JP2003246080A - Ink supply system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate a malfunction of an inkjet printer by readily judges whether ink to be used in a device is genuine or inadequate. <P>SOLUTION: This inkjet printer 20 comprises an ID information reading means for automatically reading an individual ID information attached to an ink vessel which is loaded to the printer body, and a transmitting means for transmitting the read ID information to a user host 200. A maker host 100 comprises a memory means storing ID information which is individual ID information for each ink vessel to be loaded to the printer and can be used once by each printer. This ink supply system receives the ID information transmitted from the user host 200, compares it with the ID information stored in the memory means, and judges that the ink vessel loaded to the printer body is genuine when they are in agreement with each other and it is inadequate when they are not. <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 an ink supply system, and more particularly, to an ink supply system capable of discriminating between authenticity and injustice of ink in an inkjet printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an ink jet printer for recording an image by ejecting ink onto a recording paper, the ink is generally supplied in the form of an ink container (also referred to as an ink cartridge) housed in a container and set in the printer body. Has been used. Since ink is a consumable item, when it is consumed by image recording, the ink is replenished by replacing it with a new ink container.

There are various manufacturers of ink,
Each company's product is in the current market. For this reason, it is assumed that printer users may purchase and use inks of other companies or non-standard inks of other printers without knowing the genuine products (genuine products) recommended by the manufacturer of the printer. To be done.

If the printer uses inks of other companies other than genuine products or recycled inks (these inks are referred to as fraudulent products in this specification), defective printing, head clogging, etc. occur and normal printing is impeded. There is a risk. Further, even if the replaced ink itself is a poor product, it may cause the same trouble. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether the ink is a genuine product or not, at least when the ink is loaded in the printer. desired.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink capable of easily discriminating whether an ink used in a device is a genuine product or a fraudulent product so as to eliminate a trouble of an ink jet printer. To provide a supply system.

[0006]

The above-mentioned problems of the present invention are solved by the following inventions.

(Claim 1) A maker host, a user host connected to the maker host, and one or more ink jet printers connected to the user host, wherein the ink jet printer is mounted in a printer body. An ID information reading means for automatically reading the unique ID information given to the ink container from the stored ink container, and a transmitting means for transmitting the ID information read by the ID information reading means to the user host. The maker host includes storage means for storing unique ID information of the ink container loaded in the printer, which ID information can be used only once for each printer.
Receiving the ID information transmitted from the user host,
An ink supply system characterized by comparing with the ID information stored in the storage means, if the same, it is judged that the ink container loaded in the printer body is a genuine product, and if different, it is a wrong product.

(Claim 2) A maker host, a user host connected to the maker host, one or more ink jet printers connected to the user host, and a delivery host, the ink jet printer comprising: ID information reading means for automatically reading the unique ID information given to the ink container from the ink container loaded in the printer main body, and transmitting the ID information read by the ID information reading means to the user host And a means for storing the ID information, which is unique ID information of the ink container loaded in the printer and can be used only once for each printer, and is transmitted from the user host. The ID information is received and compared with the ID information stored in the storage means, and the same When it is determined that the ink container loaded in the printer body is a genuine product, and when it is different, it is determined to be a fraudulent product, and when it is determined to be a fraudulent product, the manufacturer host receives the receipt and shipment data from the delivery host and distributes the delivery. An ink supply system characterized by determining whether or not there is a cause of fraud in a route.

(Claim 3) The ink supply system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the unique ID information attached to the container is composed of two or more kinds of information.

(Claim 4) In two or more types of ID information,
The ink supply system according to claim 3, wherein the ink supply system includes secret ID information.

(Claim 5) The ink supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the manufacturer host determines that the ink container is an illegal product, warning information is transmitted to the user host. .

(Claim 6) When the maker host determines that the ink container is an illegal product, it sends warning information to the user host and a rejection signal for rejecting the use of the ink in the ink jet printer. The ink supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is characterized in that.

(Claim 7) An ink jet printer,
7. The ink supply system according to claim 6, further comprising stop means for putting the printer in an operation standby state when a rejection signal is received via the user host.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the outline of the ink supply system according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, this system is a system that supplies ink from a maker site to a user site. The maker site includes a maker host 100 and the user site includes a user host 200.

Maker host 100 and user host 2
00 is connected via a telephone line such as a public line or a dedicated line or a communication network 300 such as the Internet so that data can be transmitted and received between them.

The manufacturer site is a site for managing genuine inks used in user-owned inkjet printers. In addition to the manufacturer of user-owned inkjet printers, the manufacturer site also manufactures genuine inks of the above-mentioned inkjet printers. Alternatively, there is a management service company outsourced to the management service business with the manufacturer of the inkjet printer or the manufacturer of the genuine ink. Here, a case where the manufacturer is a manufacturer of genuine ink will be described.

A user site is a site of a user (for example, a printing company) who uses an ink jet printer, and a plurality of user hosts 200 are usually connected to one manufacturer host 100 via a communication network 300. , Here one user host 20
Only 0 is shown.

The user of this user host 200 is a user who has made a contract with the maker host 100 side to use this system, and is given a user-specific identification number, a password for connection with the maker host 100, and the like. The user is provided by the administrator of the maker host 100.

The user host 200 is connected to one or a plurality of ink jet printers 20 and is connected so that data can be transmitted and received between them.

When an ink container is supplied from a manufacturer to a user, it may be supplied directly from the manufacturer to the user, or may be supplied via one or more delivery (distributor, intermediary). The case where it is directly supplied from the manufacturer to the user will be explained.

The ink supplied by this system is contained in a container, and the specific configuration of such an ink container is not particularly limited in the present invention, and any form is acceptable as long as the ink can be contained and can be loaded in the printer. May be

Unique ID information is given to the ink container. In the present invention, the unique ID attached to the ink container
The information preferably consists of two or more types of information. This is because one type of ID information may be imitated, but if two or more types of ID information are imitated, imitation will be difficult.

The ID information is unique to the ink container, and is given on the spot when the ink is filled in the container at the manufacturing factory to manufacture it, or at the time of shipping each ink container.

The unique ID is, for example, an ID coded in the form of a bar code or the like.

FIG. 2 shows an example of an ink container to which a bar code is added as ID information. The ink container 1 has a so-called pouch form or a pack form made of a soft packaging material (soft packaging material), and a barcode 11 is provided on the surface of the ink container 1. The barcode 11 is
In addition to printing directly on the smooth surface of the ink container 1,
It may be separately prepared in the form of a barcode label and attached to the ink container 1 filled with ink.

The place where the bar code 11 is attached is not particularly limited as long as it can be easily read.
As shown in (a), in addition to a mode in which one surface of the ink container 1 is provided, two or more types of IDs are provided. For example, as shown in FIG. Alternatively, the barcode 11a may be provided on the front surface of the No. 1 and the barcode 11b may be provided on the side surface. Ink container 1
When the barcodes 11a and 11b are attached to a plurality of positions, the content of information may be different for each barcode 11a and 11b.

The contents of the ID information are, for example, a water-based ink, a solvent-based ink, a dye ink or a pigment ink, as well as an ID unique to the ink container 1 such as a serial number given when the ink container 1 is manufactured. Such as ink type, Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan),
Ink type information such as ink color type such as K (black), and incidental information such as production information such as manufacturing factory name and manufacturing manager name may be included. By including such supplementary information in the ID information, it becomes possible to acquire the supplementary information at the same time when the unique ID information is read from the ink container 1.

Further, in the present invention, it is more preferable that the secret ID information is included in the two or more kinds of ID information. Here, the secret ID information means information whose existence itself is unknown only in the manufacturer site.
Since the secret ID information is included, it is difficult to imitate the secret ID information even if the bar code ID information is imitated. Therefore, if all the ID information is collated, it is easy to determine whether it is forgery or not. Can be determined.

The secret ID is, for example, a mode in which a part of the display such as the quality display on the surface of the container is randomly mixed, a mode in which a fluorescent character is mixed in a part of the displayed character, or a watermark character. And the like.

At the manufacturer site, the unique ID information given to each ink container 1 is used as the manufacturer host 10
0, and the ID information is stored in the storage means 102 and managed. In this case, if you have two or more types of ID information,
Alternatively, when secret ID information is included, all the ID information is stored and saved.

Next, a block diagram of the main configuration of the maker host 100 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the maker host 100 has a CPU 101, a communication control unit 102, an input unit 103, a display unit 104, a storage unit 105, and a comparison determination unit 106.

The CPU 101 is the maker host 10
0 is controlled comprehensively. The communication control unit 102 controls transmission / reception of data with the outside via the communication network 300.

The data taken into the maker host 100 via the communication control unit 102 is the ID information unique to each ink container 1 described above.

The input unit 103 is the maker host 10
This is a part for directly inputting data to 0. As the input unit 103, a computer terminal for input, a bar code reader for reading ID information, or the like can be used.

The display unit 104 is an image display device for displaying various information of the maker host 100, such as a CRT or LC.
In addition to the monitor device such as D, a printer device or the like that outputs information in the form of print may be used.

The storage means 105 stores unique ID information of the ink container loaded in the printer, which ID information can be used only once for each printer.

As the ink jet printer used in the system of the present invention, for example, one having the structure shown in FIG. 4 is used.

As shown in the figure, the printer 20 is constructed so that the ink container 1 can be loaded, and the loaded ink container 1
The ID information acquisition unit 23 for acquiring the ID information is provided, and the ID information given to the ink container 1 can be read by the ID information acquisition unit 23.

The specific configuration of the ID information acquisition means 23 is not particularly limited as long as it can read the ID information attached to the ink container 1. For example, when the ID information is the bar code 11 provided on the surface of the ink container 1 as shown in FIG. 2, a bar code reader for reading this can be used.

In the case of reading a secret ID, for example, in a mode in which it is randomly mixed in a part of the display such as the quality display on the surface of the container, the characters to be mixed are fluorescent characters and the fluorescent characters are fluorescent characters. In a mode in which a means for reflecting and reading is used or a watermark character is mixed, there is a means for making the watermark character visible and reading it.

The timing of reading the ID information is preferably at the completion of loading when the ink container 1 is completely loaded in the printer 20. This is because it can be read without requiring special cooperation from the user.

Further, the printer 20 includes the printer function unit 2
1, a CPU 22, and an input / output control unit 24.

The ID information of the ink container 1 read by the ID information acquisition means 23 is sent to the input / output control section 24 by the CPU 22, and the printer 20 sends it to the user host 2.
00 to the CPU 201 of the user host 200
The ID information acquired from the ink container 1 is transmitted to the manufacturer host 100 via the communication network 300 by the communication control unit 202 via the communication network 300.

The maker host 100 is the user host 2
The ID information of the ink container 1 transmitted from 00 is received.

The manufacturer host 100 stores the unique ID information of the ink container to be loaded in the printer in the storage means 105 as reference information in advance. The ID information included in the reference information is the ID information of all the ink containers 1 shipped from the manufacturer, and the ID information that does not exist in the reference information is the ID information that is not related to the manufacturer and is considered to be the illegal ID information.

In this aspect, since the ink container 1 is directly delivered from the manufacturer to the user, the I
When D is determined to be authentic, it is determined that the ink container 1 is unlikely to be an illegal product.

However, although the ink container 1 is manufactured by a manufacturer, the ink in the contents may be used by being refilled with non-genuine ink. Even in that case, the ID information must be certified as illegal. Therefore, in the present invention, the ID information included in the reference information can be used only once. Therefore, if the same ID information is used for the second time, the ID information is used improperly, and it is determined that the product is an improper product. it can.

Therefore, if the ID information transmitted from the user host 200 is received and compared with the ID information stored in the storage means 105, it is possible to discriminate between a genuine product and an unauthorized product. In the present invention, this comparison is performed by the comparison / determination unit 106.

When the manufacturer host 100 determines that the ink container 1 is an illegal product, it sends warning information to the user host 200. In addition to transmitting this warning information, it is also preferable to transmit a rejection signal that rejects the use of the ink container 1 in the inkjet printer 20. When the user host 200 receives the rejection signal, it sends it to the inkjet printer 20. The inkjet printer 20 which receives this rejection signal operates the stopping means so as to be in the operation standby state. As a result, it is possible to prevent printing with illegal ink.

The above is an example in which the ink container 1 is directly delivered from the manufacturer to the user. Next, an example in which the ink container 1 is delivered from the manufacturer to the user via delivery will be described.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 400 is a delivery host that manages one delivery for selling and delivering genuine ink to the user.

The delivery host 400 is capable of transmitting / receiving data to / from the manufacturer host 100 via the communication network 300.

When the manufacturer host 100 has a delivery management function, the manufacturer host 100 has an ID
When storing information, it is preferable to store it in association with distribution destination information.

The distribution destination information includes shipping destination (end user) information of a printer using the ink container 1 (for example, information such as a shipping destination store name, company name, personal home name, address, telephone number, etc.) and delivery ( If there are multiple, multiple delivery) information. In addition to this, incidental information such as shipping date may be included.

In the maker host 100, the ID information is constantly managed during the distribution process for delivery, and the process until the ink container 1 is shipped to the final user is managed. That is,
With respect to a certain ink container 1, the shipping destination information together with the ID information is accumulated in the maker host 100, and the distribution of the ink container 1 from the maker to the end user is managed.

ID information is managed by the ID stored in advance.
Reference information including information and delivery host 400
The ID information sent from the ink container 1 is compared, and the distribution route followed by the ink container 1 is accumulated and managed based on the ID information. As a result, in the manufacturer host 100, the ID information of the ink container 1 and the user information transmitted from the user host 200 are associated with the same ID information that is stored and managed on the manufacturer host 100 side, that is, distribution information, that is, the distribution information. By comparing with the final shipping destination information, the ink container 1
It is possible to determine whether or not the product is a genuine product shipped from the manufacturer. As shown in FIG. 4, the user information is stored in the memory 203 of the user host 200, and is transmitted to the maker host 100 via the communication control unit 202 together with the ID information under the control of the CPU 201.

At this stage, it is possible to discriminate between authenticity and fraud, and it is also possible to grasp fraud in the distribution process. Such fraud is unlikely to occur in the case of manufacturer-related delivery, but the present invention is effective when delivery outside the group is involved.

[0059]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily determine whether the ink used in the device is a genuine product or a fraudulent product, and to eliminate the trouble of the ink jet printer. can do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of an ink supply system.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of an ink container.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a maker host.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an inkjet printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Ink container 11: Bar code 20: Inkjet printer 100: Manufacturer host 200: User host 300: Communication network 400: Delivery host

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 1/00 107 B41J 3/04 101Z F term (reference) 2C056 EB20 EB45 EC26 EC67 KC14 KC30 2C061 AQ05 BB08 HK11 HN05 HN15 HP00 5B021 AA01 BB10 EE00 NN00 5C062 AA02 AA05 AA29 AB00 AB17 AC41 AC42 AC56 AF00 BA04

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A maker host, a user host connected to the maker host, and one or more ink jet printers connected to the user host, wherein the ink jet printer has ink loaded in a printer body. Unique I applied to the ink container from the container
The printer includes an ID information reading unit that automatically reads the D information, and a transmitting unit that transmits the ID information read by the ID information reading unit to the user host, and the maker host is an ink container loaded in the printer. Storage means for storing ID information unique to each printer that can be used only once for each printer, and receives the ID information transmitted from the user host,
An ink supply system characterized by comparing with the ID information stored in the storage means, if the same, it is judged that the ink container loaded in the printer body is a genuine product, and if different, it is a wrong product. 2. A maker host, a user host connected to the maker host, one or more ink jet printers connected to the user host, and a delivery host. Unique I applied to the ink container from the loaded ink container
The printer includes an ID information reading unit that automatically reads the D information, and a transmitting unit that transmits the ID information read by the ID information reading unit to the user host, and the maker host is an ink container loaded in the printer. Storage means for storing ID information unique to each printer that can be used only once for each printer, and receives the ID information transmitted from the user host,
Compared with the ID information stored in the storage means, if they are the same, it is determined that the ink container loaded in the printer body is a genuine product, if they are different, it is determined to be an unauthorized product, and if it is determined to be an unauthorized product, the manufacturer host Is an ink supply system characterized by receiving receipt and shipment data from a delivery host and discriminating whether or not there is an illegal cause in the distribution channel of the delivery. 3. The ink supply system according to claim 1, wherein the unique ID information attached to the container is composed of two or more kinds of information. 4. The ink supply system according to claim 3, wherein secret ID information is included in the two or more kinds of ID information. 5. The ink supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the manufacturer host determines that the ink container is an illegal product, warning information is transmitted to the user host. 6. When the maker host determines that the ink container is a fraudulent product, it sends warning information to the user host and a rejection signal that rejects the use of the ink in the inkjet printer. The ink supply system according to claim 1. 7. The ink supply system according to claim 6, wherein the ink jet printer has stop means for putting the printer in an operation standby state when a rejection signal is received via the user host.