Ink-jet printing apparatus and ink cartridge therefor

• US 20050146576A1
• Filed: 02/07/2005
• Published: 07/07/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujio Akahane, Makoto Matsuzaki, Minoru Usui, Satoshi Shinada, Takao Kobayashi
• Original Assignee: Fujio Akahane, Makoto Matsuzaki, Minoru Usui, Satoshi Shinada, Takao Kobayashi
• Inventors: Akahane, Fujio, Usui, Minoru, Kobayashi, Takao, Shinada, Satoshi, Matsuzaki, Makoto
• Granted Patent: US 7,219,985 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/86
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17503 Ink cartridges
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17513 Inner structure
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1752 Mounting within the printer
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17523 Ink connection
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17526 Electrical contacts to the cartridge
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1753 Details of contacts on the cartridge, e.g. protection of contacts
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17546 electronically
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17553 Outer structure
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17559 Cartridge manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 25/304 Bodily-movable mechanisms for print heads or carriages movable towards or from paper surface
• CPC Class Codes: D06M 11/44 Oxides or hydroxides of elements of Groups 2 or 12 of the Periodic Table; Zincates; Cadmates
• CPC Class Codes: D06M 13/44 containing nitrogen and phosphorus
• CPC Class Codes: D06M 15/667 containing phosphorus in the main chain inorganic polyphosphates D06M11/72

Abstract

An ink jet type printing apparatus in which an ink supply needle is located near one side in a direction perpendicular to the reciprocated directions of a carriage, a circuit board is mounted on a wall of an ink cartridge in the vicinity of the side on which an ink supply port is formed and plural contacts for connecting to external control means are formed on the exposed surface of the circuit board.

Claims

1. An ink cartridge for detachably mounting on a carriage of an ink jet printing apparatus, the carriage having an ink supply needle communicating with a print head, the ink cartridge comprising:

a bottom wall and a plurality of side walls arranged in parallel to an insertion direction of the ink cartridge into the carriage;

an ink supply port formed in the bottom wall to engage the ink supply needle of the ink jet printing apparatus as the ink cartridge moves in the insertion direction;

a circuit board formed on a side wall adjacent to the bottom wall and being located in the vicinity of the ink supply port;

a plurality of contacts divided into plural groups, each said group being located at an interval in the insertion direction of the cartridge relative to another group, the contacts being disposed on the circuit board and one said contact that is located in a center of one of the groups is disposed on a central line of the ink supply port;

a semiconductor storage device located on the circuit board and which is in electrical communication with the contacts; and

an overhang portion located on the side wall on which the circuit board is formed.

3. The ink cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the overhang portion is located at an upper end of at least one said side wall.

4. The ink cartridge according to claims 1 to 2, wherein the overhang portion has a lower part for cooperating with a lever of the ink jet printing apparatus.

5. The ink cartridge according to claim 4, further comprising a triangular rib located between the lower part of the overhang portion and one of the side walls on which the overhang portion is formed.

8. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the overhang portion extends continuously between the side walls.

9. The ink cartridge according to claims 1 or 2, wherein one of the side walls has a concave portion, and the circuit board is installed in the concave portion.

10. The ink cartridge according to claim 9, wherein the concave portion is located in a center of a width of the side wall.

11. The ink cartridge according to any of claims 1 or 2, wherein the semiconductor storage device is mounted at a rear surface of the circuit board.

12. The ink cartridge according to claims 1 or 2, wherein a group of said contacts located closer to the ink supply port(s) in the insertion direction of the ink cartridge is longer than a group of contacts farther from the ink supply port(s).

13. The ink cartridge according to claims 1 or 2, wherein the semiconductor storage device is molded and not exposed.

14. The ink cartridge according to claims 1 or 2, wherein the semiconductor storage device stores data corresponding to a quantity of ink.

15. The ink cartridge according to claims 1 or 2, wherein said contacts are formed in a rectangle, a side of the rectangle extending in the insertion direction of the ink cartridge being longer than a side of the rectangle in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction.

16. The ink cartridge according to claims 1 or 2, wherein a hole is formed in the circuit board and is positioned and sized to engage with a protrusion formed on the side wall.

17. The ink cartridge according to claims 1 or 2, wherein the contacts are arranged so as to respectively engage a plurality of contact forming members of the ink jet printing apparatus that are arranged at a fixed pitch and shifted to each other.

18. The ink cartridge according to claims 1 or 2, wherein the contacts form contact areas for connection to contact forming members of the ink jet printing apparatus, the contact areas being arranged in an upper row and a lower row relative to the insertion direction of the ink cartridge, the upper row having three said contact areas, a middle contact area of the upper row being centered on a centerline of the ink supply port, the lower row having four contact areas, with two middle contact areas of the lower row being arranged symmetrically about the centerline of the ink supply port.

19. The ink cartridge according to claims 1 or 2, wherein each of the plural groups of contacts forms a row of contacts.

2. An ink cartridge for detachably mounting on a carriage of an ink jet printing apparatus, the carriage having a plurality of ink supply needles communicating with a print head, the ink cartridge comprising:

a bottom wall and a plurality of side walls arranged in parallel to an insertion direction of the ink cartridge into the carriage;

a plurality of ink supply ports formed in the bottom wall to engage respectively the ink supply needles of the ink jet printing apparatus as the ink cartridge moves in the insertion direction;

a circuit board formed on a side wall adjacent to the bottom wall and being located in the vicinity of the ink supply ports;

a plurality of contacts divided into plural groups, each group being located at an interval in an insertion direction of the cartridge relative to another group, the contacts being disposed on the circuit board and one said contact that is located in a center of one of the groups is disposed on a central line of a central ink supply port;

a semiconductor storage device located on the circuit board and which is in electrical communication with the contacts; and

an overhang portion located on the side wall on which the circuit board is formed.

6. The ink cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the overhang portion includes a first overhang and a second overhang.

7. The ink cartridge according to claim 6, wherein the first and second overhangs are individually formed on both sides of the side walls.