CN220731517U

CN220731517U - Chip, chip assembly and imaging material box

Info

Publication number: CN220731517U
Application number: CN202321424910.3U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 范文燚; 林东明
Original assignee: Zhuhai Yizhiyin Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Zhuhai Yizhiyin Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2022-08-22
Filing date: 2023-06-05
Publication date: 2024-04-05
Anticipated expiration: 2033-06-05
Also published as: JP3245036U; CN117613023A; WO2024041546A1

Abstract

The utility model relates to a chip, a chip assembly and a developing material box with the chip, wherein the chip is used for being detachably mounted to an imaging device along with the imaging material box, the chip comprises a substrate and a plurality of contact parts arranged on the substrate, the substrate is provided with a first side and a second side which are opposite, and the plurality of contact parts comprise a front contact part arranged on the first side and a back contact part arranged on the second side; when the imaging material cartridge is mounted to a predetermined position of the imaging device, the front-side contact portion is electrically connected to the imaging device, and the back-side contact portion is electrically connected to the imaging device through a conductor outside the chip, and thus, the degree of freedom of arrangement design of the contact portion can be improved, the chip can also become miniaturized, and further, the chip assembly provided with the chip, the cartridge mounted with the chip or the chip assembly, and the realization of miniaturization of the imaging device mounted with the cartridge will become easy to realize.

Description

Chip, chip assembly and imaging material box

The present utility model claims priority from the chinese prior application with application number of 2022, 8, 22, and application number of CN202222217229.3, and the chinese prior application with application number of 2022, 8, 23, and application number of CN202222228069.2, and the chinese prior application with application number of 2022, 8, 29, and application number of CN202222295294.8, all of which are cross-referenced in this application.

Technical Field

The present utility model relates to the field of imaging, and more particularly, to an imaging material cartridge detachably mounted in an imaging apparatus and a chip assembly mounted in the imaging material cartridge.

Background

Existing image forming apparatuses include laser printers, copiers, inkjet printers, and the like, in which cartridges accommodating image forming materials are mounted, and the image forming materials are different depending on the type of image forming apparatus, for example, toner when the image forming apparatus is a laser printer, and ink when the image forming apparatus is an inkjet printer.

In general, in order to establish a communication connection between the cartridge and the image forming apparatus, a chip assembly is mounted on the cartridge, and a contact portion of the chip assembly is in contact with a contact pin of the image forming apparatus when the cartridge is mounted to a predetermined position of the image forming apparatus; the contact portions of the existing chip are arranged on the same side of the same substrate, the arrangement density of the contact portions is large in the limited surface area of the substrate, the design of the contact portions is limited greatly, and meanwhile, short circuits are easy to occur in the closely arranged contact portions.

Disclosure of Invention

The utility model provides a chip, a chip assembly with the chip and an imaging material box, which are used for solving or optimizing at least one of the technical problems, and the specific scheme is as follows:

A chip for detachably mounting to the image forming apparatus with the image forming material cartridge, the chip including a substrate having opposite first and second sides and a plurality of contact portions disposed on the substrate, the plurality of contact portions including a front contact portion disposed on the first side and a back contact portion disposed on the second side; when the imaging material box is mounted to a predetermined position of the imaging device, the front contact portion is electrically connected with the imaging device, and the back contact portion is electrically connected with the imaging device through a conductor outside the chip, the number of contact portions on the same side of the substrate is reduced by the scheme, and the degree of freedom of design of the chip can be improved, meanwhile, the arrangement density of the contact portions is reduced, the risk of occurrence of short circuits between the contact portions is reduced, and on the other hand, the size of the chip can be reduced, so that miniaturization of the chip, and miniaturization of the imaging material box and the imaging device using the chip become easy to realize.

In some embodiments, a plurality of contact pins for electrically connecting with the contact parts and electrically connecting with the conductors are arranged in the imaging device, the left-right direction of the line of sight of the user is the y direction of the imaging material box based on the posture of the imaging material box when the imaging material box is installed by the user, the surface of the substrate on which the contact parts are arranged extends along the y direction and the d direction, and the d direction is perpendicular to the y direction and is parallel to the extending direction of the plane of the substrate on which the contact parts are arranged; the contact points formed by the front contact part and the contact pins and the contact points formed by the back contact part and the conductors respectively form projection points on a straight line D parallel to the y direction on the projection points of the surfaces; in the y direction, among all the contact points, the connecting line of the projection points corresponding to the two outermost contact points on the straight line D is provided with a central line, and the number of the contact points on two sides of the central line is the same.

In some embodiments, a plurality of contact pins for electrically connecting with the contact parts and electrically connecting with the conductors are arranged in the imaging device, the left-right direction of the line of sight of the user is the y direction of the imaging material box based on the posture of the imaging material box when the imaging material box is installed by the user, the surface of the substrate on which the contact parts are arranged extends along the y direction and the d direction, and the d direction is perpendicular to the y direction and is parallel to the extending direction of the plane of the substrate on which the contact parts are arranged; the projected points of the contact points formed by the front contact part and the contact pins on the surface form projected points on a straight line D parallel to the y direction; in the y direction, among the contact points formed by the front contact part and the contact pins, the connecting line of the projection points corresponding to the two outermost contact points on the straight line D is provided with a central line, and the number of the contact points on two sides of the central line is the same.

In some embodiments, the projection points located on line D and on either side of the centerline are symmetrically located along the y-direction.

In some embodiments, the chip further includes a memory disposed on the first side of the substrate and electrically connected to the contacts; the number of contacts in the front contact is greater than the number of contacts in the back contact.

Wherein the back contact portion includes a ground terminal.

The utility model also provides a chip assembly, which comprises the chip and a conductor contacted with the reverse contact part in the chip, wherein the chip and the conductor are formed separately.

In some embodiments, the chip assembly further comprises a pushing member for pushing the conductor toward the reverse contact.

The present utility model also provides an imaging material cartridge comprising a housing containing imaging material and a chip assembly as described above mounted on the housing.

The present utility model also provides an imaging material cartridge comprising a housing containing imaging material and a chip as described above, the chip being mounted on the housing, the center line being non-coincident with the center line of the imaging material cartridge in the y-direction along the y-direction.

The present utility model also provides an image forming material cartridge including a housing accommodating an image forming material, an image forming material discharging portion provided on the housing, and a chip as described above, the chip being mounted on the housing, the center line being misaligned with a center line passing through a center of the image forming material discharging portion in a y-direction, in the y-direction.

In some embodiments, the housing has a front side wall, a lower side wall, and an inclined side wall between the front side wall and the lower side wall, and the imaging material cartridge further includes an imaging material discharge portion provided at the lower side wall, at least a portion of the chip assembly being opposed to the inclined side wall in a direction perpendicular to a plane in which the substrate is provided with the contact portion.

In some embodiments, the housing has oppositely disposed front and rear side walls and a first coupling member disposed on the front side wall for confining the imaging material cartridge in the imaging device, the chip assembly being mounted on the front side wall, the first coupling member being movable relative to the housing.

Drawings

Fig. 1A is a perspective view of an imaging material cartridge according to the present utility model.

Fig. 1B is a perspective view of a stylus assembly provided in an image forming apparatus to which the image forming material cartridge of the present utility model is applied.

Fig. 1C is a schematic view of the relative positions of the stylus and the imaging material cartridge after the imaging material cartridge according to the present utility model is mounted to an imaging apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a side view of a chip assembly according to an embodiment of the utility model, as seen in a direction perpendicular to a chip substrate, after the chip assembly is mounted to an imaging material cartridge.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the front surface of a chip according to a second embodiment of the present utility model.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the back side of a chip according to a second embodiment of the present utility model.

Fig. 5 is a state diagram of a chip assembly according to a second embodiment of the present utility model separated from a housing of an image forming material cartridge.

Fig. 6 is a side view of a chip assembly according to a third embodiment of the present utility model, as seen in a direction perpendicular to a chip substrate, after the chip assembly is mounted to an imaging material cartridge.

Fig. 7 is a state diagram of a chip assembly according to a fourth embodiment of the present utility model separated from a case.

Fig. 8A is a side view of a chip in a chip assembly according to a fourth embodiment of the present utility model, as seen in a direction perpendicular to a chip substrate, after the chip is mounted to an imaging material cartridge.

Fig. 8B is a side view of a chip assembly according to a fourth embodiment of the utility model, as seen in a direction perpendicular to the chip substrate, after the chip assembly has been mounted to the imaging material cartridge.

Fig. 9 is a side view of yet another chip in a chip assembly according to a fourth embodiment of the utility model.

Fig. 10 is a state diagram of the image forming material cartridge and the image forming apparatus to which the present utility model is applied, in which the image forming material cartridge accommodating portions are separated from each other.

Fig. 11 is a state diagram of the chip assembly according to the fifth embodiment of the present utility model separated from the housing of the image forming material cartridge.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a part of components in a chip assembly according to a fifth embodiment of the present utility model.

Fig. 13 is a side view, as viewed in the y direction, of an image forming material cartridge mounted with a chip assembly according to a fifth embodiment of the present utility model mounted to an image forming apparatus.

Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the imaging material cartridge and imaging apparatus of fig. 13 taken along a plane perpendicular to the y-direction and passing through the contact location of one contact portion with a corresponding stylus.

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of an image forming material cartridge mounted with a chip assembly according to a sixth embodiment of the present utility model.

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of a chip assembly according to an eighth embodiment of the present utility model.

Fig. 17 is a perspective view of a chip in a chip assembly according to an eighth embodiment of the present utility model, separated from a conductor.

Fig. 18A is a side view of a chip assembly according to an eighth embodiment of the present utility model, as seen in a direction perpendicular to a chip substrate, after the chip assembly is mounted to an imaging material cartridge.

Fig. 18B is a schematic diagram for further explanation of the chip assembly shown in fig. 18A.

Fig. 18C is a side view of the back contact portion of fig. 18A, as viewed in a direction perpendicular to the chip substrate, after the first deformation is made.

Fig. 19 is an exploded perspective view of a chip assembly according to a ninth embodiment of the present utility model.

Fig. 20 is an exploded perspective view of a chip assembly according to a tenth embodiment of the present utility model.

Fig. 21 is a perspective view of a chip assembly according to a tenth embodiment of the present utility model, as seen from the back side.

Fig. 22A is a side view of a chip assembly according to the tenth embodiment of the present utility model, as seen in a direction perpendicular to a chip substrate, after the chip assembly is mounted to an imaging material cartridge.

Fig. 22B is a side view of the back contact portion of fig. 22A, as seen in a direction perpendicular to the chip substrate, after deformation.

Fig. 23 is a perspective view of a second imaging material cartridge mounted with a chip assembly in accordance with the present utility model.

Fig. 24 is a perspective view of a third imaging material cartridge mounted with a chip assembly in accordance with the present utility model.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present utility model are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[ imaging Material Box ]

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an imaging material cartridge according to the present utility model; FIG. 1B is a perspective view of a stylus assembly disposed within an imaging apparatus to which the imaging material cartridge of the present utility model is adapted; fig. 1C is a schematic view of the relative positions of the stylus and the imaging material cartridge after the imaging material cartridge according to the present utility model is mounted to an imaging apparatus.

As described in the background art, the kind of the image forming material contained in the image forming material cartridge 10, which may be carbon powder, is different depending on the type of the image forming apparatus, and in this case, the image forming material cartridge is a process cartridge or a cartridge, and the image forming material may be ink, and in this case, the image forming material cartridge is an ink cartridge, however, the chip assembly 103 described below may be applicable regardless of the kind of the image forming material.

For the sake of clarity of the following description, the front of the user's line of sight is defined as the +x direction, the rear of the user's line of sight is the-x direction, the upper of the user's line of sight is the +z direction, the lower of the user's line of sight is the-z direction, the left of the user's line of sight is the +y direction, and the right of the user's line of sight is the-y direction, based on the posture of the imaging material cartridge when the user installs the imaging material cartridge.

Hereinafter, an ink cartridge will be described as an example.

As shown in the drawing, the ink cartridge 10 includes a case 101 containing ink, an ink discharge portion 102 (image forming material discharge portion) provided on the case, and a chip assembly 103, the case having a front side wall 101a facing forward, a rear side wall 101b facing backward, an upper side wall 101c facing upward, a lower side wall 101d facing downward, a left side wall 101f facing left, and a right side wall 101g facing right (as shown in fig. 2), the front side wall 101a being opposed to the rear side wall 101b in the x-direction, the upper side wall 101c and the lower side wall 101d being opposed in the z-direction, the left side wall 101f and the right side wall 101g being opposed in the y-direction, and a chamber for containing ink being defined by at least the front side wall 101a, the rear side wall 101b, the upper side wall 101c, the lower side wall 101d, the left side wall 101f, and the right side wall 101 g.

The chip assembly 103 may be disposed on any one of the sidewalls of the case 101 or an inclined sidewall 101e inclined with respect to the z-direction is formed between the front sidewall 101a and the lower sidewall 101d, and at least a portion of the chip assembly 103 is opposite to the inclined sidewall 101e, preferably, the chip assembly 103 is disposed on the inclined sidewall 101e.

The chip assembly 103 includes at least a chip 104, as shown in the figure, the chip 104 includes a substrate 1041, a memory 1044 (as shown in fig. 4) and at least one contact 1042/1043, where the memory 1044 and the contact 1042 are disposed on the substrate 1041, and the memory 1044 is used for storing information of the chip and electrically connected to the contact 1042, and may be disposed on the same side of the substrate 1041, or may be disposed on two sides of the substrate 1041, respectively, or one of the memory 1044 and the contact 1042 is disposed on the substrate 1041, and the other is disposed outside the substrate 1041, but the memory 1044 and the contact 1042 are connected by a wire, and for convenience of understanding and explanation, the chip 104 is disposed on the substrate 1041, preferably, the chip is mounted on the inclined sidewall 101e.

The contact pin assembly 90 located in the imaging device includes a plurality of contact pins 91, and the arrangement of the contact portions 1042 for contact with the plurality of contact pins 91 in the chip assembly 103 is the same as the arrangement of the plurality of contact pins 91 as a whole; as shown in fig. 1C, two straight lines extending in a direction parallel to the D-direction and passing through the outermost side of the substrate 1041 define a region in which the projected points of the contact points C of the two contact portions located at the outermost side in the y-direction and the corresponding contact pins at the straight line D including the plane/surface of the y-direction and the D-direction are respectively N1 and N2, the centerline of the line segment N1N2 is L2, the region is divided by the centerline L2 into adjacent first and second regions Q1 and Q2 along the y-direction, the number of contact pins/contact portions in the first region Q1 is different from the number of contact pins/contact portions in the second region Q2, hereinafter, the contact pins located in the first region Q1 are referred to as a first group of contact pins 90a, the contact pins located in the second region Q2 are referred to as a second group of contact pins 90b, and the number of contact pins in the first group of contact pins 90a is different from the number of contact pins in the second group of contact pins 90 b. Each contact pin 91 has a contact end 91a for contacting the chip component 103 and a side surface 91b adjacent to the contact end 91a, the contact end 91a may be formed as any one of points/lines/faces, preferably the contact end 91a is formed as a tapered tip, the side surface 91b is a surface adjacent to the tapered tip, and the distal end surface 91c is arranged adjacent to the side surface 91 b.

In some embodiments, the center line L5 passing through the center of the ink outlet 102 coincides with the center line L1 of the ink cartridge 10 in the y direction along the d direction, that is, the ink outlet 102 is disposed at an intermediate position of the housing 101 in the y direction, and at this time, the relative position of the stylus assembly 90 and the center line L5 is the same as the relative position of the stylus assembly 90 and the center line L1.

In other embodiments, the center line L5 does not coincide with the center line L1, as shown in fig. 1C, the center line L5 is closer to the left side wall 101f or the right side wall 101g of the housing 101 than the center line L1 in the y direction, so that the number of contact pins on both sides of the center line L5/the number of contact portions/contact points of the chip assembly 103 are also different, the probability of contamination of the contact portions of the contact pins/chip assembly located farther from the center line L5 by ink leaking from the ink outlet 102 is reduced, and accordingly, the chip short-circuit risk is also reduced.

Further, the center line L2 of the line segment N1N2 is set so as not to coincide with the center line L1 and not to coincide with the center line L5, and the number of contact pins located on both sides of the center line L2 in the y direction is different, so that the risk of chip shorting is reduced, and even if the imaging device is greatly rocked, the rocking amplitude of the contact pins can be reduced, thereby ensuring that the contact portions of the contact pins and the chip assembly 103 remain in good contact.

[ chip Assembly ]

Example 1

As described above, the inclined side wall 101e is inclined with respect to the z direction, and the up-down direction of the line of sight will no longer be the z direction when viewed in the direction perpendicular to the substrate 1041, but will be the d direction shown in fig. 2, which is perpendicular to the y direction and parallel to the extending direction of the plane where the substrate 1041 is provided with the contact portion, and which also intersects the z direction and the x direction at a non-perpendicular angle; in other embodiments, the housing 101 is not provided with an angled sidewall 101e, or the d-direction will be the same as the z-direction when the chip 104 is provided on the front sidewall 101a, and the d-direction will be the same as the x-direction when the chip 104 is provided on the lower sidewall 101 d.

As shown in fig. 2, the center line L1 is perpendicular to the y direction, and divides the housing 101 into two parts symmetrical in the y direction, that is, the straight line L1 is the center line of the housing 101 in the y direction; the contact portions 1042 of the chip 104 are arranged in a plurality, all the contact portions 1042 are located on the same side of the substrate 1041, each contact portion forms a contact point C with a contact pin of the imaging device, the contact portions 1042 are arranged in a staggered manner along the y direction, the contact portions are arranged in a plurality of rows along the D direction, the straight line D is parallel to the y direction, projection points of the contact points C located at the tail end of the +y direction and the contact points C located at the tail end of the-y direction on a plane passing through the y direction and the D direction (the surface of the substrate 1041 on which the contact portions are arranged) are respectively B and A, and the center line of the line segment BA is L6.

In the present embodiment, the center line L1 does not coincide with the center line L6, and the plurality of contact portions 1042/contact points C are arranged so as not to be symmetrical with respect to the center line L1 as a whole, in other words, all or most of the plurality of contact portions 1042/contact points C are arranged on one side of the center line L1, or the number of contact portions 1042/contact points C on one side of the center line L1 is larger than the number of contact portions 1042/contact points C on the other side of the center line L1; the center line L6 does not coincide with the center line L5 either, so that at least one contact portion 1042/contact point C is provided away from the center line L5/L6 in the y-direction, and ink leaking from the ink outlet portion 102 is less likely to contaminate the at least one contact portion 1042.

The chip 104 can bring the following beneficial effects:

(1) After the ink box 10 with the chip 104 is installed on imaging equipment, even if the equipment shakes to a large extent, the shaking amplitude of the chip 104 can be reduced, the shaking amplitude of a contact pin is correspondingly reduced, the overlapping value of the shaking amplitude and the shaking amplitude is smaller, and the contact point C and the contact pin still keep good contact;

(2) In the y direction, when the center line of the substrate 1041 coincides with the center line L1, the area used on one side of such a chip 104 is smaller than that used on the other side, and then other arrangements may be made according to design requirements on the side having a larger area of use, for example, a fixing portion for fixing the chip is provided on the side, or the memory 1044 is provided on the side, etc., whereby the degree of freedom in design of the chip 104 is greatly improved;

(3) The center line L1 does not coincide with the center line L6, and the center line L6 is closer to one side/end of the substrate 1041 than the center line L1 in the y direction, which results in that the contact portions 1042/contact points C are more intensively distributed between one side/end of the substrate 1041 close to the center line L6 and the center line L6 in the y direction, and more structures or components can be disposed between the other side/end of the substrate 1041 away from the center line L6 and the center line L6, and at the same time, the contact portions 1042/contact points C away from the center line L6 are less likely to be contaminated by ink in the y direction.

Example two

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the front surface of a chip according to a second embodiment of the present utility model; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the back side of a chip according to a second embodiment of the present utility model; fig. 5 is a state diagram of a chip assembly according to a second embodiment of the present utility model separated from a housing of an image forming material cartridge.

The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a part of the plurality of contact portions 1042 is disposed at the other side of the substrate, and thus the plurality of contact portions 1042 can be divided into a first group of contact portions 1045 and a second group of contact portions 1046, wherein the first group of contact portions 1045 is located at one side/first side 1048 of the substrate 1041, and the second group of contact portions 1046 is located at the other side/second side 1049 of the substrate 1041; hereinafter, the second set of contacts 1046 disposed on the other/second side 1049 of the substrate 1041 includes one or more back contacts 1043, and the first set of contacts 1045 disposed on the one/first side 1048 of the substrate 1041 includes one or more front contacts 1042. As shown in fig. 3 and 4, the memory 1044 is disposed at the other/second side 1049 of the substrate 1041, one reverse contact portion 1043 is disposed at the same side as the memory 1044, and a plurality of front contact portions 1042 are disposed at the opposite side to the memory 1044, and the front contact portions 1042 and the reverse contact portions 1043 may be disposed to protrude from the substrate 1041 by a predetermined height or may be overlapped with the surface of the substrate 1041.

Specifically, the back contact 1043 may be any one of a power terminal and a ground terminal, and when the back contact 1043 is provided in plurality, both the power terminal and the ground terminal may be provided as the back contact 1043; as shown in fig. 5, the chip assembly 103 further includes a push member 106 and a conductor 107, one end of the conductor 107 is for contacting the reverse contact portion 1043, and the other end is in contact with the push member 106, and when the ink cartridge 10 is mounted to the image forming apparatus, the push member 106 pushes the other end of the conductor 107 toward a member provided in a position corresponding to the image forming apparatus, that is, a position of a stylus in the image forming apparatus for contacting the reverse contact portion 1043 is different from a position of a stylus for contacting the front contact portion 1042.

The conductor 107 may be preset to be in contact with the reverse-side contact portion 1043, or may be preset not to be in contact with the reverse-side contact portion 1043, but to be brought into contact with the reverse-side contact portion 1043 during the mounting of the ink cartridge 10.

Preferably, the conductors 107 are provided on the lower side wall 101d, so that the contact of the conductors 107 with the corresponding contact pins will be more stable by the gravity of the cartridge itself and the thrust of the thrust member 106. Further, the housing 101 is also provided with a mounting groove 10e for placing the conductor 107, so that the mounting position of the conductor 107 is precisely positioned, and the contact of the conductor 107 with the opposite contact 1043 and the contact pin will be more stable.

As further shown in fig. 2, along the y direction, the back surface contact portion 1043 is disposed away from the front surface contact portion 1042, the projection points of the two contact points C located at the outermost side in the y direction on the plane/surface passing through the y direction and the D direction are respectively E and B, the center line of the line EB is L3, in this embodiment, along the y direction, no matter whether the center line L1 coincides with the center line L3, the back surface contact portion 1043 is away from the front surface contact portion 1042, and the back surface contact portion 1043 is led out through the conductor 107, which brings about the advantages as described in the first embodiment, and will not be repeated herein; for the first embodiment, when the back contact portion 1043 and the front contact portion 1042 are disposed on the same side of the substrate 1041, the relative positions between the center line L3 and the center lines L1, L6 are not changed.

In the first and second embodiments, when the center line L5 passing through the ink outlet 102 does not overlap with the center line L1, the center lines L6 and L3 do not overlap with the center line L5, and the contact portions 1042/1043 or the contact point C away from the center line L5 in the y direction are also not easily contaminated by the ink leaked from the ink outlet 102.

It should be understood that the back contact 1043 should not be limited to the opposite side to the front contact 1042, and the back contact 1043 may be disposed on other surfaces of the substrate 1041, so long as the back contact 1042 is not disposed on the same side, the design reduces the contact arrangement density of the side (the first side 1048) of the front contact 1042, the design freedom of the side of the front contact can be improved, and the risk of short circuit between the contacts is reduced.

Example III

Unlike the above-described embodiment, the plurality of contact portions 1042 in the present embodiment are arranged such that at least two contact portions 1042 overlap in the d-direction, more specifically, at least two contact points C overlap in the d-direction.

As shown in fig. 6, the projection points of the two contact portions 1042/contact points C at the outermost sides along the y-direction on the plane/surface including the y-direction and the D-direction on the straight line D are a and B, the center line of the line segment AB is L7, and the center line L1 and the center line L7 do not coincide, which brings about the advantages as described in the first embodiment, and will not be described again here.

In this embodiment, the center line L5 passing through the ink outlet 102 does not overlap with the center line L7 along the y direction, so that the contact portion 1042/1043 or the contact point C away from the center line L5 along the y direction is not easily contaminated by the ink leaking from the ink outlet 102.

Example IV

FIG. 7 is a state diagram of a chip assembly according to a fourth embodiment of the present utility model separated from a housing; fig. 8A is a side view of a chip in a chip assembly according to a fourth embodiment of the utility model, as seen in a direction perpendicular to a chip substrate, after the chip is mounted to an imaging material cartridge; fig. 8B is a side view of a chip assembly according to a fourth embodiment of the utility model, as seen in a direction perpendicular to the chip substrate, after the chip assembly has been mounted to the imaging material cartridge.

In this embodiment, the chip assembly 103 is configured to be at least partially movable, and as shown in fig. 7, the chip assembly 103 includes a chip 104, a pushing member 106, and an adapter 1031, where one end of the adapter 1031 is in contact with the chip 104/contact portion 1042, and the other end is in contact with a stylus, and the pushing member 106 is configured to push the adapter 1031 toward the stylus; the adaptor 1031 includes a movable member 103a and a communicating member 103b which are coupled to each other, and may be integrally formed or separately formed, the communicating member 103b being made of a conductive material, preferably a conductive steel sheet, and one end of the communicating member 103b being in contact with the contact portion 1042 and the other end being exposed to the outside through the movable member 103 a.

For example, when the ink cartridge 10 has not been mounted to the predetermined position, the communicating member 103b is retracted inside the movable member 103a, so that the communicating member 103b can be protected from damage by external components, the movable member 103a is pressed toward the housing 101 during the mounting of the ink cartridge 10 to the predetermined position, the urging member 106 is elastically deformed, the communicating member 103b gradually protrudes, when the ink cartridge 10 reaches the predetermined position, the communicating member 103b completes contact with the stylus, and when the ink cartridge 10 is disengaged from the predetermined position, the urging member 106 releases the elastic force, so that the communicating member 103b returns to the state retracted inside the movable member 103 a; it is also possible that the adapter 1031 is movable as a whole, the adapter 1031 does not contact the contact portion 1042 when the ink cartridge 10 has not been mounted to the predetermined position, the adapter 1031 is pressed toward the housing 101 as the ink cartridge 10 moves toward the predetermined position, the communicating piece 103b gradually comes into contact with the contact portion 1042, the communicating piece 103b completes contact with the stylus and the contact portion 1042 when the ink cartridge 10 reaches the predetermined position, and the urging piece 106 releases the elastic force when the ink cartridge 10 is disengaged from the predetermined position, so that the adapter 1031 returns to the state of not contacting the contact portion 1042; also for example, when the ink cartridge 10 has not been mounted to the predetermined position, a part of the communicating piece 103b is provided in contact with the contact portion 1042, another part of the communicating piece 103b is provided not in contact with the contact portion 1042, and as the ink cartridge 10 is mounted to the predetermined position, the other part of the communicating piece 103b gradually moves toward the direction approaching the contact portion 1042, the urging piece 106 is elastically deformed, when the ink cartridge 10 reaches the predetermined position, the communicating piece 103b completes the contact with the contact portion 1042 and the stylus, and when the ink cartridge 10 is disengaged from the predetermined position, the urging piece 106 releases the elastic force, and the communicating piece 103b returns to a state in which a part is in contact with the contact portion 1042 and another part is not in contact with the contact portion 1042.

The moving means of the movable member 103 a/the adaptor 1031 may be sliding or swinging, so long as the above-mentioned moving process of the movable member 103 a/the adaptor 1031 can be achieved.

In the case where the movable piece 103 a/the adaptor 1031 is provided so as to be movable, the arrangement of the contact portions 1042 of the chip 104 will not be limited any more, as shown in fig. 8A, along the y-direction, the projected points of the contact points C of the two outermost contact portions among the plurality of contact portions on the plane/surface including the y-direction and the D-direction on the straight line D are a and B, respectively, the center line L8 of the line segment AB coincides with the center line L1, that is, the contact portions 1042/the contact points C at this time are provided symmetrically along the y-direction, but the communication piece 103B for communicating the contact portions 1042 with the contact pins will be changed according to the arrangement of the contact pins, as shown in fig. 8B, the contact points of the communication piece 103B with the contact pins are C1, along the y-direction, the projected points of the two contact points C1 on the plane/surface including the y-direction and the D-direction on the straight line D are F and G, respectively, and the center line L4 of the line segment FG does not coincide with the center line L1, as well, the chip assembly 103 according to the present embodiment still has the advantage of the first embodiment.

Since the plurality of contact portions 1042 of the chip 104 are arranged symmetrically along the y direction, the chip 104 can continue to use the existing chip, and the ink cartridge manufacturer can select the corresponding adapter 1031 according to the arrangement condition of the contact pins in the imaging device, which is not only beneficial to reducing the cost of the ink cartridge, but also can make the chip have better universality; conversely, when the number of chips 104 having the contact portions 1042 asymmetrically arranged in the y-direction is large, it is also possible to make these chips 104 adaptable to an imaging device in which contact pins are symmetrically arranged in the y-direction by mounting the adapter.

As shown in fig. 8A and 8B, the center line L5 passing through the ink outlet 102 does not coincide with the center line L8, and the contact portion 1042/1043 or the contact point C which is far from the center line L5 in the y direction can be made less likely to be contaminated by the ink leaking from the ink outlet 102; further, the center line L5 does not coincide with the center line L4, and the communication piece 103b or the contact point C1 away from the center line L5 in the y direction is also made less likely to be contaminated by ink leaking from the ink outlet 102.

It can be seen that the adaptor 1031 has a first end contacting the chip contact 1042 and a second end contacting the stylus, a plurality of contact portions being provided at both the first and second ends, wherein one of the contact portion at the first end and the contact portion at the second end is arranged symmetrically in the y-direction and the contact portion at the other end is arranged asymmetrically in the y-direction; further, depending on the design requirements of the chip 104 and/or the arrangement of the contact pins, the contact portions at the first end and the contact portions at the second end may be configured to be asymmetric along the y-direction; further, the adapter 1031 and the pushing member 106 can be separated from the ink cartridge 10 and become a separate component, the adapter 1031 is mounted to the image forming apparatus before the ink cartridge 10 is mounted, when the ink in the ink cartridge 10 is consumed, the user only needs to replace the ink cartridge 10, and the adapter 1031 and the pushing member 106 can be used continuously.

In the chip 104 shown in fig. 9, the plurality of contact portions 1042/contact points C are arranged in a straight line along the d direction, and at this time, the plurality of contact portions 1042/contact points C are still symmetrically arranged along the y direction, and the adaptor 1031 can be applied to the chip 104 as well.

The above embodiment describes the case where the chip 104 is a single body, in which the number of the contact portions 1042 is at least three, for example, the chip 104 includes a first contact portion (first terminal) for detecting whether there is a short circuit between the chip 104 and the second contact portion, and at least one second contact portion (second terminal), further, the chip 104 includes at least one third contact portion (third terminal), and the area (Q2) where the at least one second contact portion is located is different from the area (Q1) where the first contact portion is located, and the second contact portion is closer to the third contact portion along the y direction.

When the number of the contact portions 1042 is set to three, the three contact portions 1042 are a data terminal, a clock terminal, and a ground terminal, respectively; when the number of the contact portions 1042 is set to five, as shown in fig. 8A, the five contact portions 1042 are respectively a first terminal 10421 (data terminal cpd), a second terminal 10422 (clock terminal cpc), a third terminal 10423 (reset terminal cpr), a fourth terminal 10424 (power terminal cpvd) and a fifth terminal 10425 (ground terminal cpvs), of course, the number of the contact portions 1042 may be further set, for example, seven, nine, etc., and the functions of the respective contact portions 1042 may be set according to design requirements.

In practical use, the ink cartridge 10 is not in the vacuum environment, especially the ink cartridge 10 which is not used for a long time, and more dust or impurities are inevitably adhered to the surface of the chip 104, and in addition, the ink leaked from the ink outlet 102 is adhered to the surface of the chip 104 under the action of the surface tension of the liquid, and these problems may cause the chip 104 to be damaged due to short circuit, so the applicant further proposes the solution of the embodiments described below.

Example five

Fig. 10 is a state diagram showing the separation of an image forming material cartridge and an image forming material cartridge accommodating section in an image forming apparatus to which the present utility model is applied; FIG. 11 is a state diagram of a chip assembly according to a fifth embodiment of the present utility model separated from a housing of an imaging material cartridge; FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a portion of the components of a chip assembly according to a fifth embodiment of the utility model; fig. 13 is a side view, as viewed in the y direction, of an imaging material cartridge mounted with a chip assembly according to a fifth embodiment of the present utility model mounted to an imaging apparatus; fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the imaging material cartridge and imaging apparatus of fig. 13 taken along a plane perpendicular to the y-direction and passing through the contact location of one contact portion with a corresponding stylus.

The ink cartridge 10 of the present embodiment will be described below by taking an image forming material cartridge as an example, and before describing the ink cartridge 10, the ink cartridge accommodating portion 20 in an image forming apparatus to which the ink cartridge 10 is applied will be described.

As in the above-described embodiment, the ink cartridge 10 is defined to have the x-direction, y-direction, and z-direction shown in fig. 10 based on the posture when the ink cartridge 10 is mounted to the image forming apparatus, and at the same time, for ease of understanding, the ink cartridge accommodating portion 20 is set to have the same orientation as the ink cartridge 10, the left side of fig. 10 shows the orientation of the ink cartridge accommodating portion 20, and the right side shows the orientation of the ink cartridge 10.

The ink cartridge housing section 20 includes a housing, a stylus mechanism 9 provided on the housing, and a device-side circuit board 25, a slot 26 opening toward the +z direction is formed between the stylus mechanism 9 and the device-side circuit board 25, a plurality of device-side terminals 251 are provided on the surface of the circuit board 25, one side plate 21 of the housing is provided with a device-side restriction element 23, the device-side restriction element 23 is provided with a device-side restriction section 232 for restricting the ink cartridge 10, and the device-side restriction section 232 is a stepped body protruding from the side plate 21 as shown in the drawing. The stylus mechanism 9 includes a main body 92 and stylus assemblies 90 provided in the main body 92, one stylus assembly 90 for each ink cartridge, each stylus assembly 90 having a plurality of styli 91 arranged at intervals in the y-direction, the number of the styli 91 being the same as the number of the chip contact portions 1042 and the device-side terminals 251, each stylus 91 being the same in structure, and a perspective view of one of the styli 91 being shown for a clearer illustration of the structure of the stylus 91.

The contact pin 91 includes an outer contact 911, an inner contact 913, and a connector 912 connecting the outer contact and the inner contact, the contact pin 91 being integrally made of a conductive material, the outer contact 911 being for electrical connection with the chip assembly 103, the inner contact 912 being for electrical connection with the device-side terminal 251, the connector 912 matching the shape of the main body 92, the connector 912 being generally arranged in a "table" shape as shown, including a first connector 912a extending in the z-direction, a second connector 912b extending in the x-direction, and a third connector 912c extending in the z-direction, the first connector 912a and the third connector 912c being disposed at an interval in the x-direction, and the first connector 912a being further connected with the outer contact 911, the third connector 912c being further connected with the inner contact 913, the outer contact 911 and the first connector 912a facing the-x direction and being opposite the ink cartridge 10, the inner contact 912a being located within the slot 26 and facing the +x-direction and opposite the circuit board 25, when the contact pin 91 is combined with the main body 92; before the ink cartridge 10 is mounted to the cartridge accommodating section 20, at least a part of the outer contact member 911 protrudes outside the main body 92, and the inner contact member 913 abuts against the device-side terminal 251, at this time, the inner contact member 913 and the third connection portion 912c are retracted together toward the inside of the main body 92 with the connection point of the second connection portion 912b and the third connection portion 912c as a rotation point; when the ink cartridge 10 is mounted to the predetermined position of the cartridge accommodating section 20, the outer contact 911 is retracted toward the inside of the main body 92 together with the first connection portion 912a with the connection portion of the first connection portion 912a as a rotation point, the outer contact 911 is abutted against the chip assembly 103, and preferably, the outer contact 911 and the inner contact 912 are arranged offset in the z direction, so that when the outer contact 911 is also retracted toward the inside of the main body 92, the outer contact 911 and the inner contact 913 may not interfere, the inner space of the main body 92 may be fully utilized, and the entire size of the main body 92 may be reduced.

The outer contact 911/inner contact 913 is provided with a tapered tip 91a/913a and a side surface 91b/913b provided adjacent to the tapered tip, wherein the side surface 91b connects the tapered tip 91a and the first connecting portion 912a, and the side surface 913b connects the tapered tip 913a and the third connecting portion 913a.

The ink cartridge 10 in the present embodiment is attached and detached/taken out in the z-direction, and the ink cartridge 10 further includes the first engaging piece 11 in the/+x direction in front of the front side wall 101a, and when the ink cartridge 10 is attached to the cartridge accommodating section 20, the engaging surface 11a located at the first engaging piece 11 abuts against the apparatus-side restricting section 232, and thus, the movement of the ink cartridge 10 in the z-direction is restricted to achieve positioning.

As shown in fig. 11, similarly to the embodiment, the chip assembly 103 in the present embodiment includes the chip 104 and the conductor 107 which are formed separately, the conductor 107 being for drawing out the at least one contact portion 1042 and making contact with at least one of the stylus mechanism 9 and the device-side terminal 251, that is, at least one of the plurality of contact portions provided in the chip 104 is not in direct contact with the stylus mechanism 9, so that the plurality of contact portions may not necessarily be limited to the same surface at the position of the substrate 1041, thereby reducing the risk of the chip 104 being short-circuited; when the contact portions 1042 are provided in the above five, at least one of the power supply terminal 10424 and the ground terminal 10425 may be led out by the conductor 107 and brought into contact with at least one of the stylus mechanism 9 and the device side terminal 251, and preferably the ground terminal 10425 is led out by the conductor 107 and brought into contact with at least one of the stylus mechanism 9 and the device side terminal 251.

Also similar to the embodiment, in this embodiment, the plurality of contact portions 1042 are divided into a first set of contact portions 1045 disposed on one side/first side of the substrate 1041 and a second set of contact portions 1046 disposed on the other side/second side of the substrate 1041, hereinafter, taking an example in which only one back contact portion 1043 is disposed on the second set of contact portions 1046, the position of the back contact portion 1043 on the other side/second side of the substrate 1041 is not necessarily limited, for example, when viewed along the x direction, the back contact portion 1043 may be disposed in the first area Q1 or the second area Q2, because the first set of contact portions 1045 and the second set of contact portions 1046 are disposed on both sides of the substrate 1041, respectively, so that the risk of the chip 104 being shorted can be reduced regardless of the position on the other side of the substrate where the back contact portion 1043 is disposed.

The conductor 107 is used for leading out the back contact portion 1043 and contacting the corresponding contact pin 91, as shown in the figure, the conductor 107 includes a first conductive member 1071 and a second conductive member 1072 electrically connected to each other, which may be integrally formed or formed separately, the second conductive member 1072 is located in front of the substrate 1041, the second conductive member 1072 and the substrate 1041 are spaced apart from each other along the x direction, and a bonding space S is formed therebetween, one end of the first conductive member 1071 contacts the back contact portion 1043, and the other end contacts the second conductive member 1072, so that the back contact portion 1043 corresponds to being disposed on the second conductive member 1072, preferably, the back contact portion 1043 is a ground terminal and is disposed in the first area Q1; further, the chip assembly 103 further includes a support 1032 for supporting the second conductive member 1072, and the end 10721 of the second conductive member 1072 protrudes from the support 1032; further, the back contact 1043 may be provided on the same side of the substrate as the front contact 1042, as long as the conductor 107 is capable of extracting the back contact 1043 and contacting at least one of the contact pin structure 9 and the device side terminal 251.

When the ink cartridge 10 is mounted, the main body 92 of the stylus mechanism 9 enters the engaging space S, the external contact 911 abuts against the first set of contact portions 1045 of the contact portions, the support 1032 carries the second conductive member 1072 into the slot 26, and the second conductive member 1072 contacts at least one of the internal contact 913 and the device-side terminal 251. As shown in fig. 14, the supporting member 1032 is interposed between the inner contact member 913 and the device-side terminal 251, at this time, the supporting member 1032/the second conductive member 1072 abuts against the tapered tip 913a of the inner contact member 913, the inner contact member 913 is retracted inwardly toward the main body 92 together with the third connection portion 912c, and at the same time, the second conductive member 1072 is brought into contact with the device-side terminal 251, and finally, the plurality of contact portions 1042 of the chip 104 are directly or indirectly electrically connected to the device-side terminal 251, the first group of contact portions 1045 are electrically connected to the device-side terminal 251 through the contact pins 91, and the second group of contact portions 1046 are electrically connected to the device-side terminal 251 through the conductors 107.

Further, when the ink cartridge 10 reaches the predetermined position, both the outer contact 911 and the inner contact 912 retract toward the inside of the main body 91, and in the x-direction, the outer contact 911 will apply a force toward the-x direction to the ink cartridge 10, and the inner contact 912 will apply a force toward the +x direction to the ink cartridge 10, and these opposing forces will enable the ink cartridge 10 to be more stably positioned in the cartridge accommodating portion 20; meanwhile, the plurality of contact portions of the chip 104 are no longer disposed on the same surface of the substrate 1041, and the risk of shorting of the chip 104 can be effectively reduced.

As a modification of the present embodiment, the supporting member 1032 may be integrally made of a conductive material, and in this case, the supporting member 1032 is integrally made of the second conductive member 1072, and similarly, when the ink cartridge 10 is mounted, the second conductive member 1072 is electrically connected to the device-side terminal 251.

As another modification of the present embodiment, the second conductive member 1072 may further be brought into contact with a member other than the outer contact member 911 of the stylus 91, thereby achieving electrical connection of the second conductive member 1072 with the device-side terminal 251, for example, when the ink cartridge 10 is mounted to a predetermined position, the second conductive member 1072 does not enter between the inner contact member 913 and the device-side terminal 251 but reaches the upper/+z direction of the tapered tip 913a, at which time the second conductive member 1072 may be brought into contact with at least any one of the side surface 913b, the third connection portion 912c, and the second connection portion 912b, and since the tapered tip 913a of the inner contact member remains in contact with the device-side terminal 251, the second conductive member 1072 can be brought into electrical connection with the device-side terminal 251.

Further, when all the contact portions 1042 of the chip 104 are led out through the conductors 107 without contacting the external contact members 911, that is, all the contact portions 1042 of the chip 104 enter the slot 26 through the conductors 107 and contact at least one of the internal contact members 911, the second connection portions 912b, the third connection portions 912c, and the device side terminals 251, since the ink outlet 102 is still located at the side of the main body 92 facing the ink cartridge, the contact position of each of the second conductive members 1072 with at least one of the internal contact members 911, the second connection portions 912b, the third connection portions 912c, and the device side terminals 251 is separated from the ink outlet 102 by the main body 92 in the x-direction, which is also advantageous for reducing the risk of shorting of the chip 104; according to this modification, the plurality of contact portions 1042 need not be defined as to whether or not they are provided on the same surface, that is, all of the contact portions 1042 may be provided on the same surface, at least one of the contact portions is led out through the conductor 107, and the conductor 107 is not in contact with the external contact 911 but is in contact with a member other than the external contact 911.

Example six

Unlike the fifth embodiment, the chip 104 in this embodiment is configured in a similar structure to the fifth embodiment, that is, the chip 104 includes a plurality of split components, and as shown in the drawing, the chip 104 in this embodiment includes a first sub-chip 104a and a second sub-chip 104b, and, as in the fifth embodiment, the first sub-chip 104a and the second sub-chip 104b may be two mutually independent chips, or two components capable of establishing communication connection, or may share one memory 1044, or may have memories respectively.

As shown in fig. 15, the first sub-chip 104a includes a first sub-board 1041a and at least one first sub-contact 1042a provided on the first sub-board 1041a, the second sub-chip 104b includes a second sub-board 1041b and a second sub-contact 1042b provided on the second sub-board 1041b, a bonding space S is formed between the first sub-board 1041a and the second sub-board 1041b in the x direction, the conductive member 1072 is connected to the second sub-contact 1042a, and when the ink cartridge 10 is mounted to a predetermined position, the conductive member 1072 is in contact with at least any one of the device side terminal 251, the side 913b of the inner contact, the third connection 912c, and the second connection 912b, and the first sub-contact 1042a is in contact with its corresponding contact pin outer contact 911.

The chip assembly 103 in this embodiment still has the advantages of the fifth embodiment, and will not be described herein.

Example seven

As for the ink cartridge 10 described in the fifth and sixth embodiments, since a portion of the ink cartridge (the supporting member 1032/the second conductive member 1072) needs to be inserted into the slot 26, when the ink cartridge 10 needs to be taken out, the side of the supporting member 1032 (the +x-direction side of the ink cartridge) will be subjected to a large friction force toward the-z direction, thereby causing the ink cartridge 10 to tilt, and referring to fig. 13, at this time, the-x-direction side of the ink cartridge 10 will tilt upward, or the-x-direction end of the upper side wall 101c will be higher than the +x-direction end of the upper side wall 101c along the z-direction, when the ink cartridge 10 continues to be pulled up toward the +z direction, the portion below the first engaging member 11 (-z-direction) may contact the device-side restricting portion 232, thereby causing the ink cartridge 10 to be jammed and unable to be taken out, or the take out may be unsmooth.

For this reason, the ink cartridge 10 according to the present utility model further includes the escape surface 10i provided on the side below the first joint surface 11a (-z direction), the escape surface 10i being for preventing the ink cartridge 10 from interfering with the device-side regulating portion 232, and for guiding the ink cartridge 10 when the ink cartridge 10 interferes with the device-side regulating portion 232, so that the ink cartridge 10 can be smoothly taken out.

Preferably, the avoidance surface 10i is disposed to be inclined with respect to the z direction, specifically, when the ink cartridge 10 shown in fig. 13 is in the posture of the predetermined position, the avoidance surface 10i faces the +z direction and the +x direction, and the avoidance surface 10i may be disposed on at least any one of the positioning plate 105 for positioning the chip substrate, the side wall of the case 101, or the first bonding member 11 in the chip assembly.

Example eight

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of a chip assembly according to an eighth embodiment of the present utility model; fig. 17 is a perspective view of a chip in a chip assembly according to an eighth embodiment of the utility model, separated from a conductor; fig. 18A is a side view of a chip assembly according to an eighth embodiment of the utility model, as seen in a direction perpendicular to a chip substrate, after the chip assembly is mounted to an imaging material cartridge; FIG. 18B is a schematic diagram further illustrating the chip assembly of FIG. 18A; fig. 18C is a side view of the back contact portion of fig. 18A, as viewed in a direction perpendicular to the chip substrate, after the first deformation is made.

Similar to the above-described embodiment, the present embodiment relates to the chip assembly 103 including the chip 104 and the conductors 107, the chip 104 including the substrate 1041 and the plurality of contacts 1042 disposed on the substrate 1041, the substrate 1041 having opposite first and second sides 1048 and 1049 along a direction perpendicular to both the y and d directions, the first side 1048 being opposite to the contact pins 91 when the chip 104/chip assembly 103 is mounted to the predetermined position of the image forming apparatus with the ink cartridge 100, a first set of contacts 1045 of the plurality of contacts 1042 being disposed on the first side 1048, a second set of contacts 1046 of the plurality of contacts 1042 being disposed on the second side 1049, wherein the first set of contacts 1045 includes one or more contacts 1042, the second set of contacts 1046 includes one or more contacts 1042, the one or more contacts 1042 of the first set of contacts 1045 also being referred to as front contacts, and the one or more contacts 1046 of the second set of contacts 1046 also being referred to as back contacts 3 for convenience of description.

When the imaging material cartridge 10 mounted with the chip assembly 103 is mounted to an imaging apparatus, the front surface contact portion 1042 directly contacts the contact pin 91, and the back surface contact portion 1043 contacts the contact pin 91 through the conductor 107; in the chip module 103, whether or not the other portion of the chip 104 and the other portion of the conductor 107 are bonded to each other is not limited to the contact portion 1043, but the bonding method of the other portion of the chip 104 and the other portion of the conductor 107 is not limited to the bonding method, and the bonding method is not limited to the bonding method, for example, the bonding method of the conductor 107 and the chip 104 by the clamping method, the bonding method by the welding method, the bonding method by the bonding method, the bonding method by the chip 104 by the clamping method of the conductor 107, or the like.

As further shown in fig. 16 and 17, the conductor 107 includes a front conductive member 1074 and a back conductive member 1075 electrically connected to each other, wherein the front conductive member 1074 is configured to contact the contact pin 91, and the back conductive member 1075 is configured to contact the back contact portion 1043, such that the back contact portion 1043 is electrically connected to the contact pin 91, and the front conductive member 1074 and the back conductive member 1075 are preferably integrally formed by conductive members, for example, a metal sheet is bent according to design requirements, and optionally, the front conductive member 1074 and the back conductive member 1075 may be two independent conductive members electrically connected by a conductive material.

Further, the conductor 107 further includes an abutting portion 1076 disposed on the opposite-surface conductive member 1075, where the abutting portion 1076 is configured to contact the opposite-surface contact portion 1043, and it is possible that the abutting portion 1076 and the opposite-surface contact portion 1043 may form any one of a point contact/line contact/surface contact, and when a line contact or a surface contact is formed therebetween, a center of the contact line or the contact surface may be a contact point, and when one of a plurality of point contacts and a plurality of line contacts and a plurality of surface contacts is formed therebetween, a contact point may be determined by one of the plurality of point contacts and the plurality of line contacts and the plurality of surface contacts, or a contact point may be determined by one of an area/space formed by the plurality of point contacts and an area/space formed by the plurality of line contacts and the area/space formed by the plurality of surface contacts.

As can be realized, the chip assembly 103 may be fixedly mounted on the housing 101 by means of clamping, bonding, riveting, welding, etc., as shown, the substrate 1041 is provided with a substrate bonding groove 1047, the conductor 107 is provided with a conductor bonding groove 1073, and correspondingly, the housing 101 or the positioning plate 105 is provided with bonding posts 1051 bonded with the bonding grooves 1047/1073 (as shown in fig. 23).

In this embodiment, the plurality of contact portions 1042 are disposed on the first side 1048 and the second side 1049 of the substrate, respectively, so that the contact portions disposed on the second side 1049 can be more fully protected, in addition, the surface area of the first side 1048 on which the plurality of contact portions 1042 are disposed can be reduced, and accordingly, the projected area of the plane/surface of the substrate 1041 including the d-direction and the y-direction is reduced, that is, the overall size of the chip 104 is reduced, and although the chip assembly 103 including the chip 104 also needs to be provided with the conductors 107, the conductors 107 can be disposed according to the position and the size of the contact pins 91, the overall size of the chip assembly 103 can still be controlled towards the small size, and further, when the conductors 107 are made of flexible materials, the overall size of the chip assembly 103 can be smaller.

In general, the chip 104 is further provided with the memory 1044, and the memory 1044 may be provided on the second side 1049 together with the back contact 1043 according to the inventive concept of the present utility model, so that the surface area of the second side 1049 may be fully utilized, and in some embodiments, the memory 1044 may be provided on the first side 1048 together with the front contact 1042, whereas the first side 1048 will face the contact pins 91, and the second side 1049 will face the housing 101, by which the memory 1044 does not have to protrude from the second side 1049, and the size of the chip 104 from the substrate 1041 toward the housing 101 may be reduced in the direction perpendicular to the d-direction and the y-direction (the thickness direction of the chip 104), and accordingly, the space for accommodating the chip 104/chip assembly 103 on the housing 101 may be reduced, especially when the conductor 107 is made of a thin material (e.g., a conductive material) even if at least a portion of the back conductive member 1075 is opposite to the second side 1049, and the size of the chip assembly 103 may be reduced from the substrate 1041 toward the housing 101 in the thickness direction.

In order to improve or improve the overall performance of the chip 104, a circuit board provided in the chip 104 is provided with a power source for directly supplying power, typically, a battery is used as the power source, and when a part of the contact portion is provided on the second side 1049 of the substrate, the battery may also be provided on the first side 1048, so that the size of the chip 104/chip assembly 103 from the substrate 1041 to the housing 101 in the thickness direction can be reduced, and at the same time, the design is also beneficial to realizing rapid installation and removal of the battery.

When the number of the contact portions 1042 is five, as described above, the five contact portions 1042 are respectively a first terminal 10421 (data terminal cpd), a second terminal 10422 (clock terminal cpc), a third terminal 10423 (reset terminal cpr), a fourth terminal 10424 (power terminal cpvd) and a fifth terminal 10425 (ground terminal cpvs), and in some embodiments, the first terminal 10421 (data terminal cpd), the second terminal 10422 (clock terminal cpc), the third terminal 10423 (reset terminal cpr) and the fourth terminal 10424 (power terminal cpvd) form a first group of contact portions 1045, the fifth terminal 10425 (ground terminal cpvs) is formed as a second group of contact portions 1046, the fifth terminal 10425 (ground terminal cpvs) is provided at the second side 1049 and becomes a reverse surface contact portion 1043, and the reverse surface contact portion 1043 is plural in a position of the second side 1049, which is described below when viewed in the thickness direction.

In fig. 18A, the contact pins 91 form contact points C with the respective front contact portions 1042, the contact pins 91 form contact points C1 with the conductors 107/front conductive members 1074, the rear conductive members 1075 also form contact points C with the rear contact portions 1043, specifically, the contact points Cd with the contact pins 91 form contact points Cd with the first terminals 10421, the contact points Cc with the contact pins 91 form contact points Cr with the third terminals 10423, the contact points Cvd with the contact pins 91 form contact points cv24 with the fifth terminals 10425, and the contact points Cd, the contact points Cc, the contact points Cr, the contact points Cvd, and the contact points Cvs are different in the positions of the projection points (final projection points) formed on the straight lines D parallel to the y direction, wherein the final projection points of the contact points Cc and the final projection points Cvs are located on the outermost sides of all the contact points, and the final projection points Cr are located in the middle of the final projection points of all the contact points; the contact points formed on the substrate 1041 may be collectively referred to as contact points C, and the contact points formed on the conductors 107 may be collectively referred to as contact points C2.

In the y-direction, in the first group of contact portions 1045, the contact point Cc is located on the-y side of the other three contact points, the contact point Cd is located on the +y side of the other three contact points, the contact point Cvs is located on the +y side of the contact point Cd, and thus, in all the contact points located on the substrate 1041, the contact point Cc and the contact point Cvs are located on the outermost sides of all (five) contact points in the y-direction, projected points of the contact point Cc and the contact point Cvs on a plane/surface including the y-direction and the D-direction on a straight line D parallel to the y-direction are E and B, respectively, the center line of the line EB is L3a, the substrate 1041 forms a third area Q3a in the-y-direction of the center line L3a, and forms a fourth area Q4a in the +y-direction of the center line L3a, the contact point Cc and the contact point Cr are located on the third area Q3a, and the contact point Cd and the contact point Cvs are located on the outermost sides of the fourth area Q4a, that is, the number of contact points/the contact points on both sides of the center line L3a are different, which is advantageous in reducing the risk of a chip design.

As shown in fig. 18B, the back contact 1043 is hidden on the other side of the substrate 1041 and cannot be observed, and only the front contact 1042 can be observed, specifically, the first terminal 10421 (data terminal cpd), the second terminal 10422 (clock terminal cpc), the third terminal 10423 (reset terminal cpr) and the fourth terminal 10424 (power terminal cpvd) can be observed, in consideration of only the four terminals on the first side 1048 of the substrate, the contact Cc and the contact Cd are located on the outermost sides of all (four) contact points respectively along the y direction, at this time, the projected points of the contact Cc and the contact Cd on the plane/surface including the y direction and the D direction are E and B respectively, the center line of the line EB is L3B, in the y direction, the substrate 1041 forms the third area Q3B in the-y direction of the center line L3B, the fourth area Q4B in the +y direction of the center line L3B is formed, and the contact Cc and the contact Cd are located on the outermost sides of all (four) contact points respectively, that is, and the contact pins 91 and the contact are located on both sides of the contact pins 91 are electrically balanced.

In the variant embodiment of fig. 18B, the contact points/contact pins on both sides of the center line L3B may also be symmetrically arranged, as shown in fig. 18B, with the projection points of the contact points Cr and the contact points Cvd on the straight line D including the plane/surface of the y-direction and the D-direction being M and N, respectively, where the projection points M and B are located on the +y side of the center line L3B, the projection points N and E are located on the-y side of the center line L3B, which are symmetrical with respect to the center line L3B, and the projection points N and E are symmetrical with respect to the center line L3B, which arrangement of the contact portions/contact points is more advantageous for the chip 104 to maintain the force balance on both sides of the center line L3B.

As shown in fig. 18C, in the first modification, the contact point Cvs is disposed closer to the contact point Cd in the y direction, and at this time, among all (five) contact points located on the substrate 1041, the contact point Cc and the contact point Cvs are still located at the outermost sides of all (five) contact points in the y direction, the projection points of the contact point Cc and the contact point Cvs at the straight line D including the plane/surface of the y direction and the D direction are E and B, respectively, the center line of the line EB is L3C, the substrate 1041 forms the third area Q3C in the-y direction of the center line L3B in the y direction, and forms the fourth area Q4C in the +y direction of the center line L3C, unlike the structure shown in fig. 18A, in the present modification, the center line L3C passes through the contact point Cr, the contact point Cvd and the contact point Cc are located at the third area Q3C, the contact point Cd and the contact point Cvs are located at the fourth area Q4C, and it is seen that the number of the contact points C on both sides of the center line L3C is the same, and the contact point Cd becomes smaller in the dimension of the contact point Cd is closer to the substrate Cd than the contact point Cd in the y direction.

In the modification of fig. 18C, the contact points on both sides of the center line L3C may be symmetrically arranged as in the modification of fig. 18B, and the size of the substrate 1041 in the y direction can be reduced by this design as well.

Example nine

On the basis of the eighth embodiment, the chip assembly 103 in the present embodiment further includes a pushing member 106 for abutting against the conductor 107, and when the chip assembly 103 is mounted to the housing 101 or when the conductor 107 is combined with the chip 104, the pushing member 106 pushes the opposite-side conductive member 1075 toward the opposite-side contact portion 1043, so that the contact of the abutting portion 1076 with the opposite-side contact portion 1043 is more stable.

Specifically, the urging member 106 is provided as an elastic member, for example, the urging member 106 is a sponge/compression spring or the like having one end abutting against the conductor 107 and the other end abutting against the housing 101/positioning plate 105, and in some embodiments, the urging member 106 may also force the chip 104 and/or the conductor 107 to form stable contact by applying magnetic attraction force to them, for example, when the conductor 107 is made of a metal sheet, a magnetic member is mounted on the substrate 104, and the conductor 107 is attracted to a predetermined position by the magnetic member as the conductor 107 is combined with the chip 104, or the magnetic member is mounted simultaneously on the substrate 104 and the conductor 107.

In other embodiments, the urging member 106 may also urge the chip 104 and the conductor 107 into stable contact by applying a magnetic repulsive force to the conductor 107, for example, when the conductor 107 is made of a metal sheet, a magnetic member is mounted on the housing 101/positioning plate 105, and the magnetic member urges the conductor 107 toward the chip 104 as the conductor 107 is bonded to the chip 104, or as the chip assembly 103 is mounted.

Examples ten

Fig. 20 is an exploded perspective view of a chip assembly according to a tenth embodiment of the present utility model; fig. 21 is a perspective view of a chip assembly according to a tenth embodiment of the present utility model, as seen from the back side; fig. 22A is a side view of a chip assembly according to the tenth embodiment of the utility model, as seen in a direction perpendicular to a chip substrate, after the chip assembly is mounted to an imaging material cartridge; fig. 22B is a side view of the back contact portion of fig. 22A, as seen in a direction perpendicular to the chip substrate, after deformation.

When the back contact 1043 is disposed on the second side 1049 together with the memory 1044, the back contact 1043 in the present embodiment is located on the-y side of the memory 1044 as compared with the chip assembly shown in fig. 16 and 17, and similarly, the disposition position of the back contact 1043 is variously changed, which will be described below with reference to fig. 22A and 22B.

As shown in fig. 22A, in the y direction, among all (five) contact points located on the substrate 1041, the contact point Cc and the contact point Cd are located on the outermost sides of all (five) contact points, respectively, the contact point Cvs is located between the contact point Cc and the contact point Cd, projection points of the contact point Cc and the contact point Cd at a straight line D parallel to the y direction at projection points of a plane/surface including the y direction and the D direction are E and B, respectively, a center line of the line segment EB is L3D, in the y direction, the substrate 1041 forms a third region Q3D in the-y direction of the center line L3D, and forms a fourth region Q4D in the +y direction of the center line L3D.

In fig. 22A, when the back contact 1043 is not considered, the contact Cc and the contact Cvd are located in the third area Q3c, and the contact Cr and the contact Cd are located in the fourth area Q4c, that is, the forces on both sides of the center line L3d are balanced, which is advantageous for ensuring that the front contact makes stable electrical contact with the contact pin 91; when considering the back contact 1043, the contact Cc, the contact Cvd and the contact Cvs are located in the third area Q3c, the contact Cr and the contact Cd are located in the fourth area Q4c, and the number of contacts/the number of contact pins on both sides of the center line L3d are different, which is advantageous in reducing the risk of a chip short circuit, while the contact Cvs located between the contact Cc and the contact Cd in the y direction does not affect the force on both sides of the center line L3d, so that in this embodiment, the force on both sides of the center line L3d can be balanced regardless of whether the back contact 1043 is considered or not, and the chip 104 and the contact pin 91 can form a stable electrical contact.

As shown in fig. 22B, after another deformation is made at the position of the reverse-side contact portion, the contact point Cvs continues to move toward the-y direction on the basis of fig. 22A in the y direction and reaches the-y side of the contact point Cc, so that the contact point Cvs and the contact point Cd are respectively located at the outermost sides of all (five) contact points in the y direction, the projected points of the contact point Cvs and the contact point Cd at the straight line D including the plane/surface of the y direction and the D direction are respectively E and B, the center line of the line EB is L3E, the substrate 1041 forms a third area Q3E in the-y direction of the center line L3E in the y direction, and a fourth area Q4E in the +y direction of the center line L3E; in this embodiment, the final projection point of the contact point Cvd is located in the middle of the final projection points of all the contact points, and the center line L3e passes through the contact point Cvd.

Compared with fig. 22A, the position of the front contact portion in fig. 22B is not changed, and thus, the stress condition of the front contact portion in fig. 22B is the same as that of fig. 22A without considering the back contact portion 1043, and will not be described again.

In fig. 22B, when the reverse surface contact portion 1043 is considered, the contact point Cvs and the contact point Cc are located in the third region Q3e, the contact point Cr and the contact point Cd are located in the fourth region Q4e, and the size of the substrate 1041 in the y direction becomes smaller as the number of contact points on both sides of the center line L3e is the same as that shown in fig. 18C.

As can be seen from fig. 18A, 18C, 22A, and 22B, the back contact 1043 may be disposed at different positions on the second side 1049, the position of the back contact 1043 on the second side 1049 may be changed from the +y direction side to the-y direction side of the substrate 1041 along the y direction, and thus, the back contact 1043 may have different positions on the second side 1049, two contact points of all the contact on the outermost sides (i.e., the-y side and the +y side) in the y direction may also be different, the center lines formed by the two contact points may also be different, the position of the back contact in fig. 22A may be regarded as a second deformation made by the position of the back contact in fig. 18A, and the position of the back contact in fig. 22B may be regarded as a third deformation made by the position of the back contact in fig. 18A; in a further modification, the back contact portions 1043 may be further configured such that a final projection point of at least one back contact portion 1043 coincides with a final projection point of at least one front contact portion 1042, and when the back contact portions 1043 are configured in plurality, final projection points of at least two back contact portions in the plurality of back contact portions coincide.

The back contact 1043 provided at the second side 1049 will be able to achieve the following benefits regardless of the centerline variation:

1. When the chip 104/chip assembly 103 is mounted to the housing 101, the back contact 1043 will face the housing 101, and thus, the back contact 1043 can be more effectively protected.

2. The above-described embodiment describes that the fifth terminal 10425 (the ground terminal cpvs) is provided as the reverse contact 1043, and in practice, any one or more of the first terminal 10421 (the data terminal cpd), the second terminal 10422 (the clock terminal cpc), the third terminal 10423 (the reset terminal cpr), the fourth terminal 10424 (the power terminal cpvd) and the fifth terminal 10425 (the ground terminal cpvs) may be provided as the reverse contact 1043, and thus, the chip 104/the chip assembly 103 may obtain a higher degree of freedom in design, and the degree of freedom in arrangement design of the contacts may be also improved.

3. At least one contact portion of the plurality of contact portions is disposed on the second side 1049 to be a back contact portion, and thus a side surface area of the substrate, on which the back contact portion is otherwise disposed, may be reduced, and as a whole, a size of the entire chip substrate 1041 may be reduced, which is advantageous for downsizing the chip 104, thereby downsizing the chip assembly 103 and/or the imaging material cartridge 100.

4. After at least one contact is provided on the second side 1049 as a back contact, the design is also advantageous for achieving miniaturization of the imaging material cartridge 100 when the size of the chip substrate 1041 is unchanged, for example, by placing the memory 1044 originally provided on the second side 1049 with the position of the back contact originally provided in the first side 1048, i.e., by exchanging the position of one or more contacts with the memory 1044, or by providing the battery on the first side 1048, so that the size of the entire chip 104 protruding from the substrate 1041 toward the case 101 can be reduced, and accordingly, the space for accommodating the chip 104/chip assembly 103 in the case 101 can be reduced.

5. As described in fig. 4, when a battery is provided on the first side 1048, replacement and maintenance of the battery will become easier and more convenient.

6. When the number of contact points at two sides of the central line L3a/L3b/L3c/L3d/L3e is different, the arrangement density of the contact points can be reduced, so that the risk of chip short circuit is reduced; when the number of contact points on both sides of the center line L3a/L3b/L3c/L3d/L3e is the same, the forces on both sides of the center line are balanced, which is beneficial to ensure that the front contact portion and the contact pin 91 form stable electrical contact.

Other description

As described above, the imaging material cartridge 100 to which the chip 104/chip assembly 103 according to the embodiment of the present utility model is applied has various forms, and the imaging material cartridge 100 may be either a process cartridge or a powder cartridge containing carbon powder or an ink cartridge containing ink.

Fig. 23 is a perspective view of a second ink cartridge 100a to which the chip 104/chip assembly 103 is applied, the second ink cartridge 100a also having a housing 101 containing ink and an ink outlet 102 provided on the housing 101, the housing 101 having a front side wall 101a facing in the +x direction and a rear side wall 101b facing in the-x direction along the x direction, a lower side wall 101d being located between the front side wall 101a and the rear side wall 101b, a first bonding member 11 being provided on the front side wall 101a, a second bonding member 12 being provided on the rear side wall 101b, the ink outlet 102 being provided on the lower side wall 101d, and the ink outlet 102 being closer to the rear side wall 101b than the front side wall 101a, the first bonding member 11 being for guiding the mounting of the ink cartridge 100a, the first bonding member 11 also being for limiting the ink cartridge 100 in the image forming apparatus in some embodiments, the second bonding member 12 being for bonding with the image forming apparatus to limit the ink cartridge 100a in the image forming apparatus.

Further, the ink cartridge 100a also has the above-described inclined side wall 101e, and the chip 104/chip assembly 103 is provided on the inclined side wall 101e, specifically, the chip 104/chip assembly 103 is provided on the positioning plate 105 located on the inclined side wall 101 e.

Further, the ink cartridge 100a further includes an operating device 17 movable with respect to the housing 101, the operating device 17 including a lock portion 17c and an unlock portion 17a, the lock portion 17c being closer to the first coupling member 11 with respect to the second coupling member 12 in the x-direction, whereby the lock portion 17c and the second coupling member 12 can define the ink cartridge 100a from the +x-direction side and the-x-direction side of the housing 101, respectively, and the unlock portion 17a is for releasing the lock of the lock portion 17c to the ink cartridge 100 a.

In the x-direction, the chip 104/chip assembly 103 is disposed adjacent to the lock portion 17c, so that the chip 104/chip assembly 103 can be brought into more stable contact with the contact pin 91 by the lock of the lock portion 17 c.

The third image forming material cartridge shown in fig. 24 is an ink cartridge 100b, unlike the ink cartridge 100a, in the ink cartridge 100b, the ink outlet 102 is closer to the front side wall 101a than to the rear side wall 101b in the x-direction, and the first coupling member 11 provided at the front side wall 101a is movable/swingable with respect to the housing 101, the first coupling member 11 being provided with the engaging protrusion 11a, the ink cartridge 100b being defined in the image forming apparatus by the engaging protrusion 11a, and the definition of the engaging protrusion 11a to the ink cartridge 100b being released by the deforming movement/swinging movement of the first coupling member 11 with respect to the housing 101.

As described above, at least one of the plurality of contact portions in the chip according to the present utility model is provided on the second side 1049 of the chip substrate 1041, and at the same time, the contact portion provided on the second side 1049 is brought into contact with the contact pin through the conductor 107 outside the chip 104, which is advantageous not only in terms of improving the degree of freedom of arrangement design of the contact portion but also in terms of achieving miniaturization of the chip 104, and further, miniaturization of the chip assembly 103 including the chip 104, the imaging material cartridge 100/100a/100b mounted with the chip 104 or the chip assembly 103 becomes easy to achieve.

Claims

1. A chip for detachably mounting to the image forming apparatus with the image forming material cartridge, the chip including a substrate and a plurality of contact portions provided on the substrate, characterized in that,

the substrate is provided with a first side and a second side which are opposite, and the plurality of contact parts comprise a front contact part arranged on the first side and a back contact part arranged on the second side;

when the image forming material cartridge is mounted to a predetermined position of the image forming apparatus, the front surface contact portion is electrically connected to the image forming apparatus, and the back surface contact portion is electrically connected to the image forming apparatus through a conductor outside the chip.

2. The chip according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of contact pins for electrical connection with the contact portions and for electrical connection with the conductors are provided in the imaging device, the left-right direction of the line of sight of the user is the y-direction of the imaging material cartridge based on the posture of the imaging material cartridge when the imaging material cartridge is mounted by the user, the surface on the substrate on which the contact portions are provided extends in the y-direction and the d-direction, which is perpendicular to the y-direction and parallel to the extending direction of the plane on which the contact portions are provided by the substrate;

The contact points formed by the front contact part and the contact pins and the contact points formed by the back contact part and the conductors respectively form projection points on a straight line D parallel to the y direction on the projection points of the surfaces;

in the y direction, among all the contact points, the connecting line of the projection points corresponding to the two outermost contact points on the straight line D is provided with a central line, and the number of the contact points on two sides of the central line is the same.

3. The chip according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of contact pins for electrical connection with the contact portions and for electrical connection with the conductors are provided in the imaging device, the left-right direction of the line of sight of the user is the y-direction of the imaging material cartridge based on the posture of the imaging material cartridge when the imaging material cartridge is mounted by the user, the surface on the substrate on which the contact portions are provided extends in the y-direction and the d-direction, which is perpendicular to the y-direction and parallel to the extending direction of the plane on which the contact portions are provided by the substrate;

the projected points of the contact points formed by the front contact part and the contact pins on the surface form projected points on a straight line D parallel to the y direction;

in the y direction, among the contact points formed by the front contact part and the contact pins, the connecting line of the projection points corresponding to the two outermost contact points on the straight line D is provided with a central line, and the number of the contact points on two sides of the central line is the same.

4. A chip as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the projection points lying on the line D and on either side of the centre line in the y-direction are arranged symmetrically.

5. The chip of claim 1, further comprising a memory disposed on the first side of the substrate and electrically connected to the contacts; the number of contacts in the front contact is greater than the number of contacts in the back contact.

6. The chip of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the back contact includes a ground terminal.

7. A chip assembly comprising a chip as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 and a conductor in contact with the back contact in the chip, the chip being formed separately from the conductor.

8. The chip assembly of claim 7, further comprising a pushing member for pushing the conductor toward the back contact.

9. Imaging material cartridge, characterized in that it comprises a housing containing imaging material and a chip assembly according to claim 7 or 8, which is mounted on the housing.

10. The imaging material cartridge of claim 9, wherein the housing has a front side wall, a lower side wall, and an inclined side wall between the front side wall and the lower side wall, the imaging material cartridge further comprising an imaging material discharge portion provided at the lower side wall, at least a portion of the chip assembly being opposed to the inclined side wall in a direction perpendicular to a plane in which the contact portion is provided to the substrate.

11. The imaging material cartridge of claim 9, wherein the housing has oppositely disposed front and rear side walls and a first coupling member disposed on the front side wall for confining the imaging material cartridge in the imaging device, the chip assembly being mounted on the front side wall, the first coupling member being movable relative to the housing.

12. An imaging material cartridge comprising a housing containing imaging material and a chip as claimed in claim 2 or 3 or 4 mounted on the housing, the centre line being offset from the centre line of the imaging material cartridge in the y-direction.

13. An image forming material cartridge comprising a housing accommodating an image forming material, an image forming material discharging portion provided on the housing, and the chip as claimed in claim 2 or 3 or 4, the chip being mounted on the housing, the center line being misaligned with a center line passing through a center of the image forming material discharging portion in a y direction along the y direction.