A sensor senses a characteristic of an environment, e. The method generally includes steps to. Additionally, the data may be read from and loaded into the memory devices tofrom the sets of shift registers such that the shifting of the shift registers is uninterrupted during the reading andor loading of data. The radially-extending flange portion is connected to the arm portion. With the front side face section of the tape printing apparatus kept in contact with the top edge on the front side wall section of the fitting section of the tape printing apparatus charger, the tape printing apparatus is inserted into the tape printing apparatus charger in the forward direction for recharging.