INK-JET PRINTING APPARATUS AND INK CARTRIDGE THEREFOR

• US 20090009560A1
• Filed: 09/10/2008
• Published: 01/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/1998
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Akahane, Fujio, Usui, Minoru, Kobayashi, Takao, Shinada, Satoshi, Matsuzaki, Makoto
• Application Number:
  US12/207,617
• Publication Number:
  US 20090009560A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/50
• 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 supply system mountable on an ink jet printing apparatus having a print head which ejects ink droplets onto a recording medium, an ink supply needle for feeding an ink, and a plurality of elastic electrical contact forming members, the ink supply system comprising:

an ink container for storing the ink, and having an ink supply port configured to receive the ink supply needle and thereby feed the ink to the ink jet printing apparatus;

a semiconductor storage device for storing information about the ink; and

a plurality of electrodes each having at least one contact portion for contacting the corresponding elastic electrical contact forming member of the printing apparatus, said contact portions being arranged in a first row including a first number of the contact portions, and a second row including a second number of the contact portions, the first number being smaller than the second number, and the first and the second rows being arranged so that, when the ink supply system is oriented as during mounting to the ink jet printing apparatus, the second row is located at a leading position relative to the first row.

2. An ink supply system as in claim 1, wherein at least some of the electrodes are rectangular.

3. An ink supply system as in claim 1, wherein at least one of the electrodes is longer, in a widthwise direction of the rows, than other said electrodes.

4. An ink supply system as in claim 1, wherein at least one of the electrodes is electrically connected to the semiconductor storage device.

5. An ink supply system as in claim 1, further comprising a substrate, wherein the semiconductor storage device and the electrodes are disposed on the substrate.

6. An ink supply system as in claim 5, wherein the substrate is shaped to receive a mounting projection of a surface on which the substrate is mounted.

7. An ink supply system as in claim 5, wherein the substrate is detachably mounted on a surface.

8. An ink supply system as in claim 5, further comprising:

a mounting plate to which the substrate is attached,

wherein the mounting plate is attached to the ink container.

9. An ink supply system as in claim 5, wherein the semiconductor storage device is located on a first surface of the substrate, and the electrodes are disposed on a second surface of the substrate.

10. An ink supply system as in claim 5, wherein the substrate is rectangular.

11. An ink supply system as in claim 1, wherein the ink supply port has an axis,

wherein the contact portions lie in a first plane, and

wherein a second plane perpendicular to the first plane and bisecting each of the rows intersects the axis.

12. An ink supply system as in claim 1, wherein the ink supply port is located at a first wall portion lying in a first plane, and the electrodes are located at a second wall portion lying in a second plane that is orthogonal to the first plane.

13. An ink supply system as in claim 1, wherein the contact portions in the first row are arranged in a staggered manner relative to the contact portions in the second row.

14. An ink supply system as in claim 1, wherein there are only two rows of contact portions.

15. An ink supply system as in claim 1, wherein the semiconductor storage device and electrodes are located at a bottom of the ink container.

16. An ink supply system as in claim 1, wherein the semiconductor storage device and electrodes are located in the vicinity of the ink supply port.

17. An ink supply system as in claim 1, wherein the semiconductor storage device is molded by an ink-resistant material.

18. An ink supply system as in claim 1, wherein the contact portions are arranged to contact the corresponding elastic electrical contact forming members in a predetermined order.

19. An ink supply system as in claim 1, wherein the contact portions of the electrodes are grouped into at least two groups.

20. An ink supply system as in claim 1, wherein the first row is shorter than the second row.

21. A circuit board for use with an ink container that is mountable on an ink jet printing apparatus having a print head which ejects ink droplets onto a recording medium and a plurality of elastic electrical contact forming members, the circuit board comprising:

a substrate;

a semiconductor storage device carried by the substrate;

a plurality of electrodes each having at least one contact portion for contacting the corresponding elastic electrical contact forming member of the printing apparatus, said contact portions being arranged in a first row including a first number of the contact portions, and a second row including a second number of the contact portions, the first number being smaller than the second number, and the first and the second rows being arranged so that, when the circuit board is oriented in a manner in which the contact portions would oppose the respective corresponding elastic electrical contact forming members after movement of the circuit board during mounting to the ink jet printing apparatus, the second row is located at a leading position relative to the first row with respect to such movement.

22. A circuit board as in claim 21, wherein at least some of the electrodes are rectangular.

23. A circuit board as in claim 21, wherein at least one of the electrodes is longer, in a widthwise direction of the rows, than other said electrodes.

24. A circuit board as in claim 21, wherein at least one of the electrodes is electrically connected to the semiconductor storage device.

25. A circuit board as in claim 21, wherein the semiconductor storage device is located on a first surface of the substrate, and the electrodes are disposed on a second surface of the substrate.

26. A circuit board as in claim 21, wherein the substrate is rectangular.

27. A circuit board as in claim 21, wherein the contact portions in the first row are arranged in a staggered manner relative to the contact portions in the second row.

28. A circuit board as in claim 21, wherein the substrate is shaped to receive a mounting projection of a surface on which the substrate is mounted.

29. A circuit board as in claim 21, wherein the substrate is detachably mounted on a surface.

30. A circuit board as in claim 21, further comprising:

a mounting plate to which the substrate is attached.

31. A circuit board as in claim 21, wherein there are only two rows of contact portions.

32. A circuit board as in claim 21, wherein the semiconductor storage device is molded by an ink-resistant material.

33. A circuit board as in claim 21, wherein the contact portions are arranged to contact the corresponding elastic electrical contact forming members in a predetermined order during mounting.

34. A circuit board as in claim 21, wherein the contact portions of the electrodes are grouped into at least two groups.

35. A circuit board as in claim 21, wherein the first row is shorter than the second row.