Printer and ink cartridge attached thereto

Abstract

A printer has a sequential access EEPROM used with storage elements on black and color ink cartridges. Cartridge data such as data concerning inks in the cartridges are stored in the cartridges' storage elements. The addressing format for the cartridges' storage elements differs from that for the EEPROM. The printer's controller converts the storage format of addressing before writing information into the cartridges' storage elements. Data to be written into storage elements are temporarily placed in a RAM on the printer's carriage. The data are then written into storage elements of the black and color cartridges, say, during power-off operation. Signal lines and memory used when writing data into storage elements are identical to signal lines through which print data are transmitted to a print head on the carriage, and the memory where print data are stored. This reduces ink cartridge manufacturing cost and printer size.

1 . A printer, to which a cartridge is detachably attached, the cartridge containing ink therein and having a rewritable non-volatile memory, wherein the ink contained in the cartridge is transferred to a printing medium, so as to implement printing, said printer comprising: 
 a print head that is mounted on a printer main body of said printer;    a memory writing unit that writes plural pieces of information relating to the cartridge into the rewritable non-volatile memory of the cartridge at a first timing that is not triggered based on a breakpoint of an operation accompanied by ink consumption and that corresponds to an operation of the printer;    a rewritable storage device incorporated in said printer main body of said printer; and    an information writing unit that writes specific information into said rewritable storage device of said printer main body at a second timing that corresponds to an ink consumption in said printer, the second timing differing from the first timing, the specific information being identical with at least part of the plural pieces of information relating to the cartridge.    
   
   
       2 . A printer according to  claim 1 , wherein said operation includes at least one of a power-off time of said printer and a replacement of the cartridge.  
   
   
       3 . A printer according to  claim 1 , wherein said the ink consumption in said printer corresponds to at least one of a completion of printing of one page and a completion of printing of at least one raster line.  
   
   
       4 . A printer according to  claim 1 , said printer further comprising: 
 a cleaning unit that is activated in response to a predetermined operation, so as to carry out a head cleaning process, which causes the print head to eject a predetermined quantity of ink,    wherein said information writing unit writes the specific information into the rewritable storage device when said cleaning unit is activated.    
   
   
       5 . A printer according to  claim 1 , wherein a writing rate of said rewritable storage device of said printer main body is higher than a writing rate of the rewritable non-volatile memory of the cartridge.  
   
   
       6 . A printer according to  claim 5 , wherein said rewritable storage device of said printer main body is at least one of a DRAM and an SRAM.  
   
   
       7 . A printer according to  claim 1 , wherein 
 both a black ink cartridge that keeps black ink and a color ink cartridge that keeps a plurality of different color inks are detachably attached to said printer as the cartridge, and    said memory writing unit writes the plural pieces of information into non-volatile memories, which are respectively provided in the black ink cartridge and the color ink cartridge.    
   
   
       8 . A printer according to  claim 1 , said printer further comprising: 
 an identification unit that determines if contents in the rewritable non-volatile memory of the cartridge are coincident with contents in said rewritable storage device of said printer main body at least one of a time of power supply to said printer and a time of initiating a replacement of the cartridge; and    a reconciliation unit that reconciles the contents in one of the rewritable non-volatile memory and said rewritable storage device with the contents in the other of the rewritable non-volatile memory and said rewritable storage device, in the case where said identification unit determines that the contents in the rewritable non-volatile memory are not coincident with the contents in said rewritable storage device.    
   
   
       9 . A method of managing information in a printer, to which a cartridge is detachably attached, the cartridge containing ink therein and having a rewritable nonvolatile memory, wherein the ink contained in the cartridge is transferred to a printing medium, so as to implement printing, said method comprising the steps of: 
 writing plural pieces of information relating to the cartridge into the rewritable non-volatile memory of the cartridge at a first timing that is not triggered based on a breakpoint of an operation accompanied by ink consumption and that corresponds to an operation of the printer; and    writing specific information into a rewritable storage device incorporated in said printer main body of said printer at a second timing that corresponds to an ink consumption in the printer, the second timing differing from the first timing, the specific information being identical with at least part of the plural pieces of information relating to the cartridge.    
   
   
       10 . A cartridge for detachable connection to a printer having a printer main body and a storage device incorporated into that printer main body, said cartridge comprising: 
 ink contained therein; and    a rewritable non-volatile memory,    wherein information relating to said cartridge is written into said non-volatile memory of said cartridge at a first timing that is not triggered based on a breakpoint of an operation accompanied by ink consumption and that corresponds to an operation of the printer and the information relating to said cartridge is written into the storage device incorporated in the printer main body of the printer at a second timing that corresponds to an ink consumption in the printer, the second timing differing from the first timing.