What is claimed is:
1. A supply which is mounted on an image recording apparatus, comprising:
a recording section in which encoded information created by encoding identification information related with said supply is recorded.
2. The supply according to claim 1, wherein said supply is any one of consumable goods, a consumables accommodation case for accommodating said consumable goods and a consumables accommodation body which has accommodated said consumable goods in said consumables accommodation case.
3. The supply according to claim 2, wherein said recording section is provided to at least one of said consumable goods in the consumables accommodation body and said consumables accommodation case of said consumables accommodation body.
4. The supply according to claim 1, wherein said encoded information is created by encoding by means of a public key cryptosystem.
5. The supply according to claim 1, wherein said identification information comprises at least one information selected from the group consisting of: information of a manufacturing date, a lot number, a serial number, a term of validity for use, a term of validity of initial mounting, a content, a manufacturer, a type of a corresponding image recording apparatus, a type of the supply, an accommodation amount of the supply and a size of the supply.
6. The supply according to claim 1, wherein the identification information corresponding to said encoded information is recorded in said recording section.
7. The supply according to claim 6, wherein the identification information corresponding to said encoded information is recorded as compressed information together with said encoded information.
8. The supply according to claim 1, wherein said encoded information is encoded after said identification information is compressed.
9. The supply according to claim 1, wherein compressed encoded information that is obtained by encoding said identification information after it is compressed is also recorded, in addition to said encoded information.
10. The supply according to claim 7, wherein an operation of said being compressed is executed using a hash function.
11. A method of determining a supply which is mounted on an image recording apparatus, comprising the steps of:
decoding at least one of encoded identification information of said supply and identification information encoded after it is compressed of said supply by a decoding key which said image recording apparatus or a computer connected thereto has; and
determining whether or not said supply is appropriate using the thus decoded information.
12. The method of determining the supply according to claim 11, wherein said encoded identification information is what is encoded by a key different from said decoding key and wherein said identification information encoded after it is compressed is what is encoded by the key different from said decoding key after it is compressed.
13. The method of determining the supply according to claim 11, wherein, when it is determined that the supply is inappropriate, at least one of issuing a warning and switching a state in which said supply is usable to the other state in which said supply is unusable is executed.
14. The method of determining the supply according to claim 11, wherein said supply is any one of consumable goods, a consumables accommodation case for accommodating said consumable goods and a consumables accommodation body which has accommodated said consumable goods in said consumables accommodation case.
15. The method of determining the supply according to claim 14, wherein said recording section is provided to at least one of said consumable goods in the consumables accommodation body and said consumables accommodation case of said consumables accommodation body.
16. A method of manufacturing a supply which is mounted on an image recording apparatus, comprising the step of:
recording at least one of encoded information created by encoding identification information of said supply, and compressed encoded information created by encoding the identification information of the supply after it is compressed.
17. The method of manufacturing the supply according to claim 16, wherein said encoded information is what is created by encoding said identification information by a key different from said decoding key and wherein said compressed encoded information is what is created by encoding said identification information by the key different from said decoding key after it is compressed.
18. The method of manufacturing the supply according to claim 16, wherein said supply is any one of consumable goods, a consumables accommodation case for accommodating said consumable goods and a consumables accommodation body which has accommodated said consumable goods in said consumables accommodation case.
19. The method of manufacturing the supply according to claim 18, wherein said recording section is provided to at least one of said consumable goods in the consumables accommodation body and said consumables accommodation case of said consumables accommodation body.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A track and carrier system, comprising:
a platform with an upper surface, a bottom surface, a thickness connecting the upper surface to the bottom surface, and a continuous groove below the upper surface of the platform, wherein the continuous groove is substantially longer than it is wide;
a plurality of carriers for traveling about said platform via said continuous groove, said plurality of carriers having an upper surface, a bottom surface, and at least one roller coupled to the bottom surface, wherein the upper surface of the plurality of carriers is shaped such that it has a wide end and a narrow end, the narrow end pointed substantially inwardly of the continuous groove, wherein said at least one roller is configured to travel within the continuous groove.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the continuous groove is an oblong loop.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the oblong loop has straight sides and rounded ends joining the straight sides, wherein the length of the straight sides is greater than a radius of curvature of the rounded ends.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one roller has a diameter less than a width of the continuous groove.
5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of load bearing extensions extending from said lower surface of at least one of said plurality of carriers.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one carrier in the plurality of carriers is flat.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one carrier in the plurality of carriers has a wide end and a narrow end, the narrow end facing into the interior of the continuous groove and the wide end facing away from the interior of the continuous groove, the at least one carrier having sides substantially perpendicular to the wide end.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the sides of the at least one carrier substantially perpendicular to the wide end are substantially perpendicular for approximately half the length of the at least one carrier and then converge towards the narrow end.
9. The system of claim 3 wherein the number of carriers is such that at least one carrier abuts another carrier both along the straight sides of the oblong loop and the rounded ends of the oblong loop, and the plurality of carriers are caused to move along the entire length of the oblong loop by movement of the at least one carrier.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein movement of the at least one carrier causes any other carrier in the plurality of carriers to move about the oblong loop.
11. A lazy Susan, comprising:
a platform having a continuous series of grooved contours in the shape of a loop on a surface of said platform;
a plurality of carriers wherein at least one carrier in said plurality of carriers has a holding surface and a traveling surface, wherein the most narrow vertex of said holding surface points inward of said loop, said traveling surface comprises a pair of rollers extending substantially perpendicularly from said traveling surface and coupling said at least one carrier to said grooved contour of said platform such that said carrier may travel about said platform without disengaging from said platform;
wherein displacement of at least one carrier causes another carrier in said plurality of carriers to move within the grooved contour loop in the surface of the platform.
12. The lazy Susan of claim 11 having at least one flat carrier.
13. The lazy Susan of claim 11, further comprising a load-bearing member coupled to the traveling surface of at least one carrier.
14. The lazy Susan of claim 11 wherein the grooved contour is configured to receive at least one roller of said at least one carrier.
15. The lazy Susan of claim 14 wherein the grooved contour is configured to receive one roller on one side of the contour and at least one additional roller on an opposite side of the contour.
16. The lazy Susan of claim 11 wherein said plurality of carriers comprises an odd number of carriers disposed in said grooved contours making up at least two arcs that connect a smallest length of said loop.
17. The lazy Susan of claim 11, wherein movement of one carrier causes at least one side of the holding surface making up the narrowest vertex in one carrier to abut at least one side of the holding surface making up the narrowest vertex of an adjacent carrier.
18. The lazy Susan of claim 11, further comprising joining means for joining at least two carriers in said plurality of carriers.
19. A lazy Susan, comprising:
a platform having a continuous series of grooved contours in the shape of a loop on a surface of said platform;
a plurality of substantially pentagonally shaped carriers wherein at least one carrier in said plurality of carriers has a holding surface and a traveling surface, wherein the most narrow vertex of said holding surface points inward of said loop, said traveling surface comprises a pair of rollers extending substantially perpendicularly from said traveling surface and coupling said at least one carrier to said grooved contour of said platform such that said carrier may travel about said platform without disengaging from said platform;
wherein displacement of at least one carrier causes another carrier in said plurality of carriers to move within the grooved contour loop in the surface of the platform.
20. The lazy Susan of claim 19, wherein movement of one carrier causes at least one side of the holding surface making up the narrowest vertex of at least two carriers to abut one another about the loop.