Postage meter printer module and housing therefor

A module for mounting and use in a postage meter for printing postage, comprising:

• a housing comprised of a pair of similarly configured lateral components, each lateral component including a side panel having a peripheral edge and a peripheral wall extending laterally from said peripheral edge, said peripheral wall having a free inner edge and comprising a top portion, a bottom portion, a front portion, and a rear portion and defining, with said side panel, an ink cartridge-receiving cavity in each of said lateral components, said bottom portion of said peripheral wall of said each lateral component having a gap therein that extends from said free edge thereof toward said side panel for receiving therethrough the ink-discharge nozzle of a contained ink cartridge, and said front portion of said peripheral wall of at least one of said lateral components having a slot therein that extends from said free edge of said front portion of said peripheral wall toward said side panel of said one of said lateral housing components and is dimensioned and configured for the receipt therethrough of a flexible electrical circuit member;
• a generally planar central panel component having a peripheral edge portion, said lateral components and said central panel component being so dimensioned and configured that said free edges of said peripheral walls of said lateral components engage said peripheral edge portion of said central panel component when said lateral components are assembled against opposite sides of said central panel component;
• and means for securing said lateral components and said central panel component in assembly with said lateral components positioned, and so engaged, on opposite sides of said central panel component;
• and
• two ink cartridges for ink-jet printing, each of said cartridges having an ink-discharge nozzle and having a flexible electrical circuit member attached thereto for operative electrical connection to a postage meter for controlling the discharge of ink through said nozzle thereof;
• whereby said module comprises an assembly of said lateral housing components positioned on opposite sides of said central panel component and secured, by said securing means, with said free edges of said peripheral walls of said lateral components engaging said peripheral edge portion of said central panel component, one of said ink cartridges being seated in said cartridge-receiving cavity of each of said lateral components with said central panel component interposed between said cartridges and with said ink-discharge nozzles of said ink cartridges and said attached, operatively connected flexible electrical circuit members extending through said gaps in said bottom portions of said peripheral walls of said lateral components to provide portions of said circuit members exposed on the exterior of said front portions of said peripheral walls of said lateral components, said flexible electrical circuit member of said ink cartridge seated in said cavity of said at least one of said lateral components extending through said slot in said front portion of said peripheral wall thereof and having a distal end portion, which carries a microprocessor and programming points therefor, contained in said ink cartridge-receiving cavity of said one of said lateral components.