Patent ID: 9738080
Date: 2017-08-22
CPC Classifications: B41J,Y10T

Claim:
1. An ink cartridge comprising: interfaces, in a front face of the cartridge, for connection to a cartridge receiving structure, the interfaces including an ink interface to provide ink and an air interface to pressurize an inner volume of the cartridge; a guide interface to guide the cartridge along a straight line for connecting the interfaces to the cartridge receiving structure, the guide interface comprising a guide track that extends parallel to said straight line; and a latch track and a latch stop, in a bottom face of the cartridge, to guide and retain a latch of the cartridge receiving structure; wherein the latch track comprises a locking track and an unlocking track, and is arranged to guide the latch, with respect to the latch stop, along the locking track into a locked engagement position at insertion of the cartridge, and along an unlocking track, different from the locking track, into an unlocked position at ejection of the cartridge; wherein the latch track comprises a latch guide wall at an end of the locking track to receive a latch at the end of the locking track and to direct the latch to the latch stop; wherein the unlocking track comprises a latch re-direct wall to receive the latch when the latch stop and the latch track are pushed inwards for ejection of the cartridge and to guide the latch out of a latch stop engagement position and into the unlocking track for ejection of the cartridge; and the cartridge further comprising a latch guide that comprises a ramp, at a beginning of the latch track and at spaced apart from the front face, that protrudes into the latch track, such that engagement with the ramp repositions the latch to a start position during ejection of the ink cartridge from the cartridge receiving structure such that, in the start position, the latch is positioned for engaging the locking track, rather than the unlocking track, upon a subsequent insertion of a subsequent cartridge in the cartridge receiving structure; the cartridge further comprising an electrical circuit comprising a cartridge memory to provide cartridge characteristic data, wherein the electrical circuit extends in a plane perpendicular to the front face of the cartridge and electrodes of the memory extend along a line parallel to the front face and behind the front face; wherein the electrical circuit is arranged behind the front face and at a top face of the cartridge, and the air interface is arranged in the front face between the electrical circuit and the ink interface; and wherein the ink and air interfaces are both located on a common vertical axis perpendicular to vertical side faces of the cartridge when oriented for connection to the cartridge receiving structure.