Ink box

Abstract

The utility model relates to an ink cartridge for an ink jet printer. In some embodiments, the ink box comprises a box body and a chip; the insulating seat is arranged on the box body; the plurality of conductive pieces are arranged on the insulating seat; the conductive piece is electrically connected with the chip and is provided with an elastic part for forming external electric connection; the insulating seat is detachably fixed on the box body; according to the technical scheme, external electric connection between the chip and the electric connector of the ink-jet printer is achieved through the conductive piece independent of the chip, flexible arrangement of the position of the chip is facilitated, and the connection reliability between the chip and the electric connector can be improved.

Description

[0001] This utility model claims priority to a prior Chinese application with an application date of August 29, 2023, an invention name of “Ink Cartridge”, and an application number of 202322338531.9. All contents of the prior application are fully cited in this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to an ink cartridge for use in an inkjet printing device. Background Art

[0003] The ink cartridge is usually detachably mounted to an inkjet printer to supply ink for printing to the inkjet printer.

[0004] In some existing technologies, the ink cartridge has a chip that stores relevant information (such as the ink cartridge model, printable volume, etc.). In order to ensure that the inkjet printer can stably read / identify the information stored in the chip, it is required that after the ink cartridge is installed in the inkjet printer, a reliable electrical connection can be formed between the chip and the electrical connector of the inkjet printer. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of the present application is to provide an ink cartridge that can form a reliable electrical connection between a chip and an electrical connector of an inkjet printer when the ink cartridge is installed in the inkjet printer.

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, an ink cartridge for an inkjet printer is provided, comprising a cartridge body and a chip; an insulating seat arranged on the cartridge body; a plurality of conductive members arranged on the insulating seat; the conductive members are electrically connected to the chip and have an elastic portion for forming an external electrical connection; the insulating seat is detachably fixed to the cartridge body.

[0007] Furthermore, the chip is mounted on the insulating seat or the box body.

[0008] Furthermore, the elastic portions of the plurality of conductive elements are arranged linearly.

[0009] Furthermore, a detachable connection is formed between the insulating seat and the box body.

[0010] Furthermore, the inkjet printer is provided with an electrical connector, the conductive contact pin of the electrical connector has a flat portion and a raised portion, and when the ink cartridge is installed in the inkjet printer, the elastic portion of the conductive member contacts the flat portion of the conductive contact pin.

[0011] Furthermore, a positioning protrusion is provided on one side of the insulating seat, and an elastic buckle is provided on the other opposite side. The positioning protrusion is inserted into the positioning hole / slot on the box body, and the elastic buckle forms a snap fit with the slot on the box body.

[0012] Furthermore, the chip is arranged on an insulating seat, and two oppositely arranged plug-in slots are formed on the insulating seat, and opposite sides of the chip are plug-fitted with the corresponding plug-in slots.

[0013] Furthermore, the conductive member may include a main body, a first elastic portion, and a second elastic portion, the first elastic portion is used to form an external electrical connection, and the second elastic portion is electrically connected to a conductive electrode of the chip.

[0014] Furthermore, the chip includes a substrate, a memory, and multiple terminals connected to the memory, the multiple terminals including at least a data terminal, a clock terminal, a power terminal, a reset terminal, and a ground terminal; the conductive members are electrically connected to the multiple terminals respectively; and the multiple terminals are asymmetrically distributed on the substrate.

[0015] In the above technical solution, the external electrical connection between the chip and the inkjet printer electrical connector is achieved through a conductive member independent of the chip, which is not only conducive to the flexible setting of the chip position, but also can improve the connection reliability between the chip and the electrical connector.

[0016] In order to more clearly illustrate the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of the ink cartridge after the ink outlet hole is sealed by the sealing film in Example 1;

[0018] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of the ink cartridge in Example 1 before the ink outlet is sealed by the sealing film;

[0019] Figure 3 is a schematic side structural diagram of the ink cartridge in Example 1;

[0020] Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of the ink cartridge sealing film after being pierced by the ink supply needle in Example 1;

[0021] Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of the sealing film in Example 1;

[0022] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the ink cartridge in Example 2;

[0023] Figure 7 is a partial structural exploded view of the ink cartridge in Example 2;

[0024] Figure 8 This is the overall structural diagram of the insulating seat part in Example 2;

[0025] Figure 9 This is a first structural exploded view of the insulating seat portion in Example 2;

[0026] Figure 10 is a second structural exploded view of the insulating seat portion in Example 2;

[0027] Figure 11 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the electrical connector in the inkjet printer;

[0028] Figure 12 is a diagram showing the matching structure of the ink cartridge conductive member and the inkjet printer electrical connector when the ink cartridge is installed in the inkjet printer in Example 2;

[0029] Figure 13 2 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an ink cartridge according to a modified embodiment of the second embodiment;

[0030] Figure 14 This is a partial structural exploded view of the ink cartridge in a modified form of Example 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] In the following description, many specific details are explained in combination with the embodiments to facilitate a full understanding of the present invention. However, it should be understood that the following embodiments and detailed descriptions are only for illustrative purposes and do not limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0032] Example 1

[0033] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the ink cartridge 100 of Example 1 includes a cartridge body 110 having an ink storage chamber and an ink outlet 120. The cartridge body 110 has a front sidewall 111 located at the front side in the installation direction M of the ink cartridge 100 installed in the inkjet printer. The ink outlet 120 is provided on the front sidewall 111 and is located at the lower portion of the front sidewall 111 when the ink cartridge 100 is in the installed state. The ink outlet 120 may also be provided at other locations on the cartridge body 110, and this application does not limit this. Preferably, the outer end surface 122 of the ink outlet 120 forms an inclined surface that is inclined relative to the axial direction of the ink outlet 120, but this is not limited to this.

[0034] The air inlet 121 of the air guide channel, which communicates with the ink reservoir, is disposed on the inner surface of the ink outlet 120, for example, but not limited to, the upper surface of the ink outlet 120. The outer end surface 122 of the ink outlet 120 is provided with a sealing film 130 that seals the ink outlet 120. In the present application, the sealing film 130 may be a metal film, a plastic film, or a combination of the two. Preferably, a sealing film with low ductility is used.

[0035] Specifically, the metal film may be made of aluminum foil, titanium foil, stainless steel foil, aluminum alloy foil, or other alloy foil, and an adhesive layer may be provided on the metal film to achieve bonding with the outer end surface 122. The plastic film may be made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), nylon, polyethylene, ethylene methacrylate copolymer, ethylene acrylate copolymer film, or other films, or a composite film made of these films; the plastic film may also be provided with other covering layers or coatings, such as an adhesive layer, an inorganic deposition layer, and / or a barrier layer.

[0036] Furthermore, at least one of the two surfaces of the sealing film 130 (for example, the outer surface facing away from the outer end surface 122) is provided with a trace line 131, and the depth of the trace line 131 is less than the thickness of the sealing film 130. Specifically, the depth of the trace line 131 can be 1 / 4 to 3 / 4 of the thickness of the sealing film 130, but is not limited thereto. In the present application, the trace line 131 can be as follows: Figure 2 The roughly S-shaped shape shown can also be Figure 5 The straight line shape shown may also be other shapes not shown in the figure, and this application does not limit this.

[0037] The inner diameter of the ink outlet hole 120 is larger than the outer diameter of the ink supply needle on the inkjet printer. When the ink cartridge 100 is installed in the inkjet printer, a space is formed between the ink supply needle 320 and the inner surface of the ink outlet hole 120 to allow airflow to pass through. Figure 4 As shown, the ink supply needle 320 of the inkjet printer pierces the sealing film 130 and enters the ink outlet hole 120. When the sealing film 130 is pierced, the sealing film 130 is folded toward the ink outlet hole 120, and the trace line 131 on the sealing film 130 is broken, resulting in a gap 132 between the folded parts, so that air can flow from the gap 132 of the folded part to the air inlet 121 to enter the air guide channel.

[0038] The provision of trace lines 131 facilitates the formation of gaps 132 along the trace lines 131 when the sealing film 130 is punctured. There may be one or more trace lines 131, and preferably, at least one trace line 131 passes through the air inlet 121. This ensures that gaps 132 are formed at the air inlet 121 when the sealing film 130 is punctured.

[0039] Preferably, there are multiple trace lines 131, and the multiple trace lines 131 extend from the central area of ​​the sealing film 130 to the edge or intersect at the central area, so that when the sealing film 130 is punctured, it can form a relatively ideal folding shape, thereby making the air intake of the air guide channel smoother.

[0040] Example 2

[0041] like Figure 6 and7 As shown, the ink cartridge 200 of Example 2 includes a cartridge body 210, an insulating seat 220, a chip 230, and a plurality of conductive members 240. When the ink cartridge is installed in an inkjet printer, the conductive members 240 can establish an electrical connection between the chip 230 and the inkjet printer, allowing the inkjet printer to read / recognize the information on the chip 230.

[0042] In some embodiments, the chip 230 includes a substrate, a memory, and a plurality of terminals connected to the memory, wherein the plurality of terminals include at least a data terminal, a clock terminal, a power terminal, a reset terminal, and a ground terminal; the conductive member 240 is electrically connected to the plurality of terminals respectively; wherein, as Figure 9 , the multiple terminals are asymmetrically distributed on the substrate.

[0043] The present application does not limit the connection method between the insulating seat 220 and the box body 210; preferably, the insulating seat 220 is installed on the box body 210 in a detachable manner. Figure 7 and 9 As shown, in an optional embodiment, a positioning protrusion 221 is provided on one side of the insulating seat 220, and an elastic clip 222 is provided on the other opposite side. The positioning protrusion 221 is inserted into the positioning hole / slot 211 on the box body 210, and the elastic clip 222 forms a snap fit with the slot 212 on the box body 210 to detachably fix the insulating seat 220 on the box body 210.

[0044] The chip 230 may be disposed on the insulating seat 220. In an optional embodiment, as Figure 9 As shown, two oppositely disposed insertion slots 223 are formed on the insulating seat 220, and opposite sides of the chip 230 are plugged into the corresponding insertion slots 223. The chip 230 can also be installed on the insulating seat 220 using other mounting structures, which is not limited in this application.

[0045] The conductive member 240 is disposed on the insulating seat 220 and is electrically connected to the chip 230. Specifically, Figure 10 As shown, the conductive member 240 may include a main body 243, a first elastic portion 241, and a second elastic portion 242. The first elastic portion 241 is used to form an external electrical connection, and the second elastic portion 242 is electrically connected to the conductive electrode 231 of the chip 230. Preferably, the first elastic portions 241 of the plurality of conductive members 240 form a simple linear arrangement, but this is not limited to this. At least one of the first elastic portion 241 and the second elastic portion 242 is arranged in a curved or bent configuration.

[0046] In an optional embodiment, the main body 243 of the conductive member 240 is U-shaped, with one end forming the elastic portion 241 and the other end forming the second elastic portion 242. Preferably, the insulating seat 220 is provided with a limiting groove 224, and at least a portion of the main body 243 is disposed in the limiting groove 224 to reliably define the installation position of the conductive member 240 on the insulating seat 220.

[0047] like Figure 11 As shown, the electrical connector 320 of the inkjet printer is provided with a plurality of conductive contact pins 321, and the conductive contact pins 321 have a flat portion 322 and a raised portion 323. Figure 12 As shown, when the ink cartridge 200 is installed in the inkjet printer, the first elastic portion 241 of the conductive member 240 contacts the flat portion 322 of the conductive contact pin 321, which is conducive to forming a more stable electrical connection.

[0048] In the prior art, the protrusions 323 of the plurality of conductive contact pins 321 on the electrical connector 320 are arranged in a non-linear arrangement, for example Figure 11 As shown, they are arranged in two rows; accordingly, the multiple conductive electrodes on the ink cartridge chip also adopt a corresponding nonlinear arrangement and respectively contact the raised portions 323 of the multiple conductive contact pins 321. Due to the limited chip area, the surface area of ​​the chip electrodes is generally small, which not only increases the difficulty of aligning the chip electrodes with the raised portions 323, but also increases the manufacturing cost. In contrast, the present application utilizes multiple conductive members 240 to achieve electrical connection between the chip 230 and the electrical connector 320, especially the contact between the conductive members 240 and the flat portion 311, which helps ensure the alignment accuracy and electrical connection reliability between the two.

[0049] As a variation of embodiment 2, the chip 230 may be provided on the box body 210. Figure 13 and 14 As shown, in an optional embodiment, two oppositely disposed insertion slots 213 are formed on the box body 210, and opposite sides of the chip 230 are plugged into the corresponding insertion slots 211. The chip 230 can also be installed on the box body 230 using other mounting structures, which is not limited in this application.

[0050] It should be noted that, unless there are any contradictions or exclusions, the different embodiments disclosed above can be quoted, referenced or combined with each other, and the technical features / components of different embodiments can also be combined and / or replaced with each other.

[0051] Although the present invention has been described above through embodiments, it should be understood that the above embodiments are only used to exemplarily describe the feasible implementation plans of the present invention and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention. That is, any replacement or change made by those skilled in the art in accordance with the present invention should also be covered by the scope of protection of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An ink cartridge for an inkjet printer, comprising a cartridge body and a chip; characterized in that: An insulating seat, arranged on the box body; A plurality of conductive members are arranged on the insulating seat; the conductive members are electrically connected to the chip and have elastic parts for forming external electrical connections; the insulating seat is detachably fixed to the box body.

2. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: The chip is mounted on the insulating seat or the box body.

3. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: The elastic portions of the plurality of conductive elements are arranged linearly.

4. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: The insulating seat and the box body are detachably connected.

5. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: The inkjet printer is provided with an electrical connector, wherein a conductive contact pin of the electrical connector has a flat portion and a convex portion. When the ink cartridge is installed in the inkjet printer, the elastic portion of the conductive member contacts the flat portion of the conductive contact pin.

6. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: A positioning protrusion is provided on one side of the insulating seat, and an elastic buckle is provided on the opposite side. The positioning protrusion is inserted into the positioning hole / slot on the box body, and the elastic buckle forms a snap fit with the slot on the box body.

7. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: The chip is arranged on the insulating seat, and two oppositely arranged plug-in slots are formed on the insulating seat. The opposite sides of the chip are plugged into the corresponding plug-in slots.

8. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: The conductive member may include a main body, a first elastic portion, and a second elastic portion. The first elastic portion is used to form an external electrical connection, and the second elastic portion is electrically connected to the conductive electrode of the chip.

9. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: The chip includes a substrate, a memory and multiple terminals connected to the memory, the multiple terminals including at least a data terminal, a clock terminal, a power terminal, a reset terminal and a ground terminal; the conductive members are electrically connected to the multiple terminals respectively; the multiple terminals are asymmetrically distributed on the substrate.

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