Printing material container, and board mounted on printing material container

• US 9,180,675 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2014
• Issued: 11/10/2015
• 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): DO, AN H
• Application Number:
  US14/518,618
• Publication Number:
  US 20150035917A1
• Time in Patent Office: 386 Days
• Field of Search: 347/50, 347/86, 347/87
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 adapted to be attached to a printing apparatus by being inserted into the printing apparatus in an insertion direction, the printing apparatus having a print head and a plurality of apparatus-side electrical contact members, the printing material container comprising:

an ink supply opening, having an exit, adapted to supply ink from the ink cartridge to the printing apparatus;

a memory device adapted to receive and function with a low voltage;

a high voltage electronic device adapted to receive and function with a high voltage, which voltage is higher than the low voltage of the memory device; and

a plurality of container-side terminals having contact portions adapted and positioned to contact corresponding apparatus-side contact forming members so that electrical communication is enabled between the printing material container and the printing apparatus to enable printing operation of the printing apparatus, contact portions of the container-side terminals including a plurality of memory device contact portions electrically coupled to the memory device, and a first high voltage electronic device contact portion and a second high voltage electronic device contact portion, each electrically coupled to the high voltage electronic device, wherein;

the contact portions are arranged in a first row of contact portions and in a second row of contact portions in a staggered pattern, the first row of contact portions and the second row of contact portions extending in a row direction which is generally orthogonal to the insertion direction,

the first row of contact portions is disposed at a location that is further in the insertion direction than the second row of contact portions, and,

the first row of contact portions has a first end position and a second end position at opposite ends thereof, the first high voltage electronic device contact portion is disposed at the first end position of the first row of the contact portions, and the second high voltage electronic device contact portion is disposed at the second end position of the first row of contact portions.

2. The printing material container according to claim 1, wherein the first high voltage electronic device contact portion and the second high voltage electronic device contact portion are situated at the outermost positions with respect to the row direction compared with all other contact portions.

3. The printing material container according to claim 2, wherein the first row of contact portions is the furthest row of contact portions in the insertion direction.

4. The printing material container according to claim 2, wherein none of the contact portions in the first row of contact portions and in the second row of contact portions line up with each other in the insertion direction.

5. The printing material container according to claim 2, wherein the first row of contact portions is longer than the second row of contact portions.

6. The printing material container according to claim 2, wherein the first row of contact portions has a greater number of contact portions than the number of contact portions of the second row of contact portions.

7. The printing material container according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of container-side terminals includes a first short detection terminal provided at a location and adapted to detect shorting between at least the terminal in which the first high voltage electronic device contact portion is located and the first short detection terminal.

8. The printing material container according to claim 7, wherein a contact portion of the first short detection terminal is located between one of the memory device contact portions and the first high voltage electronic device contact portion with respect to the row direction.

9. The printing material container according to claim 8, wherein the contact portion of the first short detection terminal is located at a first end position of the second row of contact portions.

10. The printing material container according to claim 9, wherein the one of the memory device contact portions is located in the first row of contact portions.

11. The printing material container according to claim 9, wherein all of contact portions in the first row of contact portions between the first end position and the second end position are memory device contact portions.

12. The printing material container according to claim 11, wherein a remainder of memory device contact portions are arranged in the second row of contact portions between the contact portion of the first short detection terminal and the second high voltage electronic device contact portion with respect to the row direction.

13. The printing material container according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of container-side terminals includes a second short detection terminal provided at a location and adapted to detect shorting between at least the terminal in which the second high voltage electronic device contact portion is located and the second short detection terminal.

14. The printing material container according to claim 13, wherein a contact portion of the second short detection terminal is located between one of the memory device contact portions and the second high voltage electronic device contact portion with respect to the row direction.

15. The printing material container according to claim 14, wherein the contact portion of the first short detection terminal is located at a first end position of the second row of contact portions, and the contact portion of the second short detection terminal is located at a second end position of the second row of contact portions which is an opposite end position from the first end position of the second row of contact portions.

16. The printing material container according to claim 15, wherein the one of memory device contact portion is located in the first row of contact portions.

17. The printing material container according to claim 15, wherein all of contact portions in the first row of contact portions between the first end position and the second end position of the first row of contact portions are memory device contact portions.

18. The printing material container according to claim 17, wherein a remainder of memory device contact portions are arranged in the second row of contact portions between the contact portion of the first short detection terminal and the contact portion of the second short detection terminal.