Patent ID: 7300142

Claim:
An ink cartridge for an ink jet printer, the ink jet printer having at least two projecting members and a recess, comprising: a housing having a wall and containing ink; a protrusion extending from the wall of the housing; an ink supply port formed in the protrusion at an offset position; and at least two engaging recesses formed in the wall of said housing adjacent to and apart from said ink supply port, each of said at least two engaging recess being respectively engageable with an associated one of said at least two projecting members of the printer when the ink cartridge is mounted on the printer, and the protrusion being received in the recess of the printer when the ink jet cartridge is mounted thereon, wherein at least one of the engaging recesses and the projecting members of the printer aligns the ink supply port with an ink supply needle of the printer prior to the insertion of the ink needle into the ink supply port, wherein during mounting of the ink cartridge on the printer, engagement between the at least two engaging recesses and the at least two projecting members and engagement between the protrusion and the recess begin prior to insertion of the ink supply needle into the ink supply port so as to complete both an alignment between the ink supply needle and the ink supply port and an alignment between the ink cartridge and the printer; and wherein after both of the alignments are completed, the ink cartridge can be moved with respect to the printer in a direction parallel to an alignment axis of the ink supply port and the ink supply needle without a substantial movement of the ink cartridge with respect to the printer in a direction perpendicular to the alignment axis, to thereby insert the ink supply needle into the ink supply port.