Ink-jet printing apparatus and ink cartridge therefor

• US 6,550,902 B2
• Filed: 04/12/2002
• Issued: 04/22/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• 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
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Lamson
• Assistant Examiner(s): Stewart, Jr., Charles W.
• Application Number:
  US10/121,883
• Publication Number:
  US 20020171701A1
• Time in Patent Office: 375 Days
• Field of Search: 347/86, 347/85, 347/19, 347/14, 347/23, 347/12, 347/10, 347/11, 347/84, 347/87, 347/49, 347/40, 347/17, 347/92, 347/30, 347/29
• 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 semiconductor storage device storing information about the ink disposed on said housing;

at least two electrical contacts on said second wall and allowing electrical communication between the semiconductor storage device and the ink jet printing apparatus, the contacts lying in at least a first row and a second row, the first row being closer to a line connecting the first and the second upper corner than the second row; and

a first overhang disposed between the first upper corner and the second upper corner.

2. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein each of the electrical contacts lies at a predetermined distance from the centerline of the ink supply port.

3. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said semiconductor storage device is disposed on said second wall of said housing.

4. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said contacts is disposed on a centerline of said second wall of said housing in the vicinity of said ink supply port.

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

6. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said contacts connecting to said semiconductor storage device are disposed substantially in parallel with said second wall which is perpendicular to said first wall of said housing.

7. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said contacts connecting to said semiconductor storage device are located at an opposite position of a fulcrum of the ink cartridge when it is mounted on or removed from the printing apparatus.

8. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said contacts connecting to said semiconductor storage device are disposed on a substrate which is substantially rectangular and vertically-oriented.

9. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said semiconductor storage device is detachably mounted on said housing.

10. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said semiconductor storage device and said contacts are located on a substrate having a positioning member.

11. The ink cartridge according to claim 10, wherein said positioning member comprises one of a notch and a through-hole which engages with a projection of said housing.

12. The ink cartridge according to claim 10, wherein said positioning member comprises a projection which engages with one of a notch and a through-hole of said housing.

13. The ink cartridge according to claim 10, wherein said contacts are arranged on one surface of said substrate and said semiconductor storage device is disposed on another surface of said substrate.

14. The ink cartridge according to claim 13, wherein said storage device is covered with an ink-resistant material.

15. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said housing comprises at least one rib which resiliently fits said housing with a substrate carrying thereon said semiconductor storage device.

16. The ink cartridge according to claim 15, wherein said rib is formed in a vertical direction of said substrate.

17. The ink cartridge according to claim 15, wherein a height of said rib is higher than a plane of said substrate when said substrate is disposed on said housing.

18. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said housing is formed with a concave portion in which said semiconductor storage device is accommodated.

19. The ink cartridge according to claim 18, wherein a height of walls of said concave portion surrounding said semiconductor storage device is higher than that of said semiconductor storage device.

20. The ink cartridge according to claim 18, wherein a plane of a substrate carrying thereon said semiconductor storage device is essentially aligned with a surface of said second wall.

21. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said semiconductor storage device is mounted on said housing through a spring and a mounting plate.

22. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said housing comprises a plurality of ink chambers for different ink, and said contacts are disposed substantially at a central area of the total width of said plurality of ink chambers.

23. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said housing is formed at a predetermined position thereof with a recessed portion which engages with a member of the printing apparatus.

24. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the overhang member is a single member which extends from the first upper corner to the second upper corner.

25. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising a second overhang member extending beyond a plane of the wall of said housing, wherein the overhang member comprises a first projection located at the first upper corner and the second overhang member comprises a second projection located at the second upper corner.

26. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein, viewing the ink cartridge in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the electrical contacts, at least one of the electrical contacts is intersected by a plane passing through the centerline of the ink supply port.

27. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein, viewing the ink cartridge in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the contacts, the semiconductor storage device is intersected by a plane passing through the centerline of said ink supply port.

28. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the contact in the first row is narrower than the contact in the second row.

29. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the ink cartridge comprises a plurality of ink supply ports.

30. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein, viewing the ink cartridge in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the electrical contacts, the electrical contacts of each row are symmetrically disposed about the centerline of the ink supply port.

31. An ink cartridge for an ink jet printing apparatus having a printhead which ejects ink droplets onto a recording medium, the printhead having a 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, having an exit opening, and supplying the ink from said housing to the printhead;

a semiconductor storage device storing information about the ink disposed on said housing;

at least two electrical contacts for connecting the semiconductor storage device to the ink jet printing apparatus, and

at least a first overhang member extending beyond a plane of the wall of said housing where said contacts are disposed, the first overhang member being located between the first upper corner and the second upper corner.

32. The ink cartridge according to claim 31, wherein each of the electrical contacts lies at a predetermined distance from the ink supply port.

33. The ink cartridge according to claim 31, wherein said wall on which said contacts are disposed is substantially perpendicular to a wall of said housing where said ink supply port is formed.

34. The ink cartridge according to claim 31, wherein, viewing the ink cartridge in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the contacts, at least one of said contacts is intersected by a plane passing through the centerline of said ink supply port.

35. The ink cartridge according to claim 31, wherein said contacts are disposed on a wall in the vicinity of said ink supply port substantially at a center position in the widthwise direction of said wall.

36. The ink cartridge according to claim 31, wherein said contacts are disposed on a side wall of said housing.

37. The ink cartridge according to claim 31, wherein said housing is substantially rectangular, and said contacts are disposed on a side wall of said housing which has a shorter width than the other side wall of said housing.

38. The ink cartridge according to claim 31, wherein said contacts are located at an opposite position to a fulcrum of the ink cartridge when it is mounted on or removed from the printing apparatus.

39. The ink cartridge according to claim 31, wherein said overhang member is formed at an upper position of said contacts.

40. The ink cartridge according to claim 31, wherein said overhang member extends beyond the housing in a direction perpendicular to a plane on which said contacts are arranged.

41. The ink cartridge according to claim 31, wherein said contacts, said ink supply port and said overhang member are located at the same side of the ink cartridge.

42. The ink cartridge according to claim 31, wherein the interior of said housing is divided into at least two separate chambers, and said overhang member comprises two separate projections which extend beyond both ends in the widthwise direction of said wall on which said contacts are disposed.

43. The ink cartridge according to claim 31, wherein the overhang member is a single member which extends from the first upper corner to the second upper corner.

44. The ink cartridge according to claim 31, wherein, viewing the ink cartridge in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the electrical contacts, at least one of the electrical contacts is intersected by a plane passing through a centerline of the ink supply port.

45. The ink cartridge according to claim 31, wherein, viewing the ink cartridge in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the electrical contacts, the electrical contacts are symmetrically disposed about a centerline of the ink supply port.

46. The ink cartridge according to claim 31, wherein the ink cartridge comprises a plurality of ink supply ports.

47. The ink cartridge according to claim 31, further comprising a second overhang member extending beyond a plane of the wall of said housing, wherein the overhang member comprises a first projection located at the first upper corner and the second overhang member comprises a second projection located at the second upper corner.