PURPOSE: To discriminate if replenishing of a recording head has been performed by a recording apparatus itself.

CONSTITUTION: The condition before an ink cartridge 9 is mounted is such a condition wherein a vibrational lever 71 is brought into contact with the rear face of a carriage 11 by means of a spring means 74 and a lever 72 to be detected is brought into contact with a rib 71c on the vibrational lever 71 by means of a spring means 74. After the ink cartridge 9 is mounted, a pin part 71a on the vibrational lever 71 is brought into contact with the bottom face of the ink cartridge 9. Under this condition, the carriage 11 is moved in the arrow mark A direction and an insulation part 72b of a lever 72 to be detected is detected by means of a detecting sensor 40 to confirm if the ink cartridge 9 is replaced.