Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A PRINTING APPARATUS AND INK CARTRIDGE THEREFOR
This application is a divisional of Application Serial
No. 2,423,535, filed March 26, 2003.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus
including an ink cartridge for supplying the printing apparatus
with ink, a carriage on and from which the ink cartridge is
installed and detached and a print head mounted on the carriage.
More particularly, the present invention relates to an ink
cartridge precisely installed on a printing apparatus for
supplying the printing apparatus with ink.
Description of the Related Art
Generally, an ink-jet printer, one of the printing
apparatus, prints texts or images by ejecting ink droplets onto
print media by a print head mounted on a carriage moving back
and forth in direction of a horizontal scanning, while a paper
feeder supplies the print media, such as papers, set in a paper
feeding tray one at a time, and a paper carriage mechanism
intermittently sends the print media in direction of a vertical
scanning a predetermined quantity at a time. Usually, an ink
cartridge containing black ink and an ink cartridge containing
ink of various colors, such as yellow, cyan and magenta etc. are
separately installed in a carriage of a full-colored ink-jet
printer.
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The carriage is made up to be divided into a head-mounted
unit, on which the print head is mounted, and a cartridge mounting
section, in which the ink cartridge is installed, in order to enhance
maintenance efficiency of the print head. Further, a memory for
storing information about a production date, a product number,
the quantity of ink remained etc. is installed on the ink cartridge
and a circuit board, which is coupled to the memory with a connecter
and coupled to the print head, is placed in the head-mounted unit
of the carriage. The circuit board is designed to transmit and
receive the information about ink etc. to and from the printing
apparatus. As an example of the memoryforstoring the inf ormat ion,
there is a contact type memory unit including a coupling terminal
member, which includes a coupling terminal exposed to the outside
and a memory unit, which is electrically coupled to the coupling
terminal. The coupling terminal is electrically coupled to a
coupling terminal of the printing apparatus. The memory unit
stores the information about ink etc.
The above usual ink-jet printer has a problem that it may
be damaged in case of maintenance handling of the print head, because
the circuit board is placedin the head-mounted unit of the carriage.
In addition, transmitting and receiving the information
cannot be properly done, unless the coupling terminal member of
the memory unit of the ink cartridge certainly contacts to the
couplingterminaloftheprinthead. Particularly, when a plurality
of the coupling terminal with a small coupling terminal area is
closely arranged, the coupling terminal member needs to be very
exactly coupled to the coupling terminal of the printing apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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Therefore, it is an obj ect of the present invention to provide
a printing apparatus for protecting a board in which a device for
reading and writing information about ink of an ink cartridge is
installed during maintenance work on a print head, which is capable
of overcoming the above drawbacks accompanying the conventional
art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide
an ink cartridge enabling a coupling terminal member of a memory
of the ink cartridge and a coupling terminal of the printing
apparatus to be incertain contact with each other, which is capable
of overcoming the above drawbacks accompanying the conventional
art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide
an ink cartridge having a degree of freedom on installationposition
of a coupling terminal member of an ink cartridge and a coupling
terminal of a printing apparatus, which is capable of overcoming
the above drawbacks accompanying the conventional art.
The above and other objects can be achieved by combinations
described in the independent claims. The dependent claims define
further advantageous and exemplary combinations of the present
invention.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, an
ink cartridge installed in a printing apparatus for supplying the
printing apparatus with ink includes an ink cartridge body for
containing ink therein and including a first and a second sidewalls,
the second sidewalls opposite to the first sidewall, an ink supply
section on which an ink supply opening placed on or near the first
sidewall of the ink cartridge body is formed, a memory for storing
information on ink contained in the ink cartridge body, a contact
terminal member placed on the second sidewall of the ink cartridge
body and coupled to the memory and a positioning member, which
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protrudes from the second sidewall of the ink cartridge body, for
deciding position of the ink cartridge with respect to the printing
apparatus when the ink cartridge is installed in the printing
apparatus.
With respect to the ink cartridge, the ink supply opening
maybeprovided to be close to the f irst sidewall of the ink cartridge
body on a bottom crossing the first and second sidewalls.
With respect to the ink cartridge, the positioning member
may include a positioning rib protruding in a direction toward
the bottom of the cartridge body.
The ink cartridge may further include a projecting part
provided over the contact terminal member of the memory and the
positioning rib.
With respect to the ink cartridge, the projecting part may
include a surface which protrudes over the positioning rib and
substantially parallel to the second sidewall.
With respect to the ink cartridge, the positioning rib may
be provided to a place outside of an area defined by vertically
extending lines along a left and right side edges of the contact
terminal member.
Withrespect to the inkcartridge, the contact terminal member
is placed to be close to a sidewall positioned next to another
ink cartridge when at least two ink cartridges are installed in
the printing apparatus.
The ink cartridge may further include an inverse mounting
preventing rib for being engaged with the carriage of the printing
apparatus when the ink cartridge is installed in a proper
orientation on the printing apparatus.
The ink cartridge may further include an inverse mounting
preventing rib which is engaged with the printing apparatus when
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the ink cartridge is installed in a proper orientation on the
printing apparatus.
The ink cartridge may further include an inverse mounting
preventing rib formed on a first side wall facing a second side
5 wall, both said first and said second side walls intersecting
the bottom and the front walls, said second side wall being located
next to another ink cartridge when at least two ink cartridges
are installed in the printing apparatus, whereas the contact
terminal member is located near the second side wall.
According to the second aspect of the present invention,
an ink cartridge installed in a printing apparatus for supplying
the printing apparatus with ink includes an ink cartridge body
for containing different ink including a first sidewall, a second
sidewall opposite to the f irst sidewall, partitioning walls placed
in the ink cartridge body and a plurality of ink chamber separated
by the partitioning walls, an ink supply section on which ink supply
openings placed on or near the first sidewall of the ink cartridge
body corresponding to the a plurality of ink chamber are formed,
an memory for storing information on ink contained in the ink
cartridge body and a contact terminal member coupled to the memory
and placed to corresponds to the partitioning walls on the second
wall of the ink cartridge body.
With respect to the ink cartridge, the ink supply openings
may be placed to be close to the f irst sidewall of the ink cartridge
body on the bottom crossing the first and the second sidewall.
Withrespecttotheinkcartridge, the contact terminal member
may be placed at a place corresponding to the partitioning walls
close to a sidewall positioned next to another ink cartridge when
at least two ink cartridges are installed in the printing apparatus.
The ink cartridge may further include an inverse mounting
preventing rib for being engaged with the printing apparatus when
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the ink cartridge is installed in a proper orientation on the
printing apparatus.
The ink cartridge may further include an inverse mounting
preventing rib, which is placed on a sidewall facing a crossing
sidewall, which crosses the bottom and the second sidewall, wherein
the contact terminal member is placed to be close to the crossing
sidewall, for being engaged with the printing apparatus when the
ink cartridge is installed in a proper orientation on the printing
apparatus.
With respect to the ink cartridge, a center of the contact
terminal member may be placed at a place from which a center axis
of the ink supply openings is away.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, a
printing apparatus includes a head-mounted unit on which a print
headismountedandacarriage includingacartridgemountingsection
in which an ink cartridge is installed, wherein a board including
a device for reading and writing information on ink of the ink
cartridgeisplacedinthecartridgemountingsection.Consequently,
although the head-mounted unit is removed from the apparatus body
during maintenance work on the print head, the board including
the device for reading and writing information about ink of the
ink cartridge is protected because the board can remains in the
apparatus body.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention,
a printing apparatus includes a carriage in and from which an ink
cartridge is installed and uninstalled and a print head mounted
on the carriage, wherein a board including a device for reading
and writing information about ink of the ink cartridge is placed
on an inside of a front wall of the carriage. Consequently, the
board including the device for reading and writing information
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about ink of the ink cartridge is protected because the board
can be away from the print head placed at the back of the
carriage.
In one aspect, the present invention includes an ink
cartridge for installation on a printing apparatus having a
carriage having an opening, to supply the printing apparatus
with ink, comprising, an ink cartridge body for containing ink
therein and having a bottom wall, a first wall intersecting said
bottom wall and a second wall disposed opposite to said first
wall, an ink supply section having an ink supply opening formed
in said bottom wall of said ink cartridge body, a memory that
stores information about the ink contained in said ink cartridge
body, a contact terminal member disposed on said second wall of
said ink cartridge body and electrically connected to said
memory, said contact terminal member having a first side edge
and a second side edge, and positioning member for regulating a
position of said ink cartridge with respect to the printing
apparatus by entering at least in part into the opening when
said ink cartridge is installed on the printing apparatus,
wherein said positioning member protrudes from said second wall,
and said ink supply opening is located near said first wall of
said ink cartridge body on said bottom wall.
In another aspect, the present invention includes an ink
cartridge for installation on a printing apparatus having a
carriage having an opening, to supply the printing apparatus
with ink, comprising, an ink cartridge body for containing a
plurality of different inks therein and having a bottom wall, a
first external wall intersecting said bottom wall, a second
external wall opposite to said first external wall, a plurality
of internal partitioning walls within said ink cartridge body
and a plurality of ink chambers defined in part by said
partitioning walls, an ink supply section having a plurality of
ink supply openings located by said bottom wall of said ink
cartridge body, said ink supply openings corresponding to
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respective said ink chambers, a memory that stores information
about at least one of the inks contained in said ink cartridge
body, and a contact terminal member electrically connected to
said memory, wherein said contact terminal member is disposed on
said second external wall in relation to at least one of said
partitioning wall, and said partitioning wall lies in a plane
which passes through said contact terminal member.
In one aspect, the present invention includes an ink
cartridge detachably mountable on a printing apparatus having a
print head and an ink supply needle communicating with the print
head, comprising: an ink cartridge body for containing ink
therein and having a bottom wall, a first wall adjacent to said
bottom wall and a second wall disposed opposite to said first
wall; an ink supply section having an ink supply opening formed
at a position near said first wall on said bottom wall of said
ink cartridge body for allowing the ink supply needle to be
inserted; a memory comprising a contact terminal member disposed
on said ink cartridge body; and a protruding member enageable
with a groove formed in the printing apparatus; wherein said
contact terminal member and said protruding member are located
on said second wall of said ink cartridge body.
In another aspect, the present invention includes an ink
cartridge detachably mountable on a printing apparatus having a
print head and an ink supply needle communicating with the print
head, comprising: an ink cartridge body for containing a
plurality of different inks therein and having a bottom wall, a
first external wall adjacent to said bottom wall, a second
external wall opposite to said first external wall, a plurality
of internal partitioning walls within said ink cartridge body
and a plurality of ink chambers defined in part by said
partitioning walls; an ink supply section having a plurality of
ink supply openings located by said bottom wall of said ink
cartridge body, said ink supply openings corresponding to
respective said ink chambers; and a memory comprising a contact
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terminal member disposed on said second external wall in
relation to at least one said partitioning wall; wherein
said partitioning wall lies in a plane, and said plane
passes through said contact terminal member.
In a further aspect, the present invention includes an ink
cartridge detachably mountable on a printing apparatus having a
print head and an ink supply needle communicating with the print
head, comprising: an ink cartridge body for containing ink
therein and having a bottom wall, a first wall adjacent to said
bottom wall, a second wall disposed opposite to said first wall,
a third wall extending substantially perpendicular to said first
and second walls and a fourth wall disposed opposite to said
third wall; an ink supply section having an ink supply opening
formed at a position near said first wall on said bottom wall of
said ink cartridge body for allowing the ink supply needle to be
inserted; a memory comprising a contact terminal member disposed
on said ink cartridge body, said contact terminal member being
located on said second wall at a position closer to said third
wall than said fourth wall; and a protruding member formed on
said second wall of said ink cartridge body at a position closer
to said fourth wall than said third wall, said protruding member
being engageable with a part of the printing apparatus.
In a still further aspect, the present invention
provides an ink cartridge detachably mountable on a
printing apparatus, said printing apparatus having a
print head and an ink supply needle supplying ink to the
print head comprising an ink body for containing ink
therein which has a bottom wall, a first side wall
adjacent to the bottom wall, a second side wall disposed
opposite to the first wall, and a third side wall which
intersects with the first and second walls; an ink supply
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section having an ink supply opening formed on the bottom
wall at a position closer to the first side wall than the
second wall for allowing the ink supply needle to be
inserted; and a memory having a contact terminal member
disposed on the second side wall. In one aspect of this
ink cartridge, the memory having the contact terminal
member is disposed at a position closer to said bottom
wall than to a top wall facing said bottom wall in an
axial direction of a centerline of said ink supply
section. In another aspect, this ink cartridge further
comprises a fourth side wall that is perpendicular to the
second side wall and is opposite to the third side wall,
wherein the contact terminal member is disposed at a
position closer to the third side wall than to the fourth
side wall. In a further aspect, this ink cartridge
further comprises a fourth side wall that is perpendicular
to the second side wall and is opposite to the third side
wall; wherein said ink body contains one-colored ink and
the contact terminal member is disposed at a position
closer to the third side wall than to the fourth side
wall. In a further aspect of this ink cartridge, a plane
on which the contact terminal member is provided is
parallel to the insertion direction of the ink cartridge
when the ink cartridge is mounted on the printing
apparatus
In a still further aspect, the present invention
provides for an ink cartridge pair comprising a first ink
cartridge and a second ink cartridge for providing a
printing apparatus with ink via an ink supply port that
communicates with a printing head when the first and
second ink cartridges are mounted on the printing
apparatus, each of said first and second ink cartridges
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including an ink body for containing ink therein and
having a bottom wall, a first side wall that is adjacent
to the bottom wall, a second side wall that is opposite to
the first side wall, and a third side wall that is
adjacent to both the bottom wall and the first side wall;
an ink supply section having an ink supply opening that is
located on the bottom wall at a position near to the first
side wall and formed so as to receive the ink supply
needle, and a memory having a contact terminal member
located on the ink body near a third side wall, wherein,
looking toward the front surfaces of the first and second
ink cartridges, the third wall of the first ink cartridge
is located on the right side of the first ink cartridge
and the third side wall of the second ink cartridge is
located on the left side of the second ink cartridge.
The summary of the invention does not necessarily
describe all necessary features of the present invention.
The present invention may also be a sub-combination of the
features described above. The above and other features
and advantages of the present invention will become more
apparent from the following description of the embodiments
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall
external structure of an ink-jet printer, one of the
printing apparatus, with respect to an embodiment of the
present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an overall
internal structure of the ink-jet printer shown in FIG. 1
from which the upper housing is removed.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of main units of the ink-
jet printer shown in FIG. 2.
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FIG. 4 is a side view of the carriage of the ink-jet printer
shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a top view of the carriage shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the carriage partly removed
10 shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an ink cartridge, one of the
embodiments of the present invention.
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FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the bottom of the ink
cartridge.
FIG. 9A is a side view showing the second sidewall of the
ink cartridge, and FIG. 9B is a side view showing the third sidewall
of the ink cartridge.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an ink cartridge, another
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the bottom of the ink
cartridge shown in FIG. 10.
FIG. 12 is a perspective exploded view of the ink cartridge
shown in FIG. 10.
FIG. 13A is a front elevational view showing the second
sidewall of the ink cartridge according to the embodiment of the
present invention, and FIG. 133 is a side elevational plan view
showing the fourth sidewall of the ink cartridge.
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a carriage, in which two
ink cartridges are installed.
FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing the relation of the
two ink cartridges installed in the carriage.
FIGS. 16A and FIG. 16B are partly cross-sectional views
showing that the ink cartridge is installed in the carriage.
FIGS. 17A and FIG. 17B are another partly cross-sectional
views showing that the ink cartridge is installed in the carriage.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention will now be described based on the preferred
embodiments, which do not intend to limit the scope of the present
invention, but exemplify the invention. All of the features and
the combinations thereof described in the embodiments are not
necessarily essential to the invention.
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FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall external
structure of an ink-jet printer, one of the printing apparatus,
withrespectto an embodiment of the present invent ion. Theink- jet
printer100,whichis hexahedron-shaped and extends in the widthwise
direction, includes an upper housing and a lower housing. The upper
housing and the lower housing are combined with snap fits.
At the back of the upper housing 101, a paper feed entry
103 is formed. In the paper feed entry 103, a paper feed tray
110 on which papers fed are stacked up, and a paper feed guide
111, with which the papers are in order, located at one end of
the paper feed tray 110, are placed. The paper feed tray 110 is
placed to tilt from the paper feed guide 111 toward upper direction
so that the paper feed tray 110 keeps the papers sloping.
At the front of the upper housing 101, a paper discharge
opening 104 is formed. In the paper discharge opening 104, a paper
discharge stacker 120, on which the papers ejected are piled up,
is placed. The paper discharge stacker 120 is placed to store
the papers on the back of the lower housing 102 from the paper
discharge opening 104 in use and provide papers sloping from the
paper discharge opening 104 out of use so that the papers are received
in the sloping state.
In addition, the paper discharge opening 104 includes a
stacker holding unit 121 for holding the paper discharge stacker
120 at theoppositeendtothepaperejectionsidealongthewidthwise
direction, when the paper discharge stacker 120 is pulled out.
Moreover, FIG.l shows the state that the paper discharge stacker
120 is in the internal side of the lower housing 102.
All over the surface of the upper housing 101, a window 105
is formed. The window 105 is covered with a transparent or
semitransparent cover 106, which slightlycurves, capable of being
opened and closed. With opening the cover 106, exchanging the
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ink cartridge or maintenance work can be easily done. And, on
the left back of the upper housing 101, a power switch 131 and
an operation switch 132, each of which is a button type, are placed.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an overall internal
5 structure of the ink-jet printer 100 shown in FIG. 1, from which
the upper housing 101 is removed, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional
view of main units thereof. In the lower housing 102, a main board
130, of which a printer controller is composed, shown in FIG. 2,
is vertically placed, and a printing mechanism 140, shown in FIG.
10 2, a paper feed mechanism 150 and a paper feed mechanism 160, shown
in FIG. 3, of which a print engine is compose, is placed.
On the main board 13 0, control devices, memory devices or/and
other various circuit devices, such as CPU, ROM, RAM and ASIC etc.,
not shown in drawings, are installed, and light emitting diodes
133, 134 with which a user can check if the power switch 131 or
the operation switch 132 is properly operated when the user pushes
the switches, are placed at the edge of the main board 130.
The printing mechanism 140 includes a carriage 141, a print
head 142, a carriage motor 143, a timing belt 144, a suction pump
145 and a detection unit etc. On papers carried by a paper feed
mechanism 160, the print head 142, mounted on the carriage 141,
prints an image by scanning by the timing belt 144 driven by the
carriage motor 143. This print head 142 is supplied with ink by
the ink cartridge 146, installed in the carriage 141, and the colors
of the ink may be, for example, yellow, magenta, cyan and black.
The paper feed mechanism 150 includes a paper feed tray 110,
a paper feed guide 111, a paper feed roller 151, a hopper 152 and
a separation pad etc. Papers P piled up on the paper tray 110
and put in order by the paper guide 111 are pressed to be on the
separation pad 153 by the raised hopper 152 according to rotation
of the paper feed roller 151, so that the paper P are fed into
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the paper feed mechanism 160 a piece at a time from the top of
the papers P.
The paper feed mechanism 160 includes a paper feed roller
161, a driven roller 162, a paper discharge roller 163, a jagged
roller 164, a paper feed motor 165 and a paper discharge stacker
120 etc . The paper P fed by the paper feed mechanism 150 is inserted
within the paper feed roller 161 and the driven roller 162 driven
by the paper feed motor 165 and conveyed to the printing mechanism
140. Next, the paper P is inserted within the paper discharge
roller 163 and the jagged roller 164 driven by the paper feed motor
165, and conveyed to the paper discharge stacker 120.
FIG. 4 to FIG. 6 are a side view, a top view and a perspective
and partly exploded view of the carriage 141, respectively. The
carriage 141 includes a body 141a and a cover 141b(FIGS. 4 and
5). The print head 142 is mounted on the bottom of the body 141a
of thecarriage 141 (FIG. 4,5), and the ink cartridge 146B containing
black ink and the ink cartridge 146C containing ink of various
colors, such as yellow, cyan and magenta etc., are installed in
the inside of the body 141a of the carriage 141 (FIG. 6).
And, carriage guide section 41 separated each other at a
predetermined distance, are wholly formed at both sides of the
back of the body 141a of the carriage 141 (FIG. 4, 5) . And, a guide
member 43 (FIG. 4) sliding with being enfolded by the carriage guide
section 41 is formed in a mainframe 107(FIG. 4) placed to be a
vertical state and perpendicular to a direction of conveying the
paper. This guide member 43 is placed like the main frame 107
and is bent so that the cross-section of the end of the guide member
43 is Z-shaped. Further, in a bent area of the guide member 43,
a pair of projection 41a, 41b holding a horizontal part 43a of
the guide member 43 and a pair of projection 41c, 41d holding a
vertical part 43b of the guide member 43 are formed at the carriage
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guide section 41. In addition, a slide unit 42 is wholly formed
at the mid-front of the bottom of the body 141a of the carriage
141. The guide section 44 (FIG. 4) onwhichthe slideunit 42 slides
is formed at a paper ejection frame 108 placed to be a horizontal
state and perpendicular to a direction of conveying the paper.
As usual, the carriage 141 is made up to be divided into
a head-mounted unit 141A, on which the print head is mounted, and
a cartridge mounting section 141B, in which the ink cartridges
146B and 146C are installed, in order to enhance a maintenance
efficiency of the print head 142. A circuit board 148(FIG. 6)
including connectors 147b and 147c(FIG. 6) is set on the inside
of the wall of the front of the cartridge mounting section 141B.
The circuit board 148 is coupledtomemories 149band 149c (FIG.
6) installed for storing information about a production date, a
product number, the quantity of ink remained etc. on the front
of the ink cartridges 146B and 146C, which includes a connector,
with the connector 147b and 147c. In addition, a board coupled
to the print head 142 is placed to be separated from the circuit
board 148 on the inside wall of the back of the head-mounted unit
141A.
According to the above structure, the print head 142 is
mounted on the head-mounted unit 141A and the circuit board 148
is placed in the cartridge mounting section 141B so that the circuit
board 148 can be protected during maintenance work of the print
head 142 because the circuit board 148 and the print head 142 are
separated.
Positioning ribs 146Ba and 146Ca for deciding the position
when the memories 149b and 149c including connectors and the
connector 147b and 147c of the circuit board 148 are coupled are
formed on the front of the ink cartridges 146B and 146C. That
is, the positioning ribs 146Ba and 146Ca decide the position of
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the memories 149b and 149c including connectors and the connector
147b and 147c of the circuit board 148, when the ink cartridges
146B and 146C are installed in the cartridge mounting section 141B
of the carriage 141 by being engaged with grooves 141Ba and 141Bb
placed on the front of the cartridge mounting section 141B.
And, error mounting preventing ribs 146Bb and 146Cb are
formed to prevent the ink cartridge146Band146C frombeinginstalled
in other kinds of the carriage on the sides of the ink cartridge
146B and 146C. That is, when the ink cartridges 146B and 146C are
installed in the cartridge mounting section 141B of the carriage
141, the error mounting is protected because the cover 141b is
closed properly if the error mounting preventing ribs 146Bb and
146Cb engaged with grooves 141Bc and 141Bd placed on the sides
of the cartridge mounting section 141B, but the ink cartridges
146B and 146C cannot be installed properly in other kinds of the
carriage by collision.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an ink cartridge, one of
the embodiments of the present invention. And, FIG. 8 is a
perspective view showing the bottom of the ink cartridge shown
in FIG. 7. The ink cartridge 210 includes an ink cartridge body
220, an ink supply section 240, a memory 260 and a positioning
member 280.
The ink cartridge body 220 contains ink, for example black
ink, thereof. As one of the examples of the ink cartridge body
220, a container, which is substantially rectangular in cross
section, is filled with a porous material holding ink. However,
the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, so for
example, a hollow container may directly contain ink and
selectively supply ink to a printing apparatus by an open and close
means, such as a valve and the like, in the ink supply section.
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The ink supply section 240 has an ink supply opening 242,
placed on the bottom 222 of the ink cartridge body 220. The ink
supply opening 242 is placed to be close to the first wall 224
crossing the bottom 222 of the ink cartridge body 220. Here, the
bottom 222 of the ink cartridge body 220 is defined as the surface,
on which the ink supply section 240 is placed, and the bottom is
not always towards a lower position in use of the ink cartridge.
The memory 260 has a memory device storing information about
ink, such as the kind of ink cartridge, the kind of ink, the ink
cartridge contains, the color of ink and the current quantity of
ink etc. As an example of the memory 260, there is a contact type
IC chip. The contact type IC chip has a board, a contact terminal
member including contact terminals exposed on the surface of the
board and a memory device placed on the back of the board so that
the information data of the memory device is read or written as
the contact terminals and the exterior are in contact and are
electrically coupled.
According to the present embodiment, the memory 260 is a
contact type and has a contact terminal member 262 including seven
contact terminals exposed to the exterior. The contact terminal
member 262 is placed on the second sidewall 226, which is opposite
to the first sidewall 224 and crosses the bottom 222 of the ink
cartridge body 220. Here, the number of the contact terminals
of the contact terminal member is not limited to seven. It may
be a possible construction that the contact terminal member 262
is placed alone on the second sidewall 226, while the memory device
of the memory 260 is placed on the suitable position of the ink
cartridge body 220, such as other sidewall of the ink cartridge
body 220 so that the contact terminal member 262 and the memory
of the memory is electrically coupled by, for example, a flexible
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print circuit (FPC) And, not limited to a contact type, the
terminal member maybe none contact type, usingmagnetismoroptics.
FIG. 9A is a side view showing the second sidewall 226 of
the ink cartridge 210 according to the embodiment of the present
5 invention. FIG. 9B is a side view showing the third sidewall 227
of the ink cartridge 210. A positioning member 280 is placed for
enabling the ink cartridge 210 to be properly installed in the
printing apparatus on the second sidewall 226. The positioning
member 280 has a positioning rib 282, which protrudes from the
10 second sidewall 226 and is extended towards the bottom 222. As
shown in FIG. 9A, the positioning rib 282 is located out of the
range of the width Wl of the contact terminal member 262. That
is, the centerline (the single-dotted and dashed line) of the
positioning rib 282 is in the outside of the width Wl (the distance
15 between the dashed lines) of the contact terminal member 262.
The ink cartridge 210 further includes a projecting part
290 more closely placed to the top of the ink cartridge 210 than
the contact terminal member 262 of the memory 2 60 and the posit ioning
rib 282 is. The projecting part 290 has a surface 292, which
protrudes above the positioning rib 282 and is nearly parallel
to the second sidewall 226. That is, referring to FIG. 9B, the
position (the broken line) of the surface 292 of the projecting
part 290 is beyond either the position (the dotted and dashed line)
of the positioning rib 282 or the position (the double-dotted and
dashed lines) of the contact terminal member 262. Consequently,
in the case of being handled the ink cartridge by a user, the
projecting part 290 is in contact with the exterior so that the
contact terminal member 262 and the positioning rib 282 can be
protected from an impact of the exterior. Especially, even though
a user drops the ink cartridge 210 onto the floor by mistake, the
CA 02573238 2007-01-23
16
contact terminal member 262 is safe because the contact terminal
member 262 is not in contact with the floor.
As shown in FIG. 9A, the center of the contact terminal member
262, that is, the lengthwise center axis of the middle one of the
contact terminals in the upper row, i s placed at a dif ferent position
from the center axis (the double-dotted and dashed line) of the
ink supply opening 242. The contact terminal member 262 is placed
to be close to the third sidewall 227 crossing both the second
sidewall 226 and the bottom 222 on the second sidewall 226. In
addition, the ink cartridge 210 further includes an inverse
mounting preventing rib 229 placed on the fourth sidewall 228
opposite to the third sidewall 227.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an ink cartridge, another
embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a perspective
view showing the bottom of the ink cartridge shown in FIG. 10.
The ink cartridge 310 includes an ink cartridge body 320, an ink
supply section 340, a memory 360 and a positioning member 380.
FIG. 12 is aperspective andexploded view of the inkcartridge
310. The ink cartridge body 320 has partitioning walls 333 and
335 placed therein. In addition, the ink cartridge body 320 has
a plurality of ink chamber 332, 334 and 336, which are separated
by the partitioning walls 333 and 335 and contain different ink.
As shown in FIG. 12, the ink cartridge body 320 has 3 ink chambers,
the ink chamber 332 made up of an outside wall 331 and the
partitioning wall 333, the ink chamber 334 made up of the
partitioning wall 333 and the partitioning wall 335 and the ink
chamber 336 made up of the partitioning wall 335 and an outside
wall 337. For example, cyan ink is contained in the ink chamber
332, magenta ink is contained in the chamber 334 and yellow ink
is contained in the chamber 336. Moreover, the ink cartridge body
320 has a whole lid 339 nearly parallel to the bottom 322. In
CA 02573238 2007-01-23
17
addition, FIG. 12 is aperspective view to describe the partitioning
walls and the ink chambers, and other components such as a substance,
which has lots of holes, keeping ink etc., are omitted.
The ink supply section 340 has ink supply openings 342, 344
and 346 placed to be close to the first sidewall 324 crossing the
bottom 322 of the ink cartridge body 320 on the bottom 322 of the
ink cartridge body 320 corresponding to the a plurality of the
ink chamber 332, 334 and 336.
The memory 360 has a contact terminal member 362. The contact
terminal member 362 is placed on the second sidewall 326 opposite
to the f irst sidewal l 324 crossing the bottom 322 of the ink cartridge
body 320 and located at the position corresponding to the
partitioning wall 333. The memory 360 has the same composition
and function as the memory 260 of the ink cartridge 210 does so
the description of them is omitted.
FIG. 13A is a front elevational view showing the
second sidewall 326 of the ink cartridge 310 according to
the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13B is a side
elevational view showing the fourth sidewall 328 of the ink
cartridge 310.
As shown in FIG. 13A, the center of the contact terminal
member 362 is placed at the position different from the center
axis (the double-dotted and dashed l ine ) of the ink supply openings.
The contact terminal member 362 is placed to be close to the third
sidewall 327 crossing the bottom 322 and the second sidewall 326
on the second sidewall 326. The contact terminal member 362, as
described above, is placed at the position corresponding to the
partitioning wa11333nearthethirdsidewall327. The centerline
(the dotted and dashed line) of the position corresponding to the
partitioning wall 333 is located within the range of the width
W2 (the distance between the 2 broken line) of the contact terminal
member 362 of the memory 360. In addition, in the ink cartridge
CA 02573238 2007-01-23
18
310 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the
centerline of the contact terminal member 362 is at the nearly
same position as the centerline corresponding to the partitioning
wall 333.
The ink cartridge 310, like the ink cartridge 210, has a
positioning rib 382, which protrudes f rom the second sidewall 326
and is extended towards the bottom 322. The positioning rib 382
is located out of the range of the width W2 of the contact terminal
member 362. That is, the centerline (the dashed and dotted line)
of the positioning rib 382 is in the outside of the width W2 of
the contact terminal member 362.
The ink cartridge 310, like the ink cartridge 210, further
includes a projecting part 390 more closely placed to the top of
the ink cartridge 310 than the contact terminal member 362 of the
memory 360 and the positioning rib 382 is. The projecting part
390 has a surface 392, which protrudes above the positioning rib
382 and is nearly parallel to the second sidewall 326. That is,
referring to FIG. 13B, the position (the broken line) of the surface
392 of the projecting part 390 is beyond either the position (the
dotted and dashed line) of the positioning rib 382 or the position
(the double-dotted and dashed line) of the contact terminal member
362.
The ink cartridge 310 further includes an inverse mounting
preventing rib 329 placed on the fourth sidewall 328 opposite to
the third sidewall 32% near the contact terminal member 362.
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a carriage, in which two
ink cartridges are installed. The carriage 400 has the first
cartridge holding section 410, in which the ink cartridge 210
containing black ink is installed and the second cartridge holding
section 450 , in which the ink cartridge 310 containing cyan, magenta
and yellow ink is installed.
CA 02573238 2007-01-23
19
A contact terminal member 420 is placed at the position,
which is in the first cartridge holding section 410 and corresponds
to the contact terminal member 262 of the memory 260, when the
ink cartridge 210 is installed in the first cartridge holding
section 410. In addition, the first cartridge holding section
410 has a position decision groove 430, which is placed at the
same sidewall as the contact terminal member 420 is on, is away
from the second cartridge holding section 450 more than the contact
terminal member 420 is and is engaged with the positioning rib
282 of the inkcartridge 210. Moreover, the first cartridge holding
section 410 has a gap 440, which is placed at the sidewall opposite
to the second cartridge holding section 450 and is engaged with
the inverse mounting preventing rib 282 of the ink cartridge 210.
Though not shown in FIG. 14, an ink supply needle 412 is
placed at the position, which is on the bottom of the f irst cartridge
holding section 410 and corresponds to the ink supply section 240
of the ink cartridge. The ink supply needle 412 is hollow, and
an end surface of the ink supply needle 412 is placed in the inside
of the bottom of the carriage 400.
Like the first cartridge holding section 410, a contact
terminal member 460 is placed at the position, which is in the
second cartridge holding section 450and corresponds to the contact
terminal member 362 of the memory 360 when the ink cartridge 310
is installed in the second cartridge holding section 450. In
addition, the second cartridge holding section 450 has an ink
cartridge position regulating groove 470, which is placed at the
same sidewall as the contact terminal member 460 is on, is away
from the first cartridge holding section 410 more than the contact
terminal member 460 is and is engaged with the positioning rib
382 of the ink cartridge 310. Moreover, the second cartridge
holding section 450 has a gap 480, which is placed at the sidewall
CA 02573238 2007-01-23
opposite to the first cartridge holding section 410 and is engaged
with the inverse mounting preventing rib 382 of the ink cartridge
310. An ink supply needle 452, like the first cartridge holding
section 410, is placed at the position, which is on the bottom
5 of the second cartridge holding section 450 and corresponds to the
ink supply section 340 of the ink cartridge. The construction
of the ink supply needle 452 is similar to the that of the ink
supply needle 412 of the first cartridge holding section 410, but
since there are three ink supply openings 342, 344 and 346 of the
10 ink cartridge 310 the ink supply needle 452 has three ink supply
needles 452.
FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing the relation of the
two ink cartridges installed in the carriage. As shown in FIG.
15, the ink cartridge 210 and the ink cartridge 310 are side-by-side
15 installed in the carriage 400. In that case, the third sidewall
227 of the ink cartridge 210 and the third sidewall 327 of the
ink cartridge 310 face each other.
As described above, the contact terminal member 262 of the
ink cartridge 210 is placed to be close to the third sidewall 227,
20 while the contact terminal member 362 of the ink cartridge 310
is placed to be close to the third sidewall 327. That is, the
contact terminal member 262 of the ink cartridge 210 and the contact
terminal member 362 of the ink cartridge 310 is positioned next
to each other, while the 2 ink cartridge 210 and 310 are installed
in the carriage 400. Accordingly, like the carriage 400 shown
in FIG. 14, the contact terminal member 420 of the first cartridge
holding section 410 and the contact terminal member 460 of the
second cartridge holding section 450 can be closely placed each
other so that wires of, for example, FPC do not need to be long.
In addition, as described above, the inverse mounting
preventing rib 229 of the ink cartridge 210 is placed on the fourth
CA 02573238 2007-01-23
21
sidewall 228 opposite to the third sidewall 227, while the inverse
mounting preventing rib 329 of the ink cartridge 310 is placed
on the fourth sidewall 328 opposite to the third sidewall 327.
That is, the inversemountingpreventingrib229of the inkcartridge
210 and the inverse mounting preventing rib 329 of the ink cartridge
310 is not located facing each other. Consequently, the third
sidewall 227 and the third sidewall 327 can be closely positioned
so that the size of the whole carriage 400 can be small.
FIG. 16A and FIG. 16B are partly cross-sectional views
showing that the ink cartridge 310 is installed in the carriage
400. FIG. 16A and FIG. 16B are cross-sectional views of the second
cartridge holding section 450 of the carriage 400 with respect
to a plane including the position regulating groove 470. Although
it is described that the ink cartridge 310 is installed in the
second cartridge holding section 450 of the carriage 400 as an
example here, it is the same case that the ink cartridge 210 is
installed in the first cartridge holding section 410 of the carriage
400.
As shown in FIG. 16A, the ink cartridge 310 is positioned
in normal direction to the second cartridge holding section 450
of the carriage 400. Here, the normal direction means that the
ink supply section 340 of the ink cartridge 310 faces the ink supply
needle 452 of the second cartridge holding section 450 and the
contact terminal member 362 of the ink cartridge 310 faces the
contact terminal member 460 of the second cartridge holding section
450. The ink cartridge positioned in the normal direction is
inserted into the second cartridge holding section 450 of the
carriage 400.
As shown in FIG. 16B, the ink cartridge 310 being inserted,
the positioning rib 382 is guided by the ink cartridge position
regulating groove 470 of the second cartridge holding section 450.
CA 02573238 2007-01-23
22
The inverse mounting preventing rib 329 is engaged with the gap
480 of the second cartridge holding section 450.
As the ink cartridge 310 is further inserted, the ink supply
needle 452 of the second cartridge holding section 450 enters the
inside of the ink supply section 340 of the ink cartridge 310.
As the bottom of the ink supply section 340 of the ink cartridge
310 comes in contact with the end surface of the ink supply needle
452 of the second cartridge holding section 450, the installation
of the ink cartridge 310 is over. Accordingly, the ink cartridge
310 supplies the printing apparatus with ink through the ink supply
needle.
FIG. 17A and FIG. 17B are another partly cross-sectional
views showing that the ink cartridge 310 is installed in the carriage
400. FIG. 17A and FIG. 17B are cross-sectional views of the second
cartridge holding section 450 of the carriage 400 with respect
to a plane not including the position regulating groove 470.
FIG. 17A, which corresponds to FIG. 16A, shows that ink
cartridge 310 is positioned in the normal direction to the second
cartridge holding section45Gofthe carriage 400. FIG. 17B, which
corresponds to FIG. 16B, shows a state of the ink cartridge 310
being installed in the second cartridge holding section 450 of
the carriage 400.
As shown in FIG. 17B, when the bottom of the ink supply section
340 of the ink cartridge 310 comes in contact with the ink supply
needle 452 of the second cartridge holding section, the lower
surface of the projection part 390 of the ink cartridge 310 comes
in contact with a surface 472 of the second cartridge holding section
450.
The position of the ink cartridge 310 is decided not only
by the penetration of the ink supply needle 452 into the ink supply
section 340, but also by the engagement of the positioning rib
CA 02573238 2007-01-23
23
382 and the ink cartridge position regulating groove 470.
Accordingly, the contact terminal member 362 of the ink cartridge
310 is coupled to the contact terminal member 460 of the second
cartridge holding section 450 with a degree of precision, even
if the contact terminal member 362 of the ink cartridge 310 is
positioned far away from the ink supply section 340, because the
ink cartridge 310 is positioned in the direction to the same second
sidewall 326 by the positioning rib 382. Consequently, the
information obtained by the coupling of the contact terminal member
460 and the contact terminal member 362 of the ink cartridge 310
can be certainly transmitted to the printing apparatus through
wires 462 of, for example, FPC.
It is possible to prevent the positioning rib 382 from
damaging the contact terminal member 460 of the second cartridge
holding section 450, when the ink cartridge 310 is installed in
the second cartridge holding section 450, because the positioning
rib 382 of the ink cartridge 310 is located in the outside of the
width W2 of the contact terminal member 460.
Here, when the ink cartridge 210 is already installed, the
ink cartridge 310 is positioned in the inverse direction. That
is, it means that the ink cartridge is positioned as the first
sidewall 324 faces the contact terminal member 460 of the second
cartridge holding section 450 or the second sidewall 326 faces
the ink supply needle 452. If the ink cartridge 310 is mounted
in the second cartridge holding section 450 in this condition,
the inverse mounting preventing rib 329 of the ink cartridge 310
will be blocked by the ink cartridge 210. Accordingly, the ink
cartridge 310 will not be inserted any more. Consequently, the
ink cartridge 310 is prevented from being installed in the second
cartridge holding section 450 in the inverse direction.
CA 02573238 2007-01-23
24
According to the above embodiments of the present invention,
the contact terminal member can be certainly coupled to the contact
terminal member of the carriage, though the contact terminal member
is placed far away from the ink supply section, because the ink
cartridge is positioned in the direction to the same second sidewall
by the positioning rib. Accordingly, the degree of freedom of
the space where the contact terminal member of the ink cartridge
is placed can be increased.
In addition, in the case that the contact terminal member
is placed at the position corresponding to the partitioning wall
of the ink cartridge, it is hard for the ink cartridge body to
be transformed by the fabrication or the decrease of pressure in
manufacturing the ink cartridge, and the contact terminal member
can be further certainly coupled to the contact terminal member
of the carriage.
Although the present invention has been described by way
of exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that those
skilled in the art might make many changes and substitutions without
departing from the spirit and the scope of the present invention,
which is defined only by the appended claims.
For example, though an ink-jet printer as a printing
apparatus has been described by way of exemplary embodiments, the
present invention can also be applied to such a facsimile apparatus
or copying apparatus of ink-j et type, if these printing apparatuses
include a carriage.
