JP2007283508A - Coloring material cartridge and printing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that printing equipment cannot read/write coloring material information and prepayment information retained by each IC chip, in a prepaid type printer system. <P>SOLUTION: This coloring material cartridge comprises a cartridge main body which holds the coloring material, a coloring material information storage part which stores the coloring material information regarding the coloring material and a prepayment information storage part which stores the prepayment information regarding printing. The coloring material information enclosure part includes a connection terminal to be connected with an external read/write device and a connection line to be connected with the prepayment information enclosure part. The prepayment information storage part is connected with the read/write device through the connection line. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a color material cartridge and a printing apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to a color material cartridge that stores prepaid information related to printing and a printing apparatus that reads and writes the prepaid information.

A printer system that calculates a usage fee for a user who uses a printer is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). However, in the printer system described in Patent Document 1, the provider of the printer system cannot easily collect the usage fee from the user. Therefore, a prepaid printer system that easily collects the usage fee from the user can be considered. For example, a prepaid printer system is conceivable in which information about credits (usage fees) is held in an IC chip, and the IC chip is attached to an ink cartridge that is detachable from the printer.
JP 2002-215368 A

  However, if the ink cartridge already has an IC chip that holds information relating to ink or the like, the printer is newly added when an IC chip that holds information relating to credit is newly attached to the ink cartridge. There is a problem that information on credits held in the IC cannot be read and written.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the first embodiment of the present invention, a color material cartridge, a cartridge main body that stores the color material, a color material information storage unit that stores color material information about the color material, A pre-payment information storage unit for storing pre-payment information relating to printing, and the color material information storage unit has a connection terminal connected to an external read / write device and a connection line connected to the pre-payment information storage unit, and stores the prepaid information The unit is connected to the read / write device via a connection line. Thereby, the function of reading and writing color material information and prepaid information can be easily implemented by the connection line on the ink cartridge side.

  In order to solve the above problem, in the second embodiment of the present invention, a color material cartridge, a cartridge main body that accommodates the color material, a color material information storage unit that stores color material information related to the color material, A prepayment information storage unit for storing prepayment information related to printing, the prepayment information storage unit has a connection terminal connected to an external read / write device, and a connection line connected to the color material information storage unit, and color material information The storage unit is connected to the read / write device via a connection line. Thereby, the function of reading and writing color material information and prepaid information can be easily implemented by the connection line on the ink cartridge side.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the third embodiment of the present invention, a color material cartridge, a cartridge main body that stores the color material, a color material information storage unit that stores color material information about the color material, A prepayment information storage unit for storing prepayment information relating to printing, and each of the color material information storage unit and the prepayment information storage unit has a connection terminal connected to an external read / write device. As a result, the function of reading and writing color material information and prepaid information can be individually implemented on the printing apparatus side.

  In order to solve the above problems, in a fourth embodiment of the present invention, a printing apparatus that performs printing on a medium with a color material, a color material information storage unit that stores color material information about the color material, and printing A prepayment information storage unit for storing prepayment information on the cartridge is attached, and is connected to a cartridge storage unit that detachably stores a cartridge that stores a color material, and a color material information storage unit of the cartridge stored in the cartridge storage unit, A read / write unit that reads / writes color material information from / to the material information storage unit, a connection line that connects the color material information storage unit and the prepayment information storage unit of the cartridge stored in the cartridge storage unit, and printing that controls printing A print control unit that outputs a drive signal, a print unit that performs printing using the color material of the cartridge based on the print drive signal output from the print control unit, and a print control unit A print drive signal conversion unit that obtains the received print drive signal and converts the print drive signal into billing information, and a clearing unit that settles prepaid information using the billing information converted by the print drive signal conversion unit. The read / write unit reads and writes the prepaid information in the prepaid information storage unit via the connection line. Thereby, the function of reading and writing color material information and prepaid information can be easily implemented by the connection line on the printing apparatus side.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in a fifth embodiment of the present invention, a printing apparatus that performs printing on a medium with a color material, a color material information storage unit that stores color material information about the color material, and printing A prepayment information storage unit for storing prepayment information related to the cartridge is attached, and is connected to a cartridge storage unit that detachably stores a cartridge that stores a coloring material, and a prepayment information storage unit of the cartridge stored in the cartridge storage unit, A read / write unit that reads and writes prepaid information to and from the storage unit, a connection line that connects the color material information storage unit and the prepaid information storage unit of the cartridge stored in the cartridge storage unit, and a print drive signal that controls printing From the print control unit that outputs, the print unit that performs printing using the color material of the cartridge based on the print drive signal output from the print control unit, and the print control unit A print drive signal conversion unit that obtains the received print drive signal and converts the print drive signal into billing information, and a clearing unit that settles prepaid information using the billing information converted by the print drive signal conversion unit. The read / write unit reads / writes the color material information in the color material information storage unit via the connection line. Thereby, the function of reading and writing color material information and prepaid information can be easily implemented by the connection line on the printing apparatus side.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus that performs printing on a medium using a color material, a color material information storage unit that stores color material information about the color material, and printing. A pre-payment information storage unit for storing pre-payment information relating to the cartridge is mounted, and a cartridge storage unit for detachably storing a cartridge for storing the color material, a color material information storage unit for the cartridge stored in the cartridge storage unit, and a pre-payment information storage unit A read / write unit that reads and writes color material information and prepayment information between the color material information storage unit and the prepayment information storage unit, a print control unit that outputs a print drive signal that controls printing, and print control Based on the print drive signal output from the print unit, the print unit that performs printing using the color material of the cartridge and the print drive signal output from the print control unit are acquired and printed. Comprising a print drive signal conversion section for converting the driving signal to the charging information, the prepaid information, and liquidate clearing unit by the billing information is converted by the print drive signal conversion unit. Thereby, the same effect as the third embodiment can be obtained.

  The above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be the invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the scope of claims, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are included. It is not necessarily essential for the solution of the invention.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the printing apparatus 10. The printing apparatus 10 includes a transport unit 182 that transports a medium, a discharge unit 184 that discharges a medium, a print head 140, and a carriage 100 that holds the print head 140. The carriage 100 accommodates the ink cartridges 30, 40, 50, 60. The ink cartridges 30, 40, 50, and 60 contain black, cyan, magenta, and yellow color materials. A print head 140 that discharges each ink supplied from the ink cartridges 30, 40, 50, 60 is disposed on the bottom surface of the carriage 100.

  FIG. 2 is a front upper perspective view of the carriage 100. FIG. 3 is a rear upper perspective view of the carriage 100. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the connection terminal 110 provided in the carriage 100. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the carriage 100 as a whole has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open upper surface. The carriage 100 includes cartridge storage units 102, 104, 106, and 108 that store the ink cartridges 30, 40, 50, and 60, and ink supply units 103, 105, and 107 corresponding to the ink cartridges 30, 40, 50, and 60, respectively. , 109 and connection terminals 110, 112, 114, 116. 2 and 3, the connection terminal 116 is not visible. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the connection terminal 110 includes conductor portions 712 and 722 and an insulating portion 700. In the example of FIG. 4, the connection terminal 110 includes a set of seven conductor portions 712 a, b, c, d, e, f, g, and seven conductor portions 722 a, b, c, d, e, f, g. These conductor portions are insulated from each other by an insulating portion 700.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the ink cartridge 30. The ink cartridge 30 stores a cartridge main body 300 that stores ink, an ink supply port 302 that supplies ink to the ink supply unit 103 of the printing apparatus 10, an ink information storage unit 310 that stores information about ink, and prepaid information. A prepaid information storage unit 320, and an ink information storage unit 310 and a chip storage unit 800 that stores the prepaid information storage unit 320. One example of the ink information storage unit 310 and the prepayment information storage unit 320 is a contact terminal that is in electrical contact with the connection terminal 110 included in the carriage 100, and stores information related to ink or prepayment information that is electrically connected to the contact terminal. And an IC chip having a memory. The ink information storage unit 310 and the prepayment information storage unit 320 will be further described with reference to FIG.

  The ink information storage unit 310 stores information regarding the amount of ink as information regarding ink. For example, the ink information storage unit 310 stores the amount of ink at the time of purchasing the cartridge and the amount of ink used. The ink information storage unit 310 may further store information about the color of ink as information about ink. Further, the ink information storage unit 310 may be detachably attached to the chip storage unit 800.

  The prepayment information storage unit 320 stores credit, which is prepayment information related to printing (hereinafter, credits stored in the prepayment information storage unit 320 are referred to as “IC credits”). The prepaid information related to printing may be, for example, information indicating that a fee corresponding to the amount of driving the printing apparatus 10 has been paid in advance, or that a fee corresponding to the amount of ink used in the ink cartridge 30 has been prepaid. It may be information indicating. Further, the amount of driving the printing apparatus 10 may be the number of shots of the print head 14. Further, the amount of driving the printing apparatus may be the number of pulses when the printing apparatus is a laser printer. For example, the prepayment information storage unit 320 can be used at present when the cumulative amount of IC credits consumed by the use of the printing apparatus 10 is subtracted from the IC credit according to the amount paid in advance by the user as the usage fee of the printing apparatus 10. Stores IC credits. In addition to the IC credit, the prepayment information storage unit 320 may store authentication data indicating the validity of the IC credit. Further, it may be detachably attached to the chip housing portion 800.

  The other ink cartridges 40, 50, and 60 are cartridge main bodies that store ink, ink supply ports 402, 502, and 602 that supply ink to the ink supply units 105, 107, and 109 of the printing apparatus 10, and information about ink. Ink information storage units 410, 510, and 610 that store the ink information, and a chip storage unit that stores the ink information storage units 410, 510, and 610.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the ink information storage unit 310 and the prepayment information storage unit 320 stored in the chip storage unit 800. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of electrical connection between the ink information storage unit 310 and the prepayment information storage unit 320. Specifically, in the schematic diagram shown in FIG. 7, when the ink cartridge 30 is stored in the cartridge storage unit 102, the ink information storage unit 310 and the prepayment information storage unit 320 are cut along the broken line shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which looked at the ink information storage part 310, the prepayment information storage part 320, the connection terminal 110, and the connection line 150 from the direction.

  The ink information storage unit 310 includes a substrate 314, connection terminals 312, and a memory 316 that stores information related to ink. The connection terminal 312 is exposed on one surface of the substrate 314 facing the connection terminal 110 of the carriage 100 and penetrates to the other surface side of the substrate 314. A memory 316 is disposed on the other surface of the substrate 314 and is electrically connected to the connection terminal 312. The prepayment information storage unit 320 includes a substrate 324, a connection terminal 322, and a memory 326 that stores IC credits. The connection terminal 322 is exposed on one surface of the substrate 324 and penetrates to the other surface side of the substrate 324. A memory 326 is disposed on the other surface of the substrate 324 and is electrically connected to the connection terminal 322.

  When the ink cartridge 30 is accommodated in the cartridge accommodating portion 102, each of the connection terminals 312 a, b, c, d, e, f, and g of the ink cartridge 30 is a conductor portion 712 a facing the connection terminal 110 of the carriage 100. , B, c, d, e, f, g. Similarly, each of the ink cartridge 30 connection terminals 322a, b, c, d, e, f, and g is connected to the conductor portions 722a, b, c, d, e, f, and g facing each other at the connection terminal 110 of the carriage 100. Electrically connected.

  The printing apparatus 10 further includes a connection line 150 that electrically connects the ink information storage unit 310 and the prepayment information storage unit 320. The connection line 150 is electrically connected to the connection terminal 110 of the carriage 100. In the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the connection line 150 electrically connects the conductor portion 712 b and the conductor portion 722 a of the connection terminal 110 to each other.

  The connection terminals 312a and 312b are electrically connected to the memory 316 and are electrically connected to each other via the memory 316. Similarly, the connection terminals 322a and 322b are electrically connected to the memory 326 and are electrically connected to each other via the memory 326. Accordingly, in FIG. 7, when electrically connected to at least one of the conductor portion 712b and the conductor portion 722a of the connection terminal 110 included in the carriage 100, the memory 316 and the memory 326 can be electrically connected.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a block configuration of the printing apparatus 10. In addition to the cartridge housing units 102, 104, 106, 108, the connection line 150, etc., the printing apparatus 10 further includes a read / write unit 160, a print control unit 170, a printing unit 180, a print drive signal conversion unit 190, a clearing unit 200, a read prepayment. An information storage unit 210 and a display unit 220 are provided. The block diagram shown in FIG. 8 shows a block configuration when the read / write unit 160 is electrically connected to the conductor unit 712a as shown in FIG.

  The read / write unit 160 reads / writes information about ink stored in the memory 316 included in the ink information storage unit 310 via the conductor unit 712a and the connection terminal 312a with respect to the ink cartridge 30 stored in the cartridge storage unit 102. The read / write unit 160 is stored in the memory 326 included in the prepayment information storage unit 320 via the conductor unit 712a, the connection terminal 312a, the memory 316, the conductor unit 712b, the connection line 150, the conductor unit 722a, and the connection terminal 322a. Read and write IC credits. Thereby, the function of reading and writing both the color material information and the advance payment information can be easily implemented by the connection line 150 of the printing apparatus 10.

  Further, the read / write unit 160 relates to the ink stored in the memory included in the ink information storage units 410, 510, 610 regarding the other ink cartridges 40, 50, 60 stored in the cartridge storage units 104, 106, 108. Read and write.

  The read advance payment information storage unit 210 stores the read credit read from the advance payment information storage unit 320, the use credit consumed by using the printing apparatus 10, and the post-clearing credit obtained by subtracting the use credit from the read credit.

  The print control unit 170 receives a print job from a personal computer or the like, and outputs a print drive signal for controlling printing. The print drive signal includes, for example, a signal related to a head shot that controls the print head 140.

  The printing unit 180 includes the transport unit 182 and the discharge unit 184 described with reference to FIG. 1 and performs printing on the medium 20 in cooperation with the print head 140. In this case, the printing unit 180 drives the transport unit 182 and the discharge unit 184 based on the print drive signal output from the print control unit 170 to transport the medium 20, and the print head 140 on the medium 20. The ink is reciprocated to discharge each ink supplied from the ink supply ports 302, 402, 502, and 602 to perform printing.

  The print drive signal conversion unit 190 converts the print drive signal into billing information. That is, the print drive signal conversion unit 190 calculates a use credit as billing information based on the print drive signal. For example, the print drive signal conversion unit 190 stores conversion information indicating that 10,000 shots are one credit in advance.

  The clearing unit 200 clears the read credit stored in the read prepaid information storage unit 210 with the use credit converted by the print drive signal conversion unit 190. The display unit 220 displays an error message or the like on the display 14.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of electrical connection between the ink information storage unit 310 and the prepayment information storage unit 320. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating another example of the block configuration of the printing apparatus 10. 9, similarly to FIG. 7, when the ink cartridge 30 is stored in the cartridge storage unit 102, the ink information storage unit 310 and the prepayment information storage unit 320 are cut by the broken line illustrated in FIG. 6. It is sectional drawing which looked at the ink information storage part 310, the prepayment information storage part 320, the connection terminal 110, and the connection line 150 from the A direction. The printing apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 10 includes a read / write unit 162 instead of the read / write unit 160 illustrated in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 9, the read / write unit 162 is electrically connected to the conductor unit 722b.

  The read / write unit 162 is electrically connected to the conductor unit 722b shown in FIG. 9 with respect to the ink cartridge 30 stored in the cartridge storage unit 102, and the prepayment information storage unit 320 includes the conductor unit 722b and the connection terminal 322b. Read and write IC credits stored in memory 326. The read / write unit 162 is electrically connected to the conductor unit 722b, and stores ink information via the conductor unit 722b, the connection terminal 322b, the memory 326, the conductor unit 722a, the connection line 150, the conductor unit 712b, and the connection terminal 312b. Reads and writes information about ink stored in the memory 316 included in the unit 310. Thereby, the function of reading and writing color material information and prepaid information can be easily implemented by the connection line 150 of the printing apparatus 10.

  As with the read / write unit 160 shown in FIG. 8, the read / write unit 162 includes the ink information storage units 410, 510, and 610 for the ink cartridges 40, 50, and 60 stored in the cartridge storage units 104, 106, and 108. Read and write information about ink stored in memory. Further, the respective parts of the cartridge storage units 102, 104, 106, 108, the print control unit 170, the printing unit 180, the print drive signal conversion unit 190, the clearing unit 200, the read prepaid information storage unit 210, and the display unit 220 are shown in FIG. Since it is the same as each part of the block, the description is omitted.

  FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating still another example of electrical connection between the ink information storage unit 310 and the prepayment information storage unit 320. FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating still another example of the block configuration of the printing apparatus 10. 11, similarly to FIG. 7, when the ink cartridge 30 is stored in the cartridge storage unit 102, the ink information storage unit 310 and the prepayment information storage unit 320 are cut by the broken line illustrated in FIG. 6. It is sectional drawing which looked at the ink information storage part 310, the prepayment information storage part 320, the connection terminal 110, and the connection line 150 from the A direction. The printing apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 12 includes a read / write unit 164 instead of the read / write unit 160 illustrated in FIG. 8 or the read / write unit 162 illustrated in FIG. Further, the printing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 12 does not include the connection line 150. Instead, the read / write unit 164 directly connects both the conductors 712a and b and the conductors 722a and 722 as shown in FIG. Connect.

  The read / write unit 164 stores the ink cartridge 30 stored in the cartridge storage unit 102 in the memory 316 included in the ink information storage unit 310 via the conductor unit 712a and the connection terminal 312a or the conductor unit 712b and the connection terminal 312b. Read and write information about the ink used. The read / write unit 164 reads / writes IC credits stored in the memory 326 included in the prepayment information storage unit 320 via the conductor 722a and the connection terminal 322a, or the conductor 722b and the connection terminal 322b. Thereby, the function which reads / writes color material information and advance payment information can be separately mounted in the printing apparatus 10.

  The read / write unit 164 includes the ink information storage units 410, 510, and 610 for the ink cartridges 40, 50, and 60 stored in the cartridge storage units 104, 106, and 108, as in the read / write unit 160 illustrated in FIG. Read and write information about ink stored in memory. Further, the respective parts of the cartridge storage units 102, 104, 106, 108, the print control unit 170, the printing unit 180, the print drive signal conversion unit 190, the clearing unit 200, the read prepaid information storage unit 210, and the display unit 220 are shown in FIG. Since it is the same as each part of the block, the description is omitted.

  FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view of the connection terminal 120 included in the carriage 100. The carriage 100 may include a connection terminal 120 instead of the connection terminal 110 shown in FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the connection terminal 120 includes a conductor portion 732 and an insulating portion 702. In the form shown in FIG. 13, seven conductor portions 732 a, b, c, d, e, f, and g are insulated from each other by an insulating portion 702.

  FIG. 14 is a schematic perspective view showing another example of the ink cartridge 30. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of the ink information storage unit 330 and the prepayment information storage unit 340 stored in the chip storage unit 802. FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of electrical connection between the ink information storage unit 330 and the advance payment information storage unit 340. Specifically, the schematic diagram shown in FIG. 16 shows that the ink information storage unit 330 and the advance payment information storage unit 340 are cut by the broken line shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing seen from.

  When the carriage 100 includes the connection terminal 120 shown in FIG. 13, the ink cartridge 30 shown in FIG. 14 replaces the chip storage unit 800, the ink information storage unit 310, and the prepayment information storage unit 320 shown in FIG. 802, an ink information storage unit 330 and a prepayment information storage unit 340 are provided. In this case, the ink information storage unit 330 includes a substrate 334, connection terminals 332, a memory 336 that stores information about ink, and a connection line 338. The connection terminal 332 is exposed on one surface of the substrate 334 and penetrates to the other surface side of the substrate 334. A memory 336 and a connection line 338 are disposed on the other surface of the substrate 334, and are electrically connected to the corresponding connection terminals 332 (332a and 332b), respectively.

  The prepayment information storage unit 340 includes a substrate 344 and a memory 346 that stores IC credits. A memory 346 is attached to a surface of the substrate 344 in the same direction as the other surface of the substrate 334.

  When the ink cartridge 30 is accommodated in the cartridge accommodating portion 102, the connection terminals 332a, b, c, d, e, f, and g of the ink cartridge 30 are respectively the conductor portions 732a and 732a facing the connection terminal 120 of the carriage 100. Electrically connected to b, c, d, e, f, g.

  The connection line 338 is electrically connected to the memory 346 of the prepayment information storage unit 340 in a state where the prepayment information storage unit 340 is stored in the chip storage unit 802. Accordingly, in FIG. 16, when electrically connected to the conductor portion 732 b of the connection terminal 120 included in the carriage 100, it can be electrically connected to the memory 346.

  FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating still another example of the block configuration of the printing apparatus 10. The block diagram shown in FIG. 17 shows a block configuration when the read / write unit 160 is electrically connected to the conductor units 732a and b as shown in FIG. The printing apparatus 10 includes a cartridge housing unit 102, 104, 106, 108, a read / write unit 160, a print control unit 170, a printing unit 180, a print drive signal conversion unit 190, a clearing unit 200, a read prepayment information storage unit 210, and a display unit 220. Is provided.

  The read / write unit 160 is electrically connected to the conductor unit 732a shown in FIG. 16 with respect to the ink cartridge 30 stored in the cartridge storage unit 102, and the ink information storage unit 330 includes the conductor unit 732a and the connection terminal 332a. Read and write information on ink stored in the memory 336. The read / write unit 160 is electrically connected to the conductor unit 732b, and reads / writes IC credits stored in the memory 346 included in the prepaid information storage unit 340 via the conductor unit 732b, the connection terminal 332b, and the connection line 338. . Thereby, the function of reading and writing color material information and prepaid information can be easily implemented by the connection line 338 of the ink cartridge 30.

  The read / write unit 160 reads and writes information about ink stored in the memory included in the ink information storage units 410, 510, and 610 with respect to the ink cartridges 40, 50, and 60 stored in the cartridge storage units 104, 106, and 108. The cartridge storage units 102, 104, 106, 108, the print control unit 170, the printing unit 180, the print drive signal conversion unit 190, the clearing unit 200, the read prepaid information storage unit 210, and the display unit 220 are shown in FIG. Since it is the same as each part of the block, the description is omitted.

  FIG. 18 is a schematic perspective view of the connection terminal 130 provided in the carriage 100. The carriage 100 may include a connection terminal 130 instead of the connection terminal 110 shown in FIG. 4 or the connection terminal 120 shown in FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 18, the connection terminal 130 includes a conductor portion 762 and an insulating portion 704. In the form shown in FIG. 18, the seven conductor portions 762 a, b, c, d, e, f, and g are insulated from each other by the insulating portion 704.

  FIG. 19 is a schematic perspective view showing still another example of the ink cartridge 30. FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of the ink information storage unit 350 and the prepayment information storage unit 360 stored in the chip storage unit 804. FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of electrical connection between the ink information storage unit 350 and the prepayment information storage unit 360. Specifically, in the schematic diagram shown in FIG. 21, when the ink cartridge 30 is stored in the cartridge storage unit 102, the ink information storage unit 350 and the prepayment information storage unit 360 are cut along the broken line shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing seen from.

  When the carriage 100 includes the connection terminal 130 shown in FIG. 18, the ink cartridge 30 shown in FIG. 19 replaces the chip storage unit 800, the ink information storage unit 310, and the prepayment information storage unit 320 shown in FIG. 804, an ink information storage unit 350 and a prepayment information storage unit 360 are provided. As shown in FIG. 20, the ink information storage unit 350 includes a substrate 354 and a memory 356 that is arranged on one surface of the substrate 354 and stores information about ink.

  The prepayment information storage unit 340 includes a substrate 364, a connection terminal 362, a memory 366 that stores IC credits, and a connection line 368. The connection terminal 362 is exposed on one surface of the substrate 364 and penetrates to the other surface side of the substrate 364. A memory 366 and a connection line 368 are disposed on the other surface of the substrate 364, and are electrically connected to the corresponding connection terminals 362 (332b, 332a), respectively.

  When the ink cartridge 30 is accommodated in the cartridge accommodating portion 102, each of the connection terminals 362 a, b, c, d, e, f, and g of the ink cartridge 30 is a conductor portion 762 a that faces the connection terminal 130 of the carriage 100. , B, c, d, e, f, g.

  The connection line 368 is electrically connected to the memory 356 included in the ink information storage unit 350. The connection line 368 is electrically connected to the connection terminal 362a. That is, in FIG. 21, when electrically connected to the conductor portion 762 a of the connection terminal 130 included in the carriage 100, it can be electrically connected to the memory 356. Thereby, the function of reading and writing color material information and prepaid information can be easily implemented by the connection line 368 of the ink cartridge 30.

  FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating still another example of the block configuration of the printing apparatus 10. The block diagram shown in FIG. 22 shows a block configuration when the read / write unit 162 is electrically connected to the conductors 762a and 762b as shown in FIG. The printing apparatus 10 includes a cartridge housing unit 102, 104, 106, 108, a read / write unit 160, a print control unit 170, a printing unit 180, a print drive signal conversion unit 190, a clearing unit 200, a read prepayment information storage unit 210, and a display unit 220. Is provided.

  The read / write unit 162 reads and writes IC credits stored in the memory 366 included in the prepayment information storage unit 360 with respect to the ink cartridge 30 stored in the cartridge storage unit 102 via the conductor unit 762b and the connection terminal 362b. The read / write unit 162 reads and writes information about ink stored in the memory 356 included in the ink information storage unit 350 via the conductor unit 762a, the connection terminal 362a, and the connection line 368.

  The read / write unit 162 reads and writes information about ink stored in the memory included in the ink information storage units 410, 510, and 610 with respect to the ink cartridges 40, 50, and 60 stored in the cartridge storage units 104, 106, and 108. The cartridge storage units 102, 104, 106, 108, the print control unit 170, the printing unit 180, the print drive signal conversion unit 190, the clearing unit 200, the read prepaid information storage unit 210, and the display unit 220 are shown in FIG. Since it is the same as each part of the block, the description is omitted.

  In the above-described embodiment, the ink information storage unit 310 and the prepayment information storage unit 320 are not limited to the contact type, but may be information read and written in a non-contact type. In this case, the ink information storage unit 310 and the prepayment information storage unit 320 may be magnetic or optical memories. In this case, the connection line 150 may magnetically or optically connect the ink information storage unit 310 and the prepayment information storage unit 320. The ink information storage units 330 and 350, the advance payment information storage units 340 and 360, and the connection lines 338 and 368 may be the same.

  The connection line may be formed separately from the ink information storage unit and the prepayment information storage unit, and may be embedded in the chip storage unit side. Furthermore, instead of or in addition to the ink cartridge 30, the ink cartridges 40, 50, 60 may include a prepaid information storage unit.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment. It is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a printing apparatus 10. FIG. 2 is a front upper perspective view of a carriage 100. FIG. 2 is a rear upper perspective view of the carriage 100. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a connection terminal 110 included in a carriage 100. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an example of an ink cartridge 30. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an ink information storage unit 310 and a prepayment information storage unit 320 stored in a chip storage unit 800. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of electrical connection between an ink information storage unit 310 and a prepayment information storage unit 320. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a block configuration of the printing apparatus 10. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of electrical connection between the ink information storage unit 310 and the prepayment information storage unit 320. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating another example of a block configuration of the printing apparatus 10. FIG. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing still another example of electrical connection between the ink information storage unit 310 and the prepayment information storage unit 320. 4 is a block diagram illustrating still another example of a block configuration of the printing apparatus 10. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a connection terminal 120 included in a carriage 100. FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view illustrating another example of the ink cartridge 30. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an ink information storage unit 330 and a prepayment information storage unit 340 stored in a chip storage unit 802. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of electrical connection between an ink information storage unit 330 and a prepayment information storage unit 340. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating still another example of a block configuration of the printing apparatus 10. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a connection terminal 130 provided in the carriage 100. FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing still another example of the ink cartridge 30. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an ink information storage unit 350 and a prepayment information storage unit 360 accommodated in a chip storage unit 804. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of electrical connection between an ink information storage unit 350 and a prepayment information storage unit 360. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating still another example of a block configuration of the printing apparatus 10. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Printing apparatus, 20 Medium, 30 Ink cartridge, 40 Ink cartridge, 50 Ink cartridge, 60 Ink cartridge, 100 Carriage, 102 Cartridge accommodating part, 103 Ink supply part, 104 Cartridge accommodating part, 105 Ink supply part, 106 Cartridge accommodating part 107 Ink supply section, 108 Cartridge storage section, 109 Ink supply section, 110 connection terminal, 112 connection terminal, 114 connection terminal, 116 connection terminal, 120 connection terminal, 130 connection terminal, 140 print head, 150 connection line, 160 read / write , 162 read / write unit, 164 read / write unit, 170 print control unit, 180 print unit, 182 transport unit, 184 discharge unit, 190 print drive signal conversion unit, 200 clearing unit, 210 pre-payment information Storage unit, 220 display unit, 300 cartridge body, 302 ink supply port, 310 ink information storage unit, 312 connection terminal, 314 substrate, 316 memory, 320 prepayment information storage unit, 322 connection terminal, 324 substrate, 326 memory, 330 ink Information storage unit, 332 connection terminal, 334 substrate, 336 memory, 338 connection line, 340 prepaid information storage unit, 344 substrate, 346 memory, 350 ink information storage unit, 354 substrate, 356 memory, 360 prepaid information storage unit, 362 connection Terminal, 364 substrate, 366 memory, 368 connection line, 402 ink supply port, 410 ink information storage unit, 502 ink supply port, 510 ink information storage unit, 602 ink supply port, 610 ink information storage unit, 700 insulation unit, 702 Insulation part, 7 4 the insulating portion, 712 a conductor unit, 722 the conductor portion, 732 the conductor portion, 762 the conductor portion, 800 chip housing portion 802 chip accommodation portion, 804 chip housing portion

Claims (6)

A cartridge body for containing a coloring material;
A color material information storage unit for storing color material information about the color material;
A prepayment information storage unit for storing prepayment information related to printing,
The color material information storage unit has a connection terminal connected to an external read / write device, and a connection line connected to the prepayment information storage unit,
The prepayment information storage unit is a color material cartridge connected to the read / write device via the connection line. A cartridge body for containing a coloring material;
A color material information storage unit for storing color material information about the color material;
A prepayment information storage unit for storing prepayment information related to printing,
The prepayment information storage unit has a connection terminal connected to an external read / write device, and a connection line connected to the color material information storage unit,
The color material information storage unit is a color material cartridge connected to the read / write device via the connection line. A cartridge body for containing a coloring material;
A color material information storage unit for storing color material information about the color material;
A prepayment information storage unit for storing prepayment information related to printing,
Each of the color material information storage unit and the prepayment information storage unit is a color material cartridge having a connection terminal connected to an external read / write device. A printing apparatus that prints on a medium using a color material,
A colorant information storage unit for storing colorant information relating to the colorant and a prepaid information storage unit for storing prepayment information relating to printing, and a cartridge storage unit for detachably storing a cartridge for storing the colorant;
A read / write unit that connects to the color material information storage unit of the cartridge stored in the cartridge storage unit and reads / writes the color material information from / to the color material information storage unit,
A connection line connecting the color material information storage unit and the prepayment information storage unit of the cartridge stored in the cartridge storage unit;
A print control unit that outputs a print drive signal for controlling printing;
A printing unit that performs printing using the color material of the cartridge based on the print drive signal output from the print control unit;
A print drive signal conversion unit that acquires the print drive signal output from the print control unit and converts the print drive signal into billing information;
A clearing unit for clearing the prepayment information with the billing information converted by the print drive signal conversion unit;
With
The read / write unit reads and writes the prepaid information in the prepaid information storage unit via the connection line. A printing apparatus that prints on a medium using a color material,
A colorant information storage unit for storing colorant information relating to the colorant and a prepaid information storage unit for storing prepayment information relating to printing, and a cartridge storage unit for detachably storing a cartridge for storing the colorant;
A read / write unit that connects to the prepaid information storage unit of the cartridge housed in the cartridge housing unit and reads and writes the prepaid information with the prepaid information storage unit;
A connection line connecting the color material information storage unit and the prepayment information storage unit of the cartridge stored in the cartridge storage unit;
A print control unit that outputs a print drive signal for controlling printing;
A printing unit that performs printing using the color material of the cartridge based on the print drive signal output from the print control unit;
A print drive signal conversion unit that acquires the print drive signal output from the print control unit and converts the print drive signal into billing information;
A clearing unit for clearing the prepayment information with the billing information converted by the print drive signal conversion unit;
With
The read / write unit reads and writes the color material information in the color material information storage unit via the connection line. A printing apparatus that prints on a medium using a color material,
A colorant information storage unit for storing colorant information relating to the colorant and a prepaid information storage unit for storing prepayment information relating to printing, and a cartridge storage unit for detachably storing a cartridge for storing the colorant;
Connected to each of the color material information storage unit and the prepayment information storage unit of the cartridge stored in the cartridge storage unit, and between the color material information storage unit and the prepayment information storage unit, A read / write unit for reading and writing the prepayment information;
A print control unit that outputs a print drive signal for controlling printing;
A printing unit that performs printing using the color material of the cartridge based on the print drive signal output from the print control unit;
A print drive signal conversion unit that acquires the print drive signal output from the print control unit and converts the print drive signal into billing information;
A clearing unit for clearing the prepayment information with the billing information converted by the print drive signal conversion unit;
A printing apparatus comprising:

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