| 摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manage the available period of an ink cartridge accurately. SOLUTION: Inforamtion for determining the effective period of an ink cartridge is stored in an EEPROM 13 mounted thereon. Based on the information, a host unit or a printer makes a decision whether the ink cartridge is currently available or not and informs the result to a user. The information to be recorded includes the available periods of the ink cartridge from the date of manufacture and from the date of unpacking thereof. The host unit or the printer calculates the available periods of an ink cartridge to be used from the date of manufacture and from the date of unpacking thereof, selects the shorter one and compares the selected available period with current data to decide whether the available period of the ink cartridge has expired or not. Alternatively, the type of ink cartridge may be recorded and the available period is determined based on the type information. |
