Patent Publication Number: US-6712459-B2

Title: Ink cartridge having shielded pocket for memory chip

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Reference is made to commonly assigned, U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,412 entitled INK CARTRIDGE WITH COLOR DISCRIMINATION STRUCTURE and filed Aug. 16, 2001 in the names of Trafton, Newkirk, and Robinson; U.S. Pat No. 6,416,166 entitled INK CARTRIDGE WITH ALIGNMENT FEATURES AND METHOD OF INSERTING CARTRIDGE INTO A PRINTER RECEPTACLE and filed Aug. 16, 2001 in the names of Trafton, Newkirk, Robinson, and Gotham; U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,926 entitled INK CARTRIDGE WITH MEMORY CHIP AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLING and filed Aug. 16, 2001 in the names of Trafton, Newkirk, and Robinson, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,888 entitled INK CARTRIDGE WITH INTERNAL INK BAG AND METHOD OF FILLING and filed Aug. 16, 2001 in the names of Trafton, Farnung, and Petranek. 
     All of the cross-referenced applications are incorporated into this application. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates generally to ink cartridges for ink jet printers, and in particular to an ink cartridge that includes a pocket for a memory chip. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The cross-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,926 entitled INK CARTRIDGE WITH MEMORY CHIP AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLING, disclose an ink cartridge that includes a pocket for a memory chip. 
     The disclosed ink cartridge includes a pair of housing portions with respective pocket portions including wall opening portions, an ink supply bag contained in the housing portions, and a memory chip supported in the wall opening portions. The housing portions mate to form a cartridge housing with the pocket portions forming a single pocket including the wall opening portions forming a single wall opening. 
     If per chance any ink leaks from an ink supply bag in the cartridge housing, it can enter the wall opening portions and contaminate a memory chip supported in the single pocket. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the invention, an ink cartridge comprising a housing with an integral pocket including a wall opening, an ink supply bag contained in the housing, and a memory chip supported in the wall opening, is characterized in that: 
     the housing has an ink blocking shield arranged at a location between the bag and the memory chip to prevent any ink that might leak from the bag from entering the wall opening and contaminating the memory chip. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, a method of assembling an ink cartridge to include a memory chip in a single pocket comprises: 
     providing a pair of housing portions with respective pocket portions including wall opening portions and with respective ink blocking shield segments extending across the wall opening portions at inner sides of the housing portions; 
     mating the housing portions to form a cartridge housing with the pocket portions forming a single pocket including the wall opening portions forming a single wall opening and the ink blocking shield segments abutting edge-to-edge to seal the single wall opening; and 
     including a memory chip in the single pocket as the single pocket is formed. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, a pair of housing halves for containing an ink supply bag and provided with respective pocket portions including wall opening portions for a memory chip, are characterized in that: 
     the housing halves have respective ink blocking shield segments that extend across the wall opening portions at inner sides of the housing halves to prevent any ink that might leak from an ink bag contained in the housing halves from entering the wall opening portions and contaminating a memory chip supported in the wall opening portions. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an ink cartridge according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; 
     FIGS. 2 and 3 are exploded perspective views of an ink egress snout and a collar in the ink cartridge as shown from opposite views; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlargement of a bottom portion of the ink cartridge as shown in FIG. 1; and 
     FIGS. 5 and 6 are exploded perspective views of a memory chip as it is inserted into a pocket in the ink jet cartridge. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1-6 show an ink cartridge  10  for an ink jet printer (not shown). The cartridge includes the following components: 
     a pair of plastic housing halves  12  and  14  that mate or connect to form a cartridge housing; 
     a disposable flexible ink supply bag  16 ; 
     a plastic connector-fitting or fitment  18  having an integral ink egress snout  20  for discharging an ink supply from the bag  16 ; 
     a plastic single-part collar  22  for the snout  20 , which functions as an ink identifier to identify the ink supply in the bag  16  such as by color or type; and 
     a memory chip  24 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the fitting  18  is attached via a thermal seal to the bag  16 , within an elongate opening  26  in the bag. During the thermal seal of the bag  16  to the fitting  18 , a small amount of melted material from the bag flows to between parallel ribs  28  along opposite longitudinal sides of the fitting  18  to provide an essentially leak-proof seal between the bag and the fitting. A rubber septum  30  is tightly inserted into an ink egress opening  32  in the snout  20  to plug the opening. Then, an aluminum or stainless steel cap  34  is press-fitted on the snout  20 . The cap  34  partially overlaps the septum  30  to capture the septum, and has a center opening  36  which allows a hollow needle (not shown) to pierce the septum in order to discharge an ink supply from the bag  16  when the cartridge  10  is used in an ink jet printer. 
     The snout  20  has eight identical outer peripheral surfaces (sides) or facets  38  that project perpendicular from a longitudinal planar face  40  of the fitting  18  to form an octagon. See FIGS. 2 and 3. In a similar sense, the collar  22  has a center opening  42  that is circumscribed by eight identical inner peripheral surfaces (sides) or facets  44  that form an octagon. This mutual or complementary configuration allows the snout  20  to be received in the center opening  42  only when the collar  22  is in any one of eight allowable angular orientations 0° or 360°, 45°, 90°, 135°, 180°, 225°, 270°, and 315°. Preferably, the eight surfaces  44  of the collar  22  are aligned with the eight surfaces  38  of the snout  20  to position the collar relative to the snout in a selected one of the eight orientations. Then, the collar  22  is mated with the snout  20  in the selected orientation. Respective contact between the eight surfaces  38  and the eight surfaces  44  prevents the collar  22  from being rotated about the snout  22  and thus serves to fix the collar in the selected orientation. The selected orientation provides a visible indication that serves to identify the ink supply in the bag  16  such as by color or type. 
     As described in the cross-referenced applications filed Aug. 16, 2001 and incorporated into this application, the collar  22  has a key slot or keyway  46  that is angular positioned in accordance with the selected orientation of the collar. The hollow needle (not shown) for piercing the septum in order to discharge an ink supply from the bag  16  when the cartridge  10  is used in an ink jet printer is mounted on a key assembly (not shown) having a key tab intended to be received in the key slot  46 . The particular orientation of the key assembly must match the selected orientation of the collar  22  in order for the key tab to be received in the key slot  46 . 
     The number of the surfaces  38  of the snout  20  and the number of the surfaces  44  of the collar  22 , need not each be eight (although they must be the same number). Preferably, the number of the surfaces  38  of the snout  20  and the number of the surfaces  44  of the collar  22  fall within the range 4-12. All that is necessary is that the number of the surfaces  38  of the snout  20  and the number of the surfaces  44  of the collar  22  form similar complementary polygons. 
     The housing halves  12  and  14  at respective bottom wall portions  48  and  50  have opening halves  52  and  54  that form a single bottom opening when the housing halves are connected together. See FIGS. 1 and 4. The fitting  18  has a pair of L-shaped engageable members or tabs  56  and  58  that project from respective areas of the face  40  (of the fitting) which are spaced from the snout  20 . In a similar sense, a pair of L-shaped engageable members or tabs  60  and  62  project from an inner side  64  of the wall portion  50  and are spaced from the opening half  52 . The L-shaped engageable members  56  and  58  extend in opposite directions as do the L-shaped engageable members  60  and  62 . This complementary arrangement or mutual configuration permits the L-shaped member  56  to engage the L-shaped member  60  and the L-shaped member  58  to engage the L-shaped member  62  when the bag  16  is placed on the housing half  14 . The bag  16  is thus secured in place. At the same time as shown in FIG. 4 an edge  65  of the opening half  54  is received in an outer peripheral groove  66  in the collar  22  to support the collar. Then, when the housing half  12  is connected to the housing half  14 , an edge  68  of the opening half  52  is received in the groove  66 . 
     When the bag  16  is emptied, it can be removed from the cartridge  10  and disposed of. All that is required is that the housing half  12  be disconnected from the housing half  14  and the L-shaped engageable members  56  and  58  be disengaged from the L-shaped engageable members  60  and  62 . The collar  22  can be removed from the snout  20  if it is to be reused. 
     Other L-shaped engageable members can be provided on the fitting  18  and the housing half  14  in addition to the L-shaped engageable members  56  and  58  and the L-shaped engageable members  60  and  62 . Also, it is not necessary that these engageable members be L-shaped. A number of known engagements or interlocks can be used instead, such as pins in holes, etc. 
     Pocket For Memory Chip 
     As shown in FIGS.  1  and  4 - 6 , the housing halves  12  and  14  at bottom wall portions  48  and  50  have respective pocket portions  70  and  72  which include slightly smaller and larger wall opening portions  74  and  76  and sleeve or channel portions  78  and  80 . Moreover, the bottom wall portion  48  at an inner side  82  and the bottom wall portion  50  at the inner side  64  have respective ink blocking shield segments  84  and  86  that project inwardly of the housing halves  12  and  14  from the inner sides. See FIGS. 5 and 6. The ink blocking shield segment  84  is an integral extension of the inner side  82  and extends across the wall opening portion  74 , and the ink blocking shield segment  86  is an integral extension of the inner side  64  and extends across the wall opening portion  76 . This is to isolate or seal the wall opening portions  74  and  76  from the interiors of the housing halves  12  and  14 . 
     When the housing halves  12  and  14  are connected together, the memory chip  24  is peripheral-edge supported in the channel portions  78  and  80  to hold the memory chip in the wall opening portions  74  and  76 . Also, the pocket portions  70  and  72  combine to form a single pocket including the wall opening portions  74  and  76  combining to form a single wall opening, and the ink blocking shield segments  84  and  86  abut end-to-end to seal the single wall opening. The ink supply bag  16 , which is between the housing halves  12  and  14 , might per chance leak ink. However, the ink blocking shield segments  84  and  86  which are then abutted end-to-end prevent any ink from entering the wall opening portions  74  and  76  and contaminating the memory chip  24 . 
     The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention. 
     PARTS LIST 
       10 . ink cartridge 
       12 . housing half 
       14 . housing half 
       16 . ink bag 
       18 . connector-fitting 
       20 . snout 
       22 . collar 
       24 . memory chip 
       26 . elongate opening 
       28 . ribs 
       30 . septum 
       32 . ink egress opening 
       34 . cap 
       36 . center opening 
       38 . eight surfaces or facets 
       40 . face 
       42 . center opening 
       44 . eight surfaces or facets 
       46 . key slot 
       48 . bottom wall portion 
       50 . bottom wall portion 
       52 . opening half 
       54 . opening half 
       56 . L-shaped engageable member 
       58 . L-shaped engageable member 
       60 . L-shaped engageable member 
       62 . L-shaped engageable member 
       64 . inner side 
       65 . edge 
       66 . groove 
       68 . edge 
       70 . pocket portion 
       72 . pocket portion 
       74 . wall opening portion 
       76 . wall opening portion 
       78 . sleeve or channel portion 
       80 . sleeve or channel portion 
       82 . inner side 
       84 . ink blocking shield segment 
       86 . ink blocking shield segment