments. In other words, the present invention can be variously modified within the scope of its essence. That is, the present invention can be applied to various apparatuses, which employ a single or plurality of cartridges, and in the main assembly of which each cartridge must be properly mounted. For example, the present invention is applicable to: an electrophotographic printer, in the main assembly of which a single or plurality of toner cartridges are mounted; a video deck, in which a single or plurality of video cassettes are mounted; a camera in which a single or plurality of photographic film cartridges are mounted, a flexible disc drive in which a single or plurality of flexible disc-cartridges are mounted; and the like.  
         [0084]    According to another aspect of this embodiment, the ink cartridge  100  is provided with the flash memory  135 , in which the predetermined information is stored in the updatable fashion, making it possible for the printer main assembly  201  or the like to read the predetermined information from the flash memory  135  of the ink cartridge  100 , and also to write information into the flash memory  135 . However, it is possible to provide the ink cartridge  100  with a ROM (Read Only Memory), as an information storage medium, holding the predetermined information, so that the printer main assembly  201  and a wireless communicating apparatus  209  can read the predetermined information from the ROM of the ink cartridge  100 .  
         [0085]    Further, this embodiment demonstrates such a structural arrangement that the ink cartridge  100  is provided with a flash memory as an information storage medium. However, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), a RAM (Random Access Memory) connected to a battery, a FeRAM (Ferro-electric RAM), a ROM, or the like, may be employed, instead of the flash memory, as the information storage medium of the ink cartridge etc.  
         [0086]    Further, this embodiment demonstrates such a structural arrangement that the ink cartridge  100  is provided with the power generating means comprising the induction coil  138  and power source circuit  137 , and electric power is generated by electromagnetic induction. However, it is possible to provide the ink cartridge  100  with a battery.  
         [0087]    Further, this embodiment shows such a structural arrangement that as the porous member in the ink inlet  206  of the main assembly  201  of the printing apparatus  200  comes into contact with, and is pressed against, the porous member  109  in the ink outlet  106  of the ink cartridge  100 , it becomes possible for the ink  104  to be supplied from the ink cartridge  100  to the printer main assembly  201 . However, a structural arrangement other than this one may be employed.  
         [0088]    Further, this embodiment provides various concrete numerical values. However, the numerical values given in this embodiment may be variously modified. For example, although the communication range R of the circuitry chip  130  in this embodiment is “0.3 mm”, this value may be changed to the optimum value for determining whether or not the ink cartridge  100  is in the proper location in the printer main assembly  200 .  
         [0089]    [Embodiment 2] 
         [0090]    Next, referring to FIG. 8, the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The components, members, parts thereof, etc., of this embodiment, which are the same as those of the first embodiment, are given the same names and signs as those for the first embodiment, and their details will be not be described.  
         [0091]    The main assembly (unshown) of this embodiment of a printing apparatus in accordance with the present invention, that is, a printing apparatus  300 , is provided with a sharply pointed hollow needle-like member  301 , as an ink receiving means. The needle-like member  302  has an opening  302 , which is located a predetermine distance from the tip of the member  302 , and which leads to the hollow (unshown) of the needle-like member  302 .  
         [0092]    There is not a porous member in the internal space main structure  303  of an ink cartridge  302 ; it is simply filled with ink  104 . To the left portion of the bottom wall of the cartridge main structure  303 , an ink outlet  304  as an ink supplying means is attached, and is hermetically sealed with a soft sealing member  305 .  
         [0093]    In the right portion of the bottom wall of the main structure  303  of the ink cartridge  302 , there is embedded a circuitry chip  130 , whereas in the printer main assembly, there is disposed a communication unit  214  on the right side of the needle-like member  301 . Referring to FIG. 8( e ), the communication unit  214  of this printing apparatus  300  is disposed so that only when the opening  302  of the needle-like member  301  of the printer main assembly is in the internal space of the cartridge main assembly  303  of the ink cartridge  302 , the communication unit  214  will be within the communication range R of the circuitry chip  130 .  
         [0094]    Referring to FIGS.  8 ( a )- 8 ( d ), as the ink cartridge  302  structured as described above is mounted into the main assembly of the printing apparatus  300  structured as described above, the needle-like member  301  is pushed into the sealing member  305  of the ink cartridge  302 . By the time the ink cartridge  302  is disposed in the proper position in the cartridge main assembly  303 , the opening of the  302  of the needle-like member  301  reaches the predetermined position in the cartridge main assembly  303 , making it ready for the ink  104  to be supplied from the ink cartridge  302  to the printer main assembly.  
         [0095]    As described above, the communication unit  214  of this printing apparatus  300  will be within the communication range R of the circuitry chip  130  of the ink cartridge  302  only when the ink cartridge  302  is in the proper position in the printer main assembly. Therefore, whether or not the ink cartridge  302  has been properly mounted in the printer main assembly can be confirmed based on the initiation (or presence) of the radio communication between the circuitry chip  130  and communication unit  214 .  
         [0096]    More specifically, only after the opening  302  of the needle-like member  301  of the printer main assembly has moved a sufficient distance into the internal space of the main structure  303  of the ink cartridge  302 , the communication unit  214  of this printing apparatus  300  will be within the communication range R of the circuitry chip  130  of the ink cartridge  302 . Therefore, an end user is prompted to keep on pushing down the ink cartridge  302  until the ink cartridge  302  reaches the point at which the ink  104  is reliably supplied to the printer main assembly. Thus, even if there are small errors in the shapes of the printer main assembly and/or ink cartridge  302 , or a small amount of play between the printer main assembly and ink cartridge  302 , it is assured that the ink  104  is always satisfactorily supplied to the printer main assembly.  
         [0097]    According to the present invention, unless an ink cartridge is properly mounted in the main assembly of a printer, radio communication is not established between the radio transmitting means of the ink cartridge and the radio communicating means of the printer main assembly. Therefore, it is possible to satisfactorily confirm whether or not the ink cartridge is in the proper position in the printer main assembly.  
         [0098]    While the invention has been described with reference to the structures disclosed herein, it is not confined to the details set forth, and this application is intended to cover such modifications or changes as may come within the purposes of the improvements or the scope of the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1