Abstract:
A first plate member constitutes a part of a main frame of a liquid ejection apparatus. A second plate member is extended from the first plate member such that a first part thereof opposes to a traveling path of a carriage which carries a plurality of liquid containers each provided with an IC chip and a receiving antenna. A transmission antenna is provided on an antenna board. The antenna board is mounted on the first part of the second plate member. The second plate member is formed with a first region which allows the transmission antenna to establish radio communication with the receiving antenna, and a second region which shields radio waves.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a device for shielding radio waves from an antenna board which transmits radio signals to IC chips provided on ink cartridges to be used in a recording apparatus such as an ink jet recording apparatus, and to the recording apparatus and a liquid ejection apparatus provided with the shielding device. 
   The liquid ejection apparatus herein described means not only the recording apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile employing an ink jet recording head and adapted to eject ink from the recording head to conduct recording on a recording medium, but also such an apparatus as ejecting a liquid suitable for its purpose, instead of the ink, from a liquid ejection head corresponding to the above described recording head to a target medium corresponding to the recording medium, thereby to deposit the above described liquid on the target medium. 
   As the liquid ejection head, there are mentioned besides the above described recording head, a coloring material ejection head which is employed in manufacture of color filters for a liquid crystal display or the like, an electrode material (electrically conductive paste) ejection head which is employed in fabrication of electrodes for an organic EL display, a face light emitting display (FED) or the like, a biological organic substance ejection head which is employed in fabrication of biological chips, a sample ejection head as a precision pipette, and so on. 
   In a non-contact type printer disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-127391A, cartridges containing a plurality of coloring media independently or integrally and having cartridge antennas corresponding to the coloring media incorporated therein are mounted on a carriage which is supported by a printer body so as to reciprocally move in a widthwise direction of recording, thereby to conduct printing by using the aforesaid coloring media. The carriage is provided with a body side antenna which is opposed to the cartridge antennas provided on respective cartridges, and the printer body is provided with a shielding plate made of electromagnetic shielding material which is inserted between a group of the cartridge antennas and the body side antenna when the carriage has arrived at a predetermined position. This shielding plate is provided with a window for sequentially permitting transmission and reception of signals between the body side antenna and the cartridge antennas, according to the movement of the carriage. The body side antenna has such a width that it can be opposed to all the antennas on a plurality of the cartridges mounted on the carriage. 
   The body side antenna is opposed to the respective cartridge antennas along with the movements of the carriage, and can make an access to a desired cartridge at a desired timing. When the carriage has arrived at the predetermined position, the aforesaid shielding plate will mask the cartridge antennas positioned at other places except the window, with respect to the body side antenna. On this occasion, transmission between the cartridge antenna which is not masked and the body side antenna is possible through the window. 
   However, in the above described structure, the body side antenna must have such a width that it can be opposed to all the cartridge antennas, and this will be a factor for hindering downsizing and cost reduction of components. Moreover, there is another problem that because the window of the shielding plate must be moved to an appropriate place to be masked according to the movements of the carriage, the structure will be complicated, and easily affected by manufacturing and assembling errors. 
   Further, in a type in which the ink cartridges are provided at the body side of the ink jet recording apparatus, it is also necessary to provide radio wave shielding function for the purpose of accurately exchanging information, for the reason that communication of the data must be conducted between positions of the IC chips of the ink cartridges and positions of connecting terminals in a communicating section. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a shielding device for an antenna board which will be hardly affected by a large-sized and complicated structure, an increase of cost for components, and manufacturing and assembling errors. 
   It is also an object of the invention to provide, in a type provided with ink cartridges on a body side of an ink jet recording apparatus, radio wave shielding function which is simple in structure and of low cost. 
   In order to attain the above described objects, according to the invention, there is provided a shielding device, comprising: 
   a first plate member, which constitutes a part of a main frame of a liquid ejection apparatus; 
   a second plate member, extended from the first plate member such that a first part thereof opposes to a traveling path of a carriage which carries a plurality of liquid containers each provided with an IC chip and a receiving antenna; and 
   an antenna board, on which a transmission antenna is provided, the antenna board being mounted on the first part of the second plate member, 
   wherein the second plate member is formed with a first region which allows the transmission antenna to establish radio communication with the receiving antenna, and a second region which shields radio waves. 
   With this configuration, the radio waves generated from the transmission antenna of the antenna board can be prevented from being transmitted in a direction unnecessary to be received by the receiving antennas, by the second plate member having the radio wave shielding function, and therefore, directivity of the radio waves to the receiving antennas can be enhanced. Moreover, the radio wave shielding plate which has been heretofore provided in a stack on a lower face of the antenna board can be separated from the antenna board, and so, cost for the antenna board can be decreased. Further, the second plate member can be formed by working a part of the main frame (the first plate member) of the liquid ejection apparatus. Therefore, the second plate member can be formed at a low cost and easily, and at the same time, can be made of rigid material constituting the main frame, thus enabling high holding ability for the board to be realized. 
   Preferably, the second plate member is comprised of iron. The first region is provided as a cutout portion piercing through the second plate member. 
   In this case, it is possible to form the region necessary for transmission of the information by radio waves between the antenna board and the receiving antennas with extreme ease, and to cope with mass production. 
   Here, it is preferble that the transmission antenna comprises a load fluctuation detector, operable to detect load fluctuation generated when the receiving antenna receives a radio signal transmitted from the transmission antenna, in order to read information stored in the IC chip. The first region is formed so as to oppose to the load fluctuation detector. 
   In this case, the information stored in the IC chip can be grasped by the antenna board, even though the IC chip is not provided with a transmittor. 
   Preferably, the antenna board is provided as a flexible board member. In this case, the antenna board can be prevented from being deformed due to a drop or shock, and can be easily fixed and positioned to a board mounting plate without necessity of providing a connector on the antenna board. 
   According to the invention, there is also provided a liquid ejection apparatus, comprising the above shielding member and a liquid ejection head operable to eject liquid supplied from the liquid containers. 
   In this case, directivity of the radio waves from the transmission antenna of the antenna board to the receiving antennas can be enhanced, and it is possible to provide the liquid ejection apparatus which can reliably grasp the information on the liquid containers, and has least troubles. 
   According to the invention, there is also provided a liquid ejection apparatus, comprising: 
   a liquid ejection head, operable to eject liquid therefrom; 
   a first communicator; 
   a carriage, which carries the liquid ejection head and the first communicator along a traveling path thereof; 
   at least one liquid supplier, which comprises: 
   a pack member which contains therein liquid to be supplied to the liquid ejection head; 
   a casing member which houses the pack member therein; and 
   a second communicator, operable to communicate information regarding liquid contained in the pack member with the first communicator via radio communication; and 
   a holder, in which the liquid supplier is mounted, the holder formed with at least one window which opposes to the second communicator in a case where the liquid supplier is mounted in the holder, and opposes to the traveling path of the carriage so that the first communicator and the second communicator establish the radio communication through the window in a case where the first communicator opposes to the window, 
   wherein a first region around the window is so configured as to shield radio waves. 
   With this configuration, the first communicator and the second communicator come close to each other, so that communication of the information between them can be reliably performed with high precision. For this reason, it is possible to provide the liquid ejection apparatus which can transmit the information from the liquid supplier to a main body of the liquid ejection apparatus in a non-contact manner, precisely and without incurring an increase of the cost. In addition, because the radio waves communicated between the first communicator and the second communicator can be prevented from being sent in a direction not required for reception, directivity of the radio waves to the receiving side can be enhanced. 
   Preferably, the first region is comprised of iron. In this case, the above described shielding function can be reliably achieved. 
   Preferably, a plurality of liquid suppliers and a plurality of windows are arranged in the holder along the traveling path of the carriage, such that each of the windows is associated with one of the liquid suppliers. 
   In this case, the radio waves from the second communicator of the liquid supplier adjacent to the liquid supplier of interest is prevented from being received by mistake by the first communicator opposed to the former liquid supplier, and so, accurate transmission of the information can be realized. 
   Preferably, the holder is provided with a shutter member operable to close the window in a case where the liquid supplier is not mounted in the holder. The shutter member is provided with a third communicator operable to communicate information that no liquid supplier is mounted in the holder with the first communicator, in a case where the shutter closes the window. 
   With this configuration, the first communicator which has moved in vicinity of the window of the holder in which the liquid supplier is not arranged can receive the information “the liquid supplier is absent” from the third communicator. Consequently, the first communicator can be prevented beforehand from receiving wrong information. 
   Preferably, a first positioning member is provided on a lower face of the casing member. A second positioning member is provided on a mount face of the holder on which the lower face of the casing member is placed, such that the first positioning member is engaged with the second positioning member in a case where the liquid supplier is correctly mounted in the holder. The holder is provided with a retainer which presses an upper face of the casing member toward the mount face of the holder, so that the liquids supplier is retained in the holder. 
   With this configuration, the liquid supplier can be positioned more reliably inside the holder. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the accompanying drawings: 
       FIG. 1  is a plan view schematically showing an ink jet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a side view schematically showing the ink jet recording apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an ink cartridge to be mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a plan view of an antenna board to be mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a plan view of the antenna board mounted to a board mounting plate in the ink jet recording apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing the antenna board which has been mounted to the board mounting plate in the ink jet recording apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 7  is a plan view showing a modified example of the antenna board; 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing an ink jet recording apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view showing a carriage to be mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus of  FIG. 8 ; 
       FIG. 10  is an exploded perspective view showing an ink cartridge to be mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus of  FIG. 8 ; 
       FIG. 11  is a perspective view showing an ink cartridge holder on which the ink cartridge of  FIG. 10  is arranged; 
       FIG. 12  is an explanatory view showing relation of the ink cartridge with respect to the carriage, in a state where the ink cartridge has been arranged on the ink cartridge holder of  FIG. 11 ; 
       FIG. 13  is an exploded perspective view of the ink cartridge of  FIG. 10 , as seen from below; 
       FIG. 14  is a perspective view of the ink cartridge holder of  FIG. 11 , as shown in a different angle; 
       FIG. 15A  is a sectional view showing relation of an ink guiding needle of  FIG. 11  with respect to an ink outlet of  FIG. 10 ; 
       FIG. 15B  is a sectional view showing the ink guiding needle in a state inserted into the ink outlet; 
       FIG. 16  is a sectional view of the ink cartridge holder of  FIG. 11  showing an ink cartridge mounting part; 
       FIG. 17  is a perspective view of the ink cartridges of  FIG. 10  in a state arranged in the ink cartridge mounting parts of  FIG. 16 ; 
       FIG. 18  is a sectional view showing the ink cartridge of  FIG. 10  in a state where a ridge of an upper case is meshed with a groove of a lower case; 
       FIG. 19  is a sectional view showing the ink cartridge of  FIG. 10  in a state where a fitting projection of the upper case is engaged with a fitting recess of the lower case; 
       FIG. 20  is a sectional view showing the ink cartridge of  FIG. 10  in a state where a projected locking piece of the upper case is engaged with a locking piece receiver of the lower case; 
       FIG. 21  is an explanatory view showing the ink cartridge of  FIG. 10  in a state inserted into the ink cartridge holder of  FIG. 11  upside down; 
       FIG. 22  is an explanatory view showing the ink cartridge of  FIG. 10  in a state inserted into the ink cartridge holder of  FIG. 11  in a reverse direction; 
       FIG. 23  is an explanatory view showing the ink cartridge of  FIG. 10  in a state inserted into the ink cartridge holder of  FIG. 11  upside down and in a reverse direction; 
       FIG. 24  is a perspective view showing an essential part of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a third embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 25  is a perspective view of the essential part of the ink jet recording apparatus, as seen in a different angle from  FIG. 24 ; 
       FIG. 26  is an explanatory view showing a state in which the ink cartridge has started to be inserted into a cartridge mounting part of  FIG. 24 ; 
       FIG. 27  is an explanatory view showing a state in which the ink cartridge of  FIG. 26  has been further inserted and come into contact with a slider of  FIG. 24 ; 
       FIG. 28  is an explanatory view showing a state in which the ink cartridge of  FIG. 26  has started to push in the slider of  FIG. 24 ; and 
       FIG. 29  is an explanatory view showing a state in which the ink cartridge of  FIG. 26  has been further inserted and correctly arranged. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
   An ink jet recording apparatus  1  which is one kind of recording apparatuses and liquid ejection apparatuses has a general structure, as shown in  FIG. 1 , including a paper feeding part  5  in an upper part behind a printer body  3 , and a paper discharging part  7  in front of the printer body  3 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 2 , a plurality of sheets of recording paper can be loaded on a paper feeding tray  11  formed in the paper feeding part  5 , and an outer peripheral face of a paper feeding roller  13  which is provided immediately downward of the paper feeding tray  11  comes into friction contact with the uppermost sheet of the recording paper, thereby to feed only one sheet of the recording paper in cooperation with a separating pad opposed thereto. 
   The recording paper fed from the paper feeding tray  11  arrives at a set of paper feeding rollers  19  including a paper feeding driving roller  15  in a lower part and a paper feeding driven roller  17  in an upper part which are provided with respect to a main frame  9  of the printer body  3 , and then supplied to a recording head  21  positioned downward of the set of the paper feeding rollers  19  while receiving precise paper feeding actions in an actual recording process from a driving system. 
   The recording head  21  is held by a carriage  23 , and the carriage  23  is adapted to make reciprocating motions in a direction (a primary scanning direction) perpendicular to a paper feeding direction. A platen  25  is provided in a position opposed to the recording head  21 . The platen  25  serves to support the recording paper from below, when recording is conducted on the recording paper by the recording head  21 . 
   A distance between the recording head  21  and the recording paper on the platen  25 , in short, a paper gap can be appropriately adjusted according to a thickness of the recording paper, by moving up and down the carriage  23  supporting the recording head  21 . In a state where the paper gap has been appropriately adjusted, the recording paper will smoothly move on the platen  25  to perform high quality recording, and the recording paper which has been recorded at the recording head  21  is sequentially discharged by a set of paper discharging rollers  27  which are provided in the paper discharging part  7 . The set of the paper discharging rollers  27  include a driving roller  29  in a lower part and a toothed roller  31  in an upper part, and has such a structure that the recording paper P is pulled out by rotary motion of the driving roller  29  to be discharged. 
   Ink cartridges  33 Y,  33 M,  33 C,  33 B for respective colors, namely, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black ( FIG. 3  shows the ink cartridge  33 Y as a representative) having the same structure are mounted on the carriage  23 , and IC chips  35 Y,  35 M,  35 C, and  35 B carrying information on the respective ink cartridges are attached to upper faces of the respective ink cartridges. Storage devices for storing fixed information such as colors of the ink, variable information such as remaining amounts of the ink are incorporated in these IC chips  35 Y,  35 M,  35 C,  35 B. The remaining amounts of the ink can be obtained, for example, by counting recording (printing) dot signals, integrating the counted numbers to memorize them, and calculating from these integrated values. 
   In addition, receiving antennas  37 Y,  37 M,  37 C and  37 B are respectively connected to the IC chips  35 Y,  35 M,  35 C,  35 B, so as to receive radio signals transmitted from a below described antenna board by scanning motion of the carriage  23 , when the receiving antennas have arrived below the antenna board. 
   As shown in  FIG. 1 , on the right side of the printer body  3 , there is formed a home position H in which the carriage  23  stays on standby while the carriage  23  is not in the recording action. While the carriage  23  is positioned in the home position H (in a state as shown in FIG.  1 ), nozzles of the recording head  21  are sealed by cap members which are not shown, and cleaning action is effected by sucking motion of a pump member which is not shown, thereby preventing the nozzles from being clogged with the ink. 
   At an opposite side to the home position (the left side in FIG.  1 ), a main mounting plate  39  is fixed to a back face of the main frame  9 . A board mounting plate  41  is integrally extended from an upper end of the main mounting plate  39 , and extended like an eave, above a scanning path of the carriage  23 , that is, moving paths of the receiving antennas  37 Y,  37 M,  37 C,  37 B. The board mounting plate  41  is formed of sheet-shaped iron having radio wave shielding function iherently as well as the main mounting plate  39 . Moreover, the board mounting plate  41  is formed with cut-outs  42  at predetermined positions where the radio wave shielding function is not necessary. Further, the board mounting plate  41  is provided, on its upper face, with two positioning projections  44  for positioning an antenna board  45  which will be described below. 
   Positions and shapes of the cut-outs  42  correspond to areas in which transmission of the information between the below described antenna board and the receiving antennas  37 Y,  37 M,  37 C,  37 B provided in the ink cartridges are conducted. This will be described hereunder in detail. 
   Then, the antenna board  45  mounted on the upper face of the board mounting plate  41  will be described. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the antenna board  45  includes a circuit part  46  and a transmission antenna  47 . In addition, cancelers  48  are provided at both sides of the transmission antenna  47 , and a load variation detector  49  is provided inside the transmission antenna  47 . 
   Radio signals transmitted from the transmission antenna  47  are read by the receiving antennas  37 Y,  37 M,  37 C,  37 B, and load variations occurring when the receiving antennas  37 Y,  37 M,  37 C,  37 B receive the radio signals from the transmission antenna  47  are read by the above mentioned load variation detector  49 , whereby the information stored in the IC chips  35 Y,  35 M,  35 C,  35 B on the respective ink cartridges can be grasped. Then, the information which has been read is transmitted to a main board  43  by way of a cable  51 . 
   The cancelers  48  generates radio signals having a function of canceling the radio signals from the transmission antenna  47  when the radio signals are transmitted to the target receiving antennas, to such an extent that the radio signals may hardly reach the adjacent receiving antennas. 
   The antenna board  45  is formed with positioning holes  40  so that the antenna board  45  can be positioned with respect to the board mounting plate  41 , by fitting the positioning holes  40  over the positioning projections  44  of the board mounting plate  41 . 
   Although it is premised that the antenna board  45  described above has rigidity in itself, the antenna board  45  in its entirety may be made of flexible material, specifically in a form of an FPC (a flexible printed circuit board). In this case, the antenna board  45  can be fixed and positioned with respect to the board mounting plate  41 , by engaging holes (not shown) which are formed in the antenna board  45  with hooks  50  of the board mounting plate  41 , as shown in FIG.  7 . In order to fix the antenna board  45  more rigidly to the board mounting plate  41 , both the members may be bonded with double faced adhesive material  53  as shown in  FIG. 7 , in addition to fixation by the hooks  50 , or alternatively, securing members such as screws may be employed, although not shown in the drawings. 
   As shown in  FIG. 6 , the cut-outs  42  are formed at three positions in the board mounting plate  41 . The central cutout  42  is opposed to the transmission antenna  47  and has a shape corresponding to the transmission antenna  47 . The cut-outs  42  at both sides are opposed to the cancelers  48  and has a shape corresponding to the cancelers  48 . 
   When the radio signals carrying the predetermined information are transmitted from the transmission antenna  47 , the radio waves from the central cut-out  42  directly arrive at the receiving antennas  37 Y,  37 M,  37 C,  37 B. However, the radio waves generated from the transmission antenna  47  in a diagonal direction are blocked by the board mounting plate  41  having the radio wave shielding function and hindered from arriving at the receiving antennas. Accordingly, the radio waves are transmitted from the transmission antenna  47  to the receiving antennas with high directivity, and accurate exchange of the information between the transmission antenna  47  and the receiving antennas  37 Y,  37 M,  37 C,  37 B is made possible. 
   As for transmission of the information on the remaining amounts of the ink stored in the IC chips  35 Y,  35 M,  35 C,  35 B which are provided in the respective ink cartridges as an example, recording (printing) dot signals are counted in the respective IC chips  35 Y,  35 M,  35 C,  35 B, the counted numbers are integrated and stored, and the remaining amounts of the ink are calculated from these integrated values and stored. 
   When the receiving antennas  37 Y,  37 M,  37 C,  37 B pass below the antenna board  45  by the scanning motion of the carriage  23 , the receiving antennas  37 Y,  37 M,  37 C,  37 B receive the signals transmitted by radio through the cut-outs  42 , and load variations occurring on this occasion are detected by the load variation detector  49 , thereby to grasp the information which has been stored in the IC chips. The information thus grasped is transmitted to the main board  43  by way of the cable  51 , stored there, so that recording activity can be controlled based on this information. 
   Then, an ink jet recording apparatus  100  of a type provided with ink cartridges on a main body side of the ink jet recording apparatus will be described as a second embodiment of the invention. 
   The ink jet recording apparatus  100  in this embodiment has a recording paper tray  110  which contains recording paper or the like, as shown in  FIG. 8 , and also has a discharging tray  120  for discharging the recording paper after printing has been done on this recording paper. 
     FIG. 9  shows a carriage  130  which reciprocatively carries an ink jet recording head in a primary scanning direction (a widthwise direction of the recording paper) for conducting the printing on this recording paper. 
   On this carriage  130 , there are provided subtanks which contain liquid, for example, ink in four colors, namely, black, yellow, magenta, and cyan, separately. The ink in the respective colors are adapted to be supplied from these subtanks to the ink jet recording head for conducting color printing or the like. 
   The ink jet recording apparatus  100  in  FIG. 8  is not a recording apparatus for personal use, but a recording apparatus to be used in offices or for business use, and has ink reservoirs in other places than the carriage  130  to deal with relatively large amounts of printing. Ink cartridges  200  as shown in  FIG. 8  are examples of these ink reservoirs. 
   In  FIG. 8 , there are provided four ink cartridges  200  which contain the ink in four colors, black, yellow, magenta, and cyan, respectively, and it is so constructed that the ink are replenished from these ink cartridges  200  for the respective colors to the corresponding subtanks on the carriage  130  by way of ink replenishing tubes. 
   For this reason, even though the ink in the subtanks in the carriage  130  have been consumed, the ink will be adequately replenished from the ink cartridges  200 , so that large amounts of printing can be conducted. 
   As shown in  FIG. 10 , each of the ink cartridges  200  includes an ink pack  210  which sealingly contains the ink, and an upper case  220  and a lower case  230  for enclosing this ink pack  210 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 11 , an ink cartridge holder  300  on which the above described ink cartridges  200  are arranged has four cartridge mounting parts  310  for receiving a plurality of, for example, four ink cartridges  200 . 
   These cartridge mounting parts  310  are formed horizontally and arranged in parallel along a moving direction of the carriage  130  (in a direction of an arrow X in FIG.  11 ). 
   As shown in  FIG. 12 , the carriage  130  contains an ink jet recording head  140 . Because the carriage  130  moves in a direction perpendicular to a paper face, the carriage moves in the direction of the arrow X in FIG.  11  and along proximity of the ink cartridge holder  300 . 
   By the way, each of the ink cartridges  200  which are arranged on the ink cartridge holder  300  is provided with a protrusion  231  projecting toward the carriage  130 , at a position close to the carriage  130  (the right side in FIG.  12 ). 
   The ink pack  210  is formed with an ink outlet  211 , as shown in FIG.  10 . This ink outlet  211  is connected to an ink guiding needle  132  which is provided in the ink cartridge holder  300  of  FIG. 11 , so that the ink within the ink pack  210  can be introduced to the subtank in the carriage  130  by way of the ink outlet  211 , the ink guiding needle  132  and the ink replenishing tube. 
   For this reason, it is concerned that an ink leakage may happen when the ink outlet  211  is connected to the ink guiding needle  132 , and therefore, the ink outlet  211  is provided with an ink absorbing material  240 , as shown in FIG.  10 . 
   Moreover, in an area where this ink outlet  211  is provided, there is formed a case opening  230  for example, which is an opening of the cases, as shown in FIG.  10 . The ink outlet  211  has such a structure capable of being connected to the ink guiding needle  132  of  FIG. 11 , by positioning the ink outlet  211  of the ink pack  210  in this case opening  232 . 
   Further as shown in  FIG. 10 , an IC label  400  is arranged inside a forward end face  231   a  of the protrusion  231 . 
   The IC label  400  is a tape-shaped member provided with ICs or antennas embedded therein, and stores data concerning a kind of the ink, a remaining amount of the ink, a serial number, and an expiry date of the ink in the ink cartridge  200  to which the IC label is attached. It is to be noted that communication can be conducted if at least an antenna portion of the IC label  400  is provided in the protrusion  231 . 
   On the other hand, the ink cartridge holder  300  is provided with windows  320  as shown in  FIG. 11 , at a side close to the carriage  130  in the cartridge mounting parts  310 . The protrusions  231  of  FIG. 10  are adapted to be opposed to these windows  320 . 
   In addition, the carriage  130  is provided with a plate portion  133  as shown in  FIGS. 9 and 12 , and this plate portion  133  is positioned in proximity of the windows  320  of the ink cartridge holder  300  so as to be opposed thereto, as shown in FIG.  12 . 
   An antenna board  410  is arranged on a back side of a face  133   a  (see  FIG. 9 ) of the plate portion  133 , as shown in  FIG. 12. A  distance between the antenna of the IC label  400  and an antenna of the antenna board  410  is set to be from about 3 mm to 10 mm. When the antenna board  410  has approached the ink cartridge  200  as the carriage  130  moves, the information such as the remaining amount of the ink which has been stored in the IC label is reliably transmitted to the antenna board  410  in a non-contact manner. 
   Then, on the basis of the information such as the remaining amount of the ink, the ink jet recording apparatus  100  controls ejection of the ink from the ink jet recording head  140  and so on. 
   At least surrounding areas of the windows  320  of the ink cartridge holder  300  are formed of sheet iron, and therefore, the surrounding areas except the windows  320  have radio wave shielding function. In this manner, the windows  320  performs substantially the same function as the cut-outs  42  which have been described referring to FIG.  6 . 
   Specifically, when the radio waves carrying the predetermined information are transmitted from the antenna part of the IC label  400 , the radio waves directly arrives at the antenna board  410  through the window  320 . However, the radio waves transmitted from the antenna part of the IC label  400  in a diagonal direction are blocked by the sheet iron in the surrounding area of the window  320  having the radio wave shielding function and hindered from arriving at the antenna board  410 . Accordingly, the radio waves are transmitted from the antenna part of the IC label  400  to the antenna board  410  with high directivity, thus enabling exchange of the information between the antenna part of the IC label  400  and the antenna board  410  to be conducted accurately. Even in a case where the radio waves are transmitted from the antenna board  410  to the antenna part of the IC label  400 , substantially the same radio wave shielding function is performed. 
   Further, the cartridge mounting parts  310  are formed horizontally and arranged in parallel along the moving direction of the carriage  130 , as shown in  FIG. 11 , and the windows  320  are formed at a side close to the carriage  130 . 
   For this reason, a distance between the antenna board  410  and the antenna part of the IC label  400  can be easily adjusted to such a distance that the communication may be possible by the movement of the carriage  130  in the direction of the arrow X. 
   Consequently, there is no need of providing a plurality of antenna boards respectively corresponding to the IC labels  400  of the ink cartridges  200 , but the single antenna board  410  which is provided on the plate portion  133  of the carriage  130  can conduct communication of the information with the plurality of the IC labels  400 . Therefore, as compared with a case wherein connecting terminals are respectively provided for the ink cartridges to perform a contact basis communication, the cost can be remarkably reduced. 
   The lower case  230  is provided with a plurality of, for example two positioning recesses  234  which are adapted to be engaged with the cartridge mounting part  310  for positioning, as shown in  FIG. 13 , on a bottom face  233  of the lower case  230 , that is, a face opposed to the cartridge mounting part  310  to be placed thereon. These positioning recesses  234  are provided at an opposite end part to the case opening  232  of the lower case  230 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 14 , each of the cartridge mounting parts  310  is provided with a pair of supporting members  311  corresponding to the two positioning recesses  234 . 
   Therefore, when the ink cartridge  200  has been arranged on the ink cartridge holder  300 , the positioning recesses  234  are adapted to be engaged with the supporting members  311 , as shown in FIG.  12 . On this occasion, the ink guiding needle  132  of  FIG. 11  is inserted into the ink outlet  211  of the ink cartridge  200  of  FIG. 10  to establish the connection therebetween. 
   As the results, the ink cartridge  200  is positioned on the cartridge mounting part  310  with high precision, at three positions in total, including the ink guiding needle  132  and two positioning recesses  234 . In this manner, because the protrusion  231  of the ink cartridge  200  of  FIG. 10  can be also accurately opposed to the window  320  of  FIG. 11 , the distance between the antenna board  410  of the carriage  130  and the IC label  400  of the ink cartridge  200  can be set within an appropriate range, and communication with high precision is always possible. 
   Moreover, positioning can be effected with the simple structure that the positioning recesses  234  are only engaged with the cartridge supporting members  311 , and thus, a low cost positioning mechanism can be obtained. 
   Further, because the protrusion  231  is provided close to the ink guiding needle  132  which serves also as the positioning member, the protrusion  231  can be more accurately positioned. Accordingly, the distance between the antenna board  410  of the carriage  130  and the IC label  400  can be maintained more accurately, and communication with higher precision is made possible. 
   Moreover, it is so constructed that the ink pack  210  can be easily contained in the case of the ink cartridge  200 , because the case is divided into the upper case  220  and the lower case  230 , as shown in FIG.  13 . 
   In addition, the lower case  230  is provided with a part of the case opening  232 , the two positioning recesses  234 , and the protrusion  231 . Because all the members for performing the positioning function are provided in the lower case  230 , the lower case  230  can be positioned with higher precision than the upper case  220 . Since the protrusion  231  is formed in the lower case  230  having such a structure, the IC label  400  which is arranged in the protrusion  231  can be positioned with higher precision, and the distance from the antenna, board  410  of the carriage  130  to the IC label  400  can be more accurately maintained, thus, enhancing communicating accuracy. 
   As shown in  FIG. 15A , the ink outlet  211  is provided with a plug body  211  a which is movable in a longitudinal direction of the ink guiding needle  132 . This plug body  211   a  is urged by a spring  211   b  in a direction of closing the ink outlet  211 . Specifically, the plug body  211   a  is pushed to the right in the drawing as shown in  FIG. 15A , to put the ink outlet  211  in a closed state. When a distal end of the ink guiding needle  132  has come into contact with the plug body  211   a  in this state to push it to the left in the drawing as shown in  FIG. 15B , the plug body  211   a  is also moved to the left, so that the ink outlet  211  becomes an open state, as shown in FIG.  15 B. Accordingly, the ink outlet  211  is so constructed as to be closed by spring force of the spring  211   b , during transportation or the like of the ink cartridge  200 , so that the ink contained inside may not leak. 
   By arranging the ink cartridge  200  in the cartridge mounting part  310  with the positioning recesses  234  engaged with the cartridge supporting members  311  of the cartridge mounting part  310 , and by inserting the ink guiding needle  132  into the ink outlet  211 , the ink can be easily supplied to the ink guiding needle  132 . 
   Further, when the plug body  211   a  is pushed to the left by the ink guiding needle  132 , the force of the spring  211   b  is exerted to move the whole ink cartridge  200  to the left in FIG.  12 . 
   However, the positioning recesses  234  of the ink cartridge  200  come into contact with the cartridge supporting members  311  of the cartridge mounting part  310 , as shown in FIG.  12 . Therefore, not only the leftward movement of the ink cartridge  200  can be prevented beforehand, but also accurate positioning can be realized. 
   Moreover, in a case where the ink outlet  211  is in an open state, the spring force of the spring  211   b  is transmitted to the lower case  230 , thereby enabling the positioning recesses  234  to be reliably engaged with the cartridge supporting member  311 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 11 , each of the cartridge mounting parts  310  is formed with a mounting face  312  on which the ink cartridge  200  is directly mounted, and is further provided with a holding spring  313  for pushing an upper face of the mounted ink cartridge  200  toward the mounting face  312 . As shown in  FIG. 16 , the holding spring  313  is arranged so as to be urged toward the mounting face  312  which is located in the lower part in FIG.  16 . 
   After the ink cartridge  200  has been arranged in the cartridge mounting part  310  in  FIG. 16 , the positioning recesses  234  in the backward end of the ink cartridge  200  are rendered to be engaged with the supporting members  311 , and then, the ink guiding needle  132  is inserted into the ink outlet  211 . 
   By further pressing the ink cartridge  200  onto the mounting face  312  from the above by the holding spring  313 , the ink cartridge  200  is positioned at four positions in total, namely by the ink guiding needle  132 , the two supporting members  311 , and the holding spring  313 , so that positioning with higher precision can be made. 
   Referring back to  FIG. 10 , the upper case  220  of the ink cartridge  200  is provided, at a side having the case opening  232 , with a slope face  221  which is inclined toward an outer edge. This slope face  221  guides the holding spring  313  of  FIG. 16  to the upper face of the upper case  220 . Specifically, when the ink cartridge  200  of  FIG. 10  has been introduced into the cartridge mounting part  310  of  FIG. 16  from the left, the slope face  221  of the upper case  220  comes in contact with a distal end of the holding spring  313  to guide this distal end of the holding spring  313 . Then, the distal end of the holding spring  313  thus guided is arranged on the upper face of the upper case  220  in association with the insertion of the ink cartridge  200 . 
     FIG. 17  is a perspective view schematically showing the ink cartridges  200  in a state arranged in the cartridge mounting parts  310 . Each of the holding springs  313  is located on the upper face of the upper case  220  of the ink cartridge  200 , and serves to press the upper face toward the mounting face  312 . 
   As described above, the upper case  220  is formed with the slope face  221 , and therefore, when the ink cartridge  200  is inserted, the insertion will not be hindered by the holding spring  313 , but the ink cartridge  200  can be smoothly positioned in the cartridge mounting part  310 . 
   Referring back to  FIG. 13 , the upper case  220  is provided with ridges  222 , for example at three positions of the outer circumference, namely, on longer edges and a shorter edge at the backward end. On the other hand, the lower case  230  is provided with fifteen grooves  235  corresponding to the ridges  222 , as shown in FIG.  10 . These ridges  222  are adapted to be fitted with the grooves  235 , as shown in FIG.  18 . The ridges  222  are received in the grooves  235  without creating large gaps therebetween. 
   As shown in  FIG. 13 , the upper case  220  is formed with projections  223  at six positions for example, along its outer circumference. In correspondence with these projections  223 , the lower case  230  is formed with recesses  236  at six positions for example, along its outer circumference, as seen in FIG.  10 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 19 , the projections  223  are engaged with the recesses  236 , so that the upper case  220  may not be easily detached from the lower case  230 . In this manner, the upper case  220  and the lower case  230  are engaged with each other by fitting the ridges  222  into the grooves  235  at the outer circumferences thereof. In addition, the projections  223  of the upper case  220  and the recesses  236  are engaged with each other. Consequently, the upper case  220  and the lower case  230  are rigidly coupled to each other. 
   As shown in  FIG. 13 , the upper case  220  is further provided with hooks  224  at two positions for example, in an area inwardly apart from the outer circumference. In the lower case  230 , receivers  237  corresponding to these projections  224  are arranged, as shown in FIG.  10 . Each of these receivers  237  has a through hole to which a distal end of the hook  224  is engaged. 
   As shown in  FIG. 20 , the hook  224  is rigidly engaged in the through hole of the receiver  237 . In this manner, the hooks  224  and the receivers  237  are formed in the upper case  220  and the lower case  230  in the areas apart from the outer circumferences thereof, in short, in the areas apart from borders between the upper case  220  and the lower case  230 . 
   In case where the ink cartridge  200  receives a shock when it is dropped during transportation or the like, both the upper case  220  and the lower case  230  may be deformed. In this case, there is such an anxiety that engagements between the projections  223  and the recesses  236  provided on the outer circumferences which are the borders between the upper case  220  and the lower case  230  may be released to detach the upper and lower cases. 
   However, in the present embodiment; since the projected locking pieces  224  and the locking piece receivers  237  are arranged in the areas apart from the outer circumferences of the upper case  220  and the lower case  230 , influence due to deformation of the upper case  220  and the lower case  230  will not be large, and the engagement between both the upper and lower cases will not be easily released. As the results, the case will not be easily detached even though a shock of drop or the like is happened, and occurrences of such defects that the ink cartridge  200  cannot be mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus  100  and the data in the IC cannot be received can be prevented beforehand. 
   As shown in  FIG. 13 , the lower case  230  is formed with a dented part  238  in a substantially cubic form on a lower face thereof. A plurality of ribs  239  are formed so as to protrude from a bottom face of this dented part  238 . A plurality of these ribs  239  serve as an identifier. 
   On the other hand, each of the four cartridge mounting parts  310  are formed with ribs  314 , as shown in FIG.  14 . These ribs  314  have different shapes from one another. Therefore, in a case where the ribs  239  of the ink cartridge  200  correspond with the ribs  314  of the cartridge mounting part  310  in shape, the ink cartridge  200  can be correctly arranged without being abutted against the ribs  314  of this cartridge mounting part  310 . In case where the shapes are inconsistent, the ink cartridge  200  is blocked by the ribs  314  of the cartridge mounting part  310  and cannot be correctly arranged. Specifically the ink cartridge  200  contains either one of the ink in the four colors, black, yellow, magenta and cyan as described above, and a place for arranging the ink cartridge  200  containing the ink in the specific color is specified. 
   Accordingly, the cartridge mounting part  310  of  FIG. 14  is formed with the ribs  314  so that the other ink cartridges  200  than the ink cartridge  200  for the relevant color cannot be inserted. Because the ink cartridge  200  is also adapted to contain the ink in the specific color, the ink cartridge  200  is provided with the ribs  239  having the shapes corresponding to the ribs  314  of the cartridge mounting part  310  for the purpose of identifying the color. 
   For example, when a user is going to place by mistake the ink cartridge  200  containing the black ink in the cartridge mounting part  310  for the yellow ink, the ink cartridge  200  is abutted against the ribs  314  of the cartridge mounting part  310  and cannot be mounted, and thus, the user can immediately recognize the mistake. Therefore, an error of arranging the ink cartridge  200  for a different color can be prevented beforehand. 
   Moreover, because the ribs  239  of the ink cartridge  200  are formed inside the dented part  238  as shown in  FIG. 13 , tip ends thereof are not projected from a surface of the lower case  230 . Therefore, when the ink cartridge  200  is transported in a package or the like, the ribs  239  will not tear the package, and deterioration in value of the product can be prevented beforehand. 
   As shown in  FIG. 13 , a groove  250  is formed in the dented part  238  of the lower case  230  of the ink cartridge  200 . On the other hand, as shown in  FIGS. 14 and 16 , the cartridge mounting part  310  is provided with a rib  315  having a shape which corresponds to the relevant groove  250  only in a case where the ink cartridge has been arranged in a correct position. 
   When the ink cartridge  200  has been arranged upside down by mistake, or the forward end and the backward end have been arranged in a reverse direction, the rib  315  of the cartridge mounting part  310  is not consistent with the groove  250  of the lower case  230 , but the ink cartridge  200  is abutted against the rib  315  and cannot be correctly arranged. 
   More specifically, in a state where the ink cartridge  200  has been inserted upside down as shown in  FIG. 21 , the slope face  221  of the upper case  220  is abutted against the rib  315 , and the ink cartridge  200  cannot be correctly arranged. On this occasion, the ink cartridge  200  is stopped by the rib  315  before a part of the ink cartridge arrives at the ink guiding needle  132 , and therefore, the ink cartridge  200  is prevented from damaging the ink guiding needle  132  due to the reverse insertion or the like. 
   In case where the ink cartridge  200  is inserted in a reverse direction as shown in  FIG. 22 , the backward end of the ink cartridge  200  is abutted against the rib  315  and the ink cartridge  200  cannot be correctly arranged. 
   Further in a case where the ink cartridge  200  is arranged upside down and in a reverse direction as shown in  FIG. 23 , the ink cartridge  200  cannot be correctly arranged in the same manner as in  FIGS. 21 and 22 . 
   The reverse insertion can be reliably prevented by a simple structure of this embodiment in which the rib  315  and the groove  250  are formed, and breakage of the ink guiding needle  132  due to the wrong insertion can be prevented beforehand. 
   Next, a third embodiment of the invention will be described. Most components of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment are common with those components of the ink jet recording apparatus  100  according to the above described second embodiment. Therefore, the same components will be denoted with the same reference numerals, omitting their explanation, and those components having different features will be mainly described below. 
     FIG. 24  shows only one cartridge mounting part  510  in the ink cartridge holder of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. The window  320  of the cartridge mounting part  510  is provided with a shutter section  511  for opening and closing this window  320 . 
   The shutter section  511  includes a shutter plate  512  movable in a vertical direction, a slider  514  which is to be abutted against the ink cartridge  200  and move horizontally when the ink cartridge  200  is inserted into the cartridge mounting part  510 , and a shaft  513  which converts the movement of this slider  514  to a vertical movement thereby to vertically move the shutter plate  512 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 25 , there are further provided vertical guides  515  for regulating the movement of the shutter plate  512  in a vertical direction, and a horizontal guide  516  for regulating the movement of the slider  514  in a horizontal direction. 
   The shutter plate  512  carries a shutter IC label  420  inside thereof, as shown in FIG.  24 . This shutter IC label  420  stores an information indicating “the ink cartridge is absent”, and is adapted to communicate with the antenna board  410  of the carriage  130  in a non-contact manner. 
   Now, operation of the shutter section  511  will be described referring to  FIGS. 26 through 29 . To begin with,  FIG. 26  shows a state where the ink cartridge  200  has started to be inserted into the cartridge mounting part  510 . The shutter plate  512  is positioned at a lower side so as to close the window  320 . 
   When the carriage  130  approaches on this occasion, the antenna board  410  of the carriage  130  comes near the shutter IC label  420  of the shutter plate  512 , and communication between them is made possible. 
   Consequently, the antenna board  410  of the carriage  130  receives the information “the ink cartridge is absent” from the shutter IC label  420 , and thus, the ink jet recording apparatus can accurately grasp exact situation of the relevant cartridge mounting part  510 . Therefore, as compared with the case where the shutter is not provided, probability that the ink jet recording apparatus may obtain wrong information will be remarkably reduced. 
     FIG. 27  shows the ink cartridge mounting part  510  in a state where the ink cartridge  200  has been further inserted and come into contact with the slider  514 , and  FIG. 28  shows the same in a state where the ink cartridge  200  has started to push in the slider  514 . As shown in  FIGS. 27 and 28 , when the ink cartridge  200  has come into contact with the slider  514  and started to push it in a horizontal direction, the slider  514  also moves, thereby to put the shutter plate  512  in a half-opened state by way of the shaft  513 . 
     FIG. 29  shows the ink cartridge mounting part  510  in a state where the ink cartridge  200  has been further inserted and correctly positioned. The slider  514  has been further pushed, and the positioning recesses  234  of the ink cartridge  200  have been engaged with the supporting members  311  of the cartridge mounting part  510 . Then, the shutter plate  512  has been completely moved to the upper position to open the window  320 , and as the results, the protrusion  231  of the ink cartridge  200  has come to be opposed to this window  320 . 
   Because the surrounding area of the window  320  is formed of sheet iron and has radio wave shielding function, in the same manner as in the second embodiment, when the radio waves carrying the prepredetermined information are generated from the antenna part of the IC label  400 , the radio waves directly arrives at the antenna board  410  through the window  320 . Those radio waves generated from the antenna part of the IC label  400  in a diagonal direction are blocked by the sheet iron surrounding the window  320  and hindered from arriving at the antenna board  410 . Accordingly, the radio waves is transmitted from the antenna part of the IC label  400  to the antenna board  410  with high directivity, thus enabling the information to be accurately exchanged between the antenna part of the IC label  400  and the antenna board  410 . 
   The shutter section  511  in this embodiment opens and closes the window  320  in association with the operation of the ink cartridge  200 , when the ink cartridge  200  is mounted on the cartridge mounting part  510 . Therefore, the shutter section  511  has a mechanism of excellent usability, with no need of requesting the user to take a particular action. 
   The present invention is not limited to the above described embodiments. In addition, the above described embodiments may be combined with each other.