201034857 六、發明說明： 【發明所屬之技術領域】 本發明是有關一種墨水匣及其印表機系統，特別是一種具備驗證 機制之墨水匣及其印表機系統。 【先前技術】 印表機主要分為雷射印表機以及喷墨印表機。喷墨印表機的價格 較為低廉，因此其為許多電腦使用者必備之週邊設備之一。除了連續 Ο 供墨之噴墨印表機之外，一般使用者所使用的喷墨印表機大多是以墨 水匣供應列印時所需之墨水。因此，當墨水匣中之墨水用盡時即必須 更換墨水匠_。 由於新購墨水匣之價格較為昂貴’因此市面上出現將墨水充填至 用盡之墨水匣的服務。由於重新充填之墨水的品質可能較差，或是喷 墨碩因墨水匣多次回收使用而劣化，使得列印品質降低，進而造成使 用者對印表機形成較差的使用經驗。 為避免上述情形發生，印表機薇商必須防止消費者使用回收之墨 0 水匣，以維持較佳的列印品質以及自身利益。一種防止墨水匣回收再 使用的方法是，當印表機判斷墨水匿之墨水用盡時，即鎖定墨水隨 其不再輸出墨水。然而，被認定墨水用盡之墨水匣常殘留不少墨水量， 形成墨水E仍有墨水卻無法列印的情形。殘留的墨水不僅形成浪費， 強迫換新墨水匣亦讓消費者無法接受。 綜上所述，如何避免重複充填墨水至用盡之墨水g，且能完整輸 出墨水而不殘留便是目前極需努力的目標。 201034857 【發明内容】 針對上述問題，本發明目的之一是提供一種墨水g及其印表機系 、统’其包含—驗證電路。彻驗證電路來關賴墨水量異常的墨水 s ▼避免㈣者任意充填墨水至墨水g。此外，在合理使用的情況 下，亦即麵墨水量小於—預雖時，即使祕電路纽仍允許使用 者繼續使卿]餘的墨水，以避免用盡之墨水g殘留墨水。 為了達到上述目的，本發明一實施例之墨水匣包含一檢測電路、 :驗證電路以及-控觀路，測電關讀測墨水£之剩餘墨水 罝。驗證電驗制餘墨水量設定為有效或纽驗態。控制電路則 〇 與制€仙絲證冑路雜連接，it爾機‘脉量u及驗證電路 的狀態以決定墨水匣是否輸出墨水。 為了達到上述目的，本發明另一實施例之印表機系統包含一印表 機以及-墨水H，其設置並紐連接於印表機。墨倾包含一檢測電 路、一驗證電路以及一控制電路。檢測電路用以檢測墨水匣之剩餘墨 水量。驗證電路依據剩餘墨水量設定為有效或失效的狀態。控制電路 則與檢測電路以及驗證電路電性連接’並依據剩餘墨水量以及驗證電 路的狀態以決定墨水匣是否輸出墨水。 ❹ 以下藉由具體實施例配合所附的圖式詳加說明，當更容易瞭解本 發明之目的、技術内容、特點及其所達成之功效。 【實施方式】 請參照圖1 ’本發明之-較佳實施例之印表機系統i包含一印表 機11以及一墨水匣12 ’其設置並電性連接於印表機u。墨水匣丨2包 含一貯存墨水之墨水腔121以供應印表機U列印時所需之墨水。墨水 S 12另包含一檢測電路122、一驗證電路123以及一控制電路124。 檢測電路122用以檢測墨水匣12之剩餘墨水量。依據墨水£ 12的剩 餘墨水量，驗證電路123可設定為有效或失效的狀態。控制電路124 5 201034857 與檢測電路122以及驗證電路123電性連接。控制電路124依據墨水 E的剩餘墨水量以及驗證電路123的有效/無效狀態來決定墨水g是否 可輸出墨水。 舉例而言，出廠時墨水匣12之墨水腔121中充滿墨水，且驗證電 路123為有效狀態。在正常使用下，墨水逐漸減少，當剩餘的墨水量 少於一預設值(例如5%或lOmL)時，控制電路124即設定驗證電路123 為失效狀態。此時，此墨水匣12仍可繼續輸出墨水，直到墨水用盡。 然而，當重新充填墨水至墨水匣12，使剩餘墨水量大於預設值時，控 制電路124即認定墨水量異常而禁止墨水匣12繼續輸出墨水。 〇 、於一 Λ施例中，控制電路124是以永久性破壞驗證電路123的方 式來使驗證電路123為失效狀態，以避免驗證電路123的狀態被任意 更改。需注意者，為了有效利用資源而允許墨水匣12可充填墨水以重 複使用，控制電路124亦能夠以可回復的方式來設定驗證電路123為 失效狀態。當墨水匣12充填墨水重複使用數次後，控制電路124再以 永久性破壞驗證電路123的方式(例如燒斷電路)來使驗證電路為 失效狀態。 π 於-實施例中’檢測電路122可計數輸出之墨滴數以判斷墨水g 12之剩餘墨水量。或者，檢測電路122能夠以一組電極2〇卜2〇2直 © 接與墨水腔121中之墨水接觸以檢測墨水E 12之剩餘墨水量，如圖！ 所示。請參照圖2 ’檢測電路122亦可包含多個電極20a、2〇b、2〇c， 且電極20a、20b、20c沿著重力方向依序設置，亦即相鄰的電極沿著 重力方向具有-高度差Η。不同高度之電極2〇a、2〇b、20c可提供不 同剩餘墨水量的檢測結果。 請再參照® 1，墨水g 12可包含—記憶電路125，其與控制電路 124 生連接。記憶電路125可記錄麵的墨水量以供印表機u讀取。 於-實施例中’記憶電路125包含-電子式可清除程式化唯讀記憶體 (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory » EEPROM) 〇 201034857 综合上述，本發明之墨水匣及其印表機系統利用驗證電路來限制 使用墨水量異常的墨水匣，以避免使用者任意充填墨水至墨水匣。此 外，在合理使用的情況下，亦即剩餘墨水量小於預設值時，即使驗證 電路失效仍允許使用者繼續使用剩餘的墨水，以避免用盡之 留墨水。 戈 以上所述之實施例僅是為說明本發明之技術思想及特點 在使熟習此項技藝之人士能_解本發明之内容並據 二目的 之岣 以之限林㈣之專概圍，即大驗本發明 =不能 等變化或修飾，仍應涵蓋在本發明之專利範_。精神所作201034857 VI. Description of the Invention: [Technical Field] The present invention relates to an ink cartridge and a printer system thereof, and more particularly to an ink cartridge having a verification mechanism and a printer system thereof. [Prior Art] Printers are mainly divided into laser printers and inkjet printers. Inkjet printers are relatively inexpensive, making them one of the must-have peripherals for many computer users. In addition to ink jet printers that continuously supply ink, the ink jet printers used by the average user are mostly inks that are required for inkjet printing. Therefore, the ink shovel must be replaced when the ink in the ink cartridge is used up. Since the price of newly purchased ink cartridges is relatively expensive, there is a service on the market for filling ink into exhausted ink cartridges. The quality of the refilled ink may be poor, or the inkjet is deteriorated due to repeated recycling of the ink, which results in a lower print quality, which in turn results in a poor user experience with the printer. In order to avoid this, printers must prevent consumers from using recycled inks to maintain better print quality and their own interests. One method of preventing ink cartridges from being recycled is to lock the ink and no longer output ink as it is judged by the printer to run out of ink. However, it is assumed that the ink used up by the ink often remains a lot of ink, and the ink E is still incapable of being printed. Residual ink not only creates waste, but also forces new inks to be unacceptable to consumers. In summary, how to avoid refilling the ink to the exhausted ink g and completely output the ink without remaining is an urgent task. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ink g and its printer system, which includes a verification circuit. Thoroughly verify the circuit to pay attention to the ink with abnormal ink amount. s ▼ Avoid (4) filling the ink to the ink g arbitrarily. In addition, in the case of fair use, that is, the amount of ink on the surface is less than - in advance, even if the secret circuit allows the user to continue to make the remaining ink, to avoid the residual ink g residual ink. In order to achieve the above object, an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a detecting circuit, a verifying circuit, and a control circuit, and the remaining ink 测 of the measuring ink is measured. Verify that the amount of ink remaining in the test is set to valid or new check. The control circuit is connected to the system, and the state of the circuit is used to determine whether the ink cartridge outputs ink. In order to achieve the above object, a printer system according to another embodiment of the present invention comprises a printer and an ink H which is arranged to be connected to a printer. The ink tilt includes a detection circuit, a verification circuit, and a control circuit. The detection circuit is used to detect the amount of ink remaining in the ink cartridge. The verification circuit is set to a valid or disabled state depending on the amount of remaining ink. The control circuit is electrically connected to the detection circuit and the verification circuit and determines whether the ink cartridge outputs ink based on the remaining ink amount and the state of the verification circuit. The purpose of the present invention, the technical contents, the features, and the effects achieved by the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description of the embodiments. [Embodiment] Please refer to Fig. 1 'The printer system i of the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a printer 11 and an ink cartridge 12' which are disposed and electrically connected to the printer u. The ink cartridge 2 contains an ink chamber 121 for storing ink to supply the ink required for printing by the printer U. The ink S 12 further includes a detecting circuit 122, a verifying circuit 123, and a control circuit 124. The detection circuit 122 is configured to detect the amount of ink remaining in the ink cartridge 12. Based on the remaining ink amount of ink £12, the verification circuit 123 can be set to a valid or disabled state. The control circuit 124 5 201034857 is electrically connected to the detection circuit 122 and the verification circuit 123. The control circuit 124 determines whether or not the ink g can output ink based on the remaining ink amount of the ink E and the valid/invalid state of the verification circuit 123. For example, the ink chamber 121 of the ink cartridge 12 is filled with ink at the time of shipment, and the verification circuit 123 is in an active state. Under normal use, the ink gradually decreases, and when the remaining ink amount is less than a predetermined value (e.g., 5% or 10 mL), the control circuit 124 sets the verification circuit 123 to a failure state. At this point, the ink cartridge 12 can continue to output ink until the ink is used up. However, when the ink is refilled to the ink cartridge 12 so that the remaining ink amount is greater than the preset value, the control circuit 124 determines that the ink amount is abnormal and prohibits the ink cartridge 12 from continuing to output the ink. In the embodiment, the control circuit 124 causes the verification circuit 123 to be in a disabled state in a manner of permanently destroying the verification circuit 123 to prevent the state of the verification circuit 123 from being arbitrarily changed. It should be noted that in order to effectively utilize the resources and allow the ink cartridge 12 to be filled with ink for repeated use, the control circuit 124 can also set the verification circuit 123 to a failed state in a reversible manner. After the ink cartridge 12 is filled with ink for several times, the control circuit 124 again causes the verification circuit to be in a failed state by permanently destroying the verification circuit 123 (e.g., blowing the circuit). The π-in the embodiment detection circuit 122 counts the number of ink drops outputted to determine the amount of ink remaining in the ink g12. Alternatively, the detecting circuit 122 can contact the ink in the ink chamber 121 with a set of electrodes 2 to directly detect the remaining ink amount of the ink E 12, as shown in the figure! Shown. Referring to FIG. 2, the detecting circuit 122 may further include a plurality of electrodes 20a, 2〇b, 2〇c, and the electrodes 20a, 20b, and 20c are sequentially disposed along the gravity direction, that is, adjacent electrodes have a direction along the gravity direction. - Height difference. Electrodes 2〇a, 2〇b, 20c of different heights provide detection results for different amounts of remaining ink. Referring again to ® 1, ink g 12 may include a memory circuit 125 that is coupled to control circuit 124. The memory circuit 125 can record the amount of ink on the face for reading by the printer u. In the embodiment, the 'memory circuit 125 includes -Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) 〇201034857. In summary, the ink cartridge of the present invention and its printer system are verified. The circuit limits the use of ink cartridges with abnormal ink levels to prevent the user from filling the ink arbitrarily. In addition, in the case of fair use, that is, when the remaining ink amount is less than the preset value, the user is allowed to continue using the remaining ink even if the verification circuit fails, so as to avoid exhaustion of ink. The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of the technical spirit and features of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can devote the scope of the present invention to the purpose of the invention. The invention is not limited or modified, and should still be covered by the patent specification of the present invention. Spiritual
❹ 7 201034857 【圖式簡單說明】 圖1為一示意圖，顯示本發明一較佳實施例之印表機系統。 圖2為一示意圖，顯示檢測電路之電極設置於墨水腔中之位置。 【主要元件符號說明】❹ 7 201034857 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a printer system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a schematic view showing the position of the electrodes of the detection circuit disposed in the ink chamber. [Main component symbol description]
1 印表機系統 11 印表機 12 墨水匣 121 墨水腔 122 檢測電路 123 驗證電路 124 控制電路 125 記憶電路 201、202 電極 20a〜20c 電極 Η 南度差 81 Printer system 11 Printer 12 Ink 匣 121 Ink chamber 122 Detection circuit 123 Verification circuit 124 Control circuit 125 Memory circuit 201, 202 Electrode 20a~20c Electrode Η South degree difference 8