Printing material container, and board mounted on printing material container

• US 8,801,163 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2014
• Issued: 08/12/2014
• 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): ZARROLI, MICHAEL C
• Application Number:
  US14/194,120
• Publication Number:
  US 20140176651A1
• Time in Patent Office: 165 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 347/86
• 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 detachably attachable to a printing apparatus having apparatus-side terminals. The container can comprise an electrical device, a memory device and a plurality of terminals. First and second terminals can be coupled to the electrical device and a plurality of memory terminals can be coupled to the memory device. Terminal contact portions are present where the terminals contact a respective apparatus side contact forming member. A short detection contact portion can be positioned to contact a contact forming member that itself is coupled to a short detection circuit of the printing apparatus. The terminals can be arranged with the memory terminal contact portions located to the left of the second terminal contact portion and to the right of the first terminal contact portion. The contact portion that is second farthest to the right can be the third contact portion.

Claims

1. A printing material container 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 printing material container comprising:

a body;

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

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

a plurality of terminals having contact portions arranged to contact corresponding apparatus-side contact forming members so that electrical communication is enabled with the ink jet printing apparatus, the contact portions including a plurality of memory contact portions electrically coupled to the memory device, a left contact portion arranged to have applied thereto a voltage higher than the memory driving voltage, a right contact portion arranged to have applied thereto a voltage higher than the memory driving voltage, and a short detection contact portion arranged to electrically contact a contact forming member that itself is electrically coupled to a short detection circuit of the printing apparatus, the short detection contact portion is arranged for detecting a short between the short detection contact portion and at least the right contact portion, wherein;

the contact portions are arranged so that, when the terminal arrangement is viewed from the vantage of the contact forming members, with the terminals oriented as if in contact with the contact forming members so that electrical communication is enabled with the ink jet printing apparatus, and with the printing material container oriented with the exit of the ink supply opening facing downwards;

the contact portion that is farthest to the left is the left contact portion,

the contact portion that is farthest to the right is the right contact portion,

the contact portion that is second farthest to the right is the short detection contact portion, and

the left contact portion, the right contact portion, and two or more of the plurality of memory contact portions are arranged in a row of contact portions that extends in a substantially left-right direction, to define a row direction.

2. The printing material container according to claim 1, wherein fewer memory contact portions are adjacent to the right contact portion than are adjacent to the first short detection contact portion.

3. The printing material container according to claim 1, wherein the short detection contact portion is located, with respect to the row direction, between the right contact portion and any of the memory contact portions that are in the row of contact portions.

4. The printing material container of claim 1, and comprising a second short detection contact portion arranged to detect shorting between the second short detection contact portion and at least the left contact portion.

5. The printing material container according to claim 4, wherein the contact portion that is the second farthest to the left is the second short detection contact portion, and all of the plurality of memory contact portions are disposed between the short detection contact portion and the second short detection contact portion, with respect to the row direction.

6. The printing material container according to claim 5, wherein the short detection contact portion and the second short detection contact portion are disposed between the left and right contact portions, with respect to the row direction.

7. The printing material container according to claim 4, wherein the short detection contact portion and the right contact portion are disposed on one side of all of the plurality of memory contact portions, with respect to the row direction, and the second short detection contact portion and the left contact portion are disposed on the other side of all of the plurality of memory contact portions, with respect to the row direction.

8. The printing material container of claim 7, further comprising an electronic device on the printing material container electrically connected to the left and right contact portions.

9. The printing material container according to claim 8, wherein the electronic device is an ink level sensor.

10. The printing material container according to claim 1, wherein the short detection contact portion is adjacent to the right contact portion and to a memory contact portion that is in the row of contact portions, and there are no contact portions between the short detection contact portion and the right contact portion and there are no contact portions between the short detection contact portion and the memory contact portion that is in the row of contact portions.

11. The printing material container of claim 1, wherein the row is a first row of contact portions, and the short detection contact portion and all of the memory contact portions, other than the two or more memory contact portions that are in the first row of contact portions, are aligned in a second row of contact portions that extends in the row direction.

12. The printing material container according to claim 11, wherein the short detection contact portion is adjacent to the right contact portion and to a memory contact portion that is in the first row of contact portions, the short detection contact portion being adjacent to a memory contact portion that is in the second row of contact portions, and there are no contact portions between the short detection contact portion and the right contact portion, there are no contact portions between the short detection contact portion and the memory contact portion that is in the first row of contact portions, and there are no contact portions between the short detection contact portion and the memory contact portion that is in the second row of contact portions.

13. The printing material container of claim 12, further comprising a second short detection contact portion arranged to detect shorting between the second short detection contact portion and at least the left contact portion, and all memory contact portions that are in the second row of contact portions are disposed between the short detection contact portion and the second short detection contact portion.

14. The printing material container according to claim 12, wherein the first row of contact portions is longer than the second row of contact portions.

15. A combination of a printing material container and a portion of an ink jet printing apparatus, the combination comprising:

a portion of an ink jet printing apparatus, the portion comprising;

a plurality of apparatus-side contact forming members and a short detection circuit,

the printing material container comprising;

a body;

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

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

a plurality of terminals having contact portions arranged to contact corresponding apparatus-side contact forming members of the portion of the ink jet printing apparatus so that electrical communication is enabled with the ink jet printing apparatus, the contact portions including a plurality of memory contact portions electrically coupled to the memory device, a left contact portion arranged to have applied thereto a voltage higher than the memory driving voltage, a right contact portion arranged to have applied thereto a voltage higher than the memory driving voltage, and a short detection contact portion arranged to electrically contact a contact forming member that itself is electrically coupled to the short detection circuit of the portion of the ink jet printing apparatus, the short detection contact portion and the short detection circuit are adapted and arranged for detecting a short between the short detection contact portion and at least the right contact portion, wherein;

the contact portions are arranged so that, when the terminal arrangement is viewed from the vantage of the contact forming members, with the terminals oriented as if in contact with the contact forming members so that electrical communication is enabled with the ink jet printing apparatus, and with the printing material container oriented with the exit of the ink supply opening facing downwards;

the contact portion that is farthest to the left is the left contact portion,

the contact portion that is farthest to the right is the right contact portion,

the contact portion that is second farthest to the right is the short detection contact portion, and

the left contact portion, the right contact portion, and two or more of the plurality of memory contact portions are arranged in a row of contact portions that extends in a substantially left-right direction, to define a row direction.

16. The combination according to claim 15, wherein fewer memory contact portions are adjacent to the right contact portion than are adjacent to the first short detection contact portion.

17. The combination according to claim 15, wherein the short detection contact portion is located, with respect to the row direction, between the right contact portion and the memory contact portion that is in the row of contact portions.

18. The combination of claim 15, and comprising a second short detection contact portion arranged to detect shorting between the second short detection contact portion and at least the left contact portion.

19. The combination according to claim 18, wherein the contact portion that is the second farthest to the left is the second short detection contact portion, and the memory contact portions are disposed between the short detection contact portion and the second short detection contact portion, with respect to the row direction.

20. The combination according to claim 19, wherein the short detection contact portion and the second short detection contact portion are disposed between the left and right contact portions, with respect to the row direction.

21. The combination according to claim 18, wherein the short detection contact portion and the right contact portion are disposed on one side of the memory contact portions, with respect to the row direction, and the second short detection contact portion and the left contact portion are disposed on the other side of the memory contact portions, with respect to the row direction.

22. The combination of claim 21, further comprising an electronic device on the printing material container electrically connected to the left and right contact portions.

23. The combination according to claim 21, wherein the electronic device is an ink level sensor.

24. The combination of claim 15, wherein the row is a first row of contact portions, and the short detection contact portion and all of the memory contact portions, other than the two or more memory contact portions that are in the first row of contact portions, are aligned in a second row of contact portions, that extends in the row direction.

25. The combination of claim 24, further comprising a second short detection contact portion arranged to detect shorting between the second short detection contact portion and at least the left contact portion, and all memory contact portions that are in the second row of contact portions are disposed between the short detection contact portion and the second short detection contact portion.

26. The combination according to claim 25, wherein the first row of contact portions is longer than the second row of contact portions.