JP2001134151A - System for managing consumables in electronic equipment, data carrier for cartridge and method for managing consumables in electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently manage consumables which are supplied in a cartridge and supplied. SOLUTION: The system for managing consumables for an electronic equipment consists of a data carrier which is attached to the cartridge for storing the consumables including toner to be used in the electronic equipment and of a reader/writer which is arranged at the side of a main body in the equipment. In the system, a prescribed communication is executed between the reader/ writer and the data carrier, the propriety of the consumables stored in the cartridge for storing them is confirmed and, then, the usage of the cartridge 2 is prevented, which is not given a prescribed ID code, a password, a usage permission code, a management code, the number of printing, a toner shortage detecting code and an abnormality detecting code.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for managing consumables in electronic equipment, a data carrier for a cartridge, and a method for managing consumables in electronic equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electronic device such as a printer or a facsimile, a toner, which is a consumable, is placed in a cartridge having a predetermined shape, and the cartridge is mounted on the electronic device. I try to resupply the electronic equipment. When the toner runs out, the cartridge is replaced with a new one to supply toner to the electronic device.

[0003]

The cartridges exchanged as described above have all been previously discarded. However, recently, for the purpose of protecting resources and preserving the global environment, the inside of the cartridge has been supplied with toner and used for recycling. Regarding the durability of the cartridge, there is no problem even if the cartridge is recycled several times.

[0004] Therefore, if the toner supplied to the cartridge is a genuine genuine product of the electronic device manufacturer or a product certified by the manufacturer, no serious problem occurs.

However, since the genuine genuine toner or the toner certified by the maker is expensive, the toner has come to be used in the cartridge. When a toner other than the above-described authorized products is used, not only the performance of the electronic device cannot be sufficiently exhibited, but also a failure of the electronic device may be caused.

In addition, since there are movable parts depending on the type of the cartridge, the number of recyclable times is limited. Therefore, it has become necessary to control the number of times of recycling. Further, there has been a demand for the development of a system capable of efficiently managing the inventory of the cartridges and managing the distribution. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems, and has as its object to make it easier to manage consumables of an electronic device that is supplied and stored in a cartridge.

[0007]

A consumables management system for an electronic device according to the present invention includes a data carrier attached to a cartridge containing consumables containing toner used in the electronic device, and a data carrier attached to a main body of the electronic device. A consumables management system for an electronic device comprising a reader / writer provided, wherein said consumables are stored in said cartridge by performing predetermined communication between said reader / writer and said data carrier. Is characterized by checking whether or not the consumable is a pre-certified consumable. According to another feature of the present invention, communication performed between the reader / writer device and the data carrier is based on I
D code, password, use permission code, management code,
At least one of the number of prints, toner shortage detection code, abnormality detection code, toner shortage detection date and time, number of prints when toner shortage was detected, correction history, and recycling history
It is characterized by the fact that the communication is to confirm one. Another feature of the present invention is a consumables management system in an electronic device having a data carrier and a reader / writer device, wherein the data carrier is a communication unit that transmits and receives data to and from the reader / writer device. Decoding means for decoding a command transmitted from the reader / writer device; an ID code, a password, a use permission code, a management code, the number of prints, a toner shortage detection code, and an error for communicating with the reader / writer device. A storage unit for storing at least one or more of a detection code, a toner shortage detection date and time, the number of prints at the time of toner shortage detection, a correction history, and a recycling history; Memory control means for reading and response to a query from the reader / writer device Is characterized by comprising a response means that.

A data carrier for a cartridge according to the present invention is an antenna used for a data carrier attached to a cartridge containing a consumable containing toner used in an electronic device. The antenna is wound in a plane. And a plate-shaped magnetic core inserted into the air-core coil so as to be substantially parallel to the plane of the air-core coil. Another feature of the present invention is that, on both surfaces of the air-core coil,
A metal foil is provided on at least one surface. Another feature of the present invention is that the metal foil is disposed so as to substantially shield the entire air-core coil when viewed from a plane direction.
Another feature of the present invention is an antenna used for a data carrier attached to a cartridge containing a consumable containing toner used in an electronic device, wherein the antenna is wound in a planar shape. An air-core coil, comprising a plate-shaped magnetic core inserted into the air-core coil so as to be substantially parallel to the plane of the air-core coil, wherein the plate-shaped magnetic core is parallel to the air-core coil. The one-side length of the plane shape of the air-core coil is set to a length as close as possible to the width direction length of the plate-shaped magnetic core, and the size of the one-side The length in the other side direction orthogonal to the direction is a length as close as possible to the thickness of the plate-shaped magnetic core. Another feature of the present invention is an antenna used for a data carrier attached to a cartridge containing a consumable containing toner used in an electronic device, wherein the magnetic core is formed of a unidirectional magnetic metal. And a coil provided so that the goth direction of the magnetic core is oriented in the axial direction, and at least an ID code, a password, a use permission code, a management code, the number of prints, a toner shortage detection code, an abnormality detection code, and a toner shortage detection A storage unit for storing any one of date and time, the number of prints when toner shortage is detected, a repair history, and a recycling history. Another feature of the present invention is that the coil is an air-core coil wound in a substantially annular shape in a plane, and the plate-shaped plane of the magnetic core is substantially parallel to the plane of the coil. The magnetic core is inserted into the coil so that Another feature of the present invention is that the coil is an air-core coil that is wound in a substantially rectangular shape in a plane, and the plane of the plate-shaped magnetic core is substantially parallel to the plane of the coil. Preferably, the magnetic core is inserted into the coil.

A method for managing consumables in an electronic device according to the present invention uses a data carrier attached to a cartridge containing consumables including toner and a reader / writer device provided on a main body side of the electronic device. A method of managing consumables in an electronic device, wherein the data carrier includes a communication process for transmitting and receiving data to and from the reader / writer device; a decoding process for decoding a command transmitted from the reader / writer device; ID code, password, use permission code, management code, number of prints, toner shortage detection code, abnormality detection code, toner shortage detection date and time, toner shortage detection date and time, number of prints when toner shortage is detected, correction history, recycling for communication with reader / writer device Storage processing for storing at least one or a plurality of histories in storage means It is characterized by performing the memory control processing for writing / reading data to the storage means, and a response process for responding to a question from the reader / writer device. Another feature of the present invention is that the number of prints is written in the storage means for each predetermined number of prints performed after the detection of the toner shortage. According to another feature of the present invention, the number of prints performed after the detection of the toner shortage is detected based on the toner shortage detection date and time and the number of prints at the time of the toner shortage detection stored in the storage unit. It is characterized by managing whether or not a toner other than the toner certified by the manufacturer is used.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [First Embodiment] Next, referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment of a consumable supply management system for an electronic device, a data carrier for a cartridge and a consumable supply management method for an electronic device according to the present invention will be described. Will be described. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a consumables management system for an electronic device according to the present embodiment includes a reader / writer device 20 attached to the printer 1 and a cartridge 2 containing consumables.
Is constituted by a data carrier 10 stuck on the surface of.

When the cartridge 2 is set at a predetermined position of the printer 1, the data carrier 10 and the reader / writer device 20 are mounted at such positions that they face each other with a short distance of contact. I have.

As shown in the functional block diagram of FIG. 2, the data carrier 10 includes a transmitting / receiving antenna 11, a communication unit 1
2. It comprises decoding means 13, response means 14, memory control means 15, storage means 16 and the like.

The transmitting / receiving antenna 11 receives the alternating magnetic field sent from the reader / writer device 20, generates electric power to be used in the data carrier 10, and transmits the power from the reader / writer device 20. For receiving incoming data signals.

The communication means 12 includes the transmitting / receiving antenna 1
1 converts the high-frequency signal received by 1 into a digital signal that can be handled by a computer system, and includes a trap circuit (filter circuit), a reception amplifier, a detection circuit, and the like.

The decoding means 13 decodes a data signal encoded and transmitted from the reader / writer device 20. The response means 14 is for performing a predetermined process in accordance with the command decoded by the decoding means 13, and the command sent from the reader / writer device 20 is an ID code, a password, a use permission code, If the command requests transmission of a code, the number of prints, a toner shortage detection code, an abnormality detection code, a toner shortage detection date and time, the number of prints at the time of toner shortage detection, a repair history, a recycling history, and the like,
The memory controller 15 is controlled so as to read a data code corresponding to the read command.

The memory control means 15 controls the reading and writing of the storage means 16 based on the command of the response means 14, and reads out the data from the storage means 16 in accordance with the data code sent from the reader / writer device 20. Or write data to the storage means 16.

The storage means 16 stores the ID code, password, use permission code, management code, number of prints, toner shortage detection code, abnormality detection code repair history,
It is provided to store a recycling history and the like, and an EEPROM or FRAM that can read and write data and does not require a backup power supply is used.

On the other hand, the reader / writer device 20 comprises a transmitting / receiving antenna 21, communication means 22, decoding means 23, control means 24 and the like. The transmitting / receiving antenna 21 is provided for transmitting an alternating magnetic field and a data signal to the data carrier 10 and receiving a data signal transmitted from the data carrier 10.

The communication means 22 includes the data carrier 10
This is for receiving the high-frequency signal sent from the device and converting it into a data signal to be handled inside the reader / writer device 20.

The decoding means 23 comprises a data carrier 10
Is decoded and supplied to the control means 24. The control means 24 is a control means of the printer 1
(Not shown) and a data signal _SD , and transmits the data signal sent from the data carrier 10 to the control means of the printer 1 or a command based on a command from the control means of the printer 1. To the data carrier 10.

FIG. 2 shows an example in which the reader / writer device 20 is formed separately from the control unit of the electronic equipment. You may make it comprise integrally.

Next, the operation of the reader / writer device 20 of this embodiment will be further described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, for example, when the power of the printer 1 is turned on and the consumables management process is started, the reader / writer device 20 is initialized in the first step S31.

Next, in step S32, an alternating magnetic field is generated, and in step S33, a predetermined command is generated and transmitted to the data carrier 10 on the generated alternating magnetic field. The command is a command for returning, for example, an “ID number”, a “password”, and the like assigned to the data carrier 10.

Thereafter, in step S34, a process of receiving a data signal from the data carrier 10 is performed.
Thus, the reader / writer device 20 can determine whether or not the cartridge 2 set in the printer 1 is a genuine product certified by the manufacturer. When this data reception processing is completed, the process proceeds to step S35
To determine the success or failure of the received data signal.

As described above, the reader / writer device 20
Communication between the data carrier 10 and the ID code is
Password, use permission code, management code, number of prints, toner shortage detection code, error detection code, toner shortage detection date and time, number of prints when toner shortage was detected, repair history, recycling history, etc., and these data signals are preset It is determined in step S34 whether or not the received data signal matches.

As a result of this determination, if the cartridge 2 is a genuine manufacturer, the above-described ID code,
If all of the data codes such as the password and the use permission code are correct, the flow advances to step S36 to notify the control means of the printer 1 of the fact that the part is a regular part.

On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S35, the ID
If it is determined that the cartridge 2 is not a genuine manufacturer, the process proceeds to step S37, and the control unit of the printer 1 determines that the cartridge 2 is abnormal. Make a notification.

The control means on the side of the printer 1 which has received the abnormality notification performs a process for a preset abnormal cartridge. Various processes are considered as this process. That is, processes such as "warning display for displaying to the user that the cartridge is not a genuine cartridge", "extending the print time interval", "printing impossible" or "deteriorating print quality" are considered.

On the other hand, if the process proceeds to step S36 because the cartridge 2 is a genuine manufacturer,
After a normal notification is sent to the control device of the printer 1, the process proceeds to step S38, and it is determined whether or not there is a control input. This waits for the input of a signal output when, for example, "toner" shortage is detected from the control unit of the printer 1. When the shortage of “toner” is detected, the “toner shortage detection code” is written to the data carrier 10 in the next step S39. Also,
The date and time of toner shortage detection, the number of prints at the time of toner shortage detection and the like are also written in the storage unit 16 of the data carrier 10.

Incidentally, even if the cartridge 2 is a genuine product, there may be various examples in which a toner abnormality using toner other than the genuine product occurs. Therefore, if the use start date is written in the storage unit 16 of the data carrier 10 as the management code, the management code is read out by reading the management code.
The use period of the cartridge 2 can be known. As a result, if the usage period is abnormally long, it is conceivable that the contents of the same cartridge 2 are replaced and used repeatedly many times.

The number of prints performed using the cartridge 2 is stored in the storage unit 16 of the data carrier 10.
When the number of prints that can be generally performed using the cartridge 2 greatly exceeds the number of prints that can be performed by using the cartridge 2, the contents of the regular cartridge 2 are replaced with toner other than the genuine product. Can be doubted. Further, by managing the number of prints after “detection of toner shortage”, it can be inferred that toner other than the genuine product is used.

As one method for preventing the use of toner other than the genuine product after the detection of the toner shortage, the number of prints for a predetermined number of prints, for example, for printing performed after the detection of the toner shortage, for example, The data is written in the storage means 16 every ten sheets.

The data stored in the storage means 16 is as follows:
By reading the number of prints performed after detecting the toner shortage, it is inferred whether toner other than the toner certified by the manufacturer has been used. Although the number of prints and the amount of toner used are not always unambiguously determined, they are in principle proportional and do not cause a great mistake.

When printing is performed, communication is performed between the reader / writer device 20 and the data carrier 10. When the data carrier 10 is not mounted, communication with the reader / writer device 20 is performed. Therefore, if a printing operation is performed in this state, it is possible to immediately know that a cartridge other than that approved by the manufacturer is being used.

If the use of the cartridge not approved is stored in the memory of the main body,
Since it can be known at the time of maintenance, it can be used as a clue when pursuing the cause of a failure when a failure occurs.

Next, the processing of the data carrier 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the data carrier 10 of the present embodiment has a
The operation is started in response to the driving magnetic field sent from the writer device 20, and reset and initialization are performed in the first step S41.

Next, at step S42, the reader /
It waits until a command is input from the writer device 20. When a command is input from the reader / writer device 20, the process advances to step S43 to decode the input command.

Then, the process proceeds to a step S44, wherein it is determined whether or not the input command is a read request command. If the result of this determination is that the command input from the reader / writer device 20 is a command for reading a predetermined data code, the flow advances to step S45 to store the data code specified by the command in the storage means 16 The process of reading from is performed.

Then, in the next step S46, a process of transmitting the data code read in the process of step S45 to the reader / writer device 20 is performed.

On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S44 is that the input command is not a read request command, it is a write request command, so the flow advances from step S44 to step S47 to change the data code specified by the input command. A process for writing to the storage unit 16 is performed.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the data carrier 1 attached to the cartridge 2
0 and the reader / writer device 20 provided in the printer 1
Communication with the printer 1 so that toner other than the genuine product certified by the maker is not used as the toner to be supplied to the printer 1, so that the inconvenience of using the maker's non-genuine product toner is prevented as much as possible. be able to.

Further, since the data carrier 10 is mounted on the surface of the cartridge 2, product management can be performed even when the cartridge 2 is placed in a cardboard box, and production, inventory and shipping management are efficiently performed. Will be able to do it.

[Second Embodiment] Next, an embodiment of a data carrier suitable for use in a consumables management system in an electronic apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of a cartridge data carrier used in the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the cartridge data carrier shown in FIG. 5 along the longitudinal direction.

In FIG. 5, a plate-shaped magnetic core 511 is inserted into an air-core coil 510 wound in a plane so as to be substantially parallel to the plane of the air-core coil 510. The structure is configured.

An IC chip 513, a tuning capacitor 514, and the like are incorporated in a data carrier module 512 that operates by being supplied with operating power from the cartridge data carrier. Then, insulating sheets 515 and 516 are provided so as to sandwich the data carrier for cartridge and the data carrier module 12 from both sides, and metal foils 517 and 518 are attached to both outer sides thereof. As a material of the metal foils 517 and 518, aluminum or copper can be used.

Many air core coils 510 as described above are commercially available, and an air core coil having an arbitrary shape and size can be selected according to design requirements. Further, since the configuration can be achieved only by inserting the plate-shaped magnetic core 511 into the general-purpose air-core coil, the basic configuration of the cartridge data carrier of the present embodiment is easy to manufacture, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. it can. The plate-shaped magnetic core 51
1 can be configured, for example, by cutting an amorphous sheet into a predetermined size and winding an insulating sheet around the sheet.

The data carrier 10 according to the present embodiment having the above-described configuration has excellent performance of inducing an induced current, so that good communication can be performed even if there is an obstacle around the magnetic field. it can. Therefore, good communication can be performed even in a state where the cartridges are put in a plurality of cartridge boxes, so that the product name, the product number, the manufacturing date, the number of the inside, and the like can be easily known, and the product management can be easily performed. It is possible to perform production, inventory and shipping management efficiently.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
3 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration example of the reader / writer device 20. FIG. FIG. 8 shows the reader / writer device 2
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a structure of a signal transmitted from 0 to the data carrier 10. The reader / writer device 20 includes the data carrier 10
, A transmission coil 721, a reception coil 722, a controller 723, a modulation circuit 724, and an output amplifier 7 as shown in FIG.
25, a selection circuit 726, a reception amplifier 727, and a detection circuit 728.

The transmission coil 721 is connected to the controller 723
Is transmitted to the data carrier 10, and the receiving coil 722 is for receiving a signal from the data carrier 10. Transmission coil 72
1. Both of the receiving coils 722 are circular planar coils.

The receiving coil 722 is connected to the transmitting coil 72.
One size smaller than 1, the transmission coil 721 and the reception coil 722 are arranged on the same plane with their centers aligned. The controller 723 controls transmission of a signal about a command such as a question to the data carrier 10 and determines a response content of the question based on a signal received from the data carrier 10.

The modulation circuit 724 modulates the binary signal sent from the controller 723 into an FSK modulation signal expressed by combining signals of two different frequencies. The FSK modulation signal output from the modulation circuit 724 is sent to the output amplifier 725, amplified, and then output to the transmission coil 721. Thus, the reader / writer device 20 transmits a signal for a predetermined command to the transmission coil 7.
Emit from 21.

Here, the transmission signal generated by the controller 723 is, specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, an ID code representing the ID information of the data carrier 10 which is the transmission destination, It has an instruction code or the like representing an instruction.

For example, when requesting the data carrier 10 to transmit predetermined data, the instruction code includes
Contains information that requests data transmission. When writing predetermined data to the data carrier 10, the instruction code includes information indicating a request to write data,
Information about the contents of the data is entered.

The selection circuit 726 selects a signal having a predetermined frequency from signals received by the reception coil 722. The signal selected by the selection circuit 726 is amplified by the reception amplifier 727 and then sent to the detection circuit 728.
The detection circuit 728 demodulates the signal sent from the selection circuit 726 into a binary signal. This binary signal is output to the controller 723.

Next, a specific configuration example of the data carrier 10 of the present embodiment will be described. 9A is a schematic plan view of the data carrier 10, FIG. 9B is a schematic sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 9A, and FIG. 9C is an outline of the data carrier 10. It is a rear view. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a method of protecting the coil of the data carrier 10.

The data carrier 10 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in (c), the antenna 931 and the antenna 93
1 and a RFID module 951. The antenna 931 is for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the reader / writer device 20, and has a plate-shaped magnetic core 935 and a coil 936. The magnetic core 935 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape.

The coil 936 is a circular air-core coil formed by winding a conducting wire a predetermined number of times in a plane. Many such air-core coils are commercially available, and an appropriate coil can be selected according to design requirements. Specifically, a coil having an inner diameter larger than the width of the magnetic core 935 is selected as the coil 936.

Then, the antenna 931 is obtained by inserting the magnetic core 935 into the coil 936 so that the plane of the coil 936 and the plane of the magnetic core 935 are substantially parallel. As described above, the flat magnetic core 9 is used as the antenna 931.
By using a coil 936 wound around 35, the thickness of the case 941 can be reduced.
The thickness of the data carrier 10 can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 9, the case 941 has a substantially plate-shaped central portion 945 and two substantially plate-shaped ends 946a and 946b provided on both sides of the central portion 945. The surfaces of the central portion 945 and the end portions 946a and 946b are both formed flat.

The central portion 945 and the end portions 946a, 946
The outer peripheral end of 46b is bent to the back side. The length of the bent portion becomes the thickness of the case 941. The central portion 945 is arranged so that the back surface thereof partially overlaps the surface of the end portions 946a and 946b, and is fixed to the end portions 946a and 946b by, for example, welding or caulking.

In particular, when using the caulking method, after caulking the central portion 945, the central portion 945 and the end portion 946 are used.
a, 946b, it is necessary to apply a desired paint to increase the sealing property between the central portion 945 and the end portions 946a, 946b.

In this embodiment, the magnetic core 935 and the case 9
Reference numeral 41 is formed of a silicon steel sheet (electromagnetic steel sheet) mainly used as a transformer core. In general, silicon steel sheets include a unidirectional type in which the direction in which magnetic flux easily passes is determined in one direction, and a non-directional type in which the direction in which magnetic flux easily passes is not defined.

In this embodiment, the magnetic core 935 and the case 9
As the material of 41, a unidirectional silicon steel sheet is used. The direction in which the magnetic flux of the unidirectional silicon steel sheet easily passes is generally determined by the Goss orientation, which is the growth direction of crystal grains. FIG.
Then, the Goss direction of each part is indicated by an arrow.

That is, the magnetic core 935 is formed such that the Goss direction is oriented in the longitudinal direction of the magnetic core 935. Since the coil 936 is inserted along the longitudinal direction of the magnetic core 935, the goth direction of the magnetic core 935 is in a direction parallel to the axial direction of the coil 936.

Here, the axial direction of the coil 936 refers to the direction of the magnetic core 935 passing through the coil 936. In this embodiment, the vertical direction in FIG. 9 is the axial direction of the coil 936. In addition, the goss directions of the two ends 946a and 946b are directed to the direction connecting them, while the goss direction of the center 945 is directed to the direction orthogonal to the goss directions of the ends 946a and 946b.

The antenna 931 is mounted on the case 941 such that the coil 936 is disposed at a position facing the central portion 945 and the axial direction of the coil 936 is oriented in the direction connecting the two ends 946a and 946b. Can be put in.

Here, the longitudinal length of the magnetic core 935 is
When the antenna 931 is placed in the case 941, the magnetic core 9
The length of the tip 35 is set so as to overlap the ends 946a and 946b as much as possible. In particular, the larger the overlapping area is, the better.

By arranging the antenna 931 in this manner, the Goss direction of the central portion 945 is oriented in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the coil 936, and the end portions 946a and 946b are oriented.
Is directed in a direction parallel to the axial direction of the coil 936.

The tip of the magnetic core 935 is connected to each end 94.
6a and 946b are fixed by welding or soldering.
Alternatively, instead of performing welding or the like, bonding may be performed with a material such as resin. Here, the adhesive may be conductive or non-conductive.

Since the back side of the data carrier 10 is not covered, the antenna 931 is completely unprotected. For this reason, for example, data carrier 1
In some cases, the coil 936 may be damaged when performing the mounting operation of the zero.

Therefore, it is necessary to take some protective measures on the back side of the case 941. The present inventors have considered several methods for protecting the coil 936. FIG. 10 shows several methods for protecting the coil 935 of the data carrier 10.

A first method of protecting the coil 935 is to stop the antenna 931 by filling the inside of a case 941 with a resin 947 such as silicon, for example, as shown in FIG. is there. In the second method, as shown in FIG. 10B, the back surface of the case 941 is covered with a plate member 948 made of a nonmetal such as plastic or ceramic.

In the third method, as shown in FIG. 10C, a plate member 949 made of unidirectional silicon steel is used, and the goth direction of the plate member 949 is orthogonal to the axial direction of the coil 936. The plate-shaped member 949 and the central portion 9
45 partially covers the back side of the case 941 so as not to form an electrical closed circuit.

The reason why the Goss direction of the plate-shaped member 949 is oriented in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the coil 936 is that the external magnetic field in the axial direction of the coil 936 is
This is so as not to be led to 49.

The reason why the plate member 949 and the central portion 945 do not form a closed circuit is as follows. That is, when these form a closed circuit, the reader /
When transmitting and receiving signals to and from the writer device 20, the magnetic field passing through the coil 936 also passes through this closed circuit,
This is because current flows through the closed circuit.

In the case of the example shown in FIG. 10C, the two plate-like members 949 are attached to the back surface of the case 941 so that a gap 949a along the axial direction of the coil 936 is opened. I have. According to the third method, there is an advantage that almost the entire periphery of the antenna 941 except for the gap 949a can be covered with the same material (silicon steel).

As another method for protecting the coil 936, a method combining the first method and the second method or a method combining the first method and the third method is used. Can be used.

In such a data carrier 10, an antenna 931 is provided in a case 941 formed of a unidirectional silicon steel sheet.
Since the antenna 931 can be covered from outside by a metal (silicon steel) case, the weather resistance and the impact resistance can be improved. For this reason, such a data carrier 10 is suitable for use in a severe environment in which toner falls.

[0080]

Since the present invention is configured as described above,
According to the consumables management system for an electronic device of the present invention, the data carrier and the reader are provided by using a data carrier attached to a cartridge and a reader / writer device disposed on an electronic device including a printer. / Consumables to be supplied to the electronic device are managed while exchanging data codes with the writer device, so that the inconvenience of using non-genuine consumables certified by the manufacturer is possible. Can be prevented.

Further, since the data carrier is attached to the cartridge, the product name, product number, manufacturing date, internal number, etc. can be easily known even in the state of being put in the cartridge cardboard box. Management can be performed easily, and production, inventory, and shipping management can be performed efficiently.

In the data carrier for a cartridge according to the present invention, one or more plate-shaped magnetic cores are provided on an air-core coil wound in a plane so as to be substantially parallel to the coil surface of the air-core coil. Is inserted at a predetermined angle, and a metal foil is attached to at least one of the surfaces of the air-core coil. By preventing the inconvenience that the magnetic field generated by the own antenna is canceled by the generated magnetic field, a large induced current can be induced in the antenna, and good communication with the reader / writer device can be performed.

According to another feature of the data carrier for a cartridge of the present invention, the plate-shaped magnetic core is large enough to be inserted in parallel with the air-core coil, and the magnetic core coil has a small diameter. The length in one side direction in the planar shape is as close as possible to the length in the width direction of the plate-shaped magnetic core, and the length in the other side direction orthogonal to the one side direction is the length of the plate-shaped magnetic core. Since the length is made as close as possible to the thickness of the core, a large number of commercially available air-core coils having any shape and size can be selected according to design requirements. Thus, a data carrier suitable for mounting on a cartridge can be easily manufactured, and manufacturing costs can be reduced.

According to another feature of the data carrier for a cartridge of the present invention, the influence of adjacent metals can be minimized, and the structure is simple.
Even when the cartridge is placed near a metal object present in the electronic device in which the cartridge is set, the effect of the metal object can be reduced and good communication with the reader / writer device can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a consumables management system in an electronic device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a data carrier system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing example of a reader / writer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing example of a data carrier according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view showing an example of a data carrier for a cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a configuration of the data carrier shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a reader / writer device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a data code.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data carrier for a cartridge.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a data carrier.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 2 Cartridge 10 Data carrier 11 Transmission / reception antenna 12 Communication means 13 Decoding means 14 Response means 15 Memory control means 16 Storage means 20 Reader / writer device 21 Transmission / reception antenna 22 Communication means 23 Decoding means 24 Control means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06K 19/10 G03G 15/00 556 H04B 5/00 G06K 19/00 H5 / 02 LF term (reference) 2H027 DA27 DA45 DD02 EE08 EE10 EJ04 EJ04 HB02 HB13 HB17 ZA09 2H071 BA03 BA20 BA33 5B035 AA04 AA13 CA23 5B058 CA15 KA31 KA33 YA01 5K012 AA05 AB03 AB12 AB18 AB19 AC06 AC09 AC11 BA18

Claims (13)

[Claims] An electronic device comprising: a data carrier attached to a cartridge containing a consumable containing toner used in the electronic device; and a reader / writer device provided on a main body of the electronic device. A system for performing predetermined communication between the reader / writer device and the data carrier to check whether a consumable stored in the cartridge is a pre-certified consumable. A consumables management system for an electronic device, comprising: 2. Communication between the reader / writer device and the data carrier includes an ID code, a password,
Use permission code, management code, number of prints, toner shortage detection code, abnormality detection code, toner shortage detection date and time,
2. The consumables management system according to claim 1, wherein the communication is for confirming at least one of the number of prints, a correction history, and a recycling history when the toner shortage is detected. 3. A consumable goods management system for an electronic device having a data carrier and a reader / writer device, wherein the data carrier is a communication unit for transmitting and receiving data to and from the reader / writer device, and the reader / writer. Decoding means for decoding a command transmitted from the device; an ID code for communicating with the reader / writer device;
At least one or more of a password, a use permission code, a management code, the number of prints, a toner shortage detection code, an abnormality detection code, a toner shortage detection date and time, a print count at the time of toner shortage detection, a correction history, and a recycling history are stored. An electronic apparatus comprising: a storage unit for storing data; a memory control unit that writes / reads data to / from the storage unit; and a response unit that responds to a question from the reader / writer device. Consumables management system. 4. An antenna used for a data carrier attached to a cartridge containing a consumable containing toner used in an electronic device, wherein the antenna comprises: an air-core coil wound in a planar shape; A data carrier for a cartridge, comprising: a plate-shaped magnetic core inserted into the air-core coil so as to be substantially parallel to a plane of the air-core coil. 5. The data carrier for a cartridge according to claim 4, wherein a metal foil is provided on at least one surface of both surfaces of the air core coil. 6. The data carrier for a cartridge according to claim 5, wherein the metal foil is disposed so as to substantially shield the whole of the air-core coil when viewed from a plane direction. 7. An antenna used for a data carrier attached to a cartridge containing a consumable containing toner used in an electronic device, the antenna comprising: an air-core coil wound in a planar shape; A plate-shaped magnetic core inserted into the air-core coil so as to be substantially parallel to the plane of the air-core coil, and allowing the plate-shaped magnetic core to be inserted in parallel to the air-core coil. The size, and the length in one direction in the plane shape of the air-core coil is set as close as possible to the length in the width direction of the plate-shaped magnetic core, and the other side orthogonal to the one side direction A data carrier for a cartridge, wherein the length in the direction is as close as possible to the thickness of the plate-shaped magnetic core. 8. An antenna used for a data carrier attached to a cartridge containing consumables including toner used in an electronic device, comprising: a magnetic core formed of a unidirectional magnetic metal; A coil provided so that the goth direction is oriented in the axial direction, at least an ID code, a password, a use permission code,
Any one of management code, number of prints, toner shortage detection code, abnormality detection code, toner shortage detection date and time, number of prints when toner shortage is detected, repair history, and recycling history
A data carrier for a cartridge, comprising: storage means for storing the data. 9. The coil is an air core coil wound in a substantially annular shape in a plane, and the coil is formed so that a plate-shaped plane of the magnetic core and a plane of the coil are substantially parallel to each other. The data carrier for a cartridge according to claim 8, wherein a core is inserted into the coil. 10. The coil is an air-core coil wound in a substantially rectangular shape in a plane, and the magnetic core is formed so that the plane of the plate-shaped magnetic core and the plane of the coil are substantially parallel to each other. 10. The data carrier for a cartridge according to claim 8, wherein the data carrier is inserted into the coil. 11. A method for managing consumables in an electronic device using a data carrier attached to a cartridge containing consumables including toner and a reader / writer device provided on a main body side of the electronic device. A communication process for transmitting and receiving data to and from the reader / writer device; a decoding process for decoding a command transmitted from the reader / writer device; and an ID for communicating with the reader / writer device. code,
Stores at least one or more of a password, a use permission code, a management code, the number of prints, a toner shortage detection code, an abnormality detection code, a toner shortage detection date and time, a print count at the time of toner shortage detection, a correction history, and a recycling history. An electronic device which performs a storage process for storing data in a storage unit, a memory control process for writing / reading data to / from the storage unit, and a response process for responding to a question from the reader / writer device. Consumables management method in Japan. 12. The management of consumables in an electronic device according to claim 11, wherein, for printing performed after the detection of the toner shortage, the number of prints is written in the storage unit at predetermined intervals. Method. 13. A method for detecting the number of prints performed after the toner shortage is detected based on the toner shortage detection date and time and the number of prints at the time of the toner shortage stored in the storage unit, and authenticating with the manufacturer. 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein whether the toner other than the toner is used is managed.