Ink-jet printing apparatus and ink cartridge therefor

• US 20060033790A1
• Filed: 10/19/2005
• Published: 02/16/2006
• 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 7,264,334 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 an ink jet printing apparatus having a printhead which ejects ink droplets onto a recording medium, the printhead having an ink supply needle, and is mounted on a movable carriage, the ink cartridge comprising:

a housing containing an ink therein and configured for removable mounting on the printhead, said housing having a first wall and a second wall, the second wall having both a first upper corner and a second upper corner;

an ink supply port formed on said first wall for receiving the ink supply needle of the printhead and supplying the ink from said housing to the printhead, the ink supply port having an exit opening and a centerline;

a memory device storing information about the ink disposed on said housing; and

at least a first electrical contact having a first area and a first contact portion that touches an electrical connector of the printing apparatus and a second electrical contact having a second area and a second contact portion that touches an other electrical connector of the printing apparatus, the first area being less than the second area, and wherein, viewing the ink cartridge in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the contacts, the second electrical contact is intersected by a plane passing through the centerline of the ink supply port, the first contact portion being further from the exit opening of said ink supply port than the second electrical contact portion.

2. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said housing is substantially rectangular, said electrical contacts are disposed in a plane parallel to said second wall which said second wall is substantially perpendicular to said first wall, and said second wall has a shorter width than the other wall of said housing.

3. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said memory device is detachably mounted on said housing.

4. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said memory device is mounted on said housing by a spring and a mounting plate.

5. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said memory device and said electrical contacts are located on a substrate having a positioning structure.

6. The ink cartridge according to claim 5, wherein said contacts are arranged on one surface of said substrate and said memory device is disposed on an other surface of said substrate.

7. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said electrical contact portions are grouped into at least a first group and a second group.

8. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said electrical contact portions come into engagement with an external control device at a time interval when the ink cartridge is mounted on the printing apparatus.

9. An ink cartridge as in claim 1, further comprising:

a third electric contact having a third contact portion and a fourth electric contact having a fourth contact portion, which said contact portions are disposed on a line passing through the first electric contact, which line is perpendicular to the centerline of the ink supply port; and

a fifth electric contact having a fifth contact portion and a sixth electric contact having a sixth contact portion which are disposed on a line passing through the second electric contact portion, which line is perpendicular to the centerline of the ink supply port.

10. An ink cartridge as in claim 9, wherein, viewing the ink cartridge in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the contacts, the third electric contact portion and the fourth electric contact portion are symmetrically disposed about the centerline of the ink supply port.

11. An ink cartridge as in claim 9, wherein, viewing the ink cartridge in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the contacts, the fifth electric contact portion and the sixth electric contact portion are symmetrically disposed about the centerline of the ink supply port.

12. An ink cartridge as in claim 10, wherein, viewing the ink cartridge in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the contacts, the fifth electric contact portion and the sixth electric contact portion are symmetrically disposed about the centerline of the ink supply port, and each of said third, fourth, fifth and sixth electric contacts has an inner edge, the distance between the inner edges of the third and fourth electric contacts being less than the distance between the inner edges of the fifth and sixth electric contacts.

13. An ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said second electrical contact includes an other contact portion that is in electrical communication with the first contact portion.

14. An ink cartridge for an ink jet printing apparatus having a printhead which ejects ink droplets onto a recording medium, the printhead having an ink supply needle, and is mounted on a movable carriage, the ink cartridge comprising:

a housing containing an ink therein and configured for removable mounting on the printhead, said housing having a first wall and a second wall, the second wall having both a first upper corner and a second upper corner;

an ink supply port formed on said first wall for receiving the ink supply needle of the printhead and supplying the ink from said housing to the printhead, the ink supply port having an exit opening and a centerline;

a memory device storing information about the ink disposed on said housing; and

at least a first electrical contact having a first contact portion that touches an electrical connector of the printing apparatus and a second electrical contact having a second contact portion that touches an other electrical connector of the printing apparatus, both disposed in a plane and on said second wall and allowing electrical communication between the memory device and the ink jet printing apparatus, the first electrical contact having a first inner edge facing the centerline of the ink supply port, the first inner edge of the first electrical contact being spaced from the centerline of the ink supply port by a first predetermined distance and the second electrical contact having a second inner edge closest to the centerline of the ink supply port, the second inner edge of the second electrical contact being spaced from the centerline of the ink supply port by a second predetermined distance, the first predetermined distance being different from the second predetermined distance, the first and second electrical contact portions lying in at least a first row and a second row, respectively, the first row being closer to a line connecting the first and the second upper corners than the second row.

15. An ink cartridge according to claim 14, wherein the first predetermined distance is less than the second predetermined distance.

16. An ink cartridge for an ink jet printing apparatus having a printhead which ejects ink droplets onto a recording medium, the printhead having an ink supply needle, and is mounted on a movable carriage, the ink cartridge comprising:

a housing containing an ink therein and configured for removable mounting on the printhead, said housing having a first wall and a second wall, the second wall having both a first upper corner and a second upper corner;

an ink supply port formed on said first wall for receiving the ink supply needle of the printhead and supplying the ink from said housing to the printhead, the ink supply port having an exit opening and a centerline;

a memory device storing information about the ink disposed on said housing; and

a plurality of electrical contacts, each said electrical contact having at least one contact portion for contacting a corresponding electrical connector of the printing apparatus, said contact portions being arranged in a first row having a first width, and a second row having a second width, the second row being closer to the exit opening of said ink supply port than the first row, the first width being different from the second width.

17. An ink cartridge as in claim 16, wherein, viewing the ink cartridge in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the contacts, at least one of the first row and the second row are symmetrically disposed about the centerline of the ink supply port.

18. An ink cartridge as in claim 16, wherein the second width is greater than the first width.

19. An ink cartridge for an ink jet printing apparatus having a printhead which ejects ink droplets onto a recording medium, the printhead having an ink supply needle, and is mounted on a movable carriage, the ink cartridge comprising:

a housing containing an ink therein and configured for removable mounting on the printhead, said housing having a first wall and a second wall extending in different planes;

an ink supply port formed on said first wall for receiving the ink supply needle of the printhead and supplying the ink from said housing to the printhead, the ink supply port having an exit opening and a centerline;

a memory device carried by said housing and storing information about the ink contained in said housing; and

at least a first electrical contact having a first contact portion located in a first row and positioned on said second wall, and a second and a third electrical contacts having respective second and third contact portions positioned on said second wall in a second row, and, viewing the ink cartridge in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the contacts, the first electric contact is intersected by a plane passing through the centerline of the ink supply port and the second and third contact portions are symmetrically disposed about the centerline of the ink supply port, the first row being further from the exit opening of said ink supply port than the second row.

20. An ink cartridge as in claim 19, further comprising:

a fourth and a fifth electrical contacts having respective fourth and fifth contact portions which are disposed on a line passing through the first contact portion of the first electrical contact, which line is essentially perpendicular to the centerline of the ink supply port;

wherein, viewing the ink cartridge in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the contacts, the fourth and the fifth contact portions are symmetrically disposed about the centerline of the ink supply port.

21. An ink cartridge for an ink jet printing apparatus having a printhead which ejects ink droplets onto a recording medium, the printhead having an ink supply needle, and is mounted on a movable carriage, the ink cartridge comprising:

a housing containing an ink therein and configured for removable mounting on the printhead, said housing having a first wall, a second wall perpendicular to said first wall having both a first upper corner and a second upper corner, and a third wall perpendicular to said second wall and opposed to said first wall;

an ink supply port formed on said first wall at a position closer to said second wall than a middle of said first wall, said ink supply port receiving the ink supply needle of the printhead and supplying the ink from said housing to the printhead, the ink supply port having an exit opening and a centerline extending along a longitudinal axis of said ink supply port;

a memory device storing information about the ink disposed on said housing; and

at least a first electrical contact having a first area and a first contact portion that touches an electrical connector of the printing apparatus and a second electrical contact having a second area and a second contact portion that touches an other electrical connector of the printing apparatus, the first area being less than the second area, and wherein, viewing the ink cartridge in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the contacts, the second electrical contact is intersected by a plane passing through the centerline of the ink supply port, the first contact portion being further from the exit opening of said ink supply port than the second contact portion, both said first and the second electrical contacts being arranged on said second wall of said housing at a position closer to the exit opening of said ink supply port than said third wall.

22. An ink cartridge as in claim 21, wherein said ink supply port comprises a part which is fitted to the ink supply needle of the printing apparatus, such that the cartridge pivots about said part when the cartridge is mounted on or removed from the printing apparatus.

23. An ink cartridge according to claim 21, wherein said second electrical contact includes a third contact portion that is in electrical communication with the first contact portion.

24. An ink cartridge for an ink jet printing apparatus having a printhead which ejects ink droplets onto a recording medium, the printhead having an ink supply needle, and is mounted on a movable carriage, the ink cartridge comprising:

a housing containing an ink therein and configured for removable mounting on the printhead, said housing having a first wall, a second wall perpendicular to said first wall and having both a first upper corner and a second upper corner, and a third wall perpendicular to said second wall and opposed to said first wall;

an ink supply port formed on said first wall at a position closer to said second wall than a middle of said first wall, said ink supply port receiving the ink supply needle of the printhead and supplying the ink from said housing to the printhead, the ink supply port having an exit opening and a centerline extending along a longitudinal axis of said ink supply port;

a memory device storing information about the ink disposed on said housing; and

at least a first electrical contact having a first contact portion that touches an electrical connector of the printing apparatus and a second electrical contact having a second contact portion that touches an other electrical connector of the printing apparatus, said first and second electrical contacts being arranged on said second wall at a position closer to the exit opening of said ink supply port than said third wall, said first and said second electrical contacts allowing electrical communication between the memory device and the ink jet printing apparatus, the first electrical contact having a first inner edge closest to the centerline of the ink supply port, the first inner edge of the first electrical contact being spaced from the centerline of the ink supply port by a first predetermined distance and the second electrical contact having a second inner edge closest to the centerline of the ink supply port, the second inner edge of the second electrical contact being spaced from the centerline of the ink supply port by a second predetermined distance, the first predetermined distance being different from the second predetermined distance, the first and second electrical contact portions lying in at least a first row and a second row, respectively, the first row being closer to a line connecting the first and the second upper corners than the second row.

25. An ink cartridge as in claim 24, wherein said ink supply port comprises a part which is fitted to the ink supply needle of the printing apparatus, such that the cartridge pivots about said part when the cartridge is mounted on or removed from the printing apparatus.

26. An ink cartridge for an ink jet printing apparatus having a printhead which ejects ink droplets onto a recording medium, the printhead having an ink supply needle, and is mounted on a movable carriage, the ink cartridge comprising:

a housing containing an ink therein and configured for removable mounting on the printhead, said housing having a first wall, a second wall perpendicular to said first wall having both a first upper corner and a second upper corner, and a third wall perpendicular to said second wall and opposed to said first wall;

an ink supply port formed on said first wall at a position closer to said second wall than a middle of said first wall, said ink supply port receiving the ink supply needle of the printhead and supplying the ink from said housing to the printhead, the ink supply port having an exit opening and a centerline extending along a longitudinal axis of said ink supply port;

a memory device storing information about the ink disposed on said housing; and

a plurality of electrical contacts, each said contact having at least one contact portion that touches an associated electrical connector of the printing apparatus, the contact portions being arranged in a first row having a first width, and a second row having a second width, the second row being closer to the exit opening of said ink supply port than the first row, the first width being different from the second width, both said first and second rows of contact portions being arranged at a position closer to the exit opening of said ink supply port than said third wall.

27. An ink cartridge as in claim 26, wherein said ink supply port comprises a part which is fitted to the ink supply needle of the printing apparatus, such that the cartridge pivots about said part when the cartridge is mounted on or removed from the printing apparatus.

28. An ink cartridge for an ink jet printing apparatus having a printhead which ejects ink droplets onto a recording medium, the printhead having an ink supply needle, and is mounted on a movable carriage, the ink cartridge comprising:

a housing containing an ink therein and configured for removable mounting on the printhead, said housing having a first wall, a second wall perpendicular to said first wall, and a third wall perpendicular to said second wall and opposed to said first wall;

an ink supply port formed on said first wall for receiving the ink supply needle of the printhead and supplying the ink from said housing to the printhead, the ink supply port having an exit opening and a centerline extending along a longitudinal axis of said ink supply port;

a memory device carried by said housing and storing information about the ink contained in said housing; and

at least a first electrical contact having a contact portion located in a first row and positioned on said second wall, and a second and a third electrical contacts having respective second and third contact portions positioned on said second wall in a second row, and, viewing the ink cartridge in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the contacts, the first electrical contact is intersected by a plane passing through the centerline of the ink supply port and the second and third electrical contact portions are symmetrically disposed about the centerline of the ink supply port, the first row being further from the exit opening of said ink supply port than the second row, both said first and second rows of contact portions being arranged at a position closer to the exit opening of said ink supply port than said third wall.

29. An ink cartridge as in claim 28, wherein said ink supply port comprises a part which is fitted to the ink supply needle of the printing apparatus, such that the cartridge pivots about said part when the cartridge is mounted on or removed from the printing apparatus.

30. An ink cartridge for an ink jet printing apparatus having a printhead which ejects ink droplets onto a recording medium, the printhead having an ink supply needle, and is mounted on a movable carriage, the ink cartridge comprising:

a housing containing an ink therein and configured for removable mounting on the printhead, said housing having a first wall and a second wall, the second wall having both a first upper corner and a second upper corner;

an ink supply port formed on said first wall for receiving the ink supply needle of the printhead and supplying the ink from said housing to the printhead, the ink supply port having an exit opening and a centerline;

a memory device storing information about the ink disposed on said housing; and

at least a first electrical contact and a second electrical contact on said second wall and allowing electrical communication between the memory device and the ink jet printing apparatus, the first electrical contact having a first inner edge closest to the centerline of the ink supply port, the first inner edge of the first electrical contact being spaced from the centerline of the ink supply port by a first predetermined distance and the second electrical contact having a second inner edge closest to the centerline of the ink supply port, the second inner edge of the second electrical contact being spaced from the centerline of the ink supply port by a second predetermined distance, the first predetermined distance being different from the second predetermined distance, the first and second electrical contacts lying in at least a first row and a second row, respectively, the first row being closer to a line connecting the first and the second upper corners than the second row, said first row including a plurality of electrical contacts and said first electrical contact being disposed outermost in the first row, and said second row including a plurality of electrical contacts and said second electrical contact being disposed outermost in the second row.

31. An ink cartridge for an ink jet printing apparatus having a printhead which ejects ink droplets onto a recording medium, the printhead having an ink supply needle, and is mounted on a movable carriage, the ink cartridge comprising:

a housing containing an ink therein and configured for removable mounting on the printhead, said housing having a first wall and a second wall, the second wall having both a first upper corner and a second upper corner;

an ink supply port formed on said first wall for receiving the ink supply needle of the printhead and supplying the ink from said housing to the printhead, the ink supply port having an exit opening;

a memory device storing information about the ink disposed on said housing; and

at least a first electrical contact having a vertical centerline and having a first contact portion that touches an electrical connector of the printing apparatus and a second electrical contact having a contact portion that touches an other electrical connector of the printing apparatus, both disposed in a plane and on said second wall and allowing electrical communication between the memory device and the ink jet printing apparatus, the first electrical contact having, a first inner edge facing the vertical centerline of the first electrical contact, the first inner edge of the first electrical contact being spaced from the vertical centerline of the first electrical contact by a first predetermined distance and the second electrical contact having a second inner edge closest to the vertical centerline of the first electrical contact, the second inner edge of the second electrical contact being spaced from the vertical centerline of the first electrical contact by a second predetermined distance, the first predetermined distance being different from the second predetermined distance, the first and second electrical contact portions lying in at least a first row and a second row, respectively, the first row being closer to a line connecting the first and the second upper corners than the second row.

32. An ink cartridge according to claim 31, wherein the first predetermined distance is less than the second predetermined distance.

33. An ink cartridge for an ink jet printing apparatus having a printhead which ejects ink droplets onto a recording medium, the printhead having an ink supply needle, and is mounted on a movable carriage, the ink cartridge comprising:

a housing containing an ink therein and configured for removable mounting on the printhead, said housing having a first wall, a second wall perpendicular to said first wall and having both a first upper corner and a second upper corner, and a third wall perpendicular to said second wall and opposed to said first wall;

an ink supply port formed on said first wall at a position closer to said second wall than a middle of said first wall, said ink supply port receiving the ink supply needle of the printhead and supplying the ink from said housing to the printhead, the ink supply port having an exit opening;

a memory device storing information about the ink disposed on said housing; and

at least a first electrical contact having a vertical centerline and having a first contact portion that touches an electrical connector of the printing apparatus and a second electrical contact having a second contact portion that touches an other electrical connector of the printing apparatus, said first and second electrical contacts being arranged on said second wall at a position closer to the exit opening of said ink supply port than said third wall, said first and said second electrical contacts allowing electrical communication between the memory device and the ink jet printing apparatus, the first electrical contact having a first inner edge closest to the vertical centerline of the first electrical contact, the first inner edge of the first electrical contact being spaced from the vertical centerline of the first electrical contact by a first predetermined distance and the second electrical contact having a second inner edge closest to the vertical centerline of the first electrical contact, the second inner edge of the second electrical contact being spaced from the vertical centerline of the first electrical contact by a second predetermined distance, the first predetermined distance being different from the second predetermined distance, the first and second electrical contact portions lying in at least a first row and a second row, respectively, the first row being closer to a line connecting the first and the second upper corners than the second row.

34. An ink cartridge as in claim 33, wherein said ink supply port comprises a part which is fitted to the ink supply needle of the printing apparatus, such that the cartridge pivots about said part when the cartridge is mounted on or removed from the printing apparatus.