Patent Publication Number: US-8974039-B2

Title: Liquid supplying unit provided with circuit substrate

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-280908 filed Dec. 22, 2011. The entire content of the priority application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a liquid supplying unit mountable in a recording device, and a circuit substrate fixed to the liquid supplying unit. 
     BACKGROUND 
     There is known in the art an ink cartridge that can be detachably mounted in a mounting unit of a recording device for supplying ink to a recording head of the recording device. Attached to the ink cartridge is a circuit substrate having storing means for storing data indicating information on the ink cartridge, such as quantity of ink remaining in the cartridge, color of ink accommodated in the cartridge, and the like. When the ink cartridge is mounted in the recording device, electrodes provided on the circuit substrate form an electrical connection with device-side terminals provided in the recording device. This electrical contact between electrodes and device-side terminals allows the recording device to access the storing means of the circuit substrate. 
     In this type of ink cartridge, positioning of the circuit substrate on the ink cartridge is performed by inserting a plurality of protrusions provided on the cartridge through a plurality of holes formed in the circuit substrate. The circuit substrate is fixed to the cartridge by thermally caulking the protrusions. 
     One conventional technology for fixing the circuit substrate to the cartridge involves thermally caulking of the protrusions inserted through the holes of the substrate at positions before and after electrodes on the substrate with respect to a direction in which the ink cartridge is inserted into the recording device. 
     SUMMARY 
     However, when using the fixing method described above, since the device-side terminals lie in a path of the caulk heads as the cartridge is mounted in the recording device, the device-side terminals need to slide over the caulk heads and therefore inevitably contact the same. This contact by the caulk heads can potentially damage the device-side terminals, and such damage may prevent the device-side terminals from coming into contact with the electrodes. Forming caulk heads of a size or shape designed to avoid contact with the device-side terminals would make the caulking process more expensive. 
     In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a circuit substrate, an ink cartridge provided with the circuit substrate, and an inkjet printer whose device-side terminals slide over the circuit substrate when the cartridge is inserted into the printer, which can ensure, with a simple structure, reliable contact between the device-side terminals and electrodes on the circuit substrate without increasing the size of the circuit substrate. 
     In order to attain the above and other objects, there is provided a circuit substrate including a substrate body and an electrode. The substrate body has a rectangular shape configured of four sides, the four sides including a first side and a second side extending in a first direction and opposing each other in a second direction. The substrate body has a top surface on which the electrode is mounted. The electrode has a first outer point positioned closest to the first side in the second direction and a second outer point positioned closest to the second side in the second direction, a first imaginary line being defined as a line extending in the first direction and passing through the first outer point, and a second imaginary line being defined as a line extending in the first direction and passing through the second outer point. The top surface of the substrate body has: a first area defined between the first side and the first imaginary line; a second area defined between the second side and the second imaginary line; and a third area interposed between the first area and the second area in the second direction, the substrate body being formed with a first opening in the first area. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid supplying unit including a casing, a liquid outlet portion and a circuit substrate. The casing defines therein a storage chamber configured to store liquid, the casing having a first casing surface and a second casing surface perpendicular to each other. The liquid outlet portion is provided at the first casing surface and configured to supply the liquid in the storage chamber to outside. The circuit substrate is fixed to the second casing surface, and includes a substrate body and an electrode. The substrate body has a rectangular shape configured of four sides, the four sides including a first side and a second side extending in a first direction and opposing each other in a second direction. The substrate body has a top surface on which the electrode is mounted. The electrode has a first outer point positioned closest to the first side in the second direction and a second outer point positioned closest to the second side in the second direction, a first imaginary line being defined as a line extending in the first direction and passing through the first outer point, and a second imaginary line being defined as a line extending in the first direction and passing through the second outer point. The top surface of the substrate body has: a first area defined between the first side and the first imaginary line; a second area defined between the second side and the second imaginary line; and a third area interposed between the first area and the second area in the second direction, the substrate body being formed with a first opening in the first area. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The particular features and advantages of the invention as well as other objects will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of relevant parts of a printer having a cartridge mounting unit in which a cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention is mountable; 
         FIG. 2  is a simplified perspective view of the cartridge according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional schematic view of the cartridge and the cartridge mounting unit when the cartridge is detached from the cartridge mounting unit; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional schematic view of the cartridge and the cartridge mounting unit when the cartridge is mounted in the cartridge mounting unit; 
         FIG. 5  is a simplified plan view showing an upper surface of the cartridge to which a circuit substrate according to the embodiment is fixed; 
         FIG. 6A  is a top view of the circuit substrate according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 6B  is a back-side view of the circuit substrate according to the embodiment; and 
         FIG. 7  is a partially enlarged schematic view of the top surface of the cartridge according to the embodiment to which the circuit substrate according to the embodiment is fixed. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A circuit substrate  8  and a cartridge  3  according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described while referring to  FIGS. 1 through 7 . 
     A printing device  100  is an inkjet printer that has a cartridge mounting unit  2  in which the cartridges  3  are detachably mounted to perform image forming operations. 
     In the embodiment, the present invention is applied to an inkjet printing device, but the present invention may also be applicable to a liquid extracting unit provided in other type of device that requires liquid in a cartridge to be extracted therefrom when the cartridge is connected to the liquid extracting unit. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the printing device  100  includes: a pair of guide rails  102  and  103  extending approximately parallel to each other; an ink ejecting unit  104  supported on the guide rails  102  and  103  so as to be capable of sliding along the same in a longitudinal direction thereof (referred to as a “scanning direction”); a pair of pulleys  105  and  106  disposed one near each of the left and right ends of the guide rail  103 ; and a timing belt  107  looped around the pulleys  105  and  106 . The ink ejecting unit  104  is connected to the timing belt  107 . A motor (not shown) is provided in the printing device  100  for driving the pulley  106  to rotate in forward and reverse directions. By rotating the pulley  106  in forward and reverse directions, the timing belt  107  can be reciprocated in the scanning direction. As the timing belt  107  is reciprocated, the ink ejecting unit  104  is also reciprocated in the scanning direction along the guide rails  102  and  103 . 
     An ink ejection head  109  is mounted on a bottom portion of the ink ejecting unit  104 . The ink ejection head  109  ejects ink (a liquid) downward toward a recording medium, such as a sheet of paper being conveyed beneath the ink ejection head  109  in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction (labeled as “paper-conveying direction” in  FIG. 1 ) in order to form images on the recording medium. 
     The printing device  100  also includes the cartridge mounting unit  2 . Four ink cartridges (hereinafter abbreviated as “cartridges”)  3  can be detachably mounted in the cartridge mounting unit  2  so as to be replaceable. A plurality of (four in the present embodiment) ink extraction units  14  are provided at a back side of the cartridge mounting unit  2 , with one provided for each cartridge  3 . Four flexible ink delivery tubes  108  are connected to the ink extraction units  14  respectively for supplying ink in four colors (black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, for example) respectively stored in the cartridges  3  to the ink ejecting unit  104 . 
     Hereinafter, directions in which the cartridges  3  are inserted into and removed from the cartridge mounting unit  2  in the embodiment are defined as rearward and frontward directions, respectively. Specifically, the direction in which the cartridge  3  is pulled out of the cartridge mounting unit  2  is defined as the frontward direction relative to the cartridge mounting unit  2 , and the direction in which the cartridge  3  is mounted is defined as the rearward direction. Further, the direction of gravitational force orthogonal to the frontward and rearward directions is defined as downward (or vertical) direction, and the directions orthogonal to the frontward and rearward directions and the vertical direction are defined as left and right directions. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the cartridge mounting unit  2  has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape with a hollow interior for mounting each of the cartridges  3 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , an opening  4   a  is formed in a front side of the cartridge mounting unit  2 , while the interior of the cartridge mounting unit  2  constitutes a mounting space  4   b . The four cartridges  3  are mounted in the mounting space  4   b  of the cartridge mounting unit  2  through the opening  4   a.    
     The cartridge mounting unit  2  includes the ink extraction units  14 , a plurality of air exhaustion units  17 , and a plurality of connectors  9 . 
     The ink extraction units  14  are provided at the back side (rear side) of the cartridge mounting unit  2  on the opposite side of the mounting space  4   b  from the opening  4   a . Each ink extraction unit  14  extends in the front-rear direction. 
     The plurality of (four in the embodiment) air exhaustion units  17  are provided also at the rear side of the cartridge mounting unit  2 , with one provided for each cartridge  3 . Specifically, each of the four air exhaustion units  17  is positioned upward of each of the four ink extraction units  14 . The air exhaustion units  17  allow air to be introduced therethrough into the cartridges  3  when the cartridges  3  are mounted in the cartridge mounting unit  2 . 
     The plurality of connectors  9  (three for each mounting space in the embodiment) are provided in each mounting space of the cartridge mounting unit  2 . More specifically, the connectors  9  are provided on an inner surface of the cartridge mounting unit  2  to protrude downward, the inner surface defining an upper end of the mounting space  4   b . The connectors  9  are formed of a metal that is electrically conductive and has a resiliency. As will be described later, the connectors  9  contact electrodes  20  provided on the circuit substrate  8  of the corresponding cartridge  3  when the cartridge  3  is mounted in the cartridge mounting unit  2 . 
     The cartridge  3  includes a casing  5  for accommodating ink therein, and the circuit substrate  8  for storing various data related to the cartridge  3 . The casing  5  has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with a narrow left-right dimension. The casing  5  defines an ink chamber  5   a  therein for storing ink. The casing  5  has a rear wall  5 R on whose bottom end portion an ink outlet portion  15  is provided. A valve (not shown) is disposed inside the ink outlet portion  15 . The ink outlet portion  15  is connected to the corresponding ink extraction unit  14  when the cartridge  3  is mounted in the cartridge mounting unit  2 . 
     An air communication portion  16  is provided on the rear wall  5 R of the casing  5  near the top thereof for allowing air to communicate between the ink chamber  5   a  and the atmosphere. A valve (not shown) is disposed inside the air communication portion  16 . The valves provided in the ink outlet portion  15  and the air communication portion  16  remain closed when the cartridge  3  is detached from the cartridge mounting unit  2  (“detached state” as shown in  FIG. 3 ). Thus, when the cartridge  3  is in the detached state, the ink chamber  5   a  is isolated from the exterior of the cartridge  3  in terms of ink flow and air communication. 
     When the cartridge  3  is mounted in the cartridge mounting unit  2  (“mounted state” as shown in  FIG. 4 ), the ink outlet portion  15  and the air communication portion  16  are connected to the corresponding ink extraction unit  14  and the air exhaustion unit  17 , upon which the valves in the ink outlet portion  15  and the air communication portion  16  are opened. With the valves opened, air can be introduced into the ink chamber  5   a  the in the cartridge  3 , while ink can be supplied into the ink extraction unit  14 . That is, in the embodiment, the ink flows out from the ink chamber  5   a  in the rearward direction (in the direction in which the cartridge  3  is mounted). 
     The circuit substrate  8  is disposed in a prescribed region on an upper surface  5 U of the cartridge  3  (see  FIG. 5 ). The circuit substrate  8  has a top surface on which three electrodes  20  are arranged, and a bottom surface opposite to the top surface and in contact with the upper surface  5 U of the cartridge  3 . Specifically, the circuit substrate  8  is positioned on the upper surface  5 U of the cartridge  3  so that the electrodes  20  on the circuit substrate  8  are aligned with corresponding connectors  9  when the cartridge  3  is mounted in the cartridge mounting unit  2 . Thus, in the mounted state, the connectors  9  contact and form electrical connections with the electrodes  20  on the circuit substrate  8 . The connectors  9  are urged into contact with the electrodes  20  by their own resiliency at this time. 
     Next, a detailed construction of the circuit substrate  8  provided on the upper surface  5 U of the cartridge  3  will be described with reference to  FIGS. 6A and 6B . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 6A and 6B , the circuit substrate  8  includes: a substantially rectangular substrate body  7  having a shorter left-right dimension than front-rear dimension; three electrodes  20  arranged on the top surface of the substrate body  7 ; and a storage device  27  provided on the bottom surface. The electrodes  20  are electrically connected to the storage device  27  through wires  26  that pass through through-holes  25  formed in the circuit substrate  8 . 
     The storage device  27  stores information related to the cartridge  3 , including its type, serial number, manufactured date, and type of ink it holds. Data related to the type of ink may indicate the color of ink and whether the ink is a pigment ink or a dye-based ink, for example. 
     The electrodes  20  are formed of an electrically conductive material in a generally rectangular shape. Specifically, the three electrodes  20  are a hot electrode to which power is supplied from the connectors  9 , a ground electrode for grounding, and a signal electrode electrically connected to the storage device  27  for outputting signals therefrom via the connectors  9 . The three electrodes  20  are juxtaposed in the left-right direction, as shown in  FIG. 6A . 
     Positioning holes  21  and  22  penetrating the substrate body  7  in the vertical direction are formed at positions rearward of the electrodes  20  and closer to left and right edges of the circuit substrate  8  than left and right edges of the electrodes  20 . Specifically, one of the positioning holes  21  and  22  is provided in the left edge of the substrate body  7  and the other in the right edge of the substrate body  7 . 
     More specifically, referring to  FIG. 7 , it is assumed that the top surface of the substrate body  7  is divided into two hatched regions A (areas between the left and right edges of the circuit substrate  8  and the left and right edges of the electrodes  20  respectively) and a region B interposed between the hatched regions A in the left-right direction. Further, the region B is divided into a region B 1  in which the electrodes  20  are mounted, and regions B 2  without the electrodes  20 . That is, the region B 1  and the regions B 2  are arranged in the front-rear direction, and the region B 1  is aligned with the electrodes  20  in the left-right direction. Preferably, the positioning holes  21  and  22  be formed in the hatched regions A to avoid interference with the connectors  9  during insertion of the cartridge  3 . In other words, the positioning holes  21  and  22  are positioned so as not to overlap with the electrodes  20  in the front-rear direction (or in the direction of insertion of the cartridge  3 ). Further, in the embodiment, the positioning holes  21  and  22  are respectively formed in the region B 2  rearward of the electrodes  20  within the hatched regions A. 
     In the embodiment, the direction of insertion of the cartridge  3  (front-rear direction) corresponds to a claimed first direction, and the left-right direction corresponds to a claimed second direction. 
     In the embodiment, the positioning holes  21  and  22  are semicircular in shape and open toward the outside. 
     Further, a distance from the rear edge of the circuit substrate  8  to the positioning hole  21  is equal to a distance from the rear edge of the circuit substrate  8  to the positioning hole  22  in the front-rear direction. That is, the positioning holes  21  and  22  are positioned away from the rear wall  5 R of the casing  5  by the same distance as each other in the front-rear direction. 
     A caulking hole  23  penetrates the substrate body  7  in the vertical direction forward of the electrodes  20 . The caulking hole  23  is an elongate through-hole extending in the front-rear direction. 
     A notch  24  is formed in a corner of the substrate body  7  frontward of the electrodes  20 . The notch  24  is a generally rectangular cutout that is open on two sides: specifically, the side parallel to the rear edge of the substrate body  7  and the side orthogonal to the rear edge. The notch  24  makes it possible to identify upper and bottom surfaces of the circuit substrate  8  from an outer contour of the circuit substrate  8 . That is, the upper and bottom sides of the circuit substrate  8  can be differentiated by identifying the position of the notch  24  since the position of the notch  24  differs when the circuit substrate  8  is facing up and down. 
     The notch  24  is formed during manufacturing process of the circuit substrate  8 . That is, the notch  24  available in the circuit substrate  8  as manufactured is utilized in the embodiment. A process for forming the notch  24  in the circuit substrate  8  is therefore not necessary. 
     Next, a detailed construction on the upper surface  5 U of the cartridge  3  for mounting the circuit substrate  8  will be described with reference to  FIGS. 5 and 7 . 
     A plurality of protrusions is provided on the upper surface  5 U of the cartridge  3 . Specifically, the protrusions include positioning protrusions  31  and  32 , and caulking protrusions  33  and  34  protruding upward from the upper surface  5 U. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the positioning protrusions  31  and  32  are disposed at positions on the cartridge  3  corresponding to the positioning holes  21  and  22  formed in the substrate body  7 . The caulking protrusions  33  and  34  are disposed at positions on the cartridge  3  corresponding to the caulking hole  23  and the notch  24  formed in the substrate body  7 . The caulking protrusions  33  and  34  have a surface area in a cross section taken parallel to the top surface of the circuit substrate  8  that is smaller than the corresponding area in the caulking hole  23  and notch  24 , before the caulking protrusions  33  and  34  are thermally caulked. 
     Next, how the circuit substrate  8  is mounted on the cartridge  3  will be described. 
     To mount the circuit substrate  8  on the cartridge  3 , the positioning protrusions  31  and  32  of the cartridge  3  are first inserted into the positioning holes  21  and  22  of the circuit substrate  8 . In this state, the positioning protrusions  31  and  32  and the positioning holes  21  and  22  contact each other in the front-rear direction, thereby fixing the front-rear position of the circuit substrate  8  relative to the cartridge  3 . Additionally, the positioning protrusions  31  and  32  and positioning holes  21  and  22  contact each other also in the left-right direction, thereby fixing the left-right position of the circuit substrate  8  relative to the cartridge  3 . 
     Next, with the positioning protrusions  31  and  32  inserted in the positioning holes  21  and  22 , respectively, the caulking protrusion  33  is inserted into the caulking hole  23  and the caulking protrusion  34  is positioned in the notch  24 . Inserting these protrusions  33  and  34  into the caulking hole  23  and notch  24  can prevent the circuit substrate  8  from rotating about the positioning protrusions  31  and  32  relative to the cartridge  3 . 
     Since the surface area of a cross section of the caulking protrusions  33  and  34  taken parallel to the top surface of the circuit substrate  8  is smaller than the area of the respective caulking hole  23  and notch  24 , the protrusions  33  and  34  on the cartridge  3  can be reliably inserted into the caulking hole  23  and the notch  24  formed in the circuit substrate  8  at this time, even when their positions are not perfectly aligned due to positional deviation in the caulking hole  23  occurred in its formation stage, and positional deviation between the cartridge  3  and circuit substrate  8  when assembling the circuit substrate  8  on the cartridge  3 . Further, since the caulking hole  23  is elongated in the front-rear direction, the caulking protrusion  33  can be reliably inserted through the caulking hole  23 , even in the event of front-rear positional deviation, thereby preventing the circuit substrate  8  from rotating relative to the cartridge  3 . 
     After inserting the caulking protrusions  33  and  34  into the caulking hole  23  and the notch  24  respectively, the circuit substrate  8  is fixed to the cartridge  3  by thermal caulking in which heat is applied to melt tips of the caulking protrusions  33  and  34 . Although the circuit substrate  8  is fixed to the cartridge  3  simply by thermally caulking the caulking protrusions  33  and  34  without thermally caulking the positioning protrusions  31  and  32 , the circuit substrate  8  can be more thinly fixed to the cartridge  3  by thermally caulking the positioning protrusions  31  and  32 , as well. 
     As described above, the positioning holes  21  and  22  and the caulking hole  23  are positioned so as not to lie in an insertion path of the cartridge  3  so that the positioning holes  21  and  22  and the caulking hole  23  do not pass over the connectors  9  when the cartridge  3  is mounted in the cartridge mounting unit  2 . Accordingly, the protrusions  31 ,  32  and  33  inserted into the positioning holes  21  and  22  and the caulking hole  23  do not interfere with the connectors  9  during insertion of the cartridge  3 . Hence, this construction prevents damage to the connectors  9  caused by contact with protrusions  31 ,  32  and  33 , ensuring good contact between the connectors  9  and the electrodes  20 . 
     Note that, although the positioning holes  21  and  22  are formed in the left and right edges of the substrate body  7  (in the hatched regions A) in the depicted embodiment, it would be possible to avoid contact between the connectors  9  and protrusions  31 ,  32  when mounting the cartridge  3  even if the positioning holes  21  and  22  were respectively disposed in regions interposed between adjacent electrodes  20 . However, such a configuration would require additional space between the neighboring electrodes  20  in the left-right direction to form the positioning holes  21  and  22 . To allocate this space, the substrate body  7  would have to be formed with a larger left-right dimension, increasing the left-right dimension of the circuit substrate  8 . Since the left-right dimension of the cartridge  3  can be no smaller than the left-right width of the circuit substrate  8 , this configuration further limits how compact the cartridge  3  can be made in the left-right dimension. 
     On the other hand, the circuit substrate  8  according to the embodiment is provided with the positioning holes  21  and  22  formed in the left and right edges of the substrate body  7  (in the hatched regions A in  FIG. 7 ), thereby effectively utilizing the spaces between the left and right edges of the substrate body  7  and the left and right edges of the electrodes  20  without requiring additional space between adjacent electrodes  20 . Hence, providing the positioning holes  21  and  22  in the hatched regions A (in the left and right edges of the substrate body  7 ) as described in the embodiment allows the circuit substrate  8  to be formed in a smaller left-right dimension than when the positioning holes  21  and  22  are arranged between adjacent electrodes  20 . 
     Further, in the depicted embodiment, one each of the positioning holes  21  and  22  is provided in one of the hatched regions A (i.e., one of the left and right edges of the circuit substrate  8 ) and in the region B 2  rearward of the region B 1  in which the electrodes  20  are formed. However, the positioning holes  21  and  22  may not necessarily be positioned in the region B 2  rearward of the region B 1 , but may be formed in the region B 1  (aligned with the electrodes  20  in the left-right direction) or even positioned in the region B 2  frontward of the electrodes  20 , provided that the positioning holes  21  and  22  are formed in the regions A. This type of configuration can prevent the protrusions  31  and  32  inserted in the positioning holes  21  and  22  from contacting the connectors  9  when the cartridge  3  is mounted in the cartridge mounting unit  2 , thereby preventing damage to the connectors  9  caused by such contact and ensuring reliable contact between the connectors  9  and the electrodes  20 . By providing the positioning holes  21  and  22  in the regions B 2  that is not aligned with the electrodes  20  in the left-right direction (the region B 1 ), there is no chance that the positioning holes  21 ,  22  will be formed in the electrodes  20 , even if the positions of the positioning holes  21  and  22  deviate left or right during its formation process, thereby preventing damage to the electrodes  20 . 
     Further, in the depicted embodiment, the positioning holes  21  and  22  are respectively shaped as a semicircular hole in the edges of the circuit substrate  8  that is open on the outside. The shape of the positioning holes  21  and  22  is also arbitrary and is not restricted to a semicircular hole that is open on the outside, as in the embodiment. For example, the positioning holes  21  and  22  may be circular, elliptical, polygonal, or the like and need not be open on the outside. Further, the positioning holes  21  and  22  may be open on another edge of the circuit substrate  8  other than its left and right edges. 
     Further, the circuit substrate  8  may be fixed to the substrate body  7  by thermally caulking the positioning protrusions  31  and  32 . This method more reliably fixes the circuit substrate  8 . When the positioning protrusions  31  and  32  are thermally caulked, the circuit substrate  8  can be fixed to the cartridge  3  without thermally caulking the caulking protrusions  33  and  34 . Hence, the caulking hole  23  and the notch  24  may be omitted and the circuit substrate  8  may be fixed by thermally caulking only the positioning protrusions  31  and  32 . 
     When thermally caulking the positioning protrusions  31  and  32 , the caulk heads should be positioned in the hatched regions A on the top surface of the substrate body  7  so as not to be aligned with the electrodes  20  in the front-rear direction. One method of achieving this configuration is to thermally caulk the positioning protrusions  31  and  32  by providing barriers between the positioning protrusions  31  and  32  and the electrodes  20 . 
     When thermally caulking the positioning protrusions  31  and  32 , the barriers extending in the front-rear direction should be formed along the boundary between each hatched region A and the region B. The barriers restrict (confine) the positioning protrusions  31  and  32  as they are melted with heat, thereby preventing the molten protrusions  31  and  32  in the hatched regions A from flowing into the region B in which the electrodes  20  are formed. This method ensures that the caulk heads do not contact the connectors  9  when the cartridge  3  is inserted into the cartridge mounting unit  2 . Further, in this case, the positioning holes  21  and  22  can even be fowled in the region B 1  or in the region B 2  frontward of the region B 1 , since the barriers are formed between the region B and the hatched regions A in which the positioning holes  21  and  22  are disposed. 
     Further, the number of holes used for positioning may be arbitrary and is not limited to the two positioning holes  21  and  22  as in the embodiment. The circuit substrate  8  can be more reliably fixed to the cartridge  3  by increasing the number of positioning holes. It is also possible to eliminate one or both of the caulking hole  23  and the notch  24 . However, the circuit substrate  8  can be securely fixed to the cartridge  3  by providing the caulking hole  23  and the notch  24  and by thermally caulking the protrusions  33  and  34  inserted therethrough. Further, when at least one of the caulking hole  23  and the notch  24  is provided and the protrusion  33  and  34  provided therethrough is thermally caulked, the circuit substrate  8  can be more reliably fixed by providing the positioning holes  21  and  22  farther rearward of the electrodes  20  to increase the distance between the caulking hole  23  and the notch  24  and the positioning holes  21  and  22 . 
     Further, in the embodiment, the boundary between each hatched region A and the region B is defined as a line extending along the front-rear direction, assuming that the left and right edges of the electrodes  20  extend in a direction parallel to the front-rear direction. However, there may be a case where the electrodes  20  do not extend in the front-rear direction. Now it is assumed that one of the electrodes  20  positioned outermost in the left-right direction (either leftmost or rightmost) has an outer edge that is NOT parallel to the front-rear direction. Specifically, referring to  FIG. 7 , assume that the outermost electrode  20  has an outer edge  20 E that extends in a direction intersecting the front-rear direction. In this case, the outer edge  20 E should have an outermost point that is positioned outermost in the left-right direction (i.e., the outermost point on the outer edge  20 E is positioned closest to the right or left edge of the substrate body  7  in the left-right direction). The boundary between each hatched region A and the region B in this example should be defined as a line extending in the front-rear direction and passing through the outermost point on the outer edge  20 E (the outermost point in the outermost electrode  20  in the left-right direction). This configuration can also prevent interference with the connectors  9  during insertion of the cartridge  3 . 
     While the invention has been described in detail with reference to the embodiments thereof, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.