CN217574532U

CN217574532U - Chip and ink box

Info

Publication number: CN217574532U
Application number: CN202220864643.0U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郭洪剑; 黄金林
Original assignee: Zhongshan Kingway Image Tech Co ltd
Current assignee: Zhongshan Kingway Image Tech Co ltd
Priority date: 2022-03-22
Filing date: 2022-04-14
Publication date: 2022-10-14
Anticipated expiration: 2032-04-14
Also published as: CN114932752A

Abstract

The utility model relates to a chip and an ink box with the chip, wherein the chip comprises a substrate and a plurality of contact parts arranged on the substrate, and when the ink box is installed, the contact parts are electrically connected with external contact pins; in the left-right direction, the plurality of contact portions are divided into tip contact portions at left and right tips and at least one intermediate contact portion between the two tip contact portions, each contact portion contacting a corresponding contact pin to form a contact point; the first surface passes through an area including a contact point in either one of the two end contact portions; the second surface passes through an area including a contact point in the at least one intermediate contact portion; the first surface and the second surface do not coincide, the left and right sides of the chip can be positioned effectively, and the contact pin corresponding to the intermediate contact portion does not have to apply downward pressure to the intermediate contact portion any longer, as long as the contact pin can contact the intermediate contact portion, and therefore, the intermediate contact portion and the contact pin corresponding to the intermediate contact portion are lowered in positional accuracy.

Description

Chip and ink box

The present invention claims the applicant's priority of the utility model with the title "chip and cartridge" filed in patent office china at 22.03.2022 with application number CN 202220634620.0, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The utility model relates to an inkjet formation of image field especially relates to an ink horn and the chip of installing on the ink horn that detachably installed in ink jet printer.

Background

In the conventional ink cartridge, a chip capable of establishing a communication connection with the ink jet printer is generally mounted, and various parameter information of the ink cartridge is stored in the chip, and generally, the chip includes a substrate and a plurality of contact portions disposed on one surface of the substrate, and the number of the contact portions is not limited according to actual use requirements, for example, the chip is provided with three contact portions, namely, a power contact portion, a ground contact portion and a signal contact portion, and when the ink cartridge is mounted, contact pins located in the ink jet printer are electrically connected with corresponding contact portions of the chip, so that a communication connection between the chip and the ink jet printer is established.

In practical use, a plurality of contact pins and a plurality of contact portions need to be contacted simultaneously, and the positions of the contact pins cannot be shifted, which requires high positional accuracy of the contact pins and the contact portions.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The utility model provides a chip and have ink horn of this chip, when the ink horn was installed, even the position of chip contact site takes place the skew or the position of contact pilotage takes place the skew in the ink jet printer, the chip still can establish stable electricity with ink jet printer and be connected, and concrete scheme is as follows:

the chip is fixed above an ink box detachably mounted to the ink-jet printer along the front-back direction, contact pins which are arranged in a line along the left-right direction are arranged in the ink-jet printer, the contact pins can move along the up-down direction, and the front-back direction, the left-right direction and the up-down direction including the upper direction are mutually vertical; the chip comprises a substrate and a plurality of contact parts arranged on the substrate, and when the ink box is installed to a preset position of the ink-jet printer, the contact parts are electrically connected with contact pins arranged in the ink-jet printer; in the left-right direction, the plurality of contact portions are divided into tip contact portions at left and right tips and at least one intermediate contact portion between the two tip contact portions, each contact portion contacting a corresponding contact pin to form a contact point; the first surface passes through an area including a contact point in either one of the two end contact portions; the second surface passes through an area including a contact point in the at least one intermediate contact portion; the first and second surfaces are not coincident.

Specifically, the first surface and the second surface are parallel to each other or perpendicular to each other depending on the position of the contact point in the intermediate contact portion; when the chip is brought into contact with the contact pins, the direction of the force applied by the contact pins to the two end contact portions is the same.

In some embodiments, the distal contact portion is acted upon by the stylus in a downward direction, the intermediate contact portion is acted upon by the stylus in a forward direction, and the first and second surfaces are perpendicular to each other.

In other embodiments, the distal contact portion is subjected to a downward force by the stylus and the intermediate contact portion is also subjected to a downward force by the stylus, the first and second surfaces being parallel to each other.

Furthermore, the chip further comprises a limiting groove arranged on the substrate, the limiting groove is formed by sinking downwards from a plane where the at least one tail end contact part is located and is provided with a first side surface facing the back, a second side surface facing the right and a third side surface facing the left, the second side surface and the third side surface are parallel to each other, the first side surface is vertical to the second side surface and the third side surface, and the at least one middle contact part is arranged in the limiting groove.

When the at least one intermediate contact is disposed on the first side surface, the first surface and the second surface are perpendicular to each other; the spacing groove further includes a fourth side surface facing upward, the first side surface, the second side surface, and the third side surface being perpendicular to the fourth side surface, the first surface and the second surface being parallel to each other when the at least one intermediate contact portion is disposed on the fourth side surface.

The chip further comprises a guide groove arranged adjacent to the limiting groove, the guide groove is formed by sinking downwards from a plane where the at least one tail end contact part is located, and the at least one middle contact part is arranged on the guide groove.

Alternatively, the chip further comprises a connection pad protruding from a plane in which the at least one end contact portion is located, the at least one intermediate contact portion being provided on an upward surface of the connection pad or on a surface of the connection pad facing in the left-right direction.

Preferably, the two end contact portions positioned in the left-right direction are symmetrically arranged with respect to the middle contact portion; the chip is provided with a plurality of fixed parts, and the shapes of the fixed parts are different on a plane vertical to the vertical direction; the contact point formed at the intermediate contact portion does not exceed the range of the end contact portion in the front-rear direction.

The utility model also provides an ink box, the ink box including the casing that holds the ink, be located casing the place ahead go out the china ink portion and the chip, the chip by fixed mounting on the casing, along upper and lower direction, go out the below that china ink portion lies in the casing, the chip is located the top of casing.

Furthermore, the ink box also comprises a detection part arranged on the shell, the chip and the detection part are arranged adjacently along the front and back direction, and the ink-jet printer is used for detecting whether the ink box is installed or not or the type of the installed ink box according to the signal of the detection part detected by the sensor arranged in the ink-jet printer.

Preferably, the detecting portion is a plate-like object extending in the front-rear direction, the up-down direction, and the left-right direction, and the size of the detecting portion is not smaller than the size of the intermediate contact portion in the left-right direction; alternatively, the plane L1 passes through the center of the intermediate contact portion in the left-right direction, the plane L2 passes through the center of the detection portion in the left-right direction, and the plane L1 and the plane L2 are parallel to each other and do not overlap with each other.

The utility model relates to a when chip and contact pilotage contact, be located two terminal contact sites of left and right directions and receive the downward pressure that the contact pilotage applyed, the left and right sides of chip can be effectively fixed a position, like this, the contact pilotage that corresponds with middle contact site not only needn't apply decurrent pressure to middle contact site again, as long as this contact pilotage can with middle contact site contact can, therefore, middle contact site and the contact pilotage position accuracy requirement that corresponds with middle contact site are reduced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an ink cartridge according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the ink cartridge of the present invention as viewed from the top to the bottom in the vertical direction.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a first chip according to the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a second chip according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a third chip according to the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a fourth chip according to the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a fifth chip according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an ink cartridge according to the present invention. The ink cartridge 100 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and is detachably attached to a cartridge mounting portion of an ink jet printer, the cartridge mounting portion being provided with the contact pin portions 9, and the number of the contact pins 90 in the contact pin portions 9 corresponds to the number of the contact portions according to the number of the contact portions of the chip 5 in the ink cartridge 100. The ink cartridge 100 has a length extending in the front-rear direction, a width extending in the left-right direction, and a height extending in the up-down direction, the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the up-down direction being perpendicular to each other, the ink cartridge 100 being attached to the ink jet printer forward in the front-rear direction and being taken out backward; each of the contact pins 90 is configured to have a sheet shape and to be movable in the up-down direction, and the plurality of contact pins 90 overlap each other when viewed in the left-right direction, and thus the plurality of contact pins 90 are arranged in a line, the circuit configuration in the inkjet printer can be simplified, and each of the contact pins 90 includes a vertex 94 located at the lowermost position and a side surface adjacent to the vertex 94, as shown in fig. 1, and the contact pin 90 has a front side surface 91 located in front of the vertex 94 and a rear side surface 92 located behind the vertex 94 in the front-rear direction, and the contact pin 90 has a left side surface 93 located to the left of the vertex 94 and a right side surface (not shown) located to the right of the vertex 94 in the left-right direction.

As shown in the figure, the ink cartridge 100 includes a housing 2 containing ink, an ink outlet portion 3 located in front of the housing 2, and a positioning portion 4, the ink in the housing 2 is supplied to the inkjet printer through the ink outlet 3, an elastic member is provided in the positioning portion 4, the elastic member is elastically deformed during installation of the ink cartridge 100 and generates a force pushing the ink cartridge 100 backward, the ink outlet portion 3 is located below the housing 2 in the up-down direction, and the positioning portion 4 is located above the housing 2.

In order to facilitate the removal operation of the ink cartridge 100, the ink cartridge 100 further includes a force receiving portion 6 disposed on the housing 2 and an accommodating portion 7 disposed adjacent to the force receiving portion 6, and an operator places a finger in the accommodating portion 7 to apply a backward pulling force to the force receiving portion 6, so that the ink cartridge 100 can be easily removed under the combined action of the elastic restoring force of the elastic member, and further, the elastic member does not need to be disposed, and at this time, the operator can remove the ink cartridge 100 only by applying the backward pulling force to the force receiving portion 6 with the finger. Preferably, the force receiving portion 6 is a protrusion protruding from the housing 2, and may protrude upward, or may protrude forward or backward when the ink cartridge 100 is in an upright position or a position in which it is mounted to the ink jet printer, the accommodating portion 7 is located in front of the force receiving portion 6, the accommodating portion 7 is recessed downward from an upper surface of the ink cartridge 100 to form a recess when the height of the ink cartridge 100 is limited, and the accommodating portion 7 is a part of the upper surface of the ink cartridge 100 when the height of the ink cartridge 100 is not limited; the protruding dimension of the force receiving portion 6 is not limited, and may have a dimension measured by a general gauge, or may be a rib provided on the housing 2.

As shown in fig. 1, the upper surface 8 of the casing 2 is a plane, and interference from the inner wall of the ink jet printer above the casing 2 during the installation and removal of the ink cartridge 100 can be effectively eliminated, for example, if the inner wall of the ink jet printer opposite to the upper surface of the casing 2 is provided with a stopper portion facing the casing 2, the stopper portion can move in the up-down direction, and during the installation of the ink cartridge 100, the stopper portion can be supported by the plane 8 without interfering with other components of the ink cartridge 100, and conversely, during the removal of the ink cartridge 100, the stopper portion does not interfere with other components of the ink cartridge 100.

The ink cartridge 100 further includes a chip 5 mounted above the housing 2, the chip 5 is electrically connected to contact pins in the device when the ink cartridge is mounted to a predetermined position of the ink jet printer, the chip 5 may be higher than the upper surface 8, lower than the upper surface 8, and may be flush with the upper surface 8, the chip 5 and the ink outlet portion 3 are separately disposed along the vertical direction, and the chip 5 is higher than the ink outlet portion 3, which is beneficial to preventing ink leaked from the ink outlet portion 3 from flowing to the chip 5 to cause a chip short circuit. Further, the ink cartridge 100 further includes a detecting portion 21 provided on the casing 2, the detecting portion 21 being disposed adjacent to the chip 5 in the front-rear direction, the detecting portion 21 being capable of being detected by a sensor provided in the ink jet printer, for example, in the left-right direction, a light emitting element and a light receiving element being provided in the ink jet printer, and the light receiving element being incapable of receiving the light emitted from the light emitting element or weakening the intensity of the received light when the detecting portion 21 reaches between the light emitting element and the light receiving element during the mounting of the ink cartridge 100, so that the detecting portion 21 may be referred to as a light attenuating portion, and the ink jet printer may know that the ink cartridge is mounted, and further, the ink jet printer may determine the type of the mounted ink cartridge according to parameters such as the length of time, the number of times the light emitted from the light emitting element is incapable of being received by the light receiving element or according to parameters such as the intensity, the length of time, and the like of the light emitted from the light emitting element received by the light receiving element. The light attenuating unit 21 may attenuate light by reflection, refraction, absorption, or the like, and the relative positions of the light attenuating unit 21 and the chip 5 in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction are not necessarily limited, and it should be noted that, when a layout is adopted in which the chip 5 is located in front of the light attenuating unit 21, it is preferable that the chip 5 is located below the light attenuating unit 21, so that the chip 5 located in front does not affect the detection of the light attenuating unit 21 during the mounting of the ink cartridge 100.

Example one

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the ink cartridge according to the present invention, as viewed from above and below; fig. 3 is a perspective view of a first chip according to the present invention.

The chip 5 includes a substrate 50, and a first contact portion 51, a second contact portion 52 and a third contact portion 53 disposed on the substrate 50, where the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53 are both conductors extending in the front-back direction and the left-right direction, generally, the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53 are metal sheets disposed on the substrate 50, the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53 are located on the same plane, and in the left-right direction, the second contact portion 52 is located between the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53, and the second contact portion 52 is located on the other plane; the first contact portion 51, the second contact portion 52, and the third contact portion 53 each have a certain width in the left-right direction, and the width of each contact portion will be described as d 1.

The light attenuating portion 21 is a plate-shaped object extending in the front-rear direction, the up-down direction, and the left-right direction, and the light attenuating portion 21 has a width d2 in the left-right direction, and d2 is not less than d1, that is, the light attenuating portion 21 has a larger width with respect to the contact portion, so that the ink cartridge 100 can be more stably positioned in the ink jet printer using the light attenuating portion 21 having a larger width; in particular, in the case of the contact portion facing the light attenuating portion 21 in the front-rear direction, the light attenuating portion 21 is located downstream of the contact portion and enters the ink cartridge mounting portion of the ink jet printer during the mounting of the ink cartridge 100, and therefore, the light attenuating portion 21 can pre-clean the ink cartridge mounting portion region corresponding to the contact portion.

As shown in fig. 2, the plane L1 passes through the center of the second contact portion 52 in the left-right direction, the plane L2 passes through the center of the light attenuating portion 21 in the left-right direction, and the plane L1 and the plane L2 are perpendicular to the left-right direction, in other words, the plane L1 and the plane L2 are parallel to each other, in the embodiment of the present invention, the plane L1 and the plane L2 are not overlapped, and this design will allow the center of the ink cartridge 100 to be offset from the center of the width of the second contact portion 52, so that the space of the ink cartridge 100 for accommodating ink can be increased, for example, when the plane L1 is located at the left side of the plane L2, the space of the ink cartridge 100 for accommodating ink can be increased to the left side, and conversely, when the plane L1 is located at the right side of the plane L2, the space of the ink cartridge 100 for accommodating ink can be increased to the right side.

The chip 5 is fixed by three-point bonding, and correspondingly, the housing 2 is provided with a first fixing portion 22, a second fixing portion 23 and a third fixing portion 24 which are bonded to the chip 5, wherein the first fixing portion 22 is bonded to a first fixed portion 54 of the chip 5, the second fixing portion 23 is bonded to a second fixed portion 55 of the chip 5, and the third fixing portion 24 is bonded to a third fixed portion 56. The first fixed part 54 and the second fixed part 55 are located on the same side of the chip 5, and the third fixed part 56 is located on the other side of the chip 5, so that the chip 5 can be effectively fixed and the mounting efficiency of the chip 5 can be effectively improved by using the three-point combination mode.

The first fixed portion 54 is a through hole provided in the substrate 50 and penetrating in the vertical direction, and the periphery of the through hole 54 is surrounded by the substrate 50; the second fixed portion 55 is a notch provided on the substrate 50 and penetrating in the vertical direction, the notch 55 is located at a corner portion of the substrate 50, the notch 55 has at least one direction not surrounded by the substrate 50 in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, preferably, the notch 55 has two directions not surrounded by the substrate 50 in the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, as shown in fig. 3, neither the rear nor the left of the notch 55 is surrounded by the substrate 50, the right plane and the front plane of the notch 55 intersect, and more preferably, the right plane and the front plane of the notch 55 are perpendicular to each other; the third fixed portion 56 is an arc-shaped groove provided in the substrate 50 and penetrating in the vertical direction, and as shown in fig. 3, the arc-shaped groove 56 is recessed rearward from the front end of the substrate 50; accordingly, the first fixing portion 22, the second fixing portion 23, and the third fixing portion 24 have shapes that can be matched to the shape of the first fixed portion 54, the shape of the second fixed portion 55, and the shape of the third fixed portion 56, respectively, that is, the first fixing portion 22 is a cylindrical body, the second fixing portion 23 is a prismatic body, and the third fixing portion 24 is a columnar body having a circular arc surface, and the shapes of the first fixed portion 54, the second fixed portion 55, and the third fixed portion 56 are different in a plane perpendicular to the up-down direction, and the respective fixed portions having different shapes can effectively ensure that the chip 5 is mounted in a correct mounting direction during mounting of the chip 5.

The chip 5 has an upper surface 59 facing upward, the first contact portion 51 and the second contact portion 53 being provided on the upper surface 59; the chip 5 further includes a stopper groove 57 provided on the substrate 50, as shown in fig. 3, the stopper groove 57 is formed by being recessed downward from an upper surface 59 in the up-down direction, the upper and rear sides of the stopper groove 57 are open, and the stopper groove 57 has a first side surface 57a facing rearward, a second side surface 57b facing rightward, a third side surface 57c facing leftward, and a fourth side surface 57d facing upward, the second side surface 57b and the third side surface 57c are parallel to each other, and the fourth side surface 57d is parallel to the upper surface 59, preferably, the first side surface 57a is perpendicular to the second side surface 57b, the third side surface 57c, and the fourth side surface 57d at the same time, and the second contact portion 52 may be provided on any one of the first side surface 57a, the second side surface 57b, the third side surface 57c, and the fourth side surface 57d, that is, the plane on which the second contact portion 52 is perpendicular to the plane on which the first contact portion 51 is provided, and the third contact portion 53 is also perpendicular to the plane on which is aligned in the left-right direction, and the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53 are no longer provided; when the chip 5 is in contact with contact pins in an ink jet printer, the first contact portion 51 forms a contact point a with the corresponding contact pin, the third contact portion 53 forms a contact point B with the corresponding contact pin, the second contact portion 52 forms a contact point C with the corresponding contact pin, the first surface S1 passes through the contact point a and the contact point B, the second surface S2 passes through the contact point C, the first surface and the second surface are not overlapped, wherein the first surface is perpendicular to the up-down direction, and the second surface can be perpendicular to the up-down direction or parallel to the up-down direction, so that the first surface and the second surface have two states of being parallel to each other and perpendicular to each other according to the position of the contact point C; more specifically, the second surface may also be described as passing through at least an area including the contact point C in the second contact portion 52, which is a range capable of forming a plane on the second contact portion 52, when the second contact portion 52 is flat, the second surface passes through a plane where the contact point C is located in the second contact portion 52, that is, a surface of the second contact portion 52 in contact with the second contact pin, and when the second contact portion 52 is non-flat, the second surface passes through at least an area including the contact point C in the second contact portion 52.

Specifically, when the ink cartridge 100 is mounted to a predetermined position, the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53 each contact the vertex 94 of the corresponding contact pin in the ink jet printer, the contact pin contacting the first contact portion 51 is referred to as a first contact pin, the contact pin contacting the third contact portion 53 is referred to as a third contact pin, the second contact portion 52 contacts the side surface of the corresponding contact pin in the ink jet printer, the contact pin contacting the second contact portion 52 is referred to as a second contact pin, the first contact pin, the second contact pin, and the third contact pin are aligned in the left-right direction and are arranged at intervals, the vertex of the first contact pin and the vertex of the third contact pin apply downward pressure to the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53, respectively, the force applied to the chip 5 in the left-right direction can be balanced, and the side surface of the second contact pin applies forward pushing force to the second contact portion 52 in the direction opposite to the direction in which the ink cartridge is taken out, so that the ink cartridge 100 can be more stably positioned at the predetermined position of the ink jet printer.

The chip 5 and the ink cartridge 100 having the chip 5 according to the embodiment have the following advantageous effects:

the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53 are respectively located at both sides of the second contact portion 52 in the left-right direction, when the first contact pin and the third contact pin apply downward pressure to the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53, respectively, the left and right sides of the chip 5 can be effectively positioned, and particularly, when the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53 are disposed symmetrically with respect to the second contact portion 52, the force applied to the chip 5 will be more stable, and even if the contact position of the second contact pin with the second contact portion 52 is deviated, or the direction of the force applied by the second contact pin to the second contact portion 52 is deviated, the chip 5 and the ink cartridge 100 in which the chip 5 is mounted can be kept stable.

Further, not only does the second contact pin no longer have to apply downward pressure to the second contact part 52, but also the positional accuracy requirement of the second contact pin can be lowered as long as the second contact pin can be brought into contact with the second contact part 52 within the right and left range of the second contact part 52, and the positional accuracy requirements for both the second contact part 52 and the second contact pin can be lowered. As described above, the second contact portion 52 may also be provided on any one of the second side surface 57b, the third side surface 57C, and the fourth side surface 57d, when the second contact portion 52 is provided on the second side surface 57b or the third side surface 57C, the left side surface 93 or the right side surface of the second contact pin will be in contact with the second contact portion 52, at which time, surface contact will be made between the second contact pin and the second contact portion 52, the contact point C may be any one point of the contact surfaces, when the second contact portion 52 is provided on the third side surface 57C, the vertex 94 of the second contact pin will be in contact with the third side surface 57C, the contact point C will be located on the third side surface 57C, that is, the second contact pin may be provided to move between the second side surface 57b and the third side surface 57C in the left-right direction, and thus, the positional accuracy requirements of both the second contact portion 52 and the second contact pin are reduced.

When the contact point C is located on the first side surface 57a, the second surface is perpendicular to the front-rear direction, and even if the elastic member in the positioning portion 4 applies a backward force to the ink cartridge, the ink cartridge 100 can be stably positioned in the ink jet printer because the second contact pin applies a forward pushing force to the second contact portion 52.

Preferably, the chip 5 is provided with the three contact portions, each of which forms a contact point a/B/C with the contact pin, and a plane passing through the contact point a and the contact point B does not pass through the contact point C, the design of the three contact portions is such that the structure of the chip 5 and the structure of the contact pin in the cartridge mounting portion are simplified, and when the ink cartridge 100 needs to establish a communication connection with the ink jet printer through the chip 5, the contact between the chip 5 and the contact pin in the ink jet printer can be achieved more quickly and stably by the contact portions of the smaller number, especially in the case where the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53 on both sides in the left-right direction are abutted downward by the first contact pin and the third contact pin, respectively, only the second contact pin between the first contact portion 51 and the third contact pin can be ensured to be in contact with the second contact portion 52 between the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53.

When the second contact part 52 is provided on the first side surface 57a or the fourth side surface 57d, the second contact part 52 has a corresponding size in the left-right direction even if the vertex of the second contact pin is worn or deformed as long as the side can contact the second contact part 52, thereby reducing the shape requirement of the second contact pin.

As described above, the second side surface 57b, the third side surface 57c, and the fourth side surface 57d of the stopper groove 57 may be provided with the second contact portion 52, which is perpendicular to the left-right direction when the second contact portion 52 is provided at the second side surface 57b or the third side surface 57c, and perpendicular to the up-down direction when the second contact portion 52 is provided at the fourth side surface 57d, and even if the entire position of the second contact pin is shifted or the entire shape is deformed, the electrical connection of the chip 5 and the contact pin can be achieved as long as the second contact pin enters the stopper groove 57.

More preferably, the contact point C does not exceed the range of the first contact portion 51 and/or the third contact portion 53 in the front-rear direction, which can effectively utilize the surface area of the substrate 50, and for the inkjet printer, can make the arrangement of the contact pins more concentrated, thereby effectively controlling the size of the inkjet printer. Conversely, regardless of the surface utilization rate of the substrate 50 or the size in the inkjet printer, the contact point C may also be located outside the range of the first contact portion 51 and/or the third contact portion 53 in the front-rear direction when the front side surface 91 of the second contact pin is in contact with the second contact portion 52; when the stopper groove 57 is provided to open upward and forward, the rear side 92 of the second contact pin comes into contact with the second contact portion 52.

Example two

For convenience of description, the same components as those in the first embodiment will be given the same reference numerals, and in this embodiment, the chip limiting groove 57 is disposed to penetrate in the up-down direction, and further, the rear side of the limiting groove 57 is not surrounded by the substrate 50, and at this time, the limiting groove 57 no longer has the fourth side surface 57d.

The chip 5 and the ink cartridge 100 having the chip according to the embodiment not only have the above-mentioned advantages, but also the second contact pin can be completely extended downward without being restricted by the fourth side surface 57d when the ink cartridge 100 is mounted to the predetermined position, so that not only the contact area of the second contact pin with the second contact portion 52 can be increased, but also the pushing force of the second contact pin against the second contact portion 52 can be increased, and at the same time, the wear of the second contact pin can be reduced.

EXAMPLE III

For convenience of description, the same components as those in the embodiment will be given the same reference numerals, and in addition to the second embodiment, the chip 5 in the embodiment further includes a guide groove 58 disposed in front of the limiting groove 57, as shown in the drawing, the guide groove 58 is formed by being recessed downward from an upper surface 59 of the substrate, and the guide groove 58 has the same size as the second contact portion 52 in the left-right direction, and the substrate on which the guide groove 58 is located is connected to the substrate on which the first contact portion 51 is located and the substrate on which the third contact portion 53 is located.

The chip 5 and the ink cartridge 100 having the chip according to the embodiment not only have the above-mentioned advantages, but also reduce the friction between the second contact pin and the substrate 50 during the mounting and removing of the ink cartridge 100, thereby better protecting the second contact pin. As a modification of the present embodiment, the second contact portion 52 may also be provided on the guide groove 58.

Example four

In this embodiment, the same components as those in the above-described embodiment will be given the same reference numerals, and in addition to the third embodiment, the chip 5 in this embodiment further includes a connecting table 5C provided in front of the stopper groove 57, the connecting table 5C connecting the substrate on which the first contact portion 51 is provided and the substrate on which the third contact portion 53 is provided, the connecting table 5C being higher than the upper surface 59 in the up-down direction, and either an upward facing surface or a rearward facing surface of the connecting table 5C may be arranged as the second contact portion 52, so that the contact point C may be located on either the upward facing surface of the connecting table 5C through which the second surface passes or the rearward facing surface of the connecting table 5C through which the second surface passes.

However, no matter which surface the contact point C is on, the first surface and the second surface are not coincident, and similarly, the first surface and the second surface may be either parallel or perpendicular to each other depending on the position of the contact point C. When the contact point C is located on the upward surface of the connecting table 5C, the dimension of the second contact pin in the up-down direction can be shortened, or the second contact pin generates a larger deformation amount under the condition of unchanged dimension, so that the downward pressure on the chip 5 is larger; when the contact point C is located on the rear-facing surface of the connection table 5C, similarly, the dimension of the second contact pin in the up-down direction can be shortened, or the second contact pin applies a larger forward pushing force to the connection table 5C without changing the dimension.

It will be appreciated that the connecting platform 5C may also be disposed behind the limiting slot 57, in which case the connecting platform 5C has an upward facing surface and a forward facing surface, and when the contact point C is located on the forward facing surface, the second contact pin can smoothly reach the position of contact with the second contact portion 52 under the guiding action of the limiting slot 57; the second contact portion 52 may also be provided on any one of the second side surface 57b and the third side surface 57c of the stopper groove 57 as well.

Preferably, the contact point C in the present embodiment may also be set so that the contact point C does not exceed the range of the first contact portion 51 and/or the third contact portion 53 in the front-rear direction, in order to improve the surface utilization of the substrate 50 or reduce the size of the inkjet printer.

EXAMPLE five

In the present embodiment, the connection stage 5C is disposed beyond the range of the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53 in the front-rear direction, and the stopper groove 57 is not disposed, and the contact point C is located on the upward-facing surface of the connection stage 5C, at which time the first surface and the second surface are parallel to each other.

From the above description, it is preferable that the contact point C does not exceed the range of the first contact portion 51 and/or the third contact portion 53 in the front-rear direction, and at this time, the contact portion located on the connecting stage 5C behind the broken line in the drawing is no longer effective, that is, the presence or absence of the contact portion located behind the broken line does not affect the use of the chip 5.

Conversely, the contact point C may also be located outside the range of the first contact portion 51 and/or the third contact portion 53 in the front-rear direction, i.e., on a contact portion behind the broken line in the front-rear direction, regardless of the surface utilization rate of the substrate 50 or the size in the inkjet printer.

Based on the above inventive concept, the opening direction of the limiting groove 57 is not limited to that shown in the drawings, i.e. the limiting groove 57 may also be opened forward, the guide groove 58 or the connection table 5c is disposed adjacent to the limiting groove 57 in the front-rear direction, and when the ink cartridge 100 provided with the chip 5 is mounted forward, the second contact pin is more easily contacted with the second contact portion along the limiting groove 57; the first surface S1 and the second surface S2 may also be configured such that the second surface S2 is perpendicular to the up-down direction, the first surface S1 is perpendicular to the second surface S2, that is, the area where the existing first contact portion 51 is located and the area where the existing third contact portion 53 is located are both recessed downward with respect to the second contact portion 52, and at this time, in the front-back direction, the second contact portion 52 protrudes rearward with respect to the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53, and the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53 are respectively located on the surfaces perpendicular to the front-back direction, and when such a chip 5 is in contact with a contact pin, the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53 will simultaneously receive a forward pushing force, and the second contact portion 52 receives a downward pressure, that is, the contact pin, and the direction of the force applied to the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53 is the same, and the direction of the force applied to the second contact portion 52 is the forward direction, that is, the direction of the contact pin applying the force to the first contact portion 51 and the third contact portion 53 is the same as the direction of the force applied to the second contact portion 52, and the contact pin, and the direction of the contact pin is not the direction of the second contact portion 52, but the ink cartridge can be stably positioned in the printer 100.

According to the above embodiment, it can be extended that when the number of the contacts of the chip is more than three, and the plurality of contacts are all arranged along the left-right direction, for convenience of description, the contacts located at the ends of the left-right direction are referred to as end contacts, and the contact located between the two end contacts is referred to as an intermediate contact, in which case, the number of the intermediate contacts is not less than two, each contact contacts a corresponding contact pin in the inkjet printer to form a contact point, and the plurality of contacts can be configured such that the first surface S1 and the second surface S2 are not overlapped, wherein the first surface S1 is a plane passing through one contact point on the contact located at the ends of the left-right direction, the second surface S2 is a region passing through at least the contact point including one intermediate contact, and the first surface S1 and the second surface S2 can be perpendicular to each other or parallel to each other.

Preferably, the contact point of at least one middle contact part does not exceed the range of the end contact parts along the front-back direction, and more preferably, the distances from the two end contact parts to the middle contact part along the left-right direction are equal; it is also understood that the planes of the two end contact portions may be either coincident or parallel to each other, when the planes of the surfaces of the two end contact portions that form the contact points are coincident, the first surface passes through the coincident planes, when the planes of the surfaces of the two end contact portions that form the contact points are parallel to each other, the first surface may be either one of the planes of the two end contact portions, and when the surfaces of the two end contact portions that form the contact points are non-planar, the first surface passes through an area including either one of the contact point a and the contact point B.

For example, when the chip is provided with five contact portions arranged along the left-right direction, the first contact portion, the second contact portion, the third contact portion, the fourth contact portion and the fifth contact portion are sequentially arranged along the left-right direction from left to right, at this time, the first contact portion and the fifth contact portion are end contact portions, the second contact portion, the third contact portion and the fourth contact portion can be called intermediate contact portions, a plane where the first contact portion is located and a plane where the fifth contact portion is located are not overlapped with a plane where the second contact portion is located, a plane where the third contact portion is located and a plane where the fourth contact portion is located, and preferably, the plane where the third contact portion is located is perpendicular to the plane where the first contact portion is located and the plane where the fifth contact portion is located; further, the second contact portion, the third contact portion and the fourth contact portion may be arranged such that a plane on which the second contact portion is located and a plane on which the fourth contact portion is located are perpendicular to a plane on which the first contact portion is located, a plane on which the third contact portion is located and a plane on which the fifth contact portion is located.

When the chip is provided with four contact parts arranged along the left-right direction, the first contact part, the second contact part, the third contact part and the fourth contact part are sequentially arranged along the left-right direction from left to right, at the moment, the first contact part and the fourth contact part are tail end contact parts, the second contact part and the third contact part are middle contact parts, the plane where the first contact part is arranged and the plane where the fourth contact part is arranged are not overlapped with the plane where the second contact part is arranged and the plane where the third contact part is arranged, and preferably, the plane where the first contact part is arranged and the plane where the fourth contact part is arranged are perpendicular to the plane where the second contact part is arranged and the plane where the third contact part is arranged.

As described above, when the plane in which the intermediate contact portion is located is set so as not to coincide with the plane in which the two end contact portions are located, and particularly so as to be perpendicular to each other, the contact pins corresponding to the two end contact portions in the inkjet printer apply pressure to the two end contact portions so that the chip is stably positioned, and the positional accuracy requirement of the contact pins corresponding to the intermediate contact portion in the inkjet printer can be lowered.

Claims

1. The chip is fixed above an ink box detachably mounted to the ink-jet printer along the front-back direction, contact pins which are arranged in a line along the left-right direction are arranged in the ink-jet printer, the contact pins can move along the up-down direction, and the front-back direction, the left-right direction and the up-down direction including the upper direction are mutually vertical;

the chip comprises a substrate and a plurality of contact parts arranged on the substrate, and when the ink box is installed to a preset position of the ink-jet printer, the contact parts are electrically connected with contact pins arranged in the ink-jet printer;

in the left-right direction, the plurality of contact portions are divided into end contact portions located at left and right ends and at least one intermediate contact portion located between the two end contact portions, each contact portion contacting with a corresponding contact pin to form a contact point;

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

the first surface passes through an area including a contact point in either one of the two end contact portions;

the second surface passes through an area including a contact point in the at least one intermediate contact portion;

the first and second surfaces are not coincident.

2. The chip of claim 1, wherein the first surface and the second surface are parallel or perpendicular to each other depending on the position of the contact point in the intermediate contact.

3. A chip according to claim 2, wherein the contact pins apply forces to both end contacts in the same direction when the chip is in contact with the contact pins.

4. A chip as claimed in claim 3, wherein the end contacts are subjected to a downward force by the contact pins, the intermediate contacts are subjected to a forward force by the contact pins, and the first and second surfaces are perpendicular to each other.

5. A chip according to claim 3, wherein the end contact portions are subjected to a downward force by the contact pins, the intermediate contact portions are also subjected to a downward force by the contact pins, and the first and second surfaces are parallel to each other.

6. The chip according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the chip further comprises a limiting groove disposed on the substrate, the limiting groove is formed by being recessed downward from a plane in which the at least one end contact portion is located, and has a first side surface facing rearward, a second side surface facing rightward, and a third side surface facing leftward, the second side surface and the third side surface are parallel to each other, the first side surface is perpendicular to both the second side surface and the third side surface, and the at least one middle contact portion is disposed in the limiting groove.

7. The chip of claim 6, wherein the at least one intermediate contact is disposed on the first side surface, and the first surface and the second surface are perpendicular to each other.

8. The chip of claim 6, wherein the retaining groove further comprises a fourth side surface facing upward, the first, second, and third side surfaces being perpendicular to the fourth side surface, the at least one intermediate contact being disposed on the fourth side surface, the first and second surfaces being parallel to each other.

9. The chip of claim 6, wherein the chip further comprises a guide groove disposed adjacent to the stopper groove in the front-to-rear direction, the guide groove being formed recessed downward from a plane in which the at least one end contact portion is located, the at least one intermediate contact portion being provided on the guide groove.

10. A chip according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the chip further comprises a connection table protruding from the plane in which the at least one end contact is located, said at least one intermediate contact being provided on the surface of the connection table facing upwards or on the surface of the connection table facing in the left-right direction.

11. The chip of claim 1, wherein the two end contacts in the left-right direction are symmetrically disposed with respect to the middle contact.

12. The chip according to claim 1, wherein the chip is provided with a plurality of fixed portions, and the plurality of fixed portions are different in shape from each other on a plane perpendicular to the vertical direction.

13. The chip of claim 1, wherein the contact point formed at the intermediate contact portion does not extend beyond the end contact portion in the front-to-rear direction.

14. Ink cartridge, characterized in that the ink cartridge comprises a housing for containing ink, an ink outlet portion located in front of the housing, and a chip as claimed in any of claims 1 to 13, the chip being fixedly mounted on the housing in an up-down direction, the ink outlet portion being located below the housing, the chip being located above the housing.

15. The ink cartridge according to claim 14, wherein the ink cartridge further comprises a detection portion provided on the housing, the chip is provided adjacent to the detection portion in the front-rear direction, and the ink jet printer detects a signal of the detection portion or whether the ink cartridge is mounted or not, or a type of the mounted ink cartridge, based on a sensor provided therein.

16. The ink cartridge according to claim 15, wherein the detecting portion is a plate-like object extending in a front-rear direction, a vertical direction, and a horizontal direction, and a size of the detecting portion is not smaller than a size of the intermediate contact portion in the horizontal direction.

17. The ink cartridge as claimed in claim 15, wherein the plane L1 passes through a center of the intermediate contact portion in a left-right direction, the plane L2 passes through a center of the detecting portion in the left-right direction, and the plane L1 and the plane L2 are parallel to each other and do not coincide with each other.