CHIP MODULE OF A TONER CARTRIDGE

Abstract

Chip module (10) of a toner cartridge (1), comprising: a substrate (12); a memory (18) mounted on the substrate (12); and a plurality of terminals (20) attached to the substrate (12) and electrically connected to the memory (18); wherein the chip module (10) of the toner cartridge (1) is characterized in that each of the terminals (20) comprises a blade body (22) parallel to an imaginary plane (A), two lateral sides (23) each arranged on two opposite sides of the blade body (22) and parallel to the imaginary plane (A), and a curved contact edge (24) arranged on a lateral edge of the blade body (22) and between the two lateral sides (23).

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the InventionThe present invention relates generally to an electronic image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a chip module of a toner cartridge for use in an electronic image forming apparatus.2. Description of the Prior ArtAn electronic image forming apparatus such as a photocopier, printer, etc. is generally equipped with a replaceable toner cartridge. The front end of the toner cartridge is provided with a chip module for contacting a reading head of the electronic image forming apparatus for transmitting relevant information. The read head includes a base, a plurality of conductive communication strips, and a conductive ground strip. In order to align the chip module of the toner cartridge accurately with the reading head, a projecting pin is provided on the base, the conductive grounding strip is provided on the side edge of the projecting pin, and the conductive communication strips are arranged on two sides of the projecting pin. Accordingly, the chip module is provided with an alignment structure. Since the toner cartridge is a consumable, it must be replaced when the toner is used up. Therefore, the development of an alignment structure of the chip module, which can ensure that each newly inserted toner cartridge is positively aligned and can be brought into contact with the reading head of the electronic image forming apparatus with the proviso of low manufacturing cost to reduce the load on loads, has become a technical challenge which the industry seeks to overcome. Utility model document DE 20 2018 103 469 U1 discloses a chip module for a toner cartridge having a substrate, a memory on the substrate, a plurality of transfer terminals which are electrically connected to the memory. Each transmission terminal has two legs disposed on the substrate and a bridge between the two legs spaced above the top surface of the substrate. A ground terminal is disposed on the substrate between the transmission terminals. The ground terminal is a fin-shaped piece and is disposed non-parallel to the upper surface of the substrate.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances. An object of the present invention is to provide a chip module of a toner cartridge which can be positively aligned and contacted with a reading head of an electric image forming apparatus.Another object of the present invention is to provide a chip module for a toner cartridge which has a low manufacturing cost, thereby reducing the load on loads.To achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a chip module of a toner cartridge coupled to an electronic image forming apparatus having a reading head with conductive communication stripes and a conductive grounding stripe. The chip module includes a substrate, a memory mounted on the substrate, and terminals mounted on the substrate and electrically connected to the memory. Each terminal includes a plate body parallel to an imaginary plane, two lateral sides respectively disposed on two opposite sides of the plate body and parallel to the imaginary plane, and a contact curved edge disposed on a lateral edge of the plate body and between the two lateral sides to be brought into contact with one of the communication conductive strips and the ground conductive strip. In this way, the chip module can be positively aligned and brought into contact with the reading head of the electronic image forming apparatus, and it can be manufactured at low manufacturing cost to reduce the load on the load.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe present invention will become more fully understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of illustration only and thus are not limitative of the present invention, wherein: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toner cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a partial resolution perspective view of the toner cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a chip module of the toner cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the chip module of the toner cartridge of the present embodiment of the invention; FIG. 5 is another perspective view of the chip module of the toner cartridge of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing that the chip module of the toner cartridge is coupled to a reading head; and Figures 7-9 are partially cut-away perspective views showing that the chip module of the toner cartridge is coupled to the read head.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONHereinafter, an embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings for illustrating the technical features and structure of the present invention. Figs. 1-5 show a chip module 10 of a toner cartridge 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The chip module 10 is disposed at the front end of the toner cartridge 1. When the toner cartridge 1 is inserted into an electronic image forming apparatus (not shown), the chip module 10 is in contact with a reading head 5 of the electronic image forming apparatus to facilitate communication between the toner cartridge 1 and the electronic image forming apparatus. The toner cartridge 1 is composed of a housing 2 provided with an engaging slot 3. The reading head 5 comprises a base 6, three communication conductive strips 7 and a ground conductive strip 8, the base 6 is provided with a projecting pin 9 provided between the three communication conductive strips 7, and the ground conductive strip 8 has two exposed portions as shown in FIG. 8 disposed at two lateral sides of the projecting pin 9. It should be noted that in Figs. 4 and 6-7, only an exposed portion of the ground conductive strip 8 is shown. Both the communication conductive strips 7 and the ground conductive strip 8 may undergo elastic deformation when an external force is applied thereto. The chip module 10 includes a substrate 12, a memory 18, four terminals 20, and a connection frame 30.As shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the substrate 12 is a printed circuit board having a top surface 14 and a bottom surface 16. In another embodiment, the memory 18 may be disposed on the bottom surface 16 of the substrate 12.The terminals 20 are mounted on the top surface 14 of the substrate 12 and electrically connected to the memory 18. Each terminal 20 comprises a sheet-shaped body 22 oriented parallel to an imaginary plane A, two lateral sides 23 located on two opposite sides of the body 22 and parallel to the imaginary plane A, a curved contact edge 24 located on a lateral edge of the body 22, and two contact pins 25 extending from the body 22 and penetrating the substrate 12. The imaginary plane A is approximately perpendicular to the substrate 12, and each contact edge 24 is located between the two corresponding sides 23 and forms a semicircular shape. In this embodiment, the body 22 includes an extension portion 221 such that the contact edge 24 extends from the top surface 14 of the substrate 12 to the side of the substrate 12. However, in another embodiment, the body 22 may be configured so as not to extend to the lateral side of the substrate 12. That is, the body 22 may have a semicircular shape without the extension portion 221. Although the terminals 20 have a similar appearance, they consist of one earth terminal 26 and three transmission terminals 28. the earth terminal 26 is located between the three transmission terminals 28 and corresponds to the conductive earth strip 8 of the reading head 5, while the positions of the three transmission terminals 28 correspond respectively to the three conductive communication strips 7 of the reading head 5.As shown in Figs. 2-4, the connecting frame 30 is used to connect the substrate 12 to the toner cartridge 1. The connection frame 30 includes a main body 32, a receiving groove 34 recessed inward from one side of the main body 32, four guide grooves 36 parallel to each other and communicating with the receiving groove 34, and two elastic arms 38 extending outward from two opposite sides of the main body 32 toward the engaging slot 3. The receiving groove 34 serves to receive the substrate 12 of the chip module 10 therein, and the guide grooves 36 are configured such that the contact edges 24 of the terminals 20 respectively project into the guide grooves 36. The openings 37 of these guide grooves 36 are funnel-shaped and gradually narrow from the outer end to the inner end. This construction helps guide the conductive ground strip 8 and the conductive communication strips 7 of the read head 5 to be precisely aligned with the terminals 20. Each elastic arm 38 is provided with a hook portion 39 at its terminal end which can be hooked to one of the two coupling blocks 4 of the engaging slot 3, thereby securely connecting the connecting frame 30 to the housing 2.With the features described above, the chip module 10 located at the front end of the toner cartridge 1 is in contact with the reading head 5 when the toner cartridge 1 is inserted into the electronic image forming apparatus, as shown in Figs. 6-9. With this arrangement, the ground terminal 26 is in contact with the ground strip 8, and the three transmission terminals 28 are in contact with the three communication strips 7, respectively. Since the contact edges 24 are curved and the ground conductive strip 8 and the communication conductive strips 7 can be elastically deformed, even if the ground conductive strip 8 and the communication conductive strips 7 are manufactured with large manufacturing tolerances or deformed due to long term use, accurate alignment and contact between the contact edges 24 of the terminals 20 and the ground conductive strip 8 or the communication conductive strips 7 can still be ensured.Moreover, due to the considerable thickness of the housing 22, the contact edges 24 can be contacted with both the conductive communication strips 7 and the conductive ground strip 8 in line contact, thereby avoiding excessive local current or poor contact problems. Since the ground terminal 26 and the three transmission terminals 28 have the same shape and mounting structure for mounting with the substrate 12, they can be manufactured and mounted with the same shapes or devices. This not only reduces the production costs, but also reduces the loads and improves the competitiveness of the market.Based on the above technical features, various changes can be made to the structure of the chip module 10. For example, each terminal 20 may have one or more contact pins 25 disposed on the substrate 12. The imaginary plane A does not necessarily have to be perpendicular to the substrate 12. The contact edges 24 may be arcuate in shape, i.e., they need not necessarily have a semicircular shape. The number of terminals 20 may vary depending on the number of communication traces and the ground traces of the read head. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

A chip module (10) of a toner cartridge (1) comprising: a substrate (12); a memory (18) mounted on the substrate (12); and a plurality of terminals (20) attached to the substrate (12) and electrically connected to the memory (18); wherein the chip module (10) of the toner cartridge (1) is characterized in that each of the terminals (20) comprises a sheet body (22) parallel to an imaginary plane (A), two lateral sides (23) respectively disposed on two opposite sides of the sheet body (22) and parallel to the imaginary plane (A), and a bent contact edge (24) disposed on one lateral edge of the sheet body (22) and between the two lateral sides (23).The chip module (10) of a toner cartridge (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the terminals (20) comprises at least one contact pin (25) extending from the sheet body (22) and disposed on the substrate (12).The chip module (10) of a toner cartridge (1) according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the terminals (20) comprise a ground terminal (26) and a plurality of transfer terminals (28).The chip module (10) of a toner cartridge (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the substrate (12) is substantially perpendicular to the imaginary plane (A).The chip module (10) of a toner cartridge (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the curved contact edge (24) of each of the terminals (20) has a semicircular shape.A chip module (10) of a toner cartridge (1) for coupling to an electronic imaging device, the electronic imaging device comprising a read head (5) having a plurality of conductive communication strips (7) and a conductive ground strip (8), the chip module (10) of the toner cartridge (1) comprising: a substrate (12); a memory (18) mounted on the substrate (12); and a plurality of terminals (20) attached to the substrate (12) and electrically connected to the memory (18); wherein the chip module (10) of the toner cartridge (1) is characterized in that each of the terminals (20) comprises a sheet body (22) parallel to an imaginary plane (A), two lateral sides (23) respectively disposed on two opposite sides of the sheet body (22) and parallel to the imaginary plane (A), and a bent contact edge (24) disposed on a lateral edge of the sheet body (22) and between the two lateral sides (23) to be contacted with one of the conductive communication strips (7) and the conductive ground strip (8).The chip module (10) of a toner cartridge (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the curved contact edges (24) of the terminals (20) are in contact with the communication conductor strips (7) and the ground conductor strip (8), respectively, in a line contact.A chip module (10) of a toner cartridge (1) according to claim 6 or claim 7, characterized in that each of said terminals (20) has at least one contact pin (25) protruding from said sheet body (22) and disposed on said substrate (12).The chip module (10) of a toner cartridge (1) according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the terminals (20) comprise a ground terminal (26) and a plurality of transmission terminals (28), wherein the ground terminal (26) is configured to be contactable with the conductive ground strip (8) of the reading head (5), and the transmission terminals (28) are configured to be contactable with the conductive communication strips (7) of the reading head (5).The chip module (10) of a toner cartridge (1) according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that the substrate (12) is substantially perpendicular to the imaginary plane (A).The chip module (10) of a toner cartridge (1) according to any one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that the curved contact edge (24) of each of the terminals (20) has a semicircular shape.

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