JP2003182108A - Cartridge with magnetic tag - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible for the body of a business apparatus to be used by loading a cartridge to recognize a genuine cartridge or a recommended cartridge immediately upon loading. <P>SOLUTION: A magnetic tag having information on goods, e.g. name of goods, name of manufacturer, name of seller, bar code and the like concerning a cartridge recorded thereon is fixed to the body of a cartridge container filled with toner, ink, or the like. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a magnetic tag cartridge having a magnetic tag capable of recording and reading information data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Cartridges for replacement (or refilling), which are generally configured by filling consumables such as toner and ink used in office equipment such as copiers and printers for office work, into On the outer container such as a box that wraps the cartridge, the product name, manufacturer information, manufacturing information,
Product information such as bar codes is displayed.

[0003] Manufacturers of office equipment such as copying machines and printers expect users to use genuine or recommended ink cartridges, and guarantee that such cartridges can be used. , The office equipment body only detects whether or not the cartridge body that should be used by the equipment is installed and the presence or absence of consumables in the cartridge container, and does not recognize the details of the cartridge to be used. Even if you use a bad product that you do not expect, you cannot recognize it.

Therefore, when a cartridge filled with unsuitable consumables for office equipment such as pirated ink is used, the sales amount of the cartridge filled with a genuine product or a recommended product is affected, resulting in market loss. Not only does this occur, but it also causes problems such as trouble with the office equipment itself, such as copiers and printers, and in some cases may cause malfunctions.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to recognize that an equipment body such as an office equipment loaded with a cartridge is a genuine cartridge or a recommended cartridge immediately after the cartridge is loaded. To be able to do it.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a cartridge container body filled with consumables such as toner and ink has a trade name, a manufacturer name, a seller name, and a bar code relating to the cartridge. It is a cartridge with a magnetic tag, to which a magnetic tag recording product information such as is attached.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the cartridge with a magnetic tag according to the first aspect, the cartridge container body is provided with a product name, a manufacturer name, a seller name, a bar code, etc. regarding the cartridge container. Is a cartridge with a magnetic tag, which is attached with a display showing the product information.

The invention according to claim 3 of the present invention is the cartridge with a magnetic tag according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the magnetic tag is on the inner surface side or the outer surface side of the structure of the cartridge container body. It is a cartridge with a magnetic tag that is attached.

The invention according to claim 4 of the present invention is the cartridge with a magnetic tag according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the magnetic tag is on the inner surface side or the outer surface side of the structure of the cartridge container body. It is a cartridge with a magnetic tag that is attached and is visually hidden.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the cartridge with a magnetic tag according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the magnetic tag is a write record (rewrite or rewrite record). It is a cartridge with a magnetic tag that is capable of both reading and reading).

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the cartridge with a magnetic tag according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the magnetic tag has information data recorded and recorded in advance. It is only possible to read and write records (including rewriting and rewriting records)
It is a cartridge with a magnetic tag, which is not possible.

The invention according to claim 7 of the present invention is the cartridge with a magnetic tag according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the magnetic tag is a product name relating to a cartridge container body, Manufacturer name, person in charge of manufacturing,
ID information related to manufacturing information such as seller name, address, telephone number, manufacturing lot, manufacturing date, model number, manufacturing machine, etc., or container material, container configuration, ID information related to container material information such as MSDS, or the consumable body All or part of ID information related to consumables information such as product name, manufacturer name, manufacturing person in charge, seller name, address, telephone number, manufacturing lot, manufacturing date, model number, manufacturing machine, etc., or cartridge Is a magnetic tag-equipped cartridge.

The invention according to claim 8 of the present invention is the cartridge with a magnetic tag according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a soft magnetic material is used as the magnetic material of the magnetic tag. It is a cartridge with a magnetic tag characterized by being formed using.

The invention according to claim 8 of the present invention is the cartridge with a magnetic tag according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the magnetic tag has a magnetically neutral position. 8. The cartridge with a magnetic tag according to claim 1, wherein the cartridge is displayed as ID information by accurately detecting the neutral position information.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of a magnetic tag cartridge according to the present invention will be described in detail below.
FIG. 2 is a side sectional view illustrating a magnetic tag cartridge of the present invention, in which A is an office equipment body such as a copying machine or a printer, and 2
Is a cartridge in which consumable items such as toner and ink are detachably loaded in the office equipment main body A.

The cartridge 2 includes a toner, which is consumed in the office equipment A, inside the cartridge container body 3,
A consumable item 4 such as ink is filled, and a magnetic tag 5 (non-contact type or contact type tag) is attached to the outer surface or the inner surface of the cartridge container body 3 or the structure layer of the container body 3. The magnetic tag 5 may be attached in a visible state, or may be visually hidden and attached.

The magnetic tag 5 may be capable of both writing and recording (including rewriting and rewriting recording) and reading, or it is only capable of reading the information data which is written and recorded in advance. Therefore, writing / recording (including rewriting and rewriting / recording) may not be possible.

On this magnetic tag 5, at least ID information relating to product information such as a product name, a manufacturer's name, a seller's name, etc. relating to the cartridge 2 is recorded as cartridge information.

Further, the magnetic tag 5 has, as the cartridge information, for example, a product name, a manufacturer's name, a person in charge of manufacturing, a seller's name, an address, a telephone number, a manufacturing lot, a manufacturing date, a model number concerning the cartridge container body, ID information related to manufacturing information such as manufacturing machines, container material, container configuration,
ID information related to container material information such as MSDS, or product name, manufacturer name, manufacturer's name, manufacturer's name, seller's name, address, phone number, manufacturing lot, manufacturing date, model number, manufacturing machine, etc. The ID information regarding the cartridge or the ID information regarding the cartridge is recorded.

Further, the cartridge container body 3 or an outer container such as a box for packaging the cartridge container body 3 may have a product name, a manufacturer name, a seller name, a bar code, etc. regarding the cartridge as required. The product information may be displayed as the cartridge information by printing or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cartridge 2 is loaded in a cartridge loading section 6 of a consumables supply section for supplying consumables such as toner and ink provided at a fixed position of the office equipment A. When the cartridge 2 is loaded, or when the office equipment A is operating, the reading means 6a (for reading at least the ID information recorded in the magnetic tag 5 of the cartridge 2 at a predetermined reading timing ( Leader) and cartridge 2
It is equipped with a loading detection means 6b for detecting that the is loaded.

As another example, the loading section 6 includes:
When the cartridge 2 is loaded, or office equipment A
The recording / reading means 6a (reader / writer) for reading information recorded in the magnetic tag 5 of the cartridge 2 and writing the information when the cartridge 2 is operated.

In the present invention, in order to prevent tampering or unauthorized use of the cartridge information, it is appropriate that only the ID information data previously written and recorded in the magnetic tag 5 can be read, in which case The ID information data is stored and recorded in advance as the ID number of the magnetic tag 5 by the manufacturer (or seller) of the target product.

The recording and writing of the cartridge information on the magnetic tag 5 may be performed before or after the magnetic tag 5 is attached to the cartridge 2. Further, the writing and recording work is performed by a product manufacturer who manufactures products, wraps the manufactured products, or sells the product, or manufactures the cartridge container body 3, and attaches a magnetic tag to the manufactured cartridge container body 3. It can be done by any of the manufacturers that install 5 using writing means (not shown).

The cartridge ID information data recorded in the magnetic tag 5 of the cartridge 2 is read out by the reading means 6.
a (or read / write means), input to the computer 7 (for example, computer means such as a microprocessor, controller, sequencer, or personal computer) and connected to the computer 7 output display screen (liquid crystal display, CRT display) ), The recorded information is displayed visually. The computer 7, output display screen, etc.
It may be separate from the office equipment A, or may be integrally mounted on the office equipment A.

The computer 7 is equipped with a comparison / determination program software for comparing and determining whether the product is a genuine product or a recommended product or a non-genuine product or a non-recommended product. The cartridge ID information read in step 1 and the cartridge information of a genuine product or a recommended product, which is reference data for comparison and comparison, are compared and compared by the comparison determination program software of the computer 7.

If the two pieces of information match, it is determined that the cartridge 2 is a genuine or recommended cartridge for the office equipment A, and a message such as "normal cartridge" is displayed on the output screen. If the displayed information does not match, the cartridge 2 is not a genuine product or a recommended product for the office equipment A, and a message such as "cartridge abnormality" is displayed as a message on the output screen.

Then, the computer 7 can notify the terminal 8 of the manufacturer or distributor of the office equipment A of the occurrence of the "abnormal" warning of the cartridge 2 via a network such as the Internet.

Further, the read / write means 6a can be used to input and record the number of times of repeated use (usage history) of the cartridge 2 in the magnetic tag 5.

In the present invention, the magnetic tag 5 is attached to a consumable part such as the container body 3 of the cartridge 2. There are various attachment methods depending on the material of the container body 3 and other parts. .

For example, if the component body is a plastic molded product, a magnetic tag is simultaneously injected during injection molding, if it is a blow molded product, it is attached as an in-mold label, and if it is a paper product, a label is attached. There is a method of.

FIG. 2 shows an example of an operation sequence regarding detection information and warning information regarding a cartridge using the magnetic tag cartridge of the present invention (for example, a cartridge filled with consumables such as toner or ink for office equipment such as printers). It is a flowchart explaining.

<S1> First, as the office equipment, for example, when the ink cartridge 2 (ink tank) is loaded in the cartridge loading portion 6 of the printer A, the loading detection means 6b.
Detects that the ink tank 2 has been loaded, and the reading means 6a (or the reading / writing means) reads the cartridge ID information recorded on the magnetic tag 5 of the tank 2 to properly recognize the ink tank 2. To do.

<S2> The read cartridge information (read data) and recommended cartridge information (reference data) are compared and collated by the comparison / determination program software installed in the computer 7, and it is determined whether the two pieces of information match or do not match. If, as a result of the determination, the two pieces of information do not match, it is determined that the ink tank is not appropriate, and the process proceeds to S3, where the printer A
A warning display is issued on the display panel (liquid crystal display section), and if they match, the process proceeds to S4.

<S3> If they do not match, a warning message indicating that the ink tank 2 is abnormal is displayed on the output screen of the display panel of the printer A (the liquid crystal display section of the computer 7), and the message “appropriate ink tank” is displayed. It is not. "," The printer may be damaged. " This warning prompts the user to replace the ink tank 2 with a proper one.

<S4> If they match, the ID code recorded on the magnetic tag 5 of the ink tank 2 is read by the reading means 6a (or reading / writing means) and recorded in the memory of the computer 7.

<S5> Next, the ink tank ID destruction and erasure device provided in the printer A erases the ID data of the ink tank, and then continues to use the ink tank 2 as usual. The ink tank from which the ID data has been erased is recognized as a used ink tank when the ink tank is separately reused.

Thereafter, by repeating the above-mentioned flow in the same manner, the detection information and the warning information of the ink tank are generated, and the power of the printer A is turned off.
The generation operation of the detection information and the warning information is ended.

[0039]

The cartridge with magnetic tag of the present invention is
It not only has a function to detect the presence or absence of the cartridge body that has been installed in office equipment such as copiers and printers and the presence or absence of consumables in the cartridge container, it also reads the cartridge ID information recorded on the magnetic tag, By comparing and collating with the reference data, it becomes possible to provide the office equipment with a function of determining and recognizing whether a genuine cartridge or a recommended cartridge to be originally used is properly used.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent the sales market loss of the cartridge filled with the genuine product or the recommended product, and to prevent the trouble such as the trouble to the office equipment body due to the use of the non-recommended product cartridge and the cause of the failure. The effect is that it can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a magnetic tag cartridge according to the present invention, and a block diagram illustrating a business model using the same.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation sequence regarding detection information and warning information regarding a cartridge using the cartridge with a magnetic tag of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

A ... Office equipment 2 ... Cartridge 3 ... Cartridge container 4 ... Consumables 5 ... Magnetic tag 6 ... Cartridge loading section 6a ... Magnetic tag reading means 6b ... Cartridge loading detection means 7 ... Computer
8 ... Terminal

Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2C056 EA26 KC01 KC30                 2H027 DA27 DE09 DE10 ED10 EE02                       EJ05 EJ08 GA30 GA47 GB07                       HA02 HA04 HA06 HA12 HB05                       HB13 HB17 HB18                 2H077 AA02 DA24 DA32 DA52 DA62                       DA81 DB10 GA04

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A magnetic type tag, which records product information such as a product name, a manufacturer's name, a seller's name, and a bar code related to the cartridge, is attached to a cartridge container body filled with consumables such as toner and ink. A cartridge with a magnetic tag, which is characterized. 2. The magnetic according to claim 1, wherein the cartridge container main body is provided with a display showing product information such as a product name, a manufacturer's name, a seller's name, a bar code and the like regarding the cartridge container. Type tag cartridge. 3. The cartridge with a magnetic tag according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic tag is attached to an inner surface side or an outer surface side of the structure of the cartridge container body. 4. The magnetic according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the magnetic tag is attached to an inner surface side or an outer surface side of the structure of the cartridge container body and is visually concealed. Type tag cartridge. 5. The magnetic according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic tag is capable of both writing and recording (including rewriting and rewriting recording) and reading. Type tag cartridge. 6. The magnetic tag is capable of reading only information data which is previously written and recorded, and is not capable of writing and recording (including rewriting and rewriting recording). The cartridge with a magnetic tag according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 7. The magnetic tag includes manufacturing information such as a product name, a manufacturer name, a manufacturing person in charge, a seller name, an address, a telephone number, a manufacturing lot, a manufacturing date, a model number, a manufacturing machine, etc., regarding the cartridge container body. Related ID information, or container material, container configuration, ID information related to container material information such as MSDS, or the product name, manufacturer name, manufacturer's name, manufacturer's name, seller's name, address, telephone number, manufacturing lot, etc. of the consumable body. 7. All or part of ID information relating to consumable information such as manufacturing date, model number, manufacturing machine, etc., or all or part of ID information regarding a cartridge is recorded. A cartridge with a magnetic tag according to the item. 8. The magnetic tag magnetically has a neutral position, and by accurately detecting the neutral position information,
The cartridge with a magnetic tag according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cartridge is displayed as ID information.