JP4126561B2 - Method for taking out electronic components of liquid cartridge - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for taking out an electronic component from a liquid cartridge provided with the electronic component.

  In many cases, a liquid (ink) cartridge mounted and used in an ink jet recording apparatus is discarded as a consumable after the ink is consumed by printing. For this reason, it has been proposed that a manufacturer collects used ink cartridges from users and reuses them to preserve the environment. As means for reusing, the collected ink cartridge can be refilled with ink and regenerated as an ink cartridge, or the collected ink cartridge can be disassembled and recycled by material. Are known.

  The quality of used ink cartridges varies greatly depending on the user's usage history, in addition to the fixed conditions such as the manufacturing time, the durable years, and the number of reusable times. Therefore, when the used ink cartridge is to be reused by refilling the ink, the storage means storing the data relating to the ink and the data exchange between the storage means and the external device are enabled. It has been proposed to use an ink cartridge that is provided with data transfer means and whose storage means has an area in which data relating to the use history of the ink cartridge is rewritable (see, for example, Patent Document 1). . According to such an ink cartridge, since the use status of the ink cartridge after reaching the user's hand is stored in the storage means, the reproduction process suitable for the ink cartridge is performed based on the data in the storage means at the time of reproduction. Can be applied.

JP 2000-94715 A

  However, when refilling the collected ink cartridge with ink, it is difficult to fill an accurate amount of ink according to the remaining amount of ink, and the quality of the regenerated ink cartridge is stabilized. Is difficult. In addition, even if the usage status is stored in electronic parts such as storage means, it is possible to grasp the various usage environments and to consider the possibility of damage during transportation, and to recycle them according to individual ink cartridges. In order to do this, manual processing steps are required, which is inefficient and costly. As described above, the regenerating process by refilling ink has been difficult to be practically used as a means for reusing the ink cartridge.

  Therefore, in order to appropriately reuse the used ink cartridge including the electronic component, it is conceivable to take out the electronic component from the ink cartridge and use it again as an electronic component for a new ink cartridge. However, when electronic parts are manually removed using tools such as tweezers or a screwdriver, excessive bending stress or other load is generated on the electronic parts by, for example, inserting the tool from the end of the electronic parts to the back side. In some cases, the terminal contact failure due to bending may occur and data may not be exchanged accurately. Therefore, the yield is low when the taken-out electronic component is used again, and it is difficult to guarantee the reliability of the reused electronic component.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for taking out an electronic component of a liquid cartridge, which can take out the electronic component from a liquid cartridge provided with the electronic component in a reusable state with a high yield.

An electronic component take-out method for a liquid cartridge according to the present invention that can solve the above-mentioned problems includes: a container provided with a liquid storage part that stores liquid; and a liquid supply part that discharges the liquid in the liquid storage part; A method of taking out the electronic component from a liquid cartridge having an electronic component capable of storing information on the liquid and transferring information to and from an external device, the electronic component having a positioning recess Is an IC chip comprising a substrate on which the substrate is formed, a storage means provided on the back surface of the substrate, and a terminal provided on the surface of the substrate, and the mounting recess of the container with the surface exposed The positioning convex portion formed in the mounting concave portion is disposed inside the positioning concave portion, and the positioning convex portion is fixed to the positioning concave portion. A blade member having a blade portion at the tip and a tapered portion of an inclined surface from the outside of the mounting recess with respect to the wall portion constituting the outer edge of the mounting recess is directed with the taper portion facing the surface side of the substrate. In this state, the blade member is press-fitted in the plane direction of the substrate to cut at least a part of the wall portion, and the blade member is inserted into the back surface side of the IC chip so as to cut the positioning convex portion. And by displacing the IC chip so as to be separated from the positioning recess by the taper portion, and by allowing the positioning convex portion disposed inside the positioning recess to escape from the positioning recess, The IC chip is removed from the mounting recess.

In the method of taking out the electronic component of the liquid cartridge having such a configuration, the wall of the mounting recess is cut from the plane direction of the substrate with respect to the electronic component fitted in the mounting recess of the container. Since the blade member is inserted, a load such as bending on the electronic component can be taken out as much as possible.
Moreover, the electronic component can be easily taken out from the mounting recess by cutting the positioning convex portion that fixes the electronic component with the blade member inserted on the back side of the electronic component.

  Further, in the electronic component take-out method of the liquid cartridge according to the present invention, the positioning recess is a through hole and a notch formed in the substrate, and the positioning convex is the through hole and the notch. Each of the blade members includes a blade portion and a taper portion, and when the blade member is inserted on the back side of the electronic component, the blade member is disposed in the notch portion. The positioning convex portion is cut, and the tapered portion is displaced so as to separate the substrate from the positioning concave portion, and the positioning convex portion disposed in the through hole is removed from the through hole. It is preferable to escape.

  In the method of taking out the electronic component of the liquid cartridge having such a configuration, the positioning convex portion arranged inside the notch portion is cut by the blade portion of the blade member to remove the fixed state of the notch portion, and the cut positioning is performed. The convex for use falls off the outside of the notch. On the other hand, the positioning convex portion arranged inside the through hole is extracted from the through hole while the caulking portion is deformed by lifting the substrate by the tapered portion of the blade member. Thereby, the fixed state of the positioning convex portion can be released by a method suitable for each of the through hole and the notch portion, and the electronic component can be taken out without difficulty.

  According to the method for taking out an electronic component from a liquid cartridge according to the present invention, when the electronic component is removed from the liquid cartridge provided with the electronic component, the reusable electronic component can be taken out with a high yield by reducing the load such as bending as much as possible. it can. Thereby, an electronic component can be reused efficiently and the load to an environment can be reduced as much as possible.

  The liquid cartridge applied to the present invention is suitable for supplying liquid to the liquid ejecting head of the liquid ejecting apparatus. Examples of the liquid ejecting apparatus include a liquid ejecting head (recording head) of an ink jet recording apparatus, a colorant ejecting head of a color filter manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a color filter of a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and an FED (surface emitting). Electrode material (conductive paste) ejecting heads for forming electrodes such as displays), bio-organic matter ejecting heads for biochip manufacturing apparatuses for producing biochips, and sample ejecting heads using precision pipettes.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of an electronic component taking-out method for a liquid cartridge according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, as an example of the liquid cartridge, an ink cartridge that is attached to and detached from the carriage of the ink jet recording apparatus will be described.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink cartridge 10 used in the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the ink cartridge 10 of FIG. 1 as viewed obliquely from below. The ink cartridge 10 of the present embodiment includes a cartridge body 12 having a substantially housing shape in which an ink storage portion (liquid storage portion) for storing ink is formed, and an opening (not shown) of the cartridge main body 12. ) Is provided. The cartridge body 12 and the lid body 14 constitute a container as an ink cartridge. Further, a film (not shown) that seals the opening of the cartridge body 12 is attached to the cartridge body 12 between the cartridge body 12 and the lid body 14.

  The cartridge main body 12 and the lid body 14 are integrally formed of a synthetic resin, for example, polypropylene (PP). The interior of the cartridge body 12 is partitioned into a plurality of recesses 270a, 292a, and 294a by a plurality of recesses 270a, 292a, and 294a that are open on the opening side to which the lid body 14 is attached. The open surfaces of these recesses are hermetically sealed with a film to form a plurality of ink storage portions for storing ink.

The film that closes the opening of the cartridge body 12 is a transparent or translucent resin film having a melting point lower than that of the cartridge body 12, and is fused to the partition walls or ribs that define the recesses, thereby accommodating each ink. The department is defined. This film is made of, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
The lid 14 is fixed to the cartridge body 12 so as to cover the outside of the film in an unsealed state.
Further, the cartridge body 12 includes an ink storage portion that stores ink, an ink flow path portion from the ink storage portion to the ink supply portion 16, an ink side passage that communicates the ink storage portion with the atmosphere, an atmospheric valve storage portion, And an atmosphere communication portion including an atmosphere side passage. The atmosphere communication portion is a region isolated from the atmosphere by sticking the film 11 to a partition wall that divides each passage and the like by a method such as heat welding.

  Further, the ink cartridge 10 includes an ink supply unit 16, an ink supply control means (not shown), an engagement lever 18, and an IC (Integrated Circuit) chip 20 that is an electronic component.

  The ink supply unit 16 is disposed on the lower surface of the cartridge body 12 and an ink supply needle formed on a carriage on which the ink cartridge 10 is mounted is inserted to supply ink stored in the ink storage unit to the recording head of the carriage. To do. The ink supply unit 16 includes a seal member formed of an elastomer or the like having an insertion port into which an ink supply needle provided in the carriage is inserted, a supply valve that closes the insertion port of the seal member, and the supply valve facing the seal member And an urging member made of a coil spring or the like for urging. The film 13 is attached to the insertion port of the seal member at the time of factory shipment.

  The ink supply control means constitutes a differential pressure valve that supplies the ink in the ink storage section to the ink supply section 16 due to the pressure difference between the ink storage section and the ink supply section 16 that occurs as the ink is consumed. The ink supply control means includes a coil spring for biasing the differential pressure valve to close.

  The engaging lever 18 is formed on the upper portion of the side surface of the cartridge main body 12 opposite to the mounting portion 19 and engages with the carriage of the ink jet recording apparatus. The side surface of the mounting portion 19 is regulated by a rib formed on the carriage, and is configured so that the terminal 21 of the IC chip 20 and the elastic contact on the carriage side are in contact with each other.

The IC chip 20 is fixed to the attachment portion 19, and the attachment portion 19 is attached by being crimped below the side surface of the cartridge body 12. The attachment portion 19 may be integrally formed with the cartridge body 12.
As shown in FIG. 3, the IC chip 20 is provided with a plurality of terminals 21 on the front surface with respect to the flat substrate 25, and storage means 22 accessible from the terminals 21 on the back surface. . The substrate 25 is formed of glass and epoxy resin, and is formed with a through hole 23 and a notch 24 which are positioning recesses for being fixed by being crimped to the mounting portion 19 of the cartridge body 12. ing.

  4 and 5, the IC chip 20 is fitted and fixed in a state where the surface is exposed in the mounting recess 30 formed in the mounting portion 19. The mounting recess 30 is provided with a bottom 31 formed slightly larger than the substrate 25 to accommodate the substrate 25 of the IC chip 20, and an outer edge thereof is formed by a wall 32. A pin 34 and a rib 36 as positioning convex portions are erected on the bottom portion 31 at positions corresponding to the through holes 23 and the cutout portions 24 formed in the substrate 25, and these are provided with the through holes 23 and the cutout portions. The IC chip 20 is positioned by being arranged inside the part 24. In addition, a space 33 is provided in the central portion of the bottom 31 to accommodate the storage means 22 (see FIG. 3) provided so as to protrude from the back surface of the substrate 25. Note that the height of the wall portion 32, the pin 34, and the rib 36 from the bottom portion 31 is slightly higher than the thickness of the substrate 25 of the IC chip 20.

  The IC chip 20 fitted in the mounting recess 30 softens the pins 34 and the top portions 35 and 37 of the ribs 36 protruding from the through holes 23 and the notches 24 to the surface side of the substrate 25 by heat to thereby generate the substrate 25. Is pressed into the mounting recess 30 and fixed in the mounting recess 30. It is also possible to fix the back surface and the bottom surface 31 of the substrate 25 with an adhesive without using the pins 3 and the ribs 36 only for positioning and performing heat caulking.

  In addition, the IC chip 20 stores information about the ink cartridge 10 and ink in the storage unit 22, and transfers such information to and from the ink jet recording apparatus main body through a plurality of terminals 21 exposed on the surface. The information stored in the storage means 22 includes fixed information such as the date of manufacture of the ink cartridge 10 and the durable service life, as well as the type of the ink cartridge 10, the color of the ink held by the ink cartridge 10, the ink remaining amount, There are the number of times of attachment / detachment with respect to the carriage, use time, ink end time, use status, and the like. In addition, a character string having a unique relationship with these pieces of information can be stored in a predetermined area so that it can be rewritten as needed. When various types of information are stored as character strings, it is only necessary to store the decoded data on the recording device side, and the storage capacity of the storage means 22 can be greatly reduced.

  In addition, the ink cartridge 10 is provided with a filter or the like having ink repellency and air permeability functions.

  The ink cartridge 10 configured as described above is printed by an ink jet recording apparatus, and ink is gradually consumed. The remaining amount of ink is stored in the IC chip 20 in a timely manner. When the remaining amount of ink stored in the IC chip 20 becomes zero and the ink jet recording apparatus reads the information, an ink out message or the like is displayed on the computer that drives the ink jet recording apparatus to notify the user. Is done. As a result, the user removes the ink cartridge 10 that has run out of ink from the carriage of the ink jet recording apparatus.

A method for taking out the IC chip 20 from the ink cartridge 10 which has been used in this way will be described below.
First, the ink cartridge 10 is fixed at a predetermined position, for example, by being sandwiched on a table. Moreover, the blade member 40 as shown in FIG. 6 is prepared. The blade member 40 shown here is made of a strong metal such as steel, and has a blade portion 41 at the tip and a tapered portion 42 having an inclined surface. Such a blade member 40 is set so as to face the IC chip 20 from the outside of the long side wall portion 32 of the substrate 25 in a state where the taper portion 42 faces the surface side of the substrate 25. The blade portion 41 is disposed on a plane that is parallel to the plane of the substrate 25 and passes through the back surface side of the substrate 25. Then, the blade member 40 is slid along the short side direction of the substrate 25 on the plane on which the blade portion 41 is arranged, and the blade portion 41 is press-fitted into the wall portion 32 on the long side of the substrate 25.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the wall portion 32 is gradually cut by the blade portion 41, and when the blade member 40 is inserted into the back surface side of the IC chip 20, the top portion 37 that crimps the notch portion 24. The lower rib 36 is cut. At this time, when the blade member 40 is inserted into the back side of the IC chip 20, the IC chip 20 rides on the tapered portion 42, and the IC chip 20 is slightly lifted by the inclination of the tapered portion 42. Further, FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 7 at this time. As shown in FIG. 8, when the IC chip 20 is lifted, the top portion 35 of the pin 34 that has been crimped is lifted and deformed by the force applied from the through hole 23.

When the blade member 40 is further press-fitted and the blade member 40 is inserted into the back side of the IC chip 20, the IC chip 20 is further lifted by the tapered portion 42 as shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 9 at this time. As shown in FIG. 10, the top portion 35 of the pin 34 is deformed so as to be narrowed by the IC chip 20 that is largely lifted, and is immersed in the through hole 23. When the blade member 40 is further press-fitted, the IC chip 20 completely rides on the blade member 40 and finally the pin 34 is extracted from the through hole 23 and the IC chip 20 is detached from the pin 34.
Further, the cut rib 36 moves from the cutout portion 24 in the plane direction of the substrate 25 by the action of its own weight or the like and naturally falls off.

  In this way, the IC chip 20 is easily taken out from the mounting recess 30 without causing an excessive bending stress or the like on the substrate 25 or the like. That is, the IC chip 20 can be taken out in a reusable state without causing deformation or damage such as bending to the IC chip 20.

  As described above, according to the electronic component taking-out method of the liquid cartridge of the present embodiment, the electronic component (IC chip 20) out of the members constituting the liquid (ink) cartridge is taken out in a reusable state with a high yield. This makes it possible to effectively reuse electronic components.

  In addition, the form of the blade member 40 shown by the said embodiment is not restricted to the form shown in figure, It can change suitably. For example, the blade part 41 and the taper part 42 can be arranged in parallel with respect to the traveling direction of the blade member 40. Further, both the rib 36 and the pin 34 may be cut by the blade member 40. In that case, the pin 34 may be extracted from the through hole 23 after cutting.

  In addition, the IC chip 20 can be taken out by the blade member 40 of the above-described embodiment continuously with respect to the plurality of ink cartridges 10 by producing a dedicated taking-out device. For example, a plurality of ink cartridges 10 are set and sent one by one to a predetermined position, where they are positioned and fixed, and the attachment portion 19 is cut by the slidable blade member 40, and the removal operation is sequentially performed. be able to. In this case, for example, one ink cartridge 10 can be taken out in about 3 seconds.

  In addition, since the container of the ink cartridge 10 from which the IC chip 20 has been removed is predicted to be affected by deterioration of the portion in contact with the ink and changes in physical properties and characteristics of the remaining ink, it is appropriate for each material. It is good to perform recycling processing. In carrying out the recycling process, first the remaining ink is sucked, the entire container is destroyed, washed with a water flow, and then the resin material (PP) constituting most of the container and the film contained in the container , Springs, seal members, filters, etc. are sorted by material using the difference in specific gravity. Then, a recycling process is performed for each material, and for example, it is commercialized as a plastic product such as a transport container or a combustion aid. Thereby, the entire ink cartridge 10 can be utilized as a circulating resource, and the load on the environment can be greatly reduced.

It is a front perspective view from diagonally upward showing an example of an ink cartridge used in the electronic component take-out method for a liquid cartridge according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the ink cartridge shown in FIG. 1. It is a top view which shows the front and back of the IC chip shown in FIG. It is a fragmentary perspective view which expands and shows the attachment part shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing a state in which an IC chip is attached to the attachment portion shown in FIG. 4. It is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the state which set the blade member with respect to the attaching part shown in FIG. It is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the state which began to press-fit the blade member shown in FIG. 6 with respect to the attaching part. It is sectional drawing which shows the cross section of the AA line in FIG. It is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the state which press-fitted the blade member shown in FIG. 7 further with respect to the attachment part. It is sectional drawing which shows the cross section of the BB line in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10: ink cartridge (liquid cartridge), 11, 13: film, 12: cartridge main body (container), 14: lid (container), 16: ink supply unit, 18: engagement lever, 19: mounting unit, 20: IC chip (electronic component), 21: terminal, 22: storage means, 23: through-hole (recess for positioning), 24: notch (recess for positioning), 25: substrate, 30: mounting recess, 31: bottom, 32: Wall part, 33: Space, 34: Pin (positioning convex part), 35: Top part, 36: Rib (positioning convex part), 37: Top part

Claims (1)

A container provided with a liquid storage section for storing liquid and a liquid supply section for discharging the liquid in the liquid storage section;
A method of taking out the electronic component from a liquid cartridge that includes an electronic component that stores information on the stored liquid and can exchange information with an external device,
The electronic component is an IC chip including a substrate on which positioning concave portions are formed, storage means provided on the back surface of the substrate, and terminals provided on the surface of the substrate,
It is fitted in the mounting recess of the container with the surface exposed,
The positioning convex portion formed in the mounting concave portion is disposed inside the positioning concave portion, and the positioning convex portion is fixed to the positioning concave portion,
A blade member having a blade portion at the tip and a taper portion of an inclined surface from the outside of the attachment recess with respect to the wall portion constituting the outer edge of the attachment recess in a state where the taper portion faces the surface side of the substrate. A blade member is press-fitted in the plane direction of the substrate, and at least a part of the wall portion is cut, and the blade member is inserted on the back surface side of the IC chip so as to cut the positioning convex portion, and The IC chip is displaced from the mounting recess by the taper, and the positioning convex arranged inside the positioning recess is displaced from the positioning recess by the taper. A method of taking out an electronic component of a liquid cartridge, wherein the chip is removed.

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