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US 6,385,407 B1Granted
Accommodating enclosure and management system
AssigneeHitachi Maxell, Ltd.
InventorFumiyuki Inose
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The container and the management system include a storage portion to accommodate an expendable product to be used by an apparatus; and a memory to store identification information that can be read out by an external device; wherein the container is removably installed in the apparatus and the apparatus retrieves expendable product identification information and remaining amount information from the container to determine if the expendable product is an appropriate one.
Claims14
A container removably installed in an apparatus, said container comprising:
- a storage portion to accommodate an expendable product used by the apparatus;
- a memory to store ID information that can be read out by an external device;
- and
- a communication portion that allows the memory to communicate with the external device in a non-contact manner, wherein the memory and the communication portion are formed in a single-chip monolithic semiconductor device, said single-chip monolithic semiconductor device having a micro-fabricated coil formed thereon.
1 more element
A management system comprising:
- a container removably installed in an apparatus and accommodating an expendable product to be used by the apparatus;
- a reader/writer;
- a processing device connected to the reader/writer and adapted to check an appropriate use of the expendable product according to information obtained by the reader/writer;
- wherein the container has a storage portion to accommodate the expendable product, an IC chip having a memory to store ID information of the container and a communication portion allowing the IC chip to communicate with the reader/writer in a non-contact manner;
- and
- a detection portion to detect the amount of the expendable product remaining in the container;
- wherein the memory further stores a detected value of the detection portion;
- and
- wherein when the remaining amount of the expendable product detected by the detection portion is smaller than the previous remaining amount of the expendable product stored in the memory, the processing device allows the memory to be updated with the present remaining amount of the expendable product and, when the remaining amount of the expendable product is larger than the previous remaining amount of the expendable product stored in the memory, prohibits the memory from being updated with the present remaining amount of the expendable product and stops the operation of the apparatus.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.