Printing material container, and board mounted on printing material container

• US 8,382,250 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2011
• Issued: 02/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Asauchi, Noboru
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Anh T. N.
• Application Number:
  US13/331,577
• Publication Number:
  US 20120098901A1
• Time in Patent Office: 434 Days
• Field of Search: 347/7, 347/19, 347/49, 347/50, 347/85, 347/86, 347/87, 732/90.V, 439/924.1
• US Class Current: 347/50
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17503 Ink cartridges
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1752 Mounting within the printer
• 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 2/17566 Ink level or ink residue control
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/14491 Electrical connection
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/17579 Measuring electrical impedance for ink level indication
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 439/9241 Contacts arranged for sequential connection

Abstract

A printing material container is detachably attachable to a printing apparatus having a plurality of apparatus-side terminals. The printing material container comprises a first device, a second device, and a terminal group that includes a plurality of first terminals, at least one second terminal and at least one third terminal. The plurality of first terminals are connected to the first device and respectively include a first contact portion for contacting a corresponding terminal among the plurality of apparatus-side terminals. The at least one second terminal is connected to the second device and includes a second contact portion for contacting a corresponding terminal among the plurality of apparatus-side terminals. The at least one third terminal is for the detection of shorting.

Claims

1. An ink cartridge for mounting on an ink jet printing apparatus, the ink jet printing apparatus having a print head and a plurality of apparatus-side contact forming members, the ink cartridge comprising:

a body having a length, a width, and a height;

an ink supply opening having an exit on an exterior portion of the body, adapted to supply ink from the cartridge to the printing apparatus;

a memory device adapted to be driven by a memory driving voltage;

an electronic device adapted to receive a voltage higher than the memory driving voltage; and

a plurality of terminals adapted and positioned to contact corresponding apparatus-side contact forming members so that electrical communication is enabled with the ink jet printing apparatus, the terminals including a plurality of memory terminals electrically coupled to the memory device, a first high voltage terminal coupled to the electronic device, and a second high voltage terminal coupled to the electronic device, wherein;

the terminals are arranged so that, when the terminal arrangement is viewed with the ink cartridge oriented with the exit of the ink supply opening at the bottom, the terminal farthest to the left is the first high voltage terminal and the terminal that is the farthest to the right is the second high voltage terminal, all of the memory terminals are to the right of the first high voltage terminal and to the left of the second high voltage terminal, and the second high voltage terminal is separated from the nearest memory terminal by a greater distance than the distance that separates any two of the memory terminals that are adjacent to each other.

2. The ink cartridge of claim 1, wherein fewer terminals are adjacent to the first high voltage terminal than to any one of the memory terminals and fewer terminals are adjacent to the second high voltage terminal than to any one of the memory terminals.

3. The ink cartridge of claim 1, wherein when the terminal arrangement is viewed with the cartridge oriented with the exit of the ink supply opening at the bottom, the terminals are arranged from left to right with no terminals above or below the first and second high voltage terminals.

4. The ink cartridge of claim 1, wherein when the terminal arrangement is viewed with the cartridge oriented with the exit of the ink supply opening at the bottom, the terminals are arranged from left to right with terminals to both the left and the right of each of the memory terminals, only to the right of the first high voltage terminal, and only to the left of the second high voltage terminal.

5. The ink cartridge of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is an ink level sensor.

6. The ink cartridge of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a piezoelectric device.

7. The ink cartridge of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is adapted to output an oscillating signal.

8. The ink cartridge of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is adapted to receive a first voltage and output a voltage lower than the first voltage.

9. The ink cartridge of claim 1, wherein at least three of the terminals are arranged to be intersected by a straight line.